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[I\'m not making excuses for anyone.] Ophelia hastily explained. [Morgana and Arsinoe only strayed from their scouting routes. They will be back soon.] 

[How do you know that?] Artemis asked. [For all you know, it could be Morgana\'s idea.] 

[I trust them.] Ophelia firmly replied. [She wouldn\'t jeopardise this Pit.]

Artemis sighed in defeat. [You always do this.] 

Ophelia felt embarrassed by his reaction. 

Why did he sound like a long suffering soul? It wasn\'t like she was excusing all that Morgana had ever done - it\'s just that there wasn\'t anyone who understood her like she did.

[Maybe… Arsinoe has taken Morgana hostage for revenge?] She suddenly added. 

[Wait what?] Artemis was stunned. 

Ophelia ignored him. [We will know once we bring them back to answer us.]

It was either Arsinoe and Morgana returned together, or no one at all.

[I don\'t think Arsinoe would ever do that!] Artemis frantically insisted. [She can be stupid and impulsive at times, but she\'s not vindictive.]

Ophelia deliberately avoided his anxious stare. Who was making excuses now? 

They both turned to Aurelia to make a decision, hoping she would consider both of their sides. 

However, their next words were interrupted by the dark fae\'s spirited laughter. She, who was watching them from the comfort of Aurelia\'s head, bounced up and down in excitement and pointed at the confused looks on their faces. 

[I told you this would happen!] She haughtily announced. [Now give me what you promised!]

Aurelia glanced at her with great reluctance and a void gate the size of an apple opened in front of the tiny fae. And the next instant, a fleshy red fruit emerged, only for it to be snatched up by the dark fae\'s greedy fingers. 

Ophelia recognised that fruit!

It was that delicious icy treat Aurelia had shared before. She and Artemis both looked on with equal amounts of confusion and jealousy as the dark fae noisily gobbled up the fruit.

What sort of agreement/ exchange did they just witness? And where was their share?

Oddly enough, Aurelia didn\'t explain any further. 

|[I understand what you are trying to do but…]| She then looked at them with a solemn gaze. |[You have to tell me everything you know if we were to bring them back safely.]| 

Even now, the dark fae was taunting them with her haughty look. But while Ophelia resisted the urge to whack the gluttonous brat to oblivion, she could not avoid Artemis\'s pleading stares forever. 

He seemed to be under the impression that Morgana was holding something over her, to make her defend her like she did, but that couldn\'t be further from the case. 

Morgana\'s descent was something Ophelia felt personally responsible for. If she had helped her when she needed her instead of being so wrapped up in her own issues, things would be very different now.

She\'d already failed her once and didn\'t want to do so again by abandoning her.

[Yes, of course.] Ophelia replied. [Arsinoe was supposed to scout the area around the dead zone, but…] 

Her words trailed off when new voices resounded outside the room.

[Is it true Arsinoe is missing?] Delphine gasped in surprise on entry. 

Behind her, a crowd of eager nestlings who must have heard Aurelia\'s voice also entered, the room soon filled with the voices of several excited serpents.

[We don\'t know that yet.] Ophelia said to them. [We shouldn\'t make hasty assumptions.]

[But Morgana is also missing.] Delphine approached Ophelia to say. [We all know how unstable she can be, but she wouldn\'t leave without reason.]

Unstable?

Ophelia frowned at her. [Morgana is still one of us. You shouldn\'t speak of her like that.] 

However, while the others exercised caution, Delphine continued on without care, steadily making a beeline for Aurelia.

[The last time I saw Arsinoe, she was skulking around the tunnels with Morgana. I put my mark on her, but it faded away when she went out of range.]

What?

If she knew, why didn\'t she say anything until now? 

|[Show me.]| Aurelia said, neither disapproving nor encouraging, but Ophelia was disappointed. It seemed gaining Aurelia\'s favour was more important to her than a team member in potential peril.

Delphine was keen to demonstrate her abilities, extending her inky shadow over the ground in a circular pattern like a wash of paint. From it, a dark sphere rose up from their ground, its shape changing as it unravelled to form two butterflies of the same size. 

Ophelia\'s eyes widened. Their wings were wispy like smoke, their bodies no thicker than sheets of paper, with a centre mass of solid darkness that glowed a faint purple. And yet, their movements were realistic. Like real creatures, they fluttered around Delphine without losing their shape, seeming quite alive.

[Remarkable…] Artemis muttered, as did the nestlings who excitedly watched her display.

[They are nothing at all like your summon\'s, but I worked hard to make them. Do you like them?] Delphine looked up at Aurelia for approval, her eyes glowing an intense purple, just like her creatures. 

Ophelia gauged Aurelia\'s smile, she seemed quite impressed with Delphine\'s results and even gave her a few compliments. However, Ophelia was uncomfortable with the look in Delphine\'s eyes. She recognised that same look of obsession and fondness that Morgana showed her. That anxiety to be recognised and rewarded, or perhaps to be seen as perfect. 

Just how long had she practised to achieve those results? Ophelia doubted Aurelia had given her a summon for reference, as she recalled she\'d only shown them once in the Nymph\'s forest.

