The days blended. Cinder thought it had been only weeks that he'd been with Kydyn and his small band. It turned out it had been several months. Jika had told him and he'd been startled by the notion. In a way it wasn't too surprising, though. Spending nearly every day heading out to the plains where Kydyn trained Cinder in the art of using his magic had made the days fly by. All that time spent with the warlock hadn't even given Cinder a glimpse into Kydyn's thoughts either. The warlock was still an asshole, with jabbing words and crueler actions. 

Even so, Cinder had to admit that he was learning. And quickly. First to learn was that the fancy transportation spell could only be used in returning to the home that they lived in. Kydyn called it the anchor point. A point that they would return to when they needed to. Cinder asked why they didn't use it more often. Kydyn had called him a moron of course, but Jika was nice enough to answer. It was the complexity of the spell. Having to chant it for a good minute or two made it difficult to just use all the time. So they only resorted to it when they needed to be back at the house instantaneously. Usually for wounds and things like that. Cinder found his explanation far more reasonable than what Kydyn might have come up with. If anything at all. 

Eventually, Cinder could conjure a barrier without the need of saying the word Kydyn had taught him to do it. He was getting faster at it too. Barriers to protect himself and others was supposed to be the main power that a magus was capable of. The white magic side anyway. Creating light was another part of his power, to wash away the darkness. Healing came next and Kydyn let Jika take over when that part of his training was up next. Finally, there was the reading of the stars and creating potions. 

Cinder wasn't too skilled at alchemy, Jika was trying his best to train him though. That was slower in progress than anything else. Cinder found himself adapting to the rest of his innate power quickly, and he was fairly proud of himself. To add to it, relations with Jika and Lyn had improved, though he was still struggling with Kydyn. Jika had told him on several occasions that it was just how the warlock was, and not to take anything to heart. It was hard to do when Kydyn enjoyed taunting Cinder all the time, especially when they were out in the plains training. 

"Come on, beauty whore. I said concentrate."

"Fuck off."

"Not unless you help me," Kydyn retorted slyly. 

"Oh for crying out loud! I can't fucking concentrate when you're doing that shit!" Cinder rolled over onto his side and glared at Kydyn. 

It was pitch black out in the fields and they were laying in the grass. The training that night was to get Cinder accustomed to star gazing and reading into the lay lines of energy that ran across the sky. Cinder still didn't quite understand what that meant, but Kydyn refused to explain it further. He said that Cinder would just have to figure it out on his own and that meant star gazing. 

The dark blanket overhead was beautiful as it sparkled with a thousand gems. If Kydyn would just shut up, then Cinder could concentrate. But the warlock wasn't that easy to deal with and he certainly didn't think that being quiet was what Cinder needed. His reasoning was that if Cinder needed to star gaze for any reason at all, he had to be able to do it at any time, distractions running rampant or not. It was good reasoning, in a way. But it still pissed Cinder off. 

"Don't even start," Kydyn growled, anger peeking over his playful tone. 

Cinder had gotten used to that by then so it was easy to just continue glaring at the man who lay only about a foot away from his right side. "You're a fucking asshole. Shut up for once!"

"You're asking for a beating, miss thing."

"Oh I really wanna wring your neck!" Cinder spat and got up on his hands and knees to glare down at Kydyn. "If you haven't noticed by now, I have a dick! I'm not a girl!"

Kydyn snickered, lying flat on his back while he watched Cinder with an arched eyebrow. "Yeah, I've noticed. I just enjoy your pissed off face. It's adorable."

Cinder blushed and turned away. With an annoyed groan, he let his body flop back on the ground, arms spread out as he lay on his back. He heaved a heavy sigh as he gazed up at the sky again. He'd been star gazing for the past two weeks and nothing had come of it aside from a strange feeling that had startled him a handful of times. Kydyn had been irritated that Cinder had pulled himself out of the magic before it could commence every time he felt it happening. So, that night, Kydyn was determined to force Cinder into it even if it killed him. 

It wasn't a pleasant thought at all.

