The streets ?lyara had walked through during the day had now surrendered to darkness.

  ?lyara stood alone in the middle of the street. She felt as if someone was watching her and glanced around.

  People were staring at her from the windows of the houses. None of them moved. None of them spoke.

  Their gazes were so unsettling that a chill ran through her. ?lyara lowered her head.

  It was there again.

  Right in front of her.

  That disgusting, human-like thing.

  Her heart began to race, yet she did not step back. Instead, she slowly reached out her hand toward it.

  The creature lowered its head toward her hand and sniffed. Its teeth were dangerously close to her fingers.

  ?lyara looked into the creature’s eyes. There was a deep emptiness in them. Still, she felt as though she might be able to reach something hidden beyond that void.

  But what was she hoping to reach?

  Her gaze was pulled deeper into those eyes. She stretched her hand a little farther, as if trying to touch it.

  At that moment, a shadow fell across her.

  The uniformed man suddenly appeared in front of her. His back was turned to her. He raised his sword and swung it.

  “No!”

  ?lyara woke with a scream.

  Her breathing was ragged. For a moment she couldn’t tell where she was. Her heart pounded wildly in her chest.

  She looked at her hands.

  She could still feel the creature’s breath against her skin.

  Frowning, she glanced around, trying to understand where she was. She didn’t recognize this place.

  The door slowly creaked open, and a small red-haired girl stepped inside.

  “Are you okay?” Fear filled her eyes. Her chest rose and fell quickly.

  Had something happened?

  ?lyara cleared her throat before speaking.

  “I’m fine,” she said softly.“How are you? Did something happen?” she asked with concern.

  “I-I… um… I don’t know. Something really scared me,” the girl said. The hand gripping the doorknob was trembling.

  ?lyara watched the little girl for a moment. Then she smiled and opened her arms. The child hesitated at first, but slowly began walking toward her.

  She stopped in front of ?lyara, her head lowered. ?lyara gently pulled her closer and hugged her.

  Stroking the girl’s hair, ?lyara said softly,“It’s alright. Everything’s okay now.”

  She tightened the embrace slightly, as if she needed the hug more than the child did.

  The girl’s body slowly relaxed. Her breathing steadied. They stayed like that for a while.

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  “Mira! Are you in here, my dear?”

  The girl’s mother had entered the room.

  So her name was Mira.

  Mira pulled away from the hug and walked toward her mother.

  “Mom, I was really scared,” she said, sniffing.

  ?lyara felt a pang of guilt. She hadn’t done anything, yet somehow she felt responsible.

  The woman looked at her daughter first, then turned to ?lyara.

  “Did you sleep well—”

  Her sentence stopped halfway.

  Her eyes scanned the room, as if searching for something.

  Her body tensed.

  “You must be hungry,” she said, avoiding ?lyara’s gaze.

  “I’m preparing breakfast. You can take a shower first if you’d like.”

  This time she looked at ?lyara while speaking, but soon her eyes drifted away again.

  She opened one of the cupboards, rummaged inside, and pulled out a dress.

  “You can wear this. Your clothes will be cleaned as well,” she said, handing it to her.

  ?lyara took the dress. She had just opened her mouth to say something when the woman had already left the room with Mira.

  What was that about?

  ?lyara didn’t dwell on the thought for long. She needed a shower.

  Taking the dress with her, she left the room.

  ---

  She felt much better now. All the tension in her muscles had faded away. She looked at herself in the mirror; her face looked worn and tired. But the dress looked beautiful on her. It had a dark elegance to it, one that brought out the red in her eyes.

  Wait… red?

  ?lyara quickly looked at the mirror again in alarm. There was nothing unusual; they were the same dark color as always. She was no longer sure what was real and what wasn’t.

  “Breakfast is ready!” a voice called from inside.

  ?lyara took a deep breath and stepped out of the bathroom.

  When she reached the kitchen, she saw that they were already seated at the table. Mira, her mother, and a man were there.

  “Come, you can sit here—” the woman said, pointing to the empty chair.

  “?lyara,” she said.

  “My name is ?lyara. Thank you for everything,” she added with a sincere smile.

  She sat at the head of the table. The woman sat to her right, with Mira beside her. The girl was unusually quiet today.

  On her left sat a man. He seemed uncomfortable with ?lyara’s presence. As she sat down, he shifted in his seat.

  “It’s nothing,” the woman replied, returning her smile.

  “My name is Serra,” she said.

  “And this is my brother, Alaz,” she added, gesturing to the man sitting across from them.

  The man simply nodded and began eating.

  Breakfast passed quietly.

  Too quietly.

  “?lyara, if you don’t mind, there’s something I’m curious about,” Serra said.

  ?lyara put down her food and turned toward her.

  “What is your Alkan ability?” Serra asked, watching her closely.

  Everyone at the table stopped eating.

  All eyes suddenly turned to ?lyara.

  ?lyara stiffened. She slowly set her fork down on the table.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she managed to say.

  The man smirked mockingly.

  “Of course you don’t,” the man said. Then he returned to his food.

  “Alaz!” Serra warned.

  “Don’t mind him,” she added. “Mira and I can control fire. That’s our Alkan ability,” she said kindly.

  “I don’t have any abilities like that,” ?lyara said.

  The man let out a laugh. Serra immediately shot him a warning look.

  “I came here from somewhere far away,” ?lyara continued. “I have no idea how I even got here.” She clasped her hands together under the table.

  Serra studied ?lyara for a moment.

  “You are definitely an Alkan,” she said.

  Then she frowned.

  “But I couldn’t understand your ability. When I entered your room today, I felt something strange in the air,” she said calmly.

  “And when I looked at your face… I saw a strange glimmer in your eyes.”

  She waited for an answer.

  ?lyara’s hand began to tremble.

  “You saw it too?” she asked in surprise.

  The woman looked at ?lyara for a moment, then lowered her gaze.

  “I understand. You don’t know either. But this is very dangerous,” she said.

  “You should learn what it is as soon as possible,” she added, looking directly at ?lyara.

  ?lyara frowned.

  “Why?” she asked.

  Serra paused for a moment.

  “Because an Alkan power you can’t control…” she said slowly,

  “…can burn not only you, but everyone around you.”

  ?lyara swallowed.