The stench of wolves is way too strong in late summer days. They run the city of New Orleans left and right, side-eyeing those with the ability to feel and smell their presence. Casters are the ones famously known in the city, despite attempting to kill the history of witch trials; they remain to be in the book of human’s history.

By famously known, it means they are still looked down on as a devil worshipper. Spellcasters are a lot of things, but a devil worshipper is not one of them. There may be Dark Witches of the south, those who keep themselves hidden from the world. Nobody knows exactly what they are up to, not even the best scholars possible in the Four Lands can get through the mind of a dark witch.

But the truth will eventually emerge one day.

Love, a young spellcaster, has just gotten home from her weekly therapy where she’s treated for insomnia. She is finally going to School of Magic, Belhonor, in Crimson Cove after taking a year off. Though she lives in a house full of casters, that except her father, Roman, practicing magic itself has their own levels. Levi, her twin sister, may already reaches the middle level of magic, despite only being a freshman in Belhonor—but Love’s ability is still considered Neophyte.

On to reality... Love is walking down the street of French Quarter, after having a quiet, yet intense session of therapy. It felt like a great idea to take a walk, even if all she could smell outside is the rain droplets on the grass and woods. Her red, worn-out converse taps the ground, dark brown hair flows down her back, finger subconsciously rolls around the colorful, metallic beads necklace around her neck. It’s cold out, yet she only wears a black shirt tucked into a knee-length pink floral skirt.

“Where you at?” Levi’s voice suddenly pops up in Love’s head, startling her a little.

“Could’ve used your phone.” Love telepathically says with a bitter tone, “I’m just going to Marilyn’s donut shop. I’m kind of hungry.”

Levi silences. Even when Love walks into the shop that’s immediately greeted by a strong stench of bonfire and coffee. “Good lord.” she mutters to herself, eyes scanning around the room.

“Afternoon, Love!” Greets the lovely middle aged woman behind the counter. Marilyn, herself. The owner of the shop. “You here to taste my new berrymint filling bagel? I bet you’d love it.”

Love smiles as she walks up the counter. Marilyn smiles eerily as usual. “I’m allergic to berries. So, no thanks.” She smiles warmly as she squints her eyes at the menu on the wall, “I’ll have the sugar points, Fimbulwinter ice, and a cup of unsweetened black tea to go, please.”

Marilyn nods her head, typing down Love’s order at the cashier and quickly grabbing a paperbag for the donuts. Love rubs her arm up and down, and subconsciously touches the galaxy pendant bracelet that Love’s father gave to her when she was only 2-month old.

“Hey.” A young man in a black oversized button up and jeans approach Love all of a sudden.

With his strong stench itself, she instantly turns her head around, which causes the handsome man to raise his brows. “Oh,” she looks up at him, “it’s you.”

“‘Tis I.” He smiles.

“How was your birthday last week, Julian?” Love asks, turning around to watch Marilyn grabs her orders from behind the glass counter.

“It was great. Your sister did a number on my nose, though.” Julian runs a hand up his nose.

Love squints her eyes, not able to find anything that implied he was physically assaulted. “Sure.” She shrugs before collecting her order and paying Marilyn with an extra $5 tip as usual. “Thanks, Mary.” She smiles.

As Love turns to leave the shop, Julian grabs her arm causing her to stop on her track. “Wait,” he says calmly.

Love mumbles a soft incantation under her breath, an incantation that’s strong enough to strike a wolf like a lightning. When the buzz hits him, he yelps in pain and staggers back.

“Ouch! What the hell?” He waves his hand to reduce the pain.

“That’ll teach ya not to touch me.” Love smiles smugly, hugging the paperbag to her front. “What do you want, Julius?”

He finally gets over the pain, ego still bruised. “Still upset, just like I guessed,” he shrugs, “never mind what I was going to say. Just go.”

Without any second thoughts, Love shrugs him off and walks out of the store.

Only to find Levi standing outside with her bike. It is one of her most famous tricks, to be able to go places in an unbelievable speed.

“Really?” Love raises her brows as she brings the black tea up to her lips. The sour taste somehow calms her nerves.

“What? Mom asked me to check on you.” She shrugs nonchalantly before grabbing the paperbag of donuts and peeking in curiously. “And beside, we are leaving toni—oh, my. I thought wolves weren’t in this part of NO.”

Love grabs the paperbag back before pulling out the donut coated in white sugar and mint icing that feels like it could froze your whole mouth in a bite.

“Julian and his pack is.” Love says, biting on the donut and immediately grimacing from the cold.

“Oh,” Levi raises her brows, “dude’s inside? Want me to break his nose again?”

“No use,” Love looks down at the purple colored icing that oozes out of the donut. “He’s going to heal anyway.”

Levi shakes her head before she manages to compose herself by straightening up her leather jacket, “come on,” she hands Love a helmet, Love gestures for her to put it on her head since her hands are full. “You need to conserve your energy for tonight.”

Levi puts the helmet on Love’s head, buckling it shut before putting on her own helmet. Love is way too focused on her donut and tea to realize her twin is already on the bike.

Though, she seems calm, somehow the idea of leaving her dearly house at witching hour for college bothers her more than it should. Levi spoke great things of the place; how the clock tower resembles the 24-hour format clock in Prague, how they all practically live in a castle, and the majestic dining table that always serves feast instead of casual meals.

That has got to be a great environment to live in, doesn’t it?

***

“Well, I guess I’ll miss you.” Love mumbles at the head sculpture of Marc Antony that she has placed on the vanity desk. “I’m going to a place where you are also part of the history book. So, I won’t miss you that much.”

Love wonders: why am I talking to a head sculpture, when I could have finished my packing?