He stared up at the small dots of white light littering the sky. A frown tipped his lips as he lay there. Kydyn moved and Cinder felt the warlock's heat growing closer to him. Turning his head just a little bit, Cinder shot him a warning look that had Kydyn grinning. Rolling his eyes, Cinder returned to looking up above them. The only thing that Kydyn had informed him of was to calm his mind and breathe deeply. He did just that, working to calm himself and take his mind into an empty void instead of the millions of things that crowded around his thoughts. 

It didn't take long, once he was calmed and empty. The pulsing feel of energy shot through him, like a burst of pure adrenaline. It always startled him, but that time, Kydyn did something. Where normally Cinder would have pulled out of the magic immediately, he fell right into it with the sound of Kydyn's snapping fingers hovering next to his ear. It was like a shove against his chest, no doubt Kydyn's magic forcing him into whatever was taking over. 

A wash of lights flooded his vision. Cinder raised a hand against it, squinting to look through the blare of color and streaming lines. When it settled, he was standing in the courtyard outside of the Capitol building. The dome was dimly light and the moonlight shone bright across the empty street. He took a few steps forward before freezing in place. There was something wrong with that building. 

Eyeing it, he watched as dark shadows lifted off the edges. They wavered as if they weren't solid enough to keep their forms. As Cinder watched them, a kind of fear beginning to bubble at the back of his mouth, several shadows rose up in front of him. They were close enough to touch. He yelped in shock. The one directly across from him leaned forward, putting its blank face right in front of him. 

"I see you." The shadow's voice was piercing. 

Cinder gasped, twisted around, and bolted from the courtyard. He got only a few feet before he slammed into a wall. He searched frantically for a handle on the door that had suddenly blocked his getaway. Cinder smashed his hands against the ornate wood a few times before flipping back around and seeing that instead of being in the courtyard with the creepy shadows, he was in a room. The panting fear slowly subsided as he stepped away from the handless door. 

The room wasn't familiar, but for some reason he knew exactly who it belonged to. It was Kydyn's bedroom, in some strange house. It was dimly lit with the curtains parted just enough to shine a sliver of silver light onto the bed. The sheets twisted and writhed, a body rising and falling underneath them. As Cinder got closer, he heard the sound of someone moaning in pleasure. 

His position in the room changed. Instead of standing near the bed, he was in it, underneath someone who thrust their hips against him. Cinder was the one moaning, loudly, enjoying every pleasurable motion that sent a hard, thick erection deeper into him. His fingers were clawing at warm skin every time a sensitive spot was hit. He could feel tight muscle under his hands as he rubbed, searching every part of the man who drove into him, slowly. Sweetly.

Fingers intertwined in his, drawing his arms down into the mattress. He was pinned there and that only made it hotter. Cinder arched, trying to get more of the man who was making love to him. Opening his eyes, he sought out a face in the darkness. A mouth covered his, heat scorching him as the one on top of him ran their tongue along his lips. He gladly parted them, allowing the other to kiss him deeper. Cinder moaned into the man's mouth as he hooked his legs and rocked his body. They moved in sync with one another, building the heat. 

Cinder's moaning grew louder and he pulled away from the kiss to gasp in air as the man thrust a little harder. Warm kisses layered his neck and shoulders. Cinder turned his head to look at the man who lay atop him. "Cinder." His name was moaned out on a very familiar tone of voice, though the way it was said surprised Cinder. Kydyn had never spoken his name like that, much less spoken it at all unless he was pissed off. 

The warlock's name rolled from Cinder's lips in much the same way. His voice climbed as he neared his climax. Closing his eyes, Cinder tilted his head back and let Kydyn bring him to it however he wanted. Just as he reached the building orgasm, instead of Kydyn writhing on him, a soft bed beneath him, there was a shock of ice and hard rock under his back. Startled from the images of having sex with Kydyn, Cinder opened his eyes and looked around frantically. 

The room was dark, but resembled the one he'd been rescued from when he first met Kydyn. There was pressure building in the room, like gravity had decided to increase its pressure. Cinder winced and twisted to try to get up off the stone slab. His arms were pinned, trapped against the stone in chains. Above him, a ball of red flames descended. Though he hadn't a clue as to what it was, it terrified him. Cinder thrashed on the altar, a scream ripping from his throat. 

