"Doubt thou the stars are fire;
Doubt that the sun doth move;
Doubt truth to be a liar;
But never doubt I love."
-William Shakespeare

Lisa woke up when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Surprised, her eyes shot open, she saw Thomas's head hovering above her. His hair was wet, a drop fell on her nose. He probably just got out of the shower and was back in his usual black uniform.

"Get up beautiful," he said with a smile. Lisa rubbed her eyes sleepily. Slowly she worked her way up in the bed, feeling the tension between them. She thought of how he'd run his hands through her hair yesterday and shivered. She was still wearing the same clothes as yesterday and looked curiously at Thomas.

"Why are you always wearing that uniform? Do you expect to be attacked any moment?" Thomas laughed briefly, his face suddenly turned sad.

"I can't put on a T-shirt," he said curtly. Lisa frowned.

"Why? It's not that Centurions aren't allowed to walk around in T-shirts, is it?" she joked. Thomas avoided her gaze, she stepped closer to him. Seeing her curious look, he sighed. Thomas unzipped his uniform slightly, exposing his chest. Lisa sucked in her breath. Burn marks were scattered all over his upper body. They had become old, red scars, Lisa ran her hand over them in fascination.

"I was the only one to survive the fire at my parents' house," he said tonelessly, as a matter of fact. She looked at him, but he avoided her gaze. Lisa looked back at his torso, her finger moving from spot to spot. The burns weren't what drew her attention, but the hardness of his abdomen did. Thomas exhaled and bowed his head to look at her.

"Does it bother you?" he asked. Thomas seemed to be preparing for the worst. Lisa shook her head with a smile. She put her hand flat on his chest, the corner of his mouth lifted. Lisa leaned back, Thomas's brown hair already dried. Her heart skipped a beat as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer.

Thomas looked at her with relief and gratitude. Just like the night before, he kissed her calmly on the mouth. She let out a startled cry and grabbed his bare shoulders. He laughed and leaned even further to press his lips against her neck. Thomas looked so vulnerable, unlike when he was in his Centurion role. Lisa's hand followed the trail of scars and runes. She could have kept doing that the whole day, in Thomas's arms, but he broke free from the embrace.

"Time for breakfast," he smiled. Lisa said she was going to freshen up and walked down the hall with him. She stopped in front of her bedroom door and held the handle. "See you soon." Thomas winked at her and Lisa giggled, like a loony teen. As she closed the door behind her, she wondered when she'd gotten so clingy. But as she quickly changed her clothes, she kept thinking about Thomas's tender kisses.

*

"Hit!" Anna clapped her hands. She looked proudly at Lisa, who glanced at the target in suprise. She had already thrown two knives into the bullseye and cheerfully took another. After breakfast, Anna had insisted on continuing her training. Lisa glanced sideways at her friend. She suspected that Jonathan had told her what he had seen yesterday. At least Anna didn't show it. But she hadn't gotten mad when Anna hooked up with Olivia either. She had to admit that Olivia hadn't been so friendly at first, but in the end, she was okay.

"And how are you and Olivia now?" she blurted out. Lisa couldn't contain her curiosity. Anna grimaced.

"We put Max and Lot to bed together yesterday," she said monotonously.

"And after that?" Lisa playfully raised an eyebrow. She preyed on juicy details.

"After that, I went to sleep too," she said. Anna put her hands on her hips. "You, on the other hand." Lisa gripped the throwing knife more tightly, Anna continued mercilessly. "I know you don't want to believe me, but Thomas can't be trusted."

Lisa threw the knife as hard as she could, it landed next to the bullseye and clattered to the ground. At that moment Thomas walked in, two seraph blades in both hands. He started slashing into a dummy casually, but with deadly precision. Lisa pushed the knives into Anna's hands and walked cheerfully to Thomas.

"I have something for you." Thomas looked at her in surprise as she walked out. She signaled for them to wait and ran as fast as she could to her study. She'd been working on it all morning and hoped it would fit.

When she returned to the training room, Jonathan and Lotte were standing next to their sister. Lotte looked fascinated at how Thomas handled the two daggers. Lisa felt Jonathan's eyes rest on her as she walked over to Thomas.

