' though she be but little, she be fierce. '
Form
Name: Riona Lee
FC: Lee Ji-eun
Faction: Batavi
Primary: Filip
DOB: 13th April 1989
Current residence: Berlin, Germany
Occupation: Dance Choreographer at a famous dance institute.
Interests: Victor, Aslan, Filip, Eris,
Story: Done
11 - the calm before the storm
“Your hair’s grown out a bit,” Leila murmured as she reached out to brush her fingers against the ends of Riona’s hair. Packing away the last of her things, Riona nodded, absently running her fingers through the soft locks.
“I’m thinking of letting it grow out.”
Riona had thought becoming an Immortal would change all of that, but it seemed that hair growth still happened. Thank goodness for that, she wouldn’t have wanted to stay with short hair forever.
“What about the blue?” Leila asked. “I love the blue.”
Riona smiled at her as she taped the box shut, glancing briefly at the window where the four-o’clock light streamed through, lighting up the empty space. Filip was going to swing by her new place soon and she didn’t want to keep him waiting.
“I’ll keep the blue,” she promised, getting to her feet and allowing Leila to wrap her arms around her.
“I can’t believe you’re moving out...actually, no I can. What I can’t believe is that you won’t tell me about your new place,” she complained, glaring at Riona.
“And what, your husband accidentally lets it slip to Will so that he comes knocking at my door again?” Riona rolled her eyes, scoffing. “I don’t think so.”
Landon and Will were best friends, unfortunately, and as much as Riona loved Landon, she really didn’t want anything to do with her toxic ex. Leila looked at her with big blue eyes, drawing on an almost pitiful expression.
“I won’t tell Landon.”
“You tell him everything. Look, I’ll tell you once I settle in, alright?”
Leila whined about it, from the empty apartment all the way to Riona’s car. It took a good twenty minutes more to convince her that she wasn’t trying to hide away and another ten minutes to promise to stay over for a night sometime in the week. As Riona finally managed to get into the car and drive away, she wondered if she would even have time to do that, after all, she still had the training with her Primary and there was a Council of Shadows next week…
She sighed, glancing at the dashboard to check the digital clock.
Funny, even as an immortal, she was still rushing for time.
-------
Riona had had enough. And she was beyond glad that she wasn’t the only one who was sick and tired of hikes. It wasn’t Filip’s fault, truly. He just wanted to train them, she knew that… yet…
She felt slightly guilty as she and Cailee hid behind a few cars in the gym’s parking lot, peering discreetly over the hood of some fancy silver car that was parked in the shadier side of the lot, away from the windows. As terrible as she felt, she couldn’t help it! When Filip had announced that he was taking her and Cailee to Mount Everest, instinct took over and the girls made a run for it the second he’d turned his back. It didn’t help that he’d promised if they managed to evade him, he’ll rethink the hike. A lot was at stake here.
If all was quiet for another five minutes, then Riona would know it was safe to head back for safety—
“You have zero training in evasion so I don’t understand how you thought you could run from me.”
At the familiar voice, a shiver of dread slithered down Riona’s spine. Beside her, Cailee let out an equally horrified gasp.
“Hello, Kay. Fine Wine.”
“We were just practicing,” Riona said coolly, trying not to look guilty as she turned around. She jumped back in surprise, bumping into Cailee as she met Filip’s eyes directly. “Ah, why are you crouching too?”
“You didn’t hear me come.” The mountain of a man was crouched on the gravel behind them, a deadpan expression in place.
“What?”
Amusement flickered across his eyes. “You didn’t hear me. I’ve been crouched here with you guys for a while.”
“No you haven’t,” Cailee immediately said. Riona nodded aggressively in agreement.
“We would have heard you. We were really quiet and—”
A slow smile spread across his lips. “Wanna bet on that ‘quiet’? So, I’m dead curious on what you guys were discussing earlier…”
There was a heartbeat of silence.
“Something about belly dancing… and pushups?” His eyes were far too bright with mirth for Riona’s liking. They looked like they were laughing at her and Cailee for getting their dumbasses caught red handed.
“We weren’t discussing anything,” Riona denied.
He lifted an eyebrow. “Are you sure? I’m pretty sure I heard the two of you discussing the—”
“I’m sure I don’t know what you mean.”
He smiled and got up to his feet. The girls simultaneously leaned waaay back in order to look up at him. God, he was literally a mountain.
Giant, Riona mouthed at Cailee who nodded somberly in agreement.
Filip laughed. “Get up, cowards.”
Riona wanted to make a run for it but she knew there was no place to run to. Filip had caught them and sadly, he was faster and stronger than either of them. Slowly, she and Cailee climbed up to their feet, lifting their chins up as a brave front.
“You know—” started Riona but was cut off as Filip grabbed her into a one-armed headlock. She grunted as she tried to pull away from the man’s stupidly strong arm. Obviously, she couldn’t push the mountain. Cailee stared, nervously backing away.
“I just—” whatever Cailee wanted to say was also cut off as Filip grabbed her into a similar headlock.
“Did you get caught, yes or no?” their Primary asked as he started for the Moongate. The girls exchanged mournful glances as they were dragged along.
“Yes,” they sighed.
“Aha. And what does that mean?”
“Hike,” they muttered.
“That’s right.”
She and Cailee exchanged mournful glances as their primary dragged them through the Moongate and to the hike trails of hell.
-------
Two days before they were to head off to Croatian, Riona hosted a mini-party in her new one-bedroom apartment. Well, really, it was more like a Batavi party at the moment, with all the EDM music playing and the drinking going on.
Riona and Cailee had sensed that their Primary’s mood was becoming darker with all the recent happenings so they had wanted to cheer him up a little, and honestly, Riona did not expect them to be so open to her suggestion of teaching them how to bellydance. But, here they were.
Riona had dug up her old belly dancing belts and she had insisted Filip and Cailee wear it and Filip being the super extra person that he was, pulled off his shirt and declared he got this.
It became very clear, however, that he had not ‘got’ it.
Riona was currently on the floor, laughing so hard tears were leaking out of her eyes while Cailee and Filip were trying to follow along to a video of Riona belly dancing for a class. Their hips just did not want to cooperate with the music and Riona was sure she would die laughing, especially with the sight of a very big Filip just trying to dance while the belt’s tassels just danced along.
Finally, after ten minutes, Cailee stopped, grabbed her drink and pointed it at Riona. “I refuse to continue with this navel academy.”
“Why?” Riona choked out, wiping her tears. “Filip’s killed it with his navel.”
“School’s out, nothing to look at here,” Filip said, waving his hand dismissively as he pulled off the belly-dancing belt. “Interesting experience, but probably not something I would attempt again.” He pulled on his shirt again, grabbing his drink.
Cailee nodded as she sat down next to him. “Next up, we have to try the—”
The doorbell rang and Riona pulled herself to her feet, rubbing her sore stomach. Both Filip and Cailee glanced at the door in curiosity.
“I invited Eris and Chris,” she said. Filip glared at her accusingly.
“You tried to set us up.”
Riona just laughed as she went to open the door.
-------
On July 3rd, Riona and the others arrived at the ridiculously beautiful San Canzian Hotel & Village, a luxurious boutique resort that desperately wanted to be its own little village. On the way there, Filip had briefed Cailee and her on what was going to happen. The Commands were to stay at the Villa and they will have their meetings there.
The different factions will be acting as security for a few days, switching shifts now and then, so Riona and Cailee had to stay on top of their game. The silliness of the last few days seemed to melt away as Filip became a little more serious, but not quite letting go of his usual smile.
Riona knew it was just a front because the second they stepped foot on the resort, his eyes snapped around, eyes sharp as he observed their surroundings. They got the chance to settle into their rooms and Riona caught sight of the other factions arriving. Once she was done settling, she went with Filip and Cailee to scout the area, unsurprised to see others doing the same.
There was a small get-together by the pool area but sadly, no one was actually in the pool. Riona figured that it wasn’t quite the mood for it, considering the big meeting that was going to take place after picking up the other Commands and their SICs the next day. She found Filip, Cailee and the others relaxing after she went for a run around the area.
