The forests on the Northern borders of the Void territory were never still. Leaves fell from the trees above in the darkness, but she knew it was just a feint and spun as the vampire emerged from the brush behind her. She ducked under the dark magic on his claws as they struck out for her neck. The momentum pushed him past her, and as he turned for another go, she held up her hand and let loose a hurricane spell from. It barreled into the vampire's chest and threw him through the open air of the border between their territories.

Wind spells always felt most at home for her.

The forest howled in the night with her wind, and the wide eyes of the vampire in front of her weren't filled with fear. This one was all hate. The Zehirs were one of the four strongest houses of vampires from the north, and they were brutal. Every chance they could, they picked off mages, drained them to corpses, tortured them until their bodies folded, or just plain beat them to death for fun. They were so brutal that she was starting to feel like the gentle hands of her vampire boyfriend were so much longer ago than just a year.

Neil. She missed him something terrible.

Flames lifted around the downed vampire and licked at its sides only a moment before it screamed. Kopje had caught up with her, and he didn't hesitate to kill the monsters that slaughtered their friends. Just as the vampires devoured mages, Kopje's flames ate at the vampire skin, peeling it back until it reached bone and melted the core of the man before her. The vampire tried to escape but was cornered in by the cage of Kopje's magic.

The hand-shaped burn scars under her shirt pulsed with sympathetic pain, and she kneaded her fingers into her sides until only ash remained of the man in front of them. To Kopje, vampires weren't people, but watching one of them burn hit too close to home for her.

What if it had been one of her friends? There were many vampires she would rather not see burn, so killing them to her was just as killing another mage would be. It twisted her stomach in an angry knot until Kopje came to her side and slapped her arm. With a nod of his remorseless dirt eyes, he motioned into the forest.

They had to go.

If they hung around, more vampires would assault them. She headed after him along the border, chasing he small tail of brown hair as it blew in the wind ahead of her. The man had a scar across his face that made his smile stop when he lifted his lips. It cut straight across his cheek to remind him of the vampire that had killed his family and thought him dead. That was why he was so brutal when he encountered vampires... like she should be.

Infiltrator class mages were the elite, bound by no calling but that of the energy in the earth. As such, they bore the responsibility of protecting the other mages on the most violent borders. That was what she was now, but she didn't want to be. All she wanted to do was go home.

She allowed Kopje to drift further ahead of her and sank off into the trees on their side of the border. This was something only she could do, she'd learned, sifting through solid things and melding with their energy. It was night, so the trees were dormant, storing energy until the sun returned and flushed them with a vibrant tingle that pulled on her very soul. Living things were frightening to shift through because they wanted her to stay.

If she didn't remember to be herself, she would fall back into the life of a tree, soaking sun and reaching for any freedom it could get. That didn't sound so bad. As it was, she was already forgetting who she was. These conflicts forced her to kill vampires too, and though she hadn't been forced to today, Kopje was used to her escaping to get time on her own when they killed. It didn't sit well with her, watching a creature screaming for its life only to be snuffed out.

Near the edges of the eastern forest and the cliffs of the Sol territory, she stopped and leaned on her knees to catch her breath. It took so much effort to get away from Kopje. Though he knew she was upset, he always followed her and reminded her that this was her duty. Not today though, not now. This was where he wouldn't look for her.

The Sol vampires scared the living hell out of the northern mages. Thus far, she'd avoided the Sol borders here, but she really needed to get away from Kopje's dead eyes and twisted scowl that pulled on his scar. Here, no one came here. On the cusp of their territory, she outstretched her hand and stopped before she passed it.

She'd thought about it–crossing the border, giving up on the god damn mages, and seeking Talamayas Sol out to return her to Neil. After all, the leader of the Sol vampires was the best friend of the man she loved, but also a psycho absorbed in torture and burning people alive. The nightmares of him burning his hands into her sides had faded with time, especially after the way he'd groveled and apologized as soon as he'd figure out who she was.

It had still taken time. Every month or so, she still woke to the phantom smell of her own flesh and the cackle of the man as he scrambled her insides with that look of glee glinting in his boiling red eyes. She shook her head and jumped back as something grazed her finger tips.

