The story so far:

----Aija, Zuri, and Ze are three friends, who were working at the Pristine School at Innermost. Aija gets involved with the Ytai first, leading Zuri and Ze to them as well. Zuri falls in love with Nala (Lalana), who is Ytai and works with Thieron. Aija and Ze are captured by Thieron, of H'eon, when they were at the Hospital - Aija was at the Hospital with Kuna of R'ies and Zuri to stop a Harvest; Ze was there to visit his sick student Xan. Thieron has bound Aija to himself, and Nala has bound Ze to herself. Luka works for Thieron(Ah'n), along with Lalana (Nala).

----Aija, Ze, Thieron, Luka, and Nala go to the South Land. Luka admits that they are there for a Harvest. While they are on the Harvest, they get stopped by a group of people - the Zayr. Aija and Ze meet Princess Ruyanir of the Zayr. Ze and the Princess have an instant connection. The Prince has requested Aija and Ze to meet him. Prince Irih' va and Aija have a conversation about the Àvo; he explains how it works. Aija seems to like the Prince. The Prince gives Aija a strand of his golden hair - for protection. Irih' va sees Aija in his future but isn't sure she will choose him. He wants her to choose him. Irih' va catches Ze using his powers, and he shows Ze that he, too, has the same powers.

----Luka works for Thieron(Ah'n), along with Lalana (Nala). Luka found Aija first at her school, teaching the kids. He seems to care for her.

----They had been to the South Land for a Harvest, where they meet Prince Irih' va. 

----They are preparing for the Ker'zan.

----Etrie tells Zuri that he is going to kill Thieron and Nala. She is very adamant that she too goes to the Ker'zan with them.

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****33 - Luka****

Two concentric circles – the inner ring made of dots – were tattooed on his chest just above his heart. 

It was the symbol of H'eon. It represented their dictum – All parts of the Universe belong to us; which was put as Ji Ca'hir e nav'ei. The Universe is ours. 

The symbol of the R'ies was the exact opposite – two concentric circles with the outer circle formed by dots. It represented their dictum – The Universe is one, and we are all a part of it. It was derived from Ithi'hra's dictum – We are of the Universe; The Universe if of ours to Protect. 

H'eon's was derived from R'ies to be the exact opposite of it. Ithi'hra, R'ies, and H'eon had a deep history, R'ies being derived from Ithi'hra and H'eon from R'ies. 

Thieron had one too; Nala didn't. 

Luka hadn't always had the tattoo and had no intention of getting a tattoo on his body. But he'd found that Thieron was doubtful of his loyalty - more so because Luka could control what emotions he could show on his aura, and Thieron knew that fact about Luka. So, ten years after he had joined Thieron, he had willingly got the symbol tattooed on his chest, precisely where Thieron's tattoo was placed too. Thieron had dozens of tattoos all over his arms, even some on his fingers. Luka knew of few cultures with tattoos being an intricate part of their lives. Perhaps Thieron belonged to such an ethnic group. 

Luka looked at himself in the mirror, the small black tattoo dark against his pale skin. He was pale in comparison to both Thieron and Nala. 

Nala was spared from getting a tattoo since she worked for Thieron alone, and he trusted her with his life. There was absolutely no need for Nala to prove her loyalty to him. 

"Luka," 

Aija came into his room. She stilled as her eyes fell on his naked torso. "Sorry," she apologized. "The door was open, sorry." 

"Wait, stay," he said as she turned around to leave. He wore his shirt and asked, "What is it?" 

She turned back around slowly, hoping he had dressed, and it came to his mind that the last time she had come into his room too, he had been half-naked. 

His stomach flipped at the sight of her. She was in jeans and a blouse – the clothes Nala had bought for her. Her hair was in a bun. A few days ago, when she had returned from the Open with Thieron, late in the night, she had been wearing a blue dress that reached just above her knees. His breath had hitched in his throat as he had seen her walk into the house. Her long hair had swayed as she moved. The word beautiful didn't even begin to describe her completely. She mesmerized him; every time. 

"What is it?" he asked her. 

"Um..." she blinked at him. "I forgot."

 "What was it about?" he asked, moving closer to her as she lingered at the door. 

She blinked, eyes narrowing in concentration as she tried to remember what she wanted to say or talk about. Luka gave her a list of a few things she might have wanted to talk about, but she shook her head for everything he listed. 