So, she did. She puts on the most comfortable, warm outfit since Levi has informed before that the castle’s surrounded by mountains. The winter could be unbearable and too harsh for those who weren’t used to colder climate.

Levi bursts into the room without knocking, followed by their parents. Talia is a loving herbologist and neurosurgeon that uses magic for healing purposes. Her heart is bigger than most gods and goddesses to ever exist. No malevolent intention behind every words she spoke. Roman is a mortal. A man who protects not only his family, but also society from any crimes possible.

“So, it’s in 10 minutes,” Levi shoves herself on Love’s bed. “It’s time for you to get the hell out of this room. You ready?”

Love chuckles, looking over at her smiling parents. They knew there’d come the day where their daughters will spend some time in Four Lands instead of choosing the mortal life. It’s what they need as half-caster.

“I feel like bringing Marc Antony with me.” Love sits on the vanity chair, looking over at the head statue longingly. “Can I, please?”

“It’d be too devastating, honey,” dad smiles warmly. “Seeing you go is one thing, but seeing your empty bedroom with no sense of you behind is another thing.”

“You know you can always visit.” Love chuckles, “Levi says Crimson Cove won’t be that bad, and they have festivals similar to Mardi Gras! Why should I be worried?”

“True.” Mom steps forward, claiming her younger daughter in her arm, “there are so many beautiful things in Four Lands. Belhonor is one of them. So, make sure you make the most out of your time, okay? You can do outdoor activities as well, such as, archery.”

Love smiles and looks up at her mother. “You really think I’d spend my last energy on exercising?” She chuckles, “once I found the cure for my exhaustion, maybe.”

“And you are definitely going to school counselor, I have already sent in your forms.” Levi mumbles, “Don’t worry. She is not an amateur. She actually cares about others’ well-being emotionally.”

“Cool?” Love grimaces.

“You need to, darling.” Dad says calmly, sitting down on the bed next to Levi. “I have never been to this Four Lands myself, but I’m pretty sure there are things that aren’t all beautiful.”

“Okay?”

“Here,” he pulls out a small switchblade from his jacket which causes mom and Levi to gasp in shock. No, it isn’t just like any other switchblade. By the look of it, it looks almost magical. “It won’t leave your side.” He smiles warmly.

“A blade? Roman, our girl is only 19-year-old. She does not need a weapon that could accidentally cut her.” Mom protests.

“Yes, dad. Where is my switchblade?” Levi narrows her eyes suspiciously. “Oh. I see, I see. Love’s your favorite.”

Dad bursts out into laughter. Love grins happily when she eyes the switchblade and carefully takes it from her dad’s hand. “No, honey. I love you both equally. I just think that Love needs more protection since she’s new.”

“Careful.” Mom grimaces.

Love flicks the switchblade expertly until the blade sticks out, making her smile proudly. She was taught to defend herself since she was little, Levi as well. Roman works in a law enforcement for years now. The trainings have given him insight and determination to teach his daughters as well.

“See? A natural.” Dad compliments.

“I will not forget about this.” Levi gets up from the bed, “you are buying me a switchblade too. I don’t care. I need my name engraved on the leather and everything.”

Love smirks at her sister, “I’m his favorite. Get over it.”

Levi scoffs, widing her eyes in surprise: “mom? You hear that? She wanted me gone.”

“No, she did not.” Mom flicks shut the switchblade and quickly slips it in Love’s jeans’ pocket. “Now, come you three. Let’s go downstairs and say our prayers before you go.”

Levi nudges Love on her way out. Dad grabs Love’s suitcases and brings them out of the half-empty bedroom. “Thanks, dad.” Love smiles up at him, “for the cool gifts as always.”

“Anytime, darling.”

They recite a prayer in the living room. Two white candles are lit infront of the two daughters, hoping to protect them from what is to come. Four Lands may be magical for mortals, but for supernatural beings? Four Lands can be a dangerous place to reside in, nobody can really expect what is in the depth of each lands.

Could be a giant.

“...... may Hekate bring you light and path in the darkness of your vulnerability.”

Love and Levi inhales deeply to gain the strength from the candle. It may be small, but it contains such power when used right. They open their eyes slowly. Love instantly caught a tall, sparkly figure at the corner of the room, watching over them. The figure itself has, what looks like, a long gown and spike headpiece.

But she knew the deity or spirit was protecting them.

“Amen.” Both girls say in sync.

Mother lowers her hands to her lap as she smiles at both her daughters in awe. Still in disbelief that they are grown now.

“Okay.” Levi clasps her hands together, “seems that our ride’s here.”

“I’ll go get the bags settled.” Dad walks out of the living room and toward the front door.

Love gets up from the ground, not before catching a sight of the light figure at the corner of the room turns and disappears into air.

“Hey,” Levi nudges her on the side, “you sure you’re ready?”

Love nods her head with a smile on her face. “I’m sure.” She says, “who’s our ride, by the way? Is it an Elf? Please tell me it is.”

“No!” Levi laughs, “no. I mean, sort of? He’s half Elf, though.”

“Oh? Is he your friend, Nikolas?”

“Duh, who else is half mortal?” She chuckles softly before snaking an arm around Love’s shoulder and pulls her toward the front door.

“Come on, darlings! You don’t want to be late!” Talia, who’s already half way out of the door yells out.

The twins walk out of the house, but not before Love takes a one quick look at the house first that she realizes she is really leaving. The head sculpture of Marcus Antonius in her bedroom that’s left without her jewelries. The empty bed, empty closet, neglected papers and books from the highschool days.

“You must be the infamous twin Levi won’t stop rambling about.” Love was startled to her bones when a young, most gorgeous man that she has ever seen approach them.

