zaceouiswriting

[zaceouiswriting]

Fairy Prince - Hearts of Leviathans - Ch. 63

Character: Sky x male reader, Riven x male reader, Brandon x male reader, (OC) Callisto x male reader

Universe: Somewhere in Winx Club/Saga

Warnings: Death, blood, gore

Author's Note: This is the final chapter of this story. There will be one more bonus chapter, but this story arc is now complete. Thank you for reading. I welcome feedback on this entire story.

(Riven)

(Sky)

(Callisto)

As my feet finally touch the ground, the whispering grows louder again. Whimpers and whining fill the atmosphere with grief. It's almost as if the world itself is weeping for Callisto.

Standing at the edge of the clearing, I couldn't move; my legs wouldn't obey me at all.

I blink once and suddenly find myself in what my soldiers once called "The Grave of the Hunters," the battlefield where, because of my own frenzied, thoughtless, berserking ways, I lost my first love.

There, impaled on stone spikes, I conjured myself, I see him: my first love.

But when I blink again, he's gone, and a certain Callisto lies in my first love's state, his blood slowly seeping out from beneath him.

Between the whispers, I hear something crack, like glass caught between cold and warmth. Slowly but surely, something shatters. But I don't know what yet.

With every blink, I get closer to him until I'm kneeling right next to his still-warm but still body.

Callisto seemed to sense my presence; he raised his head. The same arrogant yet endearing grin, etched into his handsome face, made every wall I'd ever built crumble to dust. I look at him with softening eyes.

“Callisto,” I murmur in a hoarse voice that breaks at the mere mention of his name.

Tears interrupt my gentle, soulful gaze; they flow and drip onto Callisto's sweaty skin. He seems to be in great pain. I wish I could ease it without taking his life. "I'm sorry," I whisper, unable to raise my voice any further, as all my strength drained from me as I watched the blood underneath him grow from a puddle into a pond.

"Don't," Callisto murmurs back, stroking my cheek with his warm, calloused hand. "Everything's fine... you're here, and I couldn't ask for more."

At that moment, I realized he wouldn't make it, and he knew it. But I can't allow that to happen; I can't experience such a loss again. It would destroy me.

"No!" I say firmly. "There has to be something we can do. Magic, potions, whatever, I'd even pray until I bleed!"

Callisto chuckles faintly, that deep rumble that usually makes my knees go weak. Even the planet's whispers have fallen silent for a moment. But then the chuckles died down, and Callisto's heavy breathing became too loud. It echoed in my head as if I were in a closed, empty space.

"I tried to fight back," Callisto said with tears in her eyes, trying to sound unaffected. "But he was too strong, too fast. None of my blows hit him," he started to breathe heavily. "I did my best, just like you showed me."

The sound of his pride-filled voice fills me with a certain warmth. I'm so happy for him, even in a moment of utter despair for us both.

I take his free hand in mine and leave the one he caress my cheek with exactly where it belongs.

"I'm so proud of you," I smile tightly, trying to hold back more tears. I don't want to make this any harder for him than it already is. "But you have to fight. I can cover you with dirt and bring back Terra, and together we can heal—"

"No," Callisto interrupts me. "I was poisoned. His daggers were coated with a thick layer of toxin."

“Toxins can be neutralized and I can heal your wound-”

"Let it be!“ 

The sternness in Callisto's voice almost makes me stumble back. As I try to steady myself, my hand lands in warm liquid. I knew it was his blood before I could internalize it.

My breath caught in my throat, and the tears I shed have dried up. Suddenly, a heavy silence hangs over us, like a deathly veil. A cautious smile plays on my lips as I suddenly realize that my panic and desire for him to stay were turning his last moments into sad memories, not the happy ones he deserves.

I lean forward, place my blood-stained hand on his head, and stroke his curly hair with absolute admiration twinkling in my eyes.

"When the war is over, we should get married," I whisper in his face. "Screw my grandfather and my crown if necessary. If my homeworld collapses, as long as I have you by my side, I can live with the guilt."

Callisto's smile almost blinded me. His white teeth, so healthy, formed a perfect contrast to the moment. His tongue darted out and moistened his chapped lips.

"Sounds like a good plan," smiles Callisto. "You can live on my planet and help me rule my duchy. Maybe you can even take over my homeworld with me, because I have a claim to the throne, remember?"

Despite his deep voice, his tone is so gentle, his words playful yet serious at the same time. I know he wants to ascend his throne, and that could have been possible if it hadn't been for this stupid war.

"Of course, anything for you," I murmur honestly, conviction bubbling in my torn heart. "I would burn down any world to keep you by my side."

The forest around us is plunged into complete silence; in our little piece of paradise, not a sound of the war raging around us can be heard.

I lean further down, trying to capture his lips, to confirm my conviction, the love we share and will always share. But then it happened. Blood spilled everywhere.

Warm liquid runs down my face. Callisto's features are contorted in pain, his lips covered in his blood. He doesn't have much time left.

Callisto himself must have realized that his end was approaching sooner than expected, because he took his hand away from my cheek, albeit with difficulty, pulled a ring from his finger, and placed it on my finger.

"I hereby declare you the interim Duke of my lands. Please return my body to my homeland and protect my younger brother, the next duke. My uncle is not safe."

Callisto's warning echoes in my burning mind. How could I not promise to protect what and who he loves?

"I will," I promise quietly. "Whatever it takes, I'll do it to protect your little brother, just like you protected mine earlier."

I try to stay calm and not let him see any more of my tears. Gently, my hand stroked his head and cheek again. I try to memorize the sparkle in his hazel eyes, now that this will be the last time I see them alive.

"I love you, (Y/N), with all my heart," Callisto whispers with difficulty, the words clearly costing him more energy than he has left in his badly damaged body.

But all I could do was smile. Despite the pain, I feel a sense of warmth, witnessing the loss of another loved one.

"Fuck," I grumble hesitantly. "I love you too, Callisto… too much, honestly,“ I admit sheepishly.

I quickly capture his lips before they grow cold, before the rest of what we had could be erased by the horrors of death.

The warmth of his calloused hand vanishes from my cheek. His entire arm falls limply to the side.

“NOOO!” I scream loud enough for the forest to wake up again.

Birds fly from the trees, and small animals run frightened through the undergrowth. But my scream won't stop, nor do the tears streaming down my cheeks as I clutch Callisto's lukewarm body and pull him to my chest. He is still breathing, albeit shallowly—still alive, but he will never wake up again.

"Please! Leviathan of Stone, help me save him!" I plead on my knees. "I would do anything—burn every world, destroy every solar system—but please, don’t let me say 'goodbye' again; don’t let any more love slip through my fingers!"

My tearful 'pleas' should be enough if the Leviathans weren’t heartless monsters.

"I can't," the voice of the Leviathan inside me proclaims. "It's not possible to bring someone back from the brink of death!"

"No, please," I beg again, torn and blinded by tears. "There must be a way!"

“Young Prince, please accept-”

“There is a way.”

Another voice echoes in my head, one that makes me dizzy just by its tone. My vision disappears for a moment, repeatedly, if only for a second, and I see everything through someone else's eyes.

“I will do anything, just save him!”

A deep chuckle follows, and the next moment, I could no longer feel anything; my mind is pushed back so that I can only be observing everything from my head, but I have no control over anything.

In this place of my mind, I can see the stone Leviathan, in his human form, which he showed me before. He sits there, sighing heavily.

“If you release him, even a little bit, it could end badly.”

Before I can comprehend what he said, an immense magical force flows through my heartbroken body.

I watch from my mind as the true Leviathan of my family, the hidden one who is never spoken of, raises his hand and, with a simple thought that echoes through my head loud enough to silence all other thoughts, stops time for Callisto's body.

Suddenly, the stone leviathan disappears, and outside, I see a stone sarcophagus engulfing Callisto, filling it with healing earth infused with magic that is not of this world and probably not of this universe.

"I have granted your request, young prince," a voice that wasn't mine escapes my lips, deeper but kind. "Now you fulfill mine. I will keep your body until this war is over, since you seem unable to conquer the other Leviathans' hearts."

It was neither a question nor an idea, but a command, and I knew it immediately. How could it have been clearer?

He merely nodded and continued, as if my opinion meant nothing, leaving the sarcophagi in the clearing without even a moment's hesitation.

I scream in my mind, begging him to take Callisto with him, but my family's protective Leviathan, the original, doesn't listen. Instead, we suddenly find ourselves standing at the stairs directly in front of Red Fountain Academy, the forest no longer in sight.

My stomach growls, and I feel nauseous creeps up, but the Leviathan that has taken over me doesn't seem to mind. He continues on and reaches the archway, but what lies beyond shatters something inside me.

As I feared, the specialists weren't as effective as the fairies. The academy is completely destroyed, the towers are crumbling, and scattered red stones now cover the ground along with endless pools of blood. Only a few specialists remain, but they are already completely exhausted.

The Leviathan clicks its tongue, and my mouth makes sounds I didn't even know I was capable of. A golden sphere appears next to the statue of the legendary founder of the academy and his dragon, displaying something that resembles a clock. It ticks slowly, but after just a few moments, the wounds of some of the surrounding specialists heal.

About a third of them get back up, while some remain broken and dead.

“Not strong enough yet,” the Leviathan murmurs in his own voice.

“What did you do?” I ask within my head.

"I brought back the time when these young men were still unharmed. However, I could only bring back those who hadn't been dead for long."

My family's protective Leviathan, who has been banished and chained by the others, sounds pretty... depressed about this? I wouldn't have expected something like this from an evil, dangerous, universal threat. Suddenly, my body starts moving again. Even though I'm not in control, I feel everything that's happening. It's a strange, distant feeling.

The Leviathan guides my body directly past the people it has brought back from the brink of death. In the distance, I see golden particles raining down in a seemingly circular pattern. The people inside are fighting as if there were no end, as if the pain were negotiable and their courage limitless.

It looks both beautiful and grotesque. A truly gruesome sight. Some specialists fight covered in wounds, others with severed limbs, but without interruption in their movements. They are the last line, and they know it. With a heavy, almost annoyed sigh, the Leviathan sent out four golden spheres. The first transforms into a clock again. The second creates a field the exact size of the gold particles and encases them all in a golden bubble. The third golden sphere pulsed and slowed the monster of darkness, while the last seemingly did nothing.

The clock hands move painfully slowly. But Sky and the others move normally. Confused, they turn to each other and effortlessly dodge the enemy's slow attacks. The Leviathan's voice booms across the courtyard, urging the specialists not to attack the enemies but simply to stay out of their way while remaining within the golden circle.

Discomfort is clearly visible on the boys' faces, but for some reason, they couldn't resist the words of the Leviathan that currently controlled my body.

It took a few hundred more enemies of darkness before the ball, which did nothing, changed color and began to pulse slowly.

But slowly, the circle became too small. The specialists huddled together in a crowd, some with their eyes closed, apparently already resigned to the end of their short lives.

I try to get the Leviathan that has taken possession of me to do something, but the stone Leviathan holds me back. No matter how much I beg and cry, he won't let me go.

Then the golden ball turns black and falls. Before it touches the ground, the black ball becomes a hole, sucking everything around it into itself, except for the Specialists, who don't move an inch. And within moments, the courtyard was almost empty; the remaining enemies stayed back out of the way. Fear apparently can even hold back the monsters of darkness.

Immediately after the hole disappeared, the clock ticked full circle. The specialists' healing: their severed limbs reappeared where they belonged.

Smug and content, the Leviathan leans back and grins to himself. Just when everything seems to be in order, the Leviathan suddenly turns around and conjures a stone wall. Not even a moment later, thunder, ice, and balls of confusion crash against it, breaking it down.

He sighs heavily and looks up. "You three are pathetic imitations of the ancient witches who once terrorized the universe."

His words confused me at first. Who were the ancient witches? But slowly, memories of my childhood flood back. I remember the stories of the ancient witches, who once partially dominated the universe, attacking the planets under the control of fairies and specialists—until they fell into a trap and were killed.

I couldn't even say a word or form a coherent thought, as the witches obviously didn't like the degrading words directed at them.

They continue to attack, but the Leviathan takes a step back, and we appear directly in front of Sky with Riven at his side. 

For a long moment, the Leviathan stares at Riven without emotion. I didn't understand why he stared at him for so long, but before I could ask, he turned to Sky.

“I need your heart,” says the Leviathan clearly and firmly, but not unkindly, as if this were perfectly normal.

Sky looks stunned, surely confused by the whole situation. But that quickly dissipates, as if he's not alone in his thoughts.

“Buy me a meal first,” he suddenly flirts.

It sent a shiver of disgust down the Leviathan's mind and my body's spine.

"Not like that." The Leviathan rolls his eyes in annoyance. "The Leviathan's heart within you."

With my finger, Leviathan points at Sky's chest. A core near his heart glows golden, like the color of the legendary golden lion Leviathan, which protects Sky's family.

“I-I can’t give that to you!” Sky says in a panic, holding both hands in front of her chest.

But as another witch's volley rushes toward us, the Leviathan snaps. My hand digs into Sky's chest, rips out the core, and pushes it into my own.

A burning, searing pain shoots through me as the core moves through me until it snaps into place next to the Stone Leviathan's heart.

Sky falls to his knees. There are no injuries, no blood, but his eyes appear hollow.

The Leviathan mutters something to himself, and I quickly cover Sky's ears with my hands. Barely seconds later, an ear-piercing scream shatters the surrounding silence. Simultaneously, the Leviathan forms another slowing circle around us, shielding us from the witch's attack for the time being.

When he removes my hands from Sky's head, Sky collapses to the floor, fluid seeping from his right ear. The other ear releases what appears to be the remnants of something resembling a mix between a maggot and a worm.

"Not maggots," the Leviathan interrupts my thoughts. "Those are the children of the lizardmen you've been fighting and killing for years. Their children need hosts to grow. At first, they reside around the host's brain, growing too large and starting to consume it slowly, over several years. Afterward, they gradually devour the rest of the host's insides, ultimately replacing them with their own adult bodies. They become lizards disguised in human skin... quite repulsive.

"We need to check them all. But first—" Out of thin air, the Leviathan summons golden spears, its magic seemingly stronger. "It feels good to slowly regain my powers and have a second Leviathan under my control. Now we send the witches back to where they came from, and then we'll free everyone from these disgusting lizard children."

[Masterlist]

[zaceouiswriting]

Fairy Prince - Hearts of Leviathans - Ch. 62

Character: Sky x male reader, Riven x male reader, Brandon x male reader, (OC) Callisto x male reader

Universe: Somewhere in Winx Club/Saga

Warnings: Blood

(Callisto)

Sweat pools around my neck, the heat of battle drowning not only me but everyone else in the grotesque sounds of the fairies' fearful or pain-filled screams, who, however, are quickly dragged away from the battlefield.

Some fairies are much stronger than they appear, like Musa, whose sound magic can interrupt the formation of the tiny, maggot-like creatures that soldiers and larger enemies burst into when defeated, even though she must be nearby when they are destroyed. 

Conversely, Techna, as a support fairy, protects us with barriers and magical drones that use mana and healing potions.

I'm sure Techna will be a powerful fairy in the future, even if she seems pretty useless at the moment.

"Nacterna, can you hold the line yourself for a moment?" My voice doesn't carry far, but luckily, the shadow fairy is pressed against my back, fending off hordes of enemies right in their own midst.

"Are you fucking serious?" she yells, distracting her so much that I had to summon spikes from the ground to keep her alive.

"Language!" I chuckle amusedly. "You're a princess!"

“Oh, shut up!” she retorts, laughing herself, obviously amused by the silliness of the situation.

I turn my head back slightly. "So that's a yes?"

Looking at her with pleading eyes, she suddenly lets out a sigh. "But hurry up, these disgusting things are making me sick!"

Without giving her an answer, I jump up and fly back to the school. Along the way, I shoot rock spikes up from the ground like rockets to bring the flying monster to the ground, where they burst into their maggot form.

Not once do I stop to look back; my gaze remains fixed on Julian, who I hope still lies among the rubble of the gilded fountain. 

The sight of him staring into the darkness of the purple sky, with the air tainted by dark magic, seems more melancholic than it likely is.

Near him, I make myself as heavy as a mountain, plummeting from the sky and landing on the ground right next to Julian. I form a stone barrier that protects him from stones thrown up or broken off the ground, leaving a small crater in the process.

"Do you like being lazy?" I ask him, standing next to the man. My tone is light, as if we weren't at war.

"It's relaxing, Your Majesty. I rarely had time for it when I was alive," Julian mentions, amused but with a disheartened undertone. "Not even in the depths of the Blackstone do we have time to relax. Always fighting, always ready when Your Majesty calls us."

I gently pat his head and chest, looking at him with a gentle gaze the whole time.

"Even though this is hard, you made this choice. However, I will make sure future candidates know about this so they won't be as grumpy as you." 

My voice weakened, as if I were speaking to a small child. I even pinched his cheek lightly. It almost made me feel like a grandfather or uncle, despite being younger than him.

The glare Julian gives me would probably send anyone into a symphony of fear and shitting themselves, but all I can do is grin.

He just looks too cute like that.

"Come on, get up, old fart. You've had enough time to laze around like a farm boy!"

I try to lift him by pulling on his arm with both my hands, but he makes himself particularly heavy.

"Seriously, Julian?" I ask, whining, my annoyance clear. "Don't be such an asshole!"

Julian just laughs. He fucking laughs! What an asshole. He looks so smug and even scratches his neck, probably out of boredom.

I take a deep breath and slowly prop him up, moving the ground beneath him into the shape of a rectangle, angling and raising it until he stands before me, stunned. However, a sparkle of doting respect flashes in his eyes.

“Well, well, Your Majesty is even more stubborn than I am,” Julian says, grinning cheekily, sounding almost as if he were laughing gloatingly.

Rolling my eyes, I am tempted to punch him in the chest, but I'm sure he would play the victim and fall to the floor, acting like the child he acts like.

I carefully place my hand on his chest and slide it over his armor with the metal retreating until I feel his skin, right next to his heart. Then I place my other hand on his forehead.

Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath and let my mana flow into Julian. I sense his mana veins in my head—the endless series of veins flowing through his body—and fill them with my mana.

Hearing Julian also take a deep breath, I have to smile. Now he has no excuse to laze around any longer.

When I open my eyes again, I see anger in his sparkling orbs. He's probably realized, just like I have, that he can no longer play the weak, poor stone soldier.

When I withdraw my hand from his chest, the armor moves back until his body is covered again.

Poking his cheek with my finger, I wink at him. 

"Go and help Nactera, you lazybones." I keep my tone teasing but with a commanding undertone to ensure he doesn't have the stupid idea of rejecting my words.

Julian snorts but walks away anyway, dragging his gate shields behind him like a reckless child, but doesn't complain. Instead, he runs and leaps into the horde, destroying the enemies more effectively than before.

I watch him with a small smile curling on my lips, lift myself back into the air, and rejoin Nactera.

"Julian will be your protector," I told her as I landed. She looks at me suspiciously. How could she not? "What?" I ask her. "I have to help my boyfriend. You need to know how boys can be if we don't take good care of them."

Before she can say anything, I'm back in the air, the leather of my lower region fluttering in the wind as I race through the sky. “Wooohoo!“

I couldn't help but scream through the sky, do loops and circles, and just for fun, summon spikes into the sky and let them crash down, slashing and squashing a few enemies to make the rocks vanish. 

Not even the stares I feel on me can distract me from the warm, cozy feeling in my chest. I can hardly wait for Callisto to see me like this, his proud smile and his dirty glint when he sees how little fabric I'm wearing.

The mere thought of it annoys me. But the blush rising in my cheeks might tell a different story.

I give myself a light slap on the cheek, hoping that could be an excuse, but Callisto would surely just bear with his thoughts like the stubborn donkey he is.

But something unpleasant becomes clear to me. Up here, I can neither hear nor feel the stone. It's strange, as the mana lines inside the planet should extend everywhere, even into the air. I know from my grandfather, before he became the tyrant he is today, that I should hear the stones' voices everywhere, at least as an echo.

Despite the pulsating magic around me, the stone remains silent. For the first time in my life, I hear neither the humming, nor the voices, the whispers, nor the songs echoing from the stone.

It almost feels like something has been ripped from my chest, like my heart, which carries the lifeblood through my veins, has stopped beating for me.

Longing pulses within me, my thoughts race, images of stone and dirt beneath my bare feet and fingernails emerge.

Suddenly, beneath all these rumbling thoughts, I hear something. But when I turn around, all I can do is widen my eyes before a stabbing pain shoots through me.

“Shh- fuck!” I curse quietly as blood seeps from my side.

I look around frantically. It feels like I've been hit by a bullet, but I can't see anyone or anything; there is only the faint scent of dark magic permeating the area.

“Stone shards!” I summon thousands of small shards around me, floating in the air. Fearfully, I look around for whatever just attacked me.

Luckily, I didn't have to wait long, because just a few moments later, I heard a hiss, and small, dark, magical maggots fell to the ground. After a few more fell, the remaining small, flying monsters of darkness came to a stop. The sky has become literally littered with thousands, if not tens of thousands, of what look almost like sparrows, only slightly deformed, as if the darkness were trying to imitate these majestic little birds.

I couldn't suppress the taste of vomit being forced up into my mouth, which I had to swallow with force. It left a burning sensation in my throat and a taste of disgust in my mouth.

Why does darkness have to destroy everything beautiful and leave it disfigured?

“Stone arrows!” I shout, as stone arrows appear from among all the shards protecting me.

With a single wave of my hand, the arrows fly, hundreds at a time, destroying just as many of these dark sparrows. It doesn't take long, however, before the monsters seem to realize they're easy targets and try to fly away, but my arrows are relentless. While I can't see them through the stone, their dark magic has a distinct signature that's easy to follow.

Instead of having to fight another battle, I should've already been on my way to help my boyfriend or the specialists. If the fairies have problems with those monsters, then I have no faith that those guys can do it.

But I'm not powerful enough to leave behind stone cores that can produce their own projectiles, like floating defense turrets, while I fly away. If my magic core were still functioning, that wouldn't be a problem and would only be a snap of a finger away.

Now I have to do everything myself, but thanks to the Leviathan of Stone inside me, I can at least cast spells as often as I need to, especially now that I've finally transformed into a fairy.

As I'm forming yet another arrow volley to get rid of these pesky, deformed birds, my vision suddenly blurs, and a deep scream echoes in my head that seems horribly familiar.

"Callisto," I breathe heavily. My heart breaks as I know the armor I gave him has just shattered. He's in grave danger.

