“Chiko is a king, not a servant. But if it’s that way, Chikondi, tell him why he is here.”

  “Speak with respect, boy, or I’ll bet you on that throne,” Leon said, pointing a finger at him while his other hand remained firmly on his wine glass, seated comfortably.

  “Heed that, Mass. Leon now gives empty threats,” another said, standing on Mass’s left.

  “So it seems, but—” Mass started, standing up first. His two other siblings rose with him.

  “Leave us be,” Chiko said, his voice calm.

  They stepped closer. “You can remove them, here, with that. You don’t need them,” Mass continued, his gaze drifting back to the skull.

  “That skull there is the most powerful limiter,” added Jonathan, the second oldest, who stood at the same height as Chiko.

  “Sounds like a challenge—which is why I won’t. Someone has to be cautious, right?”Leon said, watching Chiko pull out a book and make a sofa fit for a king appear from thin air. The three took their seats, placing their gold-looking thrones on the table.

  “We need to come to terms. Nati saw something while looking for you.”

  “It looked like this,” Chiko said, taking the lead from Mass. He opened the book, but all Leon saw was a dark painting—as if a baby had been given black paint to mess with a book or try to draw whatever came to mind.

  “Huh, Chiko, is your drawing getting bad?”

  “No. I don’t usually draw; it’s magic. That is what the description gave,” Chiko replied.

  “Maybe give me the location. If I know where you saw this or where she was, I might think of how to get there,” Leon replied, looking at the picture and searching deep in his mind.

  ......

  “Where to?” Sky asked, looking at Ben. Her hand was wrapped around his waist, supporting his weight.

  “Have you trained today?” Ben asked.

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  “No, I was thinking of resting,” Sky started. “But if you want, we can train together. How does that sound?”

  “Aren’t I training already?” Ben asked.

  “Standing up? No. Dakota helped you, but after this, let’s do this properly: we train together.”

  “What if I say no?”

  “Why would you? I’ll drag you if I have to,” Sky said.

  “What happened?” Ben asked.

  “Nothing, Ben. I just… I just don’t like seeing you this weak. I mean…”

  “That I know. Sky, I felt it. Please tell me, then we will go train,” Ben said.

  Sky took a deep breath, opening her mouth to explain.

  .......

  “I thought you said they couldn’t see me. He… he saw me.”

  “Who?”

  “Nero. While he was—”

  “Nero? I told you to stay away from him. Anyway, he can’t do much. Next time, stick to the trail.”

  “You didn’t say anything. You don’t say anything at all. You’re making it hard to trust you—you still haven’t even said your name,” she said, pissed off at the woman.

  “Sorry girl, but part of being who you are is knowing when not to tell the whole story. You need to learn as much as possible,” the woman said, walking away into the far light, her dark hair becoming visible as she vanished. “And answer your mom. The shouts for Rheis are becoming worrying.”

  “Sorry if I made you angry!” Rheis shouted, before being yanked back to reality.

  “Rheis, Rheis, darling, wake up.”

  Slowly, Rheis’s eyes opened. “Mom, is that you?”

  “Yes, darling. I heard from some women that oversleeping in your condition can be bad, and—”

  “Don’t worry, Mom. Nothing is going to happen to me,” Rheis said, holding her mother’s hand.

  “You need food. Let me get something from your dad,” her mother said, walking out with a smile on her face.

  “Dad’s going to talk to her. I noticed this happens once a day, especially in the daylight,” Jane said, walking in.

  “What, are you worried too?” Rheis asked her younger sister.

  “I saw you in a… well, you are currently a sensitive matter,” Jane said.

  “I know. Dad walks by the room at night,” Rheis said, starting to laugh. “He knows the situation, but it’s just parenting, I think. One day he’ll punch them,” Rheis added, laughing as she looked at the window.

  “Is there one at the window?”

  “Yes. He never listens about that window,” Rheis replied.

  “Is it the one that served me?”

  “No, there are many of them, but that’s not your worry. I was just doing…” she started, stifling a laugh, “doing my job as the older sister,” she added, breaking into a hard laugh with Jane joining in.

  ..........

  “I thought you said you were coming yesterday?”

  “Took a detour. Jonathan and the brothers called me,” Leon replied to Azeya, walking around the room.

  “Called you? Is there something going on in NGK?” Azeya asked.

  “Nothing much. The problem is from here, not there,” Leon replied.

  “How did you leave them? Are they doing good?”

  “Mass was on Chiko’s chest, pinning him down, while Jonathan was commentating on the fight. Nati, on the other hand, was shouting her heart out trying to stop them,” Leon replied, laughing.

  “Poor Nati. Those three will drive her to her grave.”

  “Wouldn’t that be nice for her? A break.”

  “I take my words back. Now, about the danger?” Azeya asked.

  ......

  “Ryke, which one are we choosing?”

  “The one with danger. Heard there is a lot of Harriers nearby. See? Someone saw them around. Bet we can take one or two down,” Ryke replied to Sherlyn, pointing at a picture of an Obsidian Harrier.

  It was the size of a human, with a wingspan that looked like two outstretched hands placed together. The beak and face were not clearly described in the picture.

  “Are you sure? That’s a flying danger. It’s hard to hit them, especially because they go in groups. And here,” Sherlyn said, “it says they are pretty fast.”

  “That’s no problem. I can help,” a woman said. She was brown-complexioned, almost the same height as Sherlyn, wearing greenish trousers and a black shirt. Her white hair was pulled back into a ponytail.

  Both looked at her with confusion.

  “I do arrows, and I can run in trees,” she added, staring right into Ryke’s eyes.

  “Run in trees?”

  “Yep. I can teach you

  if you want,” she replied, noticed Sherlyn staring at her. “Both of you, I mean,” she added.