Kanika

I could sense his presence long before the door opened. Evil seemed to emanate from him, and the smoky sensation pricked my senses as I walked past the door of my home. A servant was hard as work shining the chandelier hanging above me, the rickety ladder one push away from falling apart.

Instead of heading for my training room, I turned and went back to my room to change. It wasn't that I felt the need to dress up for Brevil, but I wanted him to know I sensed him coming. I didn't want him to think he had taken my by surprise.

Back in my room, I pulled out one of my more elegant outfits. A dark tunic with silver trim and an elegant cloak. The cloak was spun from the darkest fabric, almost pure night. It shimmered with every step I took, elegant and ominous at the same time. the clasp wrapped across my throat and adjusted to drape partly in the front. I made sure it was tightly secured before pulled on the matching bracers and using a bit of magic to adjust my hair.

Then I heard the scream.

Holding back a sigh, I strode down the hall and back towards the entryway. I stopped at the bottom of the stairs, taking a moment to study the scene before me. The servant who had been cleaning the chandelier was now on the ground writhing, his hands wrapped around his throat as an invisible force choked him. Maxim Brevil stood a foot away, solemn and dark with his eyes locked on the servant.

"Come now, that is no way to greet an old friend," I said, stepping around the servant and flicked my fingers, breaking the spell Brevil held over the man. I didn't have to watch to see the man scramble up and race out of the room. Brevil's eyes slid over and up my body, landing on my eyes.

"I had to let you know I was here somehow," he said without a hint of remorse. The same cold man as before. Well, at least he hadn't changed too much.

Brevil wore the same dark cloak over his face from the meeting, only his eyes visible beneath it. The red orbs studied me. I offered him a seat in the drawing room, and he didn't hesitate to accept.

He flicked the hood of the cloak back, the scars once again unveiled for me to see. A gasp from across the room drew my gaze as I servant caught a glimpse of Brevil's face as well.

"Leave," I ordered the young girl, leaving no room for argument. Brevil was a tightly strung man, and I didn't want him to kill the girl for any imagined slights. The poor thing had barely been here for a year, as it was, and I didn't like to waste the help.

Once the woman had scurried out of the room, I took a seat and waited for Brevil to do the same. His hands clasped behind his back, he stared out the window to the dark forest beyond. I took the opportunity to study him, noting anything that had changed in the years he had been gone. If I wasn't mistaken, he had certainly grown stronger. Being able to induce someone beneath your power without a single touch was certainly a feat in itself.

"You haven't changed."

I smoothed out a crease in my pants. "I can't say the same about you." He still didn't turn around, but I knew he wasn't focused on the view anymore.

"You didn't take my advice." This time he turned around, facing me with that expression that said so much and so little at the same time.

I forced back the growing unease beginning to surface in my mind. "I don't take anyone's advice. Don't take it personally." Although it was personal. Oh, it was oh so personal with Brevil.

Brevil took a step back towards the center of the room, his posture rigid. "Perhaps I imagined that we were different than all the others." The words held no emotion, but I knew what he meant anyways.

"Take a seat, Brevil." I pointed to the seat directly across from me. He approached me, ignoring the chair completely, and sat down in the space beside me.

"You couldn't have forgotten. Not even the strongest magic could hide those memories, Kanika dear." He smirked. "And why so formal? No need to speak with such formalities."

"No, I didn't forget. But that doesn't change anything. Especially not between us." I turned to face him more fully, ignoring the hundreds of emotions beginning to manifest inside me the longer I felt him next to me.

The deep red of his eyes seemed to darken the longer I allowed myself to stare at him. I wanted to ask the cause for all those scars that had become a part of him since he left, but I held back. I wanted to ask where he had been and what he had been doing, but I held silent.

"You truly are exquisite," Maxim breathed, his voice barely above a whisper. My breath caught, and I had to remind myself to breath.

"I can't say the same for you," I managed between a tight jaw and constricted lungs.

Maxim laughed, tilting his head back and clutching his chest in amusement. "You never were one to mince words, Kanika dear."

"And why should I? You're covered in scars." I scowled. Take the hint, you big oaf. Tell me what happened.