Dark magic.

Just ahead of her, on the other side of the border, one of the desert-dwelling vampires smiled to her, and his dark eyes glittered in the darkness. Whoever it was, she didn't know him, but his long black hair dipped as he bowed to her politely.

Interesting.

Neil must have told Tala that she was here. The glaive that their people favored was still firm in the vampire's hand at his side, but he lifted his free hand and rolled his fingers in a wave before he sank back into their borders. It was strange to have a vampire she didn't know graze its magic against her fingertips at a hostile border, but it warmed her.

Tomorrow.

They were allowing her to finally go home for some down time. Since she hadn't wanted this, they'd kept a tight leash on her until she'd finished her training, and then she'd been forced to run missions until they saw she was competent. All she wanted was to see Neil, so she turned around and headed back for the complex. There was no reason to wallow. Just one more day and she would be in the arms of the man she'd craved for four hundred and twenty-seven days, not that she was counting.

The wind shifted and she froze on one of the more jagged parts of their border. A vampire. She hopped back and lifted her hands with wind magic already whispering from her fingers. The man stopped, inching back with a growl.

It was on their side, in their territory, and she was between him and his hom. Blood. The stench of dark magic filled with iron rode the air, and he clutched a wound that was deep in his shoulder. It didn't appear to have been caused by light magic, but how was she to know? There were many mages in this territory and she couldn't say if this man had killed on of them.

Did she have to fight him?

It lifted its lips into a snarl, and she tightened her stance to prepare for the fight.

"Fuck you, mage," It growled and sank to the ground to sit in the grass.

He must really be injured to do so. It was easiest for mages to wrap their spells around vampire kind when more of their body was connected to the energy in the ground that powered their spells. Perhaps he didn't have enough strength to fight? What was she to do then? If he'd killed someone, than she was responsible to avenge them, to prevent this monster from taking any more.

"How did you get those wounds?" Silvia asked.

"Why do you care?" He squinted his eyes at her.

She imagined she was as hard to see as he was for her. Both of them had pitch hair, though hers was short and hugged her face with the deepest of navy tints. It echoed her water magic just as this man's had no color, like the black color of his soul. The way his long sheen of hair covered and blended into his tanned skin made him look like a mass of shifting shadows. The only hint of life was the glint of blue in his eyes under the moonlight.

A lot of the men up here had darker skin. It varied from the hush of mocha on this man's face to the rich dark chocolate of others. Talamayas Sol's people were all burnt sand, and the Zehirs were darker toned. This man was lighter, a lot like Talamayas, and it was weakening her resolve to fight him.

She didn't want to.

"I want to know who you hurt," Silvia rasped, trying to maintain her resolve. If she faltered, this man would lunge for her throat, wounded or not. All the Zehirs were merciless, and she'd learned that time again when she'd shown mercy.

Without Kopje, she's be dead already.

"I didn't touch any of yours," the man huffed. "Not that you care. You mage shits would kill a wounded man just trying to get home. Using your territory was faster than asking for permission to use the Sol territory, but I guess I should have."

"I don't want to fight you," weak words escaped her–words that had gotten her into so much trouble with Kopje. No matter how many Zehirs attacked her, she always folded.

What if he was just going home?

What if he hadn't hurt anyone?

What if...

What if...

What if...

"Just go," Silvia said into the wind, and the man lifted his eyes.

Perhaps he saw the moisture in her eyes that reflected the navy of her dark eyes, or perhaps he was measuring the distance to her throat. The vampire stood and inched forward, giving her a wide berth. With each step, he checked to see if she'd moved to stop him, all until he was on the other side of her and his territory was at her back. There, he stopped and inhaled, committing her scent to memory before he slipped off into the woods.

She did likewise, falling back into the forest opposite of him and sifting through the trees with a pounding heart. Part of it was panic, fear that he'd have friends in his territory that would hunt her down and kill her, and the rest was fear of how his eyes had flared as he'd breathed her in. Vampires really only inhaled around humans for a few reasons, to learn their imprint to hunt them later, in hunger and desire for their blood, or like Neil always did–when he desired her.

