Chapter Two

Venom. It ran through her veins as thick as the blood. But beside it burned the fire. The fire that had saved not only her life, but her brother's as well. And how had she been repaid? Exile. Once a proud heir to the throne of her people and now, she was nothing more than a castaway. The large 'E' carved into one of her shoulders solidified this. It told everyone who and what she was. If they knew where to look.

But that was the past, and the past was one thing she had vowed never to think about. She lived by her own words: what's done is done, there's no going back. And no matter how much she hurt or resented herself, she refused to think about her mistakes. She refused to think about her past. Yesterday was not a word in her vocabulary, there was only today and tomorrow. And yet, she found herself surrounded by constant reminders of her previous life.

Her own brother gave her pain now. She hadn't asked him to follow her that day but he had, and then the flames had taken control. Her body had shifted into some mutant form. Diamond hard scales had covered her soft child's skin, the feathers falling from her wings to reveal a black membrane and spikes beneath. Six spikes in total—three on each wing to serve as extra weapons during a fight—and they were all filled with the deadly venom she had possessed since birth. When the men finally overcame their fear and attacked, the fight proved to be a short one. But her brother, her precious brother, had been mortally wounded. She had never known there to be so much blood in a person's body as there had been that night. But she could remember as more and more of the red liquid spilled from the multiple lacerations covering her brother's mangled body.

There had been no conscious thought; her instincts had merely moved her hands and the flow of energy. Some ancient wisdom had caused her to act before she had time to fully understand what she was doing. Before she knew it, her brother was sitting up and was alive. His face was pale and he was still covered in blood, but the wounds that had just seconds before covered his body were no longer there. She had gone beyond healing him. She had brought him back from the brink of death. Something none of her people had ever done before. Unfortunately her youth had hindered her cure, leaving her brother eternally dumb. His vocal chords, sliced with his throat by the sword of man, had been left apart. Never would he speak again.

She knew he didn't blame her, in fact he thanked her. Though she failed to see why. She had taken away his voice and yet he still treated her like she was his savior. Every day she saw him, and every day a stake was driven straight through her heart. His unconditional love had caused him to follow her, even when she was driven away from their home. Their own father had said the words; their own father had sliced the 'E' into her shoulder and then pushed her out into the biting cold of a winter storm. And he had followed her. Her older brother, always there by her side from that moment on. Their minds had replaced their mouths, and then they had found the other Exiles. With them, they had become Guardians.

His face still haunted her dreams, his voice endlessly echoing her name. The most painful of her memories, and also the shortest.

Chase.

Just to think his name made her heart stagger. No one had ever gotten to her as he had. No one had ever been able to tear down the walls she kept around herself. And no one had ever been able to leave the same scar across her heart that he had.

Chase had been her first charge, and her first love. He was always so safe, he never got hurt. She got cocky, and then let him down. It had been late; he had forgotten his phone in the car. Usually, she would have followed him outside but tonight she had deluded herself into thinking that nothing could or ever would happen. She was reading a book, sitting on his bed. That was when she heard the click as the hammer of a gun was pulled back. The blast had echoed through her ears as she leapt through the window and desperately tried to reach the gunman. Just like when her brother had been in danger, the fire had consumed her body and she had again shifted into the form of a dragon. But the bullet was faster than she was in any form.

Though the gunman died not a second after the projectile left the muzzle of the pistol, not even the wisdom of ancients could save her beloved. Chase had died, bleeding and broken. His words still resonated through her mind as she held him in her arms, choking on his own blood as he tried to speak. "I'm sorry…"

And just like that, he was gone. Chase Smith was gone. And the rest of the world didn't even notice.

After his death, she had cried for three days. Since then, her eyes have never watered again. She became hard and uncaring, and just like 'yesterday' had, 'love' slipped from her vocabulary. The only emotion she ever showed was anger, and of this she showed regularly. Her comrades came to fear her wrath, only her brother standing against her to fight. And it was to him only that she would step down. Assyrian was and always would be the one person she would never fight.

Maybe it was her last act of love, that her brother would forever control her hand. Maybe it was just weak sentimentality on her part, but after going through so much pain and loss she couldn't bear to even think about raising a hand to the one she had saved so long ago.

So, just as he had followed her during their childhood, she had followed him when he traveled back to the realm of the humans. The night before they reached the castle, Assyrian had made her swear that she would stay there until they all left together and she had complied easily. But when she saw the humans, when they had poked and prodded at her trying to decide exactly what she was, anger had overwhelmed her and she had acted on it. The wizard had convulsed like any other prey animal would, except Assyrian stopped his death and fixed his neck. That had been the first time he had gone against her.

Later, when that boy was staring at her, the anger had risen again. But more than the anger was the guilt. He had looked at her with such longing and awe that she felt the bond beginning to form. The same bond that she once had with Chase. She wanted to feel a man's touch again, but wouldn't that be betraying the memory of the love she once had? Wouldn't it be better if she denied herself these delights so she could keep not only herself safe, but the human boy as well? After what happened the last time she took a charge, maybe it would be better if she just left. If she went away into the forest, letting the trees govern her actions and the animals be her family.

