Chapter Four

Be Wary, Waking the Serpent

"Why… why do you have so many of these… rings?" Irma asked as she picked up the two dozen circlets with both hands.

Will was in the sitting room, attached to her bed chambers. The wooden box was sitting open on the ornate table in front of a lush, blue crush velvet couch, accented in gold. The entire room was decorated in blue and gold, with tall windows, a fireplace, and a floor-length mirror.

The Water Guardian had crossed paths with her as Will was about to enter her room, as all the five guardians had rooms next to each other in the same wing of the castle. Irma had followed her in, seeing the box in her hand.

"I panicked."

Irma raised a brow. "I have no clue what you could possibly mean," she said dryly. "Clearly buying twenty hair accessories in a style you never wear is a sign of a calm, thought-out choice."

"There was this older lady, and she was like 'let me buy them for you'!"

"Ooh, you got a Meridian sugar mama? Maybe I should have gone with you guys after all."

"What? No! I told her no, but she still did and wanted to take a walk." Will stopped as Irma started laughing.

"Okay, I was joking at first, but are you sure you weren't just hit on? Like this feels like big dick energy," Irma said as she shook the box, circlets clanking together. "These seem pricey."

"They were! But I wasn't, she wasn't, her daughter was there!"

"Because no one ever shoots their shot in front of their kids. Therapist exist for a reason."

Will threw herself face first onto the couch, face red, and said, muffled, "She wasn't hitting on me!"

Irma sat down and rubbed her back. "There, there. It must be so hard, being a red-headed bombshell. Oh, the struggle."

Will grabbed a throw pillow and threw it back at her friend. Irma giggled as she caught the pillow.

Will sat up as Irma hugged the pillow and pulled her legs up. She leaned her head on her shoulder, long curly brown hair falling over both their shoulders, cheek warm.

"I mean," Irma started, tone different, more concerned, gentle. "Having a summer fling on Meridian sounds like it might be fun?" She let go of the pillow and hugged Will's arm. "Maybe if you explore a little you won't feel like you're settling, right?"

Will clenched her teeth. "That's not why we broke up."

Irma sighed as she sat up, deep blue eyes filled with worry. Her full lips compressed into a thin line. "Just… I don't know, babe. Try not to… to pull away from us so much? We're here for you," and to lighten the mood, she waved to the open box. "And your sugar mama."

Will looked away, not wanting to keep talking about this. They always wanted to talk about it.

Will waved at the box. "You can take some, if you want."

Irma pulled away. "Naw, not my style."

"What about for your mom?"

"She would laugh in my face."

"Okay… what about Ailani?"

"I can find my boo gifts just fine… although, she has been saying she wants to change her style… but I also don't need your trash."

"They aren't trash! Geez, forget I offered," Will grumbled as she went to close the box. Irma snatched it first.

"Well, let me look… oh, is this gold? I can't give her this. It's like engagement level gold. Um, maybe this silver one? I like the etched leaves."

"Take both, I don't care."

"Why don't you give your mom the gold one? It would look good on her. Lord knows she needs something nice, raising you."

"You… you can leave. You know that, right?"

Irma was now twirling the circlet on her finger.

"Why would I leave? I'm such thrilling company."

Not long later, the Fire Guardian had walked by the open door, maybe attracted by their bickering, and joined them.

"No," Taranee said, glancing at the open box, answering Will's question. "Where would I even wear one? They aren't exactly…" she trailed off, looking to the side, not wanting to be mean.

Irma happily added, "This centuries fashion?"

Will, now feeling defensive over her box, snatched it away and moved it from them. "You would think I was trying to make you guys wear potato sacks!"

"I mean, same fashion era."

"People wear these! You took one for Ailani!"

"She has the ability to make anything look good."

Taranee laughed, "More like you think she looks good in anything."

Irma smiled, wishfully. "Guilty."

"People wear these to, like, weddings!" Will argued.

Irma laughed. "I aint putting on a fluffy white dress anytime soon."

Okay, who the hell was she supposed to give these to? Why did the Heart draw her to them? No… wait… it only wanted her to buy one. She reached in and fished around.

"Oh, that's… different," Taranee said, eyeing the black circlet. "I mean I like the stone, but the black wouldn't stand out against my hair." She pulled at a cluster of black box braids, with woven red string and a few scattered beads, for emphasis.

"Oh, yeah," Will answered, looking over the circlet again.

Irma took it before she could object. "I think I've seen… oh!" she snapped her fingers. "Phobos used to wear these!"

