Word Count: 1616

~Aven

The moment I woke, I encouraged Stace to take me out of the dark depths of the cave.

Mercifully, he agreed, and now, with Eryk, we are heading around the perimeter of the city and deeper into the desert. The wooden wheels of the carriage undulate over the soft sand, making me thankful Stace and Eryk are on the other side of the cabin, bumping shoulders with each other.

"This place is very strange looking," I admit softly, looking through the cloudy glass and into the expansive, rolling dunes. The harsh sun above, which I'm grateful to be out of, alights the granules of sand, turning them from red to gold.

Stace tugs at the edge of his hood. "It's a lot to get used to."

I'm not sure if Stace's hood is going to do him much good in protecting his identity. If I saw him, impressively tall and large in stature, with a dark hood, black curls tumbling out the front, I would be tempted to get closer, to know who he is. At least his tattoos are hidden under his large black jacket, giving him some sense of normality.

"I don't think I could survive very long in the desert," I admit. The longer I stare out the window and into the desert, I start to forget what snow looks like, what it feels on my skin, under foot.

"It's hot, isn't it?" Eryk exclaims, wiping sweat off his brow, the tips of his brown hair wet from touching his forehead. He doesn't seem to enjoy this at all, but I am quite content with the heat. "In Territory Two the sea levels out the temperature, but here they live in persistent heat."

"And they don't leave?"

"Many don't. The only place where you can find people who have left their Territory is in Territory 12," Stace explains, making me wince. Do they truly keep to one place? If they grew up like me, not enjoying the weather, or even the life they were born into, they can't leave? Or maybe they just don't want to. Maybe the culture here is so different, it's all beyond my understanding.

I sit back in my seat. "What's in-between Territories?"

"Not much. A lot of criminals who have been banished from their Territories for whatever crime." I frown at that, looking toward the horizon. I have no reference for where this Territory ends, and was asleep when first entering. I'm unsure whether there is a large wall, or something to keep people from just walking into the desert here and living here.

"That's terrifying," I whisper.

Stace holds my gaze steady. "You won't have to worry about any of them, don't worry."

***

We make it to our destination, in a small remote town in a valley between two especially large dunes, which I eye warily, frightened they may decide to collapse at any moment and bury us here forever. But I'm quickly distracted as we enter a restaurant and sit down on an expansive deck area outside, facing a large oasis where the dunes split and shift away from the town.

"This is stunning," I exclaim excitedly, unable to take my eye off the few pools that glitter a watery emerald colour under the sunlight. It's tempting to go for a swim, considering this overwhelming heat that I'm constantly fanning away with the menu. "Maybe I will change my mind about this place."

"You don't want to live here, the leadership is shocking," I hear from behind me at the exact time the spare chair is pulled out from our table, and a man sits down.

My worry about walking in with Eryk and Stace a few moments earlier, attracting stares of burning interest with their dark coats and hood amongst this heat has been promptly put to rest with who now joins us at the table. A complete stranger, yet it's glaringly obvious he's a Noble, with his gushing confidence and unfairly pretty complexion.

"Ellard? What are you doing here?" Stace questions, tugging his hood back slightly to examine the man sitting across from us.

"This is my home town, remember," the man, Ellard, exclaims, leaning back comfortably in the chair. "What's your name?"

His eyes shift to me, looking like molton gold trapped inside his irises. His gaze even feels hot, as he pins me in place with it, quirking a brow as he waits for my response. Is every Noble beautiful? There's something in the way his face is shaped that makes him unique to Kalder and Arkyn. The reflections off the spring pools plays across his face, in the hollows of his cheeks, along his jawline.

"Aven," I respond quietly.

"Don't go touching her," Eryk warns deeply, glaring at the Noble who has so suddenly joined us out of nowhere. Ellard holds his hands up, not wearing any gloves, although he does have a few golden rings that make my throat dry just to look at. So not only is he beautiful, he's also evidently very wealthy.

"I won't..."

"Why can't he touch me?" I question, looking between Stace and Eryk. Stace has now rid off his hood, not bothering with keeping anonymous, freeing his dark curls and alluring tattoos. It's not as though I'm Ellard's mate, not when I'm Stace's...

"I can see into future or present situations by touching certain objects or people. It can't be controlled," Ellard explains, sobering himself at the admission of his powers. It's hard to read him, to determine whether he is ashamed of them or not. That sounds exciting to me, yet when I delve a little deeper into that thought, it gets dark. What nightmarish things has he seen? What could be possibly seen for me?

"He has seen enough bad things in his time that I don't think he should touch you at the risk he sees something," Stace says, voicing my own concerns.

"Wouldn't it be a good thing, if he saw something bad that we could change?" I say, looking around the table. Ellard tilts his head back and forth, considering my proposal, weighing up against the experiences he's had in the past.

"It's not so simple," I decide.

"What are you doing here, Ellard?" Stace questions tiredly, the usual bite to his tone having vanished. It's like he expected more Noble's would find their way to us, especially one who can predict the future, in some strange, unpredictable sense. He likely would have touched something and seen that we were going to be here, in this small town out of the city

"I heard mentions that you were here, and since it's been so long since you've visited, I figured I had to come find you myself," he explains, sweeping a hand back through his thick, brown hair, a slight golden tinge to it under the sunlight that can't possibly be from his rings. "And maybe me picking up a knife this morning revealed where you would be."

Stace glances toward a waitress who comes to fill out glasses of water. I watch her tremble as she leans past Stace - I can't hardly blame her. "We will be leaving here tomorrow."

"Why the rush?" Ellard asks, nodding at the waitress whose cheeks flush before she backs away and rushes off back behind a small crowd of people coming in through the restaurant entrance. "Why not stay at mine tonight. I'm sure the other's would love to see you."

I tug my gaze away from Ellard, just as I catch a glimpse of a frightfully familiar person.

Her hair is a dark blonde, almost brown, braids wound and tightly pinned against her head. Our eyes meet, and for a moment, I'm lost in the depths of them, in the familiarity I see within them. My mind tears back to what feels like forever ago, when I swear I saw this exact girl in the graveyard where my adoptive father is buried. She even saw me bleed....And now she is here, in another realm entirely.

"Wait. I think I know that girl...." I say distractedly, pointing toward her.

She ducks her head down, rushing out the front door, vanishing from my view.

Stace follows my gaze. "I don't see anyone."

"I ran into her in a cemetery back in the mortal realm...She acted really strange, and I think she even bled purple too," I explain. Ellard frowns, likely thinking I've suddenly lost my mind as I point toward where the girl once stood. She is here, yet she is trying to avoid being seen or spoken to.

"I'll check it out." Eryk gets to his feet, following where I gesture toward.

"Perhaps if you're seeing things, you should stay at mine tonight. You will be safe there," Ellard exclaims, smiling warmly at me. I know he is making a joke, but something uncomfortable settles deep in my chest. Was I seeing things? It would be wild for me to think the girl I saw that day would be here. She was gone the moment I saw her, so maybe it's a consequence of all the overwhelming things that have been happening recently.

"Fine. But don't go inviting any other Noble's around. Aven doesn't need to deal with that," Stace sighs, considering Ellard is only going to sit here and continue to encourage us to stay unless he agrees.

Ellard dips his head, lowering his gaze. "They would love her, Stace."

My mate's gaze flickers to me. "That's the problem."

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