Claire POV-

"Why can't I stay?" Tom asked

Jordan considered telling him she was mad because the information he was willing to keep from her about Capsize, but instead went with the usual excuse of being too tired.

Luckily, Tom bought it. Of course he had to go on and ask questions about Capsize.

If she hadn't eavesdropped on their conversation, Jordan wouldn't have thought much of it. Now she knew why. He wanted to know if Capsize was keeping his word.

But talking about Capsize or even thinking about him would be an effort, an effort to keep the pain at bay.

So Jordan simply said, "I haven't seen him today. Maybe he's busy"

Perhaps he was. When Jordan arrived home from the meeting with Declan, the chests of gold were gone and so was the pirate.

Jordan didn't het herself be upset, she knew he would take them even after his fake apologies. But still, a small part of her had hoped that he would...that he would have chosen a true friendship over material things.

It was very possible that he was back home with the other pirates, laughing at her stupidity, at how gullible she had been for the past few weeks.

Instead of pondering over that pain, she bid Tom goodbye and after waiting a few minutes for him to return back home, Jordan exited her house.

Jordan found her usual horse at the stables where it always was, looking slightly annoyed at her presence but perhaps not so shocked by it. This was the second time she brought the horse along, but despite being tired, it let her ride him under the night sky.

She had contemplated what to name him, a useless thing to pass the time with.

At the end of her pondering, she settled on the name Arion, after the immortal horse of mythology just as a private joke.

So she and Arion set out into the night, towards the next nether portal.

Jordan had learned her first night out that the cold of the night could be deadly, so she was now layered up in clothes.

A simple cream colored long sleeve under a rather tight black leather jacket of sorts. Instead of her red cape which would stand out way too much in the night, she wore a long black cloak purchased by Tucker as a gift many nights ago.

It was thick, made out of wool on the inside and fine stitching on the outside, its hood effectively keeping her ears warm despite the lack of wool on it. As for the rest of her outfit, it was dark pants, her thigh long black boots, and her various jewelry gifts from the gods along with equally 'sparkly' weapons.

She was clad in all black, perfectly blending in with the darkness around her. It helped that her horse had a black hide as well. She was practically invisible, just how she wanted.

But apparently not invisible enough because once she reached the edge of the desert where the world communicator reach vanished, Jordan heard galloping behind her.

If it were one of her friends, they would have called out to her, not stalked towards her dead at night...

Not even bothering to turn back the way she came, to the communicator's safety, she pulled on Arion's reigns and sped through the sandy dunes.

Thought the sand did a good job on canceling out most of the sound from the galloping horses, she could still tell the pursuit continued thanks to the quiet dead of night.

Her cloak swished behind her as her horse picked up speed, the cold winds kissing her skin and making her eyes water at the contact.

"Faster boy" she quietly said to her horse, thankfully he got the point and went faster than even Jordan could have anticipated.

Her heart began to race, the danger of the unknown threatening to make her eyes water with fear this time. But she knew better, Jordan had lived in Mianite long enough to lose that semblance of rational fear.

So, while her horse did it's thing, Jordan fisted the bow resting on her legs, and gathered some arrows from a belt on the side of the horse.

Placing the arrow against the string of the bow, Jordan tangled her legs on her leather foot straps and pushed herself up, being careful not to fall as the horse galloped on.

It was tricky, but Jordan had practiced it on more than one occasion when boredom overtook her while riding. She had seen people stand and shoot while on horseback in movies, so she had given it a try for fun.

Most of the times, she ended up flat on the ground, but after many weeks of playing around with that particular skill, she managed to get her balance just right. That and her shooting lessons with Ianite should help her achieve her movie dream.

At least that's what Jordan told herself as she balanced on the horse and prepared to take aim behind her. If she fell, Jordan had a feeling Arion wouldn't come back for her after being awoken in the middle of the night.

The horse would surely let her die.

