The Great Lake received clear, fresh water from the glaciers and ice caps beyond the northern mountains. Rivers flowed through the mountains into the massive lake that mirrored the infinite sky above. The Conduits of antiquity situated their entire civilization around the lake, and eventually, the Rhomaion Empire and smaller kingdoms formed along its shores. 

Dikai and the other universities dotted the southern lakeshore, and each school boasted a unique geography. Dikai claimed the most fertile campus, and in Ori’s opinion, the most beautiful. Sprawling, verdant courtyards were split by quaint stone pathways that led into the surrounding forests, and one particularly wide road led straight to the glittering lake. The soil became rockier as Ori and her friends neared the dock. Dikai’s grassy terrain turned into dark sand, pebbled with gray stones where gentle waves lapped at the shore. 

The gladiators dressed casually for an evening bonfire and took turns hauling supplies from the yacht. The men appeared in good spirits when the women joined them, playfully swinging vibrant folding chairs around like shields and brandishing skewers as if they were swords while Sabino implored them to keep the rough housing away from his custom water taxi. 

“Can we keep the damage to one vehicle a day, please?” Ori spoke up as the two groups convened on shore. “Sabino’s heart can only take so much.”

Ciel and Cass ceased their jousting with chairs and carried the remaining gear off the dock. The couples within their group of friends gravitated towards each other, and Milo briefly greeted Ori with a hug before finding his place at Bea’s side.

“We got Jordan assigned to a month of clean up duty on the race track,” Milo proudly informed his sister over Bea’s head as his girlfriend wrapped her slender arms around his waist and buried her face into his chest. 

“Thanks,” Ori nodded with a tight smile. Her attempt at gratitude came out forced, but she was just glad that she didn’t immediately confess how they granted Valere entry and opened a new bag of trouble for the year. Honestly, she had forgotten all about the training mishap. It felt like days, not hours, had passed by since that training session.

Surprised with her dull response, Milo looked to his girlfriend for help, but Bea’s hold just tightened on him. One by one, the gladiators’ enthusiasm morphed into confusion as they realized the dejected atmosphere surrounding the women. 

“Is everything okay?” Milo asked. “You’re not looking so happy for our happy hour.”  

“Did we forget to bring something?” Sabino cast a look over at the makeshift grill station, taking a mental inventory worriedly. “I could’ve sworn that we brought vegetables for you, Bea.” 

“Tonight might not be the best time for happy hour,” Ori informed them carefully.

“Why not?” Cassian asked her, resting his chin on Madrigal’s head. 

Ori exchanged a look with her housemates. They didn’t have time to come up with a script to tell their allies. Naturally, the ladies deferred to Juno. Bright and energetic, the heroic priestess easily attracted the faith and favor of others. Besides, she made the decision, and Ori felt it was only fair for her to take the responsibility for it. 

“Alright, don’t freak out,” Juno began warily before explaining everything to the Alpha Team. She relayed how Valere survived their final battle and reappeared with Locusts on his heels. Then, without giving the gladiators time to process the initial disaster, she launched into Valere’s account of Apollyon’s growing army for a war against the Cosmos. 

“We have to find the third Deity before Deathbringer does, or he’s going to use it against us.” 

“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” Cass grumbled. The hulking axeman stepped away from Mads and dropped to a deep squat, rocking on his heels and shaking his head. 

“That’s… a lot,” Sabino remarked with a dumbstruck look. He began tapping a pattern on the back of his hand thoughtfully. “So, Valere’s alive and… broke through the barrier from the Underworld?” The squirrely strategist’s tapping quickened as he repeated the situation back to them for confirmation.

“Squeezed through might be more precise,” Minerva offered. “It isn’t broken…yet.” 

“Somehow, I don’t think that makes a difference,” Dante commented under his breath.

“And he’s here? On campus?” Cassian shot back to his full height, and his voice rose to a yell of frustrated disbelief. He scanned their surroundings as if he half-expected the demon to appear in the shadows around them. 

“I told you not to freak out!” Juno crossed her arms defensively and scoffed. 

Mads rolled her eyes at her boyfriend’s reactivity. “He’s in confinement with Calpurnia.”

“You actually let him through the gates? Don’t tell me. Was it another one of June’s stupid decisions? You do this every year!” The hot headed man rounded on the priestess, squinting through his irritation.

“We didn’t have a choice! He has information about Apollyon, and we couldn’t leave him out there! Am I seriously the only one who sees that?” Juno’s irritation flared, and her golden hair flashed like a halo in warning. Whatever patience she reserved for her housemates earlier finally ran out. 

“That’s exactly what you should have done! He’s a pathological liar!”

“We already had this conversation and worked it out,” Mads intervened and made her best effort to de-escalate the impending argument between her boyfriend and her friend. Cece stepped in to support Mads, and Minerva continued discussing the situation with Sabino and Dante in complete detail. 

Meanwhile, the Rhomaions and Bea retreated to the side in complete silence. Ori glanced at her brother around Ciel’s frame. He wrapped an arm around Bea, returning her embrace with a contemplative expression as he held her. Then, Ori’s attention landed on Ciel. The prince worked his jaw, took deep and slow breaths, and his face went stark white against deep, red hair. 

