The lock on the door clicked, making Nu jump, and the masked man strode in confidently.
"Please, don't get up," he teased as Nu leaped off the bed to face him. "You didn't like any of the dresses I got for you?"
"What do you want with me?" Nu asked, keeping her back to the wall as the dangerous man circled around the bed towards her.
He shook his head. "Poor, foolish child," he chided. "So much power and so little brains."
Nu wrung her hands, trying desperately to quell their shaking. "Just tell me what you want." She tried to be brave, but her words came out shaky and small, like a mouse talking to a cat.
"You have the ability to send us back home, my dear," he cooed. "Once I find my Neith, you will send us back to our world."
"You... you want to go home?"
"I want us to go home."
Nu was confused. "We're dead, Cae. There is no home-"
"Call me Caecius," he growled at her. "Not Cae or any of your disgusting nicknames. I chose my own name, so use it."
Nu trembled. For a brief moment, she had forgotten how dangerous the Air Prodigy could be, distracted by his vulnerability. "I-I'm sorry..."
He waved his hand dismissively. "You have the ability to cross worlds, don't you? Communicate with the dead? Command the Aether spirit?" He walked close to her, putting a hand under her chin and forcing her to look up at him. "You can do anything."
Nu shied away from his touch. "I can't..."
"Oh, but Cordis assured me you could." Nu gave him a confused look, and Caecius released her and circled around dramatically. "In this world lies a hidden power, one that can return one to the life they have lived."
"The Aether spirit isn't here," Nu tried to explain. "This isn't the Realm of the Dead."
Caecius paused for a moment before wheeling around to face the frightened girl. "Cordis would not lie to me," he warned.
"The potion?" Nu suggested, and the masked man cocked his head. "The one you were going to use on Senshi. It can return someone to life."
"Why would I use a single-use potion when I can use you?" Caecius asked with a small chuckle.
The pieces started to fall into place for Nu. "Cordis is leading you on," she tried to warn him, reaching for his arm. "He's letting you think it's me, and-"
Caecius's sudden backhand hit her hard and she fell to the floor, tears instantly filling her eyes. He crouched down beside her, leaning in close. "Watch what you say, little girl." His voice dripped with venom of an unspoken threat.
The Umbra opened the door, interrupting the pair. "Caecius, Cordis needs her."
Caecius scoffed in irritation. "Damn it, really? Why?"
The Umbra shrugged. "You may have pissed him off."
"Not my fault," Caecius argued as he pulled Nu off the ground. "He attacked me. What was I supposed to do?"
The Umbra just shrugged again and left, leaving the door wide open. Caecius practically dragged Nu out of the room, following the narrow hallway into a sitting area. NU thought she could hear noises from behind one of the closed doors, but she was rushed past it too quickly to tell for sure.473Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo8fhAvUYUT
Jayden - no, it had to be Cordis - was sitting on the couch holding a bloodied cloth to his thigh. His cheek was dripping blood as well, and his side and leg appeared to be sliced as well. The Umbra stood watch nearby, eyeing the healer carefully.
Caecius nearly threw the young girl forward, and she stumbled into the couch. "Heal him," the masked man commanded.
Nu looked from Caecius to Cordis and back again, weighing her options. She could see the door to outside from where she was sitting, but the Umbra stood in her way. Even if she could use her affinity to fight as well as her mother could have, there was no way she was getting past both the Umbra and Caecius.
"I need water," she said, and the Umbra pointed to an open doorway that led to the kitchen. Nu could hear someone else moving around there, running the tap.
"Who's in there?" Caecius asked, positioning himself between the healer on the couch and the stranger in the kitchen.
"A new foundling," the Umbra said with a grin. "Brought Cordis back here."
Nu gasped as the 'founding' walked out, carrying a bucket full of water. "Navi!"
Ladnavia nearly dropped the bucket in surprise. "Wha-"
"She's Caecius's prisoner, girl, and a useful tool," Cordis explained quickly, stopping Navi's protests with a glare before they even started.
Nu avoided eye contact with her as the scarlet-clad woman dropped the water unceremoniously at Nu's feet before sitting down on a chair nearby, watching the healer intently with her hand close to her weapon.
Nu tried to ignore all of their stares as she accessed her affinity, using the water to heal Cordis. After all, anything that happens to Cordis also happens to Jayden, right? She had no choice but to heal him.
When she was done, Caecius leaned in close. "Well, Nuallis, I hope you're ready."
"R-r-ready for what?" Nu stammered.
"For round two, of course," he stated as he pulled her from the couch, and Nu felt her heart sink as he walked her back to her room.
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