"Honestly," she mumbled. "I don't know what it was about." 

"No worries," he said gently. "You can come to me when you remember." 

She nodded, and just for an instant, she pouted and stuck her lower lip out in disappointment. It was gone in a second, but it made her look cute. 

"Aija?" he called. He loved the way it sounded on his tongue, like pure joy. 

"Yes?" 

"Be careful tonight, at the Ker'zan." 

Thieron had explained to Aija and Ze about the Ker'zan with minimal detail. If they were going, they needed to know something about it. 

"You will be surrounded by Ytai, and there's the attack from the Gale. Things can go wrong," he added. "Stay close to the three of us." 

To me, he wanted to say. Stay close to me. 

Aija nodded, and a few strands of her hair slipped from the bun and fell across her face. His fingers itched to brush them away as he saw that she did it herself. 

"I'll try to remember what I wanted to talk to you about," she said and left. 

Luka stared after her as she left. The new kitten, which was outside the room, he realized belatedly, followed her as she went to her room. It had grown quite a good amount in the last few weeks and was starting to resemble the four other cats in the house. 

Prince Irih'va had given Aija a strand of his golden hair. A royal's hair was considered protection in Ierne. It was the same in Ytèan, ages ago, when monarchs still existed. Royals were deemed to be blessed by the Gods and Spirits. Though, Royals never gave their hair easily to anyone, just to people they thought were truly worth protecting and only after clearly assessing the person. 

Prince Irih'va had seen Aija for all of five minutes and decided to give her a strand of his hair for her protection. It was also rumored that the Prince could see glimpses of people's future. What had he seen in hers that had prompted such a reaction? 

Thieron had disliked the hair so much; he had tried to remove it even though he knew it wasn't possible. He had been so frustrated the whole flight back to the Main Lands. 

****

Luka set out the only suit he owned on his bed. It was black, and he would wear it with a white button-down shirt. It seemed excessive; Luka preferred his gear over anything else. It allowed free movement, and it let him slip into fight mode in an instant. But, the Ker'zan was a formal event, and the suit was the only formal clothes he owned. He hadn't brought his clothes to Earth from Ytèan when he first arrived; not that the clothes the Ytai wore were too different from what the humans wore, perhaps the styling differed a little and Ytai preferred gear more than casual clothes. The Ytai and humans were very similar in structure, not like the Ndtqueag of the planet Otesquiero, who had a reptilian aspect to their compositions. The Ndtqueag were scary looking people. 

Luka showered and got out soon to get ready. 

Aija was beautiful in a strange way; her eyes drew him in every time he laid his on hers. The small gap between her two front teeth wasn't a flaw – they enhanced her beauty in their own strange way like it was the so-called little flaws that made her perfect. 

Aija and even Ze seemed calmer ever since they'd returned. He wondered what had happened in the South Land. Aija seemed resigned to the fact that she couldn't escape. Ze still had the rebellious streak in his eyes, but he had been more compliant and relaxed. Almost as if he felt his situation would not drag on any longer. It was as if they saw their escape in the near future and had stopped worrying. He wondered if he had to be worried about it. 

What if Irih' va had offered her more than just a strand of his hair? Would Irih' va do that to Thieron? Luka knew they were close, and their relationship didn't involve betraying each other. But, what if it had changed? 

He decided not to talk of his thoughts with Thieron; he had enough on his hands with the Ker'zan and the Gale attack. 

Luka dressed into the suit. He tied the bowtie around his collar. Humans knew how to dress well; he had to admit. Ytai dressed too often in gear owing to their violent warrior pasts. 

He combed his hair and set it neatly. It was his first Ker'zan; he would probably get to see Alton Ivar, the Leader of H'eon on Earth. 

Luka slipped his blades into the holster and kept a Ytèan gun as well. It wasn't of much use at the moment, but soon they would be receiving a batch of Izemirn from Var-Inu. He stepped out, ready, and paused outside his door. 

Aija's door was open, and the afternoon light was trickling out. He took a step towards it and stopped as he caught Thieron's silhouette at the door. 

He heard Thieron's voice; it was a whisper, but his Ytai ears caught it. 

Thieron spoke in Ytèan: "Te illoè veri adreyr." 

Luka froze, his heart pounding against his chest. He wanted to go into the room and gauge Thieron's expression and aura in that very second, but he stopped himself. 

Instead, he steadied his breath, brushed it off, and went downstairs. 

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