"Kydyn!" 

The warlocks name was hollered in fear and hope that he would show up and save him. When nothing happened, his heart felt as if it had been stabbed by a piece of ice. He called out random things, most of them the beginnings of spells he had no idea he knew about, yet none of them worked. The fire continued its approach and when it got close enough to hover over him, it turned into a figure wreathed in flame. Arms braced itself on either side of Cinder's head. He could see the lashes of fire flickering all around the thing, but there was no heat. 

"Kydyn!" Cinder screamed again as the creature said something, the words garbled right before its face split in a wide grin. It shot down at Cinder and he felt the familiar darkness that had pecked away at his mind during the ceremony months ago. It was pure evil and it wanted inside of him. Cinder screamed again wordlessly, his body taut across the stone slab. 

Then the pain faded and all that was left was a cool breeze over his sweaty skin. The smell of dew damp grass filled his nose instead of stale, musky air in a cell. Panting, Cinder blinked several times to focus his sight. Along with the refreshing night air, someone sat on top of him. Their weight kept him from moving and their warmth seeped into his torso, making him shiver from the difference in temperatures along his body. 

"There you are. How are you feeling?" Kydyn asked, his customary smile gracing his lips. 

Cinder coughed first before he answered. He felt as if someone had just dumped sand down his throat. "Like shit. What the hell was that? Where are we? What happened to...?"

Kydyn raised an eyebrow at him. "I really have to explain all of this to you, don't I? I'm starting to think you're far more troublesome than what your worth, moron."

Cinder's jaw tightened as he narrowed his eyes. He was still sprawled out on the ground, muscles burning as if he'd run a marathon. With Kydyn on top of him, it was hard to get rid of the image of what the warlock had been doing at one point during that strange event. Kydyn leaned forward so he was on his hands and knees. His hands were planted in the dirt on either side of Cinder's head. 

"Star gazing for a magus is like predicting the future. You walked through time, saw things that'll happen. Little snippets, never a full idea of how or why. Just tastes of what you and everyone else is going to see. It could happen in the next few days, months, years even. Time has no relevance when your star gazing. So, now that I've explained it to you, what did you see? There were some rather interesting things coming out of your mouth."

Cinder blushed as he stared up at Kydyn. His embarrassment was washed away by anger. "Fucking prick. Get off me!"

"Whoa, hey now. Don't start that shit this early in the morning. I might be tired, but I'll still kick your ass. Spill it, or I'll make you. And you don't want that. All your moaning and twisting on the ground has me thinking up some rather unique ideas on getting you to use that pretty mouth in more ways than one."

"Asshole!" Cinder spat, but his face was turning a darker red judging by the way it burned across his cheeks. Looking away he glared at the tall grasses they lay in and tried to figure out where to start because he was certain that Kydyn would definitely go through with his threat. "I saw a lot of things. I was in the courtyard outside of the Capitol building. I started to go to it, but then all these weird shadow things popped up. I don't know why, but I was scared of them. 

"I turned and ran away when one of them got in my face. Said they could 'see me'. So I booked it as fast as I could away from them, but then it changed. I.... Saw a bedroom. Your bedroom," Cinder said and paused for a moment to glance at Kydyn before turning away to continue staring at the vegetation. "There were people in the bed, having sex. I... somehow ended up being the one in bed with. Never mind. They had sex and then it changed again. I was strapped to a fucking rock again and some strange fire thing came at me."

Cinder sighed as he stopped talking and shifted around until Kydyn moved off his stomach. With the weight gone, Cinder relaxed again only to have Kydyn sitting on him once more. Giving the warlock an angry look, he rolled his eyes and finished telling Kydyn about the images. "It spoke to me, but I couldn't hear it. Then it just sort of invaded and I felt like I was going to tear apart. Are you serious what I saw were things that are going to happen?"

"Yes. The images are never clear and what happens in them could be different when they do come to pass. For example, those shadows you saw in the courtyard by the Capitol. They might not be shadows when it happens, but actual people. Probably dressed in black, which makes me think assassins as cliché as that sounds. More likely it'll be the rebels though. They'll want to try to get you under their control again. Not like I'm letting that happen though," Kydyn said with a grin.

