Fly or Fall

Chapter Five

Anna brushed a stray wisp of her hair and followed Nyx and Sage out of the house. Andy was at her side. She noticed the purplish bruising around his eyes and knew he hadn't slept the night. For a brief second, guilt flooded her heart for how well rested she felt. She'd slept through the night and most of the morning, by the time she woke, it was almost noon. She'd found Andy in the study with Salena, both with their faces buried in a book. She got the feeling the two were a lot alike. They didn't need words to understand each other, so much more was said in the silence.

She'd left them in peace to enjoy their quiet as she ventured to the kitchen. She was starving. But she'd almost reeled away when she found a man standing in the middle of the kitchen. He was tall, over six feet, with close-cropped chestnut hair and bright blue eyes. He was laughing, his head thrown back and his hand over his stomach. Sage sat at the table with her body facing the man as she too chuckled. Her laugh was soft compared to the man's, which seemed to echo through the house.

Anna took a step back but stumbled into the door, drawing the man's attention. "Hello," he said, as his eyes fell on her. "You must be Anna," he approached her then put his hand out for her to shake. "I'm Sly Logan," he introduced.

Anna smiled. "You're Sage's father?" she asked and he nodded. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Your daughter saved my life and my brother's."

He grinned. A proud grin, one only a parent could ever accomplish. "She takes after her mother," he commented, before turning and ruffling Sage's dark hair.

"Tell me, Anna," he was standing over the kitchen counter, "would you like something to eat." Smiling, she nodded.

She wasn't even half done with her omelet when Nyx had shown up. She greeted the group before ordering Anna and Sage to get ready, they'd been summoned to the palace. It was where they were headed now.

Sage was in her iridescent armor and Anna and Andy were in the same clothes they'd arrived in. Anna wearing a pair of black jeans, a plum chemise blouse with ruffles and black combat boots. Andy in his black jeans, plain white t-shirt and navy-blue hoodie. He'd forgone the black denim jacket, seeing as the weather was much more temperate here. Anna wondered if it was because the island experienced warmer autumns or maybe it was a different season all together. Did they have seasons on this world? And if they did, where they the same as Earth's seasons.

During the drive up to the palace Nyx gave them a rundown of what the empress would expect from them. She explained how they were to behave in front of the her, when they could talk and when they could not, what they were allowed to say or ask and what they weren't. The one thing she did not go over was why they were being summoned and in Anna's opinion it was the most important bit of information. Were they in trouble? She hoped not.

When Andy had dared to ask Nyx why, she'd smiled sweetly, a smile that failed to reach her eyes, and told them they'd find out in due time. She was purposely avoiding the question, Anna thought. The rest of the drive was in silence. Anna watched the world they passed and she wished the carriage would slow down. She wanted to properly take in the sights.

The drive from the house to the palace was an hour long. When they arrived, they were received with silver trumpets blowing at the gates where blue and green flags flapped in the wind. Armored guards stood by the sides of an arched entrance, emblazoned silver renderings of a twisted oak tree extolled their breastplates and capes. The carriage stopped by inordinate wooden doors. Anna craned her neck trying to look up to the top but the carriage obstructed her view and she leaned back into her seat.

Nyx was the first to exit the carriage, followed by Sage, then Andy and lastly Anna. Two guards and a man in grey stood by the doors. He was a dark-skinned gangly man with dreadlocks tied in a neat bun. He bowed to Nyx as she approached him.