He’s around 5’10 tall, his hair is jetblack and pushed back perfectly even though it looked like he had only just gotten out of shower. His skin is light tan, some tattoos can be seen in his arm if he were to wear shorter sleeved shirt.

“Uh, hey.” Love smiles up at him, “and you must be Nikolas.”

“I am.” He nods his head calmly. “How come Levi never brings you around before?”

“Nik! Stop it, she’s a freshman.” Levi glares daggers at him which he only takes lightly by laughing.

Oh, was he flirting? Love wonders. “I’m your age, Lev. Shut up.” She grimaces before turning her head to look at her bedroom’s window one more time.

All she can think about is Marc Antony’s lonely head sculpture.

“I’m going to be back.”

Love turns and runs toward the house. She comes back around 2 minutes later, out of breath, and is holding the head sculpture that she has considered a friend. Her parents can’t help but smile in awe; Levi wides her eyes in horror when she realized her sister is obsessed with a dead Roman politician.

“Relax. It’s not like he’ll come to life.” Love walks past Levi and toward the car where Nikolas is standing by.

He looks at the head, eyes narrowed in confusion: “do you want me to ask the reason why you’re bringing that?”

As Love’s about to answer, her eyes caught the light figure at the end of the crossroad. It’s a shock for her to see the figure again, they usually go away after a prayer or two.

She blinks a few times before turning back to Nikolas, and to her family that are already joining them. “No, I have my own reason why I’m bringing Marc with me.” Love grins happily at her parents, “I hope you understand that, dad. I know you don’t want me to bring him to Belhonor.”

He responds with a nod, “and I know you’ll keep him safe.”

They finally say their goodbyes. Love and Levi get on the backseat of the car as they all drive away toward the Tree Forest—where the forest nymphs live and the ancients guard The Gate.

"Huh," Love mumbles to herself as she looks out the window to find a giant mountain, smaller than Everest, standing tall by the small road they are currently driving on. "That's certainly not in New Orleans. Where are we again?" I ask.

"Mount Othrys." Nikolas answers, deadpanned.

"What! No freaking way!" Love gasps, turning down the window and sticking her head out like a happy pup. "You mean to tell me, our entrance to the Unseen Realm is in Mt. Othrys, where the Titans lived? I thought we were going to Lykaion."

"It is. Nik's just being a lying ***." Levi pulls the straps of her backpack up her shoulders carefully.

Love pouts before crashing herself back in. Cold wind blows into the car, causing her to shiver. "You're mean." She nudges the driver seat with her knee.

"Hey, both are in Greece and actually a cool place to visit." Nikolas chuckles, swerving the car toward a small lot where no cars are parked in. Love gets on the middle of the front seats, resting her elbows on the shoulder cushions.

She eyes him curiously, "you've been to Othrys?"

"Yes."

"Did you meet any Titans?"

He turns toward her, looking at her in the eyes. "And if I did?"

Happiness blooms in her heart. Love's always been a curious kind when it comes to new places, especially those that she only reads in the book. "You tell me everything." She grins, "please?"

"Nik, you met an earthquake." Levi groans, palming her face, "now come on, you two, the fairies aren't going to wait longer for us."

"That was the fun part. Earthquake doesn't always mean a catastrophe in our world, it could mean someone was finally awake."

"Finally? You mean, someone who was dead a long time ago?"

He shrugs nonchalantly. "Could be."

"Okay." Love takes Mark Antony's head from the front seat before grabbing her backpack and sling them over her shoulders.

They all get their suitcases out, each drinking a red elixir containing of herbs that allows them to enter the front gate. Love watches the mountain carefully when she notices the clouds hanging around the peak. It is way too dark for anyone to notice the lingering eyes that are watching them closely.

Love rubs her hands together, not from the cold, but from the nerves. "Have you two met Pan before?" She asks quietly. "Is he scary? I feel like he's inside right now, waiting for us to give him a flute as a greeting gift."

"No. Not sure though, he could be hiding behind a glamour." Levi says calmly. "From what I heard, he's a friendly God. No harm done. Also, he lives in a cave."

Love shrugs. "Maybe I can spot him."

"You can see through glamours?" Nikolas asks her calmly.

"I weirdly can. Not sure why though."

They stop infront of a golden gate, which can only be seen by both Love and Nikolas. As for Levi, it's a usual, silver gate without additions at all. A group of fairies approach them, Love narrows her eyes as one of them caught her attention. Fairies in children's books are beautiful creatures, but in real life? Their bodies are crooked, eyes shaped as almonds and the black pupils take up the entire eyes, their nose is mushed in; only two black holes are visible, and they have fangs and split tongues.

Love furrows her brows in disgust when she can finally see them in person. Exactly not as beautiful as she thought they would be.

"Love." Levi nudges her. "Say the mantra."

She quickly collects herself before inhaling deeply. It's a one word mantra, yet it needs a person's ten-year worth of energy just to cast it itself.

"Eleftheróno." She exhales.

The fairies nod their heads in approval as they fly back a little, and throw what looks like a handful of golden glitters. Love looks around, she hears the chant of incantations that she cannot seem to make out yet; but one thing she knows, they're in Greek.

The golden gate finally opens. Love takes Levi's arms in fear of getting attacked by the small fairies that keep chattering gibberish words all around her. It could be a curse, prayers, blessings... anything.

The forest, though, they give a sense of calm and peace. Owls watch them from a far. Trees are swaying with the cold breeze of Mt. Lykaion. As far as the book tells, they are communicating with each other as well as they are greeting the young casters that are about to enter the Unseen Realm.

The whispers among the trees can be heard, though many casters mistake them for wind. Love grimaces when it feels like her senses are becoming ten times stronger, it happens a lot when she enters a sacred place; especially when they are full of magic and ancient history.

