Chapter 31: 31__A blank identity

Maia shrugged at Rogan’s shocked expression.

“Why are you surprised? I told you I could heal.”

Rogan rose from the table to tower over her as he shook his head. “You didn’t. You told me nothing of this." His gaze darkened. “What are you? Is there a specie that heals besides Sorcerers and Fairies?”

Maia looked puzzled for a moment and gave him a slow shrug. “I don’t know. I can’t be a Sorceress or a Fairy because Nana and Laurel where those but I was different from them.”

Rogan tilted his head. “Laurel? Who’s that?”

“The woman who taught me my martial arts and Archery. She… stopped coming to see me after Nana was killed.”

He frowned. “How come you’ve never spoken about her?”

With a sigh, Maia started gathering the things she’d laid out to treat his wound. “I have no reason to. She abandoned me so… why should I speak about her?”

She turned to walk away and Rogan followed. Maya spun around with a raised hand. “Stay.”

He narrowed his eyes. “What do I look like? Some kind of mutt?”

Maia placed her hand over her forehead. “Just… stay here.”

“Not unless you tell me how come you heal!” Reaching up, Rogan pulled her hand off her face. “Now.”

Maia looked at him with irritation sizzling in her eyes.

Rogan blinked and tilted his head. “What’s that attitude? Huh? You want a spanking? Answer my question.”

Maia bit her lip, burning to tell him off and pacify her annoyance, but the thought didn’t seem fair. She’d asked him plenty of questions about his family and Rogan had answered her. He didn’t have to do that.

With a sigh, she crossed her arm. “Fine. Nana taught me.”

Rogan frowned. “Yeah, I’m gonna need another answer. Healing isn’t something you can teach someone.”

“Well, she taught me,” said Maia with a shrug. “When I was little, I’d get hurt and Nana would heal me. I thought it was super cool and wanted to learn, so she taught me. But… she did say it would make me more susceptible to getting hurt.”

Rogan’s eyes narrowed. “Your ability to heal makes you weaker than others?” She nodded and Rogan crossed his arms. “The only Healers who get hurt easily are pure Healers and people who gain the power to heal through some magic. The healing power of Sorcerers and Fairies doesn’t make them weak at all. Since you’re not a pure Healer… you must be a different specie that’s acquired the healing power.”

Maia blinked, looking utterly bored with his discussion. “I just told you that.”

“This means…” Rogan went on, ignoring her and thoughtfully rubbing his chin. “You’re a specie that is strong, fast, excellent at archery, can acquire the power to heal… and yet can’t heal naturally.” He looked at her, his face contorted by confusion. “What the hell are you?”

Maia released a huge breath and pierced him with hot glare. “I don’t know!” she snapped. “Stop talking about it, you insensitive jackass!”

Rogan jolted, blinking at her outburst. “Well, excuse fucking me! Don’t scream at me! It’s not my fault you’ve got a huge blank on your ID card!”

“I don’t have an ID card!!”

“Exactly!!”

Clenching her fists, Maia growled at him before turning on her heal and stalking away.

“Where are you going?” Rogan called after her. Tugging his shirt back on, he grabbed his jacket and started out after her. “If you leave me in this damn death trap portal, you’re dead, Rag-skins!”

Hurrying down the stairs, he came to a stop on the landing when he saw Maia, stomping around the house with a basket in her hand as she gathered different foods.

“What are you doing?” Rogan asked.

“None of your business.”

Scowling, he put his hands on his hips and stared at her, the sharp glint of anger in his eye. “I think I’ve been too lenient with you. Run your mouth at me one more time and—”

“And what?” Maia dared to ask with a raised brow. “If you wanted to kill me, you would have done so long ago. You wouldn’t have saved me from my abductors and, as you put it, gave me a place to stay and fed me.”

Rogan couldn’t believe his ears. Staring incredulously at her, he leaned forward. “So you’re rude because I helped you?!”

Maia sighed and set her basket on her hip. “No. I’m being rude because… you’ve been a jackass to me since you met me and even tried to give me to the Shifters!! And before you start, I don’t even believe your little excuse! I’m gonna get back at you for that, Rogan.”

He blinked at the darkness her voice suddenly contained, inching away as Maia drew closer to him.

“When you least expect it,” she whispered. “I’ll *strike*! And you’ll wish you were as nice to me as I’ve been to you!”

Appalled to actually find that his throat had dried a little, Rogan hurriedly swallowed and set his hands on his hips. “N-nice? Who? You?! You’ve been nothing but trouble from the moment I took you in! Bringing ghosts and Shifters to my doorstep? Huh? Causing drama with Aiden and Zainab? Dressing up like Claudia when she’s on the prowl!”

“How I dress is my business!”

“And let’s not forget how you so cunningly seduced my unsuspecting self, swindling me of my innocence—”

“Your *innocence*?” Releasing a breath that trembled with rage, Maia turned away from him. “You’re so… *annoying*! Which of us is the Vampire? Which of us has seductive powers?!”

