“There’s still a chance to give yourself remembrance, Laurel. Come back to Sybra-“
“-I left Sybra on purpose. The last place I ever want to go back to is Sybra.”
“Join the Coalition then and work on taking out the Larta from the inside.”
“It doesn’t matter,” She replied reminiscently, tiredly. “I’ll be dead by then.”
“Dead?”
“You don’t know me like you used to, Lyte.” She turned from the window and settled down on the other bed. “You’re strong and brutally honest to yourself. You aren’t scared of death-“ Lyte opened her mouth to protest, “- You aren’t scared to kill. I learned many things about myself when I left Sybra. At first, I didn’t want to keep going to keep running from my home. I missed Sybra because that’s where I belonged at the time. Or so I thought. There wasn’t a life back for me there though. The Ones of Within always wanted my brother; they never wanted me.”
Lyte wanted to object to Laurel’s words, but they were honest. The Ones of Within always wanted James due to his dedication to the cause, his willpower, his similarities to his father. Laurel was cast in the shadows of her brother’s shine.
Laurel stopped speaking and opened up her pack before leaning it against the wall. In the darkness, it was hard to see much more than outlines. “You cut your hair.”
“After you left.” Lyte obliged, dipping her shortened hair. It didn’t come all the way to her shoulders anymore, but instead, it hung barely past her chin. “It’s been this way ever since.”
“Looks good.”
“I did it for training. I don’t like working with long hair.”
“Everything you did was for training, wasn’t it? It’s like you molded into whatever the Ones of Within wanted you to be. Now, you’re their personal soldier, huh?”
“Maybe so.” Lyte lay down in her bed and Laurel followed suit. She looked over at the other bed, and a stab of nostalgia hit her right in the chest. Lyte had always loved Laurel even though she was difficult and bull-headed. Something about her always drew her in. Lyte might have been the only one to see the great things about her while everyone else was focused on James. She missed having her best friend around, and it was weird to finally see her once more in such a different context.
“I missed you,” Laurel whispered.
“I missed you too.” A smile etched itself across Lyte’s face as she looked at the ceiling. While the words were nice to hear, seeing Laurel again was causing her heart to ache. Laurel would never go back to Sybra, no matter how hard she tried to sway her. She could try to force her to, but that went against everything she believed in. Laurel knew that otherwise, she would have never come here with her. Part of Lyte wished she had never come to Slâva on this mission because it was just bringing back old memories that hurt too much.
#
Lyte woke up in the morning from the light filtering into the room through the windows. She stretched out her arm and tested her shoulder out of habit, even though she knew it was as good as new thanks to her healing Vatra. Laurel was packing up her bags as quietly as possible, but Lyte’s practiced ears heard the movement.
“What are you doing?” Lyte demanded, standing to her feet and picking up her own packs.
“It was nice to see you again,” Laurel said coldly. “Thanks for buying me a night of rest. Good luck with your life.” Lyte sighed, knowing that this is what she should have expected. Of course, this was goodbye again, and she probably would never see her again. “Oh, don’t forget to say a hearty hello to James for me!” Laurel smiled sweetly, but her eyes were as hard as nails.
“Where are you going to go, Laurel?” Lyte laughed at the insanity of it all. “At least let me give you some money.”
“Your money is poison! I don’t want it!” Laurel yelled, stepping a few steps backward. A strip of dark hair fell into her eyes that she brushed back impatiently. “You should be thanking me for getting the Creed off your tail.”
“I could have killed them all and we both know it.” Lyte’s gaze flicked contemptuously away from Laurel’s face. “It would’ve been easy.” She said the words with no remorse.
“Stop bragging about how much better you are than me!” Laurel hissed, pulling the pack over her shoulder. “Everyone always thought you were better than me! But they were wrong!” Laurel’s tirade was stopped abruptly by a loud popping noise that echoed around the room. A flash of bright white light erupted in the room, and a woman with flowing dark hair and icy gray eyes joined them. It was Lucia. Lyte had seen her face once before, but this was the last thing she would have ever expected.
