Nicholas grumbled as he began to stir. His head was throbbing, and he felt slightly dizzy. Slowly, his eyes began to flutter open, and his sea green eyes looked around, laced with confusion. The area around him was dark, and he felt the hard rock floor beneath him as he was lying on his side.

  Lifting his head slightly, Nicholas rubbed his temples, trying to stop his throbbing headache, while simultaneously trying to remember what had happened. He remembered going into the cave, reaching the end, and then suddenly experiencing a blast of golden light when Elianna touched the wall. He shook his head, thinking that the golden light must've sent a blast that knocked him to the floor unconscious. With a sigh, he rubbed his eyes, trying to rid himself of his grogginess and his headache, when he suddenly froze.

  Nicholas sat upright, his body rigid, and his eyes wide, "Lia?!"

  Quickly flicking his wrist, Nicholas conjured a ball of light above him, illuminating the area. His eyes darted to the wall where Elianna was last seen, and then flicked down. Fear gripped him as he noticed Elianna's unconscious body lying on the floor beside the wall.

  "Lia!!" Nicholas yelled, his voice laced with panic. He scrambled to his feet, ran over to her, and skidded on his knees beside her. He gently grabbed her shoulder and rolled her over. He gingerly brushed some loose strands of hair out of her face, "Lia. Lia, answer me."

  When Elianna didn't answer, Nicholas swallowed hard, with his heart racing in panic. He leaned closer to her, his ear hovering over her mouth. A small wave of relief washed over him as he heard her breathing and observed the rising and falling of her chest.

  "Lia," Nicholas whispered again, as he sat up. He gently caressed her face, "Lia, come on. Wake up." He watched her intently, hoping for a twitch, something, anything. When she didn't stir, his body began to shake. "P-Please."

  Nicholas raised his hand, hovering it over her with his palm faced down. An emerald light emitted from his hand, bathing over Elianna. He moved his hand up and down her frame, washing the healing spell over her. When he sensed she wasn't injured, Nicholas let out a sigh of relief and canceled his spell.

  With his brows furrowing, Nicholas looked back at Elianna, wondering why she wasn't waking up and what he should do. He was thinking about picking her up and carrying her back to the beach house when he froze. His brows raised, and his lips went slightly agape when he noticed her eyes begin to twitch.

  Gently brushing his fingers across her cheek, Nicholas whispered, "Lia? Can you hear me?"

  Slowly, Elianna's eyes fluttered open, with her beautiful, celestial blue eyes flicking across the ceiling. She hummed slightly, looking confused, before her gaze flicked to Nicholas. Her brows furrowed, "N-Nick?"

  Nicholas will chuckle with relief, his heartbeat relaxing, "Yeah, it's me."

  Elianna blinked a few times, as her eyes were locked on Nicholas. Suddenly, her eyes widened, and a rosy tint appeared on her cheeks as she became consciously aware of how close they were. She swallowed hard, "What, uh, what's happening?"

  Nicholas sighed, "You tell me." He looked at the wall, "You touched that wall, there." He looked back at Elianna. "Then there was this bright golden light, and the next thing I know, we're both passed out on the floor."

  Elianna's brows furrowed as she looked down, as if trying to remember. She blinked a few times before her eyes widened, "There was another dream!"

  Elianna shot straight up, and her forehead collided with Nicholas', who grunted and fell back onto his rear end. He and Elianna both hissed in pain as they rubbed their respective foreheads.

  "O-Ouch," Nicholas grumbled.

  "S-Sorry," Elianna stated, looking at Nicholas apologetically.

  Nicholas looked at her and smiled softly, "It's fine." He eyed her curiously, "But, what did you say? You had another dream?"

  Elianna sat up, nodding to Nicholas as she turned to face him fully. "Yes." She looked to the side, "Or, a vision." She sighed, "Whatever they are. I'm not sure."

  Nicholas pursed his lips, looking at Elianna curiously, "Tell me about it."

  Elianna looked at Nicholas, nodded, and told him about the dream, about the five individuals, and what they said. Once she finished, she looked at Nicholas, seeing that he was looking directly into her eyes with an intent expression.

  Nicholas slowly shook his head, processing what Elianna told him, looking confused. "What do you think it means?"

  Elianna sighed and looked down, "I honestly have no idea."

  Nicholas eyed Elianna for a moment, seeing her troubled expression. "Are you okay?"

  Elianna nodded, "Yeah. I am." She looked at Nicholas. "I just don't know what this all means, and it's bothering me: the pull, the dreams, or visions."

  Nicholas hummed, thinking, "Maybe you should tell someone about it."

  Elianna shook her head, "Why? It's not like they might know what it all means."

  Nicholas shrugged, "True. But if it's something that's bothering you, it will help to have someone to talk to about it."

  Elianna smiled, "Well, I have you."

