Hey guys, sorry for the late(super) update, that little burst of on time updates was during my spring break, so now that I've back in school for the rest of the year I'm trying to write regularly but honestly I just suck at having a set update schedule😃 (Once I'm on summer break-which is super soon-I think I'll have new chapters written faster!)

Thanks for reading and enjoy this chapter :)

Aelia POV (no wayyyy a POV other than Sophie???)

As soon as she heard the glass shatter, Aelia dropped to the floor. Even if the Neverseen training had taught her nothing, she still had self-preservation instincts.

Small shards of glass rained down against Aelia like snowflakes on the ground, cutting any of her exposed skin. She hissed at the contact, and waited for the shower of glass to stop before turning her head to look at the others.

Alvar was crouched with his back to a bookshelf, pistol in his hand with Ruy at his side. The two boys had their heads turned away from Aelia as they exchanged words she couldn't hear. Ruy unsheathed his sword and crept along the side of the bookshelf, making sure to keep out of view before advancing any further.

The silence in the room was more deafening than the previous shattering of the glass, the only sound being their heavy breathing.

Aelia pressed her back to one of the shelves and held her dagger in a reverse grip, her head turned to the left to listen for any potential threats. After a few empty seconds, she crept out from the shelter of the bookshelves and let her eyes scan the room.

Her eyes met nothing but the glass shards on the carpet.

In her peripheral vision she could see Sophie on the ground. Her back was against the wall and she was holding her left arm with several cuts coating her tanned skin.

Since Aelia heard and saw no threat, she made her way over to the blonde.

"Are you badly hurt?" she questioned.

Sophie met her clear blue eyes, "I don't think so, just a lot of small cuts."

Aelia nodded, extending a hand to help her up. The two girls found their way to Alvar and Ruy, careful to keep mostly out of sight in case of a threat.

The group of four stood shielded between two shelves, assessing the situation before they made any sudden decisions.

"Sophie, stay here for a minute," Alvar spoke, making eye contact with the other two. "Ruy and Aelia, come with me to check the rest of the library."

The blonde sat down and rested on the ancient book shelves, giving only an exasperated nod.

Aelia, Alvar and Ruy moved into the open light of the library window—or what was left of it. There didn't seem to be any trace of a person or possible threat, the only thing concerning was the source of the gunshot.

The three took to searching the floor for the bullet. Aelia jumped at the sound of something falling.

She unsheathed her knife. "You okay, Sophie?"

"Yeah- a book just fell off the shelf," she responded quickly.

Aelia shook off the sudden spook, focusing on the bullet they needed to find. While her eyes searched the flooring, she thought of the gorgeous stained glass windows that had just been shattered in a matter of seconds. It must have taken months of work for someone to create something that stunning.

She often came to the library for refuge. Not from anything particularly, but from anything and everything. Some days the pressure of Neverseen training, others as a place to feel comfortable and relaxed. Sometimes Aelia would browse the towering shelves, enjoying the simple comfort she found from the ancient books.

It was easy to pretend she could find anything in this wonderous library while she lived a life of quiet secrets.

The glass pieces crunched under her boots and Aelia's patience began to dwindle the longer she searched.

"Found it," Ruy called from another corner of the library.

As Alvar and Aelia approached him, Ruy held out the bullet in his right hand for them to see.

It had a copper coating and as he turned the bullet over there was a symbol branded into it.

She squinted, examining the symbol.

It was the side of an animal with a long, curved neck and a feathered body. It was a swan.

The pieces seemed to connect in their heads at the same time. As they locked eyes a silent message passed between the three of them

This bullet belonged to the Black Swan.

Although it was odd for the Black Swan to be using lethal combat weapons, that wasn't the main question running through her mind.

Why would the Black Swan—or even the Neverseen—be using these bullets if they were human made?

Sophie POV
Sophie sat perched on the edge of her bed, her cuts freshly bandaged by Aelia. The other three still hadn't said much of anything about what happened in the library, and it was practically driving her insane.

Ruy and Alvar whispered furiously in the corner while Aelia continued to wrap the series of cuts trailing up her arms. Sophie traced over the details on her boots over and over again while the quiet in the room draped over her like a blanket.

Aelia cut the end of a bandage, exhaling and visibly relaxing once she was finished. She turned and looked over the room, taking extra attention to the journal on Sophie's bookshelf. The light haired girl moved on from the journal, instead painting a small smile on her face as she met Sophie's gaze.

"How are the cuts feeling?" she questioned.

The blonde responded simply with a quick smile, "They're fine."

Aelia studied Sophie for a few seconds. She realized she felt comfortable with these three people—essentially strangers to her—that she had just met. Safe, even. It felt like sitting on the couch with Maylee, or sitting beneath a tree with the breeze fluttering through its leaves.

Sophie thought how sitting beneath a tree with little worries would feel at a time like now. No bandages covering her skin, no shattered windows or sharpened swords. Just herself and the open air.

The open air and anything around her, anything she wanted to be around. Sometimes when stress began to press down on Sophie, she liked to think about somewhere else she would rather be.

Right now she was in a small, dark room with cold walls and a cold bed. But not really. Instead she was sitting down in tall, lush green grass. She sat against the trunk of a large, swaying tree. A tree with a light brown swirling trunk and twisted branches that protected her like a cave—no, like a home. She stared out into the fresh, warm air as something fluttered into her view.