"You're one cocky son of a bitch," Cinder retorted, frowning at him. 

"You like it."

"What? How the hell did you come to that conclusion?"

Kydyn lowered himself till he was hovering right over Cinder's face. "Seems you speak when your star gazing. Almost like talking in your sleep. And listening to you moan my name was just a small hint."

Cinder was frozen for a while underneath Kydyn's looming form. The warlock took advantage and pressed a warm, soft kiss against Cinder's mouth. It stole his breath and for a moment, he almost kissed Kydyn back. Until realization struck and anger took over. His hands slammed against Kydyn's chest, knocking him up and away from his face. 

"Don't do that," he snapped.

"No? You seemed to be enjoying it, even more so in the star gaze," Kydyn retorted, looking irritated that he'd been shoved away.

"I don't want it when it's just to fuck around with me, Kydyn. Do you have any sense of guilt at all? Don't you feel anything other than having to be a dick to everyone all the time? You enjoy pissing me off so much that I really just want to jump off a fucking cliff?"

Kydyn fell silent then, staring at Cinder with stone like features. The glittering mirth in his pale blue eyes faded. Everything just snapped shut on Cinder and it made his throat clench. He wasn't sure what it was entirely that he'd spat out at Kydyn, but something had triggered him into the cold, killer look that crossed his face. Kydyn got up off him a moment later and turned his back to Cinder. 

"Get up. We're heading back. We've been out here all night."

Cinder stared at him for a long while before shaking his head and heaving a deep sigh. Climbing to his feet, he shot Kydyn a sideways glance before walking ahead of him to start the short trek back to the car. He only got a few feet away from Kydyn before the shadows congregated and pulled together into a figure directly in front of Cinder. Startled, he stumbled backward. The darkness fell away like a sheet being yanked from the one standing in front of Cinder. 

He blended in with the black night, his clothes just as dark, aside from the glimmer of blue that reflected the moonlight. Cinder raised his arms and the barrier that Kydyn had taught him rose up around him just as the shorter man lunged forward. The knife he'd attacked with bounced off the shield but the initial thrust of the weapon had Cinder stumbling back even more. He lost his footing and was deposited onto the ground with a thud. 

The attacker took the opportunity presented to him. Drawing a second blade, he lashed out, diving low so he could reach Cinder. Falling onto his back, Cinder fought to keep the barrier up despite his stress at the situation. He could feel it wavering and as the tip of the blade hit the wall of magic, it shattered under the force. Having it broken so violently made Cinder flinch at the way the power was simply severed as if it were nothing but a thin thread. 

Cinder's jaw tightened as he went flat against the dirt. The knife followed before he stopped right under his chin. The assailant's arm shook. He cursed under his breath before looking up to where Kydyn was no doubt standing. Cinder dared to breathe as he gazed at the arm holding the knife in shock. Dread filled his chest as he waited for the weapon to strike. 

"Forgot about me, didn't you," Kydyn said, his voice smooth and cruel. 

"Shit," the assassin hissed, just loud enough for Cinder to hear him. "I didn't forget about you, warlock. I was hoping to be faster than you."

"Is that so? Funny, the irony. There aren't many who are faster than me, you're definitely not one of them. It was fun while it lasted."

"Wait, Kydyn!" Cinder shouted but the assassin's neck twisted so fast that it was nearly instant. The sickening snap had Cinder gagging on the bile that filled the back of his mouth. The attacker dropped like a rag doll, crumpling on Cinder's chest. For a moment, everything stilled. Staring at the corpse that was draped over him, Cinder blanked. Nothing registered, not even when Kydyn pulled the dead man off of him and got in his face. 

A sharp sting burned across his cheek and it wasn't until Kydyn slapped him a second time that he realized what the warlock had done. Turning his head to stare up at Kydyn in shock, he felt his mouth gaping open as he tried to get words to leave his constricted throat. 

