Cora didn’t remember falling asleep. She sat up slowly, a dull throb in her shoulder, and looked around the empty room. Sunlight streamed in through the windows in the ceiling, and she had to think for a moment to remember where she was. The only time the city ever sounded so quiet was when it had snowed so much that the houses were nearly buried. That had been one of the longest days in her memory, trapped in her hiding place in a crawl space in the top of an old building.

The air here was warm and smelled of herbs. Voices drifted through the slightly open door, and she slid from the cot and crept across the floor to listen.

“…be bringing more in soon.” The healer’s voice came in even and steady.

“I can go to the market tomorrow and ask around,” Seth replied.

“You’ll be there for more than herbs, if your friend decides to stay.”

With a sigh, Cora pushed the door open and stepped out. “I’m not his friend,” she clarified.

A steaming pot sat in the middle of the table and the healer stood closest to the counter, untying a bundle of dried herbs. Seth turned in his seat, on the opposite side of the table, to face her

“Good morning,” he said, smiling wide and ignoring her comment.

“How are you feeling?” Mattias asked.

“Fine,” she answered automatically.

“That’s good.” Something about his expression told her that the healer saw through her. “Are you hungry?”

Her stomach growled before she could answer.

A small smile flashed across the older man’s face and he set the herbs down, turning toward the counter. “Sit down, and I will get you a bowl.”

Cora eyed the nearest chair. If she sat there, she would be between Seth and Mattias, a vulnerable spot. There were other chairs around the circular table, but she would have to pass someone to sit there.

“It’s just a chair,” Seth said, his voice light.

She scowled. “I know.” Making up her mind, she stepped up and chose the chair closest.

“How’s your arm?” he tried.

“Fine,” she repeated, watching as Mattias scooped some sort of stew out of the pot on the table and into a bowl.

“Here,” the healer said, setting the bowl in front of her. “You need to eat to regain your strength.”

“I’m fine,” she said again, brushing off his words as her attention was pulled to the bowl in front of her.

It smelled better than anything she had ever stolen from a market stand. She ignored the temperature, scarfing it down to satisfy her empty stomach. When she finished, she leaned back in the chair and turned her eyes to the ceiling.

“When did you last eat?” Mattias asked, interrupting the quiet.

Before she could answer, a knock sounded at the door.

Cora turned in her chair to watch as Mattias went to answer it.

As soon as the door was opened, a girl in a dark purple cloak hurried inside. She pulled her hood back when the door closed, revealing a long braid of strawberry blonde hair and freckles across her nose.

“Delta?” Mattias stepped back. “What are you doing? Where is Liam?” The alarm in his voice made Cora tense.

“He’s hurt,” the girl answered. “He sent me to get you.”

Mattias closed his eyes and let out a sigh. “Does he forget how dangerous it is for you to go out alone?”

The girl glanced around the room before answering. A look of surprise crossed her face when her hazel eyes met Cora’s. She spoke without dropping eye contact. “He hurt himself butchering for the market.”

Mattias ran a hand over his short black hair and shook his head. “Okay. I’ll grab my bag. Wait here.” He headed back toward the room with the cots. As he passed the table, Cora heard him mutter to himself, “Idiot.”

The girl let her gaze wander around the room, releasing Cora from her stare. The cloak she wore fell over her shoulders, down to her knees, covering most of her body. On her feet, she wore the same strange shoes Cora had seen on the way to the healer’s place.

When Mattias returned he carried a large canvas bag. “I’ll be back,” he said, pausing at the table. “Don’t open the door.” He gave Seth a pointed look, then met the girl at the door. “Alright. Let’s go.”

Cora waited until the door had shut behind them before rounding on Seth. “What was that about?” The worry in Mattias’ voice when the girl had shown up alone had Cora feeling on edge.

Seth sighed. “Liam is always doing dumb things. He doesn’t deserve to be a Shield.”

“What are you talking about?” She narrowed her eyes at him. His answer did not make sense.

“Oh. Right.” Seth rubbed the back of his neck. “There is no magic where you’re from.”

