Touch of Flame

“Ravina? Ravina!”

Ravina was lost in thoughts of her sister that she didn’t hear Malachi’s voice until he shook her. She came to the present and looked at him. He stared at her with a worried frown.

“What is wrong? Tell me,” he urged.

Ravina realized she had cried while thinking of her sister. She felt some strange thing while thinking of her, a connection, deep sadness but also a call as if her sister was at the moment thinking of her as well. This was a first since the day she lost her.

She looked at her ankle that Malachi had bandages. He took care of it, and was worried about a bruise on her ankle while her soul was covered with bruises. No. Not only that. She was broken in two. Her other half was missing. The connection between twins, no one could understand unless they had a twin themselves.

Ravina knew how badly her uncle had suffered. She did not want that. She could not imagine losing her sister that way. But this connection, why did she only now feel it? She had tried to stay alert all these years, just to feel something from her sister.

“Ravina?”

She stood up. “I need some time alone,” she said, forgetting about the leg and walking back to her room. She sat on her bed, trying to stay alert to any other feelings. Please. Anything.

There was no more and her heart sank. She took a deep breath to fight nausea. At least her sister was safe, right? Could she trust the fortune teller?

***

Malachi stood at the entrance watching Ravina seated on her bed with an empty look in her eyes. Sometimes they were filled with dread, other times darting around in panic. Something was going on with her and he was utterly disturbed by how she could endure such pain.

He knew he wasn’t exactly the right person to help at the moment. He didn’t know how to deal with someone going through so much turmoil. Last night he had found out why she was so devastated and tortured. He didn’t know that it was more than just her parents and sister and being away from home. She would also lose her uncle and the man she liked. It was loss after loss and grief after grief. And he thought he was tortured.

Leaving her alone, he asked Nako and Mara to keep a close eye on her then he went to meet priest Chanan. Maybe he could help her.

When he landed at his temple, the old man was taking care of the plants outside.

“King Malachi. I am glad you came again,” he said without looking his way. He kept taking care of his plants.

“I need your help?” Malachi said.

The priest smiled. “I am glad. What is on your mind?”

“It is about Ravina,” he began.

The priest nodded waiting for him to continue. “We spoke about guilt. You said she feels it too, but it is different.”

“How so?”

“Because, I am the reason, and rightfully so.”

The priest paused and looked his way. “I have not always been a priest.” He said. “When I first became one, no one came to my temple because they knew who I was. All I could do was to show them, who I have become and win their trust slowly. Patiently.” He went back to taking care of his plants.

Malachi walked around to the other side to see his face clearly. “I am trying but she is so far away.”

“See this plant. I forgot to take care of it for a while. It became damaged. Now it needs more care and more patience to restore it.”

“I don’t know how to restore it.”

“Just like plants, we need the right care and the right environment. And always in everything, we need patience.” Chanan said.

“I don’t know how to take care of plants, Chanan. Not one that is withering. She needs a lot of help before she… “

Both of them stopped and looked at each other. Before she what? He had noticed that look in her eyes sometimes, the one his sister had before she ended her life.

It couldn’t be.

“You know?” He suddenly asked looking into the priest’s eyes.

“Well, she was at the cliff once. I stopped her.”

Malachi’s heart ceased to beat. At the cliff?

“When was that?”

“During the first few days she was here.”

“You tell me this now?” Malachi accused.

“I thought you knew.”

Right. How stupid of him. He should have known, of course.

“Could you visit her?” He asked Chanan.

“Of course.”

“And perhaps you can visit Saul as well.”

Chanan smiled. “I will try.”

“I’ll come by some other time,” Malachi said knowing he had a meeting soon.

He hurried to the courthouse, to meet with clan leaders. His brothers joined him at the table and then waited for the last few to sit down. Malachi looked around the table and then gave his brother Saul the word. Since he was so impressed by the mess he should take care of it too.

“Thank you everyone for coming.” He began. “We have unfortunately not gathered to share any good news or make great plans for our future. We are here because laws were broken. There have been things happening without King Malachi’s knowledge or permission. There have been attacks on humans.” He looked around the table. “If you have any objection to King Malachi’s rules, you need to address them straight. Now is your chance.”

There was a few looks exchanged before the king of the Gillan clan spoke. “We are concerned, king Malachi. You are a king with a human breedmate. We have been hiding for a long while now and meanwhile the humans have been expanding and developing superior weapons. Many are coming out to fight and if we stay silent, they will only grow and we will never come out of our hiding.”

Some nodded in agreement.

“And how do you wish to respond?” Malachi asked. “You think fighting back will make them retreat or do you think they will produce those weapons faster and distribute them to everyone?”

“We will do what you used to do with your father. We need to evoke fear again. Those who want to just lead peaceful lives will force the ones fighting to surrender.”

Malachi wanted to laugh. Clearly, they haven’t met Ravina.

“Or, we will cause a war between them,” another one added.

“Humans have been at war with each other for a long time. It is their way of living but we brought them together because they found a common enemy. As long as we are the enemy, there won’t be a bigger war than this one between them.”

Malachi met their gazes. “And some of you have been reckless enough, almost exposing our homes and putting the innocent ones in danger.”

“We need to get rid of those weapons King Malachi. I thought you kept your breedmate for that purpose, or do you have other plans?”

“What are you suggesting?” Malachi demanded. “Are you telling me to use my breedmate as means to negotiate? Is that what you do with your breedmate?”

The king was offended.

“My breedmate is a dragon,” he defended himself.

“But it is not about what your breedmate is. It is the instinct to recognize her as such and what you feel toward her that makes her a breedmate and that instinct is what makes you a dragon. Are you telling me because she is human, to ignore the very thing that makes me a dragon?”

They looked at each other, discreetly.

“You are not giving me a good reason to fight what is in my nature,” he added. “If you can prove that my instinct is any less than yours because she is human then I will consider.”

They remained silent.

“Let’s go back to the main issue then. The attacks on humans, who is responsible?”

No one said anything. So they were going to help each other to hide it?

“Alright. Then each of you, send ten of your men. We will do it the old way.” Malachi said, standing up.

“And pray I don’t catch anyone red-handed,” Saul said. “End of meeting.”

His brothers stood up and followed him out. They watched as the rest left and then Saul turned to him. “With your breedmate, you don’t even have your clan on your side. How will you rule others?” He shook his head at him and walked away.

Kenan and Joel followed him and Aaron came to stand by his side. “You did well,” he clapped him on the shoulder. “As for your people, I want to show you something.”

Aaron took him on a flight to the hill nearby his house. They landed and shifted. Aaron nodded toward Malachi’s house. Malachi found Ravina surrounded by people with Nako and Mara by her side. They were demonstrating something. The vegetable peeler.

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