Eris offered a slight smile as she approached.
“Where are you coming from?” she asked, indicating the headphones around her neck.
“A run,” she said, coming to sit next to Cailee who offered her a glass of wine. “Things have been a little tense lately so I wanted to tire myself a little otherwise I won’t be able to sleep.”
“I didn’t think you’d need the extra work after all the hikes Filip’s been taking you on,” Chris said, amused. Filip snorted, rolling his eyes as he nodded at Cailee and Riona.
“They try to evade me at every chance they get.”
“Ah, yes, like how most Batavis do,” Chris said, nodding. “Always trying their luck with evasions.”
The atmosphere was light and chatter flowed easily, but even Riona could sense the unspoken tension in the air. She felt like she needed to get away from all that tension just to figure out her thoughts because she had not given herself the time or space to sit down and come to terms with everything. So she got up, confirmed the time with Eris for pick up the next day, bid goodnight to her little Batavi Party Squad and the gang and headed back to her room, already feeling the chills of what she expected to come.
12 - hisses of the council
Early the next morning, Riona found Filip standing by the poolside, a mug of what seemed to be coffee in his hands. She frowned as she walked up to him.
“How come you’re always awake before anyone else?” Just like that time on their first hike.
He turned, appearing nonplussed at her appearance. After all, it wasn’t easy to surprise her Primary. Filip smiled tightly, draping a heavy arm around her shoulder.
“Early bird catches the worm,” he said, taking a sip of his coffee. She looked up at him, noticing the tension around his eyes and the way it kept flickering to the villa where she had seen Raven doing some morning exercises. Tai Chi, perhaps. She had seen Leila do it at some point before dropping it.
“Did you catch the worm?” she asked softly. Filip glanced at her, lifting his eyebrows.
“I caught you, didn’t I?”
“Your worm implication is not appreciated,” she informed him, earning a soft chuckle. She wrapped a comforting arm around his waist. “I don’t know the full extent of what’s bothering you and maybe I can’t understand an old man’s pain—” here, he barked out a laugh but she continued, suppressing a smile, “—but me and Cailee are here, ready to give you hell anytime you need to be distracted.”
He chuckled, dropping a kiss on her head. “I know, Fine Wine. I appreciate the sentiment… and I’m going to get you back for that old man comment.”
She just smiled. A figure moved on the opposite end of the pool, heading towards the beach, and she lit up. “Hey, it’s Victor.”
Filip glanced at the figure as Riona pulled away from him, running her fingers through her hair in an effort to make it look presentable.
“You couldn’t make your crush on him more obvious.”
“I don’t have a crush on him,” she said, miffed.
“Sure, you don’t.”
She grabbed his mug, took a sip of coffee to help boost her adrenaline, gave him back his mug and then jogged away, waving to Filip. “Drive safe, old man.”
She walked towards the beach, intending to run into Victor and maybe engage in conversation. She was planning on what she was going to say but got distracted when she saw the waves of the ocean gently wash over the shores. She flinched back as the memory of a naked, headless woman flashed across her mind.
Fuck.
She stopped, rubbing her forehead as the image played over and over in her head, sending shivers down her spine. That woman’s name was Lara… right? God, how awful.
The salty air and cool breeze did nothing to soothe her nerves as the image continued to play in her head. She sucked in a breath, trying to remain calm. It wasn’t the fear of dying but the fear of seeing death in such a terrible, gruesome way. Her brain conjured up her friends in that image, switching up to the new friends she made within the Shadows. Her heart started to beat heavily in her chest, blood pounding in her ears.
Distraction. She needed a distraction.
Fists clenching, Riona spun on her heel and stormed into her room, grabbing her headphones and phone, putting on the loudest music she could possibly find. She slipped on the damn things and then was off on a run, avoiding spaces where people would be at. She just wanted to get lost in the sounds of the music and ignore the ache growing in her heart.
-------
The drive with Eris to pick up Leo and Jacob was a quiet one; both because Riona felt like shit after remembering the three murders so vividly and because Eris was clearly a little tense. The events of what was to happen later that day was clearly weighing on her mind, and on Jacob and Leo’s too when they picked them up.
The meeting took place an hour after sunset, where a private meeting first ensued before they were all invited to sit in and hear about the general outlook of the decade. The older generation discussed many different topics, things Riona was interested to hear about but could not fully understand. Cailee came by a little late but she managed to squeeze in a seat next to her while the discussion continued on.
Riona blinked as the topic suddenly swung to the killings that had been taking place. She and Cailee exchanged a slightly bewildered look as voices were raised and tensions grew. Beside her, Filip stiffened, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed. His jaw was clenched, his eyes taking on a razor sharp glint as he surveyed the room.
Command had mentioned at the start of the meeting that Jackson, a member of the Templar Knights faction, temporarily negated all powers in the premise for the sole purpose of having everyone stay on equal and fair grounds. Riona supposed it was a good move, considering how some of the council members looked a bit...well, explosive, especially when Command and Evelyn started talking about recent deaths, the killings and in-organization investigations.
“This is completely unnecessary,” Leo spoke up, drawing eyes to where he sat, rolling his eyes and waving his hand dismissively. “You’re slipping up, old friend. Perhaps time is starting to play tricks on your mind.”
Riona’s jaw dropped in outrage at the implication— and she wasn’t the only one. A horrified sort of silence filled the room and tensions shot up as people glanced between Command and Leo. The Shadows under Command stiffened and their faces grew dark as they stared at Leo who simply raised a challenging brow. Jacob, Leo’s second-in-command, cleared his throat.
“Surely that is not the case and,” here, he shot Leo a glance, “and no way to voice a disagreement.”
All eyes shifted to Jacob, but he was directing his words to his Command, bright blue eyes unwavering.
“What Manu is suggesting is not so far-fetched that we cannot consider it with an open mind, Leo.” His voice was steady, calm, and Riona could feel the tension in the room start to smooth over. Borte, a Shadow from one of the Asia factions, nodded in agreement.
“I believe we should take into consideration what is at stake, as well as see from the other party’s perspective.”
Sadhana, a Shadow from the America faction, spoke, tilting her head to the side. “I agree. Neither side should be dismissed so easily.”
Leo frowned, and Riona could see that he wasn’t convinced. She adjusted her glasses as the conversation continued, with Leo adamantly disagreeing. Around the room, the newer recruits, like her, listened to the conversation with rapt interest.
Leo said something that Riona missed because she noticed Victor sitting next to Eemil and she couldn’t help but think that the guy looked so damn cute. But Leo must have said something interesting because Amyas came to life and latched onto it like a shark sensing blood in water. She jumped in surprise and then tuned back into the conversation.
“—said that we should have acted sooner,” Amyas spat, eyes brimming with anger. “My stance on the matter is well known.”
Eemil nodded. “Agreed.”
Once again, Jacob tried to calm the room down with clever words. However, Egon was having none of it. He leaned forward, linking his fingers together as he placed his hands on the table, eyes glaring at Amyas.
“Watch your words, Amyas,” he warned. “Don’t think we don’t all see who you are blaming for this.”
Command, Riona thought, glancing briefly at her Primary who was watching everything unfold with a tight brow. Amyas is blaming Command for it. He’s been at it for weeks.
Amyas and Egon glared at each other, looking as though they would like to get into an argument right there. Luckily, they were interrupted.
“Why did we wait for so long?” Nadezhda asked, drawing the attention to her. “I mean, especially if there was a feeling of someone targeting us?”
“We didn’t, or couldn’t, react because these suspicions only rose fairly recently,” Jacob answered, glancing at her. Nadezhda nodded slowly in understanding.
Amyas and Egon will still glaring at each other, which wasn’t helping with the tension in the room. Leo leaned back in his seat, a frown on his face. Command just watched them all with an inscrutable expression while Evelyn looked slightly stressed. The chair beside Riona creaked as Filip leaned forward, voicing what she had been thinking.
“We should stand together and form unity,” he said, tapping the table with his finger. “If we want to get to the bottom of this, we need to do it as one, not each of us pursuing our own beliefs.”
She nodded. “Filip’s right. Unity is key, especially now since we are getting killed off one by one.”
