Claire POV-

She may have stopped breathing for a few seconds as she beheld the god before her.

Dianite

It was him, he was right before her when he shouldn't have even been able to leave the nether.

The god of the nether seemed rather calm, his expression lacking any of the previous feelings that he reserved only for her.

Now he just seemed like the wicked god everyone knew.

Dianite wore his usual suit with all the confidence only an immortal could posses, his stance reflected only impatience. His hair was perfectly styled, not a black stand of hair out of place.

His eyes were glowing like living flames though, and his mouth twisted into a wicked grin he only displayed when he was about to destroy or kill something.

Jordan tried to reach for her sword, her knives, even some of the few potions she carried with her, but her muscles refused to move. She just stood there under the night sky, frozen.

Everyone else was on his other side, effectively blocking Jordan from her friends. All it would take to get to relative safety is to go around him...

Jordan averted her gaze from the god and tried to will that killing calm into her veins.

Dianite was there to harm Ianite and her friends, she had to fight for them.

Suddenly out of the corner of her eye, she noticed his shoes began heading towards her, the crunching of grass coming closer.

It took everything in her to not flinch at his incoming form. Instead she looked up at her ex and glared with as much disgust as she could, focusing on her facial expressions and keeping still.

"Well If it isn't the Ianitee with her god and his fellow followers" he said loudly for all to hear.

No one moved. It was almost as if they too sensed the difference in Dianite. He was cruel and wicked yes, but right now he seemed in a state of absolute darkness and it radiated off him in flames.

If any of them moved, that could snap him into action and she knew that her friends would be smart enough to attack only if attacked. This wasn't a game.

After a few seconds, he was a few inches from her and showed no concern at having eight armed people behind him. His whole focus seemed on her.

Clearly he was waiting for her to say something, but as seconds went by and she kept her mouth shut, Dianite burst into a fit of cold bitter laughter.

"What a lovely gathering and no one bothered to invite me but dear Thomas. I must say I'm..." he said and faked an expression of contemplation before he continued "disappointed"

As Dianite grew closer, shortening that small gap between them, he looked down at her and deep into her eyes as his began to burn brighter against the shadows of the dark.

"Stay away from my god" she said loud enough to let the others know she wasn't afraid, and thankfully her voice didn't waiver as she spoke.

Now Dianite was well within her personal space bubble and she noticed the others had discretely inched their way a few steps closer.

"Oh, I'm not here for my brother dear" he whispered into her ear, his hot breath sent shivers down her spine but she kept from flinching as best she could.

The hilt of her sword was millimeters from her grasp, as her muscles finally regained consciousness and she reached for the weapon, Dianite grabbed it in one smooth and effortless motion and discarded it down the hill.

"No. None of that" Dianite said, no longer whispering

His wicked smile returned in full force as the back of his hand caressed her cheek slowly.

"Brother, let my champion go" Ianite suddenly said, his voice calm and composed.

As if remembering other people existed, Dianite turned around slightly and gave his brother a expression she couldn't see, but from the visible fear in her friends and Ezra, it must have been terrifying.

"If it isn't my prisoner. I must say, you've looked better brother" Dianite said with a bite in his words.

The god of the nether then turned back to her and circled his way around, when he stood behind her he causally placed his arms on her shoulders and she saw the reflection of light on the ground, indicating that fire was burning behind her and Dianite.

She finally got a good look at her allies with Dianite out of the way. They were terrified and confused, and Ezra looked like he would be sick.

The rest of the pirates had dropped what they were doing and were now surrounding Ianite protectively.

"Why did you summon me Thomas?" Dianite said bitterly

Jordan could tell Tom had figured out that calling his god may not have been such a good idea but he put his weapon away and bowed.

"Lord Ianite tried to kill me, I wish only for retribution my lord" he said

Dianite glared at his champion and spared Ianite a subtle look before he let the flames grow higher behind them. Now she could feel the heat radiating from them...

The shadows reflected on the grass began to change and next thing she knew, fire balls hurled towards her god. She tried to run to him, but Dianite pinned her in place with his grip on her shoulders.

Luckily, the priest showed up along the hill just in time to cast a spell that nulled the fireballs in the air.

"Declan, must you be a thorn at my side everytime we meet" Dianite said

"I pride myself on that fact actually" the priest replied and looked right at her.

He was as shocked as she was, wondering how Dianite could have shown up but he was also wondering about her.

She tried to give him a reassuring smile.

Dec knew of their past relationship and that it had ended. He must know that this wasn't a game to keep other from knowing their secret. This was Dianite being a danger to her life.

"If you're here to cause chaos, take it on with me brother. Leave my lady out of it" Lord Ianite said, more of a command than a suggestion

Dianite's grip on her tightened slightly.

"Now that wouldn't be much fun given that you aren't even here, what damage could I cause? I see you called in that favor from our old friend" Dianite replied

Old friend?

She had no time to wonder about that, specially when she realized what was going on. No one was attacking because of her. She was the damsel in distress, the hostage...

No, she had been through so much to suddenly be weak and in need of saving.

"How are you here?" Jordan asked not bothering to look back at him but rather, stared at her friends calmly.

