As I said in Elemental, the entirety of the Spiral will be on temporary hiatus while I work to catch things up and move them ahead. But I have plenty of things planned, which is why I need the break. But do not worry, dearest readers! I shall (eventually) return with more of the Spiral!

TheFallenHer0: No, these Halflings have always struggled. It's always been like that for those who are different than everyone else. I think, not for sure, in the third book (which doesn't even have a draft title and is really far away) Selene is going to start some sort of organization for Halflings. Well, not just for elemental or fae halflings, but for anyone who is of mixed blood (any fae or elemental ancestry) or is fae gifted. Create something to where they can go to it for protection and support, or learn the best ways of controlling their power. Because the normal ways people learn magic don't apply to these kinds. So it'll be somewhere safe and caring, something a lot of people who are like that don't get, because they're often rejected, or neglected, all sorts of things. I think it'll be a good idea, when I eventually get to it. What do you think?

"I'm coming home.

Tell the world I'm coming home.

Let the rain wash away

all the pain of yesterday.

I know my kingdom awaits

and they've forgiven my mistakes.

I'm coming home.

I'm coming home.

Tell the world that I'm coming...

home."

—Skylar Grey

Chapter 8—(Chapter 59)

Philyra woke with a start as someone gently shook her. She opened her eyes to see Selene standing over her.

"We're going to go back to the garden and find something to eat, okay?" Selene whispered.

Philyra nodded in agreement, getting up carefully, as not to wake Sienna, who was sprawled eagle-spread on the floor

"We'll work on your speaking." She sighed. "Come on, Lyra. Let's go." She grabbed her sister's hand and started walking, humming something.

…. …. ….

"Breakfast~! Come and get it before it's gone~!" Selene ran into the room where Klaus was still, presumably, asleep. "Klaus, hun, you comin'? Hurry up or I'll eat it all~!"

"They are so a couple." Sienna giggled, eating a raspberry, "She's never called him that before. They're my total OTP—I've been shipping them for months now!"

Philyra gave the faery a strange look. What in the worlds was she talking about?

"Oh yeah. It's a Terran thing. To 'ship' two people is to hope they become a couple because you think they'd be an awesome couple! An 'OTP' is a 'one true pairing', and it's almost the same thing. I really need to come up with a couple name for the two.

"Oh hush up, woman! Must you always be so loud this early in the morning! I'm coming!" Klaus cried out as Selene laughed.

"You've got to properly greet the sun, you know! It's such an amazing thing!" She informs him, skipping back into the room were the rest of them were.

…. …. ….

Eventually they made it covertly back to Gedonelune with the help of Wade—one of Selene's older brothers—who Selene managed to contact because he was in the same country with his girlfriend, Galena.

Upon reaching Gedonelune, they (meaning Klaus) contacted the Ministry and arranged for them to speak to a special division, known as the Elite Knights. An investigation was opened, then closed, as all was explained. The head of the knights, the Paladin, decided that they should keep the truth about elementals a secret, and that the memories of all the humans involved should be erased. The orphaned children, it was decided, would stay with the witch (it was someone Klaus knew, and had sent the rest of the children who'd been held captive to) until they were old enough to attend the academy, and the ones with families would be returned to them.

"Excuse me sir. Would the three of us be included in that memory erasing?" Selene said sweetly, gesturing to herself, Klaus, and Philyra.

The Paladin raised an eyebrow and gave them a skeptical look, "Yes, you three were involved, were you not?"

Selene just continued to smile cordially, "We were a little too involved for our memories to be safely erased. Most of the kids, yes, it's a good thing for their protection. But they hardly left a room and didn't know what was going on. The three of us, well, to put it lightly, can't really lose those memories safely. For one, you can't really erase the knowledge that I am, in fact, half elemental. That knowledge is stored in blood memories of my elemental-self Celeste, and no human magic can tamper with that. Basically, it cannot be undone, or altered. Perks of being not-quite-human. As for Klaus and Philyra here, they were in far too deep. You'd leave them with a huge gap in their memory that wouldn't make sense. And don't those sort of things make the spell weak and easily broken? And when those memories do end up returning, wouldn't it just cause more trauma than leaving them there?" she tilted her head, the wide-eyed picture of innocence.

"She's right, sir." said one of the knights, the youngest one, a redhead named Vincent. Honestly, he wasn't that much older than Klaus. No more than twenty or twenty-one. "It would do more harm than good with these three. And I doubt that Miss Fonix would like to spread her heritage and cause herself to become an outcast among her peers."

"Thank you...Vincent, wasn't it?" He nodded and Selene sent him a smile.

The Paladin sighed, and concluded that the three can keep their memories, but it was imperative to keep it all a secret. Selene also secured permission to tell a select group of trustworthy people as long as she knew they wouldn't spread it.

"And are you absolutely sure that the man responsible for all this is no longer a problem?" the Paladin asked.

Selene nodded, "Yes, sir. That is a certainty. And I believe it's best if we leave Elementum as a whole alone. The elementals don't tend to be too fond of humans, so we'd best leave them be. It's like a wasps' nest. You leave them alone, they'll leave you alone. What happened with us was an anomaly. But if we disturb that hive...I don't think there's much of anything we can do about the consequences. Human magic is strong, but there are plenty of humans who can't use it, or use it well. Best just to leave it be and act like we don't know anything. Now, if you'll excuse me, I really need to get back to Terra. My family, with the exception of Wade and Galena, don't know that I am safe."

Or that she had adopted a sister. She had filled adoption papers out and everything. Philyra was surprised. Selene had been serious when she said that Philyra had a home with her.

And soon, Selene was off to Terra with Philyra, while Klaus had to return to the academy to sort everything else out there. Philyra wasn't sure what would happen next.

She could only hope that it would end well.