Annika strolled into the castle after watching her brother’s arrest, her skirts clutched in her hands, and her head light with emotions. All that mattered was that she returned to her chamber before anyone could see her true feelings. As she tried to process what this new development meant for her strategy concerning the war, as well as her relationship with Fin, her vision turned inwards. Blindly turning towards the servant’s stairwell, Annika was suddenly grabbed and hauled through a nearby open door.

Immediately, more than a decade of training overtook her, and she jammed her elbow sharply back into her abductor’s ribs. After a hasty instep that had the person release her, she whirled around with a knife already in her hand drawn from her sleeve.

Only to see Fin standing in front of her wincing and hunching over his ribs.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to-”

He stepped closer to her, and slowly, but firmly closed the door behind her. Taking two steps closer, the witch had Annika’s back pressed firmly against the wooden surface, with one hand remaining pressed to the door. His other hand raised, and gently stroked the side of her face.

“Are you alright?”

Annika stilled. She was confident that she had just cracked one of his ribs, and yet his focus was entirely on her. It was intense, and disconcerting, and... and…

She blushed.

“Of course I’m fine I-”

“Your brother grabbed your arm pretty roughly, is it bruised?” Fin’s eyes moved down to the arm in question, but Annika was distracted with the question of how in the world he knew about the event.

“Were you… spying on me?” She asked slowly.

“No. It was strange…” He frowned slightly as he tried to explain what he experienced properly. “In the past, I could sense if someone was in extreme pain, or felt intense fear, but today with you... it was like I could see you and hear who was talking to you. I knew where you were just by a feeling, but couldn’t see anything else.” Fin frowned. “In truth, since we’ve been together, my abilities are doing strange things. I need to talk about them with my mother and-”

“Does your mother know about us?!” The color drained from Annika’s face as she stared up at Fin, her heart racing.

“No! No no… I mean everyone suspects we’ve… you know... because honestly getting to the ball took a lot of effort from my aides, mother and, Ji-” Fin trailed off and cleared his throat quickly. “No one knows about the details. What I meant was; I need to ask my mother about changes to my magic. I’ve been putting off talking to her about them for a while, as it usually leads to an interrogation but-”

Annika sighed and let her forehead fall onto Fin’s chest.

“Your inability to keep secrets concerns me.”

“The amount of secrets you insist on having concerns me.” Fin chuckled.

Wrapping her arms around the redhead, the Lady hugged him gently. She still wasn’t convinced his ribs weren’t smarting fiercely from her attack.

“At least this part has always felt strangely easy.” She mumbled while allowing herself to feel soothed by his closeness.

“As long as our attraction isn’t the only thing that comes naturally.” Fin remarked while returning the embrace. “So what happened with your brother after he released you? I couldn’t hear any more after his threats. Though, I need to get back to the barracks soon so I don’t have much time.” He added morosely.

“It’s fine. I’ll tell you la-”

Fin pulled free from her hold and stepped back. Fixing Annika with a somber stare, he shook his head. “No. There is no room for so many secrets in this relationship. You asked me to trust you, and that’s what I’m doing, but you need to trust me too.”

Annika felt her anger spark. Folding her arms across her chest defiantly, she didn’t speak immediately.

“I didn’t say I wouldn’t tell you, only that I would tell you later! You just said that you needed to leave.”

Fin mirrored her and crossed his arms. “When will you then? There has been nothing but vague answers and promises for quite some time about telling me your plans. If I’m really going to gamble it all, you need to be more forthcoming with me.”

Annika didn’t even consider his words before replying.

“Fin. We just started whatever this is. It takes time to explain, and furthermore, I’m not going to be an open book within a few hours!”

“I’m not asking you to be an open book, I’m asking you to tell me important details that I should know!”

“If it is imperative that you know, then I will-”

“No you won’t! You like controlling everything and being the one pulling the strings, only I’m not on the opposing side of you anymore, Annika. I’m on your side, and we are supposed to be doing this together.”