Lucia stood in the middle of the room between the two of them, wielding a huge broadsword in one hand with ease. While she was only wearing leather armor, her hair was braided in plaits that must’ve taken hours to create. Lucia was smiling at Lyte with a pitying look on her face as she pointed the blade right at her chest.
Lucia shoved the blade towards her, but Lyte managed to twist aside in time and catch the blade in the hip. Her hip burned like fire, but Lyte’s eyes were elsewhere, they were trained on Lucia’s face. There was something fear-inspiring about Lucia’s beauty. Maybe, it was all the terrible stories Lyte had heard about her. Maybe, it was the lack of remorse in her expression, the coldness she saw in her eyes. Instead of attacking again, Lucia turned her head towards Laurel. Her best friend embraced Lucia in her arms, giving Lyte a mocking glance. The sight of Laurel embracing Lucia like she was a motherly figure stopped Lyte in her tracks, the dagger resting in her hands.
“Surprise,” Laurel said, laughing.
Before Lyte even had a chance to throw the dagger, Lucia said a few words in Jakost were uttered, and they were gone. Lyte stared at the empty space for a moment, her pack falling out of her hands. She placed a hand over her hip, drew it up to her face, and looked at the dark red blood coating her fingers. Heal. While the wounds on her skin began to heal, Lyte doubled over as tears began pouring down her face. She couldn’t remember the last time she felt so upset and helpless. After years of training, she was a warrior through and through. It was all she did these days- train, train, train. Right in front of her eyes, Lucia, her worst enemy, had taken her best friend. Not taken. Even worse, Laurel was clearly working for the enemy. She was working for Lucia, and Lyte had done nothing to stop her. Nothing. This was the last thing she wanted to bring back to James.
Chapter Twenty
The infamous Inner Celebration was about to begin. My friends and I were standing in the middle of a crowd of people waiting for the parades to start. I was excited to see Patrick in the parade. Austin was trying to move a few people to the side so we could see easier. Even though I was pretty tall, the people in front of us gave tall an entirely different meaning. The breakfast this morning had been a whole new level due to the day’s festivities. My favorite dish had been the warm cinnamon swirl muffins with blueberries baked in the center. Loud chatter filled my ears as the people of Sybra nearby waited for the Inner Celebration to begin. I didn’t really mind that chatter though, and it was nice to be among all the people. Here, we looked normal, minus the necklaces.
Dominic had been asked to join the parade, but he’d bluntly said no. In the past week, he had gotten more attention than our whole group had in the past two months. More than once, Dominic had been asked by a senior Ones of Within member how he was doing and if he needed any tips on anything. I could have sworn that he had performed his ‘special’ Vatra for at least a hundred people in the past few days. I was jealous, but I had a right to be jealous. I hadn’t gotten my Vatra yet, and for some reason, Dominic had received his early. I felt happy for him, but I couldn’t help wishing I was in his footsteps with receiving my Vatra early as well. I felt a bit selfish at this wish, but it was the truth, and I could not hide from the truth.
Emilie was busy discussing something with Adam and another person I didn’t recognize. I think that they were discussing the new training program of the Ones of Within.<
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“Are you a member of the Ones of Within?” A girl of about fifteen or so asked me. She had been standing there for a few minutes, but it was the first thing she had spoken since she’d arrived.
“Yes, it’s my first Inner Celebration. I’m Natalie Quinn.” I smiled at her. The girl glanced at me with an interested gaze.
“Natalie Quinn? Sounds familiar.” She smiled with the corners of her mouth, and she shrugged her small shoulders.
“Probably not. I haven’t even been here for two months.”
“That’s interesting. Only two months?” Her eyes watched my face, looking for any signs of reaction or something in my features.
“Yes, I was brought here in early November, so I guess maybe two months.” I laughed. Time had flown so quickly in the past months, unbelievably quick. When I had been on Earth, each day was slow and felt the same as the day before. Now, the days disappeared before my eyes, and there was never enough time.