My heart pounds, burning with fear and hopelessness. No sound penetrates my mind as I try to find Callisto in these endless woods. He should have been at Red Fountain Academy long ago. So what could be powerful enough to destroy the armor I gave him? The one that protected him from death once?

It suddenly becomes clear to me: Callisto is in grave danger!

Before I realize it, or my senses can return, I break free from the shards that protected me. The magic around me trembles as tears freely roll out from my eyes, cold, as if they knew something I didn't.

Without hesitation, I slash through the darkness, deformed birds. Their black, sticky blood splatters my body. I ignore the discomfort and burning sensation on my skin. How could I not, when my second chance at love is slipping through my fingers like the sands of time?

But without the voices of the stone, my search seemed futile. I feel like I have no choice but to return to the ground, to reconnect with the stone.

I slowly lower myself until I touch the ground, as more and more stone arrows pull enemies from the sky. I can hear the whispers again, but a feeling of fear accompanies me.

Before anything can happen, I already react, almost automatically.

“Stone Dome!“

A thick layer of rocks and dirt forms a sphere around me. As it builds up, something emerges from the undergrowth. With sharp, glistening, baring fangs, fierce dark red eyes, and a snarling, distorted wolf's face, a dark monster lunges at me.

Cold sweat runs down my neck; my eyes must have been infinitely wide open as my life flashed before my eyes: from my first thought and my first love to the kiss Callisto and I shared just this morning.

A breeze blows, and the smell of decay and death hangs in the air. It takes a moment for me to realize I'm still alive. But then my gaze focuses, and I see the wolf before me, disfigured by dark magic.

"By the Leviathans, you're ugly," I mutter, rather annoyed. The dome was barely fast enough to grab the monster by the neck and save my life. I gently pat its head. "A face not even a mother could love."

“Fist of Stone.“

My fist is covered in a thick layer of stone. I grin at the monster, wink, and then thrust my fist forward. A crunching sound cracks through the air, bones break, and the monster shatters, while large maggots burst from it until it disappears.

But wolves never hunt alone. 

I let my magical energy explode, shattering the dome. Hundreds of screams immediately erupt.

Quickly, I fly up from the rubble, a piece of stone in my hand. I can hear the whispering again. It's barely audible, but it's there. Just enough to lead me to Callisto.

Racing across the sky, I ignore everything and continue battling the sparrows and wolves until nothing is pursuing me anymore.

I beat the enemies, just in time to catch a glimpse of Callisto's fluffy hair through an opening in the treetops. I feel an urge to shout, to scream that I'm there. However, I notice he's not alone; he appears to be talking anxiously with someone I cannot see. But then it happens.

A ray of sunlight broke through, revealing something in the unknown person's hand: a blade glinting in the yellowish light. Before I knew it, blood was dripping onto the floor.

"NO!" I scream.

My voice rose so high it cracked. I saw the unknown person looking around, but their face was hidden behind a black face mask. But a purple strand of hair fell out. That was all I saw before I crashed right through the treetops.

[Masterlist]

[zaceouiswriting]

Fairy Prince - Hearts of Leviathans - Ch. 61

Character: Sky x male reader, Riven x male reader, Brandon x male reader, (OC) Callisto x male reader

Universe: Somewhere in Winx Club/Saga

Warnings: None

(Callisto)

(Brandon)

(Riven)

The air is charged, heated by the battle and the thick mana in the air. Sweat collects on my forehead and runs down my back. Every movement feels like torture, as if blades are cutting through every fiber of my body.

“We can’t hold on much longer!” Galan’s voice sounded weak, frightened, and breathless.

I know this as well as he does. Despite my vast experience, our weakened forces cannot withstand the hordes of darkness. The ground has been torn open; boulders and rocks lie everywhere. Stone pillars, some sharp and some blunt, tower over the endless battlefield, yet it seems as if we have not overcome the hordes at all.

"I'm aware, brother," I murmur, "but what else can we do? Look at the fairies, they're afraid of their own shadows!"

Galan turns briefly to observe the fairies cowering in the courtyard of their school. The teachers around them are desperately trying to fend off the hordes of darkness attacking from the air, dripping from the rooftops, and entering through the other side of the building.

When our eyes meet, I see the Galan who grew up with me, before the Black Hand assassins nearly killed him and before I went to war. He looks scared and innocent. I knew I couldn't let him end up as fertilizer for the planet like so many of my soldiers. His eyes beg me to do something.

I take a deep breath and hope that my old charm will help me again.

"Is that what you want?" I ask loudly enough for everyone to hear over the horde's loud footsteps. "For dark magic to overtake us? To yield to the dark desires of a few and let innocent people suffer or even die?"

Every now and then, I let stone shards fly, another stone pillar break out of the ground, or fall from the sky.

But then I turn around and look directly at the fairies. "If that's all you all want for yourselves and everyone else in the magical dimension, then you're not worthy of being called fairies, let alone guardian fairies, because you'd be nothing more than cowards!"

I let my gaze wander back and forth among the many fairies, who stare fearfully and are rooted to the ground. None moved. My faith in these girls, who would one day protect entire worlds, shattered right then.

“Brother, look out!”

Galan's panicked voice echoes in my ears, sending a sense of disappointment through me. I spin around and see only the fists of one of the giant monsters moving toward me far too quickly. Desperately, I try to summon another spike, but the enemy's fist comes down far too quickly.

Swallowing my pride, I look over at my little brother, whose eyes are as wide as dinner plates. Fear and horror sparkle in the unshed tears in his eyes. I miscalculated my judgment; perhaps I deserve this death on the battlefield, as it should have been so long ago.

I mouth “sorry” to my little brother before closing my eyes and stretching out my arms, challenging the approaching death.

One. Two. Three. Four. Five. 

But even after I'd counted to five, nothing happened. I stand there, confused, almost angry. I've not only prepared myself for a brutal death, but I've also set aside my pride for it.

As I slowly open my eyes, I see something I truly wasn't expecting. All the monsters of darkness around us are bound with black, shadowy chains.

With wide eyes, I look around and see someone flying in the sky. Black and purple wings flutter softly. Nacterna. The Fairy of Shadows.

"Finally!" I yell excitedly like a proud coach. 

But when Nacterna looks down and smiles, my eyes widen even more, and I press my lips together, pulling them inward as I quickly look away.

“Is something wrong?” I hear her worried voice.

Despite her genuine concern, I can't look up at her, or I'd burst out laughing like a madman. But then I hear her wings fluttering closer, and when I look around, I can't hold it back any longer.

A deep, booming laugh escapes my throat, and my chest rumbles. I can't breathe.

Nacterna visibly moves away, confusion etched into her soft features.

I wanted to say something, anything at all, but I couldn't. How could I tell her that I'm laughing at her extremely skimpy clothes, which she's never worn before? Just thinking about it makes me laugh even harder.

“What?” asked Nacterna, now quite annoyed, and rolled her eyes.

I point at her clothes, move my hand up and down, and try to put into words why I couldn't stop laughing.

"Your clothes!" I finally howl out. "Couldn't you have worn something longer? I can see almost everything!"

For a moment, I want to fall over and roll around on the floor, laughing out loud. I feel dizzy, probably from my rapid breathing. But what else can I do? It looks so silly on her! She always wears long dresses and barely shows more than her arms and shoulders, or maybe the occasional bit of leg, but now I can see almost everything!

A violent blow and a stabbing pain give me pause. She stares at me with anger, but there's a small, one-sided grin on her lips, curling dangerously slowly.

"I can't do anything about it, asshole!" She giggles, shakes her head, and flicks her wrist, making the shadowy arm that hit me disappear.

"I'm sorry," I mumble. "But it just looks so... weird. You look so good in your usual dresses, but a two-piece bikini? Maybe it would have looked good at the pool, but here!" I spread my arms and gesture at the situation we're in, with all the darkness around us.

She blushes slightly, even though we both know she can't control it. It's just the manifestation of her abilities. As she grows stronger, she'll be covered with more fabric.

"I'm so sorry, it just shocked me." I clear my throat and become serious again. "Let's do it! We'll clean the floor with these monsters!"

Without hesitation, Nacterna turns around and immediately lets the darkness consume small pieces of the battlefield, spikes, arms, and chains. She's powerful even as a first-level fairy.

I can finally breathe a sigh of relief and check on Julian, only to see dozens of other fairies transform into their fairy wings and battle gear right before my eyes and fly over to help Nacterna, Galan, and me.

"Perhaps you did inspire them after all... although I must admit it sounded crude, I've heard better speeches from you through the stone of our homeworld," Julian chuckles playfully, his gaze steady as our eyes meet.

I stare at it for a moment too long, roll my eyes, and flick my hand. The ground shakes, and then a rectangular piece of ground breaks free, catapulting Julian into the schoolyard. He crashes violently to the ground, destroying a fountain whose water splashes onto the floor.

“Are you okay?” I call across the yard, probably sounding way too smug, but honestly, I don’t care.

Gazing across the courtyard, I wait for a response. But then a hand emerges from the rubble, and a thumb rises. Laughing, I turn away from him, unable to take the matter seriously.

Just as I turn around, dozens of fairies fly by, even Musa, Flora, and Stella, though the last one still looks at me with disgust. But none of that matters at the moment, since our lives are at stake.

But contrary to what most of them might think, my eyes don't follow their skimpy outfits but rather Bloom, who is walking out of the courtyard through a gap in the wall. Her gaze briefly flickers to mine.

She didn't look well. Her skin was a sickly gray, and her sky-blue eyes seemed dull. Worst of all, however, was the fluctuating mana in her body. I knew immediately that someone incompetent had tried to repair the damage to her mana lines and nodes.

I wanted to warn her, to scream, but she averted her gaze before I could. Still, I know I can't let her use her magic. So I run.

I take my feet in my hands and try to reach her before that mindless dragon girl can be as foolish as I fear.

When my gaze snaps back to her, I realize it's already too late. Flames appear in her hands, and she hurls fireballs, but when they explode, the flames spread everywhere. They care neither for friend nor foe, for she is clearly neither trained nor has mastered her out-of-control magic.

“Stop!” I scream, but Bloom seems to be in too deep already.

Only when I catch her eye for a second do I realize the dragon has at least partially overtaken her already. Her eyes are narrowed to slits, and the aura of the ruby-red dragon envelops her body like a second skin.

But then it happened. Her magic spiraled completely out of control.

I come to a sudden halt, watching in horror as a firestorm threatens everything and everyone. There is no way it will leave anyone alive.

“Stone armor!” A second later, my body is covered with a thick layer of stone.

Now protected, I start running again. I can't let her destroy everything, even if it's not her fault but the fault of the person who put her in this state. It's truly disgusting how horribly this person has ruined Bloom's entire body.

As I quickly approach her, things only get worse: Bloom leans over slightly, her arms outstretched, and spikes of fire dart around her like dragon flames. Slowly but surely, the Leviathan gains control, likely to mend Bloom's damaged body.

Using the ground again, I launch myself into the air and crash back down right next to Bloom. I harness the energy from the impact, with a bit of magic, to create walls around us, as my mana supply is already running low.

With the fury of an ancient dragon, Bloom's head snapped toward me, baring her transforming fangs. The dragon is truly taking over her body, and in her condition, her soul would likely be shattered or consumed by the dragon in no time.

"Bloom, you have to go back!" I roar, holding up my hands in what I hope is a calming gesture. "If you lose control, I can't take the dragon's heart!" I growl, silently begging the Leviathan inside me to help me, but it refuses any further help in a smug voice.

Without hesitation, the partially transformed dragon Bloom sends all her flames at me. Before I know it, my stone armor melts into burning lava, but I keep strengthening it to prevent it from getting to my skin.

Despite the amplification, the pain is almost unbearable, as if my skin were melting with the stone and my bones were crackling under the heat.

“Ahhh,” I start to scream, the agony clearly audible, but what can I do?

My gaze rises, and I see the sky through the open hole. And even though my vision is blurred by pain and heat, I plant my feet securely on the ground, stay upright, and use the swirling magic to cover the sky with a stone layer.

Darkness slowly envelops us both, illuminated only by Bloom's endless flames.

Once the roof is sealed, I'll try to strengthen my armor to wait out her magic. Hopefully, the dome will consume all the mana within, since her body couldn't withstand either this transformation or the magic. Everything will collapse. But the pain is almost too great.

I'm sure my screams echo even across the noisy battlefield, but I can't give up, I can't allow any more people to die!

Suddenly, I feel a strange surge of power inside me. The stone layer is melting because I can't feed it mana fast enough, as the pulsing energy disrupts all my attempts to use magic. Even the dragon controlling Bloom seems to notice, as its fire grows hotter and hotter.

It feels like I'm being boiled alive. Although I can no longer hear my screams, the pain in my vocal cords tells me a different story.

It's slow, but the pulsing gets faster, more intense, until my fairy core feels like it's about to explode.

Until it does.

A glaring light blinds me, and an exploding sound plunges the battlefield into silence.

A breeze blows around me, giving me a strange feeling, as if the explosion had catapulted me into the air.

When I finally regain my sight and look around, my heart stops. Sweat runs down my neck, and half my body begins to tremble. I feel a rush of air because I'm actually floating in the air. But for some reason, I'm neither rising nor falling.

I look around in complete confusion, my heart stopping and the left side of my brain aching as I see long, narrow wings protruding obtrusively from my back. Unlike the girl's butterfly wings, mine look like a pair of dragonfly wings.

When I look down again, I see Bloom lying on the ground. I flap my wings desperately, trying to fly, although I have to admit, it's pretty hard to control them. Every centimeter forward almost makes me crash. But after a while, I reach Bloom anyway. Her chest is barely moving, her breathing is shallow, and her heartbeat is slow.

I lift her and press her to my chest. Only then do I notice my new clothes, a harness that barely covers any of my upper body—neither my pecs nor my abs—and my arms aren't covered either. My biceps and triceps are visible. Further down, I'm wearing only a piece of cloth as underwear, and over it, pteruges—leather flaps around my waist held in place by a thick belt.

A burning heat of embarrassment rises in my face. Nevertheless, I fly with Bloom to the teachers, place her carefully before them, and immediately return to the front, my mana restored and ready to crush some heads.

[Masterlist]

[zaceouiswriting]

Fairy Prince - Hearts of Leviathans - Ch. 60

Character: Sky x male reader, Riven x male reader, Brandon x male reader, (OC) Callisto x male reader

Universe: Somewhere in Winx Club/Saga

Warnings: None

(Callisto)

The wind whips around me as we run through the dense enchanted forests, for the main street is full of these corrupted monsters, whose dark bodies betray the ominous origins of their existence.

Every now and then, I glance back at the capital of Magix and check the integrity of the stone walls. They seem to be holding up against the onslaught; perhaps the other stone commanders of the immortal Black Stone Army are keeping the enemies at bay.

“Why didn’t you send that stone man through the main street so we could get to the schools faster?” Callisto asks. 

His question is more than justified.

"Because we don't have time to defeat these thousands of grotesque, dark monsters roaming the streets."

He lets out a sound of approval, but suddenly he disappears from the corner of my eye. As I look back, I couldn't help but chuckle. Without hesitation, he walks over to Galan. I hadn't even noticed how Galan had stopped. Callisto put Galan onto his back to give him a piggyback ride.

I shake my head as I observe Callisto lifting my little brother's legs higher and running to catch up too quickly. I watch in pure confusion. He's never been this fast before. It makes me kind of suspicious.

“I haven’t been lazy these last few months,” Callisto smiles back, boastful as ever.

"Sometimes I just want you to push yourself into the dirt when you grin at me like that," I say, breathing exaggeratedly.

When I hear his deep laugh, a warmth flows through me, and for a brief moment, my heart stops. Luckily, there was nothing to see. If we hadn't been running, the blush on my cheeks would have been embarrassing.

Every now and then, Julian has to smash a straggler, but we learned early on that this isn't the right way to kill them, as they simply explode into maggot-like little monsters and reform the soldier in a matter of moments. Still, it gives us enough time to get past them.

We're approaching Alfea. In the distance, I make out a glittering shield made of pure magic. It's probably the headmistress and teachers desperately trying to keep these gruesome enemies away from their school. Just as I'm about to point it out, the shield falters.

"Shit!" I curse quietly. Although I hate this school and its rampant sexism, they don't deserve to be trampled upon by creatures of darkness.

Thinking about it for a moment, they actually might deserve it, but fighting a fairy corrupted by darkness is probably harder than simply protecting them, even if they don't deserve it.

But just as this thought crosses my mind, my blood runs cold. The flickering barrier suddenly dissolves, leaving Alfea unprotected.

“All over the second class, fairies are on missions right now,” murmurs Callisto, who has probably just seen the same thing as I.

A cold shiver runs down my spine. Although I wished those arrogant fairies their doom, I didn't mean it like this... or at all! Just because my anger boiled over doesn't mean fate had to be so damn cruel!

“Julian, catapult position!“ 

The person-like stone commander comes to an abrupt stop.

“Ready, Your Majesty!” He announces, his feet dug deep into the earth, the gate shields braced against each other on the ground.

"Stone Pillar!" I command. The ground beneath our feet begins to shake. The commander's fleshy face expresses nothing but confidence. He's just like the servants in the old magic school my family built, but he's made of black stone, or rather, his insides have become black stone, virtually indestructible.

Suddenly, a stone pillar rises diagonally from the ground beneath Julian's feet. He is catapulted into the air, flying like a bird despite his supposed weight, as if his stone body were as light as a feather.

"Callisto, give me Galan; you go to Red Fountain Academy, and I'll help Alfea!" I say to him, holding his shoulder and looking into his deep, brown eyes.

"Armor of the hearthstone!" A layer of metal armor encases Callisto, light as mithril but hard as orichalcum. "This armor protects you from all forms of magic and can save your life once in combat with weapons. Afterward, it disappears."

Callisto stares at me, seemingly astonished. "Why didn't you do this sooner?"

I place my hand on his cheek, an amused chuckle escaping from my chest. "I can only cast this spell once a day, and you need it more than I do."

Without hesitation, I press our heads together. "Please be careful, Callisto. We live in difficult times, and I couldn't bear losing you."

Callisto grabs my chin and gives me his signature arrogant grin. I want to punch him in the face. "I would never risk leaving you," he murmurs against my lips. "I love you!"

Without waiting, he kisses my lips. The softness of his lips and the taste of caramel on his tongue make me dizzy. I didn't realize how much I'd missed it in the past few months since our first kiss on Eraklyon, when I was healing from my dark magic poisoning.

A clearing of the throat tears us from this moment of pure bliss. Galan stares into my eyes as I open mine, still settled on Callisto's back.

„I love you, brother… not as much as you love pretty boy over here--" Galan tugs on Callisto's ears-- "But can you stop now? You know the fate of this world rests on our shoulders and all that shit.“

Galan's discomfort is clearly audible between his words. He even wobbled slightly on Callisto's back, and his left ear twitched.

Shaking my head, I grab Galan and finally place him on my back. "I'm sorry, Callisto, but Galan here—" I pat my little brother condescendingly on the leg—"doesn't know what love feels like. He's barely off our mother's skirt."

I feel Galan hitting me on the back and whining, but I don't listen to him.

I lean forward and give Callisto one last chaste kiss. "See you later, handsome," I murmur coquettishly against his lips.

Callisto, on the other hand, grins back, kisses me on the tip of my nose, winks, turns around, and runs off. Leaving me behind, stunned.

“Asshole!” I shout after him, feeling offended by his rude behavior.

Callisto turns around and runs backward. 

"I love you too," he yells back, grinning like the idiot he is. "If I save Red Fountain Academy, I expect you to get a reward!" 

He laughs, turns around, and runs faster, probably knowing I'm about to crush him between the rocks.

“URK,” Galan choked angrily.

"Oh, shut up, you little gnome," I mutter, annoyed, giggling, and tightening my grip on Galan's legs. "Now hold on tight, we're going a little faster than before."

I don't even give him time before I jump up using the ground and, with the help of magic, catapult myself into the air—not high, but farther through the forest as if I could have run. After all, I have to conserve my magic to fight these grotesque monsters.

Galan's body was stiff, his arms wrapped around my neck. It makes me giggle. My little brother has such a big mouth sometimes, but when it comes to heights, he turns back into a baby, which is kind of cute. However, I then felt a rumble in my back that made me feel sick. 

“I swear, if you puke on my back, I’ll throw you off when we’re in the air,” I threaten the little goblin on my back.

“I’m sorry,” Galan murmurs, “it’s hard.”

I gently pat his leg, hoping it would calm him down a little.

"Keep an eye on Alfea, okay? Don't look anywhere else."

“I’ll try,” Galan tried to say, but he gagged again and swallowed audibly.

From experience, I know we have to act quickly before he actually empties his stomach onto my back and over my shoulder.

I channel more of my magic, land, and press my feet deeper into the ground. An explosion echoes through the forest, and Galan and I fly high into the sky again.

“Hold on for a little longer, we’re almost—”

My gaze lands on Alfea, where Julian is desperately trying to defend himself against thousands of foes. The barely trained fairies are battling: fire, light, music, and everything else is soaring through the sky, but no enemy stays down for long. The small, insect-like creatures that the enemies burst into swiftly return to their original forms or even transform into different foes.

From far above, I can clearly see the injured at the back of the school, one of the towers already destroyed, the gate shattered, and Julian's shield, said to be unbreakable, vibrating as it is attacked from all sides at once, some of the giant headless enemies pounding on it with their massive fists.

"Galan, I know you're weak right now, but has anyone taught you how to use a magical attack spell?"

“Yes,” Galan answers quickly, only to then groan in pain.

“Then get ready, we need everyone!”

Finally, I descend and gather my mana again. The particles around me turn gray and brown. I feel the Leviathan within me growing stronger, transferring a small portion of its power to me. It had probably sensed that most of my mana had been used on the stone wall protecting Magix's capital city.

I grip Galan tighter, pull my limbs closer to me, and like a cannonball, we crash into the ground. The ground crackles, breaks apart, flies around, and debris crashes down on the enemies, killing even the small insect-like parts—not all of them, but enough.

"Your Majesty!" Julian cries out loudly, exhausted beyond measure. The smile on his face suddenly disappears as he collapses.

When his body hit the ground, the ground conformed perfectly to Julian, so it didn't hurt too much.

Shortly after landing, I set Galan down and help him stand. I extend my hand and summon a large, long stone, which crumbles at the sides until only a solid metal rod remains, which I hand to my little brother.

"Here, baby bro, it doesn't have a magical core, but it should be enough to save you some mana when casting spells... You need to deal with those hordes for a moment. I have to check on Julian."

