Rivynn couldn't understand why she and her brother, Rain, were kept chained away from everyone else. They were told it was to keep them safe from the shadows... But what if that was a lie?
~~~~~~
Rain hadn't told her... but the shadows were real...
"You should wake up, little one." Rivynn scowled and slowly opened her eyes but with the morning light that greeted her, came the painful reminder that her brother was gone...
Roake slowed his horse to a walk. "We have reached Ullinn," he said as she peered around sullenly.
However, her eyes widened in fascination at seeing so many people. Having known only their little village her entire life, Ullinn was like one of Brother Ruben's stories come to life. For a moment she forgot her grief in the awe of all the sights as they rode through the thronging main street. However, the crowds hastily parted for them, and the people bowed in reverence.
"Why do they do that?" she asked. "Are you a king?" That was the only explanation she could think of with her limited knowledge of the outside world's customs.
Roake chuckled. "No. We are of The Order of the Draycent."
"Then why are they bowing?"
"Because they are afraid," he smirked.
Frowning, she gazed out into the crowds and noticed the same look in their eyes as the villagers from her home had when they'd looked at her and Rain.
'If you touch them, they will perish...' Roake's words from earlier came to her mind. Quickly she tucked her hands into her lap. She didn't want them to be afraid of her...
-------------------------------------------------
"But Father said..." Ki started to protest, handing her older brother his cloak.
"I don't care what he said," Lirr snapped, trying to act irritable so she would stop pestering him as he tried to finish preparations for the mission. "It's too dangerous for a nine-year-old to come along, and I can't have you getting in the way."
"But I'm almost ten..." she beamed winningly from behind her unruly brown hair.
"Ha!" Her brother's shadowling laughed eerily from where he sat perched on the edge of the bed in their rented room. "Yeah cause, you know, a ten year old could help slay dragon bloods where a nine-year-old couldn't..."
"Shut up, Storm," Ki growled at his mocking.
"I've paid off the keeper, so you will wait here until I come get you. Don't leave, no matter what," Lirr ordered sternly, ignoring their bickering.
"Yes sir," Ki muttered. This was her first time being sent on a mission, and now she was going to have to sit it out entirely. But she dared no defy her brother. That would make Father even more displeased...
Lirr's tone softened some seeing how crestfallen she was about it. "It was unreasonable of Father to force you to come. If he's mad about it, then I'll take care of it when we get back."
Ki sat solemnly and watched as Lirr fastened the cloak to conceal his array of weapons before tying a dark scarf over his face, leaving only his eyes exposed.
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She couldn't help but feel admiration towards her brother. Ten years older than herself, Lirr had always shielded her from their father and elder sibling's harsh disciplines. He always rose up to meet whatever challenges or hardships came his way. He was so strong...
"Hide your wings," Lirr ordered the shadowling and tossed him a cloak.
Like smoke on the breeze, Storm's wings dissipated as he drew the shadows into himself.
It was a fascinating thing, those wings. They were are real as a bird's when visible. You could touch them, even. But if needed, they vanished as if they had been nothing more than an illusion. The tail, however, was harder to conceal.
Lirr fiddled restlessly with the gold band on his wrist. He hadn't been a Master for very long yet, and Ki could sense his apprehension. It was a huge responsibility brining a shadowling along, but the power it gave was invaluable. The Draycent weren't like normal men...
Storm eyed his master warily, linked to his will through the matching gold band around his neck.
"Why do you have to fight them?" Ki asked abruptly.
Her brother's jaw tightened. "Because they are consumed by power. And just like the dragons, they don't care about human lives. But you should know that by now."
That wasn't the question she was asking...
There was a soft rap at the door before one of the other Mystics entered. They had spread out where they were staying so as not to raise suspicion.
"They've arrived in the city," he said. "It's time."
Lirr nodded.
He was about to head out the door, but Ki grabbed his sleeve.
"Does it have to be you?" she asked, peering anxiously into her brother's eyes.
Deliberately, Lirr pried her fingers off. "That isn't a question you should ever ask," he said sternly.
Ki stared numbly after them as they closed the door.
