'That was the same night I got my powers...' I muttered, holding my head in my hands 'I felt a throbbing pain in my eye, and next thing I knew it was blood red. I even had wings sprouting out my back, so two in one I guess...'

The room was silent. Luke had his hand over his torso, which was where he was cut down, and his wings drooped sadly. Vincent was behind me, with his hands gently holding my shoulders for comfort. Hunter had her head down, fists and jaw clenched in anger. Jet wrapped his arms around himself, and a shadow was cast over his eyes. Even Silver seemed to be affected, since her now exposed fox ears drooped and her eyes stared down at her feet.

Finally, Hunter had the courage to speak up 'If I'm right, the Alzdrakian search party found you asleep next to Luke's body the next morning?'

I nodded 'Yeah. General Emiliana told me she found me with my wings forming some sort of protective cocoon around me. Though, she wasn't a general back then. More like a guard in-training.'

'Yeah... They brought you back to Alzdrak and nursed you back to health.' Silver chimed in 'After that, you started training to become a guard.'

'And here you are now.' Vincent finished, giving my shoulder a gentle squeeze.

Jet hadn't spoken a word since we started the story. He seemed tense, and though I couldn't see his eyes I could sense guilt in his aura.

'Jet?' I called softly. He looked up at me, his eyes filled with unfallen tears.

'You said it was a Dragnian that did it?' He asked in a shaky voice.

'That's right, he's the prince of the Lands of Dragnir...' I thought to myself 'He's blaming himself.'

'Jet.' I gave him a sad look as I stood up, before walking over to the boy and placing a hand gently on his shoulder 'What happened wasn't your fault. You had no control over it.'

'But my people-' He choked out 'They... they caused you so much pain! If it weren't for that... that lizard, You wouldn't have to hide who you are! You wouldn't have lost what was important to you! You wouldn't-'

'Hey,' I spoke firmly, making him flinch 'Hey...' I repeated in a softer tone, before pulling him into an embrace. His arms quickly wrapped around my waist, and he buried his head into the nape of my neck as he sobbed. I felt his tears drop onto the fabric of my suit, making me sigh as I ran my fingers through his hair 'This was when you were a child, Jet. You were like, ten at the time. You didn't kill Luke. You didn't lead the attack. So you can stop talking like it was your fault. What's done has been done. It's in the past now.'

I looked up at Luke, who was staring at us in confusion.

'He's the Dragnian prince...' I whispered, causing him to make an 'o' shape with his mouth.

'Oi, dragon boy.' I called, pulling away from the hug, but keeping my hands on his shoulders. 'What's cryin' for?'

He sniffled 'Wimps...'

'And are you a wimp~?'

'No, I'm a man!' He stated, baring his sharp teeth.

'Then stop your crying!'

Jet chuckled lightly, wiping his eyes and nose with the sleeve of his long coat. 'Thanks, odd-eyes'

I stuck my tongue out at him 'Anytime, emo.'

'So, wait, what exactly is your relationship with each other?' Hunter butts in, placing a finger to her chin thoughtfully as she switched her gaze between the two of us 'I can't really pinpoint it...'

'Uhhh...' Jet and I exchanged glances 'Sibling-'

'-ish?' I add at the end. Jet raised an eyebrow at me.

'What's with the 'ish' at the end?' He asked.

'The 'sibling' relationship I have with you is different to the sibling relationship I have with, well, my actual sibling.' I tried to explained, using quotation marks when I needed to.

'How so?'

'I haven't tried killing Luke numerous times, when with you...' I trailed off, thinking of what happened this morning when he 'threw away' my armour. 'Yeah you get the gist.'

'Come on it's not like you were seriously gonna kill me.' Jet laughed nervously, but stopped when he saw my blank stare '...Right?'

I blinked slowly, my lips pursed together as I shrugged 'Sure...'

Jet visibly shuddered as I walked away smirking. Vincent saw it and gently grabbed my arm 'You can be really cruel sometimes, you know that?' he whispered into my ear.

'Yup~' I replied, popping the 'p'.

He rolled his eyes 'Of course you do... Seriously though, would you kill him?'

'Uhm, no!' I let out an annoyed laugh as I yanked my arm from his grip 'It would cause a war between Alzdrak and Dragnir! That is not something I want!'

'Okay, yeesh, it was just a question!' Vincent spoke with wide eyes, holding his hands up. 'I think that disguise potion's messing with your temper.'

Wait...

Potion...

Oh gosh, that's right! The potions!

'Silver!' I yelled, spinning round to face the Foxeen 'You still got the potions, right? Please tell me you have!'

'Relax.' Silver told me, pulling back her cloak to reveal the pouch I had tossed her 'I have them...'

'Oh thank Emira!'

'Oh right, that's why we came. Almost slipped my mind. Almost.' Jet defined, running a hand through his long side fringe.

'He totally forgot.' I whispered to Hunter

'Yea no doubt.' She whispered back, giggling.

Silver walked over to Luke, handing him the pouch with care so neither of them dropped it. He thanked her, before turning to me with a smile.

'Thank you for making the journey to bring these to us.' He said politely, placing a hand to his heart and bowing slightly. I snorted.

'Feathers, I'm your sister. You can skip the formality crap with me, it's not like anyone cares about it anyway.'

