Life at Exillium didn't get any better.
Ziphora and her regular retinue, Zara and Skye, continued trying to bully Savi, though failing miserably. They couldn't so much as get to her.
Savi moved to her next lesson, appetite suppression. Looked like she was going to be going hungry, but that was alright. Pain she could handle.
Skye looked like she wasn't used to starving, and she was swaying from the hunger, gripping her stomach. Goldie, who was supervising the lesson, watched her mercilessly. At the side, Silva, who'd been teaching another batch telekinesis, smirked at them.
Even Ziphora couldn't keep up her strong face for more than five hours without food. Savi was hungry too, but she hid her emotion of hunger deep inside her head. Cerulean started swaying after eight hours and she gripped his arm.
"I'm fine," he promised.
She snorted. Like that was believable. He was obviously starving. She was too.
The exercise was ten hours, so just two more hours of starving.
At the ninth hour, Skye fainted.
"You see?" Goldie asked, holding up Skye's limp body for everyone to see. "This is what will happen if you don't learn this skill properly. Or else like them-" She pointed to Ziphora and Zara who were both leaning on each other, bawling, "or him." This time she pointed to Cerulean who was almost completely reliant on Savi to keep him standing.
She, in turn, was holding him with telekinesis.
"One more hour," Goldie said firmly. "As for her, you there, Saffron."
It took Savi about thirty seconds to realize Goldie was talking to her. "My name is Savannah," she corrected.
"Saffron, Savannah, same thing, take her back to the girls' tent."
Seriously? After Skye had spent the week tormenting Savi with Ziphora and Zara? Savi wrapped her arm around Cerulean's shoulders to steady him before letting go of her telekinesis on him and using telekinesis to hurl Skye into the girls' tent. Skye flew through the entrance flap and crashed into someone's bed.
"That was mine," one of the girls said accusingly. One of the girls who'd gotten her blanket stolen by Ziphora on the first night. What was her name? Lacie? "Me," the girl repeated, "Lucine."
Oh, Lucine. That was her name. And that meant that the girl next to her was Belinda.
"Just take Skye's bed tonight," Savi responded airily, using telekinesis to steady Cerulean again.
"And sleep between Ziphora and Zara?" Lucine asked. "I don't think so. Your bed is nice and secluded."
"Want to go the same way as Skye?" Savi asked, almost itching to use her telekinesis again.
"No talking!" Goldie snapped, repeating the rule she'd emphasized so many times.
"Alright, Goldie," Savi snapped, "no need to yell."
The Gold Coach glared at her through narrowly slitted eyes. "You, Lucine. Back behind Belinda, chop chop."
"You alright?" Savi asked Cerulean tentatively. He was breathing, but his eyes were closed.
"Never gone without food this long," Cerulean murmured softly.
"You'll be fine," Savi promised. Empty words. She hoped he would be fine, but it wasn't a guarantee. "Half an hour more."
He groaned softly, and she shifted her grip on him, using telekinesis to steady him once more. For an elf who'd grown up with the Neverseen, he hadn't learnt many of their techniques.
"Time's up, go on, get your dinners," Goldie said impatiently. "Stay behind, Saffron. And your companion."
Cerulean, whose lips were pale and had brightened once Goldie had mentioned dinner, sank back again.
"There's no reason for him to stay behind," Savi snapped. "Go on, Cerulean," she murmured in a softer tone as she pushed him forward. He staggered back to the food tent. "What do you want?" she asked Goldie.
"You talked back to me," the Gold Coach said.
"Interesting how easy it was too."
That only earned her another glare.
"You do realize," Goldie whispered, "that I know exactly who you are."
"And I'm supposed to be terrified, am I?"
Goldie snorted. "Of that? No. Of the fact that I can tell Sophie and Keefe where you are? Yes."
"You wouldn't dare," Savi whispered harshly. "I'm an Inflictor. I'll inflict you with so much pain that you'll be in a coma for the rest of your life."
Goldie shivered, her wavering eyes meeting Savi's. "Sophie never inflicted pain in her life," she sniffed disdainfully, "and you're half-trained."
"Your choice," Savi said simply. "I'd love to see your expression while you're writhing on the ground, staring piteously up at me, begging for mercy."
Goldie glanced at her a little curiously. "Is it normal for you to threaten adults?"
"Normal? No. But an oddity? Not that either," Savi shrugged indifferently, and Goldie continued regarding her curiously.
"Very well, go have your dinner," the Gold Coach waved an airy hand, her earlier air of reproachment gone. "And look for your cerulean-eyed friend. Frankly, I don't think appetite suppression agrees with him."
"Neither do I," Savi responded warily.
***
Exillium was unwelcoming. Exillium was cold, calculating, the people there more than a little secretive. But now, it was home.
Skye, Ziphora and Zara left Savi alone now, but they still picked on Cerulean every moment he wasn't around Savi. Until, one day, Cerulean conveniently Beguiled them to do a hula dance in front of the Coaches and they got brigged for a week.
