and Erion’s. I noticed that the golden eyed man was the only one on the council to have wings. I turned my head to look for a place to sit when my eyes found a large mahogany table placed to my far right. My heart leaped with shock and exultation when I saw someone already sitting there: Caspian.
“Caspian?” The courtroom faded away into nothing. I forgot all the weirdness of the night and sprinted to my brother. He scrambled out of his chair and to his feet, running towards me as well. His sea blue eyes were relieved and overjoyed, just as I assumed mine looked right now. We closed the distance between us and I practically tackled him with a tight embrace, holding back tears. He hugged me back and for a second we stayed like that, relishing in the fact we were no longer missing our sibling, our twin.
“Mira, are you alright?” He pulled away from me and stared hard into my eyes, “When that freak took you I thought you were gone, like for good.”
“I’m…I’m alright.” I lied.
“Do you have any idea what is going on?“
“Your guess is probably as good as mine.”
Caspian opened his mouth to reply when another voice interrupted, “You may sit .” I looked up at the podiums at the sound of the only woman speaking. Her robe saturated in a deep wine color, her hair long with tight golden curls. Her lips matched the color of her robe and her eyes sparkled, her stare containing the entire galaxy, from beneath her thick lashes. I shifted uneasily under the weight of her exotic stare, not really sure if her pupils were actually real or not.
Caspian and I moved to the table, not wanting to further anger the court, and took a seat. Caspian leaned over slightly and, hardly moving his lips, whispered, “Mom and Bram are somewhere here in Nostos. They came through the portal with us.”
“Iris?” I asked, praying my little sister wasn’t there, hoping she stayed home and safe.
“Back home at a friend’s.”
I could breathe again. Caspian straightened and stared ahead. I did the same. The four leaders in the robes of green, red, black, and blue seemed oddly familiar. I glanced up and noticed that their robes were identical to the ones in the painting on the ceiling. The robes were the same but the wearers much different. Ash and Erion still stood in the middle of the room, stick straight with their hands down to their sides, military style. In the short time I had known them, never once had they ever shown a single shred of discipline. Until that moment, that is. They were no longer the two boys who joked around constantly and who shared a friendship so strong I noticed it within the first few minutes of meeting them. I did not quite understand how, but they were soldiers now.
The man in green with the eyes of liquid gold stood and addressed Ash and Erion, “Where are your uniforms?”
“Your Highness, when we were notified to retrieve Miss Durrant we thought it would not be until tomorrow that we actually arrived. But then we learned that she would be receiving her Knowledge tonight and we picked up the pace.” I wanted to speak up and correct him and tell him that my last name was Daily, not Durrant, but the intimidating stance of the Council kept me quiet.
“You realize this is no excuse. Uniforms are to be worn at all times while on duty. You understand that the standard punishment is in order? No exceptions.” Those golden eyes fixed on Ash with icy determination. Ash glared back without fear. The looks of white hot hatred being exchanged between the two indicated bad blood between them. I wondered what could cause a soldier to despise a member of the Council so greatly. From what I knew of Ash, his smart mouth probably had something to do with it.
The woman in the red robe focused her gaze on us, from where I stood I could swear her irises literally sparkled, “I have Seen that you were hosting a celebration for your sixteenth year, correct?”
I was confused by her wording, but
“Caspian?” The courtroom faded away into nothing. I forgot all the weirdness of the night and sprinted to my brother. He scrambled out of his chair and to his feet, running towards me as well. His sea blue eyes were relieved and overjoyed, just as I assumed mine looked right now. We closed the distance between us and I practically tackled him with a tight embrace, holding back tears. He hugged me back and for a second we stayed like that, relishing in the fact we were no longer missing our sibling, our twin.
“Mira, are you alright?” He pulled away from me and stared hard into my eyes, “When that freak took you I thought you were gone, like for good.”
“I’m…I’m alright.” I lied.
“Do you have any idea what is going on?“
“Your guess is probably as good as mine.”
Caspian opened his mouth to reply when another voice interrupted, “You may sit .” I looked up at the podiums at the sound of the only woman speaking. Her robe saturated in a deep wine color, her hair long with tight golden curls. Her lips matched the color of her robe and her eyes sparkled, her stare containing the entire galaxy, from beneath her thick lashes. I shifted uneasily under the weight of her exotic stare, not really sure if her pupils were actually real or not.
Caspian and I moved to the table, not wanting to further anger the court, and took a seat. Caspian leaned over slightly and, hardly moving his lips, whispered, “Mom and Bram are somewhere here in Nostos. They came through the portal with us.”
“Iris?” I asked, praying my little sister wasn’t there, hoping she stayed home and safe.
“Back home at a friend’s.”
I could breathe again. Caspian straightened and stared ahead. I did the same. The four leaders in the robes of green, red, black, and blue seemed oddly familiar. I glanced up and noticed that their robes were identical to the ones in the painting on the ceiling. The robes were the same but the wearers much different. Ash and Erion still stood in the middle of the room, stick straight with their hands down to their sides, military style. In the short time I had known them, never once had they ever shown a single shred of discipline. Until that moment, that is. They were no longer the two boys who joked around constantly and who shared a friendship so strong I noticed it within the first few minutes of meeting them. I did not quite understand how, but they were soldiers now.
The man in green with the eyes of liquid gold stood and addressed Ash and Erion, “Where are your uniforms?”
“Your Highness, when we were notified to retrieve Miss Durrant we thought it would not be until tomorrow that we actually arrived. But then we learned that she would be receiving her Knowledge tonight and we picked up the pace.” I wanted to speak up and correct him and tell him that my last name was Daily, not Durrant, but the intimidating stance of the Council kept me quiet.
“You realize this is no excuse. Uniforms are to be worn at all times while on duty. You understand that the standard punishment is in order? No exceptions.” Those golden eyes fixed on Ash with icy determination. Ash glared back without fear. The looks of white hot hatred being exchanged between the two indicated bad blood between them. I wondered what could cause a soldier to despise a member of the Council so greatly. From what I knew of Ash, his smart mouth probably had something to do with it.
The woman in the red robe focused her gaze on us, from where I stood I could swear her irises literally sparkled, “I have Seen that you were hosting a celebration for your sixteenth year, correct?”
I was confused by her wording, but
Similar Books
