My cloak is drenched by the time we get to the town market. I know it gets hot in Chopver but I didn’t prepare myself to be wearing a full cloak. I remember that there is a nice water well in the middle of the town. We aren’t too far away so I look around to see if anyone is around. Of course, there aren’t. It’s too hot for anyone right now. People are smart for staying inside where there is shade.

When I see that no one is around, I whisper to my brothers that we should head to the middle of town to get water. They both agreed and we headed to the the town’s center.

I feel relieved because if there was anyone around, they would hear the crunch of the dry little brown pebbles that litter the ground. We don’t have gravel in our kingdom, we have paved concrete roads. Looking around the market makes me humble because it makes me realize how lucky we are to have the things we have. The market looks like an abandoned street where it used to be lively and now the only things that are lively are the ghosts of the past.

When I confirmed that there was no one near us, I took the hood of the cloak off my head and snapped my fingers. The sight of my shadow reappears on the ground. Two more shadows appear next to mine.

“Do you remember when this used to be the busiest street in town?” Theon asks.

Strider and I both nod as memories of the street play through our minds. Asher and the three of us would come here when the market was open. Everything was clean and the smell of different scents was pleasant. The people who would run their tents gave Asher free things. They wanted to thank him for being one of the kindest people to them. He would giggle and say he possibly couldn’t take it without paying them. They insisted that he take it. It would have been an honor to them if he had something of theirs in his possession.

Now the town is full of golden dust covering everything. The stench of rotten fruit makes me slightly gag. I quickly head down the path that leads to the well in the middle of the town. Almost getting there, I see a boy drinking out of the bucket of water. Was he homeless or something? Why is he taking all the water for himself? That selfish bastard.

I signal for my brothers to halt and cover themselves so he doesn’t see us. When he was done drinking out of the bucket, he wiped his mouth, exhaled as loudly as he could, and turned around to head back to wherever he came from.

A sigh of relief escapes from me. If he saw us and knew who we were, it could have been bad. Word would spread all over town and then who knows what would have happened. Amelia could have been in danger and she doesn’t deserve anything more to happen to her. She has gone through more in a week than any human should in a lifetime. I can only hope that she will find peace soon and that she can start her healing process.

I walk up to the well where the boy drank from. My brothers follow behind me. I look down to see how much water is left. It’s too far and too dark for me to figure that out. I would love to have Theon form ice-cold water for us but it is too risky. It could possibly expose us and create chaos.

One of the main reasons we don’t show people that we are the Windslow triplets is because people would surround us and ask for things we wouldn't be able to provide. It took generations for the cross who asked for miracles to die down. Some people asked us to heal their sick loved ones or to bring their children back to life. They offered animal sacrifices to bribe us into doing things they wanted us to do.

Unfortunately, we could not help the people. We were born with powers but only limited powers. Yes, we are gods, but we are not powerful ones. We are just children and we can only perform the powers that we were given from our creation.

I pull the wooden bucket up from the well. I see a trickle of blood on the edge of the bucket where sharp splinters are sticking out. I wonder if that boy cut his lip on this while he was chugging the water.

My brothers and I help pour the water into each other’s mouths. While I am waiting for Theon and Strider to hydrate themselves, I smell one of the most amazing smells I have ever smelled. The sweet cinnamon and honey mixed with a hint of glaze fills my nose. The gurgle of nausea in my stomach turns into a fierce growl of hunger. My brothers both look at me, clearly telling me they heard the loud sound my stomach just made. Soon, their stomachs growl back in return as if communicating with mine to go find where that delicious smell is coming from.

“We have to Orien. Please,” Theon begs. He dramatically falls to his knees and laces his fingers in a prayer-like shape. He gives me puppy eyes as if he is begging his life to go see if we can turn that smell into something we can taste.

I roll my eyes but give a slight smile. Even though Theon can be a pain in the butt sometimes, life could be boring without him. He always has good jokes and sometimes, not all the time knows when to crack them. He lightens my day every single day.

Strider grabs Theon’s elbow and hoists him back up to his feet. If you didn’t know Strider, you would think that he is super annoyed. But I have obviously known him all my life and I can tell you that the expression on his face does not match the true feelings that are showing in his eyes. I know that he is thinking the same thing. If Theon was not in our lives they would be dull and brutally boring.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

We all agreed that we should eat something and that something should be the smell that we are still smelling. I tell them to go find some civilian clothes and make sure that they can hide Glints easily. We would meet back up at the well in five minutes. They nod and head off in different directions.

