Chapter 8

Lucious and Aelious sat together adjacent to Sunifa's father. Both in complete silence, which wasn't out of the norm for Aelious, but a stark contrast to Lucious's usual persona. Truth be told, they did not know what to think. The entire night had been overwhelming, to say the least. So the two sat and listened intently, desperate to piece together some type of clarity, or some type of direction.

"My name is Geo, and I am the leader of this Sanctuary. I have been for the past few years. As I'm sure Sunifa told you, you are in the 4th sanctuary of Eclesia, also known as E4. This place was designed to shelter casters from governmental wrath around 300 years ago. As you know, it is illegal to be a caster. What you may not know is that there is an organization called the Phantom Order that is tasked with hunting down and capturing us—or killing us if we're lucky. Normal peacekeepers don't have the capability or the jurisdiction to handle cases involving such matters, so the government trains a secret organization to utilize powers that can rival ours to exterminate us. I don't mean to scare you, but today marks the beginning of a very tough road ahead. Of course, it is entirely your choice to stay here with us, but if you do decide to leave, like a few have, you will never be able to go back to a normal life. You would have to change your identity and look over your shoulder for the rest of your life, knowing if you slip up once, you won't live to see tomorrow. I say this from experience."

Geo broke eye contact for the first time. "I was one of the people who decided to tread my own path," he admitted, his tone darkening. "And I lost everyone and everything I ever loved." He paused for a moment before resuming eye contact. The two could now see the hurt in his eyes. "If fate didn't bring me Sunifa or this place for community, I'm not sure how I'd be able to keep living."

He let out a slow breath before continuing, his voice measured. "So now I ask you this, Lucious and Aelious—would you mind staying with us? At least for the time being while we get things sorted out?"

Lucious hesitated, his voice quieter than usual. "What about my parents? They would be worried sick if they got home and I wasn't there. And the house…" He paused, remembering the state he left it in.

"The only way for you and your parents to be safe is for you to remain quiet. We have some cleaning up to do, but I make this promise to you, Lucious—they will know you are alive and well. The same goes for you, Aelious."

Aelious grimaced. "I don't think that would be necessary. But what about Astrid?" He turned to Lucious with a worried expression. "I don't think we can do this. We would be leaving everyone and everything we've ever known."

Lucious pictured Astrid waking up every day for the rest of her life, not knowing what happened to her best friends. The thought was enough to almost bring him to tears. But he felt guilty, knowing that his mind was possibly pushing that image because he did not believe he could live without her. Even in his thoughts, he could feel her presence guiding him to a sense of calm. How could he manage without that?

"Well, we appreciate you filling us in on this shindig, Geo," Lucious said, forcing a chuckle. "But we can't just abandon everyone in our lives because of a crazy night. Aelious and I have a life to get back to—friends—we still haven't beaten our VR game at the café—"

"If you go back home, your parents, friends, everyone you have ever known in your life will be brutally murdered," Geo interrupted. "Every person, every source of light you had in your life will be snuffed out."

Lucious winced.

"I'm sorry. I don't mean to be crass." Geo exhaled sharply. He felt a bit guilty for resorting to anger so quickly. It was rather unlike him to speak without thinking these days, and he briefly pondered the reason for his sudden shift in tone.

"You said fate brought you and Sunifa together?" Aelious interjected gently.

"I told you—I speak from experience," Geo reminded him.

"After I lost everyone, I found this place. Shortly after, I was on a mission and found Sunifa dying of starvation in an alleyway. I rescued her, brought her back here, and raised her like my own daughter for the past ten years. Having her in my life gave me a sense of purpose beyond the natural instincts of survival." He leaned in closer, quickly checking his surroundings before lowering his voice. "And between us—I needed something to hold on to. I needed to know that I could at least protect one person in my life after I failed to protect anyone else." Geo shuddered, briefly remembering some unwanted details.

Aelious nodded in understanding and turned to Lucious, his face sincere. "I think we need to stay."

It pained Lucious to agree, but he could see how resolute Aelious was. He had always been jealous of him in that regard. Aelious always seemed so grounded—so certain. He had an innate ability to know what to do when the situation called for it. Lucious, on the other hand, was incredible at creating moments of levity, but he sometimes wished he could trade diffusing a tense situation for leading his way out of a bad one.

Lucious looked up at Geo and smirked. "You got a toothbrush?"