"What?" Will said, just as her brain finally clicked. "Oooo."

Taranee scoffed. "Yeah, you 're right. Go throw that one in the trash."

"Or," Irma countered. "You can give it to him."

The Heart shimmered in agreement.

"What," both she and Taranee yelled, confused.

"What?" Irma said, looking innocent. "I thought the whole point of Elyon letting him be free-range evil, was to, you know, be nice? Like no one wants these, anyway. What's the big deal. It's not like its the fancy gold one."

Taranee was shaking her head. "Ugh, he avoids us like the plague. Why even bother?"

Will debated for a second before speaking up. "I have talked to him, a few times."

Both women snapped their eyes to her.

"Really?" Irma said. "Is he chill now?"

"Well, no."

Taranee nodded her head. "See, he's still a dick."

Well, Will was definitely more of the dick between the two.

Irma actually sounded sincere as she added, "I mean, he sucks, sure, I'm not arguing that. But Elyon, she's trying so hard to get some traction there. I think it hurts her that her only blood family treats her like… that. As bad as me and Chris fight, the idea of us not loving each other… I just feel sorry for her."

Taranee looked down. "Yeah, if Peter treated me like that… it would hurt, no lie." Taranee looked to side. "I guess I see your point, Irma."

Will wondered if it was the age gap between her and William, who was now three, that kept her from fully understand. She loved the little guy, but she didn't really foresee them being that close. Yet, William hating her as openly as Phobos hated Elyon would hurt.

Will took the circlet and rubbed a finger over the groves.

Was that it? The Heart wanted to help mend things, for Elyon's sake? Elyon meant a lot to the group, so her happiness heavily influenced them. Especially Cornelia.

"Alright," she said.

Taranee was still frowning. "You can just send it with one of the staff that tends to him, you know. Those poor, poor people."

Will nodded, putting it back in the box. "We should head to dinner."

In retrospect, that is exactly what she should have done.

Walking to the gardens the next morning, Will felt silly, staring intently at the circlet. What was she going to say? Hey, here's a peace offering from the Heart of Kandrakar so you'll stop being mean to your little sister? She would sound crazy. No one knew how deep her connection with the Heart went, and wouldn't understand the Heart often made choices on its own. It was alive, in a lot of ways, and looked out for the Guardian's well-being.

So, it had to be a good thing, giving him a gift of any type, right?

"You can't possibly be on your way to bother me again?" an icy voice harshly demanded.

Head snapping up, the hall was empty other than for one lone man, glaring openly at her. She had walked a different way, not really wanting to go to the gardens, wanting to delay the quest, but still following the pull of the Heart. It looked like he had just turned a corner, and was just a couple feet from crashing into her, who was walking with her head down.

His bitter blues held hers, head tilted, arms cross, foot tapping. Dressed again in white robes, but these were shorter in the arm and didn't drag on the floor as he walked. His hair was loose around his shoulders, strands falling in his face.

Looking back, at the end of the summer, Will would realize it was at that moment, as she stepped up to Phobos without a word, toe to toe, and pushed the strands of hair back, placing the circlet down, that she crossed the line.

Yet, living in that moment, the line was a blur as he froze, eyes wide, breath hitching, skin flushing. Her fingers at his crown as she slid the piece in place, grazing smooth, hot skin. Honey brown eyes drifted down from the black ring to meet his blues, still wide, body unmoving as her hands dropped away.

The Heart hummed, content, and Will snapped out of the trance, face flaming as her eyes grew wider than his.

What the fuck did she just do?

Before she could make things worse, she jumped back, heart thundering in her chest, and teleported away.


Phobos threw the door to his waiting chamber open, startling the servants inside. They were in the middle of cleaning, shocked to see him return so soon. They did their best to avoid him so, seeing him now, face twisted in rage, had them cowering in fear.

Yet, there was nothing to fear, as Elyon's magic kept him on an extremely short leash, from binding his powers to controlling his very words.

"Leave," he demanded with a bark, pointing at the door.

They scrambled, grabbing the old linen they had already changed, and rushing out the room, eyes downcast. They closed the door behind them, and he latched it. Not that it would stop anyone. He only had the illusion of privacy.

He paced the room, hand gripping the black circlet so tightly it dug into the flesh of this palm. With clenched teeth, he raised his hand, ready to hurl the stone ring to the ground, but froze. Honey soft eyes stared at him, fingers brushing his hair back, warm hands grazing his skin.

