Beauty led her father to the markers and inside the woods, reminding herself to remain calm. His expression as they entered the clearing where Obsidian waited for them must have mirrored her own when she saw this place for the first time, with a giant beast taller than the two of them put together right in the middle of it all.

"Obsidian, this is my father Maurice. Dad, this is Obsidian." She managed to say into the heavy silence so thick it felt like a fog.

Obsidian looked at Maurice with his stunning orange-gold eyes. "Hello, Wizard. I haven't seen one of your kind for a very long time."

Beauty looked at her father in surprise. "Dad, what is he talking about?"

"You aren't the only one in the family with ties to magic." Maurice sighed wearily. "I was waiting to tell you when you were eighteen. It's the real reason your mother and I split up. She found out that I was a wizard and it drove her mad and I had to erase all memories of us from her mind to save her." He paused for a long while and turned his attention to Beauty's friend. "So you are the one my daughter calls Obsidian. You must have realized she was special."

"As I told her, it would not surprise me if she was descended from something considered fantastical nowadays. And despite all the wards here, she found us. You should have told her long ago, Wizard Maurice. She may not have met kind beings."

"I always made sure she was protected. Granted, I didn't think we were close to anything like this. How long has this been a Haven?"

"Since the time of Arch Wizard Arucan."

"Arch Wizard Arucan? You met him?" Maurice's eyebrows shot upwards.

"He was still quite young at the time, newly appointed to be head of your order. He was certain he would be expelled for allowing my domain Haven status."

"Instead he was praised for it."

Obsidian shrugged his massive shoulders. "I suppose only you would know. I never saw him again, though it is plain to see he spoke of me to you."

"Only once before he passed away at a thousand years old. He called you Beast, the black scourge of all rot. I never imagined he was talking about this place when he mentioned making a controversial Haven."

"How flattering he should remember my good qualities and leave out locations."

"I heard plenty of undesirable stories of you and your realm growing up."

"And yet here you stand, not threatening me or demanding that it is time to leave to Beauty."

"If you wanted to cause harm, you would have already done so. I wondered about this creature Beauty spoke of who would have the guts to go face an entire nest of the gorgon, now I know. Instead of using your curse to wreak havoc, you take advantage of it to help."

"Using your curse? Does he mean like when you said you acted like a beast for three thousand years?"

Obsidian nodded. "Yes, I am afraid so. This curse makes me a lot harder to kill than a normal monster of the same caliber. The first way I lived was a bitter rebellion against everything I had ever known, a time I grew to regret as I realized I was allowing the enchantress to torment me and that I didn't differ from those I hunted, just as she had wished."

"Self-awareness is the first step to improvement."

"Wise words, Beauty. Make yourselves at home." Obsidian waited until they sat on logs before he laid on the grass across from them. "Naga wishes she could be here. No doubt she will find it very interesting that your father is a wizard, Beauty. She is still contemplating why the name Seiko Wendell sounds familiar."

"That name means anything to you, Dad?"

"No." Maurice shook his head. "Where did you hear it?"

"She wrote a book of mine that has all the answers."

"It is forbidden to circulate books on magic into the normal world."

"It's labeled under fiction."

Maurice raised an eyebrow. "You will have to show me when we get home. Fiction or not, whoever this Seiko has used a pen name to avoid discovery by the Magic Council."

"Those old fools are stuck in their ways." Obsidian snorted. "However, they may be interested to know there was a hunter nearby not too long ago, endangering the Haven. Fortunately, his hell-hound was on our side. Next time I doubt we will be so lucky. This child of Cerberus spoke to your daughter."

"What?! That is very dangerous!"

"Indeed. Your hesitation could have killed her if such a beast had not been on the side of the living. Naga's wards may have helped, but a basilisk's influence and affection are not the same when it is from farther away."

"And what would you have me do? Take her to the school where you will not see her and she will not be able to visit for long periods?"

Obsidian's eyes flicked to Beauty. "Why don't you ask her what she wants?"

Maurice's expression became chastised as he too looked at his daughter. "I apologize my dear, I haven't been totally honest with you and owe you quite the explanation when we get home. What is it you want to do?"

"Will going to this school help me learn how to break curses?"

Her father exchanged glances with Obsidian. "It's not a guarantee for really ancient spells."

"But it is a possibility."

Obsidian shrugged his massive shoulders. "Enchantments such as mine sometimes have time limits or are dependent upon if it is even considered a curse any more. I have been like this so long, it actually seems like a blessing. Could a man have taken on a whole nest of gorgon? No. Not even the man I used to be."

"That's why we're supposed to work together."

"A fair point."