ONE

 

Sitting up, she gasped for air, her body dripping with sweat. Frightened eyes searched the darkness as her mind emerged from the heady cloud of slumber and a wave of relief washed over her, quieting the pounding in her ears as her heart raced; it was just a dream. She sighed, feeling relieved by her realization, but her mind would not let go of the images so easily.

 

The light had been so bright, vivid—almost as blinding as the hottest fire, though it had been blue. She could not see its source and she felt no heat as it washed over her, rushing past to engulf the army that was attacking the small village she had called home her entire life.

 

Before the fire she had been in her bed, her family fast asleep as the army had advanced. Carrying torches, it was the scent of smoke that had roused her and she had watched as her father, dressed only in his breeches raced through the common room, removing the white sword from the sheath that had always rested peacefully on the wall above the hearth.

 

‘Father?’ her brother had asked with panic in his voice.

 

‘Stay inside and protect your sister.’ Had been his response as her mother, still in her night shift had joined them.

 

Frowning, she placed a hand to her brow. It had been so real! Adjusting to the dim, she began to discern shapes in the shadows of her bedchamber. A faint light permeated the room as the harvest moon lit the land beyond her shuttered window. Different than the moon that had lit the landscape in her dream; she allowed herself a soft laugh. As real as it had seemed, what transpired had not—and would not—occur on that night. As she inhaled once more, a deep, relaxing sigh, she noticed a figure standing over her, the pale glow ethereally illuminating his white hair.

 

‘Kadean?’ she asked, tilting her head in confusion. ‘What’s wrong?’ He did not respond. ‘Kadean?’

 

When his words finally came, they were soft and hollow. ‘You saw it, didn’t you?’

 

‘Saw what?’ Flicking her blankets off, she climbed to her feet. Her white night shift fell long to the floor as she stood and it shone almost as brightly as Kadean’s hair.

 

‘The fire.’

 

Her heart skipped a beat as she placed her hand on his arm, jolting him out of his trance.

 

‘Delyah?’ he said with a confused frown. ‘What’s going on?’

 

Though the darkness impeded her ability to see, she knew that his pale blue eyes were troubled. ‘You had a bad dream,’ she told him. ‘You should go back to bed.’ It wasn’t the first time Kadean had been so engrossed in his dreams that he walked and talked whilst sleeping and Delyah knew it wouldn’t be the last. ‘What did you see this time?’ she asked lightly, already knowing that his answer would not please her. Helping him across the room to his own cot, she pulled back the rough woolen blanket that matched her own.

 

‘Fire. It always begins with fire,’ Kadean replied, settling himself on his straw filled mattress.

 

‘Always?’ Delyah asked as she flicked his blanket over him. The smell of smoke had been with her since before she had woken and the image of her home in flames returned to her with the memory of her mother—twin swords in hand—battling alongside her father, filling her with as much dread as it had while she dreamed it.

‘I don’t know,’ Kadean said with a yawn.

 

‘Don’t let it trouble you, brother. Sleep peaceful until morning.’

 

Responding with a soft grunt, Delyah knew he had already started to drift. She hoped he would dream no more that night, she didn’t think her heart could take it.

 

Returning to her cot, she lay listening to the rhythm of her brother’s breathing, wide awake, trying to understand what had happened. She often shared his waking thoughts but it was rare for her to share in his dreams. Their bond was as strong as a sibling’s could be. They had been born within just moments of each other and Delyah had always blamed that for her belief that sometimes she could hear his thoughts but she had begun to suspect that there was something more to it than just twinly intuition.

 

Kadean was special. His dreams often came to pass and he thought so differently to the way she did. They had seen fifteen summers and already, he bore a weight of responsibility that she could never understand. Rolling over, Delyah closed her eyes and forced herself to sleep as the images of her family fighting off an unknown foe raced through her mind.

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