Everyone had stayed on the roof until the light from the tree faded to only a few sparkling leaves. Lux had spent most of the night laughing along to jokes she didn’t get and avoiding questions from the twins. Eventually, everyone went to bed except for Lux and Tara. Lux sat on the side of the roof looking over the town
Her mind was spinning. She left like she was a stranger to the world around her. She couldn’t shake the feeling that she had known where this place was, and it meant something special to her. The dysphoria ate at her as she stared blankly at the fading light of the tree.
“I don’t buy it you know,” Tara said suddenly, “There is no way you know nothing.”
Lux only shrugged. She knew there was no way to convince Tara to believe her and didn’t feel like expending the effort to try and convince her.
“You obviously know how to use that sword; I can tell by the way you hold it. You look like one of those Steel dogs that follow the Silvers and Platinums around. You are a warrior, through and through.” Tara continued, taking Lux’s silence as confirmation.
“What do you mean by Platinums? You called me that earlier when you found me,” Lux asked when Tara paused.
“How do you not know that? Even a child knows that,” Tara said, furrowing her brow.
“Humor me,” Lux said, “just pretend I’m a fool who came from a faraway country or a hermit or something if it makes you feel better.”
Tara gave Lux a strange look but Lux ignored it.
“Fine. Platinums rule this country, they always have and always will, if they have anything to say about it. They have hair like yours, and are all mages of some sort. The really powerful ones have marks on their faces that apparently have something to do with their magic,” Tara said, bitterness creeping into her voice as she continued, “Besides that, I’m not sure. They like to keep us Coals in the dark.”
“And what about Steels?”
“Do you just want me to explain our whole damned society to you?” Tara snapped.
“If you want,” Lux said, turning to look Tara in the eye. Peering into those ruby eyes, Tara saw nothing but intense curiosity vieling a turbulent storm of emotion. Tara bit back the sarcastic remark she was going to say. There was something disarming about that gaze. Tara also remembered the way Lux had tensed earlier today, and the way she seemed ready for a fight. The intense sense of danger the Lux gave her when she was wielding her sword had made the hair on the back of Tara’s neck stand on end. It was a stark contrast to what she saw now. Tara sighed, softening her expression.
“Look, I really don’t have time to explain everything. I have work tomorrow, after all. Stay here and help Jess out tomorrow, she will appreciate it. We can talk again later,” Tara said, looking away from the intense stare just in time to see a smile spread across the girl’s face.
“I’ll look forward to it,” Lux said.
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In a dark alley a man stood, his face concealed in the shadows of a cloak. On the roof of one of the miner’s houses, a woman sat with her feet hanging off the edge as she looked over the city. She was talking to someone, but he couldn’t make out the words from where he stood. However, the conversation wasn’t important. What was important was the long platinum white hair that fluttered slighting in the faint breeze. His mouth, visible from under the deep cowl, spread into a grin.
“Well now,” He said quietly to himself. His voice was deep, rich, and dangerous. “Isn’t this interesting? Sylva.”
His shadow seemed to split in two, twisting and solidifying into a small cat. It rubbed against the man’s leg and purred loudly.
“Keep an eye on that one, Sylva. It seems like things are about to get very interesting around here.”
The man turned and walked further into the alley. As he turned, his cowl lifted slightly, briefly revealing metallic silver hair.
A few blocks away another man watched the woman on the roof. He leaned on a stark white staff, and breathed in an awed voice, “It’s time. The last chance for us is here.”
This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
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In a compound far above the mines where Lux spoek with Tara, a man with silver hair sat behind a desk. A window behind him let in the cool night breeze and a column of silvery moonlight that competed to light the room with the small ball of glowing magic that floated above the desk. Along with the sigh of the wind, the sound of nib scratching on paper filled the air. Despite the late hour, there was an impressive stack of papers on the desk that threatened to tip over at the slightest provocation. The man knew that it would cause a mess if it did fall, but secretly hoped it did, since it would give him an excuse to stop for the night. However, the wind didn’t seem inclined to help him and the stack remained resolutely standing.