“We should also focus on the issue at hand,” Cailee spoke up. “Post-mortems can come after, when we get to the bottom of all of this.”
Batavi Gang, what’s up? The thought ran across Riona’s mind before she could stop it. Than goodness no one could read minds.
“There are no patterns with these deaths,” Leandra, from the Americas, said with a slight shrug. “Death has always been within our ranks and being a Shadow comes with this very inconvenient occupational hazard.”
Riona’s mouth dropped open at this. Occupational hazard?
Before she could open her mouth to voice her opinion, Nadezhda beat her to it.
“Death might be part of our job,” she said, crossing her arms across her chest. “But ignoring 14 deaths and not calling it a pattern or wanting to admit that there is one, is ridiculous.”
Damn right, sis. You tell ‘em.
Leandra looked coolly at Nadezhda, raising an eyebrow. “There are no patterns in the 14 deaths over 13 months. In fact,” she leaned forward. “We have lost 3 people in the last two decades. Where’s this so-called recurring pattern in that?”
Cailee cleared her throat. “Well, going from 3 deaths in two decades to 14 in over a year is something to look into.” When Leandra looked like she was about to speak up, Cailee continued, “Despite the existence of a pattern.”
Leandra closed her mouth grudgingly.
“I agree with Cailee,” Riona said, inclining her head towards her friend.
Raven, one of their fellow Shadows and friend of Filip, spoke up, looking frustrated. “It’s stupid to sit around debating whther to take silent murders seriously.” She placed a hand on the table, clenching it into a fist. “There are people being stalked and killed stealthily, and it cannot be ignored.”
“That’s right,” Nadezhda said with a nod. Leandra rolled her eyes.
“Nothing Hector did was stealthy,” she retorted. “Interpreting his death as not a part of his work is stupid.”
Eemil glanced at her, gaze sharp. “I would have to disagree with you on that, Leandra.”
There were murmurs before Raven spoke up, bringing the room to attention once again.
“This is supposed to be a spy agency,” she commented. “And knowledge is power. Everyone who thinks that finding out ‘is a waste of time’ is in the wrong business.”
Leo let out an amused chuckle, turning dark eyes towards her. “You may be in the wrong business if you think you’re working at a spy agency, young one.”
Raven looked steadily at him. “That’s not an adequate response to car bombings and decapitation.”
Riona wanted to clap at her response but the room fell into a pause and she thought it would be highly inappropriate for her to be outright clapping. Nevertheless she hoped Raven knew that she was a total badass with that response.
Raven looked around the room, intelligent eyes touching on the leaders for brief moments before flitting away as she leaned back in her seat. “I don’t understand why everyone is acting like the killing of their own is unimportant.”
Riona tilted her head to the side, glancing at Leo and Leandra. “What’s the problem with the investigations if no one has anything to hide?”
There was a kind of scary silence for a moment as both Leo and Leandra looked at her. Filip cursed under his breath and started to lean forward, placing a hand protectively over hers, but Jacob beat him to whatever he was going to say.
“Riona,” Jacob warned, a glint in his eyes, though his tone of voice didn’t change. “Kindly watch your words. Don't forget who you’re talking to.”
She felt a momentary flash of fear, suddenly reminded that she was in a room full of very old immortals, some of the most dangerous beings in the world. She nodded and glanced at Filip, hoping she didn’t actually do anything that would cause her primary to get in trouble. He just squeezed her hand reassuringly, giving both her and Cailee subtle glances.
“Everyone here was checked already,” one of the men from the Asia units rationalized. “Trust should be the base of this.”
Sierra shrugged nonchalantly. “Look, secrets have always been a part of this organization and—”
“This is all very much known,” Zuma, a man from the Australia faction, spoke, interrupting her. Riona was ashamed to admit that she was petty enough to enjoy Sierra’s glare towards him. She never liked Sierra.
“When you have a room full of people who have spent lifetimes alive,” Zuma continued, “you’re bound to have a couple of secrets here and there. Let’s take Hector and his children for instance. See how he still managed to be one of the most loyal members.”
Cailee frowned. “Yes, but normal people can change in a year, let alone immortals. Attitudes change, and so can sympathies.”
Riona nodded, chewing lightly on her thumb as her mind raced over the topics that were touched on in the council. She released her thumb to speak, her eyebrows furrowing. “We should also investigate the why behind all of this. And not forget why now. The timing is important.”
It didn’t make sense that all of these deaths were happening. And why, now? What was happening now that was causing it? Was it something someone found? Something someone did? Was it revenge? Riona was frustrated as she mulled it over.
What could possibly be the motive?
The council meeting continued, but Riona decided not to join in the discussion any further as she tried to figure out the puzzle in her head. There was a vote amongst the Commands of each unit, voting for or against the investigations.
Riona was not at all surprised to see Leo and Leandra vote against it.
13 - the first investigation
The investigations had already started and Riona could sense it in the atmosphere.
The Primaries and older immortals were tense and their moods were dark. Even her Primary was on edge these days, he had even stopped teasing her. She didn’t like it, because she had gotten used to Filip being...well, Filip.
The gym had become somewhat of a training/meeting grounds sort of place, where the floor no one used got converted into a sort of hallway with meeting rooms. She’d seen Filip go up with a few people while she was busy sparring with Victor.
Thanks to their constant weeks of daily training with their respective primaries, she and Victor were matched in combat; she made up for her smaller size with her enhanced agility and him with his battlefield adaptation. When they were both done with training, alongside the other recruits and their trainer Evelyn, they made for the showers, chatting quietly with each other about their spar and what they think they could have done better.
“Victor, Riona,” Filip’s voice called out, drawing their attention. They turned to see him striding towards them, brows furrowed. He glanced at Riona, looking her over head to toe. “Good?”
“Yep.”
He nodded, glancing at Victor. “Once you’re done with your showers, I’d like both of you to come up to the meeting room. Eemil and I have something to discuss with you.”
-------
“The place was already sweeped by the other Shadows, right?” Riona asked as she and Victor entered the quiet apartment, closing the door carefully behind them. Victor nodded as he moved forward, careful not to bump into anything.
“I know that they already checked out the girl, Lara’s, place but I don’t know if anyone tried Hector’s,” he said, looking around the apartment. “Even if they did, we’re here to check if anyone missed anything.”
The day following their meeting with both Eemil and Filip, Riona and Victor were out on an investigation regarding Hector. Eemil had wanted Victor to join in the investigations because of Victor’s experience and knowledge, given his work of details, and his skills with technology. Filip had asked Riona if she wanted to support Victor with doing a very close sweep of things around the murders, and conduct a physical exploration of the scenes of crime and around it. She had, of course, agreed because there was something just not right. So now, she and Victor were in Hector’s apartment, checking it out for any clues of something out of the ordinary.
Riona followed behind Victor, eyes taking in the surroundings. It felt wrong to be snooping around someone else’s things... but the owner was dead and well, they were just here to double-check anything the others might have missed, grab his laptop and see if there was anything Victor would be able to run. Sorry for snooping, Mr. Hector… Riona thought, guiltily.
Victor and Riona split up; he went to cover the living room and the kitchen, and she went to check the other rooms. Hector’s place was nice, masculine and had a touch of minimalism. It was neat, too. The bathroom was clean, empty besides the bare necessities and held nothing curious. Hector had an office space, a spare bedroom and his master bedroom and there was nothing of interest in any of them, but Riona did find a silver laptop sitting on his bedside table so she swiped that, carrying it as she went to find Victor.
He walked out of the kitchen, eyes dropping to the laptop in her hands. She handed it to him as they made their way back into the kitchen.
“No sign of phone,” she told him as they took a seat at the marble island, where he proceeded to open the laptop. “Guessing it was probably on him during the explosion.”
“No doubt. Was there anything else? Tablet, for instance?”
Riona shook her head as the computer came to life. “Nada. I checked his office but most of the documents seemed related more to his… ‘human’ life work. There wasn’t anything suspicious or out of the ordinary.”
“Hm.” Victor’s fingers danced across the keys of Hector’s laptop, breaking in almost…too easily. She gave him a sideway glance.
