“What have you done?” Kleo found his voice and Flora instantly turned to him with a sheepish grin on her face. She started to explain and Alexei just shook his head from where he stood to the side as Kleo took in the new state of the workroom. He didn’t even recognize the place, nor did he realize just how big it was until now. Even when he peaked in earlier, he hadn’t paid it any mind as he was too focused on Effie, but now, he was amazed and bewildered, especially with the pool Flora decided to add. He wanted to ask how she even managed to conjure up such a thing, and his brain was trying to figure out how the moss and ivory were managing to even grow down here, magical or otherwise. Kleo crossed his arms, bringing a hand up to his face as he thought of what to say. His eyes quickly went around the room, landing on a portrait of his mom and grandparents that was hung up on the wall. His blood ran cold, and he felt a weird shiver crawl down his spine.

“I can get rid of the pool as soon as Effie is back home, I promise!” Flora’s voice shook him out of his trance and he realized she had been talking to him that entire time. The look of confidence she normally had in any situation seemed to waiver the longer it took him to respond so he waved his hand, trying to communicate that it was fine.

“I’m just surprised, I think.” He managed to say and took a breath. Alexei walked up beside him, placing an arm around his shoulders. “This place looks amazing, thank you.”

“Of course,” Alexei assured him with a smile, and Flora seemed to perk back up.

“It was no problem at all,” she beamed. “Besides, it was pretty cool to see what type of stuff Arina had in here. You now have quite the magical collection, Kleo. Of course, there are some things that should be replaced like herbs or other plants that have dried out, but there’s still some pretty neat stuff. Arina seemed to have the place pretty stocked up.”

“What would she even need all of this stuff for,” Kleo questioned, mostly to himself. “I mean, I get what they’re for generally speaking, but I’m just trying to remember a time where she had or used something like this when I was younger. Hell, I still don’t understand how there was an entire secret room I didn’t know about.” Kleo stepped away from them and gestured towards the giant cauldron sitting in the middle of the room. He felt like he didn’t know his mother at all and absolutely hated it. All of this was still so strange to him and it felt like as soon as he started to get the hang of things and get his mind to wrap around all that was going on, something else just had to throw him off. Maybe that’s why he had avoided coming down to this room so soon. There was a part of him that was still so raw about the fact that she kept so much from him.

Mindlessly, Kleo stepped towards the altar and as his foot came down on the smooth surface, the grooves engraved in the giant magic circle began to faintly glow and a flame ignited beneath the cauldron. He froze where he stood, watching it come to life as Alexei and Flora moved around him. Flora seemed almost fascinated by it all, explaining how she had never seen anything like it before.

“Magic circles are used for various things from conjuring things to channeling power, and this one seems to be linked to your family.”

“It’s beautiful,” Effie said suddenly from the water where she peered at them from the edge. She smiled, folding her arms on the ground and resting her head there as she watched them. “I don’t mean to interrupt, but have there been any revelations regarding my skin?”

Kleo shook his head. “No, actually. Nox hasn’t even come home yet from looking into it.”

“Do you think he’s alright?” Alexei asked.

“I’m sure he’s fine. Kleo would know if something happened to him,” Flora said in a matter of fact tone.

“Would I?” Kleo looked at her.

“Well, he is your familiar. The two of you are bound. If anything happened to one, the other would definitely know it.”

“I guess so, but even still, I don’t know where he is now.” He said before his head to speak to Effie directly. “We’ll hope for the best and that he returns with something that can help us get your skin back.”

The selkie simply nodded in response before delving back into the water and for a moment, Kleo wondered what would happen to Effie if they weren’t successful in retrieving her skin. He tried to shake off the thought, wanting to stay hopeful, but he couldn’t help but think about what it would mean to find the person that took Effie’s skin. Would they have to fight them? Kleo’s never fought anyone before, let alone using magic. He may have gotten better and more controlled with his craft but he still felt like he knew nothing of what it meant to even wield this power. It’s been all he could think about since Effie showed up earlier that day and told them what had happened to her. The thoughts alone worked him up and he could feel the warmth of his magic in his chest, flowing out through his veins and licking the tips of his fingers.

“Hey,” Alexei said softly, suddenly beside him and taking his hand. Kleo let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. Alexei looked him over then nodded towards the doorway. “Why don’t you go get yourself cleaned up from the day, and we can order some food or something.”

Kleo nodded, grateful for the sudden reason to leave this space. He gave Alexei’s hand a slight squeeze before excusing himself and heading to his room.

Turns out, a hot shower and a fresh change of clothes can do wonders. Kleo pressed the soft towel to his face before using it to quickly and not so thoroughly dry his hair. He looked himself over in the mirror, almost expecting to see someone different looking back at him. Ever since he got his powers, he never quite felt like himself. He felt different, and not exactly in a bad way. He didn’t know how to explain it. In a way, he felt like a child learning that the stove was too hot to touch. Each time he used his powers, he could feel the way it rushed through him, like an endless river raging and searching for a way out. At first, he didn’t realize just how much it was, but the more he learned to control it, the more he could feel that there was so much he was holding back.

Flora had described to him what his magic felt and looked like to her. She said it was bright and blinding as it gave off a deep warmth. Her’s, on the other hand, she said felt like a stream, peaceful and always moving through her. When he heard this, it worried him. Even though she assured him that everyone was different, he couldn’t help but wonder if this was part of the reason his mom hid his powers the way she did. She may not have said that in her letter, but she was still beyond vague about why she did anything she did. She wanted Kleo to trust that she did it for a good reason, but at least at this moment, Kleo couldn’t think of any reason to hide such an important part of someone’s life from them. And now, because he didn’t grow up with magic like any other witch would have, he had no clue what he was doing and was completely and utterly unprepared for the responsibilities that came with being who he was. Kleo didn’t think he had ever been so angry with his mom than he was at that moment. Angry about her hiding magic from him and who knows what else about his life that he still hasn’t learned about. Angry that she wasn’t there with him now to help him figure it all out. Angry that she knew how and when she was going to die, and yet, couldn’t stop it in any way. He was so angry that she was gone and that he felt so alone without her, even more so now that he’s discovering all of these other things.

Hot tears flowed down his cheeks and his knuckles turned white from his grip on the bathroom counter. He shook his head, not wanting to cry but unable to stop the flow of emotions rushing through him. He pushed himself away from the counter, gripping the towel as he tried to catch his breath and calm himself down.

He wanted it to stop.

He needed it to stop.

It had to stop.

He hadn’t felt the flames dancing across his skin until they gained purchase on the towel in his hands. He yelled out in fear, throwing the towel on the ground and trying to stomp out the fire before it got any bigger. His body shook with fear as he sank to the ground, images of the fire that consumed his home so long ago filling his mind. He could see the flames now, growing higher and higher, eating everything in their path without a care for the lives it ruined or the memories it took with each passing moment. He felt a pair of hands hold onto his face, pulling him away from the flames with a voice, calm and quiet, promising him it was alright.

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” Alexei repeated, taking Kleo into his arms and wiping away his tears. He held him there on the bathroom floor until his body no longer shook and the memories freed him from their hold.