She held her stare and waited in silence for him to continue.

“A Shield is someone with magic who makes a promise to protect someone without magic,” he explained.

“Why?” she prompted when he did not immediately continue.

“Well, because there are monsters here, in Phaedra. Shadow-Walkers. The only defense against them is magic.”

Silence fell between them while Cora went over his explanation in her head. “Monsters…” she repeated the word slowly. There were monsters back in the city too. Those monsters were the reason she had ended up here. People with money never thought twice about hurting those without.

Stolen story; please report.

“Yes,” Seth said at last. “The Ancient Magic created the Shield bond to protect those without magic. Delta has no magic, and Liam is her Shield. His magic is supposed to protect her from the monsters…” He gestured to the door. “Except when he does something stupid.”

“Like sending her here alone,” Cora finished. The idea seemed absurd.

“Yes. Without him, she has no way to defend herself against the Shadow-Walkers,” he explained.

Cora crossed her arms. When she tried to picture a monster, the image in her mind was always the same. She stood to fill her bowl with more stew without looking at Seth. Stirring its contents, she took her time sitting down, watching the steam that rose up from the bowl. Just the idea of relying on someone else to protect her was repulsive enough to make her tense. No one looked after Rats in the city. That wasn’t entirely true though… She had been raised by Mica and Zack, who looked after the youngest of the Rats. They didn’t have a house, exactly. They had taken over an abandoned building on the forgotten side of the city, away from the wealthiest homes.

“Do you have magic?” she finally asked, pulling her thoughts away from the place she would rather not think about.

“Yeah!” Seth answered. “I mean, yeah. I do. It’s just not strong enough to protect anyone yet. But I’m training! It’s getting stronger every day.”

She looked up to narrow her eyes at him. “You brought me here,” she said, her voice flat.

He had the decency to look sheepish. “I know. . . but you’re safe now. I couldn’t just leave you in that cell.” His words came rushing out and he glanced at the door as if he could see the portal from where he sat. “It was a risk,” he admitted. “I’m not sorry I did it though.”

She looked away again, scanning the large space. Beside the front door, a set of hooks hung on the wall. One was empty while the other held a deep red cloak, similar to the one Delta had worn. The conversation she had overheard between Seth and the healer came to mind. “Mattias has magic,” she noted.

Seth nodded. “Yeah. He’s the best healer in Phaedra. That’s his gift.”

“His gift…” she repeated.

“Yep. There are a handful of people with magic who have been given an extra gift. His is the ability to find what’s broken and heal it. Maya can teleport, Idris can manipulate the ground, and Felicity can find water.” He listed off the names as if Cora would recognize them.

“Is he a shield?”

Seth shook his head. “Not since Tide disappeared.”

Cora raised a brow. “Disappeared?” This world was beginning to sound like the city.

“He doesn’t like to talk about it.” He turned his attention to the mug in front of him. “It’s sort of a long story... Before I know him anyway. They say Tide was restless. He took risks and snuck out alone when Matt was busy. One day he disappeared. I think Matt blames himself. He really loved him.”

Cora frowned. “Didn’t they look for him?” Street kids went missing all the time in the city and nobody cared, but this had seemed different.

“Of course!” Seth said, sitting up straight again. “They looked for him for a long time. If anyone could have found him, it would have been Felicity and Idris.” He sighed. “I don’t know what happened.”

He was interrupted when the door opened.

Mattias muttered to himself as he crossed the room. He disappeared into the cot room and came out with a scowl on his face.

“How is he?” Seth asked when Mattias had taken a seat at the table.

“He’ll be fine,” he sighed. “He nearly sliced his own leg off… Next time he does something like that, I’m going to move her in here until he learns.”

“Why?” Cora asked, watching him shift positions to lean back in his seat. He ran a hand over his hair. “Liam is supposed to protect her. He made that promise when he became her Shield. Instead, he puts her life in danger.”

“Oh.” Cora went back to her bowl of stew. The anger in his words told her there was more to the story, but she chose not to question further.

“How’s your shoulder?” he asked, expression softened.

