While Erik contemplated how to best approach it, Elena mixed in impatiently once again. "How about from the beginning?"

He shot her a withering look.

"Yes," Maya quickly mixed in, knowing Elena's tone wasn't one to motivate a person. "From the beginning would be the best."

"That would be ideal, but there are many complicated things I need to clear out first."

"Then, wherever the fuck you want to start!" Elena just couldn't seem to get the point that this would all run much smoother if she'd just shut up.

"How about you share what you already know so I can fill in the gaps?" he suggested.

"No," Elena retorted firmly.

"Okay." Maya, on the other hand, was quick to agree.

However, she received a stern look of disapproval from Elena. "Don't just hand him all the information upfront. It makes it easier to deceive you."

"Someone must've really hurt you in life," he cast a derisive comment Elena's way.

Elena curled up her lip, looking like she wanted to stab him with her glare.

"I'll start from what I know from Anastasia," Maya began quickly before they could start being at each other's throats again.

"Well, this will take a while," Elena slouched back comfortably in the armchair. "Do you have something to eat around here?"

For a moment, it looked like her question would be dismissed, but to everyone's surprise, Erik moved to the kitchen, opened up the fridge and tossed her a plastic bottle with a dark liquid swirling in it. Presumably blood.

Catching the bottle instinctively, Elena stared at it with raised eyebrows. She'd likely been expecting conventional human food.

"It's deer," Erik said.

Elena gave him a suspicious look. "You don't… do you?"

Erik shook his head, "Of course not. It's for bait."

Looking at it once again, Elena swallowed. She must've been starving.

"It might be a bit old," he added.

Elena seemed tempted but decided not to trust it in the end, leaving it aside.

"Sorry, Maya. I don't have any unspoiled food around for you," he said with regret. "However, I can make you tea while you talk."

The contrast in tones he used to talk to each was striking. For Elena, it was cold and laced with disdain, while with Maya, he was warm, gentle and kind.

"Thanks," Maya smiled. She would prefer coffee, but she just went with it.

"How English of you," Elena scoffed "Are you going to put milk in it, too?"

"I don't have any milk," he sneered. Nothing dismisses your joke like someone purposefully taking it seriously.

"Um, what kind of tea?" Maya was suddenly concerned.

"I don't have anything special. It's just herbal tea."

"What kind of herbs? I'm… Um… I'm allergic to pistachios." Maya thought not to repeat her past mistakes and promptly warn him, but realized mid-sentence that there was no way pistachios would be in a tea.

He paused, contemplating, while she felt her cheeks blush from the embarrassment of saying something foolish. He smiled warmly at the end, reassuring her.

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"Don't worry, there won't be any pistachios in the tea."

To alleviate her embarrassment, Maya quickly began recounting her journey of self-discovery as a Prima. She spoke of her realization of possessing all four elements and her first encounter with Anastasia.

As her narrative unfolded, Erik quietly served tea. He settled back in his chair, focusing his attention entirely on her. Maya took a tentative sip, pleasantly surprised by the flavourful taste despite the absence of sugar.

Elena, on the other hand, maintained a vigilant gaze, watching their interaction as if expecting to catch a thief in the act.

"What do you know about Anastasia?" Erik asked, guiding the conversation.

"Not much, actually," Maya confessed. "I know she created this world, but claims she was tricked into it. It wasn't exactly a heroic act or a way of fighting the Inquisition. I understand that what they teach us at the academy isn't true, but she didn't explain to me what did happen. I think it just brings her too much pain."

Erik listened attentively, his fingers grazing his face in a contemplative manner. "What's she like?" he inquired.

Elena's suspicion flared, "Why is that important?"

"I'm curious," he replied simply.

Maya could understand someone wondering what a legendary witch was like if they could find out directly from the source.

"Um, well, she's pretty. Big green eyes, brown curls, about my height, nymph-like…" she began clumsily. "A bit younger than I expected her to be. I'm uncertain about the accuracy of my perception, considering it's merely my mind's representation of her. Oh, and she is a bit unstable."

"In other words," Elena interjected. "She's got a case of ghost dementia."

Maya continued. "…Probably because she was dead for so long. I don't know how reliable she is at recollecting details of her past. It always puts her in an erratic state, but I don't hold it against her. All the information she has shared with us until now has proven to be true."

She paused for a moment to collect her thoughts. "She doesn't appear frequently. Sometimes she is here at crucial times, and sometimes I can't reach her for weeks. I don't know how to summon her, unlike—" Maya cut herself off, realizing she was on the verge of revealing information she'd rather keep concealed from him.

But the abrupt pause did call attention to it.

"Unlike who?" he was left hanging.

"Her ghost ex-boyfriend," Elena interjected, ready to tease Maya.

"He was never my boyfriend!" Maya quickly clarified. "We were only twelve." Her reaction may have been too strong and too sudden to be believable.

"Then, you don't want to know what I did with boys when I was twelve," Elena mumbled to herself, slouching back into the armchair.

"Are they here, right now?" Erik moved on, asking curiously.

"No." Maya was thankful he ignored this whole ex-discussion.

"Let's refocus our discussion," he suggested, sensing that their conversation had strayed. "I'll tell you the story of Anastasia as I know it… But first, there's a significant fact that the academy has misled you about."

He paused to breathe in, but then hesitated, causing the girls to lean in, captivated by the suspense.

"You weren't chosen by the Elements. Your powers are hereditary."

Maya's breath was caught in her throat. Many things about this world and magic didn't seem as it was presented, but the 'choosing part' she had never doubted.

"Hereditary?" Maya struggled to grasp what it truly meant.

Erik observed them carefully as he let that sink in, then continued. "It's your bloodline that determines your affinity. It's not destiny, or divine intervention, Elements, or any other fanciful notion they peddle. You were born with it, and the 'Appraisal Ritual' is merely a theatrical display."

Elena sprang to her feet. "Fucking knew it! So, they have to know who our parents are?"

"Yes. That's how they find you. And you should sit down. This won't be easy to hear."

A knot of dread formed in Maya's stomach. She was reminded of the shared sorrow among her peers—a loss that seemingly marked them as chosen by the Elements.

A wave of dread washed over her. "Please, don't tell me they were involved in my parents' deaths." Her eyes welled up with tears.

Memories flooded in of a mysterious woman appearing whenever misfortune struck. A figure she had dismissed as delusions. She hadn't recalled these encounters for so long that the anxiety they brought had faded.

"I'm sorry," Erik's voice was heavy with regret. It must've been heartbreaking for him to break the truth to her as well. "It's part of their con. They strip you of everything until you have nothing left to lose. It's a vile alternative to outright abduction. They find it easier to manipulate you if you come willingly."

Tears spilt from Maya's eyes. She was swamped by a tidal wave of emotions. Erik rose from his chair and sat next to her on the sofa, drawing her into his embrace.

She buried her face into the fabric of his shirt, sobbing uncontrollably. He kept whispering apologies, his words serving as a small comfort. She barely knew him, but she trusted him. She felt a sense of safety, a belief that he would do anything to protect her.

"Desperate children are easiest to fool," Elena murmured, more to herself than anyone else.

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