A pink flower petal blew through the breeze and landed in Sophie's lap. She picked it up and examined the delicate piece of nature. She looked up and her eyes captured hundreds—thousands—of petals detailing the branches above her in shades of light pinks and purples.

The tree was the most beautiful she had ever seen and quickly secured her focus. She started to become aware of everything around her. The grass she felt, the hill she sat on, the tree Sophie sat against, all of it was familiar. Sophie thought that seemed to be a trend in her life right now.

She tried to reach out, tried to grasp more of the petals, but suddenly it was all in her mind as it had always been. Not a real place or tree.

The vision dissipated in her mind as a voice took its place.

"So what are the Forbidden Cities like?" Aelia wondered aloud. Her fingers were intertwined with a piece of her silky hair.

Sophie blew out a breath. "It's completely different depending on where you are of course, but do you mean from where I've been?"

"Sure!" she responded eagerly.

The blonde pictured San Diego in her mind, where she grew up.

"I lived in San Diego for fourteen years, which is in California. I liked it a lot, but when I got accepted into Columbia... I don't know, I guess I kind of wanted to start my new school somewhere where I wouldn't be known for being the girl five grades ahead of the other people my age."

Ruy and Alvar were now listening intently, rather than whispering irritatingly in the corner.

"Why'd you like it so much?" Aelia asked with a tilted head.

"It just kinda always felt like home, I guess. I know that sounds stupid—"

"It doesn't."

She stared at Ruy, surprised at his sudden input.

She continued after a moment. "The weather changes, but not too much between seasons. There were a lot of palm trees and popular beaches, but not as many as they make it seem on postcards and stuff," she smiled to herself. "The city was usually pretty crowded, especially during the summers, but our neighborhood was always decently quiet and calm."

Sophie paused, not sure how much to share.

"What was your family like?" Ruy asked, a second comment that shocked her a bit.

She took a second to think about her response and tapped her fingernails together, a habit she didn't know she had picked up from Maylee until now.

"My mom was always the calmer and more relaxed of my parents, we would talk together the most out of my family. My dad was relaxed too, but he had more of a joking kind of personality. He had a nickname for me—Soybean. He'd always call me that ever since I was little, apparently I would say that when I was trying to say my name-"

"Soybean?" Alvar questioned.

"Uh- yeah, why?"

"Nothing, just wasn't sure if I heard you right. What was it like right before you went to New York, like was there any other reason you wanted to leave California?"

Sophie tilted her head, trying to understand the real question the brunette was trying to ask. "My dad got a job offer there that would pay better... I don't really remember a ton during that time right before we left."

"You don't?" The three exchanged glances.

"No?" Sophie hadn't thought of that time much until now. Why didn't she remember much? It seemed like the memories were there, just blurry. "I guess I don't really remember a ton, it was a busy time-"

Ruy interjected again, "Don't you have a photographic memory?"

"I do- how do you know that?" she questioned, and her heart rate began to pick up. Ruy's stare burned into her like fire.

He broke eye contact as he moved over to her bookshelf. He picked up the journal with the bird on the cover.

"This is the book from the library," he noted.

Sophie nodded as a response.

His eyes rapidly scanned over the leather book in his hands.

"Did you bring this here?"

She shook her head, "No, I don't have anything from New York, I didn't really plan on the whole being kidnapped thing. I have no idea how it got here."

"You don't have anything of yours from the Forbidden Cities?" Aelia asked, her brows pressed together.

She shook her head once again.

"We could sneak out," Ruy proposed.

Aelia's eyebrows raised as she considered the idea.

"I mean... why would it matter if we were gone for a little while anyway?" A grin began to grow on her face.

Both of them turned to look at Alvar.

"Why are you guys looking at me? Even if I say no, I know you'll just go without me," he said, arms crossed.

Ruy grinned. "Great, I love a good raid."

"What?"

"Hmm?"

"Okay! I think that's enough of that," Alvar interrupted.

"It's a plan!" Aelia exclaimed. "We can meet in the treehouse at 9AM tomorrow morning. Alvar, can you make sure Sophie's schedule is cleared out for the time that we're gone?"

He sighed in resignation. "Sure."

"Perfect. We'll leave you to rest up after all of this crazy." She walked towards the door and the two boys followed.

Ruy stopped in the doorway when he saw Sophie's dagger sitting on her desk.

He stopped in his tracks, and she could practically see a silent connection being made in his mind.

He opened his mouth to say something, but instead shut it and began to leave the room. Ruy stopped once again, this time just before closing the door.

"You should get some rest- but if you need anything, there's a medical area down the hall."

"Oh. Okay, thanks," she replied.

The door squeaked shut and Sophie stayed quiet until the only sounds she heard were his footsteps fading away.

Hmmmm I wonder what's going on with Sophie??? I wonder what tree that was...? (Y'all please recognize it😭😭😭)

I really hope you guys enjoyed this chapter because it took me so damn long to write (if you couldn't tell), and I'm so excited for the next chapter 'cause we get a little bit of Alvar, Ruy and Aelia in the Forbidden Cities!!!

We'll see how that turns out ;)

Have a wonderful day, night or morning and rememember to vote and comment!

         ~bubblekissed