"Show me your hands," she said firmly. Thomas put his weapons away and did as she asked. Lisa buckled the leather straps around both of his upper arms and looked at her work with pride. She took a step back as Thomas waved his arm wide. The blade of a dagger slid out of the arm guard and she heard Lotte gasp. Thomas looked at her in surprise and had a playful smile on his face. Unintentionally, her heart skipped a beat. He turned on his heel back up to the sparring dummy and split the wooden neck with the two daggers. The two blades slid back and he seemed to be wearing normal arm guards again.

"Cool," Lotte managed to say, she heard a little jealousy in her voice. Thomas stepped over to her and kissed her crown. Startled, she looked to the side, Anna looked in their direction with unfathomable eyes. She saw that Jonathan had averted his gaze and that Lotte was staring at them open-mouthed. Suddenly Anna sucked in her breath.

"Duck!" she called to Lisa.

"Where?" she asked confused. Thomas pushed her to the ground as a hot fireball flew past them. Anna reached out and snatched the fireball from the sky. When Thomas helped her get up, she saw that it was a fire message.

"It's from Moira," Anna reported, her eyes sliding across the letter.

"Does it say why Moira just tried to kill me?" Lisa asked, standing next to her friend.

"I can think of a few reasons," Jonathan whispered loud enough to be audible. For the second time, Anna sucked in her breath.

"Lot, go get Olivia and Arthur," she ordered her sister.

"Who?" Lotte asked, as if she hadn't understood her. She didn't like it when people ordered her.

"Nerd and Emo," Jonathan repeated, smiling playfully. Lotte had understood this time and walked out of the room. "What's in the letter now?" he asked curiously.

"We've been invited to Cassius Dioz's annual ball," Anna summed up.

"Dioz? As in the High Warlock of Antwerp?" asked Jonathan in astonishment.

"But he doesn't trust us at all," Lisa said, "why would he invite us?"

"Moira thinks we can learn a bit more about the scepter, since the book came from Cassius. She also asks if we might be able to find an old book on the elves. That would help her translate. Moira gives us her own invitation." Anna waved the invitation that came with the letter. Lisa snatched it from her hands. It was a parchment-like colour, but felt soft in her hands.

"Which scepter?" Thomas asked confused, Lisa looked at him startled. Of course, he knew nothing about the scepter. Anna raised her hand, just then Olivia and Arthur walked in, with Lotte ahead as their leader. Anna waited for the red-haired girl to walk back out the door before bending closer to them. Lisa knew immediately what she was up to. Anna was going to tell them everything, even to Thomas, the person she didn't trust. Lisa smiled encouragingly at her.

Anna didn't forget to mention a single detail. How they found the book, opened the lock, and asked Moira for help. She told about the legend of the mighty scepter, Lisa felt Thomas tense his muscles.

"Do you really believe that scepter is real? And here in Antwerp?" asked Olivia, almost mockingly.

"I think we should just look into this," Anna said, annoyed, though there was love in the look she cast at Olivia. Suddenly, Lisa wondered if Jonathan knew about his sister's relationship with the new girl. Involuntarily she looked at him, he looked proudly from Anna to Olivia. So that was a yes.

"Then why should we go to that ball?" asked Arthur.

"Maybe he has some books or information we can use?" suggested Thomas. Lisa looked again at the invitation in her hand.

"The party will take place in his country house," Lisa read, "in Castle den Brandt." Thomas whistled.

"Chic." He took the paper from Lisa and turned it around. "It says here that the invitation is for two people only."

"We must also have a cover," declared Anna, "he mustn't get suspicious. We have to pretend we're there for fun."

Thomas nodded in agreement. "Then I and Lisa will go." He put his arm around her waist.

"No," said Jonathan firmly, thinking for a moment before speaking. "Cassius only barely trusts us enough. What will he think when suddenly a completely strange Centurion walks through his house? Someone reporting directly to the Clave? And don't say he won't know, he has got eyes everywhere." Anna nodded and Lisa had to agree with him too.

