Sky's POV:

"Well, I know just the person for the job," Raejin said, as he walked into the room. All four of us turned to look at him. "Who?" I asked. "Her name is Phailin. She just moved from Europe to America and found her mate in the son of one of the council members. She," Raejin was about to say something, when suddenly Rain spoke up, "Which council member?" "Don Chatpokhin, I believe," "Don? Don found his mate?" Rain asked, tears swimming in his eyes. "Yes, he did," Raejin said almost at the same time as I asked, "Rain, why the tears?"

"Nothing Sky. Just that Don has found his mate. You can't believe how thrilled I am. He deserves to be happy. I want to meet all of them soon. I really can't wait," he said. I knew he was close to Dean, Don and Pharm. He had told me about them, and I knew they were important to him. Rain found it really difficult to make friends. The three of them were the only people he ever spoke about. "I am sorry Raejin, I didn't let you finish what you were saying. Sorry for interrupting you," Rain apologised. "It's alright Varain, I know you were excited for your friend. So please don't worry," Raejin said, with a smile at him. "So, as I was saying, Phailin is not only born under the element, but she also has the powers you are looking for. She is a hereditary witch and has the ability to draw a curtain between worlds," Raejin explained.

"The question here is, how will she be able to help Varain?" Avani asked. "Rain will have to be sent into her dreams and request her. Only the person who needs the curtain drawn can make the request, as you all know," Sky said. "How can we do that Sky?" Rain asked, a puzzled look on his face. "I can help you with that," Avani said. "Actually, I will need Idalia and Neoma as well," she added. "Let me call for them then," said Raejin. Within minutes, both the sisters rushed into the room. "What is the matter?" Idalia asked. "Varain needs to walk into someone's dream. This person will be able to cloak his glowing from the eyes of the world and give us the much important secrecy that is required. The knowledge about Varain's powers cannot be revealed to anyone yet," Alaz answered.

"Actually, that's another thing I want to know. What's with this big secrecy? I know everything about it in any case, don't I?" I asked. "Well, you are the Queen's shadow. It is okay if you know. But as for the rest of the world, no one can know till King Venice gets to know. He is his other half and must know about him first by rights of the supernatural world," Raejin explained to us. "Hmm... I see. Okay, first things first. What is the first step Sky?" Rain asked me. This is what I loved about my best friend, his absolute and complete faith in me.

Avani's POV:

Naphon was indeed a scholar. I loved the way his mind worked. No one could have thought of a more brilliant plan. The moment he mentioned it, I understood what he wanted to do. But this process could be tricky. The person wanting to make the request had to enter the dreamscape of the person who would carry out the cloaking. In this case, Varain had to meet Phailin.

Neoma, Idalia and I quickly collected what we would need for this casting. With a wave of his hand, Raejin turned the table into a bed. Varain immediately lay down and closed her eyes. Neoma, Idalia and I stood over Varain and raised our hands. "Let these eyelids grow heavy and sore, let there be slumber evermore," we chanted as we felt Varain fall into deep sleep. It was probably going to take a few hours, because he had to look for Phailin, and it could be difficult to find a person who could draw a literal curtain between herself and the world.

Within an hour, Varain opened his eyes. "That was really quick," Neoma exclaimed. We were all shocked and surprised. How much power did this young boy actually have? What would have taken hours, maybe even days of searching for high level witches and even perhaps Gods, this child had accomplished in one hour. "Did you know where Phailin lives?" I asked him. "Not really," But I knew where Pharm lives, and so I just followed that thread," he replied, not even remotely perturbed by the vibes in the room.

"You followed a thread?" Raejin whispered, awestruck. "Yes, it was not that difficult," he replied cheerfully. We all just looked at each other. I was now glad that we had taken the decision to cloak his powers. Very soon, we were not going to be able to hide it. We would have to increase the increase the intensity of his training. We might have to let him go sooner than we expected. And that was something I was definitely not looking forward to.

All of us loved him so much. Even though we knew he had forgiven Venice, we had not. And sending him back there, back to him, was something that did not please us at all. I knew that as Varain's best friend, even Naphon felt upset and uneasy. Varain had proved himself again and again as the right person for the job. But Venice was still untested. We were afraid that his loyalties would dissipate once Varain went back. That's when I made up my mind. I knew that I could not keep it from the others. And I also knew that they would never agree to me. But I had ways to navigate around this problem. I knew what exactly to say to convince the others. The only problem was, I could not and did not want to tell Varain anything about this trip. I was afraid that he would feel that we didn't trust his judgement whereas the opposite was true.

It was not that we didn't trust Rain, it was just that we didn't trust Venice. And I wanted to find a way to test him. I needed the others to be supportive, so I would have to make a complete plan before I presented it to the others and even tried to convince them. but there was one thing I was sure of. I would find an ally in Naphon, as he was just as upset at Venice as I was.