Luke rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment 'Right, right. It's a habit, I guess. Anyway, the three of you are welcome to stay at the academy tonight. Wouldn't want you setting off without proper rest, am I right?'

'True.' I shrugged 'Is dinner in the offer too?'

'That can be arranged.'

'Alright you heard the man! We're staying here tonight!'

Hunter and Vincent exchanged glances, rolling their eyes playfully at my behaviour. 'She's still our girl...'

(Timeskip)

After our luxurious dinner, I say luxurious because I haven't had a proper meal in days, we all decided to hit the hay early. So now I was lying in my bed, staring at the ceiling as I slowly dozed off.

Until there was a knock at my door

I groaned loudly, sitting up in bed as I glared at the door 'What?!'

'Uhm. It's me.' Jet's slightly startled voice came from the other side. I huffed.

'Come in, Jet...' I called, my tone softer this time. The door opened, revealing Jet in his black tunic and light grey boxers. He smiled sheepishly.

'Hey, Iris... um...' He spoke kinda awkwardly as he combed a hand through his hair.

'Whadda ya want, Dragon Boy?' I yawned 'Come on. Spit it out.'

Jet gulped, but his face went back to his usual annoyed frown.

'Your, uh, brother. His name's Luke, right?'

I scratched my scalp, giving him a thoughtful pout 'Actually his name's Lukali. I just call him Luke for short, because it rolls off the tongue better. In my opinion anyways.' I explained with a shrug 'What about him? You interested in him or something?'

Jet blushed, looking to the side and pursing his lips together 'N-No, not at all.'

I hummed suspiciously, raising an eyebrow as I smirked at his red face 'Uh-huh, sure. That's totally not why you look like an emo tomato right now.'

'S-Shut your piehole!'

I laughed, clutching my stomach as I pointed at him and chanted: 'Jet has a crush~! Jet has a crush~!'

'No I don't!' The Dragnian snapped, the colour in his cheeks deepening 'Jeez...'

'Who has a crush on who?' Luke asked as he popped his head through the doorway, causing both Jet and I to jump.

'Oh, hey bro. Yeah we were just talking about how Jet has-' I was cut off, as Jet rushed over and covered my mouth with his hand.

'HAHA! You're so funny, Iris!' He laughed loudly 'Anyway yeah good talk I'm gonna go to my room now BYE!'

Mine and Luke's eyes followed him as he scurried out of my room, careful not to make eye contact with my brother. Luke turned to me, pointing to the doorway with a raised brow.

'Is he alright?'

I shrugged 'He's Jet...'

Luke hummed in response, before walking over and sitting on the edge of my bed. His wings were gone, meaning he had deactivated the spell somewhere between now and after dinner. He looked at me dead in the eye

'And are you alright?'

I tilted my head 'Yes?'

'Are you sure?'

'Are you being an overprotective brother? I mean yeah Jet can act a bit dickish sometimes but-'

'No no, I don't mean from that.' Luke shook his head 'I mean from earlier. You know when we told the others about what happened seven years ago?'

'Oh. That.' I took a deep breath 'It doesn't bother me anymore, Luke. I mean yeah I still get flashbacks, but I've learned to ignore them. If I'm honest, Silver seemed more upset about it than me. Fucking Silver!'

'Really? She seemed pretty neutral about it to me.'

'Her ears were drooped.'

'You pay attention to that?'

I shrugged 'Her eyes are too dead for me to look into so I focus on her ears instead. Plus her aura shifted, only slightly though.'

Luke raised an eyebrow, before realising what I meant 'Right. Shadow Mage...'

'Yup. Proud of it. Not.'

Luke sighed before resting his hand gently on my shoulder 'Well, I'll always be here if you want to talk. I'm here for you, sis.'

'Same to you. You can always dump your troubles on me.' I winked, making him chuckle.

'Alright.' He gave my shoulder a gentle squeeze, before standing up and making his way towards the door. 'Get some sleep. Remember you have a long journey tomorrow.'

'Ugh. Don't remind me...'

'Well, g'night sis.' He said as he started to close the door. I once again snuggled under the covers.

'Night, Lukali...'

'Oh, and Iris?'

'Yeah?'

He tossed a bottle of lapiz coloured liquid to me, which I caught with one hand 'You'll need this. Yours will wear off soon.'

I looked down at the disguise potion and smiled 'Thanks.'

(Jet POV)

I sat with my feet over the bed, thinking about what Iris had said. The words made me frown in confusion

'You interested in him or something?'

I scoffed, but my cheeks warmed up slightly.

'Jet's got a crush~!'

'No I don't!' I growled, hitting my forehead 'Dragon's don't get crushes...'

'Uh-huh. That's totally not why you look like an emo tomato right now.'

Come to think of it, why did that happen? Dragnian's only blush around others it that person is their ma-

An image of Iris's brother appeared in my mind, and my face heated up even more.

'What? No, he can't- my mate died before I even met them, I felt our bond break!' I yelled to myself, but stopped as soon as I recalled what Luke told me.

'Wait... Are you meaning to tell me you-'

'Yes.'

'But you can only become an Emira Guardian if you-'

'Die. Yes I know...'

My eyes widened. Surely not... Wouldn't I have felt the bond fix itself when he came back?

Father's words suddenly echoed in my mind 'If your dead mate comes back to life for whatever reason, you can only rekindle the bond if you meet them in person.'

'Oh my... D-Does this mean...'