Forlattena Prison, Desmond, 10416 P.C.

The days passed with tension. Stephanie knew they were treading on thin ice, staying in the prison for so long. The king and queen hadn't been able to give them any information about the Immortal One's son, though they revealed a seemingly far-fetched theory about a hidden island not too far off the northern coast that might hold answers for them. It was one wild goose-chase after another, and Stephanie was beginning to grow weary of it. She found herself liking the false sense of security she had been lulled into in this place. She was in no hurry to leave.

"That's because you can't sense her," Matthew told her at the end of the first week of their stay. "She's still watching us, you know. I can feel it."

"Then why hasn't she struck?" Stephanie asked irritably, catching the piece of newly chopped wood he tossed at her and stacking it with the others against the side of the cabin. Matthew seemed rather obsessed with chopping up wood for fire, doing it up to even three different times a day, and Stephanie didn't understand why until she complained about it to Annabella. The older girl had quietly suggested that it might have been because he was used to working with an axe and that not working made him restless. She hadn't considered that.

"Careful, Stephanie," Jessie said from where she was perched on the cabin porch, watching them with a bored gaze. "You might just provoke her."

"She's waiting," Matthew said, balancing another piece of wood on the chopping block. "I'm not sure why." He swung the axe, splitting the wood in one strike. Stephanie watched, mesmerized. He was incredibly strong. And handsome, once she really thought about it — which was a lot. The confrontation with Todd had made her realize how much she truly did enjoy Matthew's presence. Ever since Matthew's encounter with the Immortal One, he had seemed different. Bolder. A bit wilder, actually. He was a lot more sure of himself, and was open, contributing to their conversations instead of staying quiet. She remembered the first time she had seen Todd's smile — that had surprised her. Annabella's had shocked her. But Matthew's? It had taken her breath away.

She almost got hit in the face by the wood Matthew tossed to her. She managed to catch it, nearly slipping on the snowy ground in her surprise.

"Sorry, I thought you were ready," he said apologetically.

"I'm fine." She turned away so he wouldn't see the way her cheeks flushed. You're such an idiot, she inwardly groaned.

Jessie let out a loud noise of disgust. "You two are so boring. I'm gonna find someone entertaining to watch." She stalked away without a backwards glance.

"Bye," Matthew said, his tone of voice suggesting he wasn't sorry to see her go. He waited until the girl was out of sight to say, "She unnerves me."

Stephanie laughed. "She's like that. She's been warming up to you."

"Hardly. She doesn't like me at all." He slammed the axe blade into the chopping block and dusted off his hands. "Come on, let's find Annabella and Todd. We really need to talk about leaving."

"Who would have thought that you'd be our biggest worrier?" Stephanie muttered, a tone of sarcasm in her tone.

He lifted his eyebrows at her. "You can't sense what I sense. She's here, Steph. It's only a matter of time."

She stared at him in surprise, her heart stuttering a bit.

"What?" he asked.

She swallowed hard, licking her lips. "You... you called me Steph."

His cheeks reddened. "I'm sorry?"

"No, no, I just..." she trailed off, unsure of what to say or how to say it. "People don't... no one's called me that since Marcie died. She always called me that. It was, like, her special name for me that no one else ever used."

Matthew nodded respectfully. "I won't do it again."

"No, I mean..." She blushed. "I miss being called that. Please call me that." Her stomach twisted into a knot of embarrassment at her scattered words.

He smiled. Her heart raced. "I will if you want me to."

"I want you to." Idiot, idiot, idiot! You're so awkward!

"Okay." Matthew was oblivious to her internal dialogue. "Come on, let's find Todd and Annabella."

She followed him around the side of the cabin, hoping her flushed cheeks weren't as obvious as they felt. Everyone was inside except Jessie and Anthony; Stephanie heard the voices long before they went inside.

"But if Matthew truly is the son, how do we move forward?" Andre's low, booming voice reached them as they stepped inside.

Stephanie heard Matthew sigh. "I'm not the son," he said as he stepped into the doorway of the kitchen.

Stephanie ducked around him, peeking at the others in the room. Todd, Annabella, and Adrianna were seated at the table, while Andre leaned against the counter, his arms folded across his chest. They all looked surprised to see her and Matthew in the doorway.

"I'm not your saviour," Matthew repeated when they failed to respond. "I don't know why you'd think that."

Annabella let out a breath, leaning back in her chair. "There are a few reasons."

"Such as?"

