Zephyros "You will go and bring her back this instant!" My cousin yelled again and I cringed inwardly at her foul display of childishness but made no effort to reply her. I gripped my pen hard yet not enough to break it. I had cut down men, impaled my enemies on stakes, burned lands and lands that housed creatures that threatened my kind, surely, a cranky woman... Or three cranky women were nothing to me. "The situation at Gantreth?" I question Bren, scribbling down a message for their scrawny leader. As per tradition, to visit a land, you must notify and gain permission first. Showing up and tearing down their gates would have been easier but Father refuses violence. I am a creature of violence and he continuously tries to hold me down. You're brooding. You should go bring her back, Zephyr. I didn't need to look up to know Bren was frowning down at me. I could hear it in his voice. Feel him in my head even. I frowned mentally at him and pulled my mental s
"Why?" I asked with a yawn. My joints and muscles ached from the transformation and the cold. I held the quilt tighter and waited for her reply. She was silent for a long time and I found myself already dozing before she finally said, "Rest. You are tired." I did not protest as her voice was a lull on its own. I fell into dreamless sleep and for the first time in years, I felt like I was being looked after. I awoke shortly after to the sound of raised voices outside my room. I squinted at the brightness and looked out the square window. It was morning already yet I felt like I hadn't slept in days. The voices grew louder, causing my focus to shift from the window. I stared at the door and lifted my right hand. I cocked my head slightly before pointing at the door and glamouring it without so much as a thought. The voices grew distant until all i could hear were the birds chirping from far away. I sighed and drew the covers over my head. I dozed, only to be awoken by something slamming
I stood before a large oak tree with my back turned to Zephyros. He had brought me here a moment ago after taking me from Tymon's without my permission. I had predicted something like this. His restraint burned to ashes the moment he saw me in the fighting leathers. I just hadn't predicted he would bring me to the middle of nowhere i could recognize. I felt him behind me,a steady wall of heat that threatened to warm me up from the inside,dare i let it. I closed my eyes as a familiar thrill built up inside me. I could not afford for him to smell my need. Control. I needed to control myself else my skin would light up again. It was difficult but with ice in my core and steel for bones, i turned around and met his predatory gaze with cold eyes. "Why have you brought me here?"My question came out as a song,silencing the birds that chirped in the air and the wind that howled in the distance,each word coming out an octave higher than the last. He gave me a knowing lo
I turned around and dashed for the crowd. Trying to run in chains wasn't in the very least comfortable. I fell a couple of times before I reached the edge of the dais but strong arms caught me. I wrestled and shook uncontrollably but they didn't let me go. They would definitely burn me alive now. I gazed at the people and my eyes caught sight of something --someone. I went wholly still. Orien! He came like he said he would. He was wearing a black hood and I noticed a couple of others as well. His eyes locked on mine and I shook my head in a silent message. "Don't." He frowned as if to say, "I'll never leave you here and you know it."I shook my head again and jerked it towards the roof, towards the guards that surrounded the crowd. "You'll die." He didn't seem to want to listen so I stopped struggling and let them take me back to the center of the dais. The two guards dropped me roughly on the floor and their hands went straight to the lock of hair that covered my ears and t
"Aye, Nara, you are out early today!"Sir Gilbert shouted above the din of the market. I blinked, only hearing him after a few heartbeats."Yes, Sir Gilbert. The entrance examination is in two days. I will have to work extra." I said and gave the merchant the brightest smile I could. "What?! I did not hear you, Nara!" Sir Gilbert shouted leaning forward. Poor Gilbert. Caducity was wearing his ears out. If I could make extra coins today or even one Silver coin, I would get him a hearing aid. Getting a Silver coin would be too much to ask. It was like getting blood from a turnip. In Astros, Gold coins were the highest denominations that only the Nobles possessed. By Nobles, I mean the higher-ups. Then the Silver coins which Nobles and Merchants possessed. Then the Copper coins, which the lower Nobles had. The lower nobles were different from the Nobles as they were not as rich as the Nobles or Merchants. Last of all was the brass coins. We, the Peasants worked a whole day to ea
Evanara "Nara!" Kevan threw his arms around me as soon as he saw me by the old termite-infested door. He smelt like smoke and vinegar and I resisted the urge to cough as the smell of the smoke was stronger. I ignored it and patted his bare back. He released me and gave me a radiant smile. His brown eyes glowed with happiness as he gazed at me. He must have thought I had gotten the money. How was I going to break it to him that I could not even get a coin today? "Come Nara. I made some soup." He said. His voice had a melody to it today and it made me feel even guiltier. "Come on." He said pulling me inside the hut. We lived in a hut. When father died, everything was taken from us. Our home, our farms, our food...our name. Father used to be a Merchant too. Merchant Adolf. A few months after mother died, he took ill. Physicians said it was a mysterious disease that could not be cured. I was but a child then. A few months older than seven. Kevan was only a month old. I
Evanara I walked quickly to the tavern. There was another showcase today and so I could not dance at the Circle. So rather than go back home empty handed, I went to a few inns and danced. I was lucky to get thirty coins and a silver coin. I had sixty more to go and with that,I could get Kevan some new clothes. The Narva Tavern was the biggest and most influential of them all. Peasants were not allowed in the tavern. It was a place high nobles frequented and on rare occasions, the Emperor as well. I had come here in the early hours of the morning and the owner had told me to try back in the evening as there were a few dancers performing there. Well,there I was. I pushed the door open and the strong odour of alcohol and sweat hit me. I let the door go and turned around, eager to drink in as much air as I could. When I was sure i was fine,I went back inside. Anything for Kevan. Anything. I repeated those words to myself as I walked in. I noticed the owner flirti
Evanara I sat there for a long time,holding the remaining pieces of my shredded gown together. Tears rolled down my cheeks as I stared in front of me. He pulled on his clothes glancing back at me every once in a while,his face wearing an expression I refused to accept as remorse. I felt different. There was a sudden silence to my soul; I was like fallen leaves under frost. I felt the chill in my blood and coldness that brought the synapses of my brain to a stand still. Part of it was a pain, yet one I felt i could endure, one I felt i could sleep through night after night without the anaesthesia of false hope. I felt...void. Empty...Dead. All I could think about was Adrienne. What would he think of me? How would I ever face him after this? How would i break to him that his bride he considered pure was broken? That i defiled by the Emperor? Would he take my word for it? I looked down at my pretty blue gown that had blood stains on them. Adrienne had bought me this dress on