THEY REACHED VERONA’S VILLA after a moment’s walk. The roof was made out of thick silver bark, and the villa's frame was made with dark clay. Keisha and Verona had to move several hidden shrubberies that camouflaged the home.

The two of them walked inside, and dim lighting illuminated the darkroom.

A makeshift living area presented itself to Keisha. There was an oddly placed sofa and several shelves with portraits held together by a stick-made frame.

Keisha peered at the photos on the wall and gasped; the first she saw was her papà’s ebony features and another man with fairer features. Her papà’s big emerald eyes stuck out to her. Even if Keisha had not seen him for two years, the calm and thoughtful expression on his long face and his aquiline nose was easy enough to remember the way her mamma described him.

“T-that’s my papà, and he’s with….”

“Virgil,” Verona said. “My father.”

Keisha turned to Verona; she could see the resemblance in their heart-shaped face and shared eyes. While Verona’s hair was darker, and Virgil had sandy-colored hair, they both shared curly-haired genes.

Keisha continued to look at the photos. The rest were of Verona, and a woman, with the same brunette-colored hair she guessed was her mamma.

“My papà really was here, and he was…a Shikari? Why does he not have violet eyes? Wh-what else is there?”

Keisha tried her best to remain calm, but she wanted answers. An entire world had been hidden from her, maybe even her mamma.

Verona shrugged. “His lengthy amount of time on the surface would be my guess. His Shikari blood was trying to mold with him being on earth. My father told me Dante left the Illicit and the Shikari ranks after falling in love with an Earthborne. He never saw Dante again, until my father asked him for help…that was two years ago.”

Keisha's knitted her brows, frowning. Hearing Verona’s tone indicated something bad happened to her father.

“Where is he?” Keisha asked. “And your mamma?”

Verona pursed her lips and whispered, “They’re both dead. My ma died when I was young and my father died from a deadly sickness.”

Keisha’s blood ran cold, and a chill ran up her spine. Her stomach twisted in knots.

“If you want to save your mamma, you’re going to have to travel through the Illicit to get answers,” Verona said. “There’s someone who may know.”

“What do you mean by travel? I can’t even fight Beasties! How am I supposed to survive a place that I found about a few minutes ago?”

Verona smirked. Keisha didn’t like that glimmer in her eyes.

“You’ll train. You are a Legacy after all.”