Arthur comes home to a dark apartment. The living room lights turn on by themselves as he enters.

No one is here. That’s odd. It’s barely past lunchtime. Why are all the curtains closed and no lights on?

Irritation creeps up.

Arthur closes his eyes and takes several slow, deep breaths. When he’s calm enough, he opens them again.

He takes off his shoes and puts on his slippers. Behind him, Alicia is doing the same.

"Where is everybody?" She wonders aloud.

"Julian is probably in his lab, as he always is. Liam can be either in the HB or in his room, sleeping. Thea should be in her room. She hasn’t been feeling well since the dungeon. Maeve..." Arthur pauses.

"...is usually in the living room or the kitchen, or doing laundry, or something. This place shouldn’t be this quiet."

The irritation from earlier creeps back up.

Alicia switches back to her shoes. "I’ll go get Liam. We need to talk to him. Better to do it here."

She leaves the apartment.

Arthur nods and heads into the living room.

Maeve appears from the hallway that connects to the bedrooms. She is wearing comfortable clothes, but her hair looks like she just woke up.

"Maeve?" Arthur’s eyebrows shoot up. It is rare to see her like this at this hour.

Maeve had been mid-yawn when Arthur called her name. She startles and freezes.

"Arthur? Welcome home." She says, once she recognizes him.

"Why are the curtains closed and the lights off?" Arthur asks, skipping his usual greeting entirely.

Maeve looks around. "What do you mean? The lights are on. And the curtains are open..." She pauses, reaches for a remote on the coffee table, and presses a button.

"Now they are." Maeve says as the curtains slide open, letting in a thin wash of gray light.

"I didn’t open them because the sky outside is gloomy and depressing. I didn’t want to look at it. So I kept them closed." She presses the button again. The curtains slowly slide shut.

Arthur says nothing. But his eyes move around the living room. There are traces of clutter on the coffee table. The cushions on the sofa are not quite right. Some snacks have been left out, not put away.

For Arthur, who knows this place is usually spotless, it raises a flag. So he asks.

"Why isn’t the place neat like usual? Are you..." But before Arthur can finish, Maeve snaps.

"Why? Am I not allowed to have a break? Am I the only one responsible for keeping this place clean? Let me tell you something. I am not! We all live here together. I expect everyone to chip in with the chores."

"I’ve been doing it all myself. I’ve cleaned, I’ve cooked, I’ve washed. I don’t get paid for any of it, and I am most certainly not your maid!"

"No one is asking you to do it all by yourself, Maeve." Arthur responds after a beat of silence.

Maeve ranting like this should have been an alarm for Arthur. If he were his usual self, he would have noticed that this is not really Maeve. But Arthur has been on edge for days. He has been keeping himself in check at every turn.

And now one of his most trusted friends is snapping at him. His control is slipping.

"You’re the one who took it all on. You always tell us you’re happy doing it. We let you because we didn’t want you to feel like you were less."

Maeve’s jaw drops slightly.

"Less? What do you mean, less?" She crosses her arms.

"Come on, Maeve. You don’t expect me to spell it out, do you?" Arthur throws his hands up and takes a step back.

Maeve scoffs. "By all means. Spell it out." She challenges him.

Arthur chuckles. But he says nothing. His jaw is clenched tight.

Maeve sneers. "Well? Why aren’t you saying anything? You said I’m less. You better tell me exactly what you mean, otherwise you are just a cruel bully."

Arthur’s demeanor shifts. His body tenses, every muscle pulled tight like a drawn bowstring, ready to snap.

He raises a finger toward her.

"You asked for it." His voice is cold, his tone sharp. There is not an ounce of warmth left in him. But his eyes are ablaze. He is ready for a fight and Maeve just rang the bell.

"Since you found out you are Light in Mt. Helene, you have been feeling unsure about your magic. About yourself. You told Theo about this. When he was Aldriana. You were worried that you didn’t have a strong enough offensive magic to help us."

Arthur pauses to take a breath. Maeve says nothing. Her face goes slightly pale.

"Let’s face it, Maeve. You’re right. You don’t. You’re not powerful enough to be on par with me, or Liam, or even Julian. Even though you had a part in defeating Mt. Helene’s Haelion King, you are not strong enough. That’s been in your mind until now. That’s why I never said anything to stop you when you started doing the chores here."

"Maeve, you are a stranger. Me, Julian, and Thea are siblings. Liam’s mother and my mother are best friends. It is only natural that the four of us formed a team to learn magic together. You are the only stranger here. To all of us. You are not even acquaintances with any of us."

"You are a stranger who joined us as Rhaenas. Living in the same apartment, eating the same food. But you don’t contribute enough to be equal with the rest of us."

As Arthur says this, Maeve’s face shifts from fear to fury.

"None of us said anything, to spare you the embarrassment." Arthur finishes. He never raised his voice. Not once. He said all of it in the same cold, measured tone from the very first word.

And that is exactly why it hurts Maeve more.

Maeve clenches her teeth and retaliates.

"I see. To spare me the embarrassment." Her tone matches Arthur’s perfectly.

"Is that really what you think, Mr. CEO? Mr. I-have-to-protect-Thea-but-I-failed? You think you’re so mighty and powerful just because you’re the oldest? You think you’re so perfect and capable that everyone dumps everything on you and you just carry it all?"

Maeve sneers.

"Yes, you are the oldest in Rhaenas. You are a CEO. You are the legendary Sentinel. And you are the strongest among us in magic. But, Arthur. You are not perfect. Not even close. You abandoned Julian. You abandoned him to go be the hero of your family. You took over the company and sidestepped your own father."

"How do you think your father felt, watching his own son save what he couldn’t? When everyone praised you for being the hero and he had to step back and let you shine? Have you ever apologized to your father? No. I don’t think so. You thought he was incompetent because he almost destroyed the company while you saved it. Made it thrive, even."

"You are a proud son of a bitch who always believes he is right. You abandoned Julian. Do you know that he lost his childhood and buried himself in that lab because of you? Because he wanted to help you? Have you ever once said thank you to him? Without his work, Montrose Corporation is nothing. You would have nothing to sell."

"And you abandoned Thea. She grew up alone. Not understanding what was happening to her own body. When her magic resonance acted up and she felt like a freak, like a monster, where were you?"

Every word lands like a dagger.

"Let me tell you something, Mr. Know-it-all. Have you ever wondered why Thea after the coma is so different from Thea before it?" Her voice drops low, almost enticing. Like a snake coaxing its prey closer.

"Because Old Thea died."

All color drains from Arthur’s face. His heart sinks.

"Maeve!"

Maeve whips around at the voice and finds Julian standing there, staring at her with wide eyes. His face is just as colorless as Arthur’s.

Maeve stands there in silence, looking at Julian. Her expression doesn’t change.

Julian takes a step forward. "What did you say?"

"You heard me."

"Yeah, I heard you. It was very clear. What do you mean? Tell me what you mean!" Julian’s voice rises.

"Julian." Arthur calls to him.

Julian snaps his head toward Arthur. "Did you know about this? Did you? And you chose to hide it from me? What else are you hiding from me? Tell me!" He yells.

Arthur takes a step forward. "Jules, please calm down. Listen to me, I..."

"You knew! You really knew! And you hid it from me. Me, Art! Your brother. The one who is always on your side. No matter what people say about you, I stand on your side. I defend you. I cover for you. I take the blame for you. And this is how you repay me?"

"What do you take me as? Your servant? Am I not your brother? Aren’t we a team, Art? Aren’t we?!"