The Partling

chapter 11

Kai watched as the girl vanished into the night. Lightning striking now and then. The second the oni was out of sight, Jay had run out. He enjoyed the rain, storms even more. And at times like this, it calmed him down. Of course, being the master of lightning and all. Nya joined him. She always liked the rain and he finally knew why. He also knew why he hated the rain. Fire and rain didn't match.

He didn't know if he had made a fatal mistake, one the others didn't even know about. If he could trust her with this, not to betray them again, he had to find out. In the end, that he swore himself, he would get his brother back. Like the last time he wasn't himself. Maybe it was a mistake to let her go.

"You sure this was a good idea?"

Kai turned around the see Morro leaning against the doorframe glaring at him. He sighed.

"What other choice did I have?"

"How about talking to us"

"There was no time! I would've if we had had more time to discuss this. But the longer we wait the more dangerous it will get. For now, Harumi may be able to hold him back, but if this really is like Sensei told us, then there is no time to lose" Kai looked away again. He was well aware of how stupid this was.

Morro sighed. "Good news is that Lloyd is still part human and dragon, that didn't change. As long as she can keep him in line, nothing will happen. Better question is: how do we even put the crystal back together?" he asked.

"Sensei said that the crystal can put itself back together if all the pieces are connected. And the power of the crystal will produce enough light power to knock Lloyd out for about two hour" Kai shrugged.

"Let's just hoped that nothing happens. If she messes up, we can throw the whole plan away"
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Harumi had never felt so uneasy in all her life. Since the day she got to live in the palace, she had learnt that the environment around her could be used to her advantage. She had used the palace and her charm to seduce Lloyd into liking her.

But this was entirely new. Everything was dark and basically screamed for her to get out. She had to admit that she felt a little scared of meeting Lloyd now. If he had hurt Morro without hesitation, she didn't want to think about what he would do to her, after all the pain she had caused.

But if the oni warrior came with no intention of hurting anyone, including her, then maybe she had a good chance. Then again, maybe the other just wanted to do it himself.

The former princes took a deep breath as she entered the castle. The umbrella cased aside, only for one of the oni's to pick it up and put it away. The inside of the castle looked even bigger than the outside.

The oni that had picked her up instructed her to follow, and she did. Not like she would know where to go. It seemed even bigger than the jade palace. But she learnt to move around that palace, so she would learn to find her away around here too.

The oni opened a large door, where two others were standing, probably guarding it. Harumi knew this kind of guards. They were there to guard the room the king was in at all times. Which meant Lloyd was in there, probably waiting for her.

The door creaked, the wood being bend of the force it took to open the large double door.

Harumi dared to peek over the oni's shoulder. And what she saw made her regret everything she had ever done. Yes, it was Lloyd, but at the same time it wasn't. The dark purple eyes and the black outfit didn't suit him. Even the crown looked out of place for her.

In her opinion, he was kind of good material for a king, but not this kind. And thinking about it for just a second, Harumi realized that it was her fault. If only she hadn't done all of this. Then the oni wouldn't have come to this world and everyone would be safe.