“Remind me never to leave my gadgets near you,” she joked. Victor snorted in amusement.
“I’d never invade someone’s privacy like that.”
“Maybe I’d want you to,” she flirted. His eyes flickered up briefly to meet hers, sparked with humour, and then went back to his work.
“Make up your mind, Riona,” he sighed, eyes trained on the screen as he dove between files and documents. “Do you want to leave your gadgets near me or not?”
She snickered, looking at the screen. “If it means you get to invade--wait a second.” She placed a hand on his arm to stop him, leaning forward as something caught her eyes. She pointed at a document file marked ‘Will and Testament’. “Didn’t someone mention at the council that Hector had children?”
Victor nodded, also leaning forward. “Yes. This must be for them.”
He opened the file and summoned up the documents within it, revealing Hector’s will and the different properties and apartments, and how he split them between his daughters…
Riona blinked, eyes wide with shock. Beside her, Victor sucked in a breath.
“Eris and Luiza? Aren’t they…”
“I didn’t know Hector was their father,” Riona whispered. “I didn’t even realize they were related! They don’t look like they acknowledged each other.”
“I guess secrets really are a big thing within the organization,” Victor murmured. Riona mentally agreed. They went through Hector’s laptop some more, coming up empty of any useful information. Deciding to take the laptop back with them to try and dig further, they left Hector’s apartment and headed back for the gym, where neither of them found their primaries. It was sunset already and they decided to update their primaries separately in person.
So she called her primary as she hopped into her car, letting Filip know that she had left Hector’s and would check out the other places tomorrow. She said she had to update him so he invited her over. When she got to his place, she wasn’t surprised to see a serious-looking Filip answer the door.
“See, I knew you would look like that so I brought munchies!” Riona said brightly, lifting up a bag of takeout to show him. “Turkish food!”
He blinked at her and managed a smile, leading her to the kitchen. “I didn’t know you liked Turkish food.”
“I like food.”
They settled at the table, and while they set up for their meal, Riona updated him on what they found; on how the house seemed clean of anything suspicious and besides the laptop, there wasn’t any other digital trace. Victor had managed to get into the laptop and they found only a few things of note, but nothing that could possibly mean anything for the on-going investigations.
“What was Hector like?” Riona asked as they dug into the food. Filip paused, eyes flickering to her as he poured wine into their glasses.
“Hector?”
She nodded. “I would like to know a little about them, you know. It could help during the investigations.”
Filip swirled the wine in his glass for a moment before speaking. “Hector was a bit like Sierra, a bit like Elia.”
Riona’s nose scrunched at the mention of Sierra and he smiled at the reaction.
“Hector was an acquired taste type of a guy who wasn’t too loved but he was great at his job.”
“Was he Eris’s and Luiza’s father?”
Something flickered too quickly in Filip’s eyes for Riona to catch, but he put down his glass and looked at her. “Why do you ask, Riona?”
Did he know? Did he not? she wondered. She cleared her throat. “Um, we found his will and testament where it mentioned splitting his apartments between his daughters, Eris and Luiza.”
“Ah.” Filip took another sip of his wine. “Besides Victor, does anyone else know?”
“No, I came directly to you with this information.”
A half smile graced his lips, but it looked more like a grimace than a smile. “Good, let’s not share this with anyone else.”
“Why?”
“Privacy,” he murmured. After a pause, he let out a sigh and smiled at her, leaning forward. “You did well on your first investigation, Ri.”
“Fine Wine.”
“Hm?”
“You can call me Fine Wine,” she told him. “I won’t get mad anymore.”
She didn’t like how serious and tense her primary was, and they were friends. So it bothered her that he was less cheerful and she hoped that she could figure out a way to cheer him up. Filip just smiled, reached over to affectionately chuck her chin before turning to the food.
“Let’s eat, food’s gonna get cold.”
14 - unstoppable trainings
Training did not stop, even though she and the others were in the middle of their investigations. Although Filip was proud of her and Cailee’s progress, he wanted to move on to their other abilities; primarily on their enhanced tracking, tracking evasion, as well as their hand-to-hand combat.
It did, fortunately, mean less hikes but it involved another stressful activity; hide and seek.
Well, Filip called it tracking evasion but it was really just Cailee and Riona given free reigns to hide successfully away from him without leaving any traces. So far, they came out on the losing side with Filip giving them jumpscares everytime he found them. He had proceeded to show them how he managed to evade CCTVs and practically erase all his traces of ever being in a place, and it was a skill Riona wondered if she could ever catch on.
In order to boost up their enhanced tracking, Filip had introduced their schedule, things that didn’t sound all that fun, in Riona’s opinion.
“We’ll be focusing on your enhanced tracking, and like all your other abilities, consider this a muscle. As enhanced tracking doesn’t have much to do with physical movement as it does with mental stimulation, we will include mix meditations and focus exercises.” He paused and then a smile touched his lips. “You will be playing games that involve a shitload of mental stimulation, training your subconscious to keep track of all your surroundings as well being able to trace people through the essences they leave behind.”
“Is that even possible?” Riona asked, as the three of them walked through the lounge area of the gym. Filip nodded, eyes flickering around briefly before looking back at her.
“You should be able to tell who was in this room before you while keeping track of those still physically in this space.”
He then proceeded to show them how he picked up the different scents and pointed out the shoe tracks left on the floor, identifying who was in the room before them. Cailee and Riona were awed by his skills and Riona found herself eager to learn more.
Aside from their usual trainings, Filip wanted to focus on their hand-to-hand combat, sharpening their agility skills and upping their defences and learning a new combat style; Krav Maga.
It was a little gruelling, especially since there were the investigations as well as lots of hand-to-hand combat. The 17th of July found Riona and Eris grabbing a healthy lunch after a particularly hard combat, which Eris won without any issues but which Riona had fought back with all her might.
“Eris. could you tell me a little about Lara?” Riona asked as they ate. The curiosity about Lara had been eating her alive but because Filip and the others always seemed too busy, she didn’t want to burden them with the questions, especially if they were difficult and heavy.
Eris took a bite of her salad, chewing thoughtfully as she glanced down at her plate for a second. She swallowed and then answered Riona’s question. “Lara was universally loved.”
Riona nodded, waiting.
“She was caring, kind, very dedicated to the cause, very close to her primary, got along with everyone and made space for everyone.”
“And Sol?”
Here, Eris cocked her head to the side, seemingly measuring her words. “Sol was a very unique personality: looks, style, taste in things, everything.” She chuckled lightly. “He was super blunt at times, not too warm but usually once you got to know him, you would appreciate his loyalty and caring personality. Plus, he was a badass and great at what he does.”
“Ah…”
Silence fell among the two for a few moments.
“How's the investigation going?” she asked lightly. Riona wondered if Eris knew she was investigating Hector’s case. She wasn’t close enough to Eris to confront her or ask why she hid the fact that she was Hector’s daughter.
“It’s going fine,” she said with a slight smile. “Filip’s been on my case about training, though. And he’s been really moody lately.”
Eris nodded, an amused eyebrow lifting. “You bring out a responsible side of Filip, that’s why he’s being such a hard ass.”
“That’s implying that we’re irresponsible!” Riona laughed, shaking her head.
“Not irresponsible, just new,” Eris murmured. “Filip’s never had anyone to mentor before so taking you and Cailee under his wing made him grow up a little.”
“He keeps taking us on hikes, making us hide from him and then scaring us shitless,” Riona complained with a touch of fondness. She loved Filip, she really did. He was a brother she never had and he was the closest to a familial bond that she had ever experienced. Oddly, she loved her faction’s dynamic; it was like a family.
“He’s training you. I heard he’s introducing the Krav Maga to you two, as well,” Eris said.
Riona nodded. “He wants us to train more on hand-to-hand combat.”
“I think he’s right. You have so much wasted potential.” A pause. “If you want, I can help you with hand-to-hand combat, of course only if you have the will to endure more extra activity.”
Riona warily eyed Eris’s smile. “It’s not going to be easy at all, is it?”
Eris’s smile grew an inch wider. “Not at all.”