“Well, I guess I should go.” The girl looked in the direction of something in the distance.
“Okay, it was nice talking to you,” I said, before walking over to Shay. Usually these days, Shay ignored me, but today she was waving me over.
“Natalie.” Shay dipped her head.
“What’s going on?” I asked, getting right to the point. Shay never talked to me about anything other than a business these days. I was accustomed to it and expected nothing less from her.
“We think that there’s a spy among the people on the streets. I was just warning Emilie to be careful about what she says.” Shay smiled at me, surprisingly friendly today. The normal harsh lines of stress on her face seemed more relaxed than normal; perhaps, the Inner Celebration allowed her to relax a little. “How are you doing, Natalie?”
“I’m doing fine.” I replied, “Nothing new to report.”
“Well, that’s good to hear,” Shay said distractedly. “I’ll be going. All of you watch yourselves.” Shay walked through the crowds, disappearing in seconds.
“I guess she delivered the message, huh?” I said to Emilie, who had joined me upon seeing Shay with me.
“Just look around for anything suspicious. The Inner Celebration is a great time to cause trouble because the Ones of Within members will be focused on the parade.” Emilie didn’t seem worried at Shay’s warnings, which made me feel better at least. I wondered what was making her so happy, but I guessed it had something to do with how close she had been getting to Adam recently. Whatever qualms they had about being together when I first met them, they seemed to have gotten over in the past couple of weeks. Emilie looked happier than ever, and that was saying something; she was almost always happy. I looked back up where the parade would be, thinking about Patrick’s Vatra. It was ironic that he could transform into a fox when he had red hair. I laughed at the thought.
“What’s so funny?” I hadn’t realized Dominic had joined me, whispering the question in my ear.
“I was just wondering if it was just a coincidence Patrick could transform into a fox for his Vatra when he has red hair.” I realized how lame my thoughts were when I said them aloud, but oh well. He could make what he wanted to out of it.
Dominic didn’t reply for a minute. Instead, he looked around the crowd. “What did that senior Ones of Within member want?” He asked.
“That senior Ones of Within member happens to have a name…” I said teasingly. “It’s Shay. She just wanted us to watch for anything suspicious going on. The Ones of Within think that there are spies for the Larta here.” Dominic turned his golden eyes to look at me. “What do you think?” At first, I didn’t know how to answer that. He seemed so serious in the midst of a crowd waiting for a parade. I was kind of hesitant to talk about my suspicions or worries with all these people around.
“Remember when I had to go to James to get that interview thing? I saw Emilie and Shay talking together, looking suspicious. I asked Emilie about it later, and she said…” I trailed off, remembering what she had said and wondering if it would be right to repeat her words.
“She said…?” Dominic asked, echoing my last words.
“She said that Shay believed that one of us might be the traitor. The Shadow Bringer that is betraying us. The one that is named in the prophecy.” My eyes closed for a minute, before opening them again.
“Well, Emilie and Shay seem very close. If they were acting suspicious, then maybe they’re both Shadow Bringers.” Dominic said without hesitation. I shook my head at that; Emilie had to be the least likely person I knew to turn on the Ones of Within.
“Emilie would never do that!”
“How do you know?” Dominic asked, golden eyes thoughtful.
“Emilie isn’t like that Dominic and I think you know that.” My voice was strong and unwavering.
“Maybe she’s good at hiding it.”
I stared at him for a moment. Why was he bringing things like this up? I mean, it seemed innocent enough, but I didn’t want to start pointing fingers at all my friends. If I looked hard enough, I’m sure all of us were suspicious in one way or another.
“I don’t know, and I don’t see it.”
“Sometimes, the people we think we know the best end up doing the worse things,” Dominic said, solemnly. I wondered if he was going to elaborate on that, but he didn’t.
