There have never been secrets between Iano and his twin brother, Miano. But that changes when his brother marries an heir of the most powerful fief of the village. With such power comes the right to see the face of the Goddess. Only, Iano's twin mus...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
When the horde of native Anuka warriors came for them, they didn't even try to fight. They gave up and surrendered. Malin had seen it coming before Kairou did. He had tried to warn him against firing the shot. But what was there to gain after they had come this far deep inside the enemy territory that they had not thought of as such? All this time they had been prey instead of hunters.
As soon as the warriors started moving in their direction, with spears and swords held against them, they had mere seconds to decide what to do: launch into a desperate sprint to their horses, fight or even fire shots against the opponents, or surrender.
Malin had the time to catch the pistol on Kairou's waistband and shove it inside his underwear along with his father's journal, just before the Anuka guards finally reached them. Then, being the one holding the weapon, he made the ultimate decision for them. He threw the rifle to the ground.
Kairou leaned further into it, addressing the native Anuka, "We mean no ill towards you." At this point, he didn't even know if he was being honest or not. He registered the surprise on the guards' faces to listen to him speak their language.
A scrapping of metal sounded, and a torch exploded with fire. A split second later, both their throats were brushing sharp spear tips, and multiple swords were pressed at many points of their bodies. There were guards all around them. At least a dozen of them.
Kairou knew that if he turned to confirm, he could be condemning them both. They were already surrounded but the guards kept nearing them, the blades biting deeper on their clothes, Kairou's skin starting to ache at the touch.
Kairou knew that if he didn't say anything, they could be both bled to death there. "I am Anuka like you," he said. "My grandfather was one of you: Kairoukai. Ask your elders, they must know him," he found himself begging. Judging by their hostile stares, the commotion did nothing to convince them, but at least they had stopped. "Please. I'm not lying."
The woman whose spear was lifted to Malin's throat frowned. "Light," she said. And the torch passed across many hands until it reached hers. She lifted the torch toward Malin's face, the flame dangerously close to his skin. No, Kairou told himself. No. Malin closed his eyes. "Bring Gelinakeru," the woman finally said, handing the flame to a man behind her. Malin opened his eyes.
