Chapter 24

The fog before her eyes was too thick to see through. Reyna barely saw the hand she put in front of her face, let alone were she was going. She really hoped Miran had ran so far away that she wouldn't get even a scent on him otherwise he was dead. If not by her hand then by the red hot fury that burned inside her.

His power was blocking her most of her senses and at the same time keeping her in the present, not allowing her to slip into dreams. Izzy hadn't appeared yet, so maybe the Light inside her weakened her bond to the spirit. She was beginning to hate her fate, was she always bound to be in such a vulnerable state for the rest of her existence?

Reyna sat on the ground and to tried to meditate, hoping to somehow override Miran's energy. She had been never been under this trick and had no way of escaping. Usually it took some time to for the power to fully drain out of the person but it was crucial that she break free. The owner of the energy could remove it at will but she doubted Miran would think of that.

To prevent such an event from ever happening it the future, her mind came up with the most practical course of action, she just had to kill Miran. But first she had to find a way off the Isle, assuming that was were they were going.

A small feeling needle Reyna's mind. Serena sat next to her, tears in her eyes and her white clothes soaked in what was likely her tears. The look in her eyes was not accusing but disappointed.

"I trusted you."

The sad Serena melted into the dense fog. Hallucination. Maybe killing Miran was too drastic, he was probably too important to the Guardians.

The fog around her lit up and out of nowhere came a rushing wind that blew away Reyna's hair around and threatened to take her with it. It came from all sides and didn't seem to end. What was going on out there? Reyna was used to having control over her situations but ever since she met the Light Guardian, everything changed.

She now had to care about what others felt and how her actions affected them. Reyna wasn't used to it and she felt exhausted from the pressure. As the wind calmed, she had to admit that it wasn't as bad as she made it sound. Reyna remembered how Serena had reacted to the scars on her back.

"If you don't want to end up sleeping in an ice box instead of this beautiful room, I suggest you start talking young lady."

"I was punished."

Reyna sat on the bed and watched as wisps of white smoke came from Serena's hands. She could only imagine how close the blue haired woman was from throwing icicles. As Reyna wasn't a fan of getting pinned to the wall by frozen water needles, she had no choice but to talk.

"Punished? You call that being punished? Only a demon would be so cruel. Reyna where exactly were you?"

Serena didn't know even half of it. She hadn't stopped pacing since they got back from the first formal dinner Reyna had ever attended and last if she had anything to say about it. She had been confused by all the cutlery set out on the table and had to wait for the rest to start eating before her.

Table etiquette was never taught at the Magi camp plus Reyna had never been allowed to eat with the other trainees. She had been taught to imitate, if the situation was not in her favor then she just had to copy what someone else did. At the table she had chosen to copy Miran. He had been at the head of the table while she was on the second seat to his right, just next to Serena.

From the corner of her eye, she could follow on what he was doing. Miran was meticulous even while eating, he didn't talk during the whole period and was covered in a deadly aura that prevented anyone from daring to start a conversation. Reyna's back still ached from how stiffly they sat.

"Reyna, I care about you, even though you don't want or need me to, I will still care."

There was no guile in Serena's words, no layers to them and not a single shadow.

"As long as I can fight, I will."

"I know, you will and from what I saw you are pretty good at it."

Her voice shifted a bit, not enough for Reyna to acknowledge what it was but enough for her to detect it. Serena noticed the confusion on Reyna's face and explained.

"I was going to call Miran from the practice room when I saw you two fighting. Well, dancing was more like it and it was beautiful. I have to admit I was jealous, human fighting seems to be more beautiful than what they tell us in the Isle."

"You don't fight in the Isle?"

" We do but never using our hands and fists. We are trained to use our limbs as pathways for energy to flow in and out. I can control Water with my feet as well as my hands."

That was possible but the idea of not knowing how to fight normally didn't sit well with Reyna. Her powers were important but so were her own skills. They were who she was if everything was stripped away.

"I will teach you how,"

"To fight? I don't think that's a good idea, Reyna. If the Matriarch were to find me doing that, I wouldn't be able to bare the shame."

It was only after some pestering from Reyna that Serena finally agreed to be taught. She was a fast learner but was still too fearful of the consequences to really get most of the basics.

In her subconscious evaluation of Serena's short practice, Reyna didn't notice the fog lifting.

"We are at the Isle, wake up cautiously."

Reyna's eyes squinted as bright light flooded her vision. It took some time fully see her her surroundings and Reyna immediately wished she could go back to the fog.

Everyone in the entire hall was staring at her, Reyna wanted to tell herself that all the eyes were on Miran but she knew better. They were all trained on her, the girl in Miran's hands. She tried to get off but the arms around her tighten and she couldn't. Looking up at Miran, he was back to the man she didn't recognize. His eyes were on the throne on the other end of the large hall, ignoring everyone else.

Reyna tried to move once more but stopped as she felt a hand on her leg. Still as sophisticated as ever Serena, removed the hand she had lightly placed to stop Reyna from causing a scene. Fine, she would stay there but it didn't mean she had to like it. Reyna dared a brief glance at the staring crowd. She had to admit that they were all beautiful. Each had an appeal of their own.

Some had blue hair like Serena while others had red hair that looked like liquid fire. Others had moon-kissed silver hair that glowed softly in the brightly lit hall. The expressions on their faces were as varied as they were themselves. Reyna saw most of the young girls were giggling while pointing at her and whispering behind their hands.

Their older counterparts didn't seem as happy with her presence. The women sneered and glared at Reyna accusingly. She didn't get a chance to turn around and see the other reactions as the Matriarch's voice echoed through out the hall.

"Miran, so glad you could join us. The novices had insisted that they should be here welcome you home and I just couldn't refuse."

Said novices couldn't contain their anticipation any longer as Miran bowed his head lightly. The murmurs became even louder when a small smile graced his lips. Compared to what Reyna was used to, the smile seemed foreign and distant. The Guardians had probably never seen Miran smile so to them it appeared must have appeared real.

"Kindly escort them to their rooms, I'm sure they must be tired from the journey. I understand your joy young ones but the Heir has a council meeting to attend tomorrow. He needs the rest."

The Matriarch sat calmly on her throne, her posture reminded Reyna of Serena. She noticed, as they turned to towards one of the exits, that the Matriarch had not even once mentioned her neither did she acknowledge her presence. Reyna did not mind it but she also didn't know what to think of it. The Guardians were pretty obvious in their curiosity and the question in their minds might have as well been written on a large banner.

It was only after they were led to the second floor, that the person who had escorted them left after bowing to Miran and Serena. Miran placed Reyna on the sofa at the center of the room.

"Welcome to the Isle, Lady Reyna"

The smile on Miran's face had turned into one full of mischief.

"Before for you say anything, I want to remind you that I had already asked you to come with us."

"And did I agree to come?"

Reyna could already feel the fire of her previous anger start to burn again and it was twice as hot. Serena inched closer ready to stop them before someone got hurt. Miran opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by a knock on the door. He was quick to open it before Serena even got a chance to move.

"What are you doing here?"