Riona sighed, defeatedly. “I may come to regret this, but yes please. I’d love to have extra torture--I mean, training lessons with you.”
-------
The following weeks involved so much training sessions with the group trainings, Batavi trainings and hand-to-hand with Eris, that by the time she managed a reprieve to spend some time with Landon and Leila, she almost felt guilty for not being in training.
Though, she had to admit, her body was looking great. She already had a well-toned body from all her dancing, but these strenuous workouts were making her so much harder and she loved it. In fact, she could even see her butt looking great again. Her phone beeped and she reached over the salsa bowl to grab it. Filip had checked in on her prior to her coming over to Leila’s before going off somewhere with Chris.
Riona had skipped training because she found that today, 21st of July, was the only time she would be free to be around her ‘family’. There were still the investigations going on, but Eemil had yet to give the green light for Victor and her to go investigate some more, so while there was a mini pause, she had taken the time to clear up her schedule a bit for her best friend.
Leila and Landon were in the kitchen, preparing a hearty meal and they had insisted that Riona kick back and relax in front of the TV while they prepared a meal. She went back to her Bojack Horseman show and settled down, for once thinking of her current mood as just plain ol’ Riona Lee and not as Riona the Shadow.
Her friends came out with the food, laughing and chattering loudly and as Riona looked at them, she wondered just how she was possibly supposed to let them go.
-------
During the days where Filip wasn’t around, Riona got the chance to spar more with Eris and practice her hand-to-hand combat with the woman. Eris was an insanely good fighter so Riona had a great time sparring with her, especially since she was always kind enough to explain to Riona what she had to do or was missing out on.
It wasn’t a very big surprise to see how much or how quickly she improved in such a short time. Adapting to all the power moves plus the quick succession of punches and kicks became so much easier to Riona and she was now able to dodge all of Eris’s hits using her Agility skill.
26th of July found her and Victor sparring, and like her, he was getting really good. At the end of their fight, they were at a tie, both of them having managed to score equal amounts of hits on each other. They went out for a healthy lunch after that, having a light, slightly flirtatious conversation; one with lots of eye contact, light touches and breezy smiles.
A few days after their session, they were called in by Eemil to have a look into Lara’s things and then Sol’s, something Eemil had mentioned was already looked into but he would like Victor and Riona to check again for anything that may have been missed.
The day after that meeting, Riona was sitting in the gym’s lounge, snacking on a protein smoothie as she stared down at her phone, going over the videos of Krav Maga fighting that her Primary had sent when he got back from his trip. She was waiting for Victor so that they could go to Lara’s place.
Riona’s eyes flickered up as she sensed movement. Victor was walking towards her, a smile gracing his lips and a twinkle in his eyes.
“Getting better at sensing people I see,” he said, offering her a hand. She took it, grinning as he helped her up.
“Practice, practice,” she chided. “Ready?”
“As I’ll ever be.”
Getting access into Lara’s place was simple enough, since there were other Shadows on the case too, searching the apartment for hints and the like. Lara’s laptop held nothing that appeared irregular but Victor found a Switzerland bank account which naturally peaked their interest. Upon updating their primaries, they were told the bank account will be given to Nadezhda for searching.
They left the gym and headed for a food break, Riona glancing at her wristwatch. It was only noon, and they were free for the rest of the day. She had expected the investigation to drag on longer...but oh well. They gunned for their favourite restaurant near the Shadow’s gym and picked a private corner of the place, not wanting to be easily seen and not wanting to be overheard.
After all, with all the mysterious things surrounding the Shadows and the murders, it was better to be safe than sorry. Riona’s mind wandered on the cases, and the will they found of Hector’s.
“What are your thoughts on the finds?” Victor asked quietly, drawing her attention to him. The man looked hella fine today in a tight-fitting black shirt and dark jeans, but even that wasn’t enough to take her away from her thoughts.
She popped a french fry into her mouth, chewing it as she thought about his words. “Well, I definitely think it's weird that there was a will in an immortal man’s things, but I guess that ’occupational hazard’ thing can make one do unprecedented things.” She paused. “I’m also wondering if anyone else really knows about Eris and Luiza being Hector’s daughters. I bet they know.”
“Luiza is the one with Elia, right?” Victor asked, taking a sip of his water. “Perhaps Elia knows.”
“Hm.” Riona drummed her fingers lightly against the table, a nagging feeling tugging at the back of her head. “Let’s go check out Sol’s place after this. We’ve got time, right?”
Victor nodded, glancing at his own wristwatch. “Yeah. We finished sooner than expected so that’s doable.”
They finished their lunch and got into Victor’s car, where they then proceeded to head towards Sol’s apartment. They got in and started on their sweep, focusing mostly on digital devices because Victor had an edge on that.
Sol had a nice apartment, albeit a little messy but quite lived-in. Riona moved around, searching for his gadgets. They found his laptop and Victor got to work, breaking into it with stupid ease and accessing different records, opening up files and checking emails. So far, nothing came up.
“Let’s check what Sol was looking up on the internet,” Victor murmured, opening up Sol’s internet browser and switched to the history tab.
Both he and Riona stared at the screen, but she couldn’t quite see anything unusual.
“Browser looks clean,” Riona muttered. “Nothing suspicious.”
Victor stared at the screen, eyes narrowing as he zoned in on something. He scrolled through the browser, muttering under his breath.
“What is it?” she asked, leaning forward to get a good look at whatever it was that he saw.
“See this, here?” Victor asked pointing to a few tabs with the date written beside it.
“Yeah, he last accessed the internet browser a while ago.”
“That doesn’t correlate with the activity of his internet access,” Victor pointed out, summoning up a page of what looked like an admin page of the internet router. Riona glanced at him, raising her eyebrows.
“You accessed his internet router records?”
“Yes. You can hide browsing history, but not internet usage and here it says that on these dates,” Victor pointed to the dates on the the screen in the little table before switching the window to the one of the internet history browser, “the internet was used on this laptop, but whatever he was browsing is inaccessible.”
“So he cleaned out his internet history.”
Victor nodded. “Seems like it. Or maybe he used an incognito mode.”
He and Riona sat in silence for an hour as Victor did a meticulous sweep of the laptop. Just as her mind started to wander, Victor stiffened, causing her attention to snap back towards the screen.
“What is it?” she asked, straightening.
“There’s an address,” he muttered, pulling out his phone and typing something down. Riona stared at the screen where an address was written out and it was based in Cairo. Suspicious indeed.
“It could be a home address… or a bank address,” Riona said, thoughtfully. “Like how Lara had one in Switzerland, perhaps this is Sol’s one in Cairo.”
Victor nodded slightly, putting away his phone. “We’ll have to do some more digging to see what we come up with.”
It took them a few more hours of hunting around both the apartment and the laptop before they managed to figure out that the address led to a vault. They took the laptop with them as they met with Eemil to update him on the finds. Egon was with him as they described in detail everything that was there, face inscrutable for a time.
“I would like you and Riona to look into it, whatever is in the vault,” Egon said, face dark. “And don’t alert anyone. We don’t know who’s working with us and who’s against us. Don’t use the Moongates and go for the traditional mode of travel.”
As soon as they left the meeting room, Riona grabbed her phone and dialled up her Primary to let him know about all that was happening. He picked up after several rings.
“Yes?”
“We found something,” she said softly into the phone, not wanting to say anything anyone could overhear.
“Lara or Sol?”
“The latter.”
“I’ll be at yours in 10 mins.” He hung up. Riona let out a sigh, mulling over the discoveries as she headed for the exit. She found Victor waiting by the lounge area and he smiled at her, automatically causing her to return it.
“Need a lift home, Riona?”
Man, she really liked the way he said her name. She shook her head as they stepped into the dark parking lot, she didn’t even realize how late it had gotten. “No, thank you. I brought my car with me.”
“Looks like we’ll have to prepare for Cairo,” he said, softly as he walked her to her car. Riona nodded.
“I think it’ll be a few days before they work out the mechanics of it all.”
He nodded, forehead creasing in concern. “I’m worried about what we’re going to find.”
“You’re not worried it’s a bust?” Riona questioned, unlocking her car.
He looked at her, a steady gaze on his face. “Do you?”