He finished the paper he was working on and slipped it on the complete stack on the other side of the desk before grabbing another one to read. He grimaced as he read the contents.
“Damn them,” He cursed, letting the paper fall to the desk as he sighed and massaged the bridge of his nose. The paper was a report on losses in the war effort last week, and projected material cost for the next week. The outlook wasn’t good. A familiar chill seeped into his heart as he mentally ran through the cost of continuing this war with the strange people from the sky.
“Daddy?” a small, sleepy voice said from the doorway of his office. He looked up to see his young daughter, Rama, rubbing bleary eyes and looking at him, “Are you ok?”
He couldn’t help a smile from spreading across his face.
“I’m fine, sweetest. What are you doing here?” He said, standing and picking up his daughter.
“Raja kicked me in his sleep and I couldn’t go back to sleep,” She said, resting her head on his shoulder.
“Let’s take a walk outside then,” he said, “I need to stretch my legs anyway.”
The two headed outside to the courtyard garden of the compound. It was a beautiful place, meticulously maintained by a small army of gardeners. A creek wandered through the courtyard, filling the air with the calming sound of rushing water. Silver leafed hithade trees glinted as they fluttered in the breeze and scattered the moonlight. Moonblooms illuminated the path he walked, their weak but steady light giving him enough certainty to not trip on anything.
For a while, the two didn’t say anything, just taking in the calm night. He tried to push the thoughts of the war out of his head and simply enjoy the walk.
“Daddy?” Rama said. She was looking at the moonblooms with half lidded eyes.
“Yes, sweetest?” he replied.
“What were you sighing about earlier?” she asked, her young voice filled with the innocent curiosity of youth.
For a second, the cold dread gripped his heart again. He took a second to reply.
“I just received some upsetting news is all, nothing to worry about,” he said, patting her between the ears.
“About the sky people?” she said. He could tell she was getting close to sleep by her voice, which was getting quieter.
“No, sweetest. Just something I wasn’t expecting to happen. Nothing for you to worry about,” He said in a soothing voice.
Her only response was to hum into his shoulder. Before long, she was completely asleep. He smiled and took her back to her room that she shared with her brother, carefully detangling himself from her arms, tucking her back into her blankets. He kissed her brow and left as quietly as he could.
Returning to the garden, he sat on a bench and put his head in his hands, his tail swishing agitatedly behind him. He was about to stand when he heard a voice he recognized behind him.
“Lord Raza Thume, I have news,” The voice said. It was deep and had a slight accent to it that he had never been able to place.
“Can it wait till morning, Shade? I have had a long night,” Raza said. He didn’t look back. Even if he did, he knew he wouldn’t see anything. The Shades were an elite, highly trained stealth organization. If they didn’t want you to see them, you wouldn’t.
“I’m sorry, Lord Raza, but it cannot,” The voice replied.
“Then let me hear it.”
“One of the people we had watching the mine towns has found a Platinum living in a miner’s home. We believe she is the one from the prophecy.”
Raza took in a sharp, hissing breath.
“You are sure of this? Describe them.” He demanded. He clenched his fists in his lap so hard he could hear his joints creak.
“She has waist length platinum hair that is brighter than any I have ever seen, and ruby red eyes. Her clothes were strange, unlike the common clothes platinums wear now. We could not validate that she had the sword, but I could practically feel the magic coming off her, even though she did an excellent job hiding it. We didn’t risk getting too close, for fear that she would sense us.” The Shade responded.
“It does sound like her,” Raza said, “regardless of whether it is her or not, we should prepare to retrieve her. A lone platinum down there is in a danger, no matter how powerful. Gather whatever forces you need. I do not need to remind you of the importance of secrecy, do I?”
“Of course not, Lord Raza. We will prepare to the best of our abilities. We already have an agent in position should an urgent extraction become necessary.”
“Good. Give me a situation report when you are prepared. You are dismissed.”
There was no sound, but Raza knew that the Shade was gone. He looked up at the clear, peaceful sky, and couldn’t help but wonder how many more nights he would get to spend peacefully walking with his daughter before the calm sky was filled with the flames of war and screams of dying men.