The story so far:
----Aija, Zuri, and Ze are three friends, who were working at the Pristine School at Innermost. Aija gets involved with the Ytai first, leading Zuri and Ze to them as well. Zuri falls in love with Nala (Lalana), who is Ytai and works with Thieron. Aija and Ze are captured by Thieron, of H'eon, when they were at the Hospital - Aija was at the Hospital with Kuna of R'ies and Zuri to stop a Harvest; Ze was there to visit his sick student Xan. Thieron has bound Aija to himself, and Nala has bound Ze to herself. Luka works for Thieron(Ah'n), along with Lalana (Nala).
----Aija, Ze, Thieron, Luka, and Nala go to the South Land. Luka admits that they are there for a Harvest. While they are on the Harvest, they get stopped by a group of people - the Zayr. Aija and Ze meet Princess Ruyanir of the Zayr. Ze and the Princess have an instant connection. The Prince has requested Aija and Ze to meet him. Prince Irih' va and Aija have a conversation about the Àvo; he explains how it works. Aija seems to like the Prince. The Prince gives Aija a strand of his golden hair - for protection. Irih' va sees Aija in his future but isn't sure she will choose him. He wants her to choose him. Irih' va catches Ze using his powers, and he shows Ze that he, too, has the same powers.
----Etrie tells Zuri that he is going to kill Thieron and Nala. She is very adamant that she, too, goes to the Ker'zan with them.
----They go to the Ker'zan. Ze and Aija escape from the three Ytai. Ze tells Aija about the escape Prince Irih' va has offered them.
----Ze leaves, accepting the escape offer.
----Aija rejects the escape offer and goes back in to find Luka.
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****36.1 - Luka****
He panicked.
His first thought was, Ze wasn't safe among the Ytai.
Luka looked around, and he couldn't see him. How had he missed him? Luka had been keeping an eye on the bathroom door; Ze hadn't come out. He had gone in after a long time to check if Ze was alright, only to see that Ze wasn't inside. The bathroom stalls were all empty as if Ze had vanished into thin air.
Was it a part of Ze's powers? Transporting himself elsewhere?
Luka went out of the bathroom and scanned the crowd. He couldn't see him in the sea of Ytai. Ze was shorter compared to the Ytai, and all he could see were Ytai around him.
Luka cursed. He had known something was up. He should have taken it seriously when he had found both Aija and Ze calm. He should have paid more attention to them when he suspected something was off. He should have seen their auras the entire time. He should have, at least, told Thieron that he suspected something was off.
He turned and spotted – not Ze, but Aija climbing the stairs at the back of the hall. What was she up to now? Where was Nala? How had Aija escaped Nala?
Had Aija and Ze planned this?
Several Ytai eyes were on as she made her way up the stairs. Luka decided to follow her – she would be going where Ze was. He started towards her and was blocked - by Kuna.
What was he doing here at the Ker'zan? If Kuna was here...
"Where do you think you are going?" Kuna grinned.
Luka glanced at the stairs, his path blocked by Kuna. Aija was gone.
"What are you doing here?" he asked.
"To get back what was ours," Kuna answered lazily.
Kuna was dressed in full R'ies gear – a bold move, considering he was in the enemy's territory.
Luka looked to where he had left Nala and Aija. Nala was looking around, terrified.
"Look at me, Luka," Kuna said.
Luka obliged. An absolute fear was creeping through him; it was unshakeable. Luka hadn't felt fear in a long time, not even when the Zayr surrounded him on the South Land.
Something was wrong.
"We know why you took Aija, although why you keep Ze alive is still a mystery."
"Good that you know our reasons," Luka answered, annoyed, worrying about Aija and Ze. "You have courage walking into enemy territory, Kuna."
Kuna grinned and brandished his blade. He hadn't come without a plan.
"You can't take them," Luka stated the obvious. "They are bound to Thieron and Nala. And you can't remove the bond."
"We have our ways." Kuna smiled.
A few more seconds went by with Luka and Kuna cursing at each other, and Kuna jumped at Luka with his blade in hand. Luka was swift. He took out his blade and blocked Kuna's blow to his chest just in time. Kuna lunged at him again, clearly aiming to kill. Luka wished he had worn his gear.
The Ytai around the two of them circled them intrigued by their fight right in the middle of Main Hall.
"We're only making things easier for you, Luka," Kuna said, slashing the blade at him. It grazed Luka's hand and cut his skin, drawing blood. "If you want, I'm willing to kill you too. I never liked you."
Luka had to reconsider Kuna's words as he came at him with force. This was a distraction; this was meant to keep him away from something else that was planned. Luka kicked Kuna hard in the chest; he fell hard on the ground and slid backward on the floor. The crowd that had gathered around them parted for Kuna, cheering for Luka.
Luka looked back to where Thieron was. Etrie was there along with Maya and the human girl Zuri. Etrie and Thieron seemed to be exchanging words; Nala and Zuri were staring at each other dazed. Luka made his way towards them, and that's when he heard the rifle shots.
The Gale, he thought.
He had taken a few steps when Kuna kicked him hard in the back. Luka fell face-front to the floor, but he didn't hit it. He balanced himself on his hands and turned around to his back.
"Stay still, Luka," Kuna warned him. "It'll be over soon."
Luka kicked at Kuna's legs, and Kuna jumped up, dodging the kick. Luka jumped up and stood straight. There was a second round of shots, and there was screaming. Mayhem took over as consecutive shots were heard through the building. Mere human bullets couldn't harm Ytai unless shot straight through the heart or head. But, the Gale was trained and probably knew exactly where to shoot.
In the corner of his eye, Luka caught sight of three humans in green gear with masked faces. Kuna turned around as well, distracted by the Gale's firing.
Luka took the small gap in Kuna's attention to his advantage and ran towards Thieron. The rifle shots stopped for a while. The Ytai were running towards the humans to stop them, none out the door in fear. Many of the humans were successful in shooting a direct shot to the head or heart. Many Ytai fell, but none ran.
Where were Aija and Ze?
Luka watched as Kuna ran to Zuri's side, and Etrie was now holding a gun aimed at Thieron's chest. It could mean only one thing – Izemirn.
"Luka!" it was Aija's voice.
He turned around and found her on the left side of the double-stairs captured by two Ytai men, her hands bound. Ze was nowhere in sight.
No, he thought. By the Gods, no!
Luka then heard the sound of a single gunshot.
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