"I am okay now." Julian adds quickly, seeing the reactions around him.

"I really am. Maeve and I talked it through when we were apologizing to each other. I understand now. Do I still feel the sting? Absolutely. Am I still a little bitter? Honestly, yes. A little. But I have accepted it as part of who I am."

He looks at Maeve and smiles. "We all have things we worry about. That is normal. I am trying not to let them consume me, and going forward, I am going to do my best."

He looks around at the others.

"If any of you are struggling with your own imperfections, please do not let them eat at you. They are part of you. What matters is that you keep working to be better."

Julian suddenly laughs. "Okay, enough. I am starting to sound very zen and I do not like it." He laughs again.

"I am really glad you feel that way, Jules. And thank you for sharing it." Theo says. "The rest of you do not have to, by the way. It is not an easy thing to talk about. I am just saying, whoever or whatever your subconscious showed you, it was usually the thing you feel most guilty about."

Silence settles over the patio.

"That is all from me on that. If there is nothing else to add, we can move on to next steps." Theo closes the topic and shifts.

The patio door opens.

Leila appears in the doorway. "Ladies and gentlemen, are you not cold out here? It is a quiet and beautiful night, I grant you that. But most of you have only just come out of the hospital. If you are not finished, you are more than welcome to move inside. Maurice and I will stay completely out of your way. I am just worried about the cold." She says it softly and without pressure.

Liam smiles. "Thank you for the reminder, Aunt Leila. And you are right. We lost track of the time." He turns to the others. "Shall we move inside?"

Julian is already reaching for his crutch. "Yes. We shall."

Liam helps Julian up while the others are already on their feet and heading back into the warmth of the kitchen.

Five steaming mugs of hot chocolate, each topped with marshmallows, are sitting on the kitchen island waiting for them.

"Oh, chocolate!" Theo cannot help himself. He grins and grabs one, settling comfortably onto one of the stools.

The others follow, each taking a mug and finding a spot around the island. There are snacks on the table too.

"Thanks, Mom." Julian says. The others echo him.

Leila smiles and quietly leaves them to it.

"Alright, next item. The most urgent one is a place to stay. I have been looking into it, but I want input from all of you. Another apartment building, or something different?"

"Definitely not another apartment." Claudia appears in the kitchen doorway and takes a seat at the island.

"I see Rhaenas is back in session. Let us talk business." She looks around. "Another apartment building is not the right move. It is too close to civilians. Privacy and security are harder to maintain and require significantly more effort to keep airtight."

Everyone is looking at her.

"What?" She glances around. "I am still your manager." She grins.

Liam is smiling broadly. "I genuinely forgot about that. What do you suggest, Sis?"

"We build one. Rhaenas has more than enough money to purchase land large enough for a proper HQ. For the build itself, we find investors. Dad has already said he wants to help." She pauses. "Actually, I believe his exact words were, ’I will build an HQ worthy of Rhaenas.’" Claudia looks at each of them.

"Is there something I am not aware of?" She asks.

"Yes. He knows." Theo replies.

Claudia tilts her head slightly. "He knows?"

"About magic. I told him. It was always part of the plan." Liam says.

"Oh?" Claudia raises one eyebrow. "Then we need to speak to him soon about the new HQ."

"That is exactly why I am raising it now. I want us all aligned before I go to Dad." Liam says.

Rhaenas spends the next thirty minutes talking through the new HQ and what comes next for the group.

At the end of it, Theo gets up and summarizes.

"Alright. To recap. Julian will focus on his physical therapy and recover properly. When the time comes, he will go back to Arvion with our parents and Arthur to set everything up there."

Julian nods.

"Claudia and Liam will sit down with Uncle Linus about the new living arrangements and the HQ." Both of them nod.

"Maeve, Alicia, and I will continue working on magic. Liam and Julian, join us when you can."

"Do not forget we still need to meet with Sonia and her uncle." Maeve reminds him.

Theo nods.

"When that happens, I am coming." Liam says. His tone leaves no room for debate.

------------------------------

Dae spots Elder Loujt carefully as he works through his weight exercise.

