Wedding preparations were immediately in full swing again now that Hundun had been dealt with. This meant Yue and Viktor were constantly traveling between China, Russia, and Belarus every day trying to get everything ready. Yue was definitely exhausted but the excitement outweighed his fatigue.

 

All of Yue and Viktor’s running around did make it very hard for Mai and Huy to catch them though. They had already narrowly missed them in Russia one day and in China the next so they planned ahead and asked Elena before they chose where to go look for them.

 

“I hope you two know these past few days trying to get a hold of you has been impossible,” Mai complained as the two couples sat down to have tea together inside the Belarusian palace.

 

“Ah yeah…we’ve been very busy with the wedding…We’re having a personal ceremony and the huge public Royal one so…” Yue said and smiled sheepishly.

 

“So what’s the matter? I doubt you were looking for us so frantically just because you missed us.” Viktor chuckled.

 

Huy and Mai went quiet and Mai turned a bit red while Huy just had a sheepish expression on his face.

 

“We’re…expecting.” 

 

Viktor and Yue were silent for a few seconds before Yue excitedly got out of his seat and hugged Mai.

 

Yue was all but squealing as he heard this. Viktor just chuckled and watched them.

 

“Congratulations,” Viktor said to Huy as Mai and Yue were in their own little world.

 

“How far along are you?” Yue asked.

 

“Well…The doctors at the temple say it’s been around a month…”

 

“Huh?! So you were pregnant in Malaysia?” Yue’s expression completely dropped as he heard that.

 

“I was but the doctors said everything is okay with the baby regardless…” Mai explained and she and Yue sat down.

 

“…Actually…while we were fighting in Malaysia, it seemed like My power was merging with Mai’s—more than it had since Mai gained my wings—which is what made us even suspect anything,” Huy explained.

 

“…I’m not quite sure what your pregnancy will be like, but My mother might be able to help.” Viktor explained, “Though it might still be very different considering it’s a human bearing the child and not one of the 4.” Viktor’s expression turned more serious, he had wanted to only tell the expecting couple about how great it would be for them to have a child but he really couldn’t do so with a clear conscience.

 

Mai looked a little concerned, “It has happened before, right?” 

 

“Yes but…” Viktor murmured.

 

“You know how my sister and I naturally have parts of our mother’s power? Well, that had never happened before to any of the children of 4 until us…and it didn’t happen for Aylin’s children…so my hypothesis is that only the “true incarnations” of the 4, have children with matching ‘abilities’.”  Viktor explained.

 

“Which means…no human has ever given birth to a child of the true 4. So we don’t know anything about how it’ll go…” Viktor murmured.

 

Huy and Mai both looked pale now.

 

“Don’t worry, everything will be fine, I'm certain of it!” Yue tried to cheer them up.

 

“Just speak with Elena and keep yourself healthy. Everything will be just fine.” Yue added and held Mai’s hand with a smile.

 

Yue made no mention of prophecies or anything of the sort but Mai’s spirits were definitely higher after he spoke. If Yue was doubtful then he would make it known.

 

They talked for a while, mostly about baby-related things. Yue was so excited and badgered them about baby names and everything.

 

—

 

Mai and Yue walked through the palace together, Huy had joined Viktor in a separate wedding matter while Yue was free and decided to just hang out with Mai for a while.

 

“You know, I had a prophecy about you marrying Huy the day we met.” Yue giggled.

 

“Really?!” Mai asked, shocked.

 

“Yeah, the wedding went a bit different than I expected but everything really was the same.” Yue chuckled for a second and then stopped a little abruptly…he forgot he had never told Mai what happened with him and Viktor near that time…

 

“Mai—-“

 

“It feels like a dream, Y’know?” Mai hadn’t heard Yue just then, she just kind of smiled as she spoke.

 

“This time last year I had no idea Anh felt anything for me… It’s crazy that we’re married and even expecting a child now… especially after the rough start we had…” Mai murmured.

 

“Rough start?” Yue asked, a little confused.

 

“…Well…when we first met…I seriously hated him.”

 

Yue almost gasped in shock.

 

“I know, It’s completely different now but I was just a kid then…My family was all about magic and cultivation powers and I had really strong fire magic but no matter how much I tried I couldn’t control it at all…” Mai explained.

 

“So when my parents suddenly took in an older boy who was incredibly talented in magic and cultivation and swordplay… and had flames stronger than mine…which he could control completely…I figured that was my parents’ way of replacing me without losing face.” Mai murmured.

 

—

 

“Mai…you should really rest. We’ve been here for half the day!” Loan, Mai’s attendant and close friend, said as she peeked into the training room in the Nguyen family’s manor. She had to stay outside and watch from behind protected glass because of Mai’s flames but Mai couldn’t hear her through it.

 

“No! I have to be able to control it!” Mai exclaimed. The training room was covered in fire, Mai had been trying to concentrate it into a slab of metal but failing miserably.

 

Forging your own sword was a common training challenge for fire mages in Vietnam and while Mai definitely had the temperature for it…she couldn’t quite keep the fire placed at her target.

 

“Mai! You have to stop—he’s coming!” Loan whisper yelled.

 

Mai only then decided to quit. She didn’t want to see him and she especially didn’t want to talk to him.

 

Mai cleaned up quickly and walked out of the training room, ignoring how Huy walked with his teacher in the opposite direction. Huy had actually begun to call out to her, “Miss—!” . But she ran away with Loan and didn’t hear him out.

