Differences Aside, ✔

Chapter Thirty One

I thanked every god and goddess I knew that Maddox and I were wearing traditional, Royal Southern clothes.

It was hotter than I ever could have imagined. The trip up was awful, we were flying through a thunderous storm, I had originally wondered why our flight just hadn't been cancelled. The turbulence was constant, shaking the plane as if teasing it into completely malfunctioning and killing everyone on board. Zina and Elliot had stayed behind, so Maddox and I sat alone on one side of the plane. The only other person on board was Verena. While I was slightly embarrassed about how I had acted, I didn't regret it. I knew that whoever her mate was, I would be meeting him, whether Verena wanted me to or not. I had no idea who he was or what his name was, nor anything about what he could look like. But I figured that watching Verena would be the best way to figure out his identity.

Maddox was already aware of my plan, in case I found him and I didn't have the opportunity to tell him. I knew that leaving him in the dark would just cause problems. Thankfully, he had no problem, simply taking my hand and reassured me that what I was doing was the right thing.

It was times like that when I understood fully just why he was so sought after.

I didn't know how Verena was feeling, I doubt she would be scared or intimidated. She and I both knew that she could snap my neck in a second and not even break a sweat, and they're certainly wasn't much that I could do to stop her.

The plane had landed in the middle of a dusty plain. I could hear the shouts and screams of fighting in the distance, but nothing within earshot. The airport was small, no shops, a few car rental kiosks and maybe two cafes and the check-in and pick up. It was so small that with a simple turn of my head I could see the entirety of the buildings inside.

A large 'Welcome to Vowstilelln' caught my eye. It was hanging in faded blue letters of the wall, however, the V had fallen off, leaving only a dark shadow of the letter.

"It's the name of the God of heat," Maddox whispered in my ear, "The humidity up here is awful,"

He wasn't wrong. I could feel my skin burning as we walked, the burning sand wiggling its way into my shoes, not even a breeze blew by, only the beating rays of the sun. You never realise how grateful you are for winter until you find yourself in a hot, fiery hell.

"Have you been here before?" I asked, matching his quiet tone.

He shook his head, "Zina told me, she also advised that these clothes were the best way to go."

Brown sandals, no shirt, and the same style of pants that Taj and Jupiter had been wearing upon our first meeting. The only difference was the lilac purple colour of the material. Maddox had also been given one of the overly-dramatic necklaces that seemed to absorb all the light and reflect it in rich, golden beams. My shade of purple was much darker, taking over my skirt and the crop top that I had been given, both lined in colourful beads. My hair remained the same, except that it had been pulled into a tight, high ponytail on the top of my head, a large gold band holding it in place. We had no crowns or headdresses, nothing but our name and power to signify the royal status.

We didn't climb into a car or a train, but we kept walking.

"Soon enough you'll see the gates of our training centre." Verena said harshly," The town is a few more kilometres east towards the ocean. It was decided that the army base should not be close to town, as to help the safety of our people."

Sure enough, the tall metal gates soon came into view. It almost looked like a prison from where I was standing. The shouts became louder and louder as we walked.

"We have a legion of both wolf soldiers and human soldiers. Each is trained separately as to avoid casualties." Verena continued.

"And how far have some of your warriors travelled, while I understand this is your largest base, it's not your only base?" Maddox asked politely.