It takes them a week before they reach the capital. It’s in the western part of the country, close to where they come from. They stay for a night at a local inn to clean up and refresh themselves before making their way to the royal palace. It’s a popular and big one, Howard had arranged it with the Council, so that they can look good when they arrive at the palace. Inside their room there’s calmness but downstairs, at the tavern, there’s talk. It comes from travellers and from locals, they started to hear about the topic more the closer they got to the border. The Hexians, they are coming, they will cross the sea and attack the neighbouring kingdom, they will be here soon.

It seems like everyone is talking about the same thing, they are scared, confused about their queen not doing anything. There’s talk about people that try to escape before the Hexians arrive, others stay, trusting their military, there are also small villages that don’t get the news soon enough. No one really knows anything about what happens to the territories once they are conquered. Some are sure that nothing good, they talk about strange Marked and shadow monsters. Others think that it must not be that bad if the Hexia Empire is so big, that the people would have rebelled against them otherwise and seem willing to try not opposing them and just being part of it. They all listen to the talk while they eat dinner, they are tired of all the travelling, that doesn’t stop them from talking and laughing, Rakan making sure they are heard by every person in the room.

“Have you heard the news?” They hear the men sitting at the table next to them say in a rare moment of quietness. Something in the way they say it makes them continue listening, it doesn’t sound like the rumours they have become used to hear. The others sitting at the table of the man urge him to tell what he knows. “They say that the Queen is preparing to receive some specials guests tomorrow” he makes a dramatic pause, everyone is listening to him “The Kyusei are going to stay in the palace”

Everyone in his table gasps, even some at other tables that have been eavesdropping do.

“The Kyusei are here?” a woman asks.

“They say that they’ve been travelling to meet with our Queen. Four of them” the first man says. Everyone is still looking at each other shocked, Meira and Rakan are looking at each other, trying not to laugh, the alcohol they’ve drank with the dinner not helping much.

“Four?” another man “I’ve only heard about the dragon and the Son of the Night fighting”

“Things must be changing then” a woman “I want to see how they look, do you think we will be able to?”

Meira leans towards them with a smile “I heard that the Kyusei of Life is really pretty” they all look at her surprised but she only smiles, throwing a look back at Liv who is blushing like crazy.

“And I heard the Light one is a complete idiot!” Rakan exclaims, Meira kicks him under the table but the boy only laughs. Everyone is looking at them shocked now. Nobody really talks like that about the Kyusei and if Meira is correct this place has a special connection with the Light Kyusei, something to do with one of her previous incarnations.

“I don’t know about that” a man says “but I’ve heard stories about the Dragon and they say he looks just like you. Big, dark skin, the Mark under his eye”

Rakan “You think I’m big? Thanks! I work really hard to be like this” the man seems surprised at the answer “I’ll invite you to the next drink!”

“Do you think they are going to be okay?” Liv asks. They are at the room they have booked for the night, it’s big, with four beds in it. They don’t have a bed each but they can manage perfectly. They are resting after taking a bath, all but Rakan and Gabriel, they are still downstairs.

“Why wouldn’t they?” Meira asks, she sits on a bed, still trying to dry her hair with a towel “I would have stayed with them if I wasn’t so damn tired”

“She isn’t worried about their safety” Victoria explains “she is worried because they are both idiots”

Just as she says it the door bursts open, Rakan falling inside. Gabriel is at the door, his hair and clothes look tousled and he looks shocked and in the verge of laughing at the same time. Rakan gets up with a jump and takes off his shirt with an exclamation of triumph. He throws the shirt at the window, thankfully it’s closed. It’s at that moment that Gabriel finally loses it, Meira bursts out laughing with him.

“I told you to not to let him drink too much” Kylem scolds Gabriel.

“Hey! I managed to bring him here before he stripped in front of everyone” Gabriel complains, he doesn’t look much sober himself but at least he is better.

“Don’t be so grumpy” Rakan says pouting, he pinches Kylem’s cheeks like you would do with a baby “you are always so grumpy, you have to smile. Look like this” he smiles at the same time as he pulls the corners of Kylem’s lips up.

“Stop that and put a shirt on” Kylem says after grabbing Rakan’s hands and moving them away from his face.

“But Kyky, this is too small”

“Your clothes fit you just fine” Kylem tries to convince him. If not for the faint light in the room, one could think that he is blushing.

Rakan shakes his head. “Not the clothes, this is too small” he insists while he moves his hands in front of his body. The laughs in the room start to die as they realise what he’s talking about “and Jeremiah always says to take off my clothes so I don’t break them when-“

He doesn’t get to finish the sentence before he drops asleep on the floor after Kylem has touched his head only a second. They all look at him for a second before the room bursts in laughs again.

“How did you do that so fast?” Meira asks.

“He is an idiot” Kylem offers as an answer, he looks like he is considering leaving him on the floor the whole night but Victoria and Meira go to him and help him grab Rakan and get him in one of the beds.

“Honestly, you should have let him be, a drunk dragon in the middle of the capital would have been the best presentation card” Meira says.

“I would prefer if the Queen didn’t hate us before meeting us” Kylem says.

“Oh but she hates us!” Gabriel exclaims “Listen” he says nearly whispering and leaning forward “nobody knows why but the Queen expelled all Marked from court a few years ago and doesn’t accept anyone since then”

“What do you mean nobody knows why?” Liv asks.

“There are a lot of stories. My favourite one is that her lover was a Marked and he abandoned her. Some also say that her late husband cheated on her with a Marked. Others said stuff about an illegitimate child. I don’t know, it nearly started a fight but Rakan managed to stop it”

“We should probably look more into that, it can help us to form a better relationship” Kylem says.

“Yes yes of course I’ll investigate, now if you’ll excuse me” he lets himself drop next to Rakan on the bed. They fit well, Gabriel being smaller than Meira, and somehow the next second he is already snoring.

They don’t have a reason to stay up any longer. They take their places on the beds and Kylem puts out the lights. The next day is going to be long.