The Veladrys were also quite taken with the creatures, one even stretching out her hand to touch a shadowy wing before Delphine stopped her.

[Don\'t.] She hissed dispassionately. [You will lose a hand.]

The Veladrys in question, quietly withdrew her finger, but Ophelia wished she had continued, just to see what would happen. If Delphine was a danger, it was important that she knew.

|[You\'ve done very well in such a short time.]| Aurelia was delighted and Delphine giggled, positively pleased with herself. 

[I\'ve only gotten this far because of your teachings.] She replied. [You\'ve been such a great Mother to all of us.]

Mother?

Ophelia reeled in discomfort, not believing what she had just heard.

[Delphine!] Artemis shouted.

Releasing her error, Delphine hid beside Aurelia, conveniently coming between her and the hovering dark fae. [I apologise, I used the wrong word. I only wanted to show my gratitude and my fondness for you.] 

Her words were sweet, but Ophelia recognised the glaring malevolence in her eyes. Malevolence towards everyone in the room except Aurelia. It was like she viewed them all as rivals! 

Aurelia laughed uncomfortably. |[It\'s okay. I\'m really not that experienced.]| 

Ophelia wanted to hide her face. Rather than acknowledging it was a mistake, she cursed them all in her heart. Why were these brats so embarrassing today?

First Artemis, and now Delphine. They acted like Aurelia was going to disappear and they needed to make an impression as quickly as possible! 

She blamed Typhon for setting this in motion when he challenged them - he should have known better.

And Aurelia wasn\'t taking the problem seriously either.

Delphine likely said it to create some sense of familiarity. She was troublesome and always needed to push the boundary of what was comfortable in order to gain new skills. Ophelia recalled her following Cygnus from the very beginning, and now that their abilities were practically identical, she seemed to have picked a new target. 

Aurelia was naïve not to see the danger of her affections, but that was what she was here to protect her from.

[Delphine.] Ophelia smiled sweetly, before commanding in a stern voice. [Come over here, now.]

Delphine immediately went over to her side, not realising what she was doing until she was safely behind Ophelia, and even then she had to command her again to sit still. 

Aurelia looked too uncomfortable, and the room was far too crowded with nestlings. Perhaps it was best to disperse the others too, since they all seemed intent on misbehaving.

|[When will Typhon get here?]| Aurelia asked.

[He is leading the hunt away from the cave.] Ophelia replied.

But when she checked her atlas to confirm, she noticed Typhon\'s serpent icon speedily heading towards Aquila\'s position on the atlas, along with two others. 

Ophelia sighed deeply, he must already know Morgana had disappeared, because he wouldn\'t come back so quickly unless something went wrong over here. 

[Actually, he\'s just returned.] She corrected herself. [We should go out and meet him.]

Quickly, or else Aquila and those reptiles were as good as dead.

Artemis understood after seeing her grim expression, but she stopped him from saying more because she didn\'t want Aurelia to feel uncomfortable. It was better to intercept him before he got to Aquila, she could at least mediate some of the damage that way. 

Still, as the group headed outside to Typhon, Ophelia was quick to pull Delphine aside.

[What are you doing?] She was perplexed. [I shouldn\'t have to correct your manner of speech, you know that was rude.]

Delphine looked away shyly. [I know, but…]

When she looked up, her purple eyes blazed with sinister adoration. [She\'s different. I like her. She\'s just so sweet, I can\'t help it. Maybe it\'s because we share the same power that we have the same bond–] 

[You don\'t share the same power.] Ophelia interrupted her feverish rant in irritation. [Don\'t ever do that again. She\'s not your playmate. You crossed the line.]

There was no such bond. At most their magic suggested they came from the same serpent bloodline, but that was it. Delphine hadn\'t seen a fraction of Aurelia\'s true power for her to delude herself into such a fantasy.

[You should stay away for now. Don\'t follow.] Ophelia slithered away to catch up with the others. Delphine was better off as far from Aurelia as possible.

[You feel the same way.] Delphine called out in anger. [You also want to be closer to her, so don\'t act like you are different.] 

Ophelia was appalled at her suggestion. 

And yet, like Delphine said, she was also guilty of this offence. She had always seen Aurelia in a fond light because she was stronger than them, but unlike before when she wanted to impress her, their relationship had grown since she learnt to speak. 

No longer was she such an unfathomable mystery or a blank slate for them to misinterpret. She was certainly evil, but she was also kind, extremely concerned for their wellbeing, and also very naïve about many things. 

Ophelia was also more aware of some of the worries that plagued her, and she had become fiercely protective as a result.

[I\'m not like you who is only after her power.] She chillingly replied. [I care about her, more than you know.]

Delphine scoffed. [I\'m sure you do. That\'s why you want to keep her all to yourself...]

[You misheard me.] Ophelia replied, her voice brimming with power. [I don\'t want to see you near her, ever again. Am I understood?]

Delphine gave her a hollow stare, her eyes completely dull, before mindlessly agreeing. 

[I understand, Commander.]