But the Coaches had become more seclusive, and Savi couldn't help but feel a little suspicious after Goldie's threat the other day. Surely, they hadn't given her away to Sophie and Keefe. But who knew? Exillium was a treacherous place.
She still couldn't believe Tam and Linh had been schooled here for two years. They were so nice and caring.
"Savi," Cerulean said quietly.
Her eyes snapped over to him. It hadn't been a pained tone. It had been a warning.
Five figures walked into Exillium, wearing cloaks. Then they threw them off, revealing who they were to everyone. Savi sucked in a breath.
Sophie, Keefe, Dex, Linh and Biana. Not who she wanted to see right there and then.
"We're looking for Savannah Sencen and Cerulean Tsynis," Sophie announced, her voice crisp and clear. "Bring them to us."
So they were ordering around the people of Exillium now, were they? But of course, eager to please the esteemed figures, everyone had immediately shuffled around, looking for the boy and girl who'd recently came to Exillium.
"We should run," Savi grabbed Cerulean's arm.
"No," he said. "If we run, they'll know it's us."
"I'll Teleport us out of here, then. We can't stay!"
Cerulean bit his lip. Part of him wanted to be captured so he could see his grandmother again. Savi noticed and sighed at him.
"Get captured if you want," Savi sighed, "I'll stay on the run."
"No," Cerulean said, "I'd rather stay in Exile than leave you."
What was that supposed to mean? The kind of cheesy thing boys said? Savi shook her head. "Well, let's at least get back to the dorms," she said in exasperation.
"Wait, you two! Aren't you-?"
Savi turned in an instant, Inflicting so harshly on the boy who'd dared to point them out that he dropped to the ground, passed out without even screaming.
But now eyes had turned to them. And particularly, Sophie's eyes. And Keefe's.
𝐊𝐞𝐞𝐟𝐞'𝐬 𝐏𝐎𝐕
Keefe couldn't feel Savi's emotional signature.
He'd always recognized hers. After all, he was her father, and he had felt her emotional signature change as she matured and grew up. But now, it was gone. She hadn't changed it. She just didn't feel any emotions at all. She was dark and endless, emotionlessness radiating off her in waves. Except there weren't waves. He couldn't feel anything.
He wasn't used to being out of power like this. And he hated it.
𝐒𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐢𝐞'𝐬 𝐏𝐎𝐕
Sophie's eyes met her daughter's, and her daughter returned the gesture evenly, her eyes emotionless, her thoughts quiet. Her expression was unreadable, quiet assertiveness coming from her.
Standing behind her was a certain black-haired boy. He hadn't changed his appearance much. His dark cerulean eyes were far too noticeable, anyway.
Savi had changed hers to a deep ocean blue, as though renouncing her family. Her eyes finally have away some traces of defiance.
Was that what she'd become?
𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐡'𝐬 𝐏𝐎𝐕
Linh saw Savi. And she was smiling serenely at her until she realized Savi wasn't returning the gesture. The twelve-year-old looked like she was ready to murder, and honestly, Linh wouldn't put it past her.
Savi had aged a lot in the past few months. She was only twelve and a little bit, but her eyes were darker, her hair shorter, and the way she held herself was plain defiant.
She'd changed so much. Would she ever go back?
𝐒𝐚𝐯𝐢'𝐬 𝐏𝐎𝐕
"Leave me alone," Savi demanded.
No reply. Silence greeted her, and then Sophie forced out words through gritted teeth. "Come back to us, Savi. You've clearly left the Neverseen," she said. But she sounded insincere, and Savi knew that Sophie hadn't forgotten renouncing all ties to her.
"I was there," Savi said quietly, and that was all she needed to say.
Sophie looked stricken, her hands moving up to her head. She realized the huge mistake she'd made - making comments and speaking without thinking, without knowing who was eavesdropping. She turned to her husband, but Keefe had his head in his hands and was shaking it profusely.
"You renounced me," Savi said sharply. "I don't blame you. It was quite a while after I renounced you. But still, a little unexpected, no?"
Sophie was shaking now. "Don't you use that tone against me, Savannah!"
"Oh, so we're at Savannah again, are we?" Savi sneered.
"Sav," Cerulean murmured, placing his hand on hers.
"I have to do this," she murmured to him softly, then turned back to her parents, raising an eyebrow. "Well?"
"Yes, I'll Savannah you all I want!" Sophie snapped.
"Sophie!" Keefe took over from there. "Calm down. And Savi, please."
"Savi, please," Savi mimicked, rolling her eyes. She turned to Cerulean. "Does that sound convincing?"
He looked torn, but he still answered, "Not in the slightest," and Savi shrugged in response.
"Well then. I'd hate to deny you when you asked so nicely, but after being called Savannah Gisela Sencen, I'm not so keen on coming back. It's rather annoying when your parents change your initials and middle name. You have to keep explaining to everybody."
"Savi-"
"Please shut up. Come on, Cerulean. Let's get out of here."
"Sav-"
"Cerulean!"
Reluctantly, he gripped onto her arm and they teleported away.