Glozontina jumped at the bed and grabbed his sister by the shoulders, then started shaking her. "Hey! Hey!  Look at me! Look! It was just a dream. Just a dream, okay? You're safe now."

The girl looked at him, horror still visible in her sapphire eyes, glad that he had saved her from the nightmare. Despite this, her voice still carried distress. "No. It's not. It's not just a dream and you know it. We're all gonna die. We're going to die because of her. She's going to kill us."

Glozontina couldn't think of anything else except to ask, "Who? Who's going to kill us?"

"The Queen of Portals."

This answer sent Glozontina's mind haywire. 

If he didn't know that his sister's dreams always come true, he would have laughed at her for saying that Keza would ever hurt any of them. 

But what would make her do that?

In the eyes of Dragonlord, Keza was just a girl with an incredible talent that made transportation and communication easy in his empire. But to Glozontina and all the people on N'yu island, she was their queen, their protector, the only reason they lived in conditions slightly better than in Dragonlord's other colonies. 

Glozontina couldn't imagine a situation where she would hurt them, let alone kill them. 

But then again, it had appeared in his sister's dreams. Visions... to be exact. He had to take it seriously. The reason he asked, "Sister, what exactly did you see?"

The girl gestured for him to let go of her, then sat on the bed, her chest still pounding. "I saw Doombreath in the sky, Dragonlord laughing as he drove it across our city, its flames engulfing everything it's path. I can't explain how or why, but it was all because of her. She's angered the Dragonlord.”

Just then, Kanaanga started ringing. This huge cathedral bell used to be the most sacred artifact on N'yu island, its call bringing joy or cohesion into the hearts of the residents, but after Dragonlord conquered it, its call had become a symbol for misery.

Every morning it echoed across the Lilyard Valley, indicating that Keza was about to open the portal to the mines, that it was the time for the residents to go dig for the gold they would never benefit from.

Glozontina's sister grabbed his hands, the look on her face troubled. "Brother, don't go. Please stay here with me.  Let's stay away from troubles."

He understood she was shaken after the scary visions, but he was sure that it would not come true today. What could Keza do in a span of just one day that would summon Dragonlord from Central City in a haste? Even if he did come, the journey would take him days, not to mention that he would have to stop along the way for some rest and all.

"Sister, I understand you're worried. But you know what would happen if I don't show up on the mines."

His sister's troubled face became even more concerned. Save for her, a few other younglings with special abilities and people with other assignments like cooking, cleaning, farming among many others, everyone who didn't leave for the mines would get beaten in the city square, or even killed if the Dragon Prince didn't like the explanation given.

"Brother, you don't understand. You were in my dreams too. You were at the center of it all. But she is the one who dragged you into it. Getting close to her would put you in danger."

Once again, Glozontina found himself wanting to doubt his sister's visions. How on Earth would a weakling like him be at the center of something crazy enough to attract Dragonlord's attention, let alone summon him from a castle he never left for almost a decade now? 

How on Earth would a pushover like him get close to Keza? She was the Queen of Portals for God's sake. Only a handful of people across Central Earth were as useful to Dragonlord as she was. There was no way his way would ever cross hers. 

If it was the good old days, he would stand a chance. No. She would be lucky if he married her and didn't add on tens of concubines. His family had been the most influential family on N'yu island, after all. Than even the royal family. This was because his grandfather, Glozontina the Conqueror, was the general who conquered the island and founded the N'yu Dynasty.

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However, those days were long gone. After killing the king, the Dragon Prince had made sure that Hakiz family was no more. Glozontina was only spared because he was a weakling. Because his sister had vowed to take her own life if anyone dared to kill him.

"Sister, I believe you. I believe in your visions. But it's unlikely that today is the day you envisioned. Let me leave for the mines. We'll talk about it when I return."

He tried to stand up but the girl wouldn't let him. She grabbed his wrists and pulled him closer to her protectively. There was a genuine mixture of fear and concern in her big eyes.

Kanaanga rang again, making her shake in fear. Tears began to sprout out of her round eyes. She seemed helpless. 

"That's the last call," said Glozontina. "Let me bring you breakfast. We'll talk when I return."