"Please do not push it, Elder. You are still recovering." Dae watches with undisguised worry as Elder Loujt lifts his usual weight with obvious difficulty.

Elder Loujt cannot answer. He is concentrating too hard. His last encounter with Arthur Montrose left him more seriously injured than he had initially admitted. Several hairline rib fractures. Enough to significantly limit his movement, though not enough, apparently, to keep him out of the gym.

The other Vaelins, Dae especially, are not pleased about that.

"Ugh..." He pushes. Then has to stop. The ribs are too painful.

He sets the weight down with a long exhale and pants heavily.

"Are you alright, Elder?" Dae asks.

Elder Loujt cannot speak yet. He nods, eyes closed, working to slow his breathing.

When he opens them again, he is still catching his breath.

They are in the hotel gym. Relatively quiet at this hour. Only two other men are using the space besides them.

Huri approaches and bows.

"You have an update?" Elder Loujt asks, still slightly winded. A thin line of sweat sits on his forehead.

"Yes, Elder. Arthur Montrose is not dead..."

"I am aware he is not dead. He attacked me." Elder Loujt cuts in, impatient.

Huri nods. "Yes, Elder. But he is not awake either. He is in a coma."

Elder Loujt sits up sharply. "A coma?"

"Yes, Elder."

"But that makes no sense! He attacked Elder Loujt! You cannot be in a coma and launch an aura blast!" Dae says, visibly thrown.

"Nevertheless, that is the information I have."

"Where did you get it? Gathering information in there is not easy. I should have gone myself." Dae mutters, already regretting it. If the information is wrong, Huri has wasted everyone’s time.

"I overheard two nurses talking in the cafeteria." Huri answers, his tone completely flat. "They were discussing how unfortunate it was for Arthur Montrose to be in a coma. Given how good looking he is."

Dae cannot refute that. He looks at Elder Loujt, waiting, but Elder Loujt is somewhere else entirely.

He is frowning, muttering under his breath. "Coma?"

"He is in a coma and still managed to blast me away and fracture my ribs? That is impossible."

A beat.

"And yet it happened." He sighs.

He lifts his head and finds both Dae and Huri watching him, waiting.

"Oh." Elder Loujt startles slightly.

"It is alright, Huri. It makes no sense, I know. But if it is the truth, there is nothing we can do about it." He gets up slowly, wincing. Dae and Huri step forward immediately.

"Thank you. Help me back to the room. And do not forget to pack. We are checking out tomorrow."

------------------------------

The Baroness sits quietly in the back of her car, legs crossed, head turned to the left, watching the city pass by through the window.

Her chauffeur has been driving her around Solarys. Traffic is lighter than usual because of the snow, but not as sparse as it was during the storm. The roads are wet and slippery. Every car is moving at a careful, reduced pace.

Her chauffeur knows better than to speak. He keeps his eyes on the road and drives.

The Baroness sighs for what feels like the hundredth time.

"Take me to where the Rhaenas Headquarters is." She says suddenly.

"Yes, Your Ladyship."

A few minutes later, the car moves through the Sunspire area, passing a local park now blanketed entirely in white.

"Stop the car."

They stop.

The Baroness opens her window. Cold air rushes in.

"I am getting out." She says.

The chauffeur is out of the car in an instant, moving quickly around to the passenger side, nearly slipping on the wet pavement, and pulling the door open.

The Baroness steps out and surveys the snow-covered park from one end to the other.

She takes a step forward and scans her surroundings. The park is completely empty. The sidewalks too.

"How far is the building?" She asks.

"Approximately a hundred metres in that direction, Your Ladyship. Quite close."

"Hm." She looks around once more and whispers. "It is beautiful out here."

Then she walks, without further comment, in the direction her chauffeur indicated. He falls in immediately behind her.

They move slowly and carefully through the snow.

When they arrive, there is nothing there. An empty space where a building should be.

"Where is it?" The Baroness asks.

The chauffeur looks confused. He pulls out his phone, checks it, then looks up at the empty space again.

"It should be here, Your Ladyship."

"Here where?" Her patience is thinning.

"Here. At this empty space, Your Ladyship."