"Are you going to lay there all day and take a nap, or can we actually get our asses moving so we can get back to the house where it's safer?"

"You... Killed him."

"Yes?" Kydyn arched an eyebrow at him, confused at the revelation that Cinder was slowly coming to.

"I told you to wait! We could have found out who he worked for! You didn't have to kill him!"

Kydyn's speculation turned to dark anger a second later and Cinder was sucking in a sharp breath as the purple lightening flooded the pale blue irises. "You are a damned fool. You think he would have told us? I know who he works for anyway, so what's the point? The insignia on his clothes was enough evidence. If the rebels can't have you, they'll kill you. Better off dead than in the hands of the council, which you seem to enjoy dancing to their tune no matter what I tell you."

"Where the fuck did that come from! That has nothing to do with killing a man!" Cinder retaliated. 

"A man who was hell bent on slitting your throat. Might I remind you that I'm not a healer! If he'd somehow managed to be faster than me –which is entirely unlikely—than you'd be dead. Contrary to popular belief, Jika is not in the habit of raising the dead, you moron! I save your life and I get yelled at instead. Who the hell do you think you are?"

While Kydyn was busy scolding Cinder, shadows hovered over them. Cinder's eyes widened as he looked over Kydyn's shoulder. He slapped at the warlock's chest while he shouted at him. Kydyn looked more annoyed than surprised at the appearance of more rebels. Pulling a knife from one of his boots, he threw himself upright and bent back a little to miss being stabbed by one of the attackers. Grabbing the man's arm that was thrusting the knife at Kydyn's neck, he yanked and twisted his body to the side, pulling the rebel off his feet and throwing him to the ground. 

Cinder looked away as Kydyn wasted no time in cutting open the man's throat. Heat soaked Cinder's hand and arm and he yanked it away, disgust flooding his stomach. A few months ago it might not have bothered him so much, but the steady work with his magic and learning from Jika had him almost completely in white magic and the thought of killing someone was absolutely abhorrent to him. 

"Hull huiln." Kydyn's Irish accent made it hard to figure out what he'd just said. His hand dropped down at his side. Pinching his fingers together he lifted his hand as if he were taking a sheet off of something. Next to him a small speck of orange slowly swirled into existence in the dirt. Once it had substance on the ground, it opened up into a giant disc of fire and from it rose a flaming red dog as if it had just climbed through molten lava. Thick droplets of orange fell off its body, but the fire never diminished. 

"Feast," Kydyn ordered and Cinder watched as the hound coiled its body and lunged at the nearest target. He couldn't turn away, staring in horror as the dog brought the rebel down to the ground. Screams of pain erupted into the dusk. Kydyn's muttering voice took his attention and he finally was able to tear his gaze away from the dying rebel who was being ripped apart and possibly eaten. The idea had his stomach heaving and he covered his mouth, closing his eyes tightly to fight off the urge to throw up.

Cinder jumped at the sound of a body hitting the ground near him. He looked to be sure it hadn't been Kydyn who was lying there. A slight sense of relief filled him as he set his eyes on the rebel who lay sprawled across his companion. The man's neck was twisted at an odd angle. Cinder forced himself to swallow, fighting off his gag reflex as he stared at the dead man's face. On the rebel's chest was a symbol stitched into his shirt. Rolling to his side, Cinder dared to get a little closer to inspect the insignia. 

The star resembled a pentagram, but a coin was in its center and blooming from the middle of the coin was a rose. Cinder reached out, gingerly brushing his fingers across the stiff thread that created the symbol on the man's chest. As he touched it, he felt as if he knew it. In fact, he was certain he knew it extremely well. There was something about it, like a vague memory trying to surface. Cinder could feel it bubbling, and he tried to concentrate on it. 

"Cinder!" Kydyn's harsh voice took him from it as well as the warlock's hand on his shoulder dragging him back away from the rebel. "Get your ass up, we're leaving."

Cinder stared at him for a while before he slowly nodded. He allowed Kydyn to drag him to his feet and lead him to the car in the distance. On the horizon, the sun was peaking over the hills, throwing its brilliance all across the open fields. It was a long drive back to the city, and it was done in silence.