She didn't say anything. She instead loosened her grip. 

Glozontina brought her a plate of bread, bacon and beans, a one-egg-omelet accompanying them, the speciality they were able to afford because his sister was popular among slaves, especially female ones. Some paid to know who they would fall in love with, others for information regarding their pregnancies, and others for the reveal of their babies' sex. Even some noble ladies would come knocking from time to time. 

Hadn't she been a different shade, Dragonlord's Oracle would have taken her under her wing a long time ago.

"Enjoy!" Glozontina said as he turned around to leave, but his sister grabbed him once again. 

He gave her a questioning look, to which she replied, "Let me tell your fortunes first."

If it was any other slave, mostly a female one, she would have jumped at the offer. Only a few would refuse a glimpse into their future, after all. Plus, it was just touching their forehead, right? However, Glozontina knew that it didn't work that way. 

He knew there was so much pain involved.

Whenever she touched one's forehead, what she would see was the worst case scenario. A female slave would come wanting to know who her husband would be, and all his sister would see would be the death of that husband, the day they would fight or even worse. 

A woman would come to ask what would be the sex of her child, and all his sister would see would be the time the said child would quarrel with his mom, the day the empire would take her as a sex slave to Central City or even worse. 

Fortune telling was never about good things. Never. Glozontina knew how much pain his sister endured for the sake of telling them. How guilty she felt for lying to these poor women. How many of them became recurring nightmares for her.

He would never allow her to endure such pain.

That's why he said, "No! No! I can't allow you. You've had enough nightmares tonight. I won't add to your suffering."

"But I have to know. I would rather feel pain to know what's gonna happen than sit here worried all day long. Please, let me see."

As soon as she finished these words, she reached for his forehead, then closed her eyes.

Instinctively, Glozontina stepped back, but it was already too late. His sister's eyes rounded back, their entirety turning snow white. 

He knew there was nothing he could do to stop her pain. He just gritted his teeth, waiting for her to come back to normal. 

That's when the realization hit him. The last Kanaanga call had rang several minutes ago. He was late. 

He directly ran out of the room, shouting, "Sister, have a good day. We'll discuss it in the evening."

He was in the living room grabbing his lunch package when his sister's voice came out of the room. "There won't be an evening for us."

He was too worried about receiving a beating in the City Square or facing the Dragon Prince's death sentence to give much value to her words.

Unfortunately, despite his haste to leave the house, when he reached the City Square, the portal to the mines had already been closed. He wandered his eyes around the city square, hoping to find Keza, though he was not sure what seeing her would change. 

Of course she was the Queen of Portals. She could open him the portal again. However, that's not how things worked. Keza's schedule was too tight to waste time like that... especially now that Stubbornhead had been spotted heading in N'yu island's direction. She had to go meet with the dragon hunters in Central City to create portals for them to navigate the islands and set traps beforehand.

Now the only option Glozontina had was to use the mountain path, a rough track that snaked around the mountain range and went up Mount N'yu for miles before falling into an expanse that lay miles wide between the mountains and the mines.

'I don't want to walk! I don't!'

Glozontina had used this path 3 years ago, but both his muscles and brain were yet to recover from the strain and trauma it left on them. 

Luckily for him, his eyes finally landed on the most beautiful creature he knew. Keza. The shimmering circle behind her made her look surreal. She was like an angel wrapped in a white dress, a compliment to her long and wavy silver hair.

Unfortunately, he didn't even get to open his mouth because she stepped into the portal to Central City, vanishing with it.

Glozontina couldn't help but stamp his foot. "Dammit!" He felt like crying. 

With the awful visions and words from his sister, he could see that a 5 hour journey to the mines wasn't going to end well. Stubbornhead, a wild dragon that had been wreaking havoc across Central Earth for 17 years, would be here in a matter of time, and a weakling like him would be trekking, exposed.

'Not good! Not good at all. But I have no choice. If I stay, Dragon Prince might have me beaten into a cripple. Worse, he might turn me into a dummy and practice his archery for his wife's amusement. I have to go.'

With these thoughts, Glozontina turned toward the mountain range and started walking. If this was the calm before the storm, he would let fate decide for him.