The Inner Self: The Prophecy

by Raqurra Ishmar

  Renee

  Zavid almost walked in on us, but luckily it was as we were crawling out of the shower with towels wrapped around our bodies. He left the room with a severe scowl on his face, but didn’t bother uttering any words.

  We quickly got dressed after that, trading small kisses here and there until we were walking out of the room and out of the Inn. There’s a different person at the front, but we keep going without stopping to talk to them.

  Titus avoids making eye contact and that’s fine by me. I’m not in the mood to deal with someone who says that they regret taking my virginity. The sting of his words are still there, but I don’t let it bother me too much. Not after everything that Caylen and I shared.

  “If we walk through the entire day and most of the night, we should be in the outer rings of Kor by sunrise,” Zavid says from his place at the front of the group. His broad shoulders are stiff and his neck looks as if he’s straining to hold something back. He and Titus took advantage of the hot showers like we did and, besides their clothes, there isn’t a speck of grime on them.

  “Is there anywhere to grab food around here before we leave?” I hopefully ask as hunger pains begin to eat at my stomach. I’ve worked up an appetite as I was quenching another.

  “We don’t have time to eat. If you would have gotten up when I came and got you instead of fucking my brother, maybe you could have gotten something to eat.”

  My face heats up with anger and indignation at his crass statement, but before I can even get a word out, Caylen lunges forward and punches him in the face, knocking him to the ground. He stands over Zavid, fury etched into every line of his beautiful face.

  “Regardless of why we’re here,” he snarls, blue eyes flashing with anger. “Don’t you ever disrespect her like that again. Do you understand, brother?”

  I stand with bated breath, heart pounding with the increase in tension. I’m also a little confused by his words. I get that they’re just here on a paid job, but why would that give Zavid any inclination that he could talk to me like that? It’s not making sense.

  Zavid doesn’t bother answering Caylen. Instead, he stands, dusting the dirt from his body and wiping the blood from his bottom lip. His face is expressionless and it feels like this is about more than him talking about me sleeping with Caylen.

  Zavid turns around and marches down the street.

  The street that’s filled with people.

  And they’re all staring at us.

  No doubt we look crazy as hell. Four strangers and one just attacked the other. So much for getting in and out without bringing any attention to us.

  Caylen sighs heavily, running both of his hands through his hair in an agitated manner before following after his brother. He doesn’t spare me a second glance, and I find that to be a little odd since he just defended my honor and everything.

  Titus glances at me from the corner of his eye before stalking after his brothers. What the hell?

  “I guess you’re yesterday’s news,” Sheya mutters.

  “Oh, welcome back,” I snidely reply.

  “Thanks. It seems like you’re ruining everything just well on your own.”

  “What do you mean?” I ask as I follow sullenly behind the guys. I ignore all of the eyes that are staring at me and focus solely on my conversation with Sheya and not on being left behind.

  “You’ve started bonding with two strangers who you know almost nothing about. Their older brother seems to hate you more than you hate seeing logic. And you’re in a foreign land following them blindly.”

  “Ok. So what if we started bonding. It’s not that serious.”

  “It’s permanent.”

  “Huh?” I sputter, almost bulldozing over a little kid with red hair and dark brown skin that runs into my path. I barely stop myself, sending an apologetic look towards his mother when she scoops him up into her protective arms.

  “Yeah, Dipshit, the mating bond is permanent. Literally ’til death do you part. And you’re so excited to tie yourself to two men who acted strange right after they tapped that ass? I know you’re a dumbass, but this is a new record for you.”

  “They told me why they’re here.”

  “And you believe it?” they asked skeptically.

  “Why shouldn’t I?”

  “Because you. Don’t. Know. Them.”

  “I’m getting to know them.”

  “And how is that going?”