She held his stare for a moment, loving the feel of the warmth spreading through her body, then she shook her head slightly. “With the way we found it? Not a chance it's a bust.”
“My thoughts exactly.”
-------
Filip approved Riona’s mission to go to Cairo with Victor, even though he seemed slightly tensed about it. He and Eemil stood inside the gym’s office a few days later, both of them with dead serious expressions on their faces. The atmosphere was tight with tension as she and Victor finished packing up whatever they needed for the duration of their trip, packing as light as possible.
“Aslan will join you there in Cairo,” Eemil said, leaning back in his seat as he looked at them. “He will be there to act as backup and will help with coordination as part of the Africa unit.”
An image of a handsome man with a great smile, and even greater humour, flashed across Riona’s mind. She smiled at the thought of him, fondly remembering him and her playing Bao together.
She and Victor confirmed last minute shenanigans with their respective primaries, and then they were off.
15 - hidden in cairo
“You’re laughing too hard, don’t you think?” Riona whispered, patting Victor’s arm as he wiped tears from his eyes. She looked around, hoping they weren’t disrupting anyone’s quiet time. The flight from Berlin to Cairo was a short one; nearly four hours, but Riona managed to engage Victor in a conversation about some of her most embarrassing moments when she first started out in Germany. She was hoping opening up to him will give him the safe space to open up to her as well.
Still…. He was just laughing way too hard at this. “Stop laughing!”
He just chuckled, waving her away as he struggled to get himself under control. After a few more moments laughing and sputtering, Victor managed to get his serious face on.
“Okay, now that you heard one embarrasing story of mine, tell me one of yours,” Riona said, setting back in her seat. Victor’s lips twitched as he thought about it. After a few seconds, he brightened and turned to her, eyes bright with mirth as he recounted a story of when he and his late wife attended a halloween party, with their full costumes and masks and all of that, only for the event to actually just be a formal suit-and-tie halloween dinner. They exchanged a few more funny stories before Riona leaned forward after hearing Victor mention his wife again.
She knew at this point that he had really loved her and she briefly wondered if he had ever gotten over her, or if he ever would.
“How did you meet your wife, Victor?” Riona asked, tentatively. She hoped she wasn’t pushing her boundaries too much, but she really was curious about Victor.
The man smiled fondly, eyes taking on a distant look as he appeared to think back to a different time.
“I met Alina in college and we’d bonded over science,” he said, glancing out the window on Riona’s side.
“What was she like?”
“Alina? Hmm, I would say… she was a very kind woman. Open-minded and loving, spontaneous and super loveable.” A half smile lifted his lips. “I loved her warmth the most.”
“She sounds lovely,” Riona murmured. She turned her body towards him, lightly placing her hand over his in a show of compassion and support. She could hear the love he had for his late wife when he spoke about her. “If you don’t mind me asking, how did she…?”
Victor looked down at their hands and he flipped his palm up so that her palm rested against his. It was a strange feeling, feeling his hand against hers. Silly of Riona to think so, but she became nervous at the contact, even though he hadn’t even curled his fingers around hers.
“Cancer,” Victor murmured, still looking at their hands. “She fought it for a long, long time and just when I thought she was going to make it… she...well, she didn’t.”
Riona shared his silence, squeezing his hand with all the words she didn’t know how to say in order to comfort him. His eyes flickered up to meet hers, gaze dark as he leaned his head against the seat.
“We were thinking of having children,” he said, quietly, eyes flicking to the window before going back to her. “I really thought I had it all figured out back then.”
Riona lifted her hand from his and then traced a finger lightly down his palm, tracing the lines as her mind wandered about, wondering how he had gotten through it. “What about after?”
He chuckled. “Do you mean if I got involved with anyone else?”
Riona blushed but refused to meet his gaze, still tracing the lines of his palm. “Sort of. Like did you ever have guilty pleasures, that sort?”
“Nah. I do things freely since life’s too short.”
"What about partners?"
"Hmm," Victor's eyes followed Riona's finger. “I haven’t been in a relationship since, and I haven’t tried dating, even though my sister’s been on my case about it.” He winced at some memory before shaking his head. “I’m sort of dwelling on the memory… but I’m also just not finding anyone who sparks the same kind of interest in me.”
She looked up as he said the last sentence, blinked rapidly when she noticed he was looking at her. His lips twitched before he looked away. Riona cleared her throat and pulled her hand away. For a second she thought his fingers twitched, like he was going to grab her hand, but he didn’t.
“Well,” she announced cheerfully, trying to lighten the suddenly awkward atmosphere. “I for one, have trouble with guys. They all seem to think I’m a fresh graduate.” She whipped out her trusty fake specs and slipped them on, turning to him and striking a pose. “Don’t I look older and smarter?”
Victor stared at her for a moment before lifting a finger. “Excuse me.”
He turned away from her, and when Riona noticed him shaking with silent laughter, she playfully poked him in mock outrage.
“Are you laughing at me?” She tugged at his arm, unable to stop a smile from spreading across her lips. “I’ll have you know that this has worked on many occasions and--Victor, stop laughing!”
-------
When they got off the plane and made for the arrivals, Riona spotted Aslan almost immediately.
He was leaning against a pillar, a relaxed expression on his handsome face. But it wasn’t like she looked around and found him, it was as if the man’s presence demanded attention. She noticed that she wasn’t the only one who looked in his direction upon exiting the gate and that made her feel so much better.
Victor waved at him as they approached. Aslan’s smile was almost blinding as he shook Victor’s hand and then turned to Riona, flashing another one of those heart-stopping smiles. She didn’t remember him being this attractive. Did the wine back in Nairobi make her forget how charming this man was?
“Riona, thrilled to have you on board.”
She peered up at him, narrowing her eyes. “You look as though you set a trap for us.”
He laughed, taking her hand and kissing the back of it, winking slyly at her. “Perhaps for you, oh lovely one.”
“Aha,” Riona said, amused.
Victor cleared his throat, garnering Aslan’s attention. “When will we get to the vault?”
“We can go right now,” the older immortal said, waving towards the exit of the airport. He took Riona’s backpack, slinging it over his shoulder as he smiled down at her. “What’s with the glasses? If you’re trying to go for angelic goddess, you’ve succeeded.”
Riona scoffed, unable to stop a giggle from slipping through as they left the airport. “Oh, you flirt. I’m going for a more mature look.”
Aslan opened the passenger side of the door for her, raising an eyebrow in confusion. “Why is that?”
She slid into the seat with a smile. “Because I have a young face. It’s bothersome when people think I’m younger than what I am.”
“Hm.” Aslan closed the door and then slid into the driver’s seat. Behind them, Victor climbed in.
“I told her it was unnecessary,” Victor told him as they pulled away from the curb and started on the road. Riona twisted around in her seat, pressing against the seat belt as she scrunched her nose at him.
“Oh shush, I look older. And great.”
“You look great without them, too,” Aslan said, giving her a sideway glance. Riona’s cheeks heated up instantly at the heat in them and she turned back to face the road, suddenly feeling a little bit shy.
The drive to the vault wasn’t particularly long, but it didn’t stop Riona from playing music and jamming along to it, singing enthusiastically along and bobbing her head to it. At some point, Aslan joined in with a big smile and enthusiasm that matched her own.
However, when they neared the location, Riona’s party energy dulled down as the severity of the situation hit her. She lowered the music and cleared out her mind, going over the investigations in her head and the findings that had shown up.
She reminded herself that Sol has a vault here, in Cairo. Something that was clearly meant to be kept hidden. They got to the bank and thanks to the ever charming Aslan, they breezed into the vault section, heading straight for Sol’s private vault.
It was locked but somehow, somehow, magic Victor was able to break the passcode and unlock the vault. As the door swung open, Riona stepped towards it, giving Victor a suspicious glance.
“If I ever get hacked, I will know it's you,” she said, pointing two fingers at her eyes and then at him. “Got my eye on you, sir.”
Victor chuckled. “I don’t know how many times we have to go through this. You don’t even have a vault.”
“Aha!” Riona gasped. “How did you know that? You hacked me, didn’t you?”
