GAIA

Chapter 4: Coming Storm

They stood there and blinked rather stupidly like a deer caught in the headlights. But there was something in her voice and behaviour that told Kyrien she was only telling them part of what she knew. Whether it was about her or the Tempest King he couldn’t quite tell.

“If he’s your King, why would he be difficult to locate?” Shin asked with a puzzled expression.

“The Kings do what they want and rarely stay at their home base.” Kyrien had noticed when she said that; there was an amused glimmer in her eyes. It was a secretive gleam but she wasn’t telling. “I’ll see if Isaiah wants to take in a new student. But first, we need to make sure that all the cores are properly functioning.”

“Shin’s still making no progress.” Jem groaned, flopping down on the dirt, his comment earning him a dirty look from Shin.

“I am trying!” He growled in response. As if on cue when his frustration kicked in, there was a whistling sound and lightning crackled for a moment around his fist before a large bolt was released into the distant darkness.

“Well that escalated quickly.” Jem laughed nervously, running a hand through his blonde hair and fitted his beanie on.

“You have a ‘Thunder’ attributed core.” Arcadia said, glancing over at the now metallic yellow cores embedded in Shin’s palms. She got to her feet and dusted her palms, pulling turquoise gloves over her cores once more.

Her mystifying gaze wandered into the distance. Kyrien followed the direction of her gaze. For a moment, he wondered if it was a trick of light or the remnants of Shin’s thunderbolt but he thought he saw something flicker in the distance. He rubbed his eyes and when he opened them a moment later; the air was filled with a loud rumbling as if a storm were approaching. And from the darkness a large sports motorcycle ripped across the tracks at breakneck speed, pulling to a screeching halt inches away from Kyrien’s face. The force of the stop threw dirt all over him and he coughed in protest.

"What the-" Kyrien started angrily as he cast his defiant sea coloured gaze onto the rider. He flinched.

The rider had unruly bright blonde hair and piercing gold coloured eyes. He reminded Kyrien of a lion ready to tear a wildebeest apart. The ferocity that this man exuded was off the scales. 

"Arcadia." His voice was a low rasp. Kyrien suddenly felt afraid for Arcadia but when he caught sight of her expression, it was one of sheer joy. She was smiling at him. How was that even possible?

"Right on time. Kyrien, I'd like you meet my brother, Isaiah La Cruz, " Arcadia mused and paused before completing the introduction. "The Tempest King." 

The three of them failed miserably at keeping surprise off their faces. "Bro-Brother?" Shin half-shouted, his face incredulous. "You don't even have the same last name."

"Izzy, this is Kyrien. Kyrien Shira." Arcadia emphasised on his last name and completely ignoring Shin's question. 

Isaiah gave him a long hard look and Kyrien forced his expression back into the arrogant one he wore best. 

"Shira. You're Kyria's brother." Isaiah's gold eyes narrowed and Kyrien noticed the muscles along his jaw tightened when he said Kyria's name. This was the first time someone had acknowledged him as Kyria's brother. Just what was Kyria's part in all of this? 

"How do you know his sister?" Jem spoke on his behalf. He knew that Jem and Shin loved Kyria as much as he did. She was warm and loving, fun and energetic. But despite all that, it was hard to imagine her brawling it out with the next guy using powers beyond science itself.