Noelani blinked, jaw dropping as she realized the man heard her thoughts. Kalelako frowned, stepping in front of Noelani as the brash idiot grinned. They were getting nowhere.
***
Kaleo snarled as he stormed through the halls of the palace. The ivory bracelets itched, made his arms feel cold, and robbed him of what made him him. A tiny thing chased after him, nipping at his ankles. It squealed when he kicked at it, making him look down to see an itty, bitty boar with brown fur following after him. Little, his sister’s pet.
“Not now, Little,” he said to the tiny creature. It would never grow bigger than what it was, a thing born after a Hex Storm. Out in the wild it would already be dead, eaten by something bigger, but L’nae would not hear of it, demanding that she be allowed to keep it. No one could tell the young amatess "no", so the thing remained. It oinked at Kaleo, following until he finally relented and scooped the ridiculous thing into his arms. It had blue eyes and tiny, useless horns that it rubbed on the furniture, but it was cute, after a fashion; fitting for L’nae.
Kaleo went straight for the high gardens unable to stand the four walls all around him. L’nae was there, turning sharply when she heard him.
“Little was looking for you,” he said, handing the little boar to his sister. At five short years, she was small even for one of mixed breed with dark gray wings and hair but hazel blue eyes like their father’s. Kaleo was told he had the same eyes but did not see it. Perhaps because his coloring was different from hers and his eye-color did not stand out as much.
“Mommy’s mad at you, isn’t she?” L’nae said, holding Little by the middle so that the poor thing dangled over her thin arms. Kaleo made a face and sighed, squatting to her level.
“Everyone’s mad at me right now, L’nae. Don’t worry about it, alright? Take Little inside. It’s going to rain soon.”
The clouds began forming earlier in the day, changing the scent on the air and cooling the temperature considerably. He watched L’nae pout as she walked back toward the palace before stopping to face him again. She was so innocent, so small and so easily influenced. He made a vow to protect her, to make sure she did not suffer like he did or become like Noelani. He could not do that from Mahala but made the vow all the same.
“The man in the dungeon,” she said. “Mommy was talking about him. I heard her and Kal… You left. You said you were going to find daddy. Did you?”
Again Kaleo sighed but shook his head. “No, I didn’t. I found someone better and Noela - - mum is angry about that, at the man in the dungeon because I’d rather stay there than here.”
“Well good! It sucks here!”
Kaleo whirled at the sound of the new voice, jaw dropping when he saw not one but two familiar faces.
Rielle grinned at him and Eila stood with hands on hips. “Too wet,” Eila said. “I think I like that hideous manse better. Easier to get to.”
“Oh, definitely easier to get to,” Rielle agreed.
“What are you doing here?” Kaleo interrupted.
“Saving you, stupid,” they said in unison. L’nae giggled behind him, bitting her thumb while still holding on to Little. The little snitch, he could kiss her. He dropped to her level again and took her by the shoulders.
“Not a word to mum, ok? Promise?” he asked. She nodded and he kissed her brow, running to his cousins, each one taking a hand as they ran out of the garden, vaulting out into the lush tree line beyond and out several yards before stopping. He panted, leaning over on his knees before rising again to give them both a tight hug.
“You said that this would be hard,” another voice said. Kaleo looked up and felt his heart soar. Lara. He ran to her, wrapping her up in a fierce hug that she returned in kind. He’d never been so happy to see another mortal soul in all his life.
“Please do something about these,” he said, turning his wrists over to Lara. She looked at them, the twins moving in to inspect the bracelets.
“You cannot?” Lara asked. Kaleo shook his head.
“They have to be removed at the same time or else it doesn’t work,” he explained. The girls looked appreciatively at them while Lara studied their structure, placed two slender fingers on each bracelet in just the right spot and squeezed. The bracelets popped off, allowing a rush of Power to fill his veins so quickly he felt dizzy. He let it, reveling in the feel of it, the warmth and reached out to his audeas.
Fionn!
Kaleo! Child, where are you!
Safe. I’m coming to you.
He was close by, something that made Kaleo frown and look at the girls who studied the bracelets closely. They were so weird.
“Who else is here with you?” he dared to ask.
“Fionn,” Rielle said absently. “Interesting construction. Simple, but… not.”
“There’s two others, women,” Eila added, studying her bracelet with equal curiosity. “Serai and Ajana - look, it’s not actually ivory, it just looks that way. Quartz maybe?”
“It’d have to be an element to stop the flow of Power like it did,” Rielle agreed.
“Study later, leave now,” Kaleo pointed out. “We still need to get Reven - Noe’s got him in the dungeon.”
He took Lara by the hand, leading her and the girls further into the trees and down the cliff side. Halfway down, they met up with the others.
***
Kalelako Anao sat carefully inside the cell where the so-called bard lay. He was not unconscious, not entirely, but he was also not in any way coherent or capable of doing more than groaning, and that was
