As the first sign of light glowed off the walls, Eileen was in the hallway instantly. Which way was the dungeon again? Her eyes flickered down the hallway. Which way was it? Her hands clenched. The castle was unusually quiet.
"If I were you, I would have stayed in the room." Eileen jumped. Donovan's eyes narrowed on her. "You never know who's watching around these castles."
Her hand dropped from her startled heart. "Like you?"
"How cute." He chuckled, "You actually think I care about you that much." He stepped forward. "Unfortunately for the both of us, I was given the great honor of guiding you to the dungeons, hybrid lover."
Eileen's jaw clenched. "I have a name."
He smiled. "I know." With that he turned and walked away, causing Eileen to hurry after him. "Wait, wait up-" She turned a corner. Umph!
Crash! Thousands of diamond shards littered the floor. Before she could speak, the woman dropped to her knees.
"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" Shaky hands picked up the tiny pieces, seemingly uncaring about the tiny cuts that drew blood.
"No, wait." Eileen reached down to help her. "Let me help, you'll get hurt!"
"No!" Donovan snapped. His gaze flickered to the hybrid with annoyance. "She dropped it."
"But I ran into her."
"So what?" His eyes narrowed. "Her clumsy fingers can't drop everything that she runs into." He glanced toward her. "Now, are you going to follow me to the dougeons or not?" Eileen's jaw clenched. "Wait up!" She called after him. "Why are you being so mean to them? Hybrids are just like you and-"
"Hybrids are nothing like the pure!" Donovan swirled around. Gray eyes burned into her own. "And you have no idea what you're walking into. You know nothing of our history or the pain we went through!" Eileen stepped back as he towered over her. "And you will never know." Turning, he stormed off.
Eileen's hands clenched. Anger burned in her chest before it deflated just ask quickly. He's right. She bit her lip. I have no idea about their history. Still, she followed after her, that doesn't mean I can't learn.
Donovan's hand pressed against the metal keypad. "Hurry up. The prince is waiting for us in the meeting room." Stepping through the doorway, the cold embraced her in a chilling hug. It's even colder than last night. Her feet took the stairs two at a time until she reached the bottom. Her legs moved her through the chill silence until she came across the curled up figure.
"Eileen?" A voice croaked.
Her heart stilled.
"Ursus." As the bars opened, she knelt down. Dark bags hung under his eyes while her arms wrapped around his trembling body. His face nuzzled into her neck, enjoying the warmth of her body heat.
"Wrap it up you two." Click. The chains around his limbs dropped back against the walls. "Your brother is waiting in the meeting room." Eileen glared at Donovan before she glanced back at Ursus. She didn't miss the slight redness around his wrists.
"Are you alright?" He grabbed her hand.
Their fingers entwined. "I am now."
Her heart leaped into her chest.
"Come on!" At Donovan's shout, they finally headed out the dungeon.
Inside the meeting room, a holographic map of what looked like three continents floated in a large gray sea. Pavel glanced up at the door shutting behind them. "Ah, you made it." His gaze flickered to Ursus. "How do you feel?"
"Fine," Ursus rubbed his neck. "Same as always."
As they sat down, Pavel snapped his fingers. A male hybrid emerged from the shadows. Fruits, veggies, cooked fowl, seafood and more out in an arrangement before them. With a bow, he disappeared as quickly as he came.
"If you're hungry then dig in." Pavel nodded to her. "Some of these fruits and meats are extinct back on your planet, Eileen." He turned the hologram with the flick of his wrist. "They should be safe for you to consume. After you finish, we'll be heading straight for Lumanora."
Growl. Her gaze snapped to Ursus. He grabbed a white pear. "Lumanora?" She questioned. Taking a bite, the juices that dripped was enough to urge her to take one as well. Taking a bite, she nearly moaned in delight at the delicate sweet flavor.
"It's the largest village in the Seymour Swamp, and it's where the elder lives." A bright golden beam glowed among the dense trees. "They've been having some issues with the recent creatures. I wanted to leave yesterday but..." His gaze snapped to Donovan before he shook his head. "It doesn't matter. What matters right now is that we figure out what's going on and help them out."
"Is this a part of your challenge?" Ursus reached for a handful of aqua fruit. "Or is this something else?"