Phobos shook his head, trying to cast the image aside.

Playful eyes shining up at him, hand outstretched, offering him more than food.

Short red hair, falling across a pink face as she jumped to her feet, eyes wide as she said her name, sweet and short.

"Why?" he growled, to no one. The prince turned and hit the wall with the side of his fist, leaning against it until his forehead touched the cool surface. He looked down at the circlet, black onyx gleaming in the morning light, let in by the tall windows around him.

Body close, inches away, heat of her breath on his face, his lips….

Something in the prince stirred, suppressed long ago, a serpent coiled, tight and ready. Brown eyes prey.

The knock on the door was unexpected. Maybe it was the guards coming to see if he needed to be subdued after his display with the servants.

"What?" he demanded as he yanked the door open. The servant boy jumped back, glancing at the set of guards always posted at his door.

They had the to nerve to laugh. "Calm down, boy," one said with amusement thick in his voice. "It's all bark, no bite."

The other added, "Now spit out your business."

"Um," the body started, still unable to meet Phobos' hard gaze. "The queen she… would like to offer an invitation to today's planned outing to the Farshore Estate."

The first guard snorted. "What a waste," he muttered under his breath.

The second was far more direct. "Why waste energy with these attempts? It just mopes in its room, or the library, all day."

Phobos felt fury at their words, but the guards knew magic protected them. They would never speak so openly if he was freed.

The feeling of the circlet digging into his palm distracted him long enough to ask a question.

"Who will be a part of the entourage?"

Both guards looked at him in surprise, used to him declining and slamming the door by now.

"Um, the queen, of course, and the royal council, some members of staff, and the Guardians of Kandrakar are all I am aware of… sir."

Phobos nodded. "Very well."


"Look who actually made it to breakfast today," Caleb joked as she appeared in the room, near the table her friends sat at.

"Finally just resorted to teleporting, huh?" Cornelia asked, sitting next to Elyon, who had several piles of papers in front of her instead of food.

Elyon gentle offered, "I can get a map for you, if you keep getting lost?"

Several people snickered.

Will was too mortified by her behavior with the prince to even care about their teasing. She took the nearest seat, finding herself between Drake and Raythor, and sunk fully into the chair. Arms dangling and legs limp.

Cornelia gave a aggravated sigh. "Damn it, she's achieved full noodle." The tall blond tried to glare at Will, but she was so low in her chair, they could barely make eye contact. "We're leaving for the beach in, like, an hour," she warned. "Have you even packed?"

Will grumbled out an answer.

"What?"

Drake cleared his throat. "She said 'no'."

Elyon interrupted before Cornelia could lecture Will. "We still have time. I actually still need a response from Phobos."

That made Will wiggle herself up more, ears perked.

Cornelia slowly turned to her best friend. "What do you mean, Ellie? What could you possibly mean? Not that you invited your evil brother on my beach day?"

Elyon gave a small laugh as she rubbed her head. "Um, I just want him to know he's welcomed!"

"But he's not!"

Elyon looked away, eyes downcast. "At this point, it's just a formality. He never says yes."

Someone near the doorway cleared their throat, causing everyone to look over. There was a young boy, who bowed and kept his headed lowered as he said. "I am pleased, my queen, to tell you Prince Phobos has accepted your invitation."

The silence was thick as the group all turned to stare at Elyon, who was slowly sliding down in her chair. Even Caleb and Matt, who were originally talking among themselves, not caring about their lighthearted bickering, looked horrified at the news.

"Embrace the noodle," Will staged whispered to the queen.

"No!" Cornelia yelled, jumping from her seat. "No! Not the beach, my beach!"

"Babe," Irma called, grinning, "Beaches are my domain."

Cornelia glared. "Sand."

Irma smiled. "Waves."

"Ocean breeze!" Hay-Lin said, raising her hand like she was in class.

"Summer sun," Taranee pointed out.

Cornelia pouted. "Well, we can't enjoy any of that, if we have to baby-sit him!"

Taranee was the voice of reason. "Elyon has his powers bound. I doubt we're even going to see him for more than a minute," Taranee said with a shrug. "We can always send him back if he gets annoying."

For some reason, Will didn't like how they all talked about him. Like a thing, not a person. Yet he was still a prisoner, after all.

"Whatever," Cornelia snapped and then glared at Will. "Can you at least go pack?"

Will sat up and rolled her eyes. "Fine," she snapped back, grabbed a pastry, and teleported to her room.