He let out a patient yet amused sigh. “No, on the plane you said and I quote ‘I wonder what someone will keep in a vault? If I had a vault, I’d probably just fill it up with alcohol so that anyone who breaks in can have themselves a party’.”
Behind them, Aslan laughed.
“Was it absolutely necessary to do the voice?” She complained, turning to the vault. “I don’t sound like that….huh.” She peered inside, reaching in carefully.
“What is it?” Victor asked, coming to stand behind her to look over her shoulder.
“Wait,” she murmured, fingers closing around a notebook. She pulled it out, gave it a glance and then looked back inside the vault. There were some photos and a key, things that she pulled out as well. She searched the vault some more, but it was empty and there weren’t any secret storage places to hide things in.
“What’s the key for?” Victor murmured, looking at the key in Riona’s hand. It looked perfectly ordinary, which was a problem because now they would have to figure out what that key could possibly open.
“Hm. We’ll figure it out later, let’s just put this away until we get to a more secure place,” Riona said, unzipping her backpack. They stuffed the pictures and the key into the notebook, and then slipped it into her bag.
“Man, all of this is so weird,” Riona said as they walked out of the bank. The sun’s rays washed over her and she stretched out luxuriously, enjoying the warmth.
Victor eyed her with a playful envy. “Must be nice to be Batavi. Can’t feel the heat.”
She noticed that he was sweating and when she looked over as Aslan, he seemed normal. Ah, must be because he’s used to this climate.
“We can go somewhere to cold down and have you guys replenish yourselves,” the charming man said. “I presume you’ll be staying for a day more?”
Victor nodded, eyebrows furrowing. “Yes.”
Aslan’s eyes slid to Riona and she felt a different kind of heat slither down her spine at the warmth in his eyes as he smiled. “Excellent.”
Eemil had arranged a hotel for Victor and Riona to stay at before their flight back to Berlin the next day. They were in the hotel’s cafe, chatting lightly amongst themselves when Victor announced that he was going to retreat to his room, voicing out how the heat exhausted him and he needed to just sleep off the lethargy for the rest of the night. After he left, Aslan offered to escort Riona to her room.
“There’s this lovely spot I know. Something fun for dinner,” Aslan said as they reached her door. Riona looked up at him, lifting her eyebrows up in curiosity.
“Oh?”
His eyes turned dark, molten as he stepped closer. Riona’s heart started to stutter and then race as he stepped into her personal space. She supposed she could move away, but she didn’t.
“I hope you like traditional Egyptian food,” he murmured, voice taking on a darkly charming tone, all smooth velvet. His fingers caught her hand and he brought it up to his lips, maintaining eye contact as he kissed her hand. Heat washed through Riona at the invitation in his eyes.
Her brain turned to mush but she managed a response. “I don’t know how Victor would--”
“I was thinking of a more…private dinner occasion,” Aslan interrupted, fingers reaching up to stroke the ends of her hair. His fingers brushed lightly against her neck, sending shivers down her spine.
“Hmm,” Riona pretended to think about it, leaning back against the door as she tilted her head to the side and looked up at him from under her eyelashes. Aslan’s eyes darkened with a kind of sensual excitement and he stepped forward, resting a hand on the door next to her head. The closeness between their bodies excited Riona; it had been a while since a man wanted to get all up in her space. She liked it.
“Hmm, what?” Aslan inquired, a playful smile dancing on the corners of his lips.
She brought a hand up to hover slightly above his chest, ready to push him back if he stepped closer than she wanted him to. He didn’t, so Riona braved pressing her palm against his chest. Excitement dashed through her at the warmth and the hardness of his chest. Aslan watched her carefully, intensely. “Sounds like you’re asking me on a date, Aslan,” she murmured.
“Funny that,” he drawled. “So, what do you say?”
She smiled. “I love trying out traditional food.”
He grinned as he stepped back, reaching out to tap her glasses frame. "Lose the glasses. I'll come get you later."
-------
Riona looked around the beautiful restaurant, with all its traditional trinkets and decorations, all luxuriously glittering. She sighed as she and Aslan sat down at a table, looking down at her outfit.
She didn’t quite have anything else to wear besides jeans and a spare shirt since she and Victor were to head back to Berlin the very next morning.
“What is it?” Aslan asked, amused. A waiter came by and placed the menus on the table in front of them before walking away. Riona gestured to her clothes and then Aslan’s casual formal attire.
“I look like a total tourist and you’re here, dressed like you’ve been invited to the runway.” She sighed mournfully at her clothes. “If we were naked, clothes wouldn’t be an issue.”
There was rustling and she looked up alarmed to see Aslan start to unbutton his shirt, a serious expression on his face. She quickly reached over to stop him, hurriedly rebuttoning up his shirt before anyone else noticed. Fortunately, it didn’t seem like there were many people. “Why are you undressing?”
“You said you wanted us naked. I was willing to comply.” He had a wicked smile on his face and Riona laughed, settling back down in her seat.
“I thought you were old enough to not take things too literally.”
“Again with the age thing,” Aslan said with a good-natured roll of his eyes. “Come here, and I’ll show you how old I am.”
Riona snickered as she opened the menu. “No, thanks, you might break your back.”
Aslan laughed, wagging his finger at her. “You’re a cheeky one. I like that.”
Although the menu had both english and arabic, she couldn’t quite understand exactly what the food was, so Aslan helped describe it until she found one she liked best. They chattered and joked until the food came along, accompanied by water.
Riona lifted her water, raising an eyebrow. “What, no drinks?”
He smiled. “I want you sober all through the night.”
Again, heat flared through her at the molten look in his gaze, but she played it off with a somber nod. “You’re right, I can’t help you up the stairs if I’m drunk.” She pretended to look around him. “Where’s your walking stick?”
He snorted, eyes glinting wickedly. “Do you really want to know?”
Riona pointed at him, cheeks on fire. “I….I did not expect you to keep up.”
“Oh, I can do more than keep up…”
Riona giggled, waving him off. “You’re too much, sir.”
They dug into the food and Riona fell in love instantly. The taste practically burst on her tongue and for a moment, she forgot that Aslan was even there. He just laughed, looking extremely pleased with himself.
They ate, exchanging small talk, with Aslan making Riona laugh more times than she can count. She also learned that Aslan had read quite a lot of books and theories throughout his life, and she liked that he was far more than meets the eye. They discussed music, he was a fan of rock music, something they shared. By the time they left the restaurant, her stomach hurt from how much she laughed. She breathed in Cairo’s evening air and let out a happy sigh.
It had been so long since she went on a date with someone who was actually interested in her.
“Let’s go for a walk,” she said to Aslan when he pulled up in front of the hotel. He lifted his eyebrows in amusement.
“Right now?”
“Right now.” When he paused a little too long, Riona took his hand and pulled lightly towards the streets. “Don’t tell me your age is stopping you now--”
Aslan chuckled, suddenly turning the tables around on Riona. He grabbed her wrist and yanked her to him so that their bodies were pressed together. Riona’s brain short-circuited as she looked up at him, zoning in on the heat in his eyes.
“You know what else my age is good for?” he murmured, bringing his lips to her ear. “Experience.”
If Riona could spontaneously combust, she would do so right then and there. So instead, she turned her head and whispered into his ear.
“Walking with me is an experience, Aslan.” Playfully, she tugged the front of his shirt, pulling herself closer. “Let’s go experience a walk.”
Then she pulled away with a bright smile, hiding the fact that she was actually thiiiis close to just grabbing him and introducing an experience on her bed. Aslan let her dance away from his grip but his entire vibe changed, going from simply flirtatious to outright seductive. He still had a smile on his face but now that smile was inviting her to think of hot thoughts and she wasn’t sure if she could actually play with fire.
He cleared his throat and walked to her, offering his arm. “Let’s go.”
So they went for a walk along the streets, arm-in-arm, Riona humming, chatting and trying not to notice the sensual energy practically emitting off of Aslan. She got to tease him and make him laugh all throughout their walk, putting Riona in a very good mood. On their walk back, they stopped by a liquor store to pick up light alcohol where Riona then invited him to her room, loathing to end such a great night.