None of the reasons were good.

That vampire would remember her, but at least it was something for another day. Tonight, she would sleep the night through because she didn't have the night shift, and tomorrow, she would go home. With excitement, she drowned her dread and headed in past the barrier spells to their complex. The rush of energy was smothered as soon as she ran smack into Kopje, or would have if she didn't cast a small wind spell ahead to slow herself.

Arms crossed over his chest, Kopje grit his teeth and she sighed, making an attempt to push past him. As expected, he grabbed her arm, and she turned to him.

"What, Kop?" she asked, though she already knew the answer.

"We cleared you to go home, but you're still too soft," he said as they walked to the barracks. "You need to gain a killer instinct for these vampires, instead of only killing them when the try to kill you."

"Isn't that the nature of self-defense?" Silvia debated, like they did often. "I don't think going out with the intent to kill anything with dark magic is morally upright."

"Silvia, that is exactly what they are doing for mages. These still aren't your passive border buddies in the southern territories. It's kill or be killed, and I won't always be around to save you when you think playing friends is a great idea."

"I know," Silvia growled, but he pat her head with his large hand.

Kopje had a good foot on her and was a bigger guy, wrought with muscle, and he was one of the best mages the Cinder mages had to offer. The Terras and Cinders usually bore the generations few Infiltrators, but somehow her gentle Copse family had spit her out. So, she didn't quite fit in, but Kopje saw her sincerity in working with the mages and facilitating peace, even if he didn't agree with the way she did so.

"You excited to see your father?" Kopje changed the subject as they reached their quarters.

They shared a room, like all mage partners did. It made sure they grew close. The northern territories were packed with powerful mages to defend the tumultuous area, and an empty bunk meant someone had died, not that they had space.

Silvia tore off her top without care for Kopje's staring. She wore a sports top under it anyway, and Kopje had seen her body mostly naked and sweating for all of their training together. The man knew that she was into another guy and didn't like her softer sentiments. They were good partners, but not very compatible for a romantic relationship, so it made working with him easier.

"You still win," Kopje said as he took off his own shirt.

The man had scars littered all over his body, but he always cringed when he looked at her. There had been so many jabs about how she was weak and from a peaceful territory when training had started. Then he'd seen her in the showers.

Somehow, the ass had gotten the male, female hours confused, but he hadn't been ogling her breasts like some lech. His eyes had locked onto the burn scars that hugged each side in the obvious shape of hands. Of course, in embarrassment, she'd turned away from him only to show him her back full of old whip scars. All of them she'd suffered for the sake of her last mission, to destroy Angelus, an organization bent on the rise of vampires to absolute power and laying waste to any mages in their way.

"It's not a competition," Silvia said with a yawn before she crashed on her bed.

"You're not going to shower?" Kopje asked, reaching for a towel, and she groaned.

"In the morning. Too tired. You can wash all my sheets while I'm gone anyway." She winked at him, and he let out a breath of disgust.

Snuggling up to her pillow, she closed her eyes and listen to the ring of the shower as Kopje turned it on. She knew the moment he stepped under the water from the way his body hushed the hard rap of water against the wall. If it really was a competition, she didn't win.

The whip scars on her back had been inflicted by Neil, the man she loved, to hide her among the deranged vampires who they'd infiltrated together to kill. All it had been was pain, not fear of death. Each and every scar Kopje had was from fighting for his life, saving the lives of his comrades, or avenging his fallen friends to still his own tears. The worst of her scars, the burn marks on her sides, had been inflicted by Talamayas Sol, but the man had thought she was an enemy of Neil's

No one had broken down and apologized on their knees for harming Kopje. They lived different lives, feared different things, and dreamed for different worlds. She wanted to live with the vampires she loved and cared for, as well as the mages she worked alongside. Kopje wanted them eradicated, and his worst fear was losing the men and women he was sworn to protect.

For her, it was losing herself.

To one day have a killer instinct like Kopje's

To lose her heart.

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Word Count: 2813