*Briella*
I sat in the middle of the field, feeling the earth respond to as I shut my eyes. I didn’t possess that kind of magic, but I sotis felt as if the world wanted to communicate with .
I ran my fingers over the soft grass, marveling at how much more lush and healthy it was compared to the grass back in Drogomor, my childhood ho.
I had a happy childhood. As the Alpha’s daughter, I could have been considered privileged, maybe even a tad bit spoiled, but my parents made sure to instill in my brothers and a sense of justice and kindness. My siblings and I loved our ho and would do anything to protect it.
I took a deep breath in and let my mother’s voice fill my mind.
“The Celestial Valley is filled with magic you can feel beneath your feet and in the air around you,” she once told Kai and right before we left for the Embervale Realm.
I sighed deeply, feeling the power sizzle around as I thought about our mother. She had been sothing of a princess to this realm. Her mother, my grandmother, had been a powerful priestess, loved by all.
Kai and I were here because Embervalian magic was a dying art form. Specifically, the pure abilities that resided in our mother’s ho, Celestial Valley, were only known by mbers of the small community. We were there to learn and help preserve it to carry it forward into future generations.
Occasionally, I couldn’t help but wonder if there was sothing more to all of this. We’d been there for about a year now, and I couldn’t help but feel a restlessness flowing through lately.
I pushed the thoughts aside, focusing on my breathing as I listened to the ground beneath my fingertips. I let myself go in that mont as a familiar warm tingling started through my veins.
My eyes snapped open as I heard a twig break beneath soone’s foot. I jumped to my feet, whirling around, my arms extended in front of as I prepared to defend myself against the threat.
“Bri, it’s just !”
I relaxed out of my fighting stance when I recognized the intruder as my younger brother, Kai. His green eyes were wide as he put his hands up in a pacifying way, no doubt ready to fend off if he had to.
I shook my head at him, one corner of my mouth moving up into a smirk. “You should know better than to sneak up on , Kai,” I said.
Kai stepped forward, relaxing now that it was clear I wasn’t going to kick his legs out from under him. He rolled his eyes at . “You should have been expecting since you asked to co spar with you once I finished at the healing center.”
I grimaced, realizing that it was true. “Sorry,” I muttered. “I was ditating, and you broke out of it. I’m kind of on edge whenever I co out of a ditation.”
Kai raised a dark eyebrow. “Aren’t you supposed to be at your calst when you’re ditating?” he asked.
I blushed, completely aware of the irony of my statent. “Well, yeah,” I admitted. “But it’s a bit more complicated than that. Whenever I’m ditating, I’m kind of out of my body. Coming back suddenly is a shock sotis.”
Kai nodded and then smirked. “You ready to spar or do you need another minute to co back down to this planet?”
I scoffed and curled my fingers at him, telling him to bring it on.
It still amazed to look at my younger brother. It was hard to look at him sotis and not see the shy little kid from my childhood. I was older by a few years, so I had always felt the need to protect him. Now he was an adult and much taller than . I might have had more experience fighting, but he took his physical training seriously. He probably could get stronger than in no ti.
But he was still my little brother.
I smirked as he shrugged off the long white-and-gold robe he wore, which marked him as a Celestial Valley healer, revealing light pants and a loose training shirt.
Kai narrowed his green eyes on before lunging at . I felt my eyebrows rise in surprise at his quick movents before I sidestepped him, narrowly missing his initial attack. I gritted my teeth and swung my arm out toward him, biting back a curse when he cleanly dodged.
We went at it this way for a couple of minutes, trading blows and dodging neatly. I had years of physical training on Kai having had special tactic military training back ho. The fact that Kai was easily keeping up with proved that I was getting sloppy.
Kai ducked as I swung for his head. He chuckled a little. “It’s been a while since we’ve sparred, hasn’t it?” he asked as he kicked his boot out in an attempt to trip .
I jumped away, easily reading his intentions. “Yeah, Dad would definitely be disappointed in us if he knew.”
Kai’s face fell slightly at the ntion of our father, a reminder that our family was in a whole different realm than us. When we were invited to co to Embervale by our mother’s forr ntor, Niva, we assud it would be a fairly quick trip, just a month or two to learn the basics of Embervaian magic.
