Branches of Life

10 years ago...

Mom, Annie, and Garret were engrossed in conversation with a group of people and didn't notice us sneaking past them. I let out a relieved sigh when we made it out of the ballroom without being noticed. Instead of leaving the castle the same way we came in, we went to the left and down a hallway.

We followed the wide hallway, passing various wooden doors, and taking left and right turns seemingly at random. The black stone walls—shocker—were lined with lit torches. Instead of being lit by fire, the torches were lit up with swirls of bright colors, the same as the northern lights. Eventually, I stopped being mesmerized by the colorful torches after wandering through the hallway for what felt like a half hour. I couldn't understand how this hallway was so long. My limited patience had just about worn thin, and I was seconds away from accusing Ari of getting us lost when we came across a sliding glass door leading outside.

How in the world did she know how to find this?

Ari eased the door open, but we didn't move at first, listening carefully to make sure no one else was out there. When we didn't hear anyone else, we stepped out and were immediately greeted by a freezing gust of wind. I nearly suggested we go back and get out coats, but that upped our chances of getting caught.

Once outside, I realized why the hallway had seemed so endless. Instead of having the black stone of the towering castle behind us, the wall surrounding the sliding doors was that of the mountain. We had just walked through the mountain and came out the other side.

The ledge we stood on was decent in size, creating a small snowy courtyard, with evergreens spaced around the area. A stone path led from the doors to another glass bridge. Which, unfortunately, led to our destination. The temple was also built into the side of a mountain, made up of the same black stone as the palace. The main differences were, the temple was more rectangular and wasn't nearly as tall. Nighttime had descended sometime during our long walk, the sky now filled with bright constellations.

I hesitated at the beginning of the bridge. My stomach pitched at the thought of going across another one of these bridges. Especially with how the wind was whipping my hair and dress around me.

"I'm not too sure about this," I said, eyeing the bridge like it would crumble the second I touched it.

"You can do this, Jay. Just hold onto me the whole time. And don't forget to breathe."

The cold was sinking into my bones, making me shiver. Not only did I want to see the inside of the temple, but I would do almost anything to get out of the frigid air. So after taking a couple of deep breaths, I nodded and took Ari's hand behind her back.

Like last time, I kept my focus on Ari's back as we hurried across the bridge. The thin lace of my sleeves did absolutely nothing against the sharp winds. I was so cold, that when we finally exited the bridge, I couldn't even enjoy the beautiful and intricate columns at the base of the temple. All my focus was on getting to the carved wooden doors. Which were way heavier than I was expecting. As soon as the doors swung open, a rush of warm air swirled around us, inviting us in. I sighed in relief as the heavy doors slammed shut with an echoing thud, blocking out the freezing winds.

Now that I was no longer freezing my butt off, I was able to enjoy the temple. Its glass ceiling allowed us a full view of the northern lights. If the moon had been out, moonlight would've flooded the open room. As it was, the only lights in the open floor plan, were from the shifting lights and the candles lit at various intervals. In the center of the spacious room, was an oversized statue of Solaris.

"Unreal," I murmured, my voice echoing.

Ari jumped onto a bench that ran along the wall to my right. "Told you it was cool."

"I could do without the statue though," I said, giving the glass effigy a wide berth. The cupped hands and head of the statue were made of clear glass. While the body was an opaque black glass.

Ari paused her steps, tilting her head to the side as she stared at the statue in question. "I wonder if that's what he actually looked like." She hopped down from the bench, wandering closer to the statue.

"I doubt he was faceless," I said with a small giggle, turning my attention to the other side of the room. I didn't add that I doubted that he and all of the other deities existed. It seemed rude to say so, in his temple of all places—just in case he actually was real.

"I hope not. Even without a face, the thing is ugly," Ari said lightly, not caring about insulting him in his own temple.

"Just so you know, if Solaris shows up here pissed off, I will leave you behind," I joked, studying the sigils carved into the walls. I was learning the basics of each Mythics’ languages, but I wouldn't call myself fluent.