I turn around and note the abandoned tents and stalls where vendors were earlier today. There is a tent with a whole closet of abandoned clothes, so I decide to go inside to see if there is anything that would fit me. I hope the person who left these is going to bring them back to their place otherwise people like me will steal them. There are children's clothes and female clothes here so I know there will be options for me. I change into tan pants and a maroon tank top. I take my hair out of the braided crown that Abbot put so much effort in and let it fall to my lower back. The braids made my hair look like a sea of black waves.

I grab my Magnificent clothes and try to find an ally to ditch the in. Looking around me to see if anyone is around us, I confirm that the street is empty. Even though it is scorching out, I create a flame in the palm of my hand and throw the flame on the clothes, burning them. Hopefully, my brothers and I will be long gone before anyone discovers the ashes and questions what happened. The only thing I bring back is the disguise cloak that was stuck to my sweaty body.

I return to the well where Strider and Theon are already waiting for me. Confirming that we have everything that we need and ditched everything we didn’t, we head to where the smell is coming from.

We found the smell to be coming from the tent with red and white stripes. Four people are sitting on their stools looking like they just dealt with a stampede. Their hair is matted on their head yet sticking up everywhere as if the sweat is acting as some sort of gel. Two girls had their hair in braids which are now fizzy fur balls attached to their heads. It looks like they have caterpillars attached to their heads.

One of the girls is blonde with blue eyes and very fair skin. She looks as if perfection is a person. The other girl had red hair and brown eyes with freckles kissing her everywhere on her cheeks. You can tell she has a motherly personality with the way she handles the pastries in front of her.

Then, there are two men. One of them has tan skin and dark hair and I haven’t seen him stop smiling since I’ve seen him. The other man is the opposite. I haven’t seen a flash of content in his eyes since I walked up here. His brown hair and light skin make him very average but his scowl could make him stand out like a Magnificent in a crowd of civilians.

“Hi there, what can I get for ya?” a man with tan skin and dark hair asks.

My brothers and I are silent. We observe the heavenly field of baked goods behind him.

“What are the options?” Strider asks.

The man with tan skin looks at us like he can’t find the last piece of a puzzle that he has been working on. His eyes bounce between my brothers and me. “You aren’t from around here, are you? Everyone in this kingdom knows about Cheleste’s baked goods. Tell me, where are you traveling from?”

“Pierce, just tell them what the options are. I’m sure they are busy and have places to go,” another man’s voice says.

I look behind Pierce to see who said that. The man from the well. He looks to be the same age as Pierce but he is way more handsome with his pale skin, icy blue eyes, and chestnut straight hair. In the light, there are a few strands that turn red and gold. His eyes are like a hurricane of diamonds that sparkle even when light isn’t shining on them. If I weren’t immortal maybe I might have had the courage of flirting with him. I can’t, though, because I am immortal and he is not. I don’t want to flirt and then possibly grow feelings for him. It has happened to my brother before and left him heartbroken.

Theon was in love with a girl a few centuries back. They would do everything together from swimming in the sea to watching the stars fade into morning skies. They spent every day and every night together when she was younger. Her name was Thalia, it’s almost as gorgeous as she was. With her long curly brunette hair and emerald green eyes, every man tried to go for her, but she fell in love with my brother.

Once, they went to my throne room unannounced and asked for my blessing in their marriage. At first, I was hesitant because I knew that she would eventually die and he wouldn’t, but I saw the happiness inside of my brother’s heart gleaming with bright rays of joy. I couldn’t say no to something as pure as the love they had.

Their wedding was one of the most magical things I have witnessed to date. The glowing yellow and purple flower arch where they both stand to get their blessings from the Controller of the kingdom at the time matched the purple, and golden flakes we blew in the sky. There was no wind that day so the flakes stayed in place brightening the moment even more.

Thalia and Theon had a long human life together. They did everything they could together. Thalia couldn’t have children no matter how hard they tried but it would have probably been for the best. The stress and depression that Theon went through when Thalia died would have been way worse if he witnessed his children dying as well.

Thalia died of natural causes in her sleep. The most peaceful and magical way to die for the most peaceful and magical person on the planet. She may not have had powers but she knew how to light up the room when clouds were looming over her. She was the light to Theon’s darkness and so after she died, he wasn’t himself for decades. He knew this day would come but it was too quick for him to accept it. He has her wedding ring hidden away in his room for safekeeping. After her death, he vowed to never love someone like that again. He would stay loyal to her forever.

That is why I can not fall for this boy even though he is one of the most handsome human beings I have ever seen. I can’t fall for him for the sake of the kingdom and myself.