I pat Galan on the shoulder and nod in the direction where the hordes of darkness are gathering again.

As I walk away from my little brother and toward Julian, I hear him muttering curses under his breath. I may have to wash his mouth out with soap later, but for now, he's my only hope. He's the only person I know who has as much mana as I do, maybe not as powerful, but that shouldn't be that much of a problem.

Although I hear the satisfying crackle of magic behind me, I ignore it and walk right up to Julian. Carefully, I place my hand on his chest and search his gaze. 

"Are you really exhausted already?" I ask him with a teasing tone, hoping to lighten the mood.

Julian scoffed. "Don't joke, Your Majesty!" He challenged me and tried to stand up, but no part of his body listened.

"It's my fault, Julian. I'm sorry. I can't combine my fairy mana with the spell yet. Unfortunately, I don't have my wings yet. I can't use most of my normal spells with the tiny amount of fairy mana I can use."

I gingerly run my fingers over his armor. It is clean and intact, just as it was ten years ago when he was still a normal person. I saw him fight, protect, and teach before he agreed to sacrifice his life to become one of our Blackstone soldiers. He had his whole life ahead of him, but he chose to wait at the heart of our planet and the power of my family until he was called.

“Don’t be so hard on yourself, Your Majesty,” Julian murmurs, his eyes shining with admiration.

A light blush creeps onto my cheeks as I see this strange, intense adoration in his eyes. I haven't witnessed anything like it in a long time, except with my friends, even though some of our relationships have been somewhat rocky due to my actions.

"I wish I could be stronger again to use my other cores, but the beating of my fairy core tells me something is wrong."

“Then listen to it,” Julian interjects.

"But I fear losing control... You have no idea what would happen if that occurred."

Julian scoffs slightly. "Even if you cracked this world, it would still be better than being overpowered by dark magic, wouldn't it?" He raised his eyebrow questioningly.

His question made me pause. He wasn't wrong. But would it be right to risk the lives of hundreds of millions of people just to end this conflict as quickly as possible?

A loud, earth-shattering explosion tore me from my thoughts. My head snaps to its source. There, amidst the hordes of darkness, stands my tiny brother. Thunder rains down like plasma cannons, leaving small craters.

“At least one of you doesn’t let your fears control you,” Julian remarks.

I glare at him. "Shut it, Stone Boy!"

Although I tried to remain calm and cool, I couldn't hide a grin. I cracked my fingers and looked toward the ruined gates of Alfea. This won't be an easy fight.

[Masterlist]

[zaceouiswriting]

Fairy Prince - Hearts of Leviathans - Ch.59

Character: Sky x male reader, Riven x male reader, Brandon x male reader, (OC) Callisto x male reader

Universe: Somewhere in Winx Club/Saga

Warnings: None

(Callisto)

Loud gasps erupt around us as the Peacekeepers of Magix surround me with their weapons drawn. Nothing I didn't expect, as they are trained to protect the city from all magic so no one gets hurt.

"You're under arrest!" one of them said. Their faces were all hidden behind helmets; only their eyes were visible.

"Callisto, be ready," I tell him, maintaining eye contact with him past the city's peacekeepers. "Stone sword!"

A moment later, Callisto is holding a heavy stone sword. But I see reluctance in his eyes as I stare at him sternly. He visibly sighs, his chest expanding as he takes a deep breath. Suddenly, he raises the sword and presses it to the neck of one of the peacekeepers.

"I advise you to keep your hands off him," he says angrily.

Instead of retreating, Callisto is attacked by two of the keepers from the side. However, he wins with just a few swift blows, as his sword is heavier than their plasma weapons. Although it's quite difficult to keep the sword from breaking, as my fairy magic is now reduced to its bare minimum, and I've already built a stone wall around the city, I somehow manage it.

“Call him back!” orders the same peacekeeper who first threatened me.

But I only chuckle darkly and grin at the man. "You won't hurt me, but please call the cavalry. We can use them on the monsters behind the stone walls, and maybe you can then do your one job, evacuating the residents."

They look at me in amazement. Probably shocked that I know about the 'cavalry.' Although it's not really a secret, no one likes to talk about it. The "best of the best," as the Magix Council likes to call them, are just as good as the rest.

The keepers exchange a few uncertain glances. For a moment, it looks like I'll have to persuade them to call the cavalry. But then I feel a stabbing pain in my chest, just below my heart, where my magical circulation is centered. The next moment, all I see is blood on the face of the guard directly in front of me.

"Sorry," I creak, trying not to collapse. "I forgot to break my magical connection to the stone wall... it won't hold much longer." I look toward the north wall. "They'll break through any moment," I whisper, my voice dripping with terror.

I've just finished speaking when I fall into the arms of the Peacekeeper and am almost impaled by his weapon.

Suddenly, a loud smashing sound echoes through the streets, quickly followed by several more crashes. I know it's debris flying into the surrounding buildings.

"These creatures are evil, born of dark magic," I cough, my voice barely audible over the blood pooling in my mouth. "Call the paladins, or we'll all die."

I see the horrified looks on all these peacekeepers' faces as I push myself back to my feet. It's been a long time since Magix paladins have been summoned, and these peacekeepers are clearly frightened.

None of them wanted to be the one summoning the paladins. But ultimately, it wasn't necessary, because I suddenly sensed a change in the magic around us.

I summon stone around my arm, push aside the weapons around me, reach for Galan, and place him behind me, creating a massive stone shield protecting us both.

A shimmer of pure light burst from the sky for a brief moment, revealing the soaring island where the Universities of Magix are located—almost inaccessible without an invitation. But as soon as the clouds wandered back, the islands vanished completely, as if they had never been there in the first place. And as the light fades, a unit of about fifty paladins stands in their place. Their armor glitters white and silver, except for one who shines almost as brightly as the light before, gold with black lines—the unit's commander.

The commander strides toward Galan and me. In just a few long steps, he stands before us. An imposing figure, with a large shield in his left hand and a hammer that ordinary people would need both hands to lift, held in a colossal, almost comically large hand. His face is obscured by a great helmet topped with a feather, and two thin strips of cloth dangle over his breastplate. Only his earthly eyes are visible.

"We've sensed the use of illicit magic in the capital," the man's raspy voice announces, rough as a gravel road someone has trodden upon. "And the signature has led me to you, young man."

He raises his massive warhammer threateningly and experimentally strikes my stone shield. Although the stone moved, it didn't break. At least I can hold it steady.

The commander whistles softly, almost mockingly. But then his gaze turns to Galan. Anger rises within me as I see him looking at my little brother. How dare he look away and stare at my little brother with his greedy gaze? I feel my anger transforming into something deeper, more dangerous; my mind is slipping dangerously close to battle insanity.

But suddenly, the man disappeared. The anger vanished as I was too stunned to even think. Yet, for some strange reason, I can still see the feather of his helmet stirring in the fetid wind, the smell of decay hanging in the air.

When I lower my gaze, I find the commander kneeling with his head bowed.

“I deepest apologies, Your Highness,” the tall man stammered submissively.

At that moment, something clicked in my head. "Sir Aldebreth of Oringten?" I asked him, rather amused, at finding a landsman here.

The man slowly removes his helmet. A large scar is visible, stretching from the top left of his head, over his still-shiny eye, to the top right of his lip, cutting his lip a little wider open than it should have been.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” the man admits proudly, “it is an honor that a man of your rank remembers someone as lowly as I.”

Hearing his humble words, I let out an ironic grunt. Despite my continued anger, I place my hand on his shoulder and chuckle softly.

"You're lucky my weak grandfather was in charge when you decided to become a paladin rather than one of our elite units. After all, you were supposed to be my guard captain."

Just as my mocking words have come from my lips, Galan gasps behind me.

"It's him!" Galan shouts loudly and euphorically. He had obviously not seen the man's eyes on him yet. "He always gave us sweets, remember, brother?"

Galan begins to pull on my clothes, revealing his innocent, childlike side once again, something I haven't seen since the attempted assassination.

"He took care of me in the first few years after I lost my voice. He came back from Red Fountain Academy whenever he could," he whispers in my ear now, his tone convincing yet strangely soothing, as if someone were speaking to a dangerous apex predator.

Maybe he saw his look and is now trying to save his old friend. Honestly, I wouldn't have minded. I might have been angry, but killing a loyal citizen of Gyonos just because he looked at my brother would be too much even for me.

Still, I can't forget the malice in his eyes before he realized who we were. Maybe I should give him a little slap or something, just to get this anger out. Paladins are about as strong as a fifth-rank fairy, but since Sir Aldebreth is a commander, he's probably as strong as a sixth-rank or maybe even seventh-rank fairy, which is the end of the power spectrum for a normal fairy.

And since I'm only a first-class fairy at this point, even if a guardian fairy, I should hold back so as not to anger anyone who might spank me, as my magical and aura cores are no longer functional.

An explosion in the distance caught my attention. Looking more sternly at the paladins, I know I have to be more direct. 

"How about we focus on the problems around us? These... monsters are much more dangerous than you might think."

Sir Aldebreth stands up rolls his shoulders, and cracks his head.

"We're not here for them, but for you," he says slowly, emphasizing the 'for you' part. "The use of magic in the capital of Magix is ​​strictly forbidden, and if you don't hand yourself over willingly, we may be forced to forcibly arrest you and imprison you in the deep-sea prisons of Andros."

I instinctively tense up, feeling so obviously threatened, especially by one of my fellow countrymen. To calm myself, I take a deep breath and use the movement to mask grabbing Galan's arm, preparing to defend myself if necessary.

"Are you sure you want to approach this the way you've been doing so far?" I question him sternly. "The arrest of a crown prince while on Magix could irreparably damage the ties between the crown prince's planet and the magical capital planet," I say calmly but firmly. I'm not trying to sound threatening but merely warning of the possible consequences.

Before Sir Aldebreth could speak, another paladin stepped before him. "We are not here to take orders from a petty prince. We are the protectors of Magix and its laws!" he boastfully declared.

"If you ignore the threat of the dark monsters any longer, the capital will be empty," I warn them again of the very real threat. "But if you think this dispute is more important than the lives of the people you've sworn to protect, then go ahead!"

I turn my head slightly so I can barely see Galan from the corner of my eye. I smile gently at him. "This may feel awkward, but don't break our connection."

Without letting him say a word, I extend the palm of my free hand toward the ground. "Soldiers of the Deep Rock," I call, summoning my stone soldiers again, but not just any stone soldiers this time. "Perfect Shield, Spear of Vanguishing, and Archer of Burning Stars, I summon you three to aid me against the Threads!" I command the spell to deliver to me the three most powerful stone soldiers I could have summoned when I still had all of my powers. I know the price I must pay, but it is minimal considering what's at stake.

Despite the spell, nothing happens. The paladins even joked that their powerful auras would neutralize any spell in their vicinity. But Sir Aldebreth remains strangely still. His jaw is tense, and his eyes are wide open, as if he sees something the others didn't, almost as if he sensed the power flowing through me into the ground.

It wasn't long after seeing his fear that the ground began to shake and crack. Three pairs of hands emerge and, with a Herculean effort, pull themselves out of the small ravine.

Three giant soldiers, life-like, stand before us, quite unlike the stone soldiers I summoned months before. They kneel before me, submissively.

"How may we serve, Your Majesty?" they ask in unison. Their deep voices form a threatening symphony.

I clear my throat, look down at them, smile gently, and ask them to stand up straight. They follow my command and stand at attention.

"The men behind you, who call themselves Protectors of their People. An order founded long after your sacrifice for eternal service seems to have forgotten their true purpose," I explain, clearly giving some jibes toward the Paladins. "I command you, Commander of Spears, Erukial, and you, Commander of Archers, Sebiryan, to destroy all monsters of darkness in and around the city. Once you have wiped them all out, ensure that none of them ever crosses the makeshift stone walls again!"

Without hesitation, Erukial dashes through the fleeing crowd, while Sebiryan leaps from rooftop to rooftop, his massive bow made from the bones of the Stone Leviathan in one hand.

As Erukial and Sebiryan run to carry out my order, my gaze returns to the third, waiting commander.

"And you, Julian—one of the younger commanders, who sacrificed his life for eternal service only a decade ago—the perfect shield. Don't let these Guardians of Peace fall to me. If necessary, punish them for their inactivity in their primary mission or if they dare to attack."

Julian nods and raises his gate shields. As he slams them together, a barrier appears around us.

The paladins' eyes widen when they see the massive barrier around us. But they were evidently not intimidated, because one of them, the same one who had stepped before Sir Aldebreth, drew his sword.

My eyes widen in shock as I see this man's utter stupidity. Either he's a complete idiot or he just has a death wish.

I hear Sir Aldebreth warning the other paladin, and when that paladin actually raises his blade to attack the barrier, even shouting at him to stop. But the other paladin doesn't hold his ground. Instead, his blade glows with yellow flames, his aura strengthens the blood, as he calls out the name of the Phoenix Leviathan. That's when I realize this idiot is from Solaria, Stella's homeworld.

I feel the anger rising within me like deadly flames, and I wish I could fight them and put them in their place. That will take a few years, but when I can, I will.

But then I see the aura flames engulf the perfect barrier, and the paladin's sword crashes into it. The pressure must be high, but nothing happens.

"When I get through this barrier, I will kill that shield bearer and throw you, brat, into the dirt where you belong!" With a maniacal laugh, the paladin strikes the barrier with ferocity.

My left eye twitched; never in my life had I been so insulted by an insignificant soldier.

For a brief moment, memories of the battlefields I experienced in my early teens flash through my mind, but they disappear as quickly as they came.

I stare at the insolent paladin, witnessing his aura melting back into his weapon. 

My summoned soldier raises his gate shields and tears them apart, shattering the barrier. He raises his right arm and slams the right side of the gate shield into the paladin's side. The force of the impact catapults the paladin away, not far enough to fly into the nearest wall, but far enough to shatter on the street, his shining armor dragging across the ground.

As I listen to the satisfying sound, I close my eyes. A smile plays on my lips. But when I open them again, I meet Sir Aldebreth's gaze. He seems stunned, but a knowing, fearful gleam dances in his dark eyes.

Julian, with his heavy armor and imposing physique, in addition to his status as a humanoid stone soldier, caused the ground to tremble slightly with every step. The danger of being hit became more apparent the closer he got to the prone paladin. Fury waves him off, his personality, like that of the other commanders and generals, remaining fully intact.

No sooner does he step in front of the prone paladin than he raises both gate shield sides. "Perhaps in your next life you'll remember to respect your superiors!" Julian announces, just before he lets his gate shields crash down.

I watch with anticipation, wishing for nothing more than to see this insolent man crushed by the ancient gate shields that no one before Julian could carry.

A gust of air stirs up dust, obscuring my view. But as the dust settles, I grit my teeth. The gate shields haven't crushed the paladin as I'd hoped. Instead, a large sword and a shield just barely block the gate shields.

„I can’t let you do this!“ Sir Aldebreth’s voice announces, only fueling my anger.

“If you do not step away, Sir Aldebreth, your disloyalty will have consequences!”

"My loyalty is unbroken, Your Majesty! To the Order of Magix!"

Those few words sealed his fate. With cold fury, I order Julian to step back, which he does without hesitation. As I stare at the two paladins, mana flows through my body, illuminating my eyes with its blue glow.

"I hereby proclaim that you, Everion Aldebreth, are forever forbidden to set foot on the planet of Gyonos. You and your family are stripped of all titles, and the next twelve generations will be honored neither by the planet nor by the royal family. You personally, Everion, are hereby stripped of your birthright to Gyonos citizenship. Hopefully, Magix will provide you with a safe haven, as you no longer have a home."

Silence spreads over us and seemingly over the entire city, but given the significance of this moment, that's likely only an illusion. No one has been banished for hundreds of generations of Gyonos. Our people are proud and loyal, but apparently not everyone is.

Although I can feel Galan stiffen as I still hold his arm, he has no right to speak in this matter, as no one else, except my grandfather, does. And even if my grandfather reverses my decision, I will banish him again once I ascend the throne.

“Your Majesty!” Sir Aldebreth’s voice rings out, but the sound alone unleashes a storm of rage for which I was unprepared.

Pain arises in my left jaw, as if something were stabbing my mouth. I stare at the paladin and see his empty eyes, but they fill me neither with pity nor joy, only with the emptiness left behind by the betrayal.

“One more word from a traitor like you, and I won't be stopping Julian again,” I warn him one last time.

As I turn away from the chaos, I see a single tear rolling down my brother's cheek. I quickly wipe it away and pull him into a tight hug.

"I'm sorry," I murmur into his hair, knowing that he and Everion Aldebreth had been something like friends or confidants.

In return, Galan pats my arm, silently expressing his feelings. It tears open my heart, an indescribable pain that is somehow also comforting.

“I don’t interrupt fraternal meetings easily, but we have other problems,” Callisto interrupts Galan and me.

I look over at the arrogant asshole who stole my heart. His face is ashen, his gaze directed skyward. I follow his gaze; the manta ray-like monsters fly over our heads, but on the horizon, there's something bigger. Much bigger.

"It's flying toward Red Fountain Academy and Alfea," I whisper, worried. "We have to go and warn them. They're probably fighting right now!"

Frantically, I look around, making sure the other two commanders have cleared the streets of those disgusting monsters. Seeing nothing, I nod to Julian. "Follow me!"

It will take a while to reach the two schools on foot, but we hope to arrive in time; at least, we can eliminate the stragglers along the way.

[Masterlist]

[zaceouiswriting]

Fairy Prince - Hearts of Leviathans - Ch.58

Character: Sky x male reader, Riven x male reader, Brandon x male reader, (OC) Callisto x male reader

Universe: Somewhere in Winx Club/Saga

Warnings: A little sibling violence

Author's Note: Sorry for the late chapter. We're getting close to the end of our series now. There will be maybe four or five more chapters and perhaps one bonus chapter, and that's it.

(Callisto)

The wind still whips my skin, and Callisto's presence burns on my hands. By the time I'm back on level ground, my head is spinning; the ride here to the capital of Magix has been... turbulent at best. I couldn't tear my eyes away from his broad back. He'd actually started working out more. Within a few weeks, he's beginning to resemble Brandon more. I gently touch his right shoulder blade, trailing my hand up to his shoulder and pectoral muscle, while my other hand sneaks around his left side to rest on his now larger abs. His woody, masculine scent remains incredibly strong.

I rest my head against his left shoulder, halfway down, feeling the need to tease Callisto a little. 

"I still can't believe you stole a hoverbike from the academy," I whisper in his ear, tracing circles on his chest.

Callisto's chest rises and falls rapidly. His entire body shakes as a deep chuckle erupts from his throat. 

"I wouldn't call it 'stealing,'" Callisto says calmly. "I borrowed it and will return it as soon as I get back to the academy."

As I stare at Callisto's wide grin, a strange, quivering feeling comes over me. His large hand covers the one I had placed on his chest. For a moment, we just stand there, enjoying each other's closeness and warmth, or so I thought, until I feel something wet on my hand. Refocusing on Callisto, I stare with morbid fascination and slight disgust while this usually cool, arrogant, lovable jerk licks my hand shamelessly.

Even after looking at it for a moment, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I mean, how could I? If I'd told anyone, they wouldn't have believed me; and yet here we are, standing at the entrance to Magix's main street, and this... this big idiot is licking my hand like it's a lollipop!

Suddenly, his gaze turns to me, and a grin appears on his lips. A fucking grin!

"What do you think you're doing?" I ask him in the calmest voice I can muster, but his grin doesn't disappear; his eyes begin to sparkle with open mischief. On the contrary, he becomes bolder and bites me teasingly, not hard enough to really hurt, though.

"You touched me first," he says suddenly, his voice quiet, husky, and far too hot to be used in public. I feel my whole body tremble with desire, yet I swallow it down.

I clear my throat, feeling embarrassed that he had disrupted my composure so easily, even if it was just in my head. I'm sure he noticed how nervous I felt, but like the gentleman he is—at least to me—he didn't mention it.

Pulling my hand from his grasp, he didn't resist but instead let his long tongue glide over my receding skin. Free from his wet, saliva-filled assault, I stare at my mangled hand for a moment before wiping it on his black leather jacket without remorse, even maintaining eye contact. His eyes lowered slightly. Although I inwardly roll my eyes, the look still makes me feel guilty. So, without waiting a moment, I lean forward, kissing his cheek and then his neck before quickly taking his hand and pulling him with me as I bring us into the public eye.

If I hadn't done that, I'm sure it might have turned out in a way neither of us would have been prepared for, even though we've both been longing for it since that day in bed months ago.

Only after a few minutes of running do I realize this wasn't my trip. So I slow down to give Callisto time to catch his breath. But when he stands in front of me, he cups my face on both sides and looks into my eyes for just a second before pressing his lips to mine. The kiss is a battle for dominance and searing to the touch, like a tight dance.

A gasp breaks from my mouth before he engages us both in a fight we both know would have no winner. Despite the heated battle of tongue and lips, he didn't let up, or at least he tried.

Luckily, there were people around us, and their persistent whispering finally forced him to separate us. He straightened up to his full height and looked down at me again.

"Shit," Callisto mutters quietly. "I'm sorry." He runs his hands through his curls. He looks embarrassed, like a child caught in the act in a candy store with his cheeks full of stolen goods.

"Well... that was something," I giggle breathlessly, still dazed by the intensity of the moment. I clear my throat and try to shake it off a little. "Then why did you kidnap me here? If you wanted to devour me, there would have been better places."

Despite my amused and teasing tone, Callisto's cheeks began to glow, and he even closed his eyes, his nose flaring. But when the tips of his ears also turned bright red, I knew he was just terribly embarrassed.

Carefully, I take his hand and draw circles on the back of it. This causes him to open his eyes a crack.

"There you are," I smile at him kindly. I stroke his cheek and feel him leaning against it, and as I sense him seeking contact, a broad smile spreads across my lips.

Callisto sighs contentedly. "I just wanted to take you on our first date," he admits quietly, snuggling closer to my hand.

"So," I slowly pull my hand away from his face, "then go ahead." I raise my hand playfully. "I'm your hostage, so lead the way!"

He stares at me, aghast, but soon a wide grin crosses his lips. 

"Damn right!" he murmurs, pulling me closer to him, moving me so that with every step his left leg is wedged between mine, while he holds an imaginary gun to my head and constantly kisses me on the head whenever someone looks at us too strangely.

A few minutes later, he sat me down at a table in a popular café on the main square. Only a moment later, a waitress came over and handed us menus. We sit there, chatting quietly, caught in the eyes of many. I mean, Callisto is attractive enough to heat up the cheeks of any maiden.

