The Ancients

Prologue

"Papa, I want to know! Please," the four-year-old girl whined, pulling on her father's sleeves. She pushed her bottom lip farther out than her upper one. "Mother won't tell me – you have to!"

She'd been asking to hear her dad's story since he started talking to his wife, Iliria, about how he found Everett Valley, one of only a few towns hidden behind the Denhid Forest. And since they both had the tendency to lead those kind of conversations in the kitchen rather than locked away in the study, Catherine as well as her brother, Reece, were bound to catch wind of it. 

He was standing in the living room, out of sight but close enough to see a part of the room and hear what they were saying.

"Please, please, please!" Catherine continued to whine. 

Still, a warm smile lit up Xenon's face as he grabbed his little treasure and placed her on his lap. 

He caught his wife's grin, rolling her chocolate-brown eyes at Catherine's impatience. Iliria sat just across from the two, on a bench pushed against a weathered, wood plank wall. The only thing between them was a round, oak-based table as they sat in the kitchen.

"Calm yourself, little one. Or else Papa won't tell you!" Xenon said calmly.

The gold-blond haired girl threw her head back and groaned, not wanting to wait another second.

Iliria chuckled, reaching across the table to run her hand through Catherine's unruly hair. Her soft eyes reflected the warmth of her love. 

She tried smoothing out the tangled mess but to no avail – it was uncontrollable and couldn't be tamed. 

Quite like the girl herself.

The eight-year-old boy, Reece, decided to join them in the kitchen, a small room that fit a large, creme-coloured fridge, an old rusty stove, and two counter-pieces between the two.

He stepped over Xenon's long, outstretched legs. The sun's golden rays shone through a small window above the stove on Xenon's left, who was sitting in the centre of the room. The rays illuminated Reece's handsome features.

Reece didn't say a word, only touched his sister's shoulder and looked at her. "C, you need to be patient. You know, when you're patient, you don't have to wait so long."

The little girl stared at her brother without answering. Both Xenon and Iliria glanced at their son, pride swelling in their chests. They knew his sister would always be in good hands when she was with him. They had raised him well.

"Alright, who would like to hear the story?" Xenon asked, levelling the pitch of his voice, sounding more enthusiastic than he really was, glancing between his son and daughter.

Catherine's face instantly lit up, her forest-green eyes sparkling expectantly up at his dark orbs. They held more mysteries and stories in them than even Iliria, his own wife, could fathom. There was a depth there that none of the other three had ever seen before.

The pregnant mother of two stood up from the table's bench and took a few steps closer to where her husband was sitting. Her hands cradled her womb, a tingling warmth spreading through her when Reece placed his small hand on her stomach. When Xenon cleared his throat, Reece snapped his attention back to him.

Iliria listened, just as fascinated as her children, to what he was about to say. Despite his mysteries, there was a deep connection between the two that tied their souls together. It wasn't just a connection soaked with love, it was one that left scars behind should it ever be severed. 

It was the most sacred bond imaginable, and nothing exceeded its value. 

The separation of two interlocked souls was a fate worse than death.