Fireflies help them see in the dark, in fact, they are the light of the forest, along with the nymphs that protect and watch over the forests aside from the satyr and Pan himself.

Love yawns, a sudden urge to sleep washes over her. She wides her eyes in shock when she realizes. "That's weird, I'm sleepy." She says quietly.

"Yeah, they have that affect on you." Levi tells her.

"Cool," Love grins, "does that mean I can hang out here more often? So, I can sleep?"

"Over mom's dead body."

"What's wrong with your sleep?" Nikolas asks.

Love turns to him. "I'm insomniac."

"Sounds bad. Are you going to therapy for that?"

"Uh-huh. They make me do meditations which always, always makes me astral project into another realm or something." Love says nonchalantly. "I think I went to Mt. Olympus once. Kind of gave me the creep though. It was not as beautiful as I thought."

"Wait, you astral projected to Mt. Olympus?" Levi raises her brows in curiosity. "How? And what did you see?"

Love frowns when she hears a soft singing of lullaby from the depth of the forest, it echoes through the trees. "Just ruins." She mutters, looking down at her feet to make sure it isn't the sound of her footsteps. "I think, yes. They are ruins. I didn't see anybody though."

"And why didn't you tell us?"

"It wasn't important. I astral projected in my sleep! I don't even know whether I'm awake or astral projecting right now."

The singing and soft voices of women can be heard louder as soon as they headed deeper into the forest and toward the Ancient Gate. A few fairies guide them through the path, flowers are blooming, and streams of fresh, blue water are flowing on their left side.

Levi's writing down something on her journal. Love starts to get sleepier as some young nymphs begin to peek their heads out behind the trees, their pupils kind of glows in the dark which nearly knocks Love back to her state of insomnia. Her breathing grows ragged, the fear in her chest begins to rise!

Is that how they look like behind glamours? She thought to herself. Because as far as she knew, every kinds of nymphs and fairies are gorgeous.

"Let's walk faster." Love whispers to her two companions. She starts to walk a lot faster. The singing, women voices, wave of sleepiness, and the glowing eyes has overwhelmed her to her bones.

"Careful." Nikolas reminds her.

Love nods her head. She looks forward, a glimpse of two giant trees bending aside until they unite is finally visible. Broader path also appears. Maybe the forest is meant to lure people in, in a horrifying kind of way where they'd fall asleep in the middle of their walks and woke up becoming one of the nymphs.

"Phew." Love breathes in heavily when the atmosphere turns into a lot more lively near the Ancient Gate. "I am finding another way into the Unseen Realm, because the situation we were in? I'd rather have a siren lures me in to my death!"

Levi rolls her eyes. Of course any of the half-mortals who have gone through this path are already used to the creatures around. "They're just curious. You're new." Levi mumbles.

"You never told me your sister's a melodramatist." Nikolas smiles, his tone is teasing. "She'll definitely do well in Belhonor. Won't you?"

Love narrows her eyes at him. Nobody has ever called her a melodramatic before, despite many people deciding that teasing her to make her feel more of a freak.

"I'll do well, golden boy." She smiles. Finally able to see the kind of student he is in school; the kind that everyone expects to be the perfect one. "Or not. Damn. You need to make decisions on your own."

He furrows his brows. Levi hearing the conversation looks up from her journal and raising her brows in confusion. "How the hell did you-" Before he could continue protesting-

A figure appears not far from Love, which causes shivers to run down her spine. His presence itself surprises her, because not only is his physique is tall and gigantic, his aura and energy also feels maddening.

Love stops on her track, quickly taking a step back to stay next to her sister. The figure steps forward, looking menacing. Love blinks a few times, only to see the man before her is way shorter now; he has the same curly hair as Nikolas, only his has more volumes. He has a long beard. Half of his legs are no more human legs, they are hind legs of a goat.

"Greetings, young casters." His voice is deeper than what Love imagined. His eyes cast toward her straightaway, realizing that she has seen right through his glamour. "And who is this newcomer?"

"Argus." Levi nods her head politely. "This is my twin sister, Love. She's finally going to Belhonor to study."

"Of course, of course." He chuckles heartily. "It is good to see newcomers who aren't so new to our world. Caster born, aren't you?"

"Half." Love smiles at him. Part of her is still shivering, but she doesn't seem to want to look away. "Are- are you a caster born?"

"No. I am something else, as you can see." He says kindly. His tone seems amused. "Magic sure is common among us in Mt. Lykaion. But nothing as unusual as you ever appears in our lives."

Yes, he is. Love thought to herself. He is Pan, the God of the wild and rustic music. The protector of the nymphs in the forest.

"Oookay, Argus. We'd like to pass through now." Levi says, "we'd talk more when we aren't about to enter another realm."

Love caught Nikolas' curious eyes. But she decides to let it go by focusing on the ancient gate, and the fact that a God is standing infront of her right now; disguising himself as a bulky man.

"Very well." He nods calmly, stepping aside from their path. "Make sure to visit often. Many people who comes through here always litter, make fun of my nymphs, and aren't even a real spellcaster." He whispers the last words.

Love can't help but chuckle. Already feeling the warm and fun connection from Pan himself.

"I can never sleep, so, I'll make sure to pay you a visit. Mt Lykaion sure is a hell of an enormous place." Love smiles which earns a laughter from him.

He begins to walk them toward the ancient gate. Love has to lift her head up high to watch the gigantic trees that looked like it had struck the sky.

"Sooo cool." She mumbles to herself.

"You've missed out on a lot, sis. Just you wait until you get to see the actual crimson cove." She tells her, placing a hand on her arm and squeezing gently. "Eleftheróno." Levi whispers, lifting her hand up to direct the magic toward the gate.