Not letting fear take hold of her, Jordan turned around, and pulled back in the string of her bow in one swift movement aiming right behind her. Her hood fell off with the movement and her short brown hair began bouncing wildly but thankfully away from her eyes.

There WAS a dark figure behind her, the horse much closer than she anticipated. Just a few feet away.

Once her assailant noticed the bow in Jordan's hands, the dark horse stopped and the figure who had two arms going up in surrender was barely noticeable due to the dark clothes he/she bore.

Jordan could have fired, should have. But instead, Jordan gathered the reigns of her horse from behind her and pulled him to a stop. Still balancing her weight out on the foot straps, she quickly, and rather ungracefully, jumped off the horse.

Her boots hit the sand silently and the shock of the contact made her wince a bit.

Still, Jordan didn't let go of her bow as she walked towards the person now before her.

"Off the horse, now" she ordered, mentally applauding herself for sounding threatening.

The dark figure got off the horse, cloak flowing with the wind. The person was tall, about a head or so taller than her, features still hidden by the darkness and the hood he or she still bore.

Jordan shook off her nerves as she stopped five feet before the person, bow still groaning from the force she placed on it, arrow still aimed for where the person's heart should be.

"Why are you following me around? You know, some people would shoot first, ask questions later and I'm a hair's length away from becoming one of those people. You better make your words count" she said, her voice still not wavering because...she meant it.

She meant that threat, and Jordan knew she WOULD fire that arrow.

The person before her must have sensed it too, because weapons fell on the sand and hands went back up in surrender.

One hand reached for the hood of the cloak and a familiar face shone against the bit of light the moon provided.

Impossible....

"Lord Dianite!" Jordan screamed, pulling her bow string further as if it would make a difference how hard the arrow in her hands struck him. She didn't have any of the god killing weapons, this would most likely just piss him off.

"Lord Dianite? How unusual of you to call be by my title" he said, his deep voice the same tone that still haunted her nightmares of cages and waterfalls "I must say, I do like it coming from your lips"

Jordan took a step back, almost losing her balance all together.

"You're not supposed to be able to get out" she said in utter shock. She had no smart, witty remark to make, nothing to mask her fear.

Dianite took the cloak off and let it fall to the sand freely. Then his horns appeared atop his head, right where his black hair was.

His red skin shone brightly against the moonlight, showcasing his wicked smile and eyes dark as the sky above them.

Dianite calmly ran a hand through his hair before straightening the wrinkles on his black suit.

"You're right as always my dear, I'm not actually here, at least not fully. A rather costly spell but worth every soul if you ask me" he said, coming closer at a slow and confident pace.

"Then why the weapons and the horse. I recall you mentioning that you were above those sorts of things" she said, voice now shaking, feet backing up step by step towards her own horse who had miraculously not left her for dead at the sight of the god.

The sound of his laughter send shocks across her body, like warning alarms.

He said souls earlier...what had he done?

"Unfortunately, the body of the villager I had to posses is quite mortal and lacks magical abilities. Weapons and a horse seemed necessary to come after you" he said

Dianite still looked like himself but he had...no, she wasn't even gonna question what kind of magic that was. She had to focus.

"Then this arrow should kill you just fine" she said, fingers slightly shaking but hopefully not noticeable given the dark.

"It will kill this villager yes, but my soul will just return to my body unharmed. Your call my love" he said, his strides longer now, inching closer at a faster pace than before.

Was it worth a villager's life? She couldn't kill it just to get rid of Dianite.

He knew she couldn't do it.

Though her survival instincts roared at her to stop, Jordan put the bow down and held the arrow against the smooth wood of the bow.

Jordan didn't have to look back to know she was a few strides from her horse. Dianite had revealed the vital fact that he had no magic, meaning she could out ride him.

"Why are you here?" She asked, buying herself time, thinking it through.

He continued walking towards her, never taking his eyes off hers.

