The Hidden Orphan (The Chronicles of Mistar - Book 2)

Fifteen · · · Dest (.2)

Harmun Square was empty. All the guards and soldiers were there, their duty to stick to their posts. Only a few Rolists trickled in and out of the square. Everyone in Faz had swarmed her house.

She pulled her dirtied and somewhat bloody fur coat to hide her scarred cheek. The blood on her coat blended into the fur colors, invisible. Dest was able to pass around the square unseen.

Dest didn't enter the square. If Revvie already told the Rolist Guard her name, her name in the database would be written off as a criminal. Dest couldn't enter or she would get scanned and put into custody. She didn't want to be stuck behind bars when she could go ballistic at any moment.

She stood in the shadows of the circled street that surrounded Harmun Square. Em's light brown hair sparkled in the sun, since she decided not to wear a helmet today, where Theo was usually working, but he wasn't there. Dest should have suspected. After the events of last night, he would either be at home or at Roppy's. She had gotten pretty freaked out and Theo was very protective over her. Dest figured she should have gone there first. She felt stupid now and started to walk away when something caught her eye.

Dest eyes connected to Em's. The soldier nodded in her direction. Dest couldn't tell if Em knew what had happened, Dest's own name in the vision of every soldier in Rol's capital of Faz. Em didn't try to arrest her though. She only gave Dest a serious grin, smirking as she scanned a mother and son's arms. Em either knew or she was smiling just for fun, her green piercing eyes boring into Dest's.

Dest gave one half-smile, quickly hiding her scarred face and the blood. It never rained on Rol so Dest didn't know where she was going to get water to wash off the blood. Before she went to Roppy's to find Theo, she needed to wash off the blood where there was water and no ID scanning. Dest knew the perfect place: Pent's East.

Disregarding Em's awkward stare, Dest backed her way out of the circled street. She left the square area, fast walking towards Casest Village. Weeks ago, Dest would have been whispering the word blue to make herself unafraid of the crowds and how they bothered her. Now, with the Bite of Thist, she didn't have that same feeling anymore. She strode through the city's busy streets, all flooding towards her house, the opposite direction she was heading, thankfully.

Dest desperately wanted to go see Roppy and Theo, but she went against her better judgment and headed towards Casest Village and Pent's East. Just as she turned down another alley, the village in view, only a few blocks away, with O.R. flyers landing on its long runway, Dest fell back when she ran into someone. Sand swirled around her when she hit the ground. Arching her back in pain, Dest's hand flew to her throbbing face to hide the bite from whoever ran into her.

When Dest looked up, she was amazed at who it was. His teal skin was almost as blue as a regular Rolist. The only thing that gave him away was the yellow blotches on his skin and his dark brown freckles that littered his cheeks. His dark green eyes bored into hers, also staring at Dest with her same amazement. He wore a black hoodie and some gray sweatpants with the same shoes on his feet as the night before. Dest would have figured he was hot in all his long, warm clothing but he seemed to be fine. He was probably used to the heat.

"Dest?" Ryn asked, sounding surprised. He moved his arms wildly, swinging them every which way when he asked, "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be resting?"

Dest gulped, not knowing what to say. She quickly stood, rubbing the sand from her pants. "I... I...," she started to say, unable to finish.

Squinting his eyes, Ryn then asked, "The sirens? Are they you?"

With another gulp, Dest nodded her head. "My mother," she whispered. "I... I hurt her."

Ryn growled. He seemed angry but she didn't know why. He barely knew her, but what she did know, was that Ryn was very protective. Dest saw it in the way he looked at Mell as if he was her protective older brother. She saw it in the way he looked at Kast, the best friend who would always stick by his side even though they had arguments where they wanted to tear each other apart. Now that he knew Dest for a couple of weeks since he and his friends landed on Rol, he seemed protective of her too.