Rogan’s mouth dropped open. “I-I’m… I’m what? Annoying? *Me*? And you are the only person in all four major kingdoms who would talk to a royal with such a potty mouth and still live!”

“Oh, but I nearly died, remember?! When you tried to give me to the Shifters!”

Rogan’s mouth shut and he looked away. Gosh, how long would she flip the Shifter card on him?

Glaring at him, Maia stomped to the door. When she’d thrown them open, she glared back at him. “Now, I’m going to go for a little walk since I missed this place. Follow me and I’ll put another arrow in your shoulder.”

Rogan rolled his eyes and waved her out. He stood coolly, casually studying his perfect nails until she’d slammed the door closed.

The moment the doors closed, Rogan lunged for the windows, peering out at Maia as she stomped angrily down the path. Where was she going? And leaving him in this house with no hostess, no less! The lack of class showed.

Gosh, he’d been so unsuspecting when he’d first met her. She’d been a timid little lamb who could barely look him in the eye. And *now*! Gosh, the attitude was disgraceful. One of these days, he’d bend her over his knee and give her round ass a spanking till it turned pink.

He eyed the basket she swung in one hand, wondering what was in there. Probably arrows to stretch back on the bow in her other hand.

Rogan scowled. Who would’ve thought that the bow and arrows he’d been generous enough to gift her would end up being used against him.

With a snarl, he dropped into a sofa and set a foot upon a knee. Now what?

Pushing back his hair, he leaned back and closed his eyes, the image filling his head a vivid one of Maia.

Gosh, it was always her filling his head these days. That was the problem. That’s what Rogan hated. How lovely would it be if he could use her to find Trojans, make love to her and keep the Shifters away from her, all without her getting access to his mind like this? She was getting under his multiple layers of skin and Rogan didn’t like it.

Not only did he want to stick to his plan of finding a Trojan, making a potion hopefully strong enough to end his life, but he wanted to do so without becoming that vulnerable to anyone at all.

Maia was a danger to his Villainous character. She made him want to protect her and kill for her and dress her and feed her. Gosh, the *worst* of all, was that she made him want to *live*.

And Rogan refused to do that.

Especially not for that little brat with the grey eyes that got him hot with one sultry look.

Startling him out of his frustrating thoughts, Rogan’s phone suddenly started vibrating in his pocket.

Fishing the device out, he held it in his hand, looking at the screen with mild irritation.

When he saw who was calling, Rogan immediately answered, putting the device to his ear.

“Aiden.”

“Where the hell are you guys?!”

Rogan sighed, raising his other hand to rub a finger and thumb over his eyes. “Did you search desperately?”

“I’m so desperate my hair’s flaming!” Aiden snapped. “I’ve been combing each inch of my forest looking for you two and still nothing. Rogan. Tell me the truth.”

Rogan tiredly put his chin in his palm. “What truth?”

Aiden exhaled. “Rogan. Are you phoning me from the afterlife?”

Rogan let the hand holding his phone drop into his lap as he stared impassively at the wall for a moment.

“Rogan?!” he could hear Aiden screaming on the phone.

Slowly returning the phone to his ear, Rogan drew in a calming breath. “Aiden. Keep searching.”

“Are you alive though?”

“For fuck's sake. Have you so far had a single fucking call from your dead father?!” Rogan roared.

Aiden gasped. “That’s too far, Rogan. The old man’s being torn to pieces in hell, speak no evil of him.”

“Aiden, just…” Rogan gripped his hair in frustration. The whole universe was against him today. “Get me out of here. Don’t make me have to break this portal, please.”

“Why? Can you not? The magic’s too powerful?”

“My ass,” said Rogan. He sighed. “This place is special to someone. So don’t make me destroy it. Find us.”

Pulling his phone away from his ear, Rogan hung up and stood. He frowned at the floor for a moment.

That’s what he was talking about. A year ago, he’d have destroyed this portal without as much as a second thought. But now? Now, he was actually *considering* someone else’s feelings. And Maia, of all people. How absurd was that?!

Walking over to the front doors, he yanked them open and walked out in to the daylight. Slipping the phone into his jacket, he looked toward the path Maia had taken, wondering if she’d really arrow him for following her.

Biting his lip, Rogan slowly took a few steps off the porch and then a few more toward the path Maia had taken. The place was silent, only the gentle breeze witnessing his criminal acts.

He stopped. She would probably arrow him in the crotch this time. That cold-hearted brat.

Glancing at his family jewels, Rogan gave a shrug and took off down the path Maia had taken. Hopefully, Ursula’s spell would heal his groin if Maia arrowed it. To be safe, he kept a hand hovering over the place.

He would really rather not heal from an arrow to the groin.

Soon, his feet had taken him a way away from the house and Rogan began to here different sounds. No longer breeze and swaying leaves, but more a sound of flowing liquid.

The first thing he saw was Maia’s basket. Soon after that, he saw a small pile of her clothes and finally, sending his gaze across a small rocky bank, he saw Maia.

Her body naked, covered only by the glistening clear waters of the deep creek she swam in.