 

Just as Mai had explained to Yue—she despised Huy at first. Especially within the first few months of knowing him.

 

Dinner with Mai’s parents happened every week and was something Mai could not get out of. She had to sit there and bear sitting beside Huy for a whole hour as they ate.

 

“How is your training going Huy?” Mai’s mother asked.

 

“It’s going well. I’ve been meaning to ask though, instead of keeping the swords wouldn’t it be best to sell them?” Huy murmured—he had also done the sword training but he was clearly much more successful…

 

“We usually sell the ones we make but it’s all up to you, they are your creations.” Mai’s father explained.

 

Mai almost gritted her teeth but she held it in.

 

The dinners almost always went like this, her parents never asked her about her training. They knew she’d be upset if she hadn’t made any progress and they asked so they didn’t bother. This did strain their relationship a lot though.

 

Huy tried to bond with her a lot but Mai never really let him.

 

“I don’t need an escort. I’m going with Loan!” Mai said and left no room for argument as she rushed out to the festival in town with Loan in tow.

 

Huy watched them leave with a dejected look.

 

“…She really hates me huh…”

 

—

 

The festival was the only thing that had managed to make Mai smile since Huy arrived.  She and Loan went around and played all the games in the stalls, listened to the music in the bustling city, and ate all kinds of food.

 

“I wish this would never end,” Mai mumbled, it was getting dark now and they’d have to leave soon. They started walking toward the exit, where stalls were already shut down for the night.

 

“Let’s come here next year too, Loan. Just the two of u— Loan!”

 

Mai turned around to speak to Loan and found someone’s hand grasping Loan’s neck. Only then did Mai realize that they were completely alone on the festival road. Well as alone as they could be with assassins all around them.

 

Mai avoided the grasp of an assassin and used a spell to attack the man holding Loan. It didn’t do much but it allowed her to grab Loan and get up onto a nearby rooftop. It was difficult for her to carry herself and Loan but fueled with adrenaline and fear she did it without trouble. 

 

The problem was that the assassins chasing them didn’t exactly have much trouble with it either…and they weren’t dragging around a completely normal person with no martial arts experience either. There were also far more of them than Mai expected.

 

Mai kept trying to get away but she and Loan quickly became cornered.

 

Loan’s clattering teeth, her own loud heartbeat…Mai didn’t know what to do but her body did it all for her anyway.

 

Her flames burst out and create a ring around them. This was probably the most control she’d ever had and it was quickly lost as the flames went on to do their own thing, burning through the wooden rooftop.

 

One of the assassins used water magic to get rid of the fire near him but this only agitated Mai more, her flames intensified and spread more. Loan clung to Mai as the flames got closer to her, the temperature was getting higher and higher, and while Mai couldn’t feel it, and the assassins were using magic to protect themselves, Loan was especially sensitive to it.

 

Mai noticed the roof beginning to really burn up and she brought Loan closer so she would avoid the flames and that’s when she noticed Loan’s condition. She panicked and it didn’t help her control.

 

It did help her fight back against the assassins though, the few who weren’t fully covered by water magic were beginning to light on fire and the water mages couldn’t help if they wanted to keep their own bodies protected.

 

Mai was scared of dying but somehow Loan dying scared her even more, she had been the one who dragged Loan into this after all. Loan went limp in Mai’s arms and Mai almost immediately started sobbing, she couldn’t think of a way out of this.

 

Her flames suddenly started flowing upward toward the sky and Mai didn’t know whether to feel relieved that her flames wouldn’t hurt Loan more or to be terrified that she couldn’t protect them anymore. She looked up at where her flames were being sucked up to, the assassins did the same.

 

Mai didn’t know what she was really looking at. 

 

In the sky was Huy, with large wings made of fire. He swooped down and lifted her and Loan into his arms, and up into the sky.

 

“W-Why are you..?”

 

Huy was more focused on sending his flames to burn the assassins to a crisp than listening to Mai’s questions.  His brows were furrowed and he seemed furious.

 

He didn’t let Mai look back at the ashes that were left of the assassins, he just flew them back to the manor where her parents were anxiously waiting.

 

“Mai!” Her parents exclaimed, quickly going up to Mai. Mai’s mother in particular had already been crying, Mai’s burnt clothes and tear-stained cheeks only made her cry more.

 

“Ma, Ba! Loan is—!” Mai sobbed, she turned back to Huy who was carrying Loan, and found that he was healing her.

 

Loan woke up soon after and Mai quickly hugged her.

 

Both girls started sobbing and Mai’s mother tried to comfort them.

 

Huy was thanked by Mai’s father but the conversation then quickly turned into ‘do you have any idea who could have done this?’ As Huy hid away his wings.

 

“I’m not sure…I think it’s better if Miss Mai stayed within the manor until we find out.” Huy murmured, he hadn’t thought of interrogating the assassins, his first thought was really just to kill them.

 

—

 

“I kind of couldn’t justify hating him anymore after that… and when I actually didn’t try to ignore him I realized I really liked him instead.” Mai blushed.

 

“Wow…I never thought you would have hated Huy…” Yue murmured.

 

“Yeah it was unrequited love after that and I really didn’t think he would end up liking me back,” Mai murmured.

 

Yue giggled as he watched Mai blush all cutely.