“So, Aslan,” she said, taking a swig of her drink as they sat opposite each other on the loveseat by the open window. “Are you really one of the first of your faction?”
“I’m more of the second generation,” he said. Riona looked admiringly up at him.
“What’s that like? Was it very difficult?”
He shrugged, a light smile on his lips. “I’ve been through hell and back throughout my life and have served Yakub… ah, Jacob, for the entirety of it.”
Riona nodded, wondering what it must be like for him to have been alive for so long… a thought crossed her mind. “Oh, that must mean you have your powers under control.” She peered up at him, admiringly.
He smiled, leaning forward as though he was going to tell her a secret. Curious, she leaned forward.
“What’s the meaning behind the tattoo on your leg?” he whispered, tapping her left thigh. She tried not to jump at the contact.
She widened her eyes at him, pretending to hide her modesty. “When did you see that tattoo? Do you perhaps X-ray vision?”
He just laughed, shaking his head. Riona smiled, dropping her arms as she turned to look outside the window.
“A very good friend of mine dared me to get one. She got one too but she died later of an incurable disease.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Aslan murmured, reaching over to squeeze her hand. She just smiled and murmured a thanks. They talked a little more, delving a little into Riona’s life until it got late enough that Riona accidentally yawned. Aslan was amused by this and got up, saying something about never keeping a beautiful woman from her beauty sleep.
At the door, as they were saying their goodbyes, Aslan leaned against the doorframe, pulling her in. She smiled as he lightly placed his hands on her waist, drawing her closer.
“Are you going to say something ridiculous about how a gentleman never leaves a date without a kiss?” Riona mused as he leaned in. He chuckled.
“No. Was going to say I’d like to leave tonight with a kiss from you, Riona.”
“Hm,” she hummed, running her hands lightly over his chest. “That doesn’t sound like a question.”
He smiled. “No, it doesn’t.”
He stopped an inch away from her lips, waiting. The air was heavy, tight with sexual tension, making Riona’s head spin. She was so under this man’s spell, it was totally unfair.
Still, she tilted her chin up, brushing her lips against his. “Okay.”
He kissed her, wrapping a hand gently around the back of her neck and pulling her in. The kiss depened and all Riona could feel was sparks and fire as she responded to it, wrapping her arms around his neck.
Well, she was totally screwed.
-------
Victor and Riona went over their findings as they were in the air.
The pictures held nothing of value to either Riona or Victor so they had nothing to go on. The key, of course, was interesting because of what it could potentially unlock or open. But again, nothing to go on.
The notebook, on the other hand, held some notes on Lara and Riona was able to find out something about her powers not manifesting entirely. Perhaps she’ll get to have a better look at the notebook later. Their flight back to Berlin was an early one and she’d had a rather late night.
She tried not to think about the date, especially not when she was sitting with Victor, her actual crush. But thinking of Aslan made her heart race, and remembering their kiss last night only made it worse. The kiss was hot enough that she almost invited him to bed. She only said no because she was worried that if they went at it, she wouldn’t be able to wake up in time for her flight.
Goddammit, she was so weak. It so didn’t help that Aslan made her so hot and that he was such a freaking fun person. She liked him so much more than she thought.
That was so unexpected. She couldn’t believe how it turned out and now she was just frustrated with herself. Deciding not to think anymore, Riona told Victor she was just going to take a nap until they arrived.
Back in Berlin, Filip greeted her with a hug and took them to the gym’s meeting room, or what Riona liked to think as, The Shadow’s Spy Room, where Victor’s Primary as well as Egon was there.
She handed over the things they found in the vault to Filip. She didn’t get the chance to figure out more from the notebook because Egon took over it. Her Primary gave her a thumbs up before she and Victor were dismissed and left to their own devices.
16 - bonds of the heart
The weather was really good today, but it did nearly nothing for the looming dark atmosphere that surrounded Riona. After the finds in Cairo and after that damn dinner with Aslan, Riona was up to her mind in stress and utter confusion.
She didn’t expect to be so attracted to Aslan in the way that she was, and now she wasn’t sure if it was because she was lonely or because Aslan himself was a very attractive man, both in looks and personality. If she was attracted to Aslan, what about her feelings for Victor? She had started to care for him more deeply as they grew closer but she didn’t want to rush anything if there was something between them. It seemed, at the moment, nothing more than friendship. Aslan, though, was clear that he was interested in her and that he was attracted to her.
God, how long has it been since a man was actually looking at her like that?
“I brought you out for us to talk, not for you to brood by yourself in the corner, Riona,” Filip’s exasperated voice cut through her thoughts--again. “That’s the third time I’ve had to bring you back to life.”
“Sorry, Filip,” Riona sighed, trying to clear out her mind. “So much has been happening.”
“I noticed,” he said, looking steadily at her. “That’s why I brought you out. What’s been bothering you?”
“Everything.”
Filip chuckled, a sound she hadn’t heard in a while. “Let’s start with one, yes?”
She picked at the plate of pasta in front of her, her appetite waning as she tried to compartmentalize her problems and make them more… well, tangible. Still, she struggled to find words.
“Is it about Victor?” Filip prompted, gently. Riona blew out a huff of air.
“Yes. No. I don’t know,” she muttered. “Aslan, too.”
Filip blinked. “Aslan?”
“Yeah. The guy from Africa’s unit under Leo. He’s also a Janissary.”
Her primary looked amused. “When did he get into the picture of your problems?”
“When we kissed after our date,” Riona scowled. “I’m a totally bad person.”
He looked unimpressed, scooping up a forkful of spaghetti. “You’re a bad person because you kissed Aslan?”
“Yes! No.” Riona wanted to throw and tantrum but she couldn’t even begin to decide what the tantrum was for.
“Was the kiss bad?”
“No.”
Filip let out a patient sigh. “You need to explain it to me, Riona. What is it?”
“I like Victor,” she said, taking a sip of water. “But I kind of like Aslan, too. And Aslan kissed me.”
“Victor didn’t?”
“No. But that’s because we were building up to it. Aslan ruined it!” She threw her hands up in exasperation. “And to top it off, my toxic ex boyfriend moved to Berlin, got a damn job here and now he’s trying to court me. He keeps sending me messages and trying to call me and I just--”
“Why don’t you block him?” Filip asked, with a shrug. “You don’t need a third guy within your problems.”
“That’s true…. But it's still bothering me.” Riona heaved another heavy sigh, downing her glass of wine. “Men.”
-------
“Filip?”
“Hm?”
They were in Filip’s place after their lunch, and were currently meditating. Well, supposed to be meditating, because Riona broke out of that zen with all her obnoxious questions. They had managed ten minutes of silence before Riona interrupted her Primary’s zen mode.
“Can I ask you something personal?” she asked quietly. Filip’s eyes remained closed, and his face stayed impassive.
“What is it?”
“Can I hear about… your family? Your life?”
There was a measured pause on his side before his eyes slowly opened. “What do you want to know, Ri?”
“What was your family like?”
Riona had told Filip all about her family, and he had let her know that extensive research was done before he recruited her so he already knew most of what she had told him. But now, she wanted to know more about his family… and what shaped him into...well, the Filip she liked so much.
Her Primary rubbed his jaw, eyes flickering away as he cleared his throat. “My family was a hard-working, close-knit one. We would spend days at a time working in the vineyard together….and…. Yeah.”
He lapsed into silence and Riona suddenly got a terrible, terrible feeling. It was in the way his eyes darkened and tightened, the way he closed off, something Filip rarely did. He was such a warm, open person. Her chest grew heavy and her eyes started to burn a little but she had to know. Her voice came out soft, a little bit cracked.
“Filip… how… when did you gain your immortality?”
The silence was long, heavy and Riona waited, almost terrified to hear his answer, but when he looked at her, her heart instantly broke because with just that one look, she knew the answer.
“When?” he repeated, softly. “I gained immortality the day I lost my family.”
Sorry its rushed
Outfits:
At San Canzian | In Cairo
Round Status:
Round 1: Done | Round 2: Done
Round 3: Done
Last edited by MistyMisty (19/08/2020 at 20:09)
