Human One

11. Lucem Villa

"Welcome to Lucem Villa." Lager's voice whispers in my ear.

I open my eyes only to shut them swiftly, the sudden light blinding to my eyesight which has been weakened by the dark Shadow Travel.

Lager chuckles, before slowly pulling away from me, still keeping a gentle but firm and steadying hand on my arm, which I'm grateful for. 

"It'll take a second." He continues. "Is everyone accounted for?"

"Present and waiting for orders!" I hear Max yell while I'm battling to squint and adjust my eyes.

"I'm here....and what is Ashley doing to her face?" Comes Becky's voice from a small distance away.

I huff, finally opening my eyes all the way, and feel my mouth drop open.

"Why are we in a temple? Did we travel to Greece?" I gasp, looking around at the huge structure we stand in. 

Made up of beautiful white stone, the ceiling stretches high above, unique designs etched into the roof. Pillars surround us, showing a view of the midday blue sky which seems to stretch forever with no clouds in sight.

"You mean Greece as the fat that comes from cooking meat?" Max asks, drawing my attention back to them, who stand a two yards away, their bags abandoned on the ground.

"No, it's a place....oh never mind." I say, waving my hand. "Where are we?"

"If my Shadow Travel worked correctly, we should be in the Lucem Villa reception hall."Lager murmurs, looking around. "But something's strange. I expected there to be at least an attendant or two here to greet us. Where are the Lightlings?"

"Knowing Max, maybe somewhere off partying, drinking, and scratching their monkey behinds." Becky says sarcastically, earning a sheepish smile from Max. 

Lager lets out a chuckle, but instantly stops when he sees mine and Max's glare. Iturn my narrowed gaze to Becky, who only shrugs.

"What? I'm half Lightling, which gives me a right to say it." She says.

I sigh, taking another second to gaze around the temple.

"Should we go look around? Maybe they just aren't aware of our presence." I say.

Seeing how that's the best option for us so far, everyone starts to gather their stuff and pick up their bags.

That's when I hear the echo of footsteps on the marble floor, and we all whirl to face the entrance of the temple, where a boy and a girl around our age stand.

Both of them are wearing long, flowing white robes, almost making them blend in with the temple. The person to the right, the boy, has golden hair like Max's, but where Max's is curly, this his is subdued. To go with the hair are sharp features, his expression a mask of indifference as he studies us. But it's not his hair or features that I'm staring at. It's his eyes. 

An orange the color of fox fur surrounds the black pupil, the color so bold it distracts from anything else. 

My eyes eventually tear myself away from the boy's interesting eyes to wander over to the girl, who has the same brunette color hair as me, but where I'm pale, she appears to be nicely tanned to the point where I'm jealous. I peer at her eyes, excited to see what color they are, and I am not disappointed.

A violet purple that's vibrant enough to maybe even beat the boy's color who stands beside her. I'm still staring at her eyes when suddenly the girl locks gazes with me, a corner of her mouth turning up in a small smile.