The sound of footsteps passing by the door had both of them fall quiet. Once the silence had once again returned, Fin let out an agitated breath.

“I should be getting back. Excuse me, my Lady.” Fin stepped over and opened the door, leaving Annika alone in the room with her steaming anger.

*

When Fin re-entered the barracks in Captain Antonio’s private office, he found the King had returned from whatever duty he had been called away for, and all the men were talking quietly.

Slowly easing himself back by the map spread across the Captain’s desk, the group raised their gazes to Fin. The King’s gaze sharpened as he recognized that the cook’s former jovial mood had dissipated, but decided not to question the matter further in front of the others.

“One of our sources has reported that there are fifty thousand men ready to sail in Troivack.” Captain Antonio announced pointing at the capital Troivackian city of Vessa.

The King nodded pensively. “Not to mention the most recent reports stating that there are soldiers already here on our shores. We don’t know their numbers, or if they are in more than one of our cities.”

“When exactly did we become aware of the threat of war from Troivack?” Fin asked, his mind gradually shifting back to the task at hand.

“Just after the Winter Solstice two years ago. Though last winter was when the threat became more concrete.” Captain Antonio answered gravely.

“How many soldiers did his majesty Matthais have at his disposal at that time?” The redhead levelled everyone with his stare.

“Less than twenty thousand.” Lord Fuks replied while his eyes began to slowly widen. The Lord was beginning to piece together what Fin was building to.

“That means he could have begun smuggling those men onto our shores for two years, for the first wave of attacks. After that, they could’ve begun recruiting to bulk up their forces.” The witch straightened and stared at the map with his arms folded frowning. There was something off about the whole thing… Something they were missing…

“He wouldn’t have posted nearly twenty thousand men just here in Austice, we would have noticed it, especially with our food levels. The city is packed as is, and there aren’t many places to hide. Not to mention Troivackians tend to stick out in our country.” Lord Fuks began stroking his chin thoughtfully. “Even if the Troivackian King continued sending his men supplies, twenty thousand soldiers are hard to conceal.”

As everyone stared at the map, a sudden bone chilling thought crossed Fin’s mind. Lord Fuks said the very words in the redhead’s mind, having reached the conclusion moments sooner.

“He could’ve placed men in every city. If we summon our armies to Austice for when the ships come, we will leave the cities without enough protection if, perhaps, five thousand trained Troivackian soldiers are already hiding within their walls.”

A weighted silence fell over the group.

“We need to investigate every building in every city. We can leave no stone unturned.” The King’s quiet voice broke the tension, and he turned a calm face to each man before him.

“We need to find these men, and dispose of them immediately.”

*

Fin entered his cottage wearily that night, his mind full of anxiety pertaining to the war. He knew he had done everything he could to aid them in how his father could strategize, but he wasn’t confident he’d done enough.

In truth, he doubted he really was the best person to give insight into Aiden Helmer’s mind, but the only other person who could provide the council with better information was Katelyn Ashowan. It had never been considered as a possibility to ask for her help even for a moment, as Fin refused to taint his mother’s peace with knowledge of her husband.

Turning towards his pallett that was already set out for him in front of the hearth by Kate, the redhead let out a long sigh.

He hadn’t liked how he’d spoken with Annika earlier. While he did need more information, he knew he should have approached it more tactfully.

Afterall, a woman who had survived as long as she did because of her ability to play her cards close to her chest, was not going to suddenly tell him everything. It made perfect sense, and Fin knew he would need far more patience with her if they were to work.

He’d wanted to try and seek her out before retiring for the night, but Annika’s warning earlier in the day to give her space until her plans had time to settle, had echoed in his ears.

Resigning himself to several sleepless nights, Fin collapsed onto his knees, then face first onto mat. Despite his earlier reservations, sleep claimed him without hesitation.

