Everything was smooth and easy before boarding, and my parents saw me off without tears but with two suitcases and a huge backpack instead.

I got changed before my parents left, the two local boys got changed as well. We three took our luggage from our parents before we went to meet Uncle Fernando and Nikolai. I had received my visa last year, so there was nothing to worry about.

After we were on board, I realised that we were on a private plane, provided by a sponsor of the organisation, so there were only the five of us and five crew members.

As the boys next to me began shooting the breeze, I took out my headphones and plucked in my phone.

"Aww, chat with us!" Michael saw me holding my phone and headphones in confusion, he quickly snatched my headphones and tied them into a knot.

"Ya, speak more about yourself," Nikolai said.

I forced a laugh, and I saw my angel sitting over the aisle, with his evil eyes shining, giving me goosebumps at first sight.

"Erm... Michael?"I exclaimed in Cantonese, "I think... my angel is sitting over there...?"

Michael turned around instantly, translating my words to Nikolai, "I can't see him, can you, Zmei?"

"Nope."

"Go take a look," Nelson said, "maybe he has a message for you."

All the boys encouraged me to approach him, so I got up from my seat — — just to be snatched down into my shadow immediately and found myself lying on the "floor" of my arsenal.

"Stop making that idiotic face and stand up this instant!"

Suriyel pulled me up and forced me back on my feet, growling, "How can you be THIS slow? For the love of God, can you stop acting so dumb?"

I gulped really hard.

"... I try?"

◆*．◆*．◆*．◆*．◆*．◆*．◆*．◆*．◆*．◆*．◆*．◆*．◆*．◆*．◆*．◆*．◆*．◆*．

The next time I climbed out of my shadow, the boys were already asleep.I was in pain, exhausted and confused, with everyone trying to stuff information in my head and supervising me with various directions.

Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

I figured out I had better moved to another aisle, so I slowly moved towards the opposite side, with my backpack of supplies.

Just as I wanted to close my eyes, Michael came out of nowhere and sat next to me.

"Sariella?" He took off his glasses, winking slowly,"Rough time you're having, I guess."

"I won't deny that," I turned my head up and down, trying to relax the tensed muscles,"was I gone for long?"

"A few hours, I guess you had a good chat with your angel."

"Erm... more or less, it's a good lecture."

He nodded and moved closer towards me, whispering into my ears.

"Stay away from Zmei, trust me, he's no good."

He moved away, nodding as I stared at him blankly.

"Trust me," Michael patted my shoulder, "don't be too close with him, not until you can control your powers well."

"Ok, I will bear in mind," I assured him and he gave me another pat, walking back to his lane for another nap. As he sat down, Suriyel appeared, emerging from my shadow, and sat next to me.

"Well, about that psychic," Suriyel repeated,"he's not a traditional seer, I can't really tell where do his powers come from."

"Oh," I let out a weak exclaim, " but I didn't sense anything wrong with him."

"Even your childhood friend warns you about him, out of vanity," he scorned, "I guess he's got some ...charming characteristics that got him such reputation."

"...Vanity?" I frowned,"what makes you say that? "

"You'll know later, you'll sure know about all these..."rocking his head, he exclaimed,"flaws and... well, Remiel would have been better at words, but I'd say, all humans are imperfect creatures, even in the paladins. You'll know soon, don't worry too much, I'm still your guardian angel."

He looked at me for a second, scoffed, and closed his eyes.

"Don't be upset," he whispered, "it's never been easy to carry your own cross. At least you have company, right?"

"No comment," I shrugged, "the future is never foreseeable."

"You'd like to pray more, from now on," he got up and patted my head.

I watched him sank into my shadow again, and I closed my eyes for a nap. The noise of the plane and the snores of the boys entwined to form a quirky lullaby, and I fell asleep.

◆*．◆*．◆*．◆*．◆*．◆*．◆*．◆*．◆．◆．◆*．◆*．◆*．◆*．◆*．◆*．◆*．◆*．◆．◆．

The flight was long, and we would need to stop at neighboring regions for refueling.

"Ssh... she's asleep," after a while, when I was half-conscious, I heard someone talking, probably Michael.

I did not open my eyes, but I heard the boys approaching me, then the noise stopped.

"...She's like her brother, a doppelgänger," Nikolai whispered.

"Let's hope she won't give us as much trouble as her brother did," Nelson whispered.

"Yup... I'm so glad no one died. All these troubles just for one... His life does cost a lot."

I could sense the hate in his words, and the fact that it was spoken by Michael had just multiplied the pain.

Why?

What happened?

"All this shit he left behind... I bet she's an emotional one as well."

"...Anxiety."

"Who knows if she'll end up like her brother?"

"Michael, please. He's taken, not killed, still alive."

With a scoff, he said, "Out of sight, out of mind."

The boys went back to their seats and left me alone, wondering what would have happened to my brother.

The hate in Michael and Nelson's words left me startled in pain.

How could they talk about my brother in such a manner?