It is a truly perfect moment and a beautiful date, during which Callisto often caresses my hand or cheek, which always elicits the same reaction from those around us: amazement and shy laughter.

Everything went smoothly until the checkout. When Callisto was about to pay, I grabbed his hand harsher than necessary.

“I can pay myself,” I say sternly, but Callisto just laughs.

“But that doesn’t mean you have to,” he replies calmly, his gentle but calculating gaze making my stomach jump.

Just as I'm about to continue arguing, a strange feeling overcomes me, making me turn around. My gaze moves out the floor-to-ceiling window, my chair scrapes across the floor, and before I know it, I'm standing, hastily opening the door, and as the warm wind hits me, I rush outside.

"Hey, brat!" I shout across the square, only to be stared at by a few dozen people, including a face that has no business being there. His eyes are wide with fear, while I squint angrily in his direction.

Before I can say anything else, he runs off, fear evident in every fiber of his being, trembling at the sight of me.

As he left, the same people I'd met on my first day at Magix, and with whom I'd just realized I hadn't had any contact since, came in. Somewhat embarrassed about it, I waved to them as their boss approached me.

“Do you know him?” he asks me, his voice clearly curious, but also a little confused.

"My little brother," I quickly answer. "Someone who shouldn't be here!" I call after Galan. He turns around and almost trips over his own feet, like the clumsy idiot he is.

I shake my head and grin wolfishly, showing two of my sharp upper lateral teeth. A brownish-gray, magical glow suddenly surrounds me. "Stone pillar!"

A stone pillar quickly erupts from the ground, directly in front of Galan. He doesn't have enough time to dodge it. A loud crash is heard, followed by a wailing scream.

I apologize to my old acquaintance and go to my brother. Squatting beside him, I tear his hands away from his face, only to see blood. I exhale shakily; I never wanted to see Galan hurt again. Without looking away from him, I dig effortlessly into the stone floor as if it were cheap sand.

Loosening up the dirt in my hand, I cover his forehead with it and wipe away his tears. 

"Healing Mother Dirt," I whisper softly. Galan sighs with relief quickly after. The wound beneath the dirt is healing slowly, a little faster than if I had let his body heal itself.

For a moment, I caress his face until the dirt hardens, and then I help him back to his feet. Just then, as if he'd been waiting for the right moment, Callisto arrives, a slight grin on his lips but also a concerned twinkle in his eyes that betrays his laid-back persona. Although he tries to act cool, he's far too easy to read, like one of my favorite books... well, "read through" would be too broad a word, since I experience books rather than read them. Still, in a way, whenever I touch him, I experience Callisto too, less than a book but more intensely than I ever imagined.

“What’s going on?” he asks me, his eyes clearly searching my face first and then Galan's.

"Callisto," I say quietly. "This brat here is my little brother, Galan. He's technically second in line to Gyonos' throne, even though he has no fairy magic flowing in his veins." I ruffled Galan's messy hair, causing him to hiss in pain. But I don't stop, glad it hurt him. Maybe he'll learn from this. "But don't underestimate this little guy... he barks with a vengeance."

A slight disturbance in the magic around us takes my attention for a moment. Without hesitation, I slam my clenched fist onto Galan's head, breaking his concentration and bringing him to tears again.

"Are you insane to try to use magic here? Do you know the possible consequences—" But a sudden feeling of foreboding roots me to the spot, paralyzing me; my eyes become glossy, but only for a moment.

In a panic, I turn my whole body to the north, but I can't see anything beyond the large building on the other side of the main road. I know, though, that something bad is coming.

“Callisto? Take my brother and get to safety!” I command him.

"Why should I—"

“Don't argue with me!” I shout back.

The next moment, I let a stone pillar emerge from beneath my feet until I can see far into the distance. At first, there's nothing there, just a few black dots. But they're coming closer, too quickly.

Quickly, there are not just a few dots that could be birds and deer or other creatures; no, these things are made of darkness. The flying ones remind me a bit of stingrays, while the ones on the ground look like soldiers, and a few in between are larger headless monstrosities with small legs, massive upper bodies, and arms.

Just the sight of the monsters slowly approaching the city makes me realize that, in no world, would I have a chance against all of them. Over the past few months, my connection to the other cores in my rings has started to fade, making it hard for me to use my aura or magic. All I have left is my barely functioning fairy magic, which this time wasn't even amplified by my magical core, so I'm only at the beginner level of being a fairy.

But as I witness them coming closer and closer, with malice emanating from them, there is just simply nothing I can really do.

I close my eyes and open my arms to feel nature and listen to the whispers of the earth and stone. It screams in fear and pain as darkness sinks into the ground, corrupting everything around me.

Only when the dust started screaming near the city did I react. The magic around me becomes visible to the naked eye.

"Stone walls!" I shout with conviction. Nothing happens at first, but then the ground shakes, and cracking sounds echo from all around the city. Heavy stone walls slowly rise around the outer buildings, hopefully holding off the hordes of darkness until reinforcements arrive.

Watching the protective walls rising, a warm, gentle feeling comes over me, but it quickly gets overshadowed by a sharp pain, drowning everything around me out. My knees buckle, and I fall to one knee, clutching my head. Fluid drips from my nose; it tastes like iron. Before I can lose all my strength, I let the stone pillar I stand upon retract back down. When the stone pillar disappears and I have solid ground under my feet again, weapons are pointed at me from all around me.

[Masterlist]

[zaceouiswriting]

The new guy next door (4)

Characters: Theo Raeken x male reader, Isaac x male reader (Mostly mentioned after the beginning)

Universe: Somewhere in Teen Wolf

Warnings: Death, cheating, domestic violence

As the days and weeks passed, the familial feeling only grew. You constantly teased and bickered, and your hands often wandered over each other's clothes. The initial bad feeling about your actions had almost disappeared.

But one day, everything changed: you heard screaming while preparing dinner and burst through Theo's front door. You knew immediately that Isaac was back because his car was parked in the driveway.

With wide eyes and a heavy feeling in your stomach, you slowly descended the path to your home for the first time since the water pipes busted. The closer you got, the louder the screaming became, but it was one-sided. You only heard Isaac screaming while Theo tried to explain, but Isaac kept interrupting him.

You knocked on the open front door to get their attention. It didn't take long before you succeeded, but not in the way you had hoped. Isaac stormed back and grabbed you by the collar without saying a word to you.

“What the fuck is this?” he screamed in your face.

Carefully, you placed your hands on his chest, but that was enough to slam you against the door, forcing the air out of your lungs and a strangled moan from your mouth.

Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Theo angry, his fists clenched at his sides, but you raised your hand to hold him back.

“Isaac, please” – you breathe heavily – “Let’s talk about it… It’s not what it seems!”

"Fuck that!" He slammed you against the door again. "What is this guy doing in my house?"

Something snapped inside you when you heard him call it "his" house. For the first time, you actually felt anger toward Isaac. Before you knew it, your hand was burning, and the sound of skin slapping against skin echoed in your ears.

Isaac stumbled backward, his eyes wide with shock, his hand on his already flushing cheek.

"I'm so sick of your behavior, Isaac!" Your voice deepened, sounding almost threatening. "Whenever you grace me with your presence, you act like a king, something a mere peasant like me should be honored to see, but the truth is, your income is pitiful; you couldn't even dream of owning a house!" Your words were like verbal blows, hitting their target. "This is my property, inherited from my grandparents before our wedding, and I paid for the extensive renovations. So don't you dare claim this house as yours!"

In the end, you dug your finger into his chest, flames of injustice blazing in your eyes. You were obviously fed up with his nonsense, and even Isaac was stunned, unaware that such a fire burned within you. But Theo? He licked his lips lasciviously, as if the scene had affected him in a way that you only noticed out of the corner of your eye, barely outside of Isaac's field of vision.

"And for your information, Isaac, the pipes burst, flooding the house, and Theo, unlike you, got to work immediately and is currently fixing everything he can! So, if you want to play the big homeowner, you'll pay him," you hissed at him. "Theo, what's a quote for everything?"

There was silence for a moment, and Theo's face twisted thoughtfully. "All in all, about 20-30k. And that's quite a discount."

When you saw your husband's face, you knew he didn't have enough money for that. "We can both be grateful that he not only offered me to live with him for the time being but also didn't ask for any money, just for me to cook him food," you told him rather heatedly. "He's a good, thoughtful man and neighbor, Isaac. Unlike a certain husband who's never home and, despite working harder than a mule, doesn't really earn much more!"

When you started screaming, Isaac shrank, his eyes filling with tears. You knew what he'd been through and that the trauma his father had inflicted on him was still fresh even after all these years, but you couldn't bring yourself to truly care. You'd been over him for a while, but the last few weeks with Theo opened his eyes to the neglect you were experiencing.

“Either you reduce your working hours to regular hours, terminate the lease on your small apartment in the city, or I’ll divorce you!” 

When the ultimatum finally left your lips, it felt like a thousand stones had been lifted from your shoulders because you had been carrying it around with you for so long that it felt too good to be true.

Isaac stood there stunned, too perplexed to speak. He obviously hadn't seen it coming and was probably too convinced that your blind love would surpass everything he'd done to you, but even your patience clearly had its limits.

"You have one week, Isaac. If you decide to work the way you were, you never have to come back to my house, because I'll call my lawyer first thing Monday morning. And if you decide to work the way you had in the first years of our marriage, we'll go to couples counseling!"

Without another word, you slipped past him and returned to Theo's house, but instead of slamming the door, you slowly closed it again because it wasn't your home.

You had no idea what Isaac and Theo had talked about, but Isaac came to Theo's house and knocked on the door. When you opened it, Isaac was pale, his head drooping, his shoulders hunched so low that you feared something had happened. But Isaac apologized. Tears even welled up in his eyes, begging for a second chance.

Hearing his wish to reconnect, your heart skipped a beat, though not in the same way it did when you first got together or married. Your thoughts quickly turned to Theo. As you remembered Theo's warm personality, his caring nature, and most of all, his attentiveness—along with his Greek god-like body, of course—your cheeks began to glow.

Despite your longing, your husband stood before you, seemingly believing your reaction was directed at him. A smile played around the corners of his mouth; it seemed almost wicked in your imagination, but that couldn't be right, could it?

Without hesitation, you let him in. You led him into the living room, where you talked for hours. But the spark had died. He came to his senses too late. But you didn't want to give up and offered him one last chance.

Everything seemed to be working for the first few days after Isaac's return. Theo mostly stayed out of your business, and Isaac helped Theo with the repairs to your home. But then the weekend came. Friday afternoon, he announced he was going into town, terminating his lease, and talking to his boss. You were skeptical but hoped for the best.

Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Theo looking out a window of your house, glaring disapprovingly at Isaac, as if he knew something. You should have asked him, but you didn't, wanting to hope that the love you once had for your husband would return.

When Theo came an hour later, he told you he had to quickly pick something up from town. It made you feel strange, since Isaac hadn't been gone for long.

You waited in limbo, feeling as if you were falling into an endless abyss of self-doubt and growing despair.

It wasn't until Theo returned toward evening with a grim expression that your world collapsed. He simply ordered you to sit down, and although you were confused, you did as he said. Without saying a word, he put down a few pictures and his phone. At first, you were confused, but then you looked at them—really looked at them.

Your heart shattered, but you didn't want to believe it. "That's Vanessa," you said, your voice breaking. "She's just a colleague of Isaac's." You tried to smile to hide the pain in your soul.

With a blank expression, you smiled at Theo, wishing he would agree and that what you had seen was nothing more than a bad joke. However, Theo remained silent. Instead, he flipped through the gallery of hundreds of pictures of Isaac and Vanessa. Then, he came across a video—one that couldn't possibly be swept under the rug.

"I followed Isaac into town. But I took these photos by chance a few weeks ago," he admitted sheepishly. "Do you remember when I had to pick up some stuff to dry your place? Since then, I've been wrestling with myself about whether or not to tell you. But I didn't know if you had some kind of... you know, open relationship or something? Even though I like being exclusive, the world is kind of strange these days." He lowers his head in shame. "I didn't want to assume anything."

“Why are you doing this to me?” you ask, tears streaming from your reddened cheeks.

There was a long moment of silence until Theo let out a deep sigh.

"Because you deserve better," Theo suddenly replied, his gaze intense. "A man who knows what he has in you and who will stay faithful to you until the end!" His eyes softened; you could see he wanted to get closer, but your emotions were too raw.

That was the final blow; you started bawling your eyes out until you couldn't breathe anymore.

Theo calmed you down enough to sit alone on the couch, snuggled under blankets, and with a bowl of ice cream in your hand, watching movies that actually had happy endings.

A few minutes later, Theo opened the door with two police officers behind him. Fear coursed through you, but before you could comprehend anything, the police officers took off their hats. "Are you (Y/N) Lahey?" The older of the officers asked you. As you nodded, his gaze dropped. "We regret to inform you that there had been an accident, and your husband, Isaac Lahey, did not survive. Neither did his passenger, Vanessa Martinez.“

Dry sobs erupted from you, having already cried out. "How could this happen?" you heard yourself ask, even though it shouldn't matter since you'd just found out he'd cheated on you.

"As far as we can see, it was a complete accident, sir," the younger officer announced. "We'll check the car according to protocol, but it seemed like they were..." He looked at his partner and nodded. "The passenger was somewhat at fault, as she distracted the driver with... a certain service."

You could see how uncomfortable he felt.

"I understand," you said, showing him the pictures. "I've known for about half an hour that he cheated on me, so I'm grateful you confirmed it."

Suddenly, tears rolled down your cheeks without you even noticing it. The younger officer immediately became soft, handing you a tissue they carried for moments like these.

“Please excuse my lack of emotion, but this is all a bit too much for me right now.”

The older officer immediately stepped in and calmed you down. He told you he understood the turmoil, and the hurt look in his eyes made you believe he did.

You nodded slightly. "Is there anything else?" The officers shook their heads. "Then I'd appreciate it if you could leave now," you smiled weakly, speaking quietly. "I'd rather collapse when I don't have an audience."

The officers agreed to leave. They expressed their condolences once again as they stepped toward the front door. After leaving the house, they spoke briefly with Theo on the porch, only to hear a loud wailing coming from the house: bloodcurdling cries.

[Masterlist]

[zaceouiswriting]

The new guy next door (3)

Characters: Theo Raeken x male reader, Isaac x male reader (Mostly mentioned after the beginning)

Universe: Somewhere in Teen Wolf

Warnings: Emotional cheating?

Living in someone else's home was already a strain; you felt overwhelmed, only made more so by Theo's minimalist furniture. As soon as you entered his house, you almost wanted to leave. He barely had any room to sit, not even regular kitchenware. As you quietly walked through the house, you realized his bed consisted of just a mattress, and there was no guest room, as all the other rooms were empty.

Without a word from him, you immediately made yourself useful, measuring the rooms and planning each one, at least the absolutely realistic minimum. But then you fell into a hole and worked on it all night, illuminated only by the dim glow of a half-broken lamp.

Theo watched you the whole time but went to your house every few hours, keeping his promise. But when the next morning came and you knew the stores were open again, you took him by the hand and pulled him to his pickup truck without giving him an address or really saying a word. 

Hours later, under the burning summer sun, you returned with Theo's pickup truck's bed full of packages and a delivery slip in your hand.

Although you and Theo were tired, you went back to work. Theo returned to your house and continued cleaning while you carried boxes into his. However, as soon as he returned and saw that, he quickly took the box from your hands, jokingly warning you to leave the heavy lifting to a real man. You giggled, shook your head, and lightly slapped him on the chest. Yet you sensed a certain truth in his words, a seriousness that should have worried you, but for some reason didn't.

By late evening, at least two bedrooms were half-finished. It meant you and Theo could sleep in different beds. After those first two days, you quickly developed a routine. Besides cleaning and cooking three extravagant meals for Theo every day, who had been working hard on your house to salvage as much as possible, you also set up all the furniture after Theo carried all the boxes to the right rooms, as he didn't want you to overexert yourselves.

It took a few days for Theo's house to become habitable—more than just a place to sleep, but a real home. Although Theo was still far from saving your house or repairing the damage caused by the flood, you forced him to take a few hours off work to enjoy his new home.

As you showed him the house you'd built as a thank you, with all the little details that make a place worth staying, he hovered close to you the entire time. His every move overwhelmed your senses with his presence. It was almost as if you couldn't escape him, but instead of turning away from him as you should have, you sought his warmth and the captivating scent of sweat and wood, perhaps with a hint of lavender.

That evening, almost a week and a half after temporarily moving into Theo's house, you sat on the newly purchased couch, two pizza boxes on the table, watching a movie. It felt strangely homey, as if you'd known each other for decades, not just a few weeks.

At one point, Theo leaned back, his hand resting on the back of the sofa, barely touching your neck, but it was enough to make your heart race and your breath catch. Your mind went blank for a moment. It was barely a touch, yet it was more than you'd experienced in years. Whenever Isaac came back, he barely touched you for the first few days and only got back into the swing of things the weekend before he left.

Until that moment, you had no idea how much you were suffering from the lack of physical contact and how damaging it was to your psyche. Since living with Theo, your mind has become clearer, and you've rediscovered many of your interests. You started to enjoy watching comedies and videos again, and your motivation to pursue your hobbies returned as well.

"Isn't it great to always have someone around?" Theo asked with a graceful smile, looking at you for just a second before turning his attention back to the television.

But at that exact moment, it hit you like a lightning bolt. He was right! You hadn't felt this good since Isaac had been gone for so long. It felt cozy, so warm, and... you looked over at Theo, watching the TV with a slight smile and taking small bites of his snack, having long since finished his pizza.

“Everything good?“ 

Theo's voice almost startled you, and you quickly looked away, turning bright red. "Nothing," you mumbled shyly.

You heard him chuckle, grab your shoulder, and move you slightly from side to side. For some reason, it felt so familiar that you finally slumped against his shoulder.

Theo said nothing, not making any remark; he simply relaxed and put his arm around you. When you looked up at him from where you were pressed against him, you saw his arrogant grin and his eyes sparkling. You interpreted it as a sign of joy. Of course you did; what else could it be?

As you fell asleep that night right against Theo, he carried you upstairs to the guest room, yet he stayed close by for a while. It was too dark to see, though. As he left, you closed your eyes again, feeling safe and protected. You heard him leave the house, but fell asleep before you heard him return.

But as you fell asleep again, you began to doubt your own decisions. You were married, but not only were you living with another man, but you also felt strangely close to him. It's almost as if he's replacing Isaac for you. Your heart pounds when you see Theo and races when you see his smug grin, look into his hazel eyes, hear his voice, or… no, he's simply perfect in your eyes. 

As long as that remains the case, you wouldn't be a bad person, would you? Then why do you feel like you're doing something wrong?

You let out a sigh, turned over, and tried to push all these thoughts away when you suddenly fell asleep.

[Masterlist]

[zaceouiswriting]

The new guy next door (2)

Characters: Theo Raeken x male reader, Isaac x male reader (Mostly mentioned after the beginning)

Universe: Somewhere in Teen Wolf

Warnings: Possible death

It's been a few days since your new neighbor moved in, and he's been seemingly everywhere. He's been outside whenever you left the house to get your mail, worked in the yard, or simply relaxed by your pool, greeting you and occasionally even coming over to ask if he could use the pool. He stripped down to his underwear right in front of you before jumping into the warm water. More than once, you almost dropped your cold iced tea at his wonderful audacity, which was only made worse by him swimming over to you from the other end of the pool. Like a Greek god, he'd brace his hands on the side and push himself out in one fluid motion.

He grins confidently as he walks toward you and plops down on the sun lounger next to you, water drops glistening on his muscles under the scorching sun.

You watch him make himself comfortable and relax as if he owned the place.

"You know, if I were your husband, I wouldn't leave you alone for so long," Theo suddenly states. There was no malice in his voice, only genuine concern.

You feel uncomfortable playing with a bracelet Isaac gave you for your first wedding anniversary. "Some people have to work hard for their goals," you mutter, unconvinced yourself. 

You and Isaac have had many heated discussions about this, as he's been working these oddly long hours for some time now without getting the promotions he deserves. He even has an apartment near his work, as he says he works between twelve and sixteen hours a day, three weeks a month, even on weekends. Even though it sounds ridiculous, you had no reason to distrust him since he comes back once a month and adores you.

When you feel Theo’s gaze, all you can do is dig deeper into your book and hope he lets it go.

***

Theo hadn't come over to your house for a few days after that awkward moment at the pool, although you still brought him food because you'd seen him eating cheap grub one too many times. Aside from those brief food deliveries, you hadn't spoken much.

One day, you were gardening as you watched Theo get into his car and drive away. It hurt because you had hoped he would be a friend, but now there's just a strange vibe between you two.

Just minutes after he left, you heard something strange, almost as if something had broken. However, you couldn't see anything when you looked around the house and through the glass doors. Shaking your head, you assumed it was another one of those mind tricks. This isn't the first time you've experienced something like this, especially when Isaac isn't around, since you're almost constantly on adrenaline. Although you love the view and the house, the fact that you're so far away from other people unnerves you a little.

You continued gardening until you noticed the sun slowly setting. A heavy sigh escaped as you gazed at the still largely unfinished garden. It was so far from what you envisioned, even though you had lived there for years, but you always had so many other responsibilities.

When you finally went back inside, you opened the fridge, pulled out a cold, freshly squeezed orange juice, and almost downed several glasses in one sitting before your body felt somewhat normal again.

After a few minutes of cooling down, you started preparing food, or at least tried to. You groaned softly when you saw your fingers were dirty, even though you wore gloves. "The fucking gloves broke again," I curse quietly. When I look at them, I discover many small holes. "Isaac bought cheap ones again." Anger bubbled up inside you. You couldn't believe it, remembering the last argument about the cheap gloves he always bought, even though you had to take breaks for days because they always made your hands sore and bloody. But Isaac did it again, almost as if he didn't care what happened to you.

Groaning, you went upstairs, as you now had to wash and bandage your injured hands. All your medical supplies were in the master bathroom. However, when you opened the door to your bedroom, the wooden floor of the spacious room was about a fingertip deep in water. The feet of the large bed in the middle of the room pressed against a half-wall in front of a window niche, shimmering in the gently moving water.

It took a moment for the realization to sink in, but then panic immediately gripped you. Eyes wide open, you ran through the bedroom, your shoes wet, your socks soaked. You ran for your life, only to find the bathroom in complete chaos. Water was gushing from several parts of the wall. You knew the pipes had burst without actually seeing it.