*

It was past midnight when a strange pressure on his chest woke the witch again. As he tried to open his eyelids, the weight of relaxation beckoning him to once again fall unconscious suddenly lifted when he registered a tickling sensation on his neck.

Opening his eyes, Fin found himself staring up into the glowing green gaze of Kraken. The feline’s pupils were the size of marbles.

“Good evening… witch.” Kraken began awkwardly. “We have much to discuss now that you can… hear me.”

Fin closed his eyes and squeezed them shut. He did not want to deal with the possibility that he was sinking into insanity. It was probably a familiar thing, but in the middle of the night was not when he wanted to reason it all out.

“In the morning Kraken… can’t we do this… in the morning?”

“Witch, you have the most unpleasant of existences. You are awake and busy at first light, and do not find time to rest until deep into the night. Now is the best time.” Stepping down off of Fin’s chest to sit beside him, the feline patiently waited as the redhead sat up. “I also recognized a look of disappointment in your new mate when we were last seen conversing. Tell me, does the interesting smelling female not like cats? Or was it that she thought your mind furred? Either way, interruptions should be avoided.”

Rubbing his eyes, Fin leaned his back against one of his dining chairs that was firmly tucked into his table, and faced his familiar.

“What is it we need to discuss at great length this moment?”

Kraken stared up at Fin without a sound, and the witch began to wonder yet again whether or not he had been hallucinating the entire exchange.

‘Gods… what if I am crazy… what if I never actually spent the night with Annika… is Annika even real?’ His hand came up and pressed against his mouth. Perhaps this was what had happened to his father. Aiden Helmer had gone mad. Completely crazy. Perhaps Fin appeared to him as the devil… or a very threatening bovine...

“Do you really have no questions?” Kraken chirped irritably. “Your familiar can communicate with you beyond what is the norm. Do you not wish to get to know me? Are you so self-centered that-”

“Good Gods. Are you in your young adult agonies?” Fin asked with a pained expression. It was common knowledge that young adults had no shortage of pains as they battled the task of growing into the world and their minds.

“I know nothing of which you speak! Now, I have been busy studying and earning my new position with-”

“Fin? What’re you doing up in the middle of the night?” Kate opened the door to Fin’s room with a yawn.

“Hairballs! For someone who hates fellow humans you are surrounded by them!” Kraken sauntered away, his fuzzy haunches brushing Fin’s arm as he moved.

Rubbing the back of his neck, the redhead didn’t answer his mother immediately as she stepped further into the living space. Kneeling down in front of her son, Kate watched Fin closely, a concerned expression pulling her features taut.

“Were you talking to yourself just now?”

Fighting down the urge to snap, Fin let out a long breath. He was exhausted and anxious… he didn’t even know what exactly had happened to Lord Piereva after he had grabbed Annika…

“I’ve started hearing my familiar. As in, I hear him talk to me, and he understands what I say.” He lifted his face to his mother to gage her reaction. “Am I going crazy?”

Kate studied him closely for several moments before slowly seating herself on the ground with her back against the fireplace.

“No. I do admit, it is not common for witches to hear their familiars. However, it is more likely to happen amongst deficient witches. I have a theory, though it is just that. A theory.”

Fin waited expectantly.

“I think deficient witches don’t always separate themselves from their familiars as much as pure elemental witches do. I think the pure powered see the relationship more as master and beast, whereas deficient witches are more likely to see them as friends.” Kate’s eyes moved over Fin’s shoulder and nodded at Kraken who was watching the exchange from the shadows. “Call over Kraken, we need to have a conversation. All of us. Love, translate for me please.”

The redhead turned his chin over his shoulder, and with a long breath finally did as his mother ordered.

“Kraken, my mother has questions for you.”

“Glad to see at least one cat in your family has a good head on their shoulders.” Stalking back over to the Ashowans, Kraken seated himself and glanced back and forth between them while only giving one slow blink up at his witch.

“Alright, what is it your mother cat wants to know, you overgrown kitten?”