  "And you always will," Nicholas said, gaining a small blush from Elianna. "Just, at least consider telling your parents. I'm sure they'll want to know about this."

  Elianna looked down and nodded, "Yeah, you're right. Maybe I will." She raised her head, looking around, "But first, maybe we should get out of this cave."

  Nicholas chuckled, "Good idea." He stood up and offered his hand to Elianna.

  Elianna smiled as she took Nicholas' hand, feeling the warmth of his touch, as he helped her to her feet. She looked down at herself and flicked her wrist. Wind magic swirled around her, knocking the dust off her clothes. She then looked at Nicholas, as he did the same thing.

  Nicholas looked toward the way they came and jerked his chin, "Let's go."

  Elianna nodded and followed Nicholas as they backtracked their way through the cave. Her eyes lingered on the stone column as they passed it, with memories of her dream surfacing. They continued on their way until they reached the exit, entering the forest area.

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  "The sun," Nicholas said, looking into the sky, seeing it was starting to turn blue. "It's morning already."

  Elianna blinked and shook her head, "Just how long were we unconscious for?"

  "Not sure," Nicholas said, canceling his magelight spell. "It seems to be early morning still, though. Hopefully, no one has realized we're missing."

  Elianna nodded, then looked at Nicholas, "We should hurry back. And, maybe keep us invisible so we aren't stopped by any guards."

  "Good idea," Nicholas stated, as he gently took her hand.

  Elianna smiled as she interlaced her fingers with Nicholas'. The next moment, a wave of emerald energy washed over them as Nicholas turned them invisible. They began to make their way toward the beachhouse, retracing their steps. They would stop periodically at the sound of footsteps or guards talking, ensuring they left and the coast was clear before continuing on their way. Once they exited the forest, they both let out a breath of relief as they walked away from the treeline and towards the beachhouse.

  Approaching the beachhouse, Nicholas canceled the invisibility spell, and Elianna sighed, "We made it."

  Nicholas chuckled and nodded as they began to climb the steps, "Yeah, it seems like luck is on our side, since we didn't get caught."

  They made it to the deck and headed to the sliding glass doors. Elianna slid the doors open and walked inside, with Nicholas right behind her, and they both froze. Their eyes locked on Freya, who was standing beside the stove with a tired expression, as she was cooking something on the stove, which was coffee by the scent.

  Hearing the door, Freya's tired eyes flicked to Nicholas and Elianna, and her brows raised in surprise, "Nicholas? Elianna? You're already up?" She observed as they both stood there, motionless in shock. Freya's eyes lowered to their clothes and narrowed, noticing they were wearing the same clothes as yesterday. Her jaw clenched slightly as she asked, "You didn't sleep in the beach house last night, did you?"

  Nicholas and Elianna shared a gaze, with Elianna looking unsure of what to say.

  Nicholas cleared his throat before he looked at his aunt. He scratched the back of his head nervously, "Uh, ah-em, no. You see, we, uh, we were out at the beach last night, and decided to go for a walk. Then, we noticed there was a storm coming in, so we took shelter in a cave where we fell asleep."

  Elianna nodded in confirmation, as it wasn't too far from the truth.

  "So you took shelter in a cave," Freya said flatly. "Instead of just coming back to the beach house."

  Nicholas cleared his throat again, "Y-Yeah."

  Freya hummed, her eyes darting between Nicholas and Elianna. "I'm going to start working on breakfast soon. Go get washed up."

  Nicholas and Elianna nodded before they quickly began to walk toward the stairs.

  "Nicholas. Stay."

  Nicholas froze, swallowing hard. Elianna looked at him with a worried expression, and he gave her a reassuring smile and nod. Elianna nodded in return before she turned and hurriedly made her way up the stairs.

  Nicholas cleared his throat awkwardly before turning to face his aunt, clasping his hands in front of him, "Y-Yes, Aunt Freya?"

  Freya crossed her arms, pinning Nicholas with a glare, "So, you two slept in a cave together?"

  Nicholas nodded slightly, "Y-Yes. There was a storm coming."

  "So you said," Freya stated firmly, looking directly into her nephew's eyes. "And did anything happen in this cave?"

  Nicholas cleared his throat again, "No, we just fell asleep."

  Freya hummed, narrowing her eyes, "That's it? Nothing happened between you and Elianna?"

  Nicholas looked confused, "What? What do you—" His eyes widened, and his face turned crimson, "W-What?! N-No! We didn't do... that!"

  Freya stared into Nicholas' eyes for a few moments before she sighed, seeing no signs of deception. "Good." She pointed to the stairs, "Now go get washed up and changed."

  Nicholas didn't hesitate to leave as he practically scrambled from the stairs, his face still hot as he made it to his room. He let out a long breath, trying to regain his composure, and quickly stripped off his old clothes, washed up, and got dressed in new ones. Once he was all freshened up, he exited his room, entered the hallway, and began to make his way toward the stairs.