The nymphs finally come out of the hiding, startling Love to her bones. They curiously look up the gate. Pan carefully ushers them closer to him, not wanting them to accidentally enter the Unseen Realm unattended.

Levi grabs Love's arm. "Ready?"

"No?" Love's eyes still fixated on the nymphs who are looking straight into her soul. "I mean, will it hurt?"

Levi sighs. She looks over at Nikolas who shrugs: "I'll go through first." He says, "and if I come out of the other side all wounded, it's probably because-"

"Nik, just get your *** through." Levi demands.

Love snorts out a laugh. She holds Mark Antony's head closer to her side, fearful that it might slip out of her arm and fall to pieces inbetween realms.

Nikolas salutes Argus before stepping through the gate, Levi goes next confidently. The forest bids them goodbye through breeze, just like they always do to other friendly casters as well.

A few glowing-eyed nymphs approached Love. Her brows furrowed, unsure of what will happen to her as soon as she steps through the gate.

"It is okay, dear," Pan smiles reassuringly. "You needn't be afraid of what's behind the gate. Four Lands may be unpredictable and complex, but I can tell it is where you're meant to be in."

Love stares up at him curiously. His gaze alone bewitches the fear that was once inside her, even her fear toward his nymphs. "Have you been there?" She asks.

"I am a God. Of course I have been everywhere."

A couple of nymphs hold her arms gently. Their touch feels like a cold graze of air. "Will I see you around?" Love frowns.

"I do not know what kind of caster you are, Love," he looks down at her, smiling gently. "Right now, I will try my hardest to figure out how you can see right through my glamour, even elven themselves cannot see who I am."

Love grins. "Every casters have their own thing. Mine's able to see through everyone's masks."

Pan nods his head in response. His gaze still fixated on the newcomer caster right infront of him. It is impossible for a caster to be able to see through glamours as it is one of the strongest spell anyone could ever cast.

Love starts to inhale deeply before attempting to collect herself and walk slowly toward the gate. The nymphs speak in Greek, surrounding her with mantras and also... a soothing tune coming from a flute.

She steps through the blinding light of the gate. She quickly turns her head to look at the forest, the nymphs and Pan one more time. And before the gate closes in behind her, she catches a sight of Pan playing his flute.

***

Love nearly drops to the ground when she passes through. Her breathing is ragged, chest pain that radiates to her back that almost feels like a serious medical problem just hit her in under a second. Levi carefully places an arm around her shoulder as Love attempts to fight off the wave of exhaustion that instantly hit her all at once.

"You're okay." Levi says softly. "Just a slight motion sickness is okay. You made it through is what's important."

"Here." Nikolas hands her a water growler. "It's not much, but it'll help your nerves."

Love looks up at him, taking the container from his hand, "is this an alcoholic beverage? Because if it is, I'll reward you."

He chuckles, shaking his head, "no. Alcohol is banned in Four Lands."

"What?" Love whines, "oh, man, I agreed to get out of New Orleans, just so I can drink my *** off every weekend. But nooo, of course alcohol is banned in the one realm that I am suppose to have fun in."

She sips the drink from the growler and smacks her lips constantly when the sour taste of liquor can be tasted in her tongue. "Hold Marcus, please." She hands the head to Levi, and she gladly accepts it.

"What? I didn't do-"

"Shut up." She snaps her fingers and in a second, all voice is gone from Nikolas himself. He wides his eyes in shock, nearly falling down to the ground from panic when he cannot seem to form a word or even let out a single noise out of his throat. "That's what you get." Love laughs, "I'll reverse the spell when you don't annoy me anymore."

"Dang, Love." Levi chuckles. Nikolas looks at both of them in fear. "I see taking a gap year made you learn a few rare spells."

"Mmhm." She nods.

She finally gets to see her surrounding. The long, wide sea before them, and the sun slowly rising from the East. It glows like a golden hour on Earth. The trees around them speak in whispered words, enabling the soothing sensation that scorches through Love's veins and heart.

"Well, for what it's worth, I'm glad you're here." Levi says softly, taking the liquor growler from her hand, "I can introduce you to my cat, Sushi."

"You have a cat?" She grimaces in disgust.

"What? Sushi is very nice. Useful in Spell & Incantation class."

"Does everyone in Belhonor have pe-"

Nikolas snaps his finger as well when he regains his energy. Love tries to speak, but no words or voice comes out. "Oh, god, you two need to cut it out!" Levi bursts out laughing when she realizes what's going on. She hands Love back the growler.

Love wides her eyes, trying to express her anger by yelling but nothing comes out. Nikolas only chuckles in response, giving her a thumbs up.

"I can't believe I'm babysitting two infants. Come on." She starts to walk down the path toward the dock where the boats and fishermen are.

As Levi walks away, Love glares at Nikolas while slowly handing the growler back to him. How is she suppose to thank him when she is practically mute right now? He takes the glass from her as he waves his hand.

"Thank- thank you?" She grimaces.

"You're welcome."

"Wait! How'd you...?"

"Love, I have been around ancient magic since before I was born. A mute spell is pretty easy to do." He heart-stoppingly smile as he begins to walk. "And reversing a spell that was casted by another person is also easy. It's one of the first things my mother taught me to do."

"So, your mother is the elf?"

Nikolas sips the liquor, "she is."

"Fun." Love grins, taking the liquor from him and sipping the content a little.

"So, who was he?"

"Who was who?" She swallows the liquid, yet it feels stuck in her chest. Therefore she smacks her chest gently a couple of times with her fist.

"Argus. You seemed pretty shocked to see him."

She grabs her backpack's strap as she looks down the ground. "You couldn't see through his glamour?"

"No, I couldn't."

"What about the nymphs?"

"They were young, beautiful women."

