The only sound in the compartment was my heaving breaths. Cornelius did what he could to ease me, running his thumb along my hand which gripped his. I whimpered when the carriage came to a jolting stop. The weight shifted as Prince A’gustine and his servant stepped out.

“Thank you for being so willing to meet with me. I understand having the prince visit may be tense, especially after all the backlash over your book.”

“It’s quite alright, you’re more than welcome here. I must admit, I was thrilled to receive a letter that wasn’t blind hate and death threats. You want to know more about Finnian’s species?”

“Well, yes, and I’m not the only one. It’s a long story, but….”

And then the compartment opened.

Cornelius was the first to slide out, much to Flick’s surprise, and I soon followed, ensuring that my knitted scarf was securely around my head and face, and hiding behind Cornelius.

“This one wants to know more,” A’gustine motioned to me. “We were wondering if you could help us put some pieces together?”

Flick was quiet for a long moment as I got to my feet and brushed myself off.

“Come inside, quickly,” he finally said, ushering us into the estate.

The interior reminded me all too much of the palace where I had once lived freely, save for the lack of guards and lower ceilings. Flick Farlane was a faerie, with four thin membrane wings, and long blonde hair pulled into a low, loose ponytail that hung over his shoulder. Of course, he was neatly dressed, with gold bangles and rings and neat robes and sashes. Had this man really fallen in love with one of my kind? A lustful beast who feasted on people?

I reminded myself that we did not need to feast upon flesh, but love, and that there were many kinds of love. I moved closer to Cornelius. He squeezed my hand.

Nearby, my nephew’s servant followed. They also wore a veil, but one that just covered their head, and it was lighter than my scarf; the edge was patterned with silver waves. Their eyes were wide with fascination as they frantically glanced around at each painting and lighting fixture and tapestry.

Flick led us to his study, a tall room filled with shelves that held countless books and long tables that were covered in bottles and papers. Layered gold and green curtains were tucked away from the tall windows, which showed the rest of the forested estate, and the mountains beyond.

“Finnian is out with Nadia ‒ our daughter ‒ right now,” Flick said. “How, exactly, did this group come together?” His eyes lingered on each of us, lingering on me a bit longer. Then he looked at Cornelius, “You’re a rebel, aren’t you?” Cornelius tensed, grip on my hand tightening. I shifted to almost hide behind him. Flick looked at the prince, blue eyes curious. “You’re working with rebels.”

“I am not fond of my step-father,” Prince A’gustine firmly replied, bad memories dancing behind his aquamarine eyes. “Besides, this is less helping the rebels and more… helping someone I care about.”

His servant’s head spun around, eyes wide, and they pulled out a journal and quickly scribbled something out.

A’gustine scowled at the message. “Oh, you shut it!” It was clearly playful, and the servant seemed amused. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.” He crossed his arms as though he were a child pouting, and I realized how young he really looked; he didn’t even have any shadow of facial hair.

Cornelius sighed, “We kidnapped him a while back, wanted answers about Augustus here,” he tugged on my hand. “We… had a couple realizations. Kidnapped him again later on, and he had your book with him.”

Flick frowned, “A’gustine and Augustus? That’s not confusing at all.”

A’gustine took a breath, “Long unknown story short‒”

“I’m Bianor’s brother!” I blurted, unable to take it anymore. “Emperor Bianor is my older brother, and our parents imprisoned me in the dungeons when I was 13 because of….” I trailed off. He understood.

Flick was quiet for a long moment, staring at me. “You’re the emperor’s brother? I must admit, I don’t see the resemblance.”

A’gustine spoke up, “I chose this name because I found references to Prince Augustus‒” I flinched at the title, “‒in some old journals in one of the storage rooms. I liked the name, so I took it. Bianor became enraged, said I could use any name I wanted, just not that one. I later discovered that this mysterious Augustus was Bianor’s younger brother. I assumed he died tragically young, but it would appear he was instead erased. I also found a painting with his face burned out.”

“And, you’re certain that…?”

“As certain as we can be,” Cornelius nodded. “But now we need help figuring out what exactly Augustus is, and what we can do to help him. Currently, I’m the only one that can look at him straight-on.”

Flick slowly nodded, coming to terms with our story. “Well, first of all, I won’t tell anyone His Highness is working with the rebels, so rest easy on that. Second…. I don’t know if that’s possible.”

“What do you mean?” A’gustine asked.

“Unless the previous empress had an affair, it shouldn’t be possible for such a creature to be born to two uskir parents.” He soon explained, “The lustful beasts ‒ shame they don’t have a proper name ‒ can only be born of parents of the same species. Finnian and his daughter, Nadia, are anomalies, as they’re both hybrids. Hybrids are typically renowned as either gifted by the sister moons, or warnings of destruction. Depends on the clan, and there’s an awful lot of debate about it.”

“Because hybrids are either seen as the bridge between two different species, a mark of the possibility of peace, or a sign that the species will disappear into the folds of another,” A’gustine nodded. I noticed that he was actually reading off his servant’s journal.