"Your magic," Todd replied, a bit hesitant. "It counters the Veiled Lady's magic. That's no coincidence."

"You also seem familiar to us," Andre added. "I've seen you before somewhere. Adrianna agrees."

"There's also the little bit about meeting the Immortal One face to face," Annabella concluded. "Few have such experiences."

"Look," Matthew said, "I don't know what I am, alright? The Immortal One implied a lot and told me nothing — if I was His son, why didn't He just tell me? I'm not His son. Can we rule that out, please?"

Todd looked down at his hands in embarrassment. Annabella held Matthew's gaze for a moment before she finally nodded. "Okay," she said.

"Thank you." Matthew turned away from them and started for the door. "I need air."

Stephanie stilled, frowning at Annabella and Todd before hurrying after Matthew. He was marching off into the trees, disregarding the snow that had begun to fall. She quickly followed him, struggling to keep up with his long strides. She didn't know what to say. She had told Annabella that Matthew wasn't the Immortal One's son — clearly, she hadn't believed her. She couldn't blame for their assumptions.

"You're not him, Matthew," Stephanie said finally, trying to break the tension that hung in the air.

Matthew stopped abruptly, staring out into the trees with a hard look. "But what if I am?" He began to pace back and forth. Stephanie watched him silently, unsure of what to do. "Everyone thinks I am because I'm different, because I've got magic," he continued. "I don't know why I have magic. I don't know why I'm different. The Immortal One was very cryptic about it all — what if I am His son? My life and everything about it will have been a lie and I don't think I can deal with that!" He stopped and looked at her. "I had a family, you know. I had parents and two sisters. They were my flesh and blood, I know it. There's no way it was all a lie!"

He continued to pace back and forth, and she watched him, gnawing on her bottom lip. She hated seeing him so stressed out, but she didn't know how to offer him comfort. She knew he wasn't the Immortal One's son — or did she only know that because she refused to acknowledge that it could very well be true? She didn't want it to be true. If it was true, that meant that Matthew was destined for things beyond her, and it also meant that he was already betrothed. To Annabella.

Ah, you fool, her mind whispered to her heart. You really have fallen for him.

Heat crept up her neck and into her cheeks at the scandalizing thought, but she knew it was nothing but true as she watched him walk over and sit down hard on a fallen tree and put his head in his hands. His dark hair, long and a bit wavy, had finally been brushed through, and although it was damaged beyond repair, he had refused to cut it and instead had it tied in a haphazard bun at the back of his neck. Some wisps had fallen out to frame his face. She openly stared at him, at the scarred hands hiding his weary face. She found herself wrestling with the hurricane of emotions she felt inside.

She had never felt like this about a boy before. Any romantic idea had been strictly prohibited in the TS, and while she had seen other girls fall for a boy at one point or another, she never had. The closest guy friend she had ever had was Kallum, and even then they hadn't exactly been friends. She had been attracted to Todd, briefly, but neither of those situations had been comparable to how she felt toward Matthew. Something about him just... resonated with her. The way he conducted himself with a gentleness few men in her life had ever shown but also carrying an anger and grief that often tore grown men apart that he guided with careful precision. He was strong and, at times, deadly, and something inside of her told her it should have scared her. But it didn't. In fact, it drew her. They just seemed to fit somehow, she knew they did.

She wished she knew if he felt the same way.

"What will you do if you are?" She couldn't help but ask the question, refusing her desire to cross the space and sit down beside him. If he was the son, he was off-limits. She felt wrong drawing close with that risk hanging over her heart like an executioner's axe.

Matthew let out a deep breath, sliding his hands down his face and cupping his chin as he looked at her. "Honestly? I don't know. I honestly don't think I am. I'm something else entirely, I'm sure of it."

She cursed the hope swelling in her chest, but couldn't bear to douse it. "What do you think you are?"

"I don't know." He watched her for a moment, his dark eyes unreadable. He dropped his hands into a clasp in front of him, and she realized that he was hesitating. "I think," he began, and then changed his mind. "No, I know. I know one thing for sure, and it's that I... there's something about you, Steph. Something that feels right."

You fool, she thought, knowing the truth by the way his eyes met hers. He's fallen for you too.

Suddenly, the world blurred; she was flying, falling, slamming into the ground so fast and so hard it was as if the earth itself had reached up and smacked her, knocking the breath from her lungs. She heard Matthew yell her name. She wheezed, struggling to breathe, pain exploding in her chest as she fought to sit up.

