Exhaustion overwhelmed her. Nothing appealed to her. And all Narvari ever did was stay away from everyone and everything, confined in her room. Pheera seemed to notice her need for space and left her alone to her thoughts. She was grateful for that, for she had a lot to think about. She even forgot how long had passed. Was it two days, two weeks, or two years? It was all the same to her. Then one day, Yanvirrak came into her room. She told him to leave, but he would hear none of it. After convincing Narvari that what she needed was a distraction, she finally followed him to one of the training halls to spar.

  “Now take out your frustration on me,” he said, grinning. “Let it all out, Shar.”

  Narvari folded her arms. “You’re sure you want me to beat the shit out of you?”

  “If it will make you feel better, then go for it.” After a moment’s pause, he added, “Pheera is worried about you.”

  Narvari sighed. Without warning, she pounced on Yanvirrak, but he swiftly blocked her attack. They grunted as their attacks grew more frenzied. Narvari sent a fist toward Yanvirrak’s chest. He blocked it with both hands. After a couple of more exchanges, she sent a hefty punch to Yanvirrak’s face. The force of the punch sent him tumbling to the floor.

  “You have a point,” said Narvari. “Punching you in the face makes me feel better.”

  Yanvirrak laughed. He was soon back on his feet and their sparring continued for probably an hour or two. It didn’t matter. She was feeling better by the second. The thrill of the fight was washing away all the resentment and sadness she’d been harboring inside ever since her father showed up.

  She was about to block a kick from Yanvirrak when something outside distracted her. Yanvirrak’s fist clobbered her in the abdomen but she didn’t even seem to notice since all her attention was on Pheera. The young woman was passing by with Pheleraz with such urgency that they didn’t see Narvari and Yanvirrak. Narvari went closer to the windows to take a look.

  “Is that Pheera,” Yanvirrak asked, “and Pheleraz? Where are they going?”

  Narvari would like to know too. Pheera looked calm on the outside, but there was something about her eyes that told Narvari that the girl didn’t want to be anywhere near her asshole brother. Before Narvari could go after them to ensure Pheera was alright, she saw Trixan come from behind, with the same urgency in her step. That immediately stopped Narvari. She sighed in relief. If Trixan was with them, then Pheera was safe. Yet there was something odd about the whole thing. Something didn’t feel right. All of a sudden, it felt like all the pent-up anger she had worked hard to release had returned a hundredfold.

  “Why would Trixan allow that jerk anywhere near her?” Narvari balled her fist. After everything Pheera had been through. “Something isn’t right.”

  “Well, at least Trixan is with them, right?” said Yanvirrak. “Pheera’s safe.”

  “Yeah, well, I don’t trust him. I think he’s threatening Pheera.”

  Yanvirrak raised a brow. “Why do you?—?“ The sound of footsteps interrupted him. Whoever those footsteps belonged to must have been running as the sound got louder and heavier. “What the hell,” Yanvirrak whispered as soon as Zemeron ran by looking utterly pissed. Narvari and Yanvirrak exchanged a silent glance. Suddenly, they both lunged towards the door after Zemeron. The dread in the pits of her stomach deepened. Something was definitely not right. They ran after Zemeron through the hallways until they got closer to where Hellstorm was held. Either Zemeron didn’t care he was being followed or he was too angry to notice them.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Narvari and Yanvirrak halted. Just outside the interrogation room, Zemeron was in a heated argument with Trixan.

  “You can’t be serious, Trixan,” Zemeron fumed. “I trusted you.”

  “Zee, stop,” said Pheera as she took her brother’s hand, gently pulling him away from Trixan.

  Zemeron glared at Pheleraz. “This is all his fault.” Turning to Pheera, he said, “Is he making you do this? I’m going to kill him.”

  As if Narvari’s feet had a mind of their own, they dragged her towards the commotion. “What’s going on?” Narvari asked.

  Everyone’s eyes were on her.

  “They are going to make Pheera captivate Hellstorm,” Zemeron said.

  “What?” Narvari and Yanvirrak said at the same time. Narvari’s eyes darkened as they landed on Pheleraz. He had a smug smile on his face. He certainly had something to do with this, the bastard. She wanted to wipe that smugness off his face. Why the hell was Trixan allowing this to happen? Was the Elder so desperate to find the truth that she would jeopardize Pheera’s physical and mental health? No. She refused to believe it. “Trixan, is this true?” Narvari asked.

  Trixan said nothing, nor did her face show any expression.

  Narvari took Pheera’s hand. “You can’t force Pheera to do this,” she said to Pheleraz. “I won’t let you, Pheleraz. Not even you, Elder.”

  Yanvirrak and Zemeron took their place next to Narvari. Together, they all stood in front of Pheera. Anyone who wanted to hurt her girl would have to go through her first.

  “Well, this is adorable,” Pheleraz scoffed. “Your own little army. How pathetic. Now stop wasting my time. Let’s go, Pheera. Now.”

  “She’s not going anywhere.” Narvari moved forward. This man was testing her patience. Yet, it was Trixan who made her even angrier. “Why aren’t you stopping this, Trixan?” Trixan’s eyes softened, and for a moment, Narvari thought the Elder would say something. But she didn’t. Narvari scoffed. “I thought you were supposed to protect Pheera from people like him?”

  “That’s enough,” said Pheera firmly. She slipped from behind Narvari and took her place next to Pheleraz.,

  “Pheera, what are you doing?”

  “My duty,” she said. “Now stop blaming Trixan. This is my choice and you need to respect it.”

  “It’s your choice to captivate Hellstorm?” asked Narvari. What the hell?

  “I know it’s hard for you because he’s your father. But right now I’m the only one who can get the truth out of him.”

  “I don’t care if you captivate Hellstorm or the fucking Demon King.” Narvari bridged the distance between her and Pheera. “What I care about is that you hate using your power, and yet for some reason, here you are. Pheera, don’t let him force you to use it if you don’t want to. You are still recovering after everything you’ve been through and?—?”

  “You think I’m weak,” Pheera interrupted.

  “What? No.” She tried to take Pheera’s hand but she pulled away. “Pheera, I have never thought of you as weak. Ever.” How could Pheera even say that? She was one of the strongest people Narvari knew.

  “Then why do you keep treating me like something about to break?”

  Narvari narrowed her eyes. “Pheera, I?—?”

  “No, listen,” Pheera glared at her, “don’t you think it’s hypocritical that you’re stopping me from doing something I want to do and then claim that you want me to have free will?”

  “Is this something you want to do?”

  Pheera paused. “Yes.” Those eyes could never fool Narvari. That was a blatant lie, and they both knew it. “Back off, Narvari. This has nothing to do with you.” Not even waiting to hear what Narvari had to say, Pheera followed Trixan and Pheleraz into the interrogation room.

  Narvari balled her fists, watching them through the glass. She wasn’t leaving until she was sure that Pheera would be alright. Even though Pheera never said it out loud, Narvari was sure that the girl didn’t want to do this.

  “Something’s wrong,” said Yanvirrak.

  “I know,” said Narvari. “She’s not herself.”

  “Pheleraz is behind this, I’m sure of it,” Zemeron said. “I swear I’m going to kill him.”

  “You won’t have to,” said Narvari. “Because I will do it myself.”