"Didn't you hear, I was summoned by my champion. As the old magic dictates, I am to answer the call of my champion when he is in a certain state of danger. I don't expect you to know that dear, its very ancient magic that can get through all obstacles"

So, Tom summoning Dianite could get him out of the barrier Mianite had on. That was dangerous information.

"I'm through with this Dianite, go take your emotions elsewhere" Her god said, inching a step closer towards them.

Dianite gave out a dark laugh.

"I don't particularly like emotions brother, they are so messy" Dianite replied, dragging her a step back

"I think you mistake feelings for pain Dianite" Ianite said, taking another step closer as she was forced to take another one back.

With her back agains Dianite's chest, there was no space between them. She could hear his steady heartbeat and feel the heat radiating from his body, not from his flames.

It was an odd feeling of deja vu from when she leaned against him on his throne a lifetime ago.

It was thanks to that closeness that she felt him flinch at his brother's words if only for half a second.

A heavy silence fell upon everyone until Dianite reached around her waist and removed her belt with potions and let it fall to the ground.

"Thomas, why didn't you inform me of Ianite's presence earlier?!" his voice echoed loudly across the hill.

Tom seemed at a loss of words for a second and bowed in apology, his eyes never leaving hers.

"Well, it seems as though retribution IS in order. Ianite, since you spend so much time harassing my champion it is only fair I spend some time terrorizing yours. As the god of balance you should find it an acceptable solution" Dianite said.

Jordan could feel his face come closer to her ear as he laughed against her neck, using his other hand to move her short brown hair away from her neck.

"No! My lord, there is no need to hurt the Ianitee" Thomas said

Sonja and Tucker seemed to have damned the consequences and inched a few steps closer, passing Ianite with weapons drawn.

"Oh but she hurt you didn't she? Did she not push you down that hill multiple times? Justice must be served Thomas. No one messes with my property" that last part was directed at Ianite and the priest.

They were the only ones who would know the secret meaning behind it.

The thought of her as his property shocked her.

Not wanting to face her friends in fear that they had figured out about her and Dianite, she turned to Ezra.

He was still, not with fear but he seemed to be calculating his options. When they locked gazes she tried to tell him to stay put, last thing she needed was people getting hurt.

"In that case, me and the Ianitee will be leaving for a bit of private time. I'll return her in...what...an hour or two. How long have you been here Ianite?" Dianite asked

Ianite didn't reply, didn't get a chance to before she felt magic enveloping her.

When mist began to form around her, she saw Ianite fade in panic before the fog wrapped around her.

Last thing she saw was Capsize lunging for her as the last of the fog enveloped her.

As her mind caught up with what had just happened, Jordan realized she had been teleported to...to the secret rooms in the cave.

The cave she had been living in with the shadows back when she pretended to be his champion.

It was the same way they left it even though she assumed it must have disappeared when the shadows died.

She turned back to Dianite and glared at him

"How dare you! Im going back" she said, pushing past him towards the secret exit.

He grabbed her shoulder gently, stopping her.

"Aren't you happy to see me?" he said

She laughed.

"Go to hell" she said "I though I made it clear how done I was with you"

Those were harsh words and she knew that. It was hard for her knowing she was hurting someone, but in a sense, it was the truth. She couldn't afford to feel guilty, not now.

Dianite moved away to picked up the chest plate of armor the shadows had given to her that was lying on the table a few feet away from her.

Jordan had insisted on not wearing it that day on the beach to make the gods would think she was still on their side.

Truth was, she just didn't want to feel it against her skin.

It made the pretending of being his champion way too real.

Dianite took a good look at it before setting it down with fake disinterest.

In the blur of an eye he stood face to face with her, his hands resuming their previous caress of her cheeks from earlier. She tried to back up, but a small dinner table was in her way.

"Are you sure you don't miss me at all?" he asked seductively, bringing his face closer"Sure you haven't been think about me, about us my dear"

A part of her instincts wasn't freaking out. This had been normal once, the closeness, his breath against her skin, his soothing voice.

She was a fool for thinking she could just forget all that in the span of a few days and kill him on the spot.

She had been sure she could fight against him no problem, but the truth was, they had been together for a while and it would take a while longer than that to forget, no matter how much he had betrayed her.

He leaned his head sideways and kissed her jaw bone, his lips barely making contact as he followed that bone closer to the center of her face.

Jordan wanted to grab his face and smash it against the dinner table behind her, but her anger was also keeping her still.

All those emotions she had tried to push aside were catching up to her. That's when she realized her closure on the matter probably hadn't been dealt with properly.

Anger wasn't gonna push away the feelings she had for him, at least in any effective way.

He had been someone who had known her like none of her other friends did. Dianite had been a person she could share her dark secrets with and not fear judgement or resentment.

There was still a comfort in being with him because of that even though her mind had let him go.

"Dianite. You know how I feel, I can't..." his lips finally reached hers, barely touching but enough to make her stop talking.

She could see her reflection in his dark eyes but she saw his feelings there too.

There was restlessness in them, and he was trying so hard to keep himself in check.

His lips moved closer, so familiar to her, fitting perfectly against hers...