From what I could gather, the carvings talked about how Solaris imbued select humans with some of his blood and magic, creating the first Mythic blood mages. Cupped in the statue's hands was a red liquid, representing the blood he shared. Each race of Mythics had similar origin stories.

The loud bang of the doors slamming open, had me whipping around, heart racing. Within seconds, Ari was beside me as a man—or what I assumed was a man—strolled into the temple, letting the doors slam shut behind him. He had yet to step into the candlelight, so all I could see was his tall and lean build.

"What are you girls doing out here, all alone?" His raspy voice bounced around the room, the ominous tone of his voice sending shivers down my spine as my palms began to sweat. Warning bells blared in my head, warning me that we needed to get out of here.

"I could ask the same of you." Ari slowly shifted, ending up partially in front of me.

"Oh, I just came out here to pray. It's a nice night for it, don't you think?"

Ari's already tense body went still. "You're lying."

"Come again?" He sounded more amused than anything.

"Did you follow us out here?" Ari demanded hiding her shaking hand behind her back. I reached out, grabbing her hand and squeezing it in reassurance as we slowly moved backward.

"You wanted me to follow you. That's why you left the party in the first place." He drifted closer, somehow managing to remain in the shadows, making me feel uncomfortable that I couldn't read his expression or even know who we were dealing with.

"What are you even talking about?" Ari continued backing up, keeping her steps small without lifting her feet. I tried to do the same until I bumped into one of the candle holders, creating an earsplitting clatter that echoed throughout the temple as it fell.

My heart just about leaped into my throat, while Ari's grip on my hand became bone-crushing as we waited for his response. He was silent for many long and agonizing seconds, the only sound coming from the candle rolling across the floor until it came to a stop against the wall.

"Don't play coy, I saw the way you looked at me."

"I doubt that." Ari had shifted over so that she was now completely blocking me from view. "You know what I think? I think you saw us sneak off and thought you'd have an easier time overpowering us than you would with an adult. Because you know how pathetic and weak you are."

As Ari spoke, I slowly reached out and grabbed a candle from the nearest candleholder, the silver burning my skin where it made contact. I cringed against the pain, taking deep and uneven breaths. Exhaling as quietly as possible, I blew out the candle, shifting it in my hand, ready to throw it at a moment's notice. Yes, it was a weak plan, and my fighting instructor would be shaking her head in disappointment if she were here. But I was terrified and suddenly forgot all of my training

The man stepped into the candlelight and I barely held back my gasp. I recognized him as the one who took our coats earlier. He had been so unassuming before, that if I hadn't been so mesmerized by his casting, I probably wouldn't have remembered him. He was just one of those people whose face was unmemorable. If I had to place his age, I'd put him in his mid-twenties. One thing I knew for certain, was that I'd no longer classify him as unassuming. Not with the pure rage contorting his face.

"Please tell me you have an actual plan, besides pissing him off and making him want to kill us," I whispered as quietly as possible, my heavy breaths echoing off the walls as I squeezed Ari's hand and the candle.

"This random and creepy loser trapped us out of nowhere, of course I don't have a plan," Ari whispered back, struggling to keep her voice low as we held our ground. No way would we give him the satisfaction of our fear.

In a quick and practiced movement, he sliced open his palm and dipped his fingers in the blood. Without thinking through my actions, I stepped around Ari and chucked the candle at him. It sailed through the air and smacked his forehead. The candle itself wasn't all that heavy and only made him flinch. All I achieved was pissing him off further.

Before I could even blink, I was lifted off the ground by some unknown force and flung across the room. The marble floor was unforgiving as I rolled across it, only coming to a stop when I slammed into the base of the statue. My throbbing head could attest to the durability of the glass.

My vision was fuzzy as I shoved myself up into a sitting position. Pure terror shot through me as I heard the telltale sounds of fighting and Ari's screams. I stumbled as I stood up, feeling a slight head rush.