"I have my thoughts but right now I want to hold off on theorizing." He glanced at Eileen. "I'm sure we'll have everything figured out soon enough." He tapped his watch. "But right now, I think I should start from the beginning." The beginning? "Show the kingdom of Valerious."
The hologram shifted and shimmered into a large continent. "This was the kingdom of Valerious, the very first system of government the humans created once they arrived."
The image shifted to a group of people that looked exactly human. "My ancestor, well technically our ancestor, was the leader of this kingdom. It was a place of peace and harmony, but as time went on, the people started to diversify."
The image shifted again, showing the various people. A gray-eyed man lifted a boulder and chucked it, a green-eyed woman moved through the forest trees with stealth and precision, and a blue-eyed man shot through the water like a bullet. "Soon the three races as you see here were given unique abilities to survive the harsh climate of the land. However, there was one problem."
A man shifted, standing above them all. His eyes were a mixture of green and gray. "A hybrid named Navo caused a war to break out among the three races when he killed the king and led a hybrid army across the land. After a fierce battle that claimed many lives, the hybrids of both Visutilis and Quies blood were killed. The kingdom separated into three smaller nations you see now and hybrids were forbidden to bond with anyone."
"But there are hybrids here now." Eileen's eyebrow furrowed.
"Yes, we loosened the killing over the years and replaced it with various restrictions."
"Like the trackers," she countered.
"Yes," Pavel sighed. "The trackers. Ursus told me you weren't the biggest fan of them."
Eileen folded her arms. "You could say that," she muttered. A hand squeezed her thigh, snapping her gaze to Ursus. His eyes begged her not to start again.
"Trust me," She turned back to Pavel. "I am not a fan either." But yet you keep them despite being a prince. As if reading her thoughts, Pavel turned away from her. "A prince can only do so much."
"Despite the restrictions, my brother Ursus was given special privileges being my royal protector. He got a higher education than most hybrids and the fact he is technically my blood brother allows him to activate various machines that normal hybrids or even pures can't activate."
"Like the orb portals?"
"Yes." She reached for another pear. "Normally, they keep the citizens within kingdom range, but with my brother being royalty, he was able to unlock the ability to actually get off the planet." And into my life. She glanced at Ursus. His eyes softened before he grabbed her hand. Squeezing it, she felt her heart flip in response.
"Wait," she frowned. "You said hybrids can't bond."
"No, they're not allowed to." Pavel frowned. "The consequences for bonding with someone of a different race was often...brutal. It was the best way the council had at the time to prevent hybrids from being born. Those already born weren't allowed to bond or have children."
Eileen's jaw dropped. "That's horrible."
"It was." Pavel nodded. "But with the new DNA system in place we now have a way to keep everything organized."
"So you just segregated them now, based on genetic makeup."
"I know you don't approve." Pavel tapped him. watch. "But I'm afraid we have much bigger things on our hands. Ursus, I don't think that attack on you was a coincidence. Computer, show the simulation of attack 203."
The hologram shifted and moved until it showed two hybrids rushing into a store. A few seconds later, it burst into flames.
"Hybrids of Quies and Visutilis were seen near areas of Lyira with explosions. They're targeting the no hybrid districts around the city. With them building distrust again, my plan to ease restrictions on hybrids is going to cause conflict with the council."
Ursus frowned. "Any idea why they're doing this?"
"I have my suspicions, but until I can get enough evidence, I won't say anything right now." His gaze snapped to Eileen. "So, Ursus told me you're an ER nurse back on earth."
Eileen nodded. "Yes, I am."
"Good, then we could use you." Pavel stood up. "I had Donovan pack a first aid kit with all the necessary equipment for our journey." His gaze softened. "I can't promise that it'll be safe, but with Ursus, me, and Donovan-" the latter snorted "-and Donovan, we'll keep you out of harm's way." Pavel sent a very don't test me glare toward Donovan. "And the pay will be worth your wild."
Pay? Her ears perked at that. While she loved being a nurse, the pay wasn't the best part of the job. Or at least it was but with this... At the encouragement in Ursus's gaze, she nodded. "Alright." She smiled. "If you're willing to have me, then I'll join."
"Perfect. There's a hologram that will teach you about each item." Tapping his watch, a screen appeared before her eyes. "You can study on the trip there. It shouldn't take us too long."
"Great."
Hopefully, this will be an uneventful trip.