Jordan knew that if this kept going, her irrational feelings would kiss him back. She knew that being around him still had an effect on her as if something was left unfinished.

Her breakup had been fueled by anger, perhaps she need to let go of that love too. To never think or wonder about what he felt like to have a last kiss, to forget it all and attach all those feelings to it.

So when he kissed her, she closed her eyes and willed her anger away and just focused on that as her last kiss. She let the love she had for him come back and flood her system, releasing it after keeping it trapped behind her anger.

Jordan kissed him back and as she did, she slowly remembered all their times together and let them go.

Dianite brought her closer, wrapping his arms around her waist and she placed hers around his neck, letting him deepen the kiss.

Jordan could feel his smile against her lips and his slightly elongated canines gently grazed her lips like he had done so many times before.

Her legs knocked against the table when he leaned closer to her and she tried to lean back, but she released her hands from the edges of the wood and bits of cloth from her cape.

She felt his soft dark hair one last time, entangling her fingers inside it. Then she grabbed his horns and pushed his head down closer to hers.

He didn't resist and leaned down closer to her, whispering her name once.

Jordan focused on the deepening kiss, the familiar taste of smoke and warmth of his lips.

As they kissed, she felt the desperation in his touch, the relief on his lips.

Perhaps he didn't take it the way she did, perhaps he didn't know this would be the last time she would allow her feelings for him to come out.

Maybe it made her a cruel person to do that to him, but maybe he had to feel pain the way she did to understand that they could never love each other again.

So she kissed him again and again until they were out of breath and pulled back. Jordan let the last of her love for him out and tears rolled down her cheeks.

Dianite looked at them, confused.

She gave him a small peck on the lips tasting her salty tears against his lips.

He leaned and kissed her neck but Jordan gently pushed him away and got rid of her tears.

"I loved you so much...but it's over. Goodbye" she said, and felt a huge weight roll of her shoulders.

She saw the confusion across his features but didn't stop her. Once she made her way to the door, she looked back at him and saw only anger.

Good.

Now he can move on as well.

She would stop him from hurting the world, and now she didn't feel her muscles freeze and knew that if she went back in there she could kill him.

With her feelings let behind in that room, she took a deep breath and finally felt the oxygen course though her body. The lack of nagging pain in the back of her head was liberating.

With that new found relief, she made her way back home.

******

Stefan POV-

"She has a brother!" Tom screamed into the microphone as the rest of the room stared at her parents.

How foolish of them not to know, but Stefan would never say he had known. During his time researching who the girl he had doomed was, he found out about her brother. It just never seemed like a big deal.

Said sibling had never shown up to comfort Claire's parents or even called from what he had seen. Stefan figured it was a sensitive topic so he left it alone.

But now it would seize to be so.

Claire's father spoke up.

"Yes, we have an older son but he lives apart from us" her dad said

"It seems as though there is a lot of pain for Claire in that department, or so she told the pirates just now. Is it a lie?" the interviewer asked nonchalantly

"Circumstances with our son are our business" Travis Johansen said, gripping the couch before him

"Very well sir. On another note, how is your family Stefan? No member of your family has come forth to stand by your side that we know of" the man asked

His family?

That was the one topic he never expected to be questioned about.

"Much like Claire's brother, there are some matters that need to be kept between family. They should not be involved in anything I do" Stefan answered through gritted teeth

The interviewer set down his cards and rested his elbows on his legs and smiled.

"Ladies and gentelmen, let me introduce you Cloyd and Cordelia Sinclair!" he announced his hand motioning two shadows from the left side of the stage to come forth.

His heart stopped.

Two men in shaggy light blue t-shirts brought two extra chairs and placed them next to Mr.Johansen's chair.

His mother wore a tight fitting dress with white flowers that reached to her ankles and fluffed out from the waist down.

She also wore her usual set of pearls, resting around her neck and matching singles on her earlobes. Her jet black hair was tied up in an intricate bun fastened with clips that matched her dress. Overall, she looked just as he remembered her, not a hair out of place and red lips that held a forced smile.

If it wasn't for her small white gloves long enough to reach her wrists, the public would see her flaws. His mother had an awful habit of bitting her nails, so she masks the imperfections like she always has.

His mother spared him a kind smile before taking her seat next to Claire's father.

Then came his own father.

His black suit was perfectly ironed and his shoes reflected the set lights from above. He wore a black tie like aways that Stefan always suspected was to properly match his soul. Cloyd's black hair was perfectly combed back, an exact mirror image of Stefan's own hair.

His caribbean blue eyes surveyed the room with slight disgust and resentment.

With his hands clasped behind him, his father elegantly strode into the middle of the room and took a seat. Unlike his wife, he didn't spare Stefan a single glance.

It wasn't until he felt Tom's reassuring squeeze on his arm that Stefan realized he had been frozen in place staring at his family silently.

Stefan looked away and willed on a mask of calm indifference.

"So Mr.Sinclair, what can you tell us about your son? I assume you are aware of the situation in hand" the man said as if he was questioning a witness of a crime.

"I for one find it rather amusing. What are the odds that he would send away his only friend from childhood?" his father said

What?