  I sigh as I catch up to the guys. This village is a little larger than the one that Dee was in, so it takes us about twenty minutes until we’re out of it and walking down a clear dirt road through the forest. I don’t bother answering Sheya back, because honestly, it’s not going all that well. Yeah, I’ve gotten closer to both Titus and Caylen. But look how well that’s turned out?

  Titus seems to randomly hate me all of a sudden and Caylen just got distant. I don’t know what’s going on and I’ll happily take Sheya’s advice and fall back and try to get to know the guys without involving sex in the equation.

  The walk throughout the day was long and quiet. This is probably the only time that I was happy to have Sheya’s constant chatter in my mind.

  Nightfall comes and it’s to no surprise that Zavid keeps us on a steady pace through the night. For a few hours, I even have to merge with Sheya in order for me to keep up with the steady pace of the guys. The weather changes drastically, and there’s no more snow and it’s warm.

  “We’ll rest here for a few hours. We should be almost there,” Zavid says.

  “No,” we respond, steadily walking until we’re in the front. “We’ll keep going.”

  “Renee, I can hear that you’re merged with Sheya. Not all of us have that extra energy,” Titus says.

  We look over our shoulder and flash a shit eating grin at him. “That’s too damn bad butter cup. Maybe you can borrow some energy from Caylen. At least I know for a fact that he has a lot more than you.” We stare at him long enough to see the deep frown on his face before we turn back around and continue walking.

  No one said anything after that, and that was fine by us. By the time the suns started rising over the horizon, the boys are dragging themselves across the ground and tall buildings are cresting over the hills.

  Sheya and I separate and exhaustion immediately drags at my limbs, but I can’t focus too much on that right now. Because the outer ring of Kor is breathtaking. There are rolling hills dotted around miles and miles of land and the grass is the greenest I’ve ever seen. Trees are rooted in thick clusters throughout the land and the entire sight is beyond beautiful.

  “I thought Kor would be flat lands,” I say breathlessly.

  “Why would you think that?” Zavid huffs.

  “I don’t know. You kept saying rings and circles and stuff, I figured it would just be flat.”

  “No. And the hills will just get higher the closer we get to the center ring.”

  “How many rings are there?”

  “Five,” Caylen answers from behind me. I don’t turn around to address him because he hasn’t said a thing to me for this entire trip and, to be honest, I’m a little pissed off. How the hell do you make love to me like that and then act like he doesn’t care for me at all. I don’t know if it’s Sheya leaking into my thoughts, but I’m feeling real stabby right now.

  “I wasn’t speaking to you,” I snap with my back still facing him. “I was speaking to our fearless leader, Zavid.”

  A dark chuckle is all I hear until Zavid is standing next to me. “There are five rings. This Kingdom is vast. The outer ring holds a vast majority of the Unblessed. Pretty much all of the Unblessed. The closer we get to the center, the more Blessed and less Unblessed you will see. If you squint your eyes, you’ll be able to see the castle in the middle, off in the distance. It will be on the highest peak.”

  “I don’t see anything,” I say as I squint in the direction that he’s pointing. He places his hands on my shoulders and I ignore the shiver that creeps down my spine.
I refuse to let these assholes manipulate me anymore with their sensuality.

  “It’s right there,” he says. “You probably can’t see it because you don’t know what to look for. When the suns get higher, you’ll see it. Right now, we have to focus on finding somewhere to sleep, because it will take a long time for us to get to the center ring.”

  “How long?” I sadly ask.

  “Once we’re rested and fed, it shouldn’t take any longer than half a day to get to the center.”

  We begin walking up the hill, with Zavid close to my side and Caylen and Titus trailing behind us. The closer we get to the outer ring, the better I can see the walls surrounding the kingdom.

  “Are all of the rings surrounded by walls?” I ask Zavid.

  “Yes, of course. How else do you think they’re going to keep the rings separate?”

  I roll my eyes, immediately annoyed by him. “I don’t know. I didn’t put too much thought behind it.”

