They weren't lying when they said this transport was fast. It felt as if we had almost just sat down before we had to get off the transport once we arrived at our destination. Sedrik is now leading us through the streets of the busy city, Kalen walks by his side.
I walk looking at all the buildings and businesses around me, there is something to see everywhere I look at. I make a mental list of some places I would like to take a look at if we have time after we visit Sedrik's friend. When I realize Sedrik and my brother have left me behind, I hurry to catch up to them and try to stay as close to them as possible; something tells me that if I get lost in this place, I will never find my brother again.
The way people commuted on the streets was by walking or using carriages. There is noise coming from everywhere and everyone around us seems to be in a rush. People are passing us by as if we aren't walking fast enough.
It is truly overwhelming, and I feel relieved when we get away from the city and closer to the outskirts, walking up into a hill where the houses start having enormous, beautiful gardens and are further apart from each other; it also seems to be the area where the wealthiest people in town live.
We finally stop in one of those houses, it is probably four stories tall, of a pearl color that contrasted with the green lawn from the beautiful garden, making it look more like a castle than a house. Two guards were standing outside the bronze gates.
I think they are going to stop us and ask us questions, and maybe deny us entry to such place, but the moment their eyes land on Sedrik they bow at him and move to the side, indicating to another guard inside the gates to open them. Sedrik asks us to follow him as he greets the guards while walking inside the gates. We walk through the garden leading to a huge ivory door which is too guarded by two men who, just as the previous guards, let us at the moment they see Sedrik.
Once inside, a man dress in a white uniform leads us through a different room. The house is just as impressive as the outside. Marble floors shine as if they had been just cleaned a second before we entered. The walls were so white they make the room look brighter.
A painting is hanging above the fireplace, the painting of a royal family: the father's gray eyes looked directly to me as if trying to read my thoughts; he wore a pine green tunic with a golden band across his chest. Next to him, a woman wearing a dress in the same color smiles timidly, her hazel eyes shining as brightly as her dark skin, and she is holding a baby in her arms; a baby with the same skin as her who seems to be placidly sleeping.
The man invites us to take a sit in front of a coffee table that seems to be ready for a tea party. There are cookies, bread, cheese, and different types of meats served on golden plates. Four sets of utensils are set and ready to be used. I want to ask how is it possible that they knew we were coming but a voice interrupts me.
"You are finally here," Says a female voice. ''And you brought friends.''
A girl is walking inside the room. She looks younger than me, but not much. Her long dark hair ends at her hips, and her gray eyes make a big contrast with her spotless darker brown skin. She wears a beautiful white silk dress, and a majestic creature is resting on her shoulder. A Phoenix. Its red and orange feathers make it look like it has been set on fire and that only makes the girl look more impressive.
''Sorry for the delay, we had to take a little detour,'' Sedrik says looking at me with a smile. "Cass, these are my friends, Kalen and Enia."
Cass walks towards us, stopping a few steps away; her eyes stop on me, as if she was looking at me, but paying a little more attention to her I notice how her gray eyes are slightly clouded, her pupils almost completely banished. She can't see us. She can't see anything at all.
"Wait ..." Kalen whispers, so only Sedrik and I can hear him. "If your friend is blind, how does she know we are here?"
"I might be blind, but I can still hear," Cass says before Sedrik can answer. "And way better than you think."
Kalen's face turns crimson red as Sedrik laughs.
"Cass is a sensory shifter," Sedrik explains. ''She has amazing hearing.''
Sensory shifters. People who have one of their senses are more developed than the others. They might be able to see from afar or hear conversations that are happening miles away, or are as strong as a centaur or as fast as a harpy.
I once met a girl who was able to hear my thoughts and decided that it was a good idea to tell Augustus Kerr, in front of Nester Wrig the biggest bullies of the town, that I fancied him. That day Kalen came back home with a couple of broken bones.
''She can't hear my thoughts, can she?'' I ask taking a step away from her. She shakes her head letting out a laugh.
''Thanks, the Deases hearing is not my strongest ability.'' she says. ''I almost go crazy feeling people's emotions. Hearing their thoughts? I would've stabbed myself to death a long time ago.''
''You can feel other's people's emotions?'' Kalen asks impressed. She simply nods.
''She is a perceiver. And not only that,'' Sedrik adds. ''she can feel someone's essence from miles away; that's what makes her a great finder.''
''I can also crush someone's skull single handily, but I don't get to use that ability as often as I would like to.'' she finishes sitting down, Sedrik sits right next to her.
Kalen and I exchange an amazed look before following them. Sedrik wasn't lying when he had said Cass was amazing. That little skinny girl in front of us was the holder of incredible abilities.
''I suppose you didn't come here just to chat over a cup of tea.'' Cass's expression is now grim. ''I've heard the news. I am truly sorry Sedrik.''
There is a brief moment of silence. I look at Sedrik whose face is inscrutable, but his eyes give away his pain. He shakes his head slightly as if trying to stop the memories from coming back.
''That's why we are here.'' He says with a calm voice. ''We are heading to the Sapphire Kingdom and we want you to join us.''
"And what are we supposed to do exactly?" She takes a sip from the cup of tea in front of her.
We all take that as a sign and imitate her. Kalen doesn't hesitate to go straight after the food.
"We are going to request the queen's help to attack the land of the fire." Sedrik says, the hatred he is feeling slips out of his voice "It won't be long before the whole Kingdom falls into her power, we must act before Estenna takes over everything."
There is a small pause after his words, only interrupted by the sounds that Kalen produces as he is devouring the sandwiches. I start to feel a little embarrassed by his behavior and slap his hand, pushing away any trace of food near him.
"I must admit that sounds interesting,'' Cass says. ''but we both know that my father won't agree to it."