"For you of course. It seems a certain pirate has been using you for gold my love" he said so casually though he probably knew the wound of that betrayal ran deep.

How he knew, she didn't particularly care at the moment.

So she fired back.

"Not the first time I've been betrayed, and not the worst way either" She said, holding her bow with one hand and grabbing a sword from her back, right under her cloak.

Dianite didn't miss the movement, but he also didn't stop his pursuit.

"You seem to be dealing with it quite well, tell me, has the constant killing of the past few nights brought you enough peace. Has the bloodshed and steel of your weapons brought you comfort like I said it would?" He said and her heart stopped.

It had.

She had become the kind of person Dianite said she would.

She had embraced the darkness and killed for comfort, so much so that she ended up bathed in blood every night and she didn't even care one bit about the lives she had ended.

Even with the warning she had given him while atop his horse. Jordan would have fired that arrow no problem.

She HAD become a monster in the flesh, and it had not been Dianite's doing. This had just been her.

Jordan didn't realize she had stopped backing away until strong arms wrapped around her waist and hot breath tickled her brow.

Jordan refused to look up now that she snapped out of her frightening thoughts, instead focusing on how to get out of his familiar hold.

"I told you this would happen and said I'd love you despite it. Do you really think the people here will too? Come home with me, to where you belong" he whispered

For a heartbeat she considered it, not going back to the nether with him because she would never do that, but the stuff about her friends.

Perhaps she had lost it.

"I told you to leave me be Dianite. I said my goodbyes" Jordan said, still not daring to look up at him, but angling her sword closer to the side of his chest.

He leaned down and placed his nose in the space between in neck and shoulder, his skin caressing hers briefly.

"Tell me to my face then. Tell me you no longer love me" he said, his voice slightly deeper in what could have been anger.

It was five simple words. I no longer love you. Five simple words that should have been easy to say.

She did no longer love him. Jordan knew that it had been a mistake to trust him and develop feelings for him. But she had anyways, and it wasn't too long ago that she let a big part of them go.

Instead of the hatred, she let go of that 'love' and didn't look back, but Jordan now knew it wasn't that simple.

It wasn't as easy as that. Jordan knew she would need time, and her telling him to leave her alone was so she could have that space to forget and heal.

"I meant what I said, I'll never forgive you" she said

He wrapped his hand under her cloak and around her arm, pulling her closer.

"That's not what I asked" he said, breath still tickling her neck.

"I won't love you, It may take time because I really felt something for you, but I will never be able to love you again Dia...Dianite" she said, placing the sword closer to his skin.

"I'm going out of my mind without you. You're all I think about and no amount of killing has been enough to drown you voice, smell, and touch out of my head. Stay, come back to me" he said, tone so sincere she actually felt a blow of pain.

Jordan never though she would leave that kind of impression on him, disorient him so much.

Of course she would never forgive him no matter how much he suffered, and perhaps that made her more of a monster.

But there were many people suffering for her choices apparently. So many deaths at his hands in a effort to forget and so many deaths on her end too....

"You did that to yourself. Stop looking for me, stop this magic pursuit for me. I'm not going back to you" Jordan said, his eyes now aligned with hers.

They were as dark and empty as she remembered and as much as Jordan wanted to get away, she stood rooted in place.

She could try and escape but that seemed rather unlikely at the moment. Instead, she decided to bid her time.

From what she understood, magic had limits. Dianite's soul being in another body must have a time restraint, just like Ianite's had.

In a matter of time, he should be able to fade away, otherwise he would have waited for her at the house instead of riding to find her.

Perhaps she could use the time to make him understand that they would never be together. It would be useful in a way she supposed, not only for that, but to deal with her own emotions as well.

"Don't say that. You know how much I want to destroy my throne just because of the memories it holds, because you're not there with me" he said, eyes still holding hers captive, his lips now centimeters from hers.

