Thank you to @Amansrosefor the gorgeous covers!!!!!!!!!!!!

Blaise squinted, the sunlight blinding him. He stood in front of hills of grass that rolled for miles. The salty scent of the ocean crept up on his nose. It brought back nostalgic memories of Skye.

Blaise raised a hand to shield his eyes from the sun, as he followed Desmos towards a small playground.

The playground was in front of bigger buildings. Buildings that were labelled things like "Schoolhouse" and the "Greenhouse." " Blaise followed Desmos as he began to walk towards the biggest building, the one without a label., Desmos knocked on the door, and a quiet, but still strong, voice replied "I'll be right there!" True to her word, the door opened to reveal a girl, about Blaise's age. She had long brown hair falling over her shoulders and big, wide rimmed glasses covering her hazel eyes. Her eyes darted for a couple of seconds, looking at Desmos, and then moving aside for the both of them.

From inside the building appeared even larger. The walls of the corridor were covered with pictures of kids and drawings of various things. Blaise decided not to dwell on the pictures.

Two little children came bounding up to them. A little boy, his blonde hair gleamed in the light coming from the big glass windows on the sides, his big blue eyes wide. The other child, a little girl, with honey colored hair and green eyes ran up behind him.

"Mr. Snake! You came back!" the girl exclaimed happily. She couldn't quite pronounce her S' and R's right.

"C'mon, go to your rooms! It's nearly time for bed. Let Rainn talk to Mr. Snake for a second, okay?" she smiled at them, ushering the kids, to what Blaise assumed to be their rooms. Then she turned.

Immediately, her eyes landed on Blaise. Desmos smirked. "Rainn, before you say anything, this is Blaise." Desmos introduced, motioning at Blaise.

"The Blaise? As in Luke's older brother? You didn't tell me Blaise was-" She cut herself off, whispered the rest of the sentence, and went back to staring holes into Blaise. Blaise could have sworn he heard the word "twin."

Does she know? No, I'm just being paranoid. Blaise shook his head. "Nice to meet you." He said holding out a hand.

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Uhm, nice to meet you too."

"Oh, Rainn, please give Blaise a vial of the potionem temporis, so my general doesn't pass out."

"Right." She nodded quickly before walking out of the room.

Desmos followed Rainn. Blaise still trailing behind him. What was the potionem temporis?

They entered the kitchen, the walls painted a bright sunny yellow, the cabinets and furniture was white, accentuating the walls.

"Oh, and Blaise." Desmos said, turning to him. "This is the Haven." Desmos, said motioning around them.

Blaise stayed silent. Frankly, he didn't care about any names aside from Luke or Alice.

Rainn walked up to them, handing Blaise a small cup of amber liquid. "Here drink this." she smiled warmly, but her eyes remained cautious as she looked him over.

"Thanks." Blaise said and downed the liquid, cringing at the taste. Rainn laughed, sitting down on a stool beside him.

"I know, it tastes really sweet, but it's necessary. I dilute it with something, usually."

"Why would a cup of sap be important?" Blaise asked.

"Time in the Haven is distorted. Slower than normal. And we need to drink this to survive."

"How old are Luke and Alice, then?"

"Uhm, 7, but their birthdays are coming this year. How do you know Alice?" Rainn asked, peering at him.

Blaise winced at the question.

Seeing him wince, Rainn blurted out an apology."Agh, I shouldn't have asked-" Blaise cut her off.

"No it's fine, really."

"I knew Alice's older sister." "I grew up with Alice and Luke."

"Oh, that must've been nice."

It was nice while it lasted, nice until Skye died and I got employed by an evil snake demon. Blaise thought.

Blaise shrugged, forcing himself out of his pity. "I guess."

"I'm assuming you'd like to see them." Rainn said.

"Yes, please." Blaise replied.

"Rainn, I might be taking a survey of the kids."

Rainn grimaced. "The oldest is only eleven. Don't you think that's a tad premature?"

"I'll work it out. Do me a favor, and don't sabotage their performances this time," Desmos said, holding a quick staring match with Rainn.

What?

Rainn turned her head away and huffed. "Come on." She motioned for him to join her. As she led him through the corridor, her fingers brushed by all of the rooms, until they reached one of the last few. "Here's Luke's." She said motioning at the door in front of them. She pointed at the one next to it, "and that's Alice's. I think Alice is with Luke though, they're almost always together."

"Okay, thank you."

Rainn nodded in acknowledgment and left.

Blaise took a deep breath before entering.

A/N I apologize for the late update, I got loaded with homework.

Thank you all for sticking with Out of Reach and supporting it! I hope you all stick to the end!