With a foggy mind, you ran back downstairs, looking for something heavy enough to tear down the wall, but you couldn't find anything, even though you knew Isaac had bought several boxes of materials and tools for just about everything. 

But then you remembered Theo and his previous work as a handyman. Without even thinking about it for a second, you ran over and knocked frantically on his door, but no one answered. You banged on his door, rang the bell—everything, but no one answered.

So you left the porch and looked through the windows but still couldn't find him anywhere. You continued walking around his house until you'd made a complete loop, only to find his parking space empty. Suddenly, you remembered seeing him drive away earlier, something you'd forgotten in your panic.

"Shit!" you cursed again under your breath, your head spinning with stress. 

You ran back to your house, witnessing the water already flowing down the stairs. Having no other choice, you searched for something heavy and finally found an old lamp your grandmother had given you before she died. You pounded the base against the bathroom wall until it gave way. You could throw the lamp away now, but thanks to it and the walls weakened by the water, you could tear a hole in the wall that could easily be widened again with your hands.

Despite pain and exhaustion, you struggled against the wall but couldn't find the spot with the burst pipe. You slowly lost your mind and only noticed the tears streaming down your face when you tasted the salt on your tongue.

Frustrated, you just wanted to sit down and watch your house being destroyed. The sound of the rippling water almost drowned out everything else. But then, as if by divine intervention, you heard the sound of a pickup truck driving down the road.

Your eyes widen as you realize you've heard the noise before. Without hesitation, but with the resistance of the water, you trudge through it, your feet heavy from your now-soaked shoes and socks. You threw open the front door and waved to Theo, who had just gotten something out of the trunk of his car. He turned to you in surprise but waved back.

He stopped unloading and walked leisurely over. "Hey, (Y/N), I was in town to pick up a few things. I had to drive to several stores to—"

"I need your help!" You interrupted his story, even though you loved to listen to his voice. He looked stunned for a moment but then gazed at you expectantly. "One of my pipes burst, and my whole house is flooded!" I almost screamed.

He seemed alert and walked toward your house with long strides without saying a word. For a moment, he stood inside your front door, staring at the rising water level.

"Have you turned off the water yet?" he asked serenely, almost too calmly. It felt strange until I remembered he was a handyman.

“What do you mean?“

"The water valve..." He looks perplexed. "Don't tell me you didn't turn off the water immediately."

Now he seemed panicked, looking around frantically before taking off his shoes and socks, putting them aside, and going inside, only to walk right back out again.

"Can you turn off the power from outside or something?" he asked, worried. But that only confused you more.

“No,” you told him, “it’s in the basement, just like the water valve.”

Theo sighs in despair. "If I die of electrocution, you pay for the funeral!" His deep voice rumbled angrily, but he went back into the house anyway.

Concerned, you followed his moving figure, unsure of what he meant. Nevertheless, you followed him, hoping to help him somehow. At the very least, you could show him the way to the basement. But when you opened the door, water poured out. Devastated, you looked down into your completely flooded basement.

Just by looking at it, you knew everything down there was destroyed, from family portraits to childhood belongings you wanted to give to your future adopted or surrogate children.

You felt empty, somehow broken. Theo grabbed your shoulders, his lips moving, but your thoughts were too far away; not even shaking could free you from this strange numbness. Suddenly, your head jerked to the side, but Theo pushed it back. You felt a burning sensation in your cheek, but it didn't truly hurt.

“Tell me where the valve and the electric lever are!” He orders sternly, but his voice is filled with compassion and desperation.

"The power lever is just behind the stairs, around the corner, in the wall. The valve is down the left corridor, behind the power lever to the end, and then the water thing is on the left again," I tell him, stammering.

Theo nodded, ripped almost all his clothes except his underwear off, and jumped into the water, gracefully diving over the railing. Just a moment later, all the lights in the house went out. You waited for Theo to come out. But you can't see anything. As you stepped closer, you hoped you'd simply lost track of time, but as another moment passed, fear gripped you. You wondered if you'd accidentally sent your new neighbor, that hot guy, to his death.

"Theo?" you cried, hoping he would magically resurface from the water, but nothing, only an eerie silence. Fear spread through your heart, and the pain that someone had died because you hadn't looked when you heard that strange noise earlier.

Your hands began to tremble. "Theo?" you called again, your voice shaking, uncertain, and lost in thought. Tears welled up in the corners of your eyes as your lips twisted into a grimace of pain and realization.

Grief had never been your strong suit, but now that it was your fault, you felt despair for the first time. It was heavier than you had ever imagined. You almost fell back because of the weight it placed on your shoulders.

No longer able to watch the deep water that swallowed a good man like Theo, you turned away and let your emotions run wild, sobbing uncontrollably.

“Without this air bubble, I would probably have drowned!” a deep, chuckling voice suddenly echoes through the house.

You thought you'd just imagined the voice, like so many times before, and that's why you hadn't turned around because you didn't want to see something that wasn't there. Only when you felt a cold, clammy hand on your shoulder and a deep voice asking if everything was okay did you finally turn to the person behind you.

Eyes wide and tearful, you stared into Theo's proud face. For a moment, your gaze wandered over his muscles, over which drops of water cascaded like sensual waterfalls but quickly returned back to his face. To ensure he was real, you touched his cheek before bursting into sobs again and lunging at him, nearly sending you both into the deep water behind him.

"Wow, it's all good; I just needed a moment longer." Theo's chest growled, and another soft laugh made his wet, cold skin comfort my hot cheeks. "Whoever built this house was a genius," Theo gushed. "There's a drain hole next to the valve. It was jammed, so it took me a moment to pry it open."

When I realized he had all the time in the world but almost drowned because he just had to open the thing in one breath, my head almost went numb. I lightly slapped him a few times on the chest.

“I was afraid you died because of me!” you cried.

Theo stood there, stunned, his arrogant bravado crumbling into a gentle, sincere, caring expression. He took you in his arms and held you tightly.

When they separated, the water level in the basement had already dropped slightly.

"Let's get out of here. You can sleep in my house until yours is dry and repaired." Theo didn't offer but rather commanded. You didn't hear his tone, as you were too desperate, but you agreed anyway, knowing you couldn't stay there.

"But how do we get the water out of the second floor? If we leave it there, won't the wooden floor and furniture be destroyed?"

He ruffled your hair. "Don't worry, I have equipment at home that can do that for us. I run extension cords from my house, set up all my equipment, and even take the time to reposition them throughout the night."

“You don’t have to—” I try to interject.

But Theo puts his arm around your shoulders. "Don't even try, we're neighbors! Who would I be if I let you suffer when I could help you so easily?"

“But you can cook for me and help me with little things around the house if that makes you feel better,” Theo offers you, gently stroking your belly with his free hand.

All the touching made you dizzy. Since you were with Isaac and moved out of there, you weren't used to receiving so much attention. Your cheeks were flushed, and you couldn't look up. You fumbled with your fingers as Theo led you out, watching him smile brightly from the side.

But it wasn't a smile, but a triumphant grin that would send chills down the spine of anyone who saw it. There was also a strange glint in Theo's eyes; you couldn't see it.

[Masterlist]

[zaceouiswriting]

The new guy next door (1)

Characters: Theo Raeken x male reader, Isaac x male reader (Mostly mentioned after the beginning)

Universe: Somewhere in Teen Wolf

Warnings: None yet

Authors note: Guys, it's that wonderful time of the year again: Theo Raeken Tribute Month! This time, I want to do something different, but I won't tell you what; maybe someone will figure it out. For now, I'll leave you with the beginning of a little story (I wanted to write it all in one piece, but I never could have finished fast enough, so now there's another miniseries).

As you sip your morning coffee and look at the house next door—empty for years and slowly deteriorating—you mentally list, as you do every morning, everything that has collapsed in the last few days and nights. You miss the family who lived there terribly. A family of four: mother, father, and their two sons. They moved away when the boys were teenagers, and you never knew why; even though they were your friends, they left the house, screaming at each other and their sons. The whole time, you held your husband's hand and watched them in fear.

Speaking of your husband, Isaac, he's standing in the kitchen, quietly preparing breakfast. Your house is always quiet in the morning until a gasp escapes you.

Isaac was immediately at your side, but you ran past him into the kitchen, ripping open the cupboards and leaving everything open to search for the baking utensils. Your husband watched you, confused. But he realized what had happened when his gaze wandered out the window.

Isaac shook his head with a gentle smile, walked toward you, and effortlessly wrapped his long arms around your body. He kissed your neck all the way up to your jawline. "I didn't know you wanted a new neighbor this badly." His tone was teasing as his hands moved up and down your stomach.

You exhale unsteadily and shake your head. "Isaac, don't interrupt me now!" you warned him playfully. "We're the only two houses here, surrounded by woods; of course, I want someone to live there," I tell him exasperatedly, my voice trembling. "You know I feel unsafe here alone, especially since you've started working for so long. Having more people here makes me feel more secure."

Suppressing your desperate attempt to bake cookies, you lean against his muscular body and place your hands on his large ones while he continues to caress your stomach.

Isaac's mood also turned somber. "I know, baby... that will change once I get that promotion. I'll be home more often." He slowly kisses my neck, his hands becoming more and more adventurous. "I promise you."

All you could do was giggle at his eagerness. Turning your head, you kissed him tenderly. "Come on, Isaac, let me bake cookies for our new neighbor!" You tried to free yourself from his grasp, but Isaac had no intention of letting go.

“Shhh… Let me make love to you,” he whispers in your ear, sending shivers down your spine.

In his arms, you become as soft as jelly; you sense a barely perceptible rumble from his chest before you find yourself lying on the counter.

Nearly an hour and a half later, you finally leave the house with a box of fresh cookies and a smug Isaac in tow. When you reach the house, which is now nothing but a fixer-upper house, you see someone in a tank top and a backward cap carrying things.

Just before you could call out to the neighbor, Isaac looked at his phone, his eyes widened and just ran, apologizing over his shoulder, telling that he has to go to work. You could only watch after him disappointment in your eyes.

Sighing in resignation, you turned to the new guy, took a deep breath with your eyes closed, and called out to your new neighbor. He doesn't answer, so you move closer, so close you can smell the sweat pouring from his visibly muscular body. He looks almost like a professional football player or a gym fanatic, and that makes your heart race, but his sweaty, musky scent, mixed with something sweet, only makes it worse.

It took you a moment to shake your head and tell yourself to keep your composure, but you couldn't deny that his body was very attractive.

At that moment, you saw your new neighbor moving in your peripheral vision. He jumped back in alarm; his fists rose in an obvious attempt to protect himself, but he quickly regained his self-control and pulled out an earbud.

"Can I help you?" His deep voice sends a shiver down your spine. He's visibly suspicious but not unfriendly.

Red like a tomato, you hold out the box of cookies. The new guy tilts his head but takes the box. "I baked cookies for you as a welcome gift to our little piece of paradise," you say quietly, fascinated by his hazel eyes, which sparkle with interest.

He opens the box, takes a cookie, and bites into it. You stand there momentarily holding your breath, only to sigh as your new neighbor smiles contentedly.

“Shit, they’re incredible.”

You couldn't help but smile proudly. "I'm your neighbor, like I said, (Y/N) Lahey. My husband, Isaac, wanted to be here too, but he had to work..." I trail off, turn around, and look at the car pulling onto the street. "He's not home often, so it'll probably be a while before you meet him," I say curtly, smiling to hide my disappointment.

"Theo Raeken," he introduces himself, redirecting your attention to his gaze. He's nearly as tall as Isaac but noticeably more muscular than him.

“What do you do for a living, Theo?” you hear yourself asking.

"I'm a handyman...or at least I was. I just sold my late father's business, where we both worked, and bought this house to fix it up to live in peace."

As he told his story, he seemed fixated on Isaac's departing car, but every now and then, you could feel his gaze and a subtle grin crossing his lips. His cockiness seemed so casual that you felt like it came naturally to him.

“How old are you?” you ask him, confusion evident in your quiet voice.

“Twenty-two; my father died only six months ago.” Suddenly, his voice became softer, his gaze empty.

Your hand flew to your mouth in shock. "I'm so sorry," you mutter quietly to Theo, placing a comforting hand on his arm. "I didn't mean to bring up any sad memories."

It takes a moment, but Theo recovers, looks at you gratefully, and briefly holds your hand on his arm. "Thank you... it was a hard time."

Although it felt strange, given that your closeness already seemed too intimate, you lingered in that position a little longer to comfort Theo before finally pulling away and telling him you would be at your house if he needed someone to talk to.

You smile at him, stepping down from his porch, and apologize for your hasty retreat. On your way home, you looked back, waved, and apologized again.

Behind closed doors, you slipped down the front steps, your heart pounding, cheeks burning, and breathing heavily as memories of Theo burned in your mind: his sweaty neck, forehead, and the visible sides of his upper body through the large holes in his tank top. You waved your hand to fan yourself and sat on the floor for a few minutes.

When you could finally stand again, your wobbly legs having regained their strength, you went to the kitchen and finished breakfast. Isaac had paused to get intimate with you. But as you began to eat, you couldn't help but watch Theo at work, his muscles flexing as he carried objects. When he saw you, an arrogant grin appeared on his lips. He raised his flexed biceps and waved. Blushing, you waved back and giggled as Theo's bag fell to the floor. It didn't diminish his attitude. Instead, he threw it over his shoulder with a wink. When he finally went inside his house, you let out a frustrated sigh and shook your head, knowing somehow that the new neighbor would be a handful. [Masterlist]

[zaceouiswriting]

Fairy Prince - Hearts of Leviathans - Ch.57

Character: Sky x male reader, Riven x male reader, Brandon x male reader, (OC) Callisto x male reader

Universe: Somewhere in Winx Club/Saga

Warnings: Sweet-ish

(Callisto)

I'm just leaving Foàlan's room in the old magic academy and walk straight into Sebastian's arms—the building's head butler—who's waiting just a few feet outside. I force myself to smile, but it doesn't reach my eyes, as my mind is still stuck on the memory of Foàlan's weak state. My heart is still heavy. How could it be otherwise? His body appears shattered; vast scars cover large parts of his once smooth but hairy body.

Desperately, I wipe my face to hide the tears threatening to well up and lean on Sebastian, who, like every time I leave the room, has put his arm around my shoulders to keep me from collapsing.

"Your Majesty is doing everything you can to help him regain his strength. You shouldn't be so hard on yourself," the older man murmurs again. I can only breathe a sigh of resignation. He keeps trying to tell me the same thing, but I can't shake the feeling that I could have spared him most of the pain if I'd been a little more cautious instead of curious.

I gently pat the butler's chest, feeling the natural firmness of his muscles and the softness of his skin. "Is your body okay?" I ask him, barely louder than a whisper, afraid that my tears would betray me if I spoke any louder.

The butler nods contentedly. "Thanks to you, Your Majesty, I have regained my full strength, and my body is once again the person I used to be," he says joyfully, a broad smile playing at the corners of his mouth. "And this, despite the fact that you believed you didn't possess the powers of a golemancer," he adds sheepishly. "I clearly remember you telling one of the maids about it."

A quiet chuckle escapes me. I still remember how the stone Leviathan helped me save the maids and butlers from literally falling apart. But I think he knew that this power lay dormant within me all along.

"I was absolutely certain I didn't possess this ability. As a child, I tried hundreds of times to create a small golem to help me with gardening or serve as a training dummy, but it never worked." I fondly remember the many disappointed looks I received at court. Because of my naturally powerful abilities, many people had high hopes for me to become a golemancer as well.

"But now you do." The butler's voice is gentle, yet he squeezes my arms reassuringly. "And I knew from the first moment that you were special, Your Majesty."

“Why?” I hear myself asking because the butler’s words sounded strangely ominous.

There is a slight expression of shock and inner turmoil on his face before he closes his eyes and exhales quite heavily. But then I see a glint of resignation in his eyes as he opens them again.

“Please follow me.”

Although I hesitate—at least in my mind—I follow the butler, knowing that what he has to show me, as a loyal follower and servant of my bloodline, will not be dangerous but hopefully enlightening.

Although it is no longer a huge school—the extra space was just no longer needed—we still walk through the large mansion for quite a while. But as we walk, the building changes, almost as if everything the butler wants to show me is, for some reason, hidden inside.

Along the way, we encounter several maids and other butlers whispering to each other, their eyes full of hope and deep devotion. I feel almost like a saint or perhaps even a Leviathan. Their eyes make me feel as if I've just hung up the sun and stars.

Pride fills me as I smile back. It evidently relieves them of tension they seemed unaware of. Although they continued to whisper, it no longer bothered me because they weren't expressing criticism of me but rather gratitude and new hope for their lives.

When we finally encounter a heavy stone door, it appears entirely out of place compared to the beautifully decorated walls and the captivating carved wood of the surrounding area.

“Please place your hand upon the center stone, Your Majesty,” the butler asks.

Since he brought me here, I believe this place must have some significance. And since the older man has helped me so often in the last few weeks, especially with Foàlan, I do what he asks without much hesitation.

Almost instantly, the central stone breaks, and a bright gray light fills the entire hallway as the door—once two simple stone doors—pulses with magic. The doors shatter, revealing masterfully crafted stone doors that obviously took a long time to build and look similar to those in my family palace. All over the doors are images carved into the stone telling the story of the first Golemancer and his stone army, whom he loved dearly, and, on the other side, how they defended their master until his last breath, then crumbled back to stone.

“It depicts Derillian ‘the Stone,’ right?” I ask the butler.

"It does," the butler murmurs softly, touching the engraving. "Our master, Gillian 'the Lost,' created it. He built the academy when we all perished in a brutal fire set by your family's enemies, back when our homeworld was not yet united. He gathered our souls and came here to create a lasting legacy and show our people how important your family is to the world, which has suffered in the absence of his fairy magic," he explains to me in detail. "Gillian was the second true Golemancer in your family, while Derillian was the first. He once told me he often dreamed of Derillian, especially when he created new bodies."

"I remember that he died on our world when he was crowned the first true king of the entire planet, when the Black Hand organization was still known and feared."

The butler nods in agreement. Shortly afterward, he asks permission to open the door, a strange glint of nostalgia in his eyes. I agree, and he effortlessly opens those massive doors, which are at least five times my size.

Behind the doors, warm light illuminates a workshop. Setting a foot inside, a strange breeze suddenly hits me. "Did we just teleport?" I ask the butler without looking at him. My gaze is drawn to the many places where clay and stone can be molded or carved into hundreds, if not thousands, of different shapes.

"You are magnificent, Your Majesty." The butler nods at me. "Only the door is inside the building; this room is difficult to explain... Gillian knew your family better than most; he often murmured about a certain 'snake' who helped him create this place." As he speaks, he gently runs his hand over the richly carved walls. The room is neither a rectangle nor a circle. Strangely, the room doesn't seem to have a truly singular shape.

I try to look out one of the floor-to-ceiling windows, but there's nothing beyond it, just light. The glass feels cold, but I sense a certain warmth behind it. "Beautiful," I blurt out. "Every detail is magnificent, from the half-height walls to these magnificent columns, carved into entire cities and people yet part of the same stone... Gillian must have been a master of her craft."

"He was indeed," Sebastian says seriously. "I was his friend when we were children, and later, as an adult, I became his butler." He turns to me and smiles gently. "You remind me a lot of him, except for your lack of artisan blood." There is something playful about his tone. "You're both brutish men who pretend not to be the brightest to deceive everyone around you, and you both have something mystical about you, almost as if you are more than the rest of us."

"I pretend I'm not the brightest?" I ask, raising my left eyebrow questioningly. "Are you implying that my acting is flawed?" I grin at him with the same mischievousness as his tone a moment before has been.

"And the same cheeky attitude," Sebastian chuckles softly. “I tell you, I beat your ancestor a few too many times for that same attitude,” he threatens me, clearly playfully. "I may not look it, but I was once a dragon rider before I began serving Gillian personally."

"A true dragon rider?" I'm almost beside myself with excitement, but I try to stay calm. "Have you ever seen real dragons?"

"I did indeed, young fairy." His nostalgic tone suggests he won't say more and only underscores this when his gaze quickly wanders to one of the workbenches. "At this table, Gillian created all body parts of every servant in this household." His hand rests on a ceramic table. At least, that's what it looks like, but it feels strange.

I approach it, place my hand on it, and suddenly the table transforms. My eyes widen in shock, but my hand feels as if it's tied to the wood. I see the outlines of body parts, information about what's needed, and too much more.

"You see it too, don't you?" Sebastian asks, closer this time. "No one but Gillian can do it besides you. He described it to me once—" He trails off, but deep down I know it's not the end, as his hand strokes the table longingly. "This workbench was created under the gaze of the Stone Leviathan and your true family protector, the Serpent Leviathan. It can reveal what you need to create the body of a soul."

"So a soul waited for eons to reclaim its body?" Sebastian looks at me, amazed, stunned, and confused all at once; everything cascades down his face. "A man named Laikan de Araveollo?"

The butler's eyes widen in recognition as I mention that name. "He never finished his body." He tried to catch himself with his hand at one of the pillars, but he slipped. Shocked at the sight of the usually composed butler stumbling like a drunken fool, I summoned a stone pillar just to catch him.

"Who is this soul?" I ask Sebastian urgently. "It's not someone important, is it?"

“You know him; he is a legend, but better known as the ‘Silent Guardian,’ Gillian’s left-hand man and the military genius who was paramount to uniting our people,” he admits breathlessly.

All blood rushes from my head. I remember the name; our Royal Guards are trained in this man's image, and he is also the reason why only their battalion commanders are allowed to speak. But the worst part is, I know he's buried.

I'm about to say something when an echoing knock on the front door interrupts me. I bite my tongue, turn to the table, place my hand back on it, and quietly apologize. "I'll be back, Laikan, and next time, I'll try to give you a second chance at life, as you deserve as a legend."

I help Sebastian up and escort him out of the room. Outside, I just mutter one word, 'Close,' and the heavy doors, which look as if not even ironback tortoises could move them, respond immediately. They close slowly, and the same gray light reappears when they finally click shut, making them look like the dilapidated doors I'd seen before. In this state, they probably won't open at all. Say what you will about Gillian; he was a genius at hiding his secrets.

My attention is quickly diverted as a maid runs up from the front, a smile playing around the corners of her thin lips. She looks beautiful, with her wavy, auburn hair held back by a silver hairpiece. What really sets her apart from the other maids, however, is her dress, which, unlike the others, is navy blue and has a strange collar attached to it that covers all the skin above the natural cut of the dress and is the same shade of silver as her hairpiece.

