Chapter 9( Part 1)

Reyna didn't allow herself sleep that night. Sleep meant Izzy, who came with information she wasn't sure she could handle in her state of mind. After staring at the ceiling for so long she decided she needed fresh air. The door to the balcony was not locked as she had expected, maybe the Guardians had a way of finding her if she escaped.

Apparently Guardians, along with princes of hell and mystical spirits, also existed. Looking up at the clear sky, she found it hard to believe that up there, other realms existed. Serena and Miran had given her a little show of their powers, just enough to make her see that they were indeed telling the truth. It wasn't that she didn't believe them, she just failed to trust them. Miran was yet to explain why his eyes could change color and Reyna was too proud to ask.

An image of the man in question formed in her mind. His hair seemed to have been cut out of the night sky and the true color of his eyes was a warm obsidian that shone whenever he laughed. He had asked her to teach him some of her fighting techniques but Reyna had turned him down. They would go back to their realm and she would be left alone again, there was no need to drag it out. Reyna opted to be alone, she knew she could crawl into a hole in the middle of nowhere until the Magi gave up on looking for her.

A subtle rustle of leaves drew her attention to the lawn below, dark silhouette was moving across heading to the farthest end. Catching the person would be too easy but at least it would get her mind off everything.The floor she was on was a couple of feet off the ground, though the fall would be painful, it wasn't fatal in anyway. She jumped off the rail and instead of landing on the hard ground, a thin film of darkness broke her fall. Reyna didn't have time to question how that had happened as the dark figure was already near the treeline that acted as a border between the well trimmed lawn and the woods.

With her heightened vision, she could tell the person was a man from his build and his stride. Knowing she wouldn't catch him on time even with her pace, Reyna thought of using Darkness to bind him. It would only take a small amount of effort to condense the Darkness around him, enough to hold him in place until she caught but then her powers tended to have a mind of their own. If she was out of range, her command on the Darkness would only be followed to a certain point, before it started messing around.

Reyna was about to throw caution to the wind and just use her powers anyway when the man stopped suddenly. She couldn't see what he was doing but it gave her time to get close enough to use Darkness safely but not that much in case he sensed her. A sizzle of current passed through her and only then did the man move on. He didn't look back, meaning he had no clue that Reyna was behind him. She wasn't sure what the strange energy wave had been but there was no time to think about that.

Not allowing him to go to far, Reyna felt through the strands that weaved the night air until she found those that surrounded the dark clothed man. Sending out a tiny surge of power through them, she watched as the Darkness pushed him to the ground and held him down. This was what she had feared, even this close her powers were still unruly. The little she had used was not enough to pushed down a grown man, only hold him in place. He struggled to get out of the confines around him but they held strong.

"Reyna get me out of this right now."

On hearing the voice Reyna knew who he was but still didn't make any effort to remove them.

"How did you know it's me?"

The dark hood fell off as he continued to struggle and she finally saw his face. Miran's eyes twinkled with mischief as he answered. "We are soulmates, my darling Reyna, how can I not know you?"

He was bluffing and she knew it, yet she still felt her heart race.

"Seriously, nothing? you are too expressionless for a human. Fine, your energy signature basically radiates from this bindings."

Miran stilled as if he remembered something and after a flash of blinding light he stood up and wiped himself off. Reyna had never seen anything like it before and he sensed her burning curiosity.

"Come with me, if you want to know the answer."

Before she could even reply, Miran was already dragging her along as they ran to God knows where.

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The small cottage in the middle of the woods seemed abandoned and the last place they had encountered any signs of human inhabitation was miles away. After an hour's drive, their impromptu journey had led them to another part of the large forest before Miran stopped the car.

"This must be the place, let's go inside."

He was yet to explain why they were in the middle of the night. As if out of habit or to prevent her from run away, Miran took her hand in his and lead the way to the front porch. A story of two children and a cottage came to her mind, maybe the witch in their story was inside the house. Miran checked the windows for any signs that someone was inside but it was too dark to see. He was about to open the door when a voice called from behind,"I believe it is deemed impolite to enter a house without permission."

They both turned and standing at the base of the steps was an old woman. Her hair was completely white and her posture was still straight. She wore a simple cotton dress and a black coat on top. In her hands, was a bundle of chopped wood.

"My apologies madam, but I wrongly assumed the house was empty, please forgive my poor judgement." Miran still held Reyna's hand in his and she felt the tension in his body at the sight of the woman.

"You must be lost then, you are welcome to stay until morning, I'm sure you'll be able to find your way then."

Reyna couldn't help but notice that the woman was yet to look in Miran's direction though he was the one talking, her gaze remained straight ahead. As the woman walked towards the door, Reyna saw her fogged over eyes and realized that the old lady was blind. Inside the house, the lady placed the pieces of wood in the small fire place and though Reyna didn't see her use a match, a fire came to life and brightened the whole room.

"Kind lady, thank you for inviting us into your home. By any chance would you know a lady by the name Carina?"

Though his voice didn't betray any nervousness, Reyna knew it by how his grip still hadn't loosened on her arm.

"She was the one who sold to me this house a long time ago, why?"

False. Reyna always knew when people lied. Her trainer had called it seeing the shadows in words. Though she couldn't tell which part it was, the woman was definitely lying.

"You see I have been looking for her for a long time and this is where I thought I would find her. Could you know where she might be?". The tone Miran used was edged with mild desperation and before the woman could reply, Reyna reached for a point at the base of his neck. She let her energy flow from her hand into that point and he collapsed into her waiting arms.

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I decided to cut the chapter into two because so much will be revealed and I didn't want to cram it all in one place. So enjoy Reyna and Miran's first rendezvous. 💜