In my still blurry vision, I saw the flickering flames of a nearby candle. I grabbed the candle ignoring my stinging skin, only able to focus on Ari's yelled insults, and his growled swears. I saw the vague shapes of them fighting and after a quick prayer that I didn't hit Ari, I threw the candle.

Based on his growl, I hit my mark. Before I could celebrate or grab another candle, I was flung back again, narrowly missing the statue in the process. Thankfully this time, I rolled to a stop a couple of feet from the wall, sparing my head and body from any additional pain.

Climbing to my feet, I was relieved my vision was no longer fuzzy. That is until I saw him laying on top of Ari, struggling to hold her down as she kicked and hit him, screaming like a banshee the whole time.

Before I could even move or think of what to do next, the heavy wooden door slammed open, nearly cracking the wall in the process, if the earsplitting boom shaking the temple was anything to go by. The blood mage went flying through the air, rolling to a stop several feet away from Ari.

Without thought, I ran across the room and dropped to my knees beside Ari. Most of her hair had come free from her bun, and her green eyes were wide with fear. She pulled me into a tight hug, to the point I could barely breathe. Her grip eventually loosened, but she still kept ahold of me. Almost like she was afraid to let go.

The man had found his way back to his feet, but it wasn't us he was looking at. Whoever it was that saved Ari, wasn't a friend of our attacker. Not with pure terror painting his expression as he stared at the newcomer—who stood only a few feet away from the door. From our vantage point, they were still cloaked in shadows. Obviously, that wasn't the same for the blood mage. He recognized whoever it was.

"I didn't do anything wrong," he choked out. His voice was different than before, more whiny and higher pitched. Now that he wasn't facing two teenage girls, his confidence and bravado vanished, leaving behind a scared and pathetic man.

"Liar," Ari hissed, her hands clenching into fists.

The twitchy doorman glanced at Ari and then back at the newcomer. "She wanted me." Ari scoffed while I made a choking sound. The audacity of this creep. "It's true, she flirted with me. She's just being a tease." His voice shook as he continued trying to justify his actions.

"So you attacked them, and tried to force yourself on her?" The deep voice of the newcomer reverberated throughout the temple as he slowly prowled forward. For every step he took forward, the doorman took a step back.

"For argument's sake, let's say I believe this story. Let's say, I believe this pretty young girl flirted with you. I'm still failing to see how you can justify attacking her when she didn't want to screw you. In front of her sister, I might add. Did I miss any details?"

He had yet to step into the light, but I was able to make out his towering size and muscular build as he continued stalking the other man, who was unable to form a coherent sentence anymore. "You don't have to say anything, I know that's not what happened. Just like I know there is no way in hell either of them would give you the time of day."

The creep went flying again, slamming into the far wall with a loud crack. The unknown man blurred through the room, faster than my eyes could track, pulling him up by his collar and punching him in the face multiple times. The creep already had blood on his face, from the scratches on his cheek from Ari, but now he had a split lip and a broken nose. When the other man released his collar, he collapsed to the ground and barely moved. Whether or not he was unconscious, I didn't care. Not when our savior turned around and the candlelight finally caught his face.

A gasp escaped me as I realized he was the beautiful guard from earlier.

"Are you alright?" He asked shaking out his hand as he moved closer, stopping several feet away.

Our only responses were small nods.

He sighed, running his fingers through his hair, dislodging the stands so they fell on his forehead. "I'm not even going to bother asking why you were out here, alone. I had a feeling you were rule breakers, the moment I saw you."

"I didn't hear any rules saying we couldn't be out here," I blurted, feeling the need to speak, but having no clue what to say. I wanted to kick myself as soon as the words were out. What a dumb thing to say.

"I didn't see a sign on the door, saying we couldn't come in," Ari added.

He laughed under his breath, shaking his head. The harsh angles of his face softened from his smile. "Let's get you rule-breakers back to the party before anyone notices you're gone," he said before leading us back to the ball.