^^//Cover by NaomiWrites01 . Thank you.//

I cared a lot about my sleep.

I mean, really. I had mastered the art of sleeping without nightmares a long time ago, which helped me get a fresh start. There is something really good about not waking up in the middle of the night, yelling all the way to the Modern World.

I sleep for exactly six hours. Six hours of sleep is just the right amount of sleep for an Immortal body. Any less than that would leave you with zombie eyes and a tired head, and any more, meh. You never want to get out of bed.

I cherished my sleep. It is a known fact that Lynne should never, ever be disturbed in her sleep. Which is why when the knocking came, harsh and loud against my stout mahagony door, that I woke up with a angry face and an equally angry mood.

I sit up and push my feet into a pair of fuzzy Ugg boots, brought from the Modern World, of course. I grab for my cloak and throw it over my nightgown, and hoist myself off the very, very welcoming bed.

The knocker went on knocking.

'Oh for fuck's sake,' I yell. 'Don't break down the fucking door.'

The knocking promptly stops.

I sigh. Somebody is going to get burned tonight.

Half-heartedly, I touch the wick of my candles, watching them immediately burst into flames. Then, I open the door.

It is a boy, his chest heaving, as if he had spent the past hours running from an unruly mob. He has his hand poised, ready to knock again, even it meant facing my wrath. His mop of red and purple hair stands on edge, like he just rolled out of bed.

I sigh again, and open the door wide.

'Come in, Dan.'

He pushes his way in without a word, and I shut the door softly behind him.

I hear the clattering of teeth and I realize Dan is shivering.

'Dan, Dan? Are you okay?'

God is he hurt? Is he sick? Is he burning up?

I take the cloak I wrapped around myself and swing it over my brother's shoulders. He groans and flops down on the floor as his legs give away from underneath him.

'I'll get the fire going. Maybe it will warm you up,' I move towards the fireplace, turning away from him.

Dan looks bemused as ever as fire roars, lighting up the fireplace, cackling and screaming, as everything turned warm.

I kneel down next to him, taking his hands in mine.

'Are you ill? What is it, Dan.' I touch his forehead, it's warm to the touch. 'Dan, tell me. Are you hurt? God dammit, you are scaring me.'

He raises his china-blue eyes and looks at me.

'Where is Emily?'

I let go of his fingers. Of course he'd ask about that bitch. Apparently he "loved her too".

I frown in distaste and get up, moving towards the wicker chair and crossing my arms indignantly.

'I've told you not to ask me anything about Emily Brethon.'

Dan looks distraught. He pulls at his hair as he bites down on his lip in frustration.

My beautiful little boy.

I lean back in my chair. Dan's going to turn eighteen the day after tomorrow. It's going to be the most important day of his life. The day he obtains his true powers, the day his soul will be bound to that of Acedon's. The day he will be a true Immortal.

We, The Immortals, are people born with the ability to control any one of the elements. We begin our lives as ordinary humans in the Modern World.

Apparently, our dormant powers act like a beacon for the monsters from the myths and we are prone to attacks. Needless to say, underage Immortals wouldn't last a day alone in the Modern World without help.

When I and my traitorous wretch of a sister turned ten, our parents shipped us off to Acedon, along with Dan, as housing three underage Immortals in one place was attracting more monsters than what was common. 

Together, our combined dormant powers attracted a Hydra- a Greek serpent-like water monster- when Dan had been just two. It didn't end with the hydra. Adlet - the werewolf of Inuit; Chamrosh - a Persian giant bird; Minotaur - a Greek bull-headed man; Ushi-oni - the Japanese brutal sea monster; Crocotta - the dog-wolf of India; and many others came in search of three, apparently mouthwateringly tasty Immortals. 

Our parents, not the very best ones at that, decided we weren't just worth the risk of ruining the perfect life they crafted in the Modern World. Dan, barely five, had been terribly upset of having to leave our parents and move out.

But that was years ago.

'Lynne.' Dan says, snapping me out of my reverie. 'She is in danger. I had this really weird dream, and she was - '

I cut him off. 'It was just a dream, Danny.'

Dan pulls at his hair. 'You don't understand! It was different. It was real, trust me. I know.'

I sigh in defeat. 'Walk me through it. What did you see?'

I chew my lip as I listen to Dan narrate his bizarre dream. My conscious prickles, and my senses are on high alert.

'Can you describe this, uh, thing, that was drinking her, um,' I fumble for words. 'You know?'

Dan nods. 'It was this huge shadow like creature. It was dark, but I couldn't see his face. But it was the eyes, they were this weird reddish type I'm sure I've seen somewhere.'

Oh God.

'And there was this blue sword, fit for a giant, I guess. It was long.'

I stand up in shock. I feel as though I had just been electrocuted. Fire sparks, literally, fly out of my fingers. My face feels on fire, as I remember the boy with the red eyes.

'It's Ayden.' My voice is expressionless and hollow, and I feel like someone holds a knife to my throat. 

'Ayden is back.'

***

This baby's on a roll.