"My god." Love frowns, "that's not at all how I see. They were-their eyes were glowing and dead. They weren't like what I imagined at all. And Argus? He is Pan. Well, his physique may be big-not sure how much bigger he can get since he's already almost half as tall as the Ancient Gate, but he's actually really kind and soft."

They arrived at the dock. Levi already left the dock and stopped by the fresh market, and by the look of it, she was buying fruits.

"Pan? Argus is Pan?"

"Yeah. Don't tell anybody, though. He's wearing glamour for a reason." Love sighs.

"Holy shit, I've been talking to a God all this time? Did he play his flute?"

"He did."

"Well, how was it?"

"It was alluring. It probably will be the reason why I can fall asleep tonight because the tune is still somehow lingers in my head."

"CATCH!" Levi yells, earning Love's attention. Too late, her reflex is not as good as many people.

A blue-ish apple-sized fruit hits Love on the chest. She yelps in pain, letting the fruit fell to the dock. Levi bursts out into laughter before jogging toward her sister to check on her. Love rubs her sternum gently, still a little taken back by the sudden attack.

"You okay?" She still laughs. "Guess I still got the arms of a pitcher."

The time Levi was a great pitcher in highschool they attended was no way something their parents could ever make them forget. "Ha-ha. Very impressive, sis."

"The Dew of Cobalt? They still import fruits and vegetables from Gardenia?" Nikolas bends down to grab the fruit from the ground. He wipes the surface with his shirt.

"Yeah, why?" Levi asks.

"Nothing. I just heard that Queen Artemis is currently banning outsiders to visit Gardenia. Not sure why."

"Wait. Really? That's big." Levi mutters, "maybe once we get to Belhonor, we can ask Dean Laveau about it. She always knows what's up."

Love takes Mark Antony's head from Levi's grasp. "Can we leave now? I want to get settled in to my dorm and relax."

"Okay. But you've got to try the Dew of Cobalt first." Levi snatches the fruit from Nikolas' hand before handing it to Love.

They begin to walk again. Love inspecting the odd, blue fruit in her grasp that she has never seen in her life before. Gardenia is where Goddess as well as Queen Artemis lives; she hunts those who hunts the innocents and is the guardian of the citizens of Gardenia.

Belhonor is unlike other schools. Maybe only exists in books where they all will face the most hondrous tragedy in the middle, suffered through for 4-6 series of books before they finally find their happily ever after.

Love, Levi and Nikolas finally enter the school ground. The sky's the color of pastel blue with warm orange clouds, looking like dusk instead of dawn. If anyone look closely, they will see a soft colored line across the sky that resembles Saturn's ring.

Exhaustion washes over Love when they approach the front of the school where the clock tower is visible and there's a statue of a handsome Prince in the middle of an empty fountain. He is holding his weight to the side where the tip of his sword touches the ground. A bird sits on his shoulder with its head turns to the prince.

"The Happy Prince," Love sits by the fountain, reading the description plaque carefully. "From King Catellus of Veleno. Wow, impressive. Who is he, again?"

Levi sits down next to her, "a ridiculously scary man despite his flamboyant look and soft taste. You know, he built amphitheatre for like 10 years or something and now is using it for gladiator fights."

"Oh, no," Love gapes, "sounds fun. Are we going to have some sort of school trip to Veleno? Seems like a dangerous place to live in."

"It is. Nik's been there before, isn't he?" They both turn to Nikolas who's reading a book.

"Hmm?" He looks up, and realizes he's been zoning out, "I've been to Veleno. Why?"

Love smiles, before darting her gaze toward the plaque again. "No reason, you can go back to whatever-" Love squints to read the book title in his hand, "Encountering a Demon? What the- are you okay? ... are you somehow possessed?"

"Yeah." Levi raises her brows in confusion, "is it for the Demonology class? You're finally taking it?"

"I kind of have to. It's part of the General Studies."

"Holy shit, I knew it. I saw juniors were practicing some spells in the back, and it's really complicated. They even brought jars to trap unwanted shadows, and removed hexes from stick figures."

"Sounds like you're going to ace it just fine, Miss Straight-As." Love teases, nudging her side.

"Hey, I'm not as magical as you. You can see through glamours."

"You're stronger," Love yawns onto her arm, "I saw your badges, certificates, all that golden girl crap you keep achieving which I'm still happy for you, by the way. Oh, my god! You two are practically the same people!"

Levi rolls her eyes, "Love, just get your shit together. Come, I'll get you to the dormitory building."

"You better. Can I leave now? I need to prepare for the orientation tomorrow. Dean Laveau made me arrange all these post-Summer events before classes start."

"Who are you, the Student Body President?" Love chuckles teasingly.

"Yes, I am."

"Oh," she wides her eyes, "then go! Do whatever you need to do, Capt'n!"

Nikolas shakes his head before looking at her for a few seconds longingly. He, then, closes his book, "don't have to tell me twice. See you around, twins."

The school ground isn't as empty as they expected it to be. A few people made their way toward the dorm building instead of the school castle. Stench of wolves and vampires makes Love scrunch up her nose.

There are times when Levi mentioned to not be shocked when some supernaturals that they always bump into on Earth also attends the school. These people usually keep their lives low-key to their own group, they merely prefer for others not to look at them differently.

"Your weak *** legs ready to go now?" Levi asks, "I have got to meet up with a couple of my friends. Remember? Laurent and Kali?"

Love scowls, she pulls Mark Antony's head up to her arm again. "Yes, I am ready." Love mumbles, "are you going to introduce me to your pals? I could use some friends around here."

"Sure? As long as you keep Mark Antony in your room. No exception."

