Guardians of the Akasha by Celia Stander

Leader of the Santana Family. At twenty-four years old, that made him one of the youngest Family Leaders in the world. Besides that, he was also Commander of the Draaken and everyone expected him to become the next Chairperson of Council, when Victoria stepped down.
    “His father died recently?” Keira pressed Chloe.
    “Yes, not long after the accident that killed his sister and brother-in-law.” Chloe’s voice sounded strained, giving Keira the distinct feeling there was more to the story.
    Keira looked up and caught Marco’s brooding eyes staring at her from across the table. He lifted his glass to her in a silent toast and she looked away quickly, feeling flustered and out of sorts.
    “That is awful,” she whispered. She didn’t want to force the subject and made a mental note to ask Victoria about it later.
    It was a few minutes before midnight when Victoria rose and wished everyone a good night. She crossed to Keira, rested her hands on the young woman’s shoulders, and leaned over to kiss her cheek. “Good night, darling,” she whispered. “Please remember that, no matter what happens, I love you and have the world of faith in you.”
    “I love you, too, Aunt Vic,” Keira smiled. Victoria gave her a last hug and retired to her room.

Chapter 13
    Keira was woken early the next morning by a timid knock-knock. She opened her bedroom door to find two children impatiently hopping up and down. She had scarcely enough time to change from her PJs before Justin and his friend, Amber, dragged her outside with the promise of a ‘castle tour.’
    “Aunt Vic said to tell you she’s sorry she can’t take you, but she’s preparing for the meeting, and the Draaken are busy with stuff, so here we are!” Justin said.
    Amber was no slouch when it came to chatter, and in the space of two minutes, Keira knew everything about her. She was from the village nearby, her parents were not magickae but worked at the castle (her mother was the cook and her father the groundskeeper), she loved playing hide-and-seek with her best friend Justin, her dearest wish was to become a member of the Draaken (which might just be a possibility because her cousin twice removed was one), and she was nine-and-a-half years old and hated her curly red hair.
    “But I love your hair,” Keira said and made a friend for life.
    “Come on slowcoaches!” Justin teased the girls as he skipped up the stone staircase in front of them.
    “Coming,” Keira panted as she reached another landing in the seemingly endless climb.
    “It’s okay Keira, we don’t have to race,” Amber said, frowning after Justin. “Slow down!” she yelled at him.
    “Here we are,” Justin said as he pushed a wooden trap-door up and over. They climbed the last few steps, through the trap-door and out onto a narrow stone eyrie in the castle’s topmost tower.
    Keira sucked her breath in as a sudden attack of vertigo had her clinging to the wall.
    “Are you all right?” Justin asked, casually peering over the railing into the drop below.
    “Yes,” Keira said. “Give me a minute. I’ve never been good with heights.”
    “I’ll hold your hand,” Amber offered. “It’s really very beautiful up here. Just take one step and you’ll see. Come,” she encouraged Keira to walk forward and enjoy the view.
    Keira took a deep breath and joined the children at the railing. She tried to not look down, concentrating instead on the horizon where a rolling sea of green stretched away beyond the castle walls. On the horizon towards the west, she could see the misty blue peaks of a mountain range peering out above the emerald waves.
    “Germany is that way,” Justin pointed towards the mountains.
    Sudden movement on the wide, surrounding wall caught Keira’s attention, and she watched as a camouflaged figure scanned the forest through binoculars.
    “What is he doing?” she asked pointing to the man far below them.
    “Oh, that is one of the Draaken. Look, there are more of