Jordan let go of the bow and arrow on her right hand as well as the sword on her left. She took out a dagger from one from one of the belts across her chest and placed it against his skin where the sword had been.

"Don't you want things to be as they were once. Don't you want to sit by my side as queen, never in fear of being judged of who you are. Lay comfortably against me as I work like you used to, sleeping without a fear in your mind. You said it yourself, you are not yet through with us yet"

"Never. Now, If you excuse me, I have a pest problem to deal with" Jordan said, pushing on the dagger with one hand and her other hand against the warmth of his chest.

Once out of his embrace, Jordan began to turn back, content with leaving him there. Playing games with him would only confuse her further, cloud her judgement.

"What if your friends knew about us, about how you killed my father, of all the blood on your hands from recent nights and former ones, of your longing to go home and leave them to suffer alone? Would they cast you out and hunt you?" He asked , eyes now shining brightly like flames.

If they found out, not only would they be the only ones she would have to deal with, but she also had Ianite whom could judge her as well.

Funny. At times she forgot all the secrets she kept. Those secrets seemed like dreams or events of another lifetime. So much so that sometimes she forgot all she had done, fully convincing herself that she had nothing to hide, nothing to be judged for.

Then days like this came along, reminding her of all the bad.

"They have every right to hate me for it all. I'd take it. If they asked me to leave their lands, I'd respect their decisions and leave them alone because I know I'm to blame" she answered back.

"Where to?" He asked

"Wherever I can. Far away from here. Home" she said

"If the monsters of this land, killers, murderers, wont accept you, what makes you think the people of your lands would? How terrified they would be of what you became?" He asked, anger returning to his eyes and voice

Stefan, would he truly hate her? So much so that he might not let her return.

Where would she go. Though she had learned much about survival, there was no way she could survive out in the wild of Mianite by herself. She had no idea how to hunt properly, how to provide for herself, how to survive.

"It could all be avoided if..." Dianite said and then his voice just cut off.

Jordan turned around to find the tip of a blade sticking out where his heart was, blood darkening his suit.

With a shocked expression, he tried to grab the sword tip, but soon the mortal body of the villager gave up and Dianite slumped face first into the sand.

Behind the now lifeless god was none other than Rupert. The very pirate that resembled her brother back home, whom she had been actively ignoring since she met him.

"What on Ianite's name was all that?" The pirate asked

Jordan kept her mouth shut, who knew what the pirate had seen, what he referred to.

"You and him? Both of you were together?! What was that about killing his father, champion?" He said, wiping the blood on the sword with his shirt.

Noticing the blood, Jordan remembered the body. Slowly, Dianite's body began to shrink until it took the shape of a villager, its blood visible under the night sky as it spread across the sand.

"You killed him" she said "Not Dianite, a villager"

Rupert looked down at the lifeless body. Jordan expected him to feel instant regret but his expressions yielded nothing.

"What is wrong with you!!!" Jordan screamed, kneeling next to the nameless villager who had died because of her.

She closed his eyes and laid him down on his back, hands placed on the wound by his heart.

"Is it really me who has to explain themselves? You're not worthy of the title of champion" he said, yelling down at her keeling form.

Jordan looked up at him, looked past her brother's features and focused on his essence instead.

"Yes, me and Dianite were together for a period of time. Not that it's any of your business, but we aren't together anymore. Yes, I killed his father, It was a plan me and the other gods made to stop him from taking over" she whispered

He frowned at her, disgusted.

"How could you be with such a monster? Are you working for him against Ianite?" He asked, a bit more upset than before, sword drawn...at her.

Jordan turned back to the villager and ran her hand through his hair.

"Ianite knew about it as well as a few others on the island. Even then, I was still following Ianite, I did my best to keep my relationship and devotion separate matters. But judge me however you want, at least I didn't hide my intentions like you lot" she said, now a bit angry herself.

Perhaps not mad at Rupert, but at herself, for letting the villager die, for her past mistakes...