Before too long, Kai and I had both fallen in love with Celestial Valley and its marble streets and tall, white spiraling buildings. The city was small but grand, and the priests and priestesses who resided there were harmonious and peace-loving.
Who couldn’t fall in love with a place like that? It was truly paradise.
Frustrated at how weak I felt, I pushed myself even harder, quickening my jabs and kicks as I aid them at my brother. Kai’s eyes were wide and focused as he blocked the blows. I could see his confusion as he sensed my tension.
“Don’t overexert yourself, Bri,” he warned , knowing I tended to do just that when I felt vulnerable.
“I wouldn’t feel the need to if you would stop holding back,” I quipped, smirking when I kicked Kai square in the chest.
He muttered a curse before jumping away from , his hand going to his chest, rubbing what would most likely be a bruise there later. “We should take a break,” he told , eyeing and likely noting the way my shoulders rose and fell rapidly from our intense workout.
“In a minute,” I told him, clenching my jaw at the way my younger brother was trying to coddle .
“Bri,” Kai said warningly. His voice was stern.
I blew out a breath, trying not to let on just how tired I was as I reluctantly nodded in agreent.
Kai just laughed and threw an arm around my shoulders before rubbing his knuckles against my temple affectionately. “And they were going to send you to an unknown realm all by yourself,” he said in amazent with a shake of his head, causing his light brown hair to sway slightly.
I shoved him away playfully as we made our way to our favorite tree at the edge of the field. “I would have managed just fine without you breathing down my neck about eating healthy and getting enough sleep.”
I was teasing him, and he knew it. He knew how grateful I was that he decided to co along. Kai was a little piece of my ho back in Drogomor. Without him there, I probably would have already died of hosickness.
Not only that, but I did not doubt that Kai was ant to be there. He very quickly went from simply shadowing the Celestial Valley healers to being one of their top dics in just a year. He was so young, just nineteen, but he was already well-respected, even by the oldest and most experienced healers in the valley.
I couldn’t be prouder.
I blew out a breath as I collapsed beneath the shade of the huge tree. Kai plopped down beside , stretching his legs out in front of him as he leaned against the thick trunk, one arm behind his head.
“You are rembering to stretch before and after training, right?” he asked suddenly as I was letting my mind wander.
I snorted. “Yes, Mom,” I replied, rolling my eyes a bit. A fondness ran through as well though. Kai had beco almost maternal since beginning his dical training. I couldn’t really bla him. It was basically bred into him to be extrely caring and attentive.
He was largely the reason I was getting enough sleep and eating healthy, although I would never admit that to him.
Kai looked down. I could tell he was thinking about our family just as I was. “Can you believe that we’ve been here for a year?” Kai asked suddenly, his voice sounding far away.
I shook my head, knowing my voice sounded just as wistful as my brother’s. “I can’t,” I admitted. “We weren’t supposed to be here for this long but...” I trailed off.
Kai sat up and turned to look at curiously, raising an eyebrow as the silence between us stretched on. “But?” he prodded.
I opened my mouth to answer but then closed it again. I honestly wasn’t sure. I had no basis for the strange feeling in my gut that told that sothing was coming. I felt there was a larger reason why Kai and I were sent there that surpassed preserving an important and rare form of magic.
It was always our plan to go back ho after we finished our respective training. The longer we stayed, the more I felt like I was ant to stay in the Embervale Realm.
“Briella! Kai!”
My brother and I sat up and looked toward the voice.
Lillian, one of the young priestesses, was hurrying toward us, her bright blue eyes wide. She was dressed in the traditional Celestial Valley robes, with star and moon patterns decorating the hems and sleeves.
We stood up imdiately so that we could et the distraught young woman. I always liked her. She beca a fast friend of ours as soon as we ca to the valley. She tutored in the valley’s history and language.
“Lillian, what’s wrong?” Kai asked, her eyes darkening with concern. I couldn’t help but smirk inwardly, knowing that my brother had a soft spot for the shy girl.
Lillian bit her lip, her eyes widening further. “Sothing’s terribly wrong. I’ve been asked to find you both as soon as possible. A blight of so kind has begun to spread. The valley is in grave danger.”
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