“Can you forget about Valere for a second?” Juno demanded of Cass. “The real problem is Apollyon!”

“Apollyon is in the Underworld! Where he belongs!” Cassian bellowed, maintaining his stance against her.

“For now,” Minerva cut in sharply while Cassian and Juno glared each other down with unwavering ferocity. The infomancer continued, ignoring their simmering fury, “If Valere was able to escape through a crack, there’s no guarantee that it’ll hold.”

“I agree with Minnie,” Dante spoke up softly and held his wife’s hand in a quiet vote of support and confidence. “The Aretes wouldn’t decide something like this without valid reason.” 

Cassian scowled at his teammate before turning to Mads, “Promise me you won’t go anywhere near that guy.”

“Seriously, Cass?” Madrigal’s delicate features scrunch up at his plea. “Who do you think I am? I can take care of myself!” 

A flicker of warmth softened Cassian’s dark eyes, and he recoiled ever so slightly at the bite in her words. Ori knew that Cass cared for few people and developed a fierce protectiveness of the ones he allowed close, and he felt especially protective towards Mads.

Just as Cass opened his mouth, Ciel finally spoke. 

“Not against him.” The prince shook his head slowly before lifting his gaze to meet Juno’s. “How could you be so naive?”

Ori’s heart broke for her childhood friend who had not yet recovered from the distress Valere caused. Valere used everything Ciel loved to force the prince on his knees and used him to reignite the war between Rhomai and Rasennoi. The demon meticulously exposed every faultline of Rhomaion society and plucked at them until the empire danced to his discordant tune. Valere gained nothing other than the satisfaction of watching the Divine Empire suffer a slow and agonizing undoing. 

“I’m not being naive!” The priestess’s voice cracked at the end of her claim, but she recovered quickly to stick up her chin in defiance. Juno clearly expected her boyfriend to support her decision, and even Ori was surprised by Ciel’s opposition. He was always the first to defend Juno’s bold choices. He had risked his life, surrendered his autonomy, and drove his empire to the brink of collapse for her. She wondered if that was why he finally drew the line. 

“June, this isn’t okay.” Milo carefully unwrapped Bea’s arms from his torso so he could take part in the conversation properly. “How can you not see that? We had two decades of peace with Rasennoi, and we were so close to finally locking in a peace treaty that didn’t require sacrificing Ciel’s happiness. Valere wrecked every effort we made!” 

“Miles, that’s enough.” Ori took a warning tone with her brother. 

She caught Juno’s eyes shimmering with tears and her lower lip trembling through the curtain of golden hair. This was usually the part where Ciel caved, but his silence only worsened the odd wobble of June’s lips. They had been hard on her already, and Aurelia felt the guilt setting in.

“How are you okay with this?” Miles demanded of the silver-haired archer. She didn’t detect any anger in his voice, just confusion and a hurt that pierced straight through her heart. 

“I’m not.” Ori’s shoulders sagged in utter exhaustion. Six years worth of anguish hit her in one breath. She and the other women had outgrown whatever naivete they had possessed long before Valere had even worked his way onto their ever-growing list of problems. She had suffered from the same misery as Miles - watching, hands bound by duty to the crown, as their home unraveled in Valere’s hands. “I was there, too, Milo. How could you ask me that?”

“How could you ask us to support this?” Ciel countered. 

“Do you really think there’s anything Valere can do that Apollyon can’t?” Ori returned.
“Valere may be the Deathbringer’s Mask, but at the end of the day he’s a puppet on Apollyon’s strings. I’m not okay with any of this. We don’t like it any more than you do, but what do you think will happen if we ignore it?”

The men reflected on her question.

“That’s the problem, Aurelia,” Ciel’s voice became strained as he tried to reel in his frustration. “He’s a puppet! If Apollyon’s pulling his strings, then who knows what his intentions are?”

“We already spoke about this amongst ourselves and with Calpurnia,” Minerva answered the rhetorical question while Ori stewed in her own frustration and exhaustion. “We want your cooperation, not your permission.” 

“So, what?” Cass spoke up roughly with a guarded look on his face. “We’re with you or we’re against you?”

Ori scoffed and rolled her eyes. “No. What do you think this is? It’s too early for ultimatums. We don’t need your help, but it would be appreciated.” 

Cassian scrutinized her with his face contorted in concentration, and Ori almost asked if it actually pained him to use his brain over his brawn. Then, he groaned in defeat and looked from his sparring partner, to his girlfriend, and finally turned to face his captain, “Celius? We can’t let them deal with this by themselves.”

Ciel could be just as stubborn as Juno, but at least he had been taught from an early age how to lead. He shared his burdens as best he could and took their individual strengths and weaknesses into account. Aurelia admired and respected her liege, but if she had to name one shortcoming of his, it was that he could be an absolute fool for love. 

“Fine,” the copper headed prince yielded. “What can we do to help?”