"Yes, I am. Don't you think it enhances my appearance?" His eyes glittered with amusement in that way he only seemed to do around me. It was a look I had always had trouble resisting, and that hadn't changed in the years he had been gone.

"Not in the way you think."

Maxim leaned back against the soft velvet of the chair, naturally falling into a relaxed pose with his cloak draped around him. "I missed you."

This was going too far. For once my heart and mind were in agreement; I couldn't let this go farther. "What did you come here for?" I hoped that cutting to the point would ease some of the emotions beginning to boil.

"What do you think I came here for?"

Again, with the games. "Brevil--"

"What happened to Maxim? Please, don't use such formalities," Maxim cut me off.

I cleared my throat to show him just how I appreciated being interrupted. "Why did you leave, Maxim?"

He waved his hand in dismissal. "It isn't important."

"Yes, it is. You can't just disappear for years and then return like nothing has changed."

Maxim leaned forward, closing the little distance between us. "Are you sure about that?"

I could see the little gold specks in his eyes now. My mind was tumbling away from common sense so quickly. Too quickly. "Maxim--"

He cut me off by pressing his lips against mine in a heated frenzy. His arms snaked around me, pulling me closer and tighter against him. The heat I felt as he kissed me was real. Too real.

I pulled away, breaking the kiss. My lips pursed and I squared my shoulders. "You shouldn't have done that. Things are most certainly not the same, Maxim."

Maxim smiled and licked his lips. "Whatever you say, Kanika dear."

I resisted the urge to fling him against the wall. That would only end up dirtying my clean wall. "Either you tell me why you are really here, or you can leave." No more games, no more beating around the actual point. The kiss was enough to snap me out of the fantasy that I could handle Maxim Brevil. No one could handle him, and I knew that best of all.

My words seemed to cause a serious calm to wash over Maxim. He nodded, his calm and sturdy demeanor back. No hint of the man who had kissed me moments ago.

"I wanted to see you. That isn't a lie." He gave me a pointed look. "And it isn't for some underhanded reason. I wanted to know if you would still stand with me."

"Who gave you those scars?" There. I said it. No matter how hard I tried, my eyes kept coming back to the hideous markings forever marring his golden skin.

"Do you pity me, Kanika?" Maxim tilted his head toward me in curiosity.

"No. I want to know what happened while you were away on your vacation to cause such wounds to last. This has nothing to do with your health, and everything to do with the fact that you just left us with no word."

Maxim was silent for several minutes, and in that time I waited patiently. Filling in the silence when it grew uncomfortable was a sign of weakness, and I had vowed to never show any weakness in Maxim's presence.

"I had to... find out something." Maxim spoke slowly, carefully, and I knew he was about to tell me something he had perhaps never told anyone before. It was a tone I had only heard once before, years ago when we had actually had something together. He released a breath, his relaxed posture hiding whatever turmoil beneath. "Part of that meant I had to give up my magic for a time, and someone took advantage of that."

For a moment, all I could do was stare. He had given up his magic? I couldn't imagine not having the constant buzz of power running through me at all times. It was a constant comfort and gave me more courage than anything could. It gave me the ability to be myself, no matter what anyone said.

"Unimaginable, I know. But it had to be done." Maxim ran a hand down his face. "There were some people who discovered me before I got my magic back, and they tried to kill me." He grinned, though it looked more like a grimace. "They didn't succeed, obviously."

Once again, I was speechless. I couldn't imagine not having my magic. But for someone to try and take advantage of him while he was without it explained all the scars. And suddenly I understood why he had been gone so long. Whatever he had been seeking, whether it was related to what he showed us at the meeting or not, would change the future.

Whether that would be for good or bad, I wasn't sure yet. But I knew I wanted to be on the right side.

A/N: Hello everyone! Long time since an update, I know... My school has gotten so much more difficult, and I've really had to set aside a lot of other things to make room for it. Unfortunately, that meant I didn't have time to update this. But I'm finally making time for it! I realize most of you may not even read this anymore, and I completely understand. But for those of you who are still hanging in there, thank you! I hope you enjoyed this update :)