"Your Majesty," she performs a perfect deep curtsy while still breathing quite heavily. "There is someone waiting for you in the foyer, a gallant and well-dressed gentleman—" Her smile widens as her cheeks turn pink—"In my humble opinion, he seems to wish to whisk you away, to carry you to the moon and the stars, just for one day, and only because you ask for it."

"That must be Callisto," I chuckle, knowing there's only one guy sappy enough to talk like that, but I can't help but smile. "He's such a charming twit, even though he always wants to seem aloof... I got really lucky, it seems." But she doesn't leave. Instead, she plays with the hem of her dress. She's obviously smitten with Callisto. I can't really blame her. "What's your name?"

“Marie, Your Majesty.” She curtsies again, but this time, her smile becomes a thin, afraid line.

"Follow me, Marie; I think Sebastian needs rest; he's been pretty stressed lately," I tell her as I walk. Soon, however, I hear her small footsteps following me until she keeps up with my pace but is one step behind me.

With confident strides, I turn a corner and see Callisto far away, near the front door. Even from a distance, he looks stunning. His hair is in tight curls, bouncing with every breath, a few strands hanging over his face. He wears fine black suit trousers that fit comfortably around his waist and thighs, while his torso is covered by a tight white shirt and black leather jacket. Sunglasses sit lazily in his left hand. What almost drives me crazy, though, is the way he chews gum. I don't know if it's the slow, calculated, powerful movements of his jaw or the semi-smug grin. “You look too good to be here for just a little visit.” I joke, trying to keep my voice calm, even though my heart is racing and my head is spinning in different directions than it should.

Callisto finally turns to me. I didn't think his pompous grin could get any worse. Yet here I am, learning more about him than I ever imagined, watching his grin become unbearably smug, even though the dimple on the left side of his grin makes him look rather cute.

He hangs his sunglasses on his shirt and puts his now-free hand in his pocket. "I want to kidnap you for the day," he announces loudly and so casually that I can hardly believe it. It almost feels like it's second nature to him, especially with his commanding presence that leaves no room for discussion.

I feel a faint blush rising to my cheeks, but I try to cover it up by looking away slightly. A small, surprised smile forms on my lips. "Oh, is that so?" My tone is teasing. "Can I say no, or are you going to… you know… force me anyway?"

Without hesitation, he clicks his tongue and approaches with only a few assured strides. He meets me in the center of the mosaic circle in the foyer, stares down at me with playful fury in his dark eyes, and brushes a strand of hair from my face, mingling it with the rest of my hair by running his large hand through it.

"You have no choice," he whispers hoarsely. A shiver runs down my spine. "Either you come with me, or I'll throw you over my shoulder." His hand slides from my head, over my ear, and then rests on my cheek. Before I know it, he's pressing a gentle kiss on my lips; my stomach jumps in my throat by the sheer surprise.

A tingling sensation like a million butterflies runs wild through my body. I've never felt such a tingling sensation in my nerves before. When he breaks the kiss, I exhale shakily.

“If you do that again,” I giggle fearfully, “I’ll crumble in front of my servant.”

His dark eyes flicker behind me, but not even for a second. "Wouldn't that be a scandal, my little prince?" He clearly teases, his lips ghosting over my ear. "Just imagine the headlines: 'The Prince of Stone publicly falls to his knees before a lesser duke.' Wouldn't that be incredible?"

Despite his playful tone, I clearly hear the innuendo in his words. My eyes widen, and somehow, I find the strength to slap his chest lightly. But I don't say a word. Instead, I look down at my hands and play with the hem of his black leather jacket.

For a long moment, we simply stand in this circle as I breathe in his intoxicating scent: a mixture of oak resin and his natural masculine musk.

As his hand cups my cheek again, he forces me to look up. I feel my heartbeat accelerate as I gaze once more into those dark eyes, which are glistening with admiration in the warm summer light that emanates from the outside.

Suddenly, something different is between us. I squint, but then my eyes widen as a gasp breaks from my lips.

"This one's for you," he murmurs from behind the flower, "a white, serene lily. I've been trying to figure out if—

I take his hand and carefully reach for the flower, smelling it; the sweet scent overwhelms my senses. When I look at Callisto from under my eyelashes, my heart stops briefly before pounding wildly in my chest. The look I catch is one of pure love. I quickly avert my gaze so he doesn't notice. But I can't suppress the blush rising from my cheeks to my ears.

“Say something.” His voice sounds almost vulnerable.

"It's beautiful," I admit. "But do you know what a serene lily means on my homeworld?" I ask somewhat concerned.

“No, why?” he asks, tilting his head sweetly to the side, almost like Brandon when he doesn’t understand something and has that puppy dog ​​look.

Giggling embarrassed, I hand the flower to Marie. "Please put it in a vase of mineral water and place it in my room."

“Of course, Your Majesty.” She bows deeply and accepts the flower as if made of glass.

Turning back to Callisto, I gently place my hand on his chest and give him a chaste kiss on the cheek. "It doesn't matter," I whisper against his skin. "Don't think about it too much."

Gingerly, I take his hand, walk past him, and pull him behind me. As I burst through the front door, a heavy summer breeze blows in my face, my hair flies everywhere, and my wrinkled button-down shirt flutters in the wind. But I look back at Callisto. His eyes sparkle with wonder and pure, unadulterated love, much more intense than before, his mouth wide open.

A little shyly, I brush my hair back and run my hand through it until it's neatly back in place, but he's still staring at me, squeezing my hand a little tighter. I've never seen so much love in one look, as if I'd become his world.

As the summer sun shines down upon us, I know deep down that life is only going to get better from here on out.

[Masterlist]

[zaceouiswriting]

Fairy Prince - Hearts of Leviathans - Ch.56

Character: Sky x male reader, Riven x male reader, Brandon x male reader, (OC) Callisto x male reader

Universe: Somewhere in Winx Club/Saga

Warnings: Too much sweetness

(Callisto)

My movements are fluid, my sword like an extension, my breath slightly visible in the rising sun, the grass around me ever so slightly damp from the night. I've been here for hours, unable to sleep again, my magic draining every minute of the day to aid Foàlan's healing. His body was still too weak to take him with me. My body is a wreck. I shouldn't have used up too many magical bubble reserves. But at the time, it was necessary. I haven't seen the Lord or Lady of the House so relaxed and happy since I woke up here. Their eldest will soon be back on his feet, and the second, at least, will still be alive with me.

I still remember the lady falling to her knees after I told them the good news. Her tears finally became ones of relief and happiness, not the sadness she'd been shedding for hours before. But I couldn't tell at that moment as I had collapsed in exhaustion. I still remember Callisto by my side. He caught me before I hit the ground and carried me to a bed. The fear and terror in his eyes still send butterflies through my stomach.

Suddenly, a certain heat surges through me. My neck and ears burn just remembering his chest and how he pushed me into it, hoping I'd wake up.

“What an idiot!” I hear myself muttering, completely flustered.

"I hope you didn't mean me," a playful voice called from behind me, followed by a feather-light touch. The calloused hand on my bare shoulder made me shiver, and I was left confused.

With flushed cheeks and an accusing look, I confront him. "How long have you been watching?" My sword rests at my side as I gaze into his smug eyes. Callisto looks handsome, every inch the high noble he is: a crisp white button-down shirt, tousled curly hair, and a gold-embroidered jacket slung over his shoulder. I can imagine his scent just by looking at him.

“Not long,” he comments, arms crossed in front of his chest, his smugness only increasing, “Only since the sun rose.”

My face twists, shock evident as I let his words sink in. "So you watched me sweat in the fresh morning air for an hour?"

"Pretty much," he says confidently, shrugging his shoulders and taking a few steps forward until he's standing before me. His hand, which had touched me earlier, moves from my shoulder up to my cheek with ghostly touches. "It was hypnotic; I couldn't look away." His words are breathless, soft, and tame; the corners of his mouth are curled into a casual grin, but his gaze betrays him: a deep longing, deeper than the oceans of Mereidia.

“Callisto, I-“

"I know," he whispers back. "We've all been fools, and I know I get jealous too easily." His gaze remains fixed on mine, a connection that makes my heart leap into my throat. "But when I saw Foàlan flirting with you back then, so naturally, so skillfully, and the way your cheeks flushed as if you'd absorbed every word, I wanted to kill him, kidnap you, lock you in a cage... But I know I should have just talked to you like you did in your sleep."

Deep embarrassment or fear of what I might have said makes me blush intensely. What if I revealed my realization that I love him and the differences between him and my first lost love? Or worse, how I want to climb him like a tree!

When I regain my senses, my gaze has fallen downwards, fixated on the ends of his jacket. Then, I hear that deep laugh—full of warmth and always carrying a slight undertone of natural arrogance.

Two fingers under my chin lift my head. I didn't mean to, but it felt like I was under a spell, a curse that made me melt with his every touch. "If only I'd known how deep your feelings for me were..." He mutters, trailing off, as if he is remembering something.

He's close... too close; his lips ghost over mine and his eyes flash as if he's daring me to pull away, to put some distance between us, or to take the final step.

I place my hand on the right side of his face. "Then what? I told you weeks ago I'd finally found the answer, but you didn't believe me and still thought I was seeing my first love when I looked into your beautiful eyes... but the truth is: it couldn't be more different."

Neither of us comes closer; the other remains suspended. I slowly and lovingly draw circles on his cheek with my thumb. Suddenly, I feel lost. The world around me seems to shrink until only Callisto and I remain, electricity coursing through my body. As I stare at the man before me, I finally realize what is happening. My tense body relaxes as I close my eyes, melting into Callisto's hand, which is still holding my chin.

I'm dizzy. I can neither breathe nor tear myself away from him. His lips are so soft, tasting of peach and mint. A smile plays on my lips as I realize he'd planned the kiss, but then I feel something shove itself into my mouth. I sense the foreign object in our struggle for dominance as our tongues try to find a middle ground and suddenly burst into laughter. Callisto separates us, his face a chasm of confusion.

"Am I such a bad kisser?" I hear him ask. He puts one hand on his hips and runs the other through his already messy hair. Honestly, he looks hot like this.

I shake my head, giggling so hard that I can't tell him what happened. So I move the gum between my teeth and show it to him. Horror flashes in his eyes as he visibly checks his mouth with his tongue.

“I’m so fucking sorry tha-“

I grin from ear to ear, press our lips together again, and brazenly move the gum back where it belongs.

As we separate, I see a hue of pink covering his cheeks, like the color of a newborn piglet. I place my hand on his chest again and feel his heart pounding—it feels like my own.

“Hey (Y/N), I have-“

Turning toward the voice, I frown because no one is there. At least, it seemed that way. Around a corner, I see a mop of hair. Do they really think we're that clueless? Still, I feel like teasing them. So, without hesitation, I grab Callisto by the collar and pull him down to my lips in a heated kiss. His hands quickly shot down onto my hips.

But just as things are getting really interesting, I move my other hand back a little. "Stonewall," I murmur against Callisto's lips. Immediately, a massive stone wall rises into the sky, effortlessly dwarfing the large mansion in the background, right at the corner where I spotted the mop of hair.

I kiss Callisto for a while longer until my breathing becomes too shallow. Finally, I pull away from his sinful lips and lay my head on his chest. "They're so nosy," I whisper. Callisto's chest trembles as a deep, hoarse laugh bursts from it.

“I would have been just like them if I had seen my friends who danced around each other for so long.”

“Yeah, because you’re sappy at heart, Cal.”

“Maybe, but you like it,” he says confidently, but his tone is playful.

Rolling my eyes, I keep my mouth shut because he has a point. Although I'm curious about how deep this sweet, romantic emotionality really goes, maybe one day I'll find out.

One of his warm, calloused hands finds my cheek, pulls me close, and kisses me again. His assertiveness alone makes my knees go weak. But when we pull apart, he's smiling so lovingly that I can't tease him any further. Instead, I hug him and let my head melt into his chest.

"We should probably stop. I've kept you away from school long enough; you should probably go back while I wait for Foàlan to feel a little better."

Callisto's chest rumbles as he chuckles. "Steal a few kisses and then send me away?" He asks in audible, mocked shock. "Absolutely not!" He laughs and pulls me closer. "I'll stay with you and keep you sane. I can't watch you drift away, collapsing under your fear of Foàlan not living this, even though you did everything you could to save him." He looks at me with concern and love. "I will never leave you in this state or any other. From now on, you won't get me off of you!"

[Masterlist]

[zaceouiswriting]

Fairy Prince - Hearts of Leviathans - Ch.55

Character: Sky x male reader, Riven x male reader, Brandon x male reader, (OC) Callisto x male reader

Universe: Somewhere in Winx Club/Saga

Warnings: None

(Callisto)

(Brandon)

Foàlan's gaze seemed strange, somehow teasing and challenging simultaneously, as if he were gauging my reaction. When I half-agreed, one corner of his mouth lifted into a one-sided grin that would have made even a Leviathan blush. It almost seemed as if he considered it a game. I know guys like that, all bark and no bite, only to then tilt his head to the side.

"You're damn handsome," he said so casually that my heart briefly stops. I feel my eyes widen at the compliment. I'm not easily flustered, but the overall situation, including but not limited to my frustration with Callisto, seems to make it easier.

"Thanks," I smile a little shyly and lower my gaze. I play with my fingers like a schoolgirl who just got a compliment from her crush. "You're not so bad yourself." I'm horrified when I hear these words fall from my lips. I want nothing more than to bang my head against the wall at this moment.

Suddenly, a tense atmosphere fills the air. "You can touch my chest." The offer comes out of the blue. Why would he ask such a thing? But when my gaze snaps back to him, I see a mischievous grin. "I know you want to," he whispers cheekily.

I can already feel the disparaging glances and put my hand over his mouth. "Did you have to say something like that in front of all these people?" I ask him accusingly, though I don't deny his claim. I can't. He's just too attractive for a man who's been asleep for years and whose physique is still flawless.

His eyes sparkle with barely concealed mischief. "Why?" he asks challengingly. "Would my little brother, your loverboy, get jealous if he knew you had the hots for his newly awakened brother?"

“(Y/N)!” Callisto’s suppressed, angry voice echoes through the room. I close my eyes and desperately wish to be swallowed by the ground. "Why don't we talk about why I woke you up?" I ask, smiling, but in a calm tone that still sounds commanding. Foàlan just nods but continues to grin.

"I've asked your family and they're confident you want to live, but I'd rather make sure because you would—"

“And why would you make that decision? Would you suc—”

I put my hand over his mouth again. "No more jokes. You don't have much time, and if you don't give me a decision now, I'll just let you die!"

Almost instantly, I see his expression darken. He nods weakly, so I free his mouth again.

“How bad is it?” he asks, visibly trying to understand his condition.

"It's bad," I say as I sit next to him. "So bad that I'd rather let you die in peace. But if you want, I can save your life, even if it would severely limit you for the rest of your life."

“In what way?“

I search for the right words while brushing a few strands of hair from his face that had fallen when he turned his head. "There are two ways I can do that, but either way, you will be bound to me for life. Your organs are as good as dead, your bones hollow and on the verge of crumbling to dust, and your body is alive only because you have a magical and an auric core that were activated during your expedition. Their collisions keep your body functioning, but that too has an end."

Uttering these words hurt my soul. It's difficult to live a life completely dependent on someone else. But what happened to him is an extraordinary circumstance that requires a difficult decision. "The first option would be to create a new body for you out of special materials. Your soul would be transferred into it, and with a part of my fairy core, it would become a living copy of your natural body, including the ability to reproduce," I explain succinctly. There are many more other things, but he wouldn't know about them anyway.

"The second option would be to repair your current body. I would have to infuse something called 'living metal' into your body to restore your bones. A healer, who owes a lot to my family, would come and help me repair your organs and, with my fairy magic, rebalance the minerals in your body. However, parts of your body would have to be replaced with identical copies, such as your heart. You would keep your current body, but at its core, it would be like the first option, since you could never live without me."

There's conflict in his warm brown eyes, a blend of Brandon's hazel eyes and Liam's dark brown, as if Foàlan were a bridge between the two.

"Are those the only options?" Foàlan asks, his voice less confident than before, clearly deep in thought. 

"If you want to live, probably," I mention somberly, "the Temple of Light might find alternatives, but even for them, resurrecting something dead is nearly impossible." I gently pet his head, hoping to take at least some worries from him. "With my methods, you can at least live a normal life, albeit not far from me."

For the first time, Foàlan looks at his parents, who are filled with tears. His mother holds her hand over her mouth and sobs quietly, while his father openly shows his tears. But Foàlan seems unfazed.

"I want to keep this body; it's served me well. I wasn't very close to my family anyway, always the forgotten one, less responsible than Liam, and Brandon was smarter than me before the incident. After the incident, it got even worse; our parents often forgot I even existed, having tried everything to bring back the old Brandon, even though nothing worked." Suddenly, Foàlan's eyes become determined. "I don't know what kind of man you are or what you'll accomplish one day, but it's probably better to follow someone than no one. I will stand at your side, fairy boy! Let's do this!"

He grinned confidently, his voice teasing, his gaze challenging. I laughed briefly. Despite his boastful manner, he has a heart. I nod, place my hand on his head, and whisper, "Tudomianux." His eyes closed, a smile spread across his face, and his body fell asleep again. I slowly remove the collar, and his color quickly returns.

As I turn to the others, my smile fades. "Well, this will be an expensive undertaking," I mutter, my heart filling with concern. "The metal I need costs more than Eraklyon produces in a year." I sigh, trying to think of a way to obtain what I need when my eyes land on Liam. He's staring at Foàlan and me in stunned silence. "Please tell me you're holding the spell while feeling like a fish out of water."

Liam shakes his head, ready to say something, but suddenly he pales. Shock runs through me as I turn to my lying patient. The magical glow is gone; half of his bones have already crumbled to dust.

“Damn it, I can’t save him anymore; we don’t have enough time.” My words send waves of grief through the room.

“Please, no,” I hear the lady of the house cries out.

I try to think of something that could save the poor man. But somehow, nothing comes to mind.

“You know what you have to do, even if you don’t want to,” whispers the voice of the stone Leviathan in my head.

"You're right, but I can't show them my abilities; it would shock them," I murmur. Despite my calm voice, I can feel everyone's eyes on me. "It is your decision, but remember that this young man's life is now in your hands," the voice finally said before falling back into its stony sleep.

Why does it always have to be me? Couldn't Stella, the fairy of the sun and stars, be confronted with such horrors for once? She can at least use healing magic! But no, the outsider who can't even handle everything he was born with gets everything thrown in his face!

As my turbulent thoughts deepen, I hear something in my head that sounds almost like the bell of clarity. The next moment, I realize the situation I'm in. With a reluctant sigh, I turn around. I raise my hands; the atmosphere becomes oppressive.

"Everything you see now stays in this room, or I'll crush you into puddles!" Suddenly, stones appear, some of which I summoned from my home world—the only way I can cast this spell. The stones form several gates, but what really matters is the magic needed to activate them. Despite my first magic teacher's warning, I consume several more bubbles of stored magical energy, my veins glowing so brightly they're almost white.

I remember where the others must go: the old Mage Academy, the Alfea, and the Temple of Light, where I once attended a ceremony. One archway after another lights up. As the gates open, I look at my so-called "friends." "Vinok is going through the second archway, Daniel the third, and Brandon and Callisto are going through the first!"

I let my order sink in for a moment before turning to Vinok. "You need to get Professor Palladium and Terra for me."

Then I turn to Daniel and press my hand against my chest, where something that looks like a rectangular seal appears. "Daniel, you have to bring the Rainbow Priest. He owes my family a lot. If he still refuses to come, just remind him of the second star, and he'll come running."

But I take a deep breath when my eyes land on Brandon and Callisto. "You need to get the butler from the old magic academy. He must gather as much ore from the backyard as all three of you can carry and then take it with you. I have to do something I never thought I would have to do!"

Without really giving them a choice, I turn around. "I will keep Foàlan alive until you return!" I promise them. "Proctus!" Once again, the healing light envelops the dying man. I can only hope they return soon.

[Masterlist]

[zaceouiswriting]

Fairy Prince - Hearts of Leviathans - Ch.54

Character: Sky x male reader, Riven x male reader, Brandon x male reader, (OC) Callisto x male reader

Universe: Somewhere in Winx Club/Saga

Warnings: None

(Brandon)

(Callisto)

“Your Majesty, you should expand your mana pool.”

"Why, Sir Loran? Does it really matter? I'll probably sit in the office or the throne room for the rest of my life anyway."

Sir Loran gently ruffled my hair. As I looked up at him, his smile was gentle, but his gaze was focused, almost intimidating.

"A good ruler must protect his people at all costs, but as a person, your people are more than just your subjects. The friends you make over time, their families, and even some of your less cruel enemies become part of the people you wish to protect, not to mention your siblings." He paused and looked into my trembling eyes. "You need power to protect all these people, and I'll show you how!"

***

The memory of Sir Loran, whom I have not thought of since I entered the war, my first magic teacher and the only one I ever trusted, who trained me until I was nine, when he suddenly disappeared. After him, I had twelve more teachers, until I was sent into battle at twelve. But he was the one who taught me everything I know, especially how to never be one step behind your enemies. Yet I never imagined that I would have to open that gate, not in battle, but to save the life of one of my people, almost as if Sir Loran had prophesied it.

With my hands still hovering over Foàlan, I pop a bubble. My head clears as a massive amount of mana surges through me, so much that my mana veins glow a bright light blue. I didn't think it would be that much mana; even though I've been collecting it for years, it almost scares me as I still have a few hidden in my body. Sir Loran's technique, or at least what he calls it, is the Protection of the Mana Heart. It's a breathing technique where you create a bubble near the magical core or sub-cores along the mana lines, where you gather mana as you breathe. In these bubbles, they are converted into your own mana over time, and when they are full, you create a new one. But he warned me not to overdo it or use multiple bubbles at once, as that could kill me due to the abundance of mana.

My body feels better than it has in a long time. With my renewed strength, I can cast higher-level spells, and even my magical core in my ring feels almost the same as it did when it was still in my body. While he is nowhere near being healed with normal spells, or even Grandmaster-level spells—it would honestly be easier to revive him at this point—it is enough to save his body from eroding any further, especially his bones, at least for some time.

After about ten minutes, the guys finally return with cleaning supplies, but at this point I can't deal with them anymore. I wish for nothing else than for them to slip and die.

I slowly turn my gaze to them. Every single one of them, even Callisto, takes a step back at the same time.