  Hearing a door opening behind him, Nicholas stopped and turned, and smiled when he saw Elianna exiting her room. She, too, was dressed in new clothes and had washed up.

  Elianna smiled when her eyes fell on Nicholas, "Hey." She approached him, looking a little worried, "You didn't get in trouble, did you? What did your aunt want?"

  Nicholas' face warmed again as he looked into Elianna's eyes, remembering his aunt's question. "N-No." He cleared his throat and smiled, "Everything is fine."

  Elianna sighed with relief, "I'm glad." She looked at the stairs, "Ready to eat?"

  Nicholas nodded, "Yeah, come on."

  Nicholas turned, and he and Elianna walked to the stairs. As they began to descend, Nicholas smiled at the delectable breakfast smell. "Something smells go—" He stopped midway down the stairs, looking into the second floor.

  Celine was standing near the counter, with her arms crossed, and she looked at Nicholas with an annoyed gaze. Josephine was standing in the kitchen, drying off her hands, as her eyes were locked on the sliding glass doors. At the sliding glass doors stood Freya on one side, while two knights and a mage stood on the other side. Freya had her arms crossed, looking less than pleased.

  Freya let out a long sigh, "Fine. Tell my brother we will return after we're done eating."

  The mage nodded, "Yes, Your Highness." They backed away a step. "We will be waiting by the portal."

  Freya waved them off, "Very well."

  Nicholas' stomach dropped. "What's going on?"

  Freya closed the door and sighed as she looked back at Nicholas. "William sent messengers to tell us it's time to return to the palace."

  Nicholas physically slumped, "Guess he couldn't let us just stay here till the party."

  Celine shrugged, "At least it's in a few days."

  Nicholas slowly nodded, "That's true, I guess." He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked behind him, seeing Elianna smile at him reassuringly. He returned her smile.

  "Well, breakfast is ready," Freya said, gesturing to the table. "Let's eat and then we'll head back."

  ***

  Standing on the deck, Nicholas watched as Freya closed the sliding glass doors, signaling the end to their time at the beach house.

  Freya turned and looked at everyone standing behind her, "Alright, let's go."

  They all turned and made their way across the deck and down the stairs.

  "At least we had fun while it lasted," Celine smiled, noticing Nicholas' sour expression.

  Nicholas shrugged, "Yeah. I just wish we could stay here." He sighed, "Now it's back to palace life."

  Elianna smiled at Nicholas, "Don't worry. We'll find something to do, and have fun."

  Nicholas looked at her and returned her smile, "Sounds good."

  They all looked forward and continued on their way, approaching the portal. The knights and mages standing by all bowed respectfully.

  "Back to being escorted," Nicholas sighed.

  Elianna reassuringly brushed her hand across his back.

  One by one, they all went through the portal. As Nicholas passed through, he looked up and saw the familiar sight of the palace as they entered the courtyard. Looking to his left, he eyed the royal guard area, seeing a large group of them training. His brows furrowed, noticing the group was larger than the last few times he'd seen them training together.

  "Alright," Freya said, and turned toward everyone as they made it through the portal. She smiled at Nicholas, Celine, and Elianna, "Why don't you three go to your rooms and settle back in?"

  Celine looked at her aunt curiously, "Where are you going?"

  Freya looked at the palace, "To talk with my brother."

  Josephine smiled at Celine, Elianna, and Nicholas, "I, for one, am going to head to the gardens."

  Nicholas smiled at Josephine and gave her a hug, "Alright. Thanks for coming. I'll see you later."

  "Of course, Dear," Josephine said as she broke the hug and then hugged Celine. "I'll see you later as well."

  "Definitely," Celine said, breaking the hug.

  Josephine then looked at Elianna, smiled, and gave her a hug, "See you later."

  "Later," Elianna smiled, breaking the hug.

  Josephine and Freya shared a hug before she waved and walked off.

  "I'm off too," Freya said, looking between the three of them. "I'll meet up with you all later. For now, just try and relax."

  The three of them nodded, watching as Freya turned and walked off, with her guards behind her.

  Celine looked at Nicholas and Freya, "To our rooms?"

  Nicholas sighed, "Yeah, I guess."

  Celine shot her cousin a small smile before she turned and walked off. Elianna and Nicholas followed her, with their guards following them. They made their way to the tower, climbed the stairs, and exited onto the fourth floor.

  Making their way down the hallway, Nicholas smiled at Elianna and Celine, "So, what do you guys want to do after we settle in?"

  Elianna shrugged, "I don't know." She looked at Celine, "Celine? Any ideas?"

  Celine hummed, "Well, we can either do something here in the palace, or we can go out into the city." She looked at Nicholas, "Which would you prefer?"

  Nicholas hummed and looked to the side, thinking. He smiled, "Let's—"

  "Been a while. Little brother."