“Precisely,” Flick said. “So, either Augustus here is a hybrid and he’s not the full sibling of Emperor Bianor… or he’s not his sibling at all.”

“I…. That would explain a lot, actually,” I whispered.

“What do you mean?”

“My ancestors…. Almost all of them had straight, dark hair. And yet…,” I motioned to the mess of vivid red curls that was tucked under my hood. “And, golden eyes? That doesn’t happen, not among uskir, unless they’re Jal hybrids.”

“Are you… suggesting that Bianor… isn’t your brother?” Cornelius asked.

“I… don’t really see any other explanation,” I softly said. And, once again, my world shattered. Had I really not been royalty whatsoever, all this time? “I-I suppose we’d have to ask my parents, but…. M-maybe Bianor would know.”

A’gustine shook his head, fear behind his eyes. “I can’t get close to him; our relationship is already strained, and, if I ask about you….” The fear deepened, and his servant gently took his hand, a touch which he pulled away from.

“And all records have been destroyed,” I breathed.

“Aside from a couple half-decayed journals which I have already carefully combed through,” A’gustine sighed.

“I might have a work-around, if you wish to now find out if you truly are the emperor’s brother,” Flick said. “Finnian’s father is the leader of their clan, he knows how to contact the other clans. I can request that he look into the disappearance of a red-haired babe some ‒ what? 25? ‒ years ago.”

“27,” I softly corrected. “You think I was stolen?”

“Stolen, found, bred…,” Flick shrugged. “I’ll ask him about that, but there is another, more definite way. A more difficult way, but more definite. We get a sample of the emperor’s blood and compare it to yours.”

My eyes widened.

“That’s possible?” Cornelius asked. “To… test blood?”

“In a way,” Flick nodded. He directed his words to me. “You see, your people have very good senses, especially with taste and smell. A sample of your blood can be compared to a sample from the emperor, and the more capable might be easily able to tell if you two are actually related or not. However, getting a sample of the emperor’s blood…. I’ll ask the clan to look into this.”

“I…. Thank you,” I breathed. “I…. I’m not used to… kindness.”

“Clearly,” Flick nodded. “If you ‒ any of you ‒ ever need sanctuary, you can find it here or with Finnian’s mother, Mistress Marta Rothasch.”

My eyes widened, “Rothasch? As in House Rothasch?”

“They aren’t nobility anymore,” A’gustine told me. “Still high-ranking and popular with the people, but not nobility. Last I heard, Mistress Rothasch had her own smaller estate somewhere on the coast.”

“Yes, she does the same as me, buying slaves just to educate them and eventually set them free,” Flick said. “Although, also like my estate, most stay as paid workers.” He looked at me, “Actually, may I get a sample of your blood now? If you really were stolen, the clan might know your family.”

The thought made some secret part of me flutter. “Y-yeah.”

“Augustus, are you sure?” Cornelius asked, taking hold of my arm.

“I could have family out there,” I whispered, desperate.

He was quiet for a moment, then sighed and released me. I cautiously stepped towards Flick, who had brought out a small knife and a square of fabric.

“We’re going to have to get quite a bit of your blood,” Flick warned me.

I swallowed and shakily nodded. I had been cut before. And at least this was going to help me. I pulled up one sleeve and offered my forearm. I winced as the knife cut into me, but kept my eyes on it, only to assure myself that this wasn’t done maliciously, that we were doing this to help me.

Flick pressed the fabric to the cut, soaking up my blood.

“Do you really need that much?” A’gustine whispered.

“It’s better to have too much than not enough,” Flick replied. He handed me some bandages, “Here, press this against the cut while I bottle this.” I did so, and he put the bloodied cloth into a small bottle. “Okay, you won’t need stitches but definitely keep this covered and clean until it starts to scar.” He cleaned and wrapped the cut, and I tugged my sleeve back down.

“How should I contact you?” Flick asked Cornelius.

Cornelius was about to say something, but paused. “Flick. Do the lust beast clans live in the Wild Lands?”

Flick frowned, “Of course.”

He let out a breath. “Well. We’ve been aware that there were other groups, but we had never made contact with any of them. In that case, maybe one of them can come directly to our home, if that works for them. If not, send a bird to the village on Dragon’s Breath Lake, and the message will get to us.”

“There’s a village on Dragon’s Breath Lake?” Flick breathed. “Well this just keeps getting curiouser and curiouser.” Then, he asked, “Would you perhaps like to stay for a bit? Finnian should be back soon, you can talk to him. And I could make you a charm.”

“A… charm?” I quietly asked.

“To stop others from being bothered by your pheromones,” he explained. “So you don’t have to keep yourself so covered.”

“That’s… a thing? I-I remember the guards wearing charms but….”

“In the clans, guests wear the charms so they aren’t affected, but, outside, it’s the opposite.”

“We really shouldn’t stay long,” Cornelius said, mostly to me. “Especially with our friend waiting; he’ll want to get back home.”

Somewhere outside, a horse neighed. A young servant girl poked her head into the room, “Master Flick, your husband’s home.”

Flick smiled, and gave us an amused look.

Cornelius sighed, “...One hour.”