  “The closer we get to the center ring, the higher the walls will get,” he says. “We also won’t be able to get into the second ring without you proving that you’re a Blessed.”

  “Wait a minute,” I stop, causing Caylen or Titus to slam into my back. I don’t bother looking back as I stare at Zavid. “Are you saying that you guys aren’t allowed to freely pass into the second ring?”

  “That’s exactly what I’m saying,” he says sourly. “The fifth, fourth, and third rings are easily accessible to anyone. But the second, first and center ring are mainly for the Blessed. Yes, we have access there, but if it’s not with a work permit, we can’t get in. And since we don’t have that…”

  “...I’ll have to be your ‘work permit’,” I finish.

  “Yeah,” he shrugs.

  I start to see red as his implications sink in. I fucking hate segregation. Every time we have to learn about it in history class, it makes me mad when I see all of the pitying looks from my classmates as they talk about how the races were separated and some treated lesser because of their skin color.

  This isn’t any different. The only difference is that one is Blessed and the other Unblessed. It’s still fucked up and it’s still something that shouldn’t be around. And the fact that Zavid is sitting here and telling this to me like it’s nothing too big, and I’m livid. I can feel the wind stirring around me and the energy of this realm seeping into me.

  “Are you saying,” I say, my voice taking on an unnatural lilt. “That they make you guys jump through hoops like you’re second class citizens?”

  I spin around, catching Titus and Caylen’s eyes for the first time since we started this last leg of this trip. They both stare at me before glancing around at our surroundings.

  “Uh, Ren?” Caylen starts, staring over my head at something. “Just breathe.” I look at where he’s looking, and I see that the trees are bending at unnatural angles as if they’re trying to reach me.

  “This is unacceptable,” I murmur as the winds pick up just a little more. I don’t bother turning back to them as my hair lifts up around my shoulders. “You guys may be absolute assholes,” I face them at this. “You may have used my naivety against me. Used my vulnerability to get what you wanted from me and then turned your backs on me as if nothing ever happened.” Two sets of eyes avert from mine. “But that doesn’t give them any right to treat you like that. At all.”

  “Renee,” Sheya jumps in. “You’re tapping into certain energies that we can’t channel right now.”

  I breathe deeply, feeling my skin tighten as my powers rise.

  Wait, my powers?

  “It’s not mine,” Sheya says.

  I close my eyes and try to calm down. If I continue to think of how unfairly the Unblessed are getting treated, it makes me want to rip someone in half. After about a minute of deep breathing and coaxing from Sheya, I was able to release the energy I pulled into me.

  “It’s not right,” I whisper.

  “It’s not,” Zavid agrees. I open my eyes and he’s staring at me as if this is the first time he’s ever seen me. After a few moments of intimate staring, he turns away from me. “Let’s go. It should be another hour before we get to the wall.”

  With a shuddering sigh, I follow after him. Even though I’m beyond weary, I’m also beyond excited. Excited to finally meet another part of me.

  The wall, even though Zavid said it’s small, looks huge to me. Wrapped in extricate art and vines, it towers at least three stories high. The suns are fully in the sky by the time we make it to the wall.

  We’re silent as we pass the main gate, even though there’s no one here guarding it; which infuriates me even more. Not only are they segregated, but they’re left defenseless. Against what, I don’t know. But still.

  “Hey,” I say quietly. “Is this the only kingdom in Relvaria?”

  No one bothers to answer me as we pass through the gate, and that’s alright with me, because I can’t seem to form a coherent thought as I stare at the village before me. For some reason, I expected the outer ring to look like a third world country after a war. Instead, it’s breathtaking in its beauty. Bright colors adorn the weirdly structured buildings and vines connect one to the other.

  But that’s not what has me gaping like a fish.

  No.

  It’s the fucking floating walkways and buildings. Buildings that are at least six stories high and painted as if a graffiti artist attacked it.

  “What the hell,” I gasp.