"Oh, child," a voice whispered, and she whipped her head around, her heart stuttering as she found herself face to face with a fluttering blue veil. She was close enough to see the crimson lips behind it, curved into a frown. The Lady spoke, her voice gentle. "If I only I could spare you from this pain."

Stephanie scrambled back, gasping in terror, her limbs aching, freezing. "What?" she choked out.

The Veiled Lady rose to her feet. "It would have been better for you to have never met him at all."

Stephanie's eyes widened.

"Stephanie!"

She turned her head as Matthew came crashing through the undergrowth. He burst into the clearing, stopping short when he saw the Veiled Lady. Stephanie looked back at the witch, her heart freezing at the sight of the gleaming sword in her hand.

"Get away from her," Matthew ordered, his voice low and deadly.

"Love makes you weak, Matthew Garza," the Lady said, her words like lightning bolts through Stephanie's chest. "It will be your ruin. She will be your ruin." She pointed the sword at them. "Night falls quickly, children." Then, in a gust of wind, the Veiled Lady disappeared.

Stephanie didn't realize she was hyperventilating until she was in Matthew's arms. He dashed over, pulling her close to him as she fought to breathe. The air refused to come. His arms were comforting, inhumanly warm against the cold, and she clung to him desperately, frantically.

"Steph, breathe," he said in her ear, his voice calmer than she had expected it to be. Gone was the darkness. He was gentle, soft. "Just breathe."

"I c-can't," she choked out.

Matthew held her close. "Creator," he whispered in her ear.

Instantly, the air came, flooding her lungs. She dragged it in, ragged breath after ragged breath, Matthew holding her tightly against his chest. The minutes were long but time was short; before she knew it, she was still, taking deep breaths, relaxing in his embrace. She realized then just how close they were. The lack of distance was strange, yet comfortable, and she felt safe.

But they weren't safe. Reluctantly drawing away from him, she looked at him with wide eyes. His hands lingered on her arms, warm through her jacket.

"You alright?" he whispered, searching her face.

She brushed the hair out of her eyes with a trembling hand. "Yeah. She just roughed me up."

"She's teasing us," he said darkly. His brown eyes sparked with golden Warmth. "She's been here all along."

"We need to tell Todd and Annabella."

"Yeah." Matthew's hands slipped from her arms, and he pushed himself to his feet before helping her up. He started forward, but Stephanie hesitated, looking around in worry. Was the Veiled Lady waiting to pounce on them again?

Night falls quickly.

"Steph." Matthew was several yards away, looking back at her in concern.

At any moment, any second, she could be whisked away again. Away from him. It terrified her.

It would have been better for you to have never met him at all.

She had been talking about Matthew.

"Do you believe what she said?" she asked hesitantly. "That... that I'll be your ruin?"

He frowned at her. "No. Do you?"

She shook her head. "That's the last thing I want to be." Quickly, she closed the distance between them, falling into stride beside him as they hurried back to the cabin. As they walked, she was all too aware of how close they were. It was only when their hands brushed that she decided to be brave. She slipped her hand into his. He held hers firmly.

The air seemed to have gotten colder. An icy wind was pricking at their cheeks as they clambered up the porch steps, nearly colliding with Jessie as she was coming out of the cabin.

"Did you guys see Anthony out there?" she asked, stumbling back to let them inside. "I can't find him anywhere."

Stephanie barely heard the girl. She burst into the kitchen, startling those still conversing at the table. "She's here," she panted. "She's coming."

Annabella shot to her feet. "What? Who?"

"Stephanie, you're as white as a sheet!" Adrianna exclaimed.

"The Veiled Lady attacked us," Matthew said, stepping out of the entryway behind Stephanie. "She's calling us out."

"She said night comes quickly," Stephanie stumbled on. "I think it's a threat."

Annabella muttered a curse, turning away as Todd sat back in his chair and raked his fingers through his hair. "What do we do?" he asked.

"If she's here, you're trapped," Andre said darkly.

Jessie squeezed past Stephanie. "Has anyone seen Anthony? I can't find him!"

Stephanie's heart lurched. "Isn't he here?"

"No," Adrianna said, her voice pinched. "He went out to check his traps."

Annabella turned quickly, her eyes narrowed and dark. "That was two hours ago."

Tense silence filled the room. Stephanie could see the horror slowly rising up in each face.

Matthew spoke first, his voice hard. "Night falls quickly. Let's go."