"Okay," Love shrugs, getting up to her feet. She can't help but eye The Happy Prince statue again; the long sword, his curly hair, the bird on his shoulder, the tear-stained cheeks. "Do you think I can convince King Catellus into giving me a sculpture of the prince? He seems lonely."

"No."

"Why not? I can put him in a safe place back home, not here where people can easily vandalize him."

"Trust me, vandalism of school's property is death penalty."

"I don't care. When all hells break loose, I'm taking The Happy Prince and his bird with me to New Orleans!"

***

The head sculpture of Mark Antony is safely placed on Love's new studying desk that she's currently fixing up to be her vanity instead. The room is simple, just like any other normal room in the whole world; except with more candles to keep the evils out and floating ball of lights on the ceiling instead of electricity lights.

Love waves her hand to close the heavy curtains in her room to keep her concentration intact. As she is organizing the bookshelf, she puts up some framed pictures of her family as well by the books where she also keeps her Funko Pop! figures.

After only doing 20% of unpacking, Love decides to sit on her new bed while looking at her reflection in the mirror. She, then, takes out the switchblade out of her jeans' pocket to inspect them carefully. It is the one thing that makes her feel close to home at that point. NOLA, where her parents are.

It feels strange to be in a new place for most people, the culture shock will probably set in about a day or two after they'd moved in. But right now? Knowing that she is in a different realm itself nearly makes her vomit on the clean carpet before her.

She blinks a few times to regain her focus on the blade. The pretty blade that she just wanted to store in a box and never lets out until she needs it most.

A wave of worry suddenly washes over her, making her shudder just by thinking of walking out of the room alone. The blade is folded and back into her pocket again when she gets up from the bed to get out of the room, to meet her sister in a tavern that is quite famous among Crimson Cove citizens.

When something worries you, might as well get up and face fear in the eyes, her therapist once said after hearing her complain about not wanting to get out for the thousandth times that week.

It wasn't that great of an advice, but somehow, when Love did do it; she became less paranoid and more open.

Levi was waiting for her outside of the dormitory building when she joined her. "You settling okay?" Levi asks calmly.

"I guess. I just hate unpacking, it stresses me out," Love sighs heavily, "can I take another year off now? Because... the things I can feel here." She pretends to wipe a sweat off of her forehead.

"Like something's in the air? Yeah, same." Levi mumbles, walking a bit faster next to Love who's dragging her feet on the ground. "I'll ask Laurent, he's mastering in Divination right now, so he must know something."

They walk through the path leading out of the school area and toward a village, not before they pass a market first. "Is he like a psychic?" I ask.

"Yes. Born in a long line of psychics."

"Weird how we've never met a psychic before. I mean, a trueborn."

Levi rises her brows in confusion, "this is why your therapist tells you to go out more. Not only for donut purposes."

"Hey. In my defense, nobody can replace Fimbulwinter donut."

"Levi! Catch!" A voice belonged to a young woman calls for Levi. They both turn around and see a baseball fly right over toward us.

Levi grabs it meanwhile Love holds her arms up her chest; protecting her precious assets, and ducking away. "Got it." Levi salutes the woman, "next time try harder, Nolan."

She walks over to them. Her eyes fixated on Levi, twinkling under the sun's light. Love eyes her curiously, pulling down her hands carefully. Nolan doesn't seem to notice her yet.

"Hey." Nolan greets Levi. A warm smile plastered on her face. "You're back." She grabs the baseball from her grasp.

Levi grimaces, "...so are you?"

Nolan chuckles, "how's your summer?"

"Good. Spent some time back home in NOLA, brought my sister... My sister! Right," Levi steps back to present Love who is raising her brows in curiosity, "Love, this is Nolan. Nolan, this is Love, my twin."

Nolan finally turns to look at Love. She wides her eyes in shock, "wow. You... are Levi's twin? I didn't expect you to be so...." She clasps the baseball under her armpit before extending her arm.

"So...?" Love smiles, shaking her hand gently. "So different from Lev? Yeah, she prefers motorbikes while I prefer donuts."

"Oh? Levi has a motorbike? That's interesting."

"Yeah, she rides it all the time." Love grins, "are you a friend of Lev's as well? Are you joining us for a drink?"

Levi nudges Love slightly, but of course, Love ignores her. Nolan looks over at Levi curiously, as if asking the "should I...?" question. "As long as it's okay with Lev here. But give me a sec."

Nolan runs toward a group of guys that she was playing with earlier and passes the ball toward one of the guys. A lot of young people seem to enjoy hanging out in this part of the town, near the markets. The building of Belhonor stood high by the mountain, white pilars holding them to the ground, almost looking like the chateau on the far side of the mountain where it overlooks the entire town of Crimson Cove.

"Why would you do that?" Levi looks at her sister, almost fuming.

"Do what? Inviting your friend to have a friendly drink?"

"Yes!"

"Why, do you have a crush on her?"

"... no?"

Love grins, wrapping an arm around Levi, "sounds like a yes to me. Don't worry though, I won't tell anyone."

"Just..." Levi pushes her sister off of her, "shut up."

"Very mature." She hits her on the arm, chuckling.

Nolan makes her way back toward us. A big smile on her face. Her flannel is now half tucked into her pants, hair's a lot more tidier than before. "Okay. I'm back." She says, "I want to hear everything about your New Orleans. Sounds like a pretty place to live in."

Noticing the difference in the air, Love steps aside to let Levi speak to her semi beau. It's rare to find a moment where someone shows as much interest to Levi as Nolan does.

The trees sound like they're speaking to her, Love vividly hears the sound of Pan's flute that guides her peacefully through the Ancient Gate. But something is odd in the air. The smell of the woods, along with wet grass when raining-almost the same as how a wolf smells like.

".... may want to give me those beads like your sister. Isn't that a tradition thing in New Orleans? I think you mentioned it once." Nolan mentions, "that'd make a fortune here in Crimson Cove."