No.

She could never bring herself to leave her brother. He was the one thing she cherished among all others, she couldn't leave. And he had made her swear to not try and run, he made her swear on her own blood. No, leaving wouldn't bring her anything accept more pain, more anguish.

She sighed and dropped from her perch in one of the large trees in the forest surrounding the school. She had to do a perimeter sweep. Even though they didn't have individual charges yet, it was still their job to make sure the grounds were clear.

Black fur rippled across her skin and her human form was replaced with that of a giant wolf as she touched ground. Falling into an easy lope, she took up the mile-eating pace that the ancestors of this form had possessed since the dawn of time. Her silver eyes melted into an amber gold, unlike her brother's whose would have stayed the same in all forms. Unlike her kinsman, her forms were pure and had been since the fire had consumed her body.

As if her thoughts had summoned them, a dark shaped materialized on her right and another flanking her left. If not for their familiar smell, she might have suspected they were inhabitants of the forest she had just left. As it was, their presence reassured her and further pushed her thoughts of leaving into the depths of her consciousness. Grey fur that faded into white on the underbelly and paws covered the wolf on her right, Etrussen. Dark grey fur completely covered the wolf running on her left shoulder except for a whit streak in the middle of his chest, Archay.

While they trotted along, Archay touched his nose to her shoulder in a hello before brushing his conscience against hers. In these forms, they spoke not with their tongues but with their minds. It was common courtesy to "knock" before barging into someone's thoughts. She allowed him into her mind and waited for Etrussen to join their conference. When they both felt his presence in their minds, Archay spoke.

'Your brother was wondering where you were.' He said his voice low and warm in her thoughts.

'Let him wonder.' She replied simply, feigning indifference.

Archay whined and rolled his blue eyes, keeping pace with her easily.

'You might like it better here if you do not try to alienate your kin.' Etrussen cut in. Being the oldest and the largest, he was often the voice of reason in small quarrels as well as large ones. Even so he stepped down to Assyrian and accepted him as the leader; the others followed his example and gave her brother their full loyalty. 'It would make it easier to deal with your feelings.'

She growled low in her throat. Only he could tell what she felt, only his senses were that acute. 'I am not alienating anyone. If he wants to find me then he should come and look. Not send you two to search for me.' She replied hotly, her hackles rising a bit.

Etrussen gave as much of a shrug as he could while running, and gave a small chuckling yelp. 'Have it your way then. You should know, however, that your brother has left you out of the individual guardianship. Instead you'll just be a sentry with Archay and Juilen. The least you could do is thank him for doing what you want.' He dug his paws in to stop, letting the other two wolves continue running as he turned for the school. 'Again.' The afterthought was his goodbye, and he severed his connection with the two younger shape shifters.

They ran in peaceful quiet for a few moments before Archay broke the silence. 'Myrina, you will make peace with him won't you?' He asked anxiously, stopping to sit back on his haunches and cock his head.

Myrina stopped and lowered her head, pulling in a deep breath of air. 'I will. When it is time.' With that she began her run again, leaving Archay behind. A few minutes later, she felt him sever the connection.

She had run three miles before she finally stopped. Loneliness enveloped her and she sat back on her haunches, her thoughts turning to the green eyed boy. It didn't make sense that he would tug at her heart so continuously. She didn't know him; she didn't want to know him. She shook her head quickly, shoving any thoughts about the human out of her mind.

Turning her golden eyes up to the moon, Myrina studied the beauty there. The stars shone brightly and the full moon acted like a spot light upon her. And then came the snow. It fell on her black fur until she appeared white. She sat there, letting the snow slowly cover her paws. A cold wind blew, raising her fur and sending a chill down her spine. Myrina pushed herself to her paws with a sigh, turning to walk into the woods. The snow had difficulty falling through the tight branches and so she curled up at the base of a giant tree. The roots jutted out of the dirt and provided a sort of barrier to keep the snow from falling on her and the wind from blowing through her fur again. There, she fell into a deep slumber.

***

Assyrian's paws left giant marks in the snow as he headed into the trees. Archay had told him where his sister had been when their farewell had been made. Once he knew where she had left off, her scent was easy to follow. The snow revealed her tracks where she had walked into the forest. He shook his magnificent mane as soon as he was sure the trees would keep the snow off of his fur. Myrina's black body blended in with the mottled trunk of the tree, and if it hadn't been for his keen sense of smell and 20/20 night vision, he probably would have missed her completely. As it was, he almost walked past her.

He sat back on his haunches, his long tail tapping softly on the dirt. Love was clear in his eyes as he looked upon his sister. She had curled herself in a ball to stay warm, her tail covering her dark muzzle. Assyrian's golden fur rippled and changed to the darker, thicker fur of a giant bear. He walked to Myrina's side, curling up beside her and offering his own body heat to keep her warm. Sleep finally took him as the rest of their comrades arrived, lying down beside them in various cold weather forms.

They were one.