Rain's POV:

In my mind's eye, I located Pharm's face. I had never seen Phailin, so I had no way of finding where she was. And I knew that Don and Dean did not live in the same house, except if there was some council related work. So, I decided to follow Pharm in my mind. I then used his memories of dropping Phailin off after shopping to her house. I didn't really understand how I was able to do that, much less how I knew what I had to do. I stepped in front of their house. It looked lovely. But to be very honest, I was not really sure if I wanted to go into their bedroom, as it would be very much an invasion of their privacy. But I had to do that, if I wanted to see Phailin. Then a thought came into my head. Somehow, I felt that I could send my thoughts to her. It was such a random thought, so I knew I was probably on the right path. I sat on their couch and looked around the room. Suddenly, a picture caught my eye.

It was the picture of a beautiful girl, petite, dark-haired, with truly blue eyes. She had a gorgeous smile as she looked up at Don. So, this was Phailin! I was so happy for Don. I always knew he had a secret crush on me, and really hoped that he and I would be mates. Which is why I had told my story to Pharm, because I knew he would definitely tell Dean and Don. As it is, the mate bond was instantaneous. Which is why both Don and I knew we were not each other's.

So, I pictured her face in my mind and picked on this golden thread above her head. It was like, it was asking me to follow it. So, I that's exactly what I did. It took me straight into her dreams. "Phailin," I called out. "Yes? Umm... Who are you?" she asked. "I need a favour Phailin," I said. "I am Rain. Don knows who I am. Right now, I must tell you what I need," I continued. "Please tell me how I can help you," she asked.

"I am in hospital. And I need you to cloak my glow. I need you to draw a curtain between me and the mortal realm. No one should see or know what I look like at this moment. It is of the utmost importance and urgence and has to be done as soon as tomorrow morning. I really need your help," I said "I.." I was about to add something when I felt myself being pulled back. "Help me," I mouthed as she looked at me in surprise. The moment I woke up, I realised that everyone was looking at me which shock on their faces. "What?" I asked. "No one has ever done this so quickly. It has taken the most experienced dream walkers hours, if not days, to figure out and get to the person they want to meet. But you did it in an hour! How did you manage that, Varain?" Neoma asked, her shock even apparent in her voice.

"It was easy actually," I said. "I just followed a thread. Phailin was not difficult to find. She will help us. I have ensured that she understands the urgency of the situation. She will do the needful by tomorrow morning. Pharm and the others will help her," I said.

Tharn's POV:

Type's words left me stunned. I could also see the shock on Rick and Zander's faces. "Glowing?" was all I could say. "Are you sure Pa?" Rick asked. "Absolutely sure. That child, Phailin I think her name was, Don Chatpokhin's mate, she covered our baby with some kind of cloth, just the area around the heart. And gave strict instructions that it should not be removed until Rain wakes up," Type said. "Did she say when that will be?" Zander asked, the hope in his voice echoing the one in my heart. Type shook his head sadly. "Nothing of the sort," he said. "Why was he glowing though?" I asked, trying not to sound too heartbroken, knowing that my family was holding on by a thread, and I had to do whatever I could to ensure that that thread never frayed.

"No idea about that too. But it was a weird kind of glow," Type replied thoughtfully. "What do you mean?" Rick asked. "It was like there was fire inside him. Like the light of the sun? It was yellow and orange, with reddish accents. Definitely not the shimmer or shine of light or something," Type said. We all sat quiet after whatever Type said, trying to process what this would mean for our baby boy.

Pai's POV:

"Glowing?" I asked, as Fah and I stared at Yu. "Yeah, like fire, yellow, orange and red," he said. Fah and I looked at each other. "Are you sure?" Fah asked. "Well, I have eyes, don't I? There is no other word to describe what I saw. It was like he was burning from inside. But the moment that cloth was placed by Phailin, it was gone, like nothing had been there at all," Yu said. "Have we a precedent for this?" I asked. My brothers looked at each other thoughtfully. "Not a precedent, but someone who can absorb energies would show signs of whatever energy they are with at that point," Fah said. "Are you saying Rain is absorbing fire energy from somewhere?" Yu asked. "I am not sure, but I think P'Chai would know. Yu, you have visited Rain the most often in these past 18 months. Apart from this, have you ever seen anything else change?" Fah asked.

I could see Yu think carefully, unfocused, almost as if he was looking back. "Well, there have been physical changes..," he trailed off, suddenly sitting up straight. "There were electricity pulses a while ago, like lightning strikes. Machines shorted out a couple of times. And plants in the room had to be changed because they suddenly started growing faster and faster. In fact, flowers that we had placed for them didn't wilt for almost three months," Yu said, his voice tinged with wonder. "I think there is way more to this than meets the eye. The things you mentioned, was there any physical manifestation on Rain's body?" Fah asked. Yu shook his head slowly. I immediately understood what he was getting it. If Rain was able to harness the energy of the elements, and then be able to absorb it and use it, then it was only fire that would outwardly manifest, since it was the most visible element. I could see the shock dawning on Yu's face too, as he considered the powers his mate had. "There is no point in speculation. We will have to just wait and watch until Rain comes back," I said, not wanting Yu to unnecessarily fall into doldrums again!