“Sometimes, I think the worse things about myself,” I admitted. I knew I was ambitious, and I’d wanted to be the Chosen Ones. I knew I wanted to be powerful. It didn’t seem exactly the qualities that the Ones of Within were looking for in a recruit. Sometimes, I wondered if I wanted to sign my life away to the cause.
“You do?” He asked me, our eyes meeting. The busyness of the crowd pushed us together, bringing him tantalizingly close.
“That Shadow Bringer, that Emilie and I took care of my first day here… his job was to bring me to Lucia. I don’t understand why she wanted me so badly.” I tried to hide the overwhelming sense of fear I got from remembering what the Shadow Bringer had been sent to do. If he had succeeded, would I be dead? Would I be a Shadow Bringer? “But sometimes I feel like I’m not a good fit for the Ones of Within.”
“You don’t think you are?” Dominic asked, surprised. “You always seem so sure of yourself and so intense. You put your all into training and being here.” He looked around the crowds, scanning for signs of trouble. “As for Lucia, don’t you think she wanted all of us? I mean, I’m sure not all of the missions went that smoothly. Maybe the Larta was just behind or something.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
Dominic turned his head back in my direction while I continued to stare at the dirt ground I was standing on. “Why do you think she wanted you?” Did he really think I had the slightest clue?
“I don’t know.”
“I don’t think you need to worry now that you’re in the Ones of Within’s hands. They take care of things pretty well.” Dominic ran his hands through his hair, a rueful expression on his face. “The scary thing is that you could be the Shadow Bringer, and I wouldn’t even know it. And at this very moment, I could be in danger.” Although his words were light, they chilled me.
“Are you accusing me of being the Shadow Bringer, the traitor?” My words were deadly quiet. The insinuation he had just laid upon me was unjust, and it made my blood start to boil.
“Natalie, I was just kidding,” Dominic said, laughing. “Remember that day in the prophecy room? When I told you I thought you would be the Chosen One?”
“Yeah, I remember that.”
“My feelings haven’t changed on that just because I’m the Chosen One. I… I think you’re great. There’s no one that I would trust more with my life.”
My mouth opens at his words, but nothing came out. I found myself stuck in place, his words running over and over in my mind. I felt stupid for being helplessly drawn to him, but I couldn’t help it. I ate up his praise like it was candy, and his words meant the world to me at this moment.
At that thought, trumpets b
egan blaring in the distance, and loud drumming followed. Dominic smiled at my expression and then grabbed me by the hand. He drew me deeper into the crowd, deeper and deeper until we were almost at the front of the crowd. I realized that my friends were in the back, but I couldn’t be happier right now standing with Dominic.
Huge groupings of people walked down the streets, all Ones of Within members. There must be a lot of people who went on patrols; I had never seen this many Ones of Within members in one place. The varieties of Vatra shown were amazing. Some involved them contorting their bodies in incredible, inhuman ways. One person could grow plants out of their hands. Some people could make animals dance by using their minds. Others could shoot their hands through someone’s head and draw it back out with the person untouched. The array of display was fascinating. During the performances, I waited patiently to see Patrick’s face to cheer him on.
Finally, I caught sight of Patrick’s familiar red hair. I shouted his name, waving my hands over my head. He grinned broadly when he saw us and winked. He concentrated for a second like he always did before he transformed. In a few seconds, he had turned into a large fox with a golden necklace around its neck. He waved his paw at a group of people who had let out some gasps. I smiled at the sight of it. It was just like Patrick, fooling around. The fox walked away, my eyes following it for a moment.
The parade continued for a while longer before the parade ended, and people began to disperse to their stations. After the parade, a new set of festivities would begin. Food stations, shops, and dancing all filled the streets of Sybra. Dominic and I made our way back to the rest of the group. Austin frowned at us as we returned, but I pretended not to notice. The delicious scent of pastries wafted through the air, causing my stomach to rumble. Unable to contain myself, I decided that I would get everyone something to start the second part of the celebration the right way.
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