"If you dare leave after I've screamed for help for half an eternity, I will not hesitate to break your legs, skin you alive, and keep you breathing until infections invade your body and take your life in the most disgustingly and cruelly possible way!"

A simultaneous gulp goes through the line of guys. I wish I could still call my friends, but if they're willing to let someone die this way, maybe they deserve the same fate.

“We didn’t hear you,” one of them murmurs sheepishly.

"Obviously," I reply sarcastically. "Brandon, do you want Foàlan to die?"

“No.” He seems almost offended by my question, but I don’t care.

"Then get everyone here, especially Liam!" Brandon stands there, stunned, his eyes wide like a deer's. Maybe my tone was harsh, but honestly, it's deserved? I'm trying to save a life here, and even with the mana boost, it's not easy.

Brandon takes a moment, but with some encouragement in the form of Callisto pushing him—the only other person who seems to be taking this situation somewhat seriously—he almost trips over his own feet as he tries to scramble away. I took one last look at him, and his eyes were full of fear; I may have unsettled him too much.

An awkward silence fills the room. Using this moment, I turn my gaze back to Foàlan, trying everything in my power to keep him stable, only to find more and more problems, from organ failure to thick blood clots in his veins. That his body is still alive is more than a miracle; it is so much worse than Liam had been. Although the dark magic had almost no effect on him, something far worse had taken hold of him instead.

A sudden crash nearly makes me jump out of my skin. But worse, it interrupted my healing spell. Clenching my fists, I try everything not to explode. Instead, I take a deep breath and ignore the others' invasive stares. Once more, I speak my healing spell, expending a tremendous amount of mana in the process. It's so much easier to keep a spell going than to start it over again. But there's nothing I can do. The most important thing is to keep him alive until I know what to do.

As the minutes pass, I'm starting to get a little nervous. I can't keep him alive like this forever. I know it's my fault that his situation has deteriorated so much so quickly, but I'm not a healer. I'm a destructive mage who throws fireballs or chain lightning. In the war, all I needed was basic healing, and this beats anything I've ever done.

A gentle tap on my shoulder pulls me from my thoughts, but not from my mission. I turn my head, my breath catches in my throat, and my eyes widen. Callisto's tanned golden skin is so close, his shiny brown curls bouncing right before my eyes, his head tilted down so close, that I feel his breath brushing my lips. I feel myself leaning into him.

"Not here," Callisto whispers, his voice deeper than usual, sending a shiver down my body, his gaze darting between my eyes and lips. He clearly wants it as bad as I do. "Brandon's parents are here."

Looking past Callisto's handsome, sharp, angular features, I indeed see the Lord and Lady of this house. My handsome specialist nods, steps back, and gives me the space I need. I clear my throat; the atmosphere is heavier than I thought.

"I need to know what your son wants," I try to speak clearly, but the gravity of the situation is putting too much pressure on my lungs. There is no easy way to ask this. "Does your son want to live?"

Seeing the horror in the parents' eyes, the sudden shattering of all their hope, says it all. It only got worse when the lady burst into ugly sobs, so loud that even my heart sank. Her husband caught her as her knees began to give way. I never wanted to see that again, to feel so useless in the face of death, the only enemy I can never overcome.

"He always wanted to live a normal life, become a father, a knight of the kingdom, and—"

“Does he want to live or die?” My cold voice even makes me shudder.

The lord swallows hard, his face distorted. He must have just realized the situation, which, as other parents have told me, tastes like poison melting on the tongue. It is not the first time, and most likely will not be the last, that I see this expression on such a stern man. He is clearly a man who only recognizes masculinity, but there is none of that to be seen at the moment, only the horror of a father losing his son.

"He wants to live," a second voice suddenly interjects. Around the corner, Liam is being half-carried by one of the younger servants. "Foàlan and I sometimes talked when he was still conscious in the early days. Do you remember, Mother? When he screamed in pain at night, none of us could understand. In his good times, we talked about the times to come when he would beat my ass not only in sword fighting but also in board games, as if he ever had a chance."

None of them seem to be able to think clearly, but in a situation like this, I probably couldn't either. If Galan were the one to die, I would wish that he lived too.

"I will wake him up then," I declare resolutely. Everyone stares at me in horror, disbelief, and betrayal. I roll my eyes and motion for Liam to come closer. He has gritted his teeth, but I don't care. I take him by the hand, connect his magical core with mine, copy the spell I use to heal Foàlan, and break my connection to him. "Whatever you do, Liam, don't let your mind wander; just remember to help your brother until the healing spell disappears."

He stares at me with wide, disbelieving eyes, no anger to be seen. He tries to open his mouth, but I shut it. I don't like opposition; I never have, especially when I'm trying to give orders or help.

"Stone Shackle!" I mutter. The summoned stone appears around Foàlan's neck. As I concentrate on it, the shackle, or in this case the collar, tightens around him. "Paralyze!" It can't be seen, but small metal spikes penetrate his skin from the inner circle, just far enough to not hit anything vital and only punctuate certain points. With a small movement of my hand, the inner part of the collar tightens further and further until his skin looks just a little paler, whereupon I stop it.

I crack my fingers and turn back to the family, who stare at me in horror. That feels appropriate since I just placed a stone collar on their son and brother. But it's all good; that will have to wait because it takes a few minutes for his nervous system to be suppressed by the pressure and the little needles pricking him. Just then, I notice something lurking around the corner outside the room. 

“What happened?” I ask him immediately, not even giving him a chance to think of an excuse.

"I fell," Brandon immediately crumpled up like a piece of paper. What a cutie.

"So you were the one who made the loud crash?"

His whole neck quickly turned red. He looks away and nods rather adorably. He's really nothing more than a big golden retriever puppy. But then I see it, the slightest limp in his gait. A strange warm feeling compels me to step closer to him. His blush only gets worse as I stop right in front of him. I watch his face closely, but I see none of the pain that makes him walk like that.

Clicking my tongue, I roll my eyes, take his hand, and pull him into the room. He stumbles and takes a deep, sharp breath, confirming what I suspected.

"Why do all men always have to try to hide their pain? It's so annoying!" I mutter to myself in the same way and stare at Brandon, who looks away embarrassed. "We have to sit you down first."

"But there are no chairs," Brandon pointed out. I give him another glare, and he quickly falls silent. He sighs in resignation. Sometimes I wish he had a little more sense, but then he'd probably be like his oldest brother and Sky combined, a complete douchebag. But he was right about one thing: there are no chairs.

So I summon a rather large rock on the ground, which I quickly turn into a chair. Without allowing any objections, I plop Brandon down on it. His face is twisted in pain, but I don't care if someone is as reckless as him; he might deserve a little pain.

Rubbing my hands together, I reactivate the last bits of the healing spell and place them both on Brandon's cheeks. His eyes widen and his cheeks glow red. He's too cute for his own good. It's only as this thought crosses my mind that I sense the closeness, and suddenly a devious idea occurs to me. Gently, I run my thumbs along his strong jawline until they meet at the tip of his chin. His eyes sparkle, his innocence is truly astonishing, and despite what I've heard about his flirtatious antics, he doesn't seem used to being on the other side of the game. Somewhat forcefully, I pull his head down by the chin, and since his forehead is only an inch away, I settle a soft, chaste kiss on its middle. My left side twists into a half grin while simultaneous gasps echo through the room.

As I separate us, Brandon is dissolved into nothing but a shy little boy, fiddling with his fingers so much that I'm afraid he'll hurt himself. Carefully, I take them in mine. He dares to glance at me briefly but quickly looks away when our eyes meet. If only he had been like this from the beginning, maybe things would be different.

"The kiss wasn't necessary," Vinok's voice echoes in my ear. He grabbed my arm so hard that anyone else would be bruised from it. But the anger in his voice is misplaced; he had nothing to do with it. It may not have been fair to Brandon, but he will be angry with me, not with him. "You can't play with people like that!"

Suddenly, Vinok rips me away from Brandon, turns me around, and forces me to face everyone in the room. Honestly, I'm too shocked to react. But when I regain my composure, I rip my arm out of his hand, glaring at him in utter betrayal.

"I don't know who you think you are, Vinok, but you're crazy if you think there are no consequences—" I jab my finger into his chest and hold his gaze with blazing anger—"I'm not playing with anyone. But if you're so angry that you can't flirt with any of the fairies you'd love to get into the panties of because you decided to stand by your friend who was horribly humiliated by those same girls in public, maybe we should both rethink our friendship." My anger is almost boiling over, but I can barely hold myself back. “I don’t need any more snakes around me than I already have.” I finally finish my monologue, but the heaviness doesn’t get any easier.

I push past him; my eyes lock on Callisto. For a moment, the world seems to stand still. But then his carefully maintained facade of neutrality trembles, and for just a split second he lets his emotions show. That's enough to make me realize that I may have gone too far this time, which is only underlined when my gaze falls down his body to his clenched hands.

My heart aches, a feeling I haven't had since the day my world turned upside down. I was angry before, but now I feel discouraged and all emotions drained from my body. Why do I have to be so impulsive? I'd be lying if I said Brandon didn't deserve that kiss, but not at Callisto's cost.

“I need help!“

The sheer panic in Liam's voice is enough to pull me away from Callisto. Even though I am reluctant to turn my back on the situation I created in my infinite wisdom, Foàlan's life is more important.

"I'm here," I whisper as I stand next to Liam. I put a hand on his shoulder to look at him first. "Your mana level is stable; the spell is taking almost nothing away from it, but your body is tense considering this is the first time your newly formed magical core has ever used magic. That's perfectly understandable, but you have to go through this pain like any new mage does." As I take a step back, he looks at me incredulously. "What?" I ask him smugly. "I believe in you."

I don't let it stew too long, pat him on the shoulder, and then finally stroll back to Foàlan. The collar was around his neck long enough to wake him up.

My left knee is on the edge of the bed; I lean over him. His skin is dry, but his face is even more beautiful up close. This family's genes are great, one more beautiful than the last.

Carefully, I place my right hand on his head. "Exitirania," I blurt out clearly. At first it doesn't seem to work, as nothing happens. Although things are getting pretty hectic in the room, I stay calm. The spell takes its time, as I don't want to wake him up by force but rather bring him back without causing any damage or stress.

After a few receding sun rays, another pair of dark brown eyes looks at me. I can't hide a widening smile.

"Are you an angel?"

Smiling somewhat reservedly, I chuckle quietly, feeling yet another blush creeping onto my cheeks. "Something like that.“

[Masterlist]

[zaceouiswriting]

Fairy Prince - Hearts of Leviathans - Ch.53

Character: Sky x male reader, Riven x male reader, Brandon x male reader, (OC) Callisto x male reader

Universe: Somewhere in Winx Club/Saga

Warnings: Blood, Gore

(Brandon)

(Callisto)

"No, Galan!" I hear myself scream as I see a dagger penetrate his throat. Blood splatters everywhere, covering the dark stone walls of the bedroom with its red color. I feel my body shaking. My vision goes black for a moment, but when I can see in the darkness again, there is another body lying next to my brother. Fear filled my body, but I jumped to my brother, ripped a piece of my nightshirt, and pressed it to his throat, all the while watching to see if the other man would attack us again.

Something switched in my mind when I saw the intruder's hand move. Before I knew it, a massive stone sword was hovering over the man, and with just a wave of my hand, I brought it down, squashing the man to pieces. But what pissed me off was the black piece of cloth covering his face, as if nobody would ever find out who he was.

When my brother's breathing returned to somewhat normal, I turned to the man who had tried to kill us and walked toward him. Even though I wanted nothing more than to run away and cry in an empty room, I knelt down beside him anyway. I grabbed the cloth that was covering his face and ripped it off like a bandage, but instead of fear, my head was spinning with confusion.

The person I feared was not a man but a young woman with purplish hair, reminiscent of the assassins in the old records concealed in the forbidden section of the dark library. I knew instantly that I would never forget her face, nor the intensity with which she attacked my brother and me. Although we were still just children, she left nothing to chance, or at least she tried not to.

I can only see her face briefly, as I finally heard the metallic clanging of our guards in the distance. They took their sweet time. However, I summoned another stone that smashed the woman's face before they could get there. Immediately after I turned back to Galan, I swept him up from the floor and ran out of the room. At that moment, my body feels weak, and tears streamed down my cheeks. A heavy realization hit me: I have just taken a life. In a panic, I glanced back once more and saw something strange outside my brother's bedroom—a faint glow.

I never found out what it was.

“(Y/N), are you there, is everything okay?”

I shake my head when I hear Brandon's worried voice. My eyes are still fixed on the room. I haven't thought about that night in a long time. But I can understand why; it was traumatic, and yet the same strange glow radiates, not from the room itself, but from the door. Inspecting it further, I realize it's their sign.

Out of the corner of my eye, I suddenly see someone moving. Reflexively, I slam my arm against the door frame, preventing the person who dares to try to enter the room. Rescuing the person, I snap in their direction. Vinok's shocked face says it all.

"I'll warn you just once. None of you—" I turn to the others and look them in the eyes—"will enter this room until I specifically tell you otherwise. And if you do, I will prevent you from receiving life-saving help. I will let you suffer and die a death from which you will beg to be released!"

Without giving them a chance to answer me (since this should not be necessary), I made myself perfectly clear; I turned toward the interior of the room. I close my eyes, knowing I must prepare myself. 

"Armor of harmonizing metals," I whisper. Just a moment later, I feel my entire body being covered by a thin layer of magical particles that quickly harden into metal armor. "Lius Proktus Crelianis Senkneuis Cekelius." The magical core of my ring lights up, and a second layer of light envelops me, followed by a warmth that heals a small scratch on my hand, after which a second gray layer covers the first light, only to be overshadowed by another stable light that quickly hardens into a barrier. And as a final push, I take a deep breath and move the aura of the other core of my ring through my body, even though it burns, since it no longer normally flows through me; I bite through it.

I open my eyes, surrounded by three layers of protection, and take the first step into the room. Immediately I sense the magical pressure, the air full of poison, and the energy of witchcraft. I knew it! The moment I looked into that room and saw all those crystals, little dolls, forest forage, symbols, and little servants walking around with engravings, there was really no surprise anymore.

This is really getting more annoying than I first thought. Where do I start? Just as I wonder about this, I feel something at my leg. Looking down, I can't help but smile because fate always gives me the right answers. I bend over and catch the creature that ran into me. It tries to fight, but at this size it can't do anything. Upon closer inspection, I am sure of what it is. I gently stroke his little furry head. At least he's still furry.

With both hands I feel his skin under the fur until I find what I'm looking for: the engraving. It's sloppy; the corners are almost rounded, and the circle is more elliptical, but it still seems to work because his skin is getting darker, and in some places the fur is already falling out.

I form a stone ball, capturing the little creature inside. "Proctus!" My voice echoes through the room, the magic deep inside. I wait a moment before opening the ball. I immediately see the little creature crouched at the back of the ball. The creature's fur is pure white again, its skin has returned to its beige color, and the deformed nose has almost reverted to its original, round shape. But its ears are the best part; they are long, pointed, and curled up, just too cute. "Don't worry, little guy, everything will be fine!" I tell him as I scratch his head. It seems to calm down, but I close the ball again and cast the spell a second time.

Turning in circles, I desperately try to find a safe place to put the ball until I can clear the fog of darkness from the room, but the space is too cluttered. Not just because of the witchcraft used, but almost as if no one has cleaned the room since the owner fell into a coma. It's almost like a little time capsule here; at least the three brothers seem like the kind of guys who throw their crap around and only clean their room when their mother tells them to. But then my eyes suddenly fall on Brandon; a lightbulb goes off in my head.

"Brandon?" I call to him in a sweet voice. There is a gasp and a pant from outside, but I can only smile at it. These guys are too easy to fluster.

"Yes?" His usually confident voice, gentle. I see him approach the door, but he doesn't step over it. What a good boy, like a well-trained hunting dog.

Smiling inwardly, I try not to burst out laughing. He doesn't rush me once but waits patiently, even though I need a moment to continue speaking. "Can you catch something for me?" I finally ask.

“Yeah, sure,” he calls back immediately, but I hear some hesitation.

"Is something up with you?" I ask, but don't get an answer. "What's going on?"

He sheepishly scratches his neck. "I can't see inside."

Confused, I look around again. Is he playing with me? Only for the situation to dawn on me pretty harshly. "Sorry," I mumble, a little embarrassed. "I'll throw it towards your chest; I can see you clearly." When I hear his agreement, I prepare to throw him but hold back most of my strength so as not to knock him to the ground. But just before I can throw it, something stops me. "Do you have a piece of cloth to catch the ball?"

A little scuffle starts, but he gives me the go-ahead just a few seconds later. I'm sure no one would let him grab the ball with his bare hands, so I finally throw it. A huff echoes in my ears. It's almost as if a weight has been lifted from my heart. Seeing the success of this little operation, I am about to go and look for the others, only to find dozens of them around my feet. Maybe they saw what I did to their friend; perhaps they're not as stupid as everyone thinks.

My theory about their intelligence is further confirmed as they do exactly what I tell them to. They waddle at an exact distance from each other. It's rather impressive; not even the hunting dogs I praised earlier could do that. Somehow I can't stop smiling; witnessing them walking so helplessly just makes my heart swell. I give them the same treatment the first one got, a little scratching of their heads before trapping them in their own little stone ball to heal and cleanse their little bodies. Seeing so many little balls around me feels kind of tragic. Sometimes I hate the universe for things like this, but thankfully they don't happen that often anymore.

"Hey, Daniel?" I call again. A hesitant head comes in front of the open door. "Can you catch a few more balls? But remember to only catch with cloth!"

Not long after, I see him standing where Brandon had stood, holding a large blanket. But I didn't plan for him to stay there for long. I let all the balls hover around me like a protective belt and throw them into the air with a mischievous grin. One after the other, they hit Daniel with so much force that after three of these balls, he is thrown backward straight into the wall. Still, I don't let the stream of stone balls stop. Much to my surprise, he catches them all, as if he still thinks he's my friend, or maybe he's just afraid of my authoritative tone.

Once all the balls are on the blanket he's holding, he closes it and grimaces as he tries to get up. I may have overdone it, but he smiles at the room even though he can't see what's inside. It hurts my heart, but deep down I know I won't easily forget the dismissive and slightly asshole way he disrespected my feelings for Callisto.

I turn away from him, already having decided what to do next. Raising my hands, I call the crystals all over the room to me. My eyes widen as the room cracks and creaks. Before I know it, the walls are breaking open, furniture is being destroyed, and even the floor is opening up.

There were hundreds of tiny, small, medium, and large crystals. I can't believe the sight. What horrible creature would do such a thing? The black magic must be unbearable, but strangely, only this room is tainted by it, as if the person didn't want anyone else to suffer like that. What did this poor guy do to this witch?

The longer I look at them, the more I wonder what to do. They need to be purified before anything can be done with them, because if not, they would cause contamination, probably even in a place like this.

I gather my strength until I feel my magic vibrating. Fusing the crystals would be the easiest way to purify them, but as far as I know, there is no spell for that, so I must create my own. I focus on the crystals; soon they too begin to vibrate, just like my magic, and I imagine them becoming one. To a certain extent it works; the tiny ones become small crystals, but the larger they get, the harder it becomes to combine them into a new one. It gets quite painful quickly. My brain begins to fog up until I can no longer imagine it, but I know if I stop here, it could all go wrong faster than my eyes can see.

The pain becomes immeasurable, but I continue, although I have to close my eyes to avoid hurting them. When someone uses too much magic, open eyes are always the first to be damaged because that's where the magic can release the pressure most easily.

A cry of pain escapes my lips, but thankfully the pain suddenly disappears just as my cry escapes into the darkness of the room. Opening my eyes, tears obscure my sight, yet I can make out a huge crystal, probably as tall as me, maybe even a little taller and three times as wide. It would be impressive if it wasn't as black as the deepest night. For now, I give it the same treatment I gave the little rascals before. I could immediately feel the oppressive nature of the black magic weakening. It's not a permanent solution. I'll have to do that later, but for the moment, that's all I can do.

"Jokus Dunsel Pulsavias Voucha Kra Nemlian Sekneuis Proktun." It has been a while since I’ve used such a high-level spell, but I can clearly sense that it is not powerful enough. To avoid repeating myself, I simply channel more magic to artificially strengthen the spell. Gradually, the air in the room begins to shift; the darkness collects, drawing itself from the air and surrounding fabric, gathering in one place, forming a sphere, enclosing it within a barrier, and slowly purifying and healing it. What many people in dark magic organizations don't realize is the harm they inflict on the magical particles and the pure mana. It saddens me to witness this.

This mana can never return to nature. It can be healed, but it will never be the same again. But it can still be used as a tool, perhaps even a powerful one, considering how much effort I had to put into gathering it all and how intense its power seems to be. Now I just need to find someone who can use it after I make a magical weapon out of it.

Suddenly, something pulls me out of my thoughts. When I look back, Brandon is smiling at me so genuinely, so sweetly; it almost makes me sway. Why does he have to be so handsome? Just then, as if he can sense it, Callisto's equally handsome face appears from the side, barely poking around the door frame, smiling; however, his expression feels different—more familiar, perhaps mischievous as always. Just as I'm about to ask about their behavior, he raises something next to his head. Between two fingers, he holds one of the little rascals, who is also smiling, waving its little arms, desperately searching for attention. Although I can see Callisto saying something toward the small rascal, I can’t hear a word. To my astonishment, the rascal frees itself from Callisto's grip, digs its little claws into his cheeks, and hugs him tightly. I want to protect the sight, even as it disarms me; Callisto really does seem like the perfect man.

"You can come in, you idiots; I got rid of all the darkness," I tell them, chuckling, but they look at each other and then at me. Confused, I turn around and only see Callisto, with a serious expression, reaching out his hand to me, but it gets held back by a barrier. I blush, unable to believe my error. "Sorry!" I yell and run towards them. Directly opposite Callisto, I try to touch the barrier to dissolve it. Instead of feeling the cold of a barrier, I fall.

With wide open eyes, I am afraid to feel the cold, hard floor. But I don't fall for long. A strong arm and the scent of the forest catch me. "I got you. I always will!" Callisto's deep voice and the warmth that emanates from him make me feel safe.

Just as all of this overwhelms my senses, I feel something on my head. "I think he likes me more," I comment as I feel four feet and two hands trying to make themselves comfortable in my hair. It's nice to know that my magic, although drastically diminished over time, is still enough to help these creatures.

“I can’t blame him; you smell so good,” Callisto whispers. His lips are so close to mine.

“And the barrier?” Daniel’s voice rang out again, just before I got my well-deserved kiss.