She shrugged and winced. “It’s ok.”

His expression became unreadable for a moment. “You don’t need to hide it. I’m here to help.”

She chose not to respond, turning her focus back to her stew. It had cooled down significantly, and she was eager to finish it and go back to the cot room where she would be alone. She had done more talking since getting up than she had in days. She scarfed it down and then pushed her chair from the table. Without another word, she ducked into the room with the cots.

Leaning against the door, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath and rubbed her sore shoulder. The sling helped, but it didn’t fix it. How long would it be until it would be healed? Then she could go back to the city…

A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts and she stepped away, whirling around as it opened.

The healer stepped in, moving slowly, and left the door cracked behind him. “May I look at your shoulder again, Cora?” he asked.

“I don’t know. I guess… Why?” She moved toward the cot, trying to position herself so that she would be able to make a break for the door if the situation turned. She had learned the hard way, a long time ago, not to let herself be trapped in a room with anyone.

“Because I have a cream to put on it that will help with the pain and swelling,” he answered, opening a drawer in the workbench and pulling out a jar.

“It’s not a big deal,” she tried. “I’ve had worse.”

He didn’t respond as he approached and carefully pulled aside the top of her shirt. It was already too big and slid easily down from her shoulder.

The cream sent goosebumps down her arm and across her back as he slowly spread it over her skin.

“How did you end up with Seth’s family?” he asked, his voice even and soft.

Cora swallowed. I can’t tell the truth. She gave the first answer that came to mind. “They had the wrong person. Someone stole from them and I was the first Rat they grabbed. They didn’t care who it was.”

Mattias put the cap back on the jar and replaced it in the drawer. “Rat?” he asked, turning to face her, a new jar in hand.

The word used for street kids sounded dirty here; out of place. She shrugged again, looking anywhere but at the older man. “It’s what they call people like me.”

“I see,” he said. “Here.” He took the lid off and handed her the jar. “Just one sip.”

Cora took the jar and looked inside. “It’s empty.”

Mattias shook his head. “It’s magic. We don’t have water for bathing, we have this. One sip helps repel dirt and grime.” He nodded toward the jar. “Go ahead.”

She hesitated, looking from the healer to the strange jar. If he was playing a prank, it didn’t make much sense. Slowly, she raised it to her lips and took a sip. It was the sweetest drink she had ever tasted, sending cool waves throughout her body.. Handing it back took more effort than it should.

Mattias took it and put it back in the jar. Then, he reached for the shelves at the top of the wall and pulled down a box. He set it down on the cot beside her and opened its lid to reveal bundles of fabric in light colors. “I have some clothes in here, not much in your size. Here.” He pulled a bundle of white fabric out and handed it to her before putting the box back on the shelf. “It’ll be better in this environment than what you have.”

“Thanks…” she said, turning it over in her hands. The fabric was softer than anything she had ever felt.

Mattias moved slowly to sit on the other cot, across from her. “Who are people like you?” he asked, his voice steady and soft.

She bit the inside of her lip and made her hand a fist on the fabric. This is it. When I answer, if I tell the truth, I’ll be back on the street. She steeled herself and spat the answer out, prepared to run. “Street kids. Okay? If you don’t have a home, you’re a Rat. Got it?” She hadn’t meant to shout.

Silence filled the room while Cora waited for the reaction she knew would come. Nobody wanted a Rat in their house. This place would surely be no different with it’s organized furniture and quiet atmosphere. She didn’t even belong in Phaedra.

Slowly, Mattias stood. He took a deep breath before speaking. “Rest, Cora. You are safe here,” was all he said before leaving her alone in the cot room.

She watched him walk away, leaving the door ajar once more. When voices drifted in from the other room, she listened carefully, expecting him to demand that Seth take her back. Instead, he asked for help cleaning up and told Seth his plan for Delta if she needed a safe place to stay.

Cora scowled at the wall across the room. What is up with this place? She had seen none of the reactions or behaviors she had come to expect from the people of the city. It made her feel uneasy.

Things were never this peaceful and people were never so nice. Something was bound to go wrong.