"That's why I thought it would be better if he didn't find out." Sedrik smiles as if the idea of running away from her father was fun. "We can leave at midnight when everyone is asleep."
"We could, yeah, although it won't be so easy to avoid the guards.'' She says thoughtfully. ''My father hired more security since the attack."
"I'm sure that won't be a problem," Sedrik says grabbing his cane with a tighter grip and a little pride in his voice.
We take that afternoon to rest and help Cass getting ready for our trip. At some point, she suggests that we might need to look for weapons since we will need them, and her father had more than enough of them since he was an avid collector of them.
I thought that was the best moment for me to walk back to the city and take a look at those shops I had seen on our way here. I told Kalen I had to grab some more ingredients I needed for a special brew, and when that explanation wasn't enough for him to let me go alone, I mutter it was a lady's issue, and that got him off my back. The truth was I just want to be alone and go for a walk around the town.
I was feeling overwhelmed by Cass's not-so-humble home; by Sedrik's arrival, and by how just a couple of days ago everything was normal and now things were getting crazy, and they were only going to get crazier. I needed to clear my mind a little. I just needed a moment for myself.
''Are you sure you are not going to get lost?'' Sedrik asks with a worried look. I nod trying to look more certain than I felt.
''I won't, and if I do I think Cass will be able to know where I am,'' I add with a small smile.
''Yeah, Golden Boy, you worry too much.'' She says dismissing his worries with a hand gesture. ''You go, I will make sure they stay put.'' She tells me finally pointing at Kalen and Sedrik with her head. I smile.
''Thank you.'' I smile at her before leaving.
The sun is almost setting when I walk outside the house. The way to get to the city is longer than I remembered. I walk downhill, through the same path where all those huge castles were scattered away from each other. It is until then that I realize, once it is time for me to come back, I will have to walk back the path during the night, in the dark. But even with that, I am not in a hurry, so I decide to take my time and enjoy the view.
I walk calmly; everything is so quiet and peaceful. The fresh and cold air makes my body feel alive, and I can hear the sound of the night creatures roaming somewhere not so far away from me. I can see the first glimpses of the city appearing at the end of the hill, and it is then when I feel something is not right.
The pulling feeling I had felt twice before, is now back again. But this time is different, I know something bad is about to happen. I look for a place where I can hide, but it is useless, around me there is nothing but green gardens and huge gates on one side, and an open meadow going downhill on the other.
I look around, and right at that moment, a big man appears in front of me. It is the same man I saw earlier in the transport; he is walking towards me with his dark eyes. I turn around ready to run back to Cass's house, but I am stopped by a body.
Another person is now in front of me, grabbing my wrist. A cloak is covering his face but once he pulls me closer, I can take a look at his face. A young man with a familiar face. His eyes so dark like the night sky, and he is looking at me with a smirk on his face.
"Are you alright? " He asks, still smiling.
My mind is traveling at full speed. Who is he? What is he doing? How can I escape? Where can I go? There is no one around me or even close, it didn't matter if I scream, no one could hear me. Soon it becomes clear that it would be impossible to escape. The guy looks at the man behind me and nods his head slightly.
The man instantly starts to tie my hands, while covering my mouth and blindfolding me. He pushes me a little too hard and we start walking. I walk slowly, fearing to stumble. Somehow the fear I have felt before is now gone, and everything I can feel now is just anger.
We walk for several minutes. The man constantly pushing me and laughing and that makes me angrier. We stop and I am suddenly off my feet for a few seconds before being let down on a hard surface. I realize I might be in the back of a horse since the surface is neighing. I feel a body getting up behind me and I try to get off and run away.
''Don't be an idiot.'' I recognize the young man's voice. He rounds my body with his arms, probably taking the reins. My back starts sweating, and the world is suddenly a hundred degrees hotter. ''If you move you will fall, and I don't want you to die before you need to.''
I want to hurt him so badly, scream, yell at him. Do something. Anything. But I can't.
He moves his hands, and the horse starts moving. I expect to feel the movement of the horse under me as it runs away. What I don't expect is feeling as my body is being lifted from the ground one more time as if we were flying before the wind starts hitting my face. We are flying.
I don't know how long we fly for, but I know it is not that long because as soon as I start feeling nausea for flying blindfolded, it is gone, and we are back on the ground. A couple of scorching hands put me back on the ground. I smell moisture and dirt, the ground underneath me is uneven as we start walking. The sounds become hollow, and it is getting harder and harder to walk. I feel a strong push on my back and fall to my knees hitting my body with the rocks in the hard ground.
"That wasn't necessary, Garnik." The young man's voice echoes as if we are in a cave.
Seconds later I am stripped of the blindfold in my eyes and the gag in my mouth. I blink a couple of times, my eyes getting used to the dim light. I look around me. We are definitely in a cave. The two men are looking at me. Who are they and what did they want from me? I look closely at the younger man who is now whispering something to the other man, Garnik.
Both are wearing dark clothes. While Garnik's clothes are all completely black, the young man wears a long black coat with something embroidered in silver and red on the left arm: a black raven surrounded by a ring of fire. He is obviously from the Ruby Kingdom. He is probably a soldier, someone with a high rank. Not only he was wearing their uniform, but the way he looked and moved was too… sophisticated. Maybe he is part of the royalty. But who is he and what does he want from me?
''As you please, your highness.'' Garnik says bowing his head. My heart skips a beat. Your highness.
My eyes go directly to the younger man's left wrist. If he is... he has to... And there it is, the mark of the Ruby Kingdom. A scar deeply marked in his skin shining with the dim light of the torch next to him. My kidnapper was none other than Prince Breogan of the land of the fire. Prince Breogan the murderer.
Garnik turns towards me with a smile on his face, the last thing I feel is a strong blow to my temple and then everything goes dark.