The urge to splatter the floor with his blood makes me grit my teeth and twist into Callisto's arm, gripping both sides of the doorframe. "Please convey my apologies to your parents for my upcoming actions." I grin casually over my shoulder at Brandon. As always, he stares at me like a deer caught in headlights, but his eyes widen with shock as I effortlessly rip the doorframe out of the wall, destroying a large portion of it in the process.

Brandon trembles at the sight. He is clearly terrified, but I simply don't have enough mana to do anything else at the moment.

"Now that you can enter, I need your help to remove all runes and witch symbols from the walls, floor, and ceiling."

None of them seem to take me seriously, so I step aside and invite them to enter the now purified room. It didn't take long for them to realize the truth. "I'm sure Brandon or one of his family's servants can show you where the cleaning supplies are. I'll take care of his brother in the meantime!" I push them back out of the room, smiling widely.

With no one else around, I finally have time to look at my second patient. This may not have been the best moment, as I'm dangerously close to passing out and sleeping for another month, but what can one do?

As I step close to the bed, I can't see his face in the darkness; it's only lit up from the hallway. I reach for the curtains behind the bed and pull them open, only to feel like I've been knocked out of my comfort zone. Someone is lying on the bed, but are these people sure he's Brandon's brother? Brandon already has a masculine, sharp facial structure with a beautiful, rather small nose, thick lips, and high cheekbones, but this guy can literally cut diamonds with his jawline. And don't let me start with his body. Damn. Even after lying for so long, he doesn't seem to have lost a single muscle: a broad neck, equally wide shoulders, and those pecs. Man, how much I just want to lie on it; it would probably be the best sleep of my life!

"Fuck, he's the most beautiful man I've ever seen!" I murmur quietly. It just slipped out of my mouth.

But I wonder how his body survived like that, especially with all the dark magic that was supposed to eat away at it.

I reach out to feel his skin and maybe trace his jaw, but who could blame me? As I almost touch his body, a loud, booming voice stops me.

"Don't touch him!" The voice boomed so loudly that I flinched a little. Panicking, I look around, yet I can't see anyone, which confuses me even more. "If you touch him, his bones will turn to dust!"

Irate, it slowly dawns on me: that stupid stone guy again. "I'll touch anyone I want; he can't even say no!" I almost shout. As the words echo in my ear, I sigh in shock. "That's not how I meant—" I wipe my hand over my face—"I "need to touch his skin to see what I need to do to get him back on his feet!" I can only hope that someone believes my words, because I don't.

“Use your damn magic, you foolish fairy!”

Muttering incomprehensible words, I close my eyes, let my hands float over the prone body, and use the surrounding mana particles like a scanner. The manipulation is simple and requires hardly any mana of my own. At first I don't see anything, but the stone guy insists that I use more power.

As I search his chest, I realize I've made the biggest mistake of my life, maybe the third biggest, but still. I immediately throw up my hands and curse myself silently. What should I do?

But before I can decide, I sense a change. When I turn back to the lying man, I see the first bone breaking apart.

“Help!” I scream throughout the house, my voice echoing off the walls in a desperate attempt to save this poor man’s life.

[Masterlist]

[zaceouiswriting]

Fairy Prince - Hearts of Leviathans - Ch.52

Character: Sky x male reader, Riven x male reader, Brandon x male reader, (OC) Callisto x male reader

Universe: Somewhere in Winx Club/Saga

Warnings: Mentioning of blood, gore and betrayal

(Callisto)

(Brandon)

About an hour after the procedure, I sense the man's heart rate increase exponentially. Watching his face, I am a little stunned as his life-filled skin makes him almost glow. It takes him a while, but he finally opens his eyes. With a friendly smile, I clear his vision of sweat and hair.

"There you are," I say with a chuckle. He barely exhales and breathes heavily. "I know it's tough to come back to the living, but you need to move the hand I'm holding."

He scoffs. "I haven't moved in years," he whispers in a croaky voice, probably due to a dry throat.

Although he says one thing, his body language suggests something entirely different. Validation washes over me as his body reacts just as I wanted. To emphasize my point, I tickle his palm. Reflexively, he jerks it away. He glares at me and insists that I stop tickling him. But I just gaze at him, smiling. He even questions why I'm looking at him so foolishly. Despite his disrespect, I simply wait for him to realize, knowing from experience that people like him often take a while to recognize their new reality.

I love witnessing people getting hit by this type of realization, and he doesn't disappoint. His face twists in confusion; he smiles, then pauses, almost on the verge of tears, only to suddenly stare sternly at me.

"Give yourself a few minutes," I advise him confidently. Everyone needs time to get used to new circumstances. "But I promise you that you'll soon be able to move around fully again."

“Why?“ 

It's such a simple question, and yet I've never heard it asked after helping someone. But maybe it's the right thing to do since we don't know each other.

“I don’t like watching people suffer,” I simply state, averting his intense stare.

He takes a deep breath as if he wants to say something, but nothing comes. Confused, I turn back to him and see his other hand gently take the book I was looking at when he was unconscious. A light blush coats my cheeks as I remember what I had seen as I took it in my hands.

“Why is my dairy here?” As his words echo in my head, I suddenly realize why what I saw was so vivid. I had no idea it was even real.

"If I had known it was your dairy, I wouldn't have taken it. I will never forget the things I saw; they are etched in my memory." I laugh quietly, but at least I know I'm not the only one with a loose mind.

"What?" he asks, confused. "Seen? Don't bullshit me; there's nothing to see in there." His face twists into anger as his voice becomes threatening. I would've been stunned if I hadn't seen what I did.

Trying to laugh it off, I tell him I hadn't read it. It didn't take me even a second to realize what I had done. But he evidently didn't believe a word I said, as he quickly got up from his bed, grabbed me by my collar, and tried to pull me towards him, but he only came closer to me.

"If you tell even one person what you've read, I will-„

Before he can finish his foolish threat, I smack his hand away and force him back onto the bed. Within that same moment, I summon a stone sword, sharp as a razor-edged dragon's tail. I display it before his eyes and brandish it against his throat, hovering over him and drawing a single drop of blood. My earlier easy grin is forgotten, replaced by a heavy scowl. He stares back at me, terrified.

"You mean Caroline, the maid you impregnated and whose womb you hollowed out after she told you, the woman you disposed of as if she had never existed by throwing her into the storm ocean that separates the mainland of Eraklyon from the steppes of your ancestors? Or do you mean the lives you took in revenge for a woman and her daughter you once protected after seeing their dead, horribly disfigured, and deflowered bodies? You seem to be a man of twisted morals, but what amazed me was the regret and remorse you felt for every task you undertook, which you carried with you rather than pushing away."

Frightened, he was speechless and stuttered violently. "But there's nothing about any of that in the diary."

Realizing I've dug myself deeper into a hole, I sigh in defeat. I pull back my sword and let it disappear into nothingness. I wonder if I should just kill him and make it look like it was natural, but then my efforts would have been in vain. Although it would be far from the first time, I don't want to make Brandon suffer any more than he already has.

I sit back and have to make a decision here. "I haven't read a book in years," I admit, closing my eyes because I don't want to see his reaction. "Instead, when I touch a book, I can see everything the book has been through, the truth behind the written words, and glimpses of moments or millennia of the timeline being written about. I've seen the Plasma Wars firsthand, for example. But I can also see the author's past."

After my explanation, silence fills the room. He is probably digesting my strange ability, but suddenly, he moves. I have never seen someone in his condition act so quickly; he puts his hand over my mouth, and his head is close to mine. But I can only think about my anger because he has moved again. Without hesitation, I push him back.

Pissed off, I summon stones to tie him to his bed. "It took me three hours to cut every dead piece of skin and flesh from you, and I will not let you destroy my work!" As he looks confused, I push his blanket away, revealing most of his body covered in clay, stone, and dirt. "It will heal in time, but since I am not a healer, it will take a while. Until then, you will listen closely to the diet you will follow, exercise plans, and most importantly, how and where you are allowed to sit."

“But our doctor-“

"Your doctor is the one who put you in this condition in the first place! Thousands of healers could have repaired your core and stopped your body from decaying while you were still alive."

“But it shattered,” my patient states matter-of-factly.

"Yes, but fortunately for you, it was not active when it broke. This is one of the few circumstances under which it can still be restored relatively easily."

He is silent for a while and then asks if he can go downstairs to his family. I knew this was coming, and I'm still a little annoyed. However, I believe I know how hard it must have been for him, so I agree, but only if he follows my instructions exactly.

I help him stand, although it is evidently painful for him. To preserve his honor, I help him walk, but the stairs are a little more difficult. His right arm rests on my shoulders, and my left arm is wrapped around his chest, as most of his torso and thighs are covered by the only way I can heal someone; it's stone hard at this point.

There is total chaos downstairs. We can hear it from far away. But it suddenly became quiet when someone on the stairs pointed at us. One of the butlers tried to reach us, but I sharply ordered him not to touch my patient, whereupon he backed away, probably out of fear. Only when we got downstairs, and I sat him in a comfortable chair and tilted him back, did I let others come closer.

I can't even take a step back before I'm forced back by the others, who bombard my patient with endless questions he can't answer. They shoo me away whenever I try to answer them instead as if I had nothing to do with the situation. I've tried to endure the ingratitude as best I can; I really have. But everyone has their breaking point. Before I know it, my furious voice echoes through the living room, leaving it in dead silence, after they imply that someone hasn't taken good care of him.

The entire scenario brought me to the edge, ready to headbutt them if Callisto hadn't put his hand firmly on my shoulder. Even though he got me to breathe through my anger, I push his hand away before I can do or say something I possibly regret later. Instead, give him a glare that I hope will make him reconsider his actions. And thankfully, just as I hoped, he quickly pulls his hand back fully and raises both up defensively.

"I'm sorry that I saved your son's life instead of letting him suffer and die like you all seem to have wanted, like the undignified, unhinged, and ungrateful people you truly are." I spit the truth in their faces like venom. "I thought you were all good people," I chuckle before I let my face turn stern, "but now I see that even a waterless lake has more grace than all of you put together!" I scold them.

My outburst seems to have surprised everyone except my patient, as he himself had received a lecture not so long ago. Yet, as soon as Daniel opened his mouth, my patience snapped like a cheap sword. Without a word, I reach out my hand. The world began to shake, and the house was torn apart as I summoned thousands of stones. Flooded with my rage like rivers after a violent tsunami, I immediately imprisoned him in a cage, which I transformed into a stone version of the Iron Lady, only with less pain or blood.

"From now on..." I look at my patient in confusion, realizing I never asked his name. A certain warmth creeps across my face while embarrassment fills my already busy mind.

He grins at me, probably coming to the same realization. So why didn't he say anything before? Did he do it to embarrass me, or does he just not care?

"It's Liam, little prince." His voice is so disgustingly condescending that it made me want to pull his spleen out of his mouth and throw it into the nearest lake for the second time.

"Oh, you don't want to know what I'm going to do to you," I whisper angrily through clenched teeth. But his stupid grin gets only wider; it makes me suspect that he actually did it on purpose, the little rat. I take a deep breath to try to calm myself down. With my heartbeat returning to normal, I turn my gaze back to his parents. "From now on, Liam—" I look at him intently for a second—"will be eating a mostly meat diet, red meat four times a week and fish three times. I will give you a list of all the fruits and vegetables he must consume every day for the next six months, along with daily exercise to rebuild his muscles. In about a year, he should be back to his old self, and don't worry, the hard crust covering most of his body will crumble off on its own. Please don't try to remove it if you want your son to survive."

“Why? What happened?” his mother asks, finally taking me seriously.

"I don't know what kind of quack doctor you have, but I would advise you to behead him before he can do any more damage. If I hadn't arrived until eight to twelve months later, Liam would already have been dead, eaten alive by his own dying body parts. You have no idea how much skin and flesh I had to cut away. I had to cut away, but there should be no visible change once the earth crumbles away. It takes time; it may even take years for it all to go away, as this form of healing takes time."

"But our doctor told us he would never walk again and-"

"Please excuse my bluntness, Lord O'Nahairly. I swear by my name and my throne as Crown Prince of Gyonos, you should behead this charlatan, as he never had the welfare of your sons at heart."

Suddenly, the room becomes eerily quieter than before, a heavy atmosphere threatening to swallow every sound. Only to be shattered by a truth that makes me rethink the meaning of family.

"Our doctor is my aunt, and my sister, her apprentice, is the doctor who took care of Foàlan and me directly," Liam revealed. But honestly, I can't believe it. How can a family do this to their own?

Honestly, I feel sick. The thought that Galan could do something like that makes me nervous because it seems so absurd. I can't talk about aunts or uncles since I don't have any, but it feels wrong to have to be afraid of them. What could be the reason? Greed? Do they want the title for themselves? As all these thoughts swirl in my mind, a detail occurs to me.

"Foàlan is your other brother, right?" I look at Liam expectantly, and when he nods, I quickly turn back to his parents. "I need to see him immediately. It's just an idea, but I may know why your family does this to your sons, but I need to see him to be sure."

The parents look at me with concern and clear skepticism. I can't blame them. I'm just an almost seventeen-year-old, a child, nothing more in their eyes, and I'm not supposed to know about any of this. Sometimes I wish I didn't, but I do, and it may have taken a while, but I'm finally willing to carry this burden to help those I can help, even if it means destroying families like this.

"He's in really bad shape and-"

"Do you want him to die?" I ask the Lady directly. She trembles under my sharp gaze, her eyes narrowing.

“No,” she answers simply.

"Well, I know where his room is; I only asked your permission out of politeness. I would have tended to him whether you wanted me or not. Under no circumstances will I let anyone die if I can help it, especially if it means preventing one of my friends from having their heart broken!"

Although they clearly hadn't expected such a strong reaction, neither stopped me as I passed them. And even though I can hear footsteps on the stairs behind me, I don't let it throw me off my rhythm. My eyes were set straight ahead, my goal in sight. But when I stand in front of the door again, a cold shiver runs down my spine; sweat forms all over my skin. I just know that what lies behind that door will be horrific. I don't know what it is, maybe the strong, oppressive aura or the strange flow of surrounding mana, almost as if it is trying to stay away from the room while simultaneously being sucked in and transformed into whatever lies behind that door.

I slowly reach out for the door handle, but no matter how hard I try to push it down, my body doesn't react. It's almost as if my body and mind are in harmony for once and won't let me see what's hidden behind this dark wooden door.

"Why are you trembling?" Brandon's deep voice rings in my ears. I almost jumped out of my skin; it was so sudden. When I turn around, I stare straight into his warm hazel eyes with masked anger.

"Think of my heart!" I whisper to him. Although I try very hard to hide my fear, it is too obvious this time. "I don't know. I can't bring myself to open this door. There is something horrific behind it."

When I hear Brandon chuckle at my comment, I'm pretty taken aback because my heart starts fluttering. This is a serious moment, and he's laughing? "I mean, Foàlan is a bit of an asshole, but I wouldn't go that far."

For a moment, I stare at him in disbelief. But it reminds me of my own siblings. Even though they are still young, I firmly believe we will be like that in the future. I almost have to smile when I think about calling Galan a horrific sight one day.

But suddenly, his warm laughter stops, and his hand, still tightly around mine on the door handle, stops. He doesn't break eye contact but helps me open the door—or rather, forces it to open. Panic rises in me, but it is already too late. The door is ripped out of both of our hands and slams against the inside wall. I almost jump out of my skin for a second time; my head immediately snaps forward. My eyes widen in disbelief. What the hell happened here?

[Masterlist]

[zaceouiswriting]

Fairy Prince - Hearts of Leviathans - Ch.51

Character: Sky x male reader, Riven x male reader, Brandon x male reader, (OC) Callisto x male reader

Universe: Somewhere in Winx Club/Saga

Warnings: Just a little teasing

(Brandon)

I follow the father-son pair in silence. Although I nearly killed the older man, he appears content and healthy, yet I still have a lingering negative feeling about it. I worry that I may have harmed him internally. However, I am confident they will discover at the main house whether anything happened or not. But even though it is my fault, that isn't what I am truly curious about.

For the first time, I truly perceived the family's wealth. The main house is situated so far away and is surrounded by abundant foliage and trees that I could barely glimpse the roof from the side house. It is a sprawling property, and the house is certainly large enough for at least a dozen generations, each with many children, to live there comfortably. The front is ornate with columns, sculptures, and a huge fountain encircled by an endless array of flowers. To be honest, it is far more beautiful than the palace on my home world. Since it's in the Black Mountains, not much flora can thrive there. The palace is relatively cold, clean, and sharp, with almost no curves; it simply looks dreadful.

Marvel at the high walls, the large windows, and the subtle, warm colors from light oak to dark, almost gray-white, so that one's eyes don't hurt even when the sun shines onto it.

For a moment, I forget why I'm even here, but thankfully, a certain voice begging for mercy snaps me out of my thoughts. Before anyone notices me, I sneak past all of them, the butlers, maids, family members, or my traitorous friends who seem to have lived here the whole time. Before I saw them here, I considered talking to them about what they told me when I first woke up, but now I just want to smash their skulls in.

As soon as I slip into the house, I sense strange mana waves vibrating throughout the entire place, seemingly emanating from a specific area on the upper floor. Without looking around much, I take the right side of the double-sided staircase in the large front room opposite the foyer doors.

Upstairs, I walk along the walls of the first-floor hallways. Although the mana waves echo off them, complicating my search a bit, I still locate the source. But instead of one, there are two doors behind which I can feel these discrepancies. With only half my mind focused, I place a hand on both doors. However, my left hand quickly recoils due to searing pain.

There's something wrong behind the left door. It feels too heavy, even for me. So I knock on the right door instead. Without having to wait a second, I'm invited in. Despite being a little taken aback by the quick invitation, I slowly open the door. The room is warm and friendly, the walls are a soft terracotta beige, and three large windows fill the room with natural light. A large bed stands in the middle of the back wall, with bookshelves on the other side and a table with some chairs right at its feet. At the back lies an older, more mature version of Brandon. He doesn't look much like their father, but somehow, I think I've seen his face before.

"You must be the lover Prince my little brother brought home," he says, smiling coquettishly at me. Although I've heard rumors that Brandon was a massive flirt before he came to Red Fountain Academy, I never believed them, but this guy? Absolutely. He even makes my cheeks glow with just a few words. "Brandon talked my ears off about you."

“Brandon is a good friend, and I am eternally grateful to him for allowing me to use his home so I can recover,” I tell him, smiling politely. But it didn't compromise the natural charm that surrounds him like an aura.

"I'm sure you're just friends." His voice is calm, but there's also a hint of amusement within, as if mocking me. "What brings you here? My parents don't know you're here, do they?"

Feeling like a small animal trapped by a scheming snake, I give up. Through experience, I know when to surrender. I wasn't expecting this kind of court game in a rural knight's house. "No," I agree quietly. "No one wanted to talk to me about you two, so I'm satisfying my curiosity myself."

"Some things are hidden for a reason."

"But that reason shouldn't be magical affinity," I snap back, quite annoyed at this point. "We're not in the age of false light anymore." To my confusion, however, the other stares at me as if I've just grown a second head. "You're in this state while your magical core is shattered; didn't you know that?"

He shook his head. "I had no idea I had one," he muttered quietly. He seems contrite about it. I would feel sorry for him if he weren't such a snappy asshole.

I click my tongue and dismiss his condition as utter stupidity. Even a dormant magical core can be sensed, so he is simply inattentive; the poor woman who will marry him one day just because of his pretty face.

But something in his gaze feels odd. No one has ever acted like this after hearing they should be able to use magic or aura. At first, they are happy, but in cases like his, they feel broken when they realize they can never use their innate powers. It intrigues me, but I shouldn't care. Instead, I walk around his room and look at small trinkets. I quickly realized this wasn't a patient's room but probably his bedroom. As for the many books, I'm not sure he ever read them, as some are about political philosophy and military strategy from the early Plasma Age many millennia ago. Although I never read them, I did experience that time thanks to my ability.

But as I look around further, I see small wooden figures. They are masterfully crafted with a lot of patience.

"I made them," Brandon's brother says in his deep, soothing voice. I turn to him with an emperor hummingbird in my hand. "When I could still move, this was my favorite pastime. The whole house is covered with statues I made between training and classes."

"They're beautiful. I could never—" I smile gently until his words suddenly sink in. "You can't move?" I ask him, my previously hidden curiosity completely unleashed.

"Do you think I'd still be lying here if I could move?" He sneers rather condescendingly. But I could clearly see that my previous outburst had taken him aback. Despite his obvious discomfort, he clears his throat and goes on to explain his situation as a "sudden neck fracture and lower brain damage."

At hearing his diagnosis, I couldn't help but chuckle to myself. Whoever was responsible for this man's care has no idea what they're doing. Whatever they call it, it doesn't exist, at least not like that. If it were the case, he wouldn't be able to speak and most likely wouldn't even be awake, but he could still move his head and articulate himself properly.

I go to him, place the bird on his nightstand, and put my hand on his chest without asking if he would allow me to examine him. But as I pull his blanket further down, his body shocks me, even though I don't let it show. He has bruises all over him; some areas are even necrotic, while most of his muscles have already disappeared, as if he had never been cared for.

"I thought your family were good people." He must have seen the anger on my face because he asked what I meant. "Your body is dying when it shouldn't since your condition isn't that bad. And a family that truly cares about you would never let you suffer like this."

But my explanation doesn't seem to calm him down. "It's the doctor's fault. He told them that any movement could end my life."

Tsk, tsk, tsk. Before the noises had stopped, I climbed onto the bed without shame and straddled Brandon's handsome older brother. His shocked eyes brought me back to life. "Just because someone told you something doesn't mean they're right. And that's why what I have to do will be so much more painful."

"What do you mean?" he asks frantically, his cheeks quickly turning pink as his eyes dart around the room. "Why would it hurt? And why are you smiling?"

“No particular reason.” I dismissed his question but couldn’t hide my excitement.

"Wait!" he shouts, stopping me for a split second. "Why are you smiling?“

"You're cute," I tell him, gently slapping his rosy cheek. "Not as brainless as your brother, but just as naive."

I give him one last look, fill my body with aura, wrap a hand around each of his wrists, and summon a small piece of clay to his mouth. "If you need to scream, just bite into it; this special clay can even be eaten if you so choose."

Despite the endless questions reflected in his eyes, I still begin the procedure before he can say a single word. It would only spoil the fun for me. I maintain eye contact the entire time, watching his face twist in pain and a muffled scream fill the room.

[Masterlist]