"Are you saying you'd be selling a gift from me?"

"Oh, no, I was just saying. I'd be grateful if you'd gifted me a wonderful beads like that."

Levi shrugs, "all right. Maybe next time I get back to NOLA, I'd get some for you."

"I won't sell it, I promise."

"I'm pretty sure it'd be fine if you wanted to sell the rest, as long as you keep one."

"No, Levi, I would never sell gifts from you. Even if my life's on the line."

Hearing the conversation, Love chirps in: "what do you do for a living, Nolan? Are you some sort of trader?"

"A mercenary. I go away sometimes when I get assigned to do some dangerous jobs overseas."

"Whaaat? You're a soldier? How fun."

"Eh," Nolan shrugs, "not the most fun thing. But I've always loved adventures, and the fortune I made out of it. Really, it's all just about the money."

Love raises her brows, "did you join the military?"

"No. Mercenaries are more steady for me, in terms of money. We've got to eat, babes."

"So, you travel a lot then?"

"Just over the summer. I mostly just train, relax and hang out with my siblings during winter times." She explains, "sometimes, though, I've got a big offer that made it difficult for me to refuse. Let's just say I'm glad I've got the most supportive siblings."

Love smiles, looking over at Levi who's staring on her feet as she walks. Having a supportive sibling is something else entirely, knowing that they've got your back no matter how far away they are from you.

They arrived in Wolf's Fang Tavern which makes Love snorts out a laughter. But then her laughter dies down when she notices a Bird of Paradise plant by the door is moving by itself, even though there are no winds around. The atmosphere changes entirely when they walked into the medieval tavern with men on the bar, drinking their butts off and women catching up with their friends, also drinking their butts off.

"Any of these people wolves?" Love asks Levi calmly.

"The owner is."

"Awesome. We're dealing with wolves here too."

Levi pats her sister's shoulder, chuckling, "they're actually a big deal here. Almost worshipped like the gods. Probably because they know everything."

"Except manners, gotcha."

A couple of people waved at them three. Love smiles when they approach the table, warmly greeted by the pair. Love smiles at a guy with brown hair, brilliant smile and a red bandana pulling his hair back, before moving on to introducing herself to the girl with glasses and bohemian outfit.

"So, you're Love," Laurent smiles, suddenly handing her a glass of margarita. Love frowns in confusion, but accepting the glass anyway. "What kind of magick do you usually practice?"

"God, I forgot you lot are a bunch of casters." Nolan chuckles across of Love.

"Oh, I don't know. I kind of do everything." Love shrugs, eyeing the margarita suspiciously. But she sees no trace of any dangerous herbs or spells.

"Would have been cool if you're a psychic."

"You think everyone's a psychic, Ren." Kali chuckles softly as she downs her drinks. "Well, most witches are. But not as strong as psychics."

"What's the fucking difference?" Lev groans, "we have a lot of psychic in New Orleans. Fortune tellers, voodoo, all that crap. When we literally study all of those in Belhonor."

"We don't have voodoo in Belhonor."

"Really?" Lev frowns, "I thought we'd eventually get the subject in senior year or something?"

Kali sighs, "it's a dangerous magick. Even Laveau, the descendant of Marie Laveau herself only let a few, specific group of people join the voodoo class. She's very picky about it."

Love sips her drink. She feels as if someone is watching her from every corner of the room, also the air is different in the tavern. Some pictures of people who are werewolves are framed against the wall right by the fireplace. Love examines each of them, somehow hoping that she'd see a familiar face.

She continues to look around, trying to pinpoint why she feels the way she is right now. The only odd thing in the room is how drunk everyone seem to be, to notice any differences.

People can be ugly, Love thought to herself when she notices how odd looking some people are. Worse than the nymphs in the mountain.

"Love, why don't you tell these two inquisitive bitches your ability to see through glamour?" Levi encourages.

Love turns to look at the group, sipping the margarita with the little straw. "No way you can see through glamours." Laurent chuckles, "only those with higher power can do that. The gods, goddesses, all of them."

"Pft." She chuckles softly, "I'm not with higher power. Every casters have their own uniqueness."

"Yeah? Tell me one casters who can see through glamours."

She sips the drink nervously, "uh, me?"

Laurent waves his hand with a blink of an eye, they have all transformed into different kind of creatures. Nolan chokes on her drink when she notices her fingers are twice the size with claws out of each.

"Holy sh-"

Love blinks a few times, putting the drink down on the table. She sees Nolan as a lycanthropy, Levi as a dryad, Kali as a gorgeous fae, and Laurent as an Elf. The glamour disappears after only a couple of seconds.

"Holy shit, she can see through our glamours." Kali wides her eyes in shock.

"Can I go back to my human form now? I do not like being a wolf."

"Me neither. Dryad scares me."

Laurent waves his hand once, reversing the spell in a second, and they are back to their human forms.

"So what if I'm pretty special?" Love shrugs.

"Maybe Laveau can help us determine what she is, what you are as well, Lev." Laurent looks away. But Love notices how his brain is raking for informations now.

"I'm already powerful anyway. What more do I need?" Levi teases. Love knocks over her glass of drink with a quick wave of her hand. "Hey!" Levi quickly stands up, avoiding the splash.

It earns laughter from the group. Levi holds her hand up, filling Love's drink full and knocks it off the table, splashing the liquid all over her. "No! My jeans!" Love shrieks, jumping out of the seat.

And just like that, tension leaves the group, mainly Love's shoulders. Little did they know, the Bird of Paradise outside has transformed itself into a tall, gorgeous woman that disguises herself as a homeless citizen. Her eyes hooded and darkness already fills the life inside.