  A strong hand grasps me around my elbow and pulls me forward. I don’t even get mad at being manhandled like this, because I’m still in awe of my surroundings. There are so many people bustling around and so many different smells. There are kiosks interspersed throughout the road and I want to stop at each one to see what they’re selling.

  No one looks at us as if we don’t belong. No, people are actually calling out to the guys. Welcoming them back and giving their condolences. Condolences for what?

  The guys keep the conversation polite, but short, as we take a left turn and walk even further into the village. Even though I want to explore every nook and cranny of the outer ring, exhaustion continues to pull at my limbs. I settle for openly gawking at everything.

  People here… they’re all so different. From the color of their skin to the color of their hair and they all coexist peacefully. They’re all Unblessed, so in their eyes, they’re all the same. I wonder if Caylen’s insecurity is a byproduct of all that time he spent looking for me, because I can’t imagine anyone looking at him twice when he says that he’s brothers with Titus and Zavid.

  We continue walking until we’re in a neighborhood. The homes look a lot like the homes in Dee’s village, but they’re all at least two stories high.

  People are in their yards, gardening or playing with their children. Most of them pause in what they’re doing to stop and wave at the guys. They return the gesture and we continue on our way.

  At this point, I have a sneaking suspicion that the guys live here. There’s no other explanation as to why almost everyone seems to know them. And that’s saying a lot.

  We finally stop in front of a three story home that’s square with very little color. Uh oh. This home belongs to someone who takes life too seriously with probably several sticks shoved up their ass.

  So it shouldn’t have come as a surprise as Zavid stomps up the walkway and into the house.

  31

  Renee

  The inside of the house isn’t as open as Dee’s house. Instead, it’s almost structured like the homes on Earth. We walk into a large living room that’s furnished in large black couches and plush grey rugs, and I hold back on commenting on anything. Just like with the showers in the Inn we stayed in, I’m assuming that I’m going to be seeing a lot of things that I recognize.

  Caylen walks over and plops down onto the couch, sighing heavily as if he was seconds away from dying. To my surprise, Zavid follows and does the same thing. This is the first time that I’ve ever seen him in any se
mblance of relaxation, and I hate to admit how good it looks on him. Titus bypasses the living room and stomps up the stairs to the right of the door, and I can only assume that he’s going to his bedroom.

  I walk over to the couch and sit down as far from Caylen as I can. My body sinks into the soft, yet firm, cushion and I can’t stop the sigh that slips from me as my eyes close. I can see why Caylen reacted the way he did. After walking for damn near two days nonstop, this feels like heaven.

  “We should rest for the night. It wouldn’t do any good to keep going today, even after a few hours of rest,” Zavid murmurs from his spot on the couch.

  “What made you change your mind,” I ask sleepily.

  “Titus ran up to his room to probably pass out, Caylen is already asleep, and you’re not far from him. Also, I’m fucking exhausted and tomorrow should be pretty hectic.”

  “Why would it be hectic?” I crack open my eyes so that I can see him when he answers, and I’m met with some very alert chocolate brown eyes staring directly at me. A small frown pulls at his lips, but that’s nothing new with Zavid.

  “We’ll have to get through the last few walls with your help, and it’ll be pretty hard since you don’t act like most Blessed. There will be Unblessed manning the walls, and you pretty much have to treat them like they’re lesser than you.”

  “How do I prove that I’m Blessed?”

  “Easy. Just merge with Sheya. It should make everything easier because they have no problems treating people like they’re below them.”

  “You got that right,” Sheya says.

  “Then after that, it should be a straight shot to meeting my family?” I ask hopefully.

  He shrugs while not breaking eye contact with me. “Yeah if nothing comes up.”

  “What could come up?” I ask.

  “Who knows,” he replies, standing up from his seat. “You should rest. We’ll leave as soon as everyone is awake. You can sleep here. We only have four rooms, but none for guests.”

  “If you have four rooms, then shouldn’t one of them be for a guest?”