"Good." Anna clapped her hands briefly, a gesture that reminded her of Marianne. "Then you will have dance lessons from tomorrow." They groaned together.

"Yes, because we are the perfect dance teachers," Olivia laughed. Lisa looked at her best friend, saw her hand brushing Olivia's as they both laughed. Thomas stepped away from her and walked forwards.

"I'll give the dance class, I used to do ballroom dancing in England." He made a graceful spin, Jonathan didn't stop himself from laughing.

*

"I'm not going to jump, Jonathan!" Lisa stood on the roof of the Institute and looked down anxiously. She didn't know how he'd gotten her to come along.

"You've got wings, so you're going to learn to use them," he said firmly, not counting in her fear of heights. She thought it would be great to soar through the air, but she also had no idea how to use her wings. She took another step closer and balanced on the edge. Jonathan turned her towards him with both hands. He held her tight so she wouldn't fall.

"I'll help you." His hands crept to her neck, searching for the clasp on the necklace. As soon as he took off the necklace, the wings appeared behind her. She heard her T-shirt rip and cursed those wings. Jonathan looked at her admiringly, his hand ran over the soft plumage. Then his face suddenly clouded and he took a step back. Lisa sucked in a gulp of air and turned back toward the abyss.

"You'll have to push me," she said, Jonathan protesting in surprise. She looked over her shoulder and looked intently at him, he nodded briefly. "Not too-"

Jonathan had already shoved her hard and she tumbled over the edge. In a moment of panic, she screamed. Lisa had no control over her wings and did somersaults in the air. Adrenaline rushed through her body, and she concentrated completely on her back.

Lisa opened her wings and for a moment it seemed as if she was carried by air. In the distance, she heard Jonathan cheering. It was as if she had gained a second pair of arms and flapped her wings with growing confidence. Lisa shot into the air and felt the wind bend around her. For a moment she was so high in the sky that she forgot the bustle of the city and only felt the sun burn on her face. This was unbelievable, she was flying.

Take that Icarus! She took a nosedive and whizzed toward the roof. She watched her speed toward a frightened Jonathan, but she didn't know how to stop. She knocked Jonathan over with a cracking sound. She landed on Jonathan and the weight of her wings pressed her against him. Lisa muttered apologies, but he took her face between his hands.

"You did it! You just flew!" he exclaimed. Jonathan's hands brushed the hair from her neck, and he deftly hung the necklace back again. His touch took her back to last night. To Thomas's hands cutting their way through her hair. She winced. The cool silver ring touched her skin and the wings dissolved. Lisa was able to breathe normally again and rolled off Jonathan.

"Did you lie on that Centurion yesterday too?" he asked suddenly. She looked at him in shock. "I'm not stupid, I know you stayed with him. By the Angel Lisa, the first handsome guy walks in and you dive right into bed with him," he said brusquely. Lisa jumped up.

"Nothing has happened! And you know it didn't go like that!" She wanted to tell him about the death of Thomas's parents, how he had understood and comforted her. How courteous and smart he was, how he kept saying she was beautiful. But Lisa swallowed all those words. "And it's none of your business," she said instead. Now he was pushing himself up too, his blond hair tousled and the pupils of his blue eyes dilated.

"You can't trust him, Lisa! He pops up out of nowhere and drives your head crazy." His face was as red as the rising sun. Lisa made a frustrated noise.

"Why should you care? Why can't you be happy for me?" she said more bluntly than intended.

"Because I love you!" he blurted out. Lisa backed away, as if he'd hit her with those words. She immediately saw that he regretted what he just said. Jonathan sighed, waiting for an answer he wouldn't get, and dug his nails into his palms. When she said nothing, he dropped his shoulders, as if all the life had drained from him, and stepped out the door with firm strides. Lisa slumped to the floor along the wall, realising that tears were running down her cheek. She felt as if he had pushed her off the roof again, this time with no wings to catch her.

______________
Do you think Jonathan is right about Thomas, or is he the one messing with his head?
A new chapter will follow soon! -->

And remember: trust no one