TORI WAS UP A little longer than us last night, apparently, when Atticus called her as Lysander and I were drifting to sleep. In the dead of night, Atticus suddenly began to question about his direct bloodline - his parents. And Tori was the exact person that could get him the files he wanted.
Olivia didn't have a real copy of Atticus' birth certificate, instead Professor Lorcan provided her with a fake birth certificate that put him and Olivia as Att's parents. A copy of the actual one was filed somewhere in the castle, and Tori, being the big sister she was to Att, gave him what he wanted.
Atticus ended up going to the cemetery that we were in. And just like me, it took a look at the gravestone and a clue left by his dead parents that gave it away where the amulet was possibly hidden.
Liam Atlas Rhodes
It was his father that was part of the bloodline.
"Trust the people in the home of your ancestors with the items you love dearly."
Maybe it was a long shot, but we were about to take that chance.
I let go of finding my amulet for the moment, because at least it was supposedly safe in between the walls of my own home. As long as no one was able to read my mind, it was safe for now. If Att's was in Auxillium, it won't be long until Ansen decided to head there and search for himself.
Lysander didn't want to send us there alone. He almost screamed at us when Atticus brought it up at first - he was slowly developing the urge to scream more, maybe that's what happens when you have a younger sister. He decided to tag along, despite our protests.
"We're adults, we can take care of ourselves!"
"Vera, you're still seventeen."
"Not for much longer."
"I'm your guardian. Plus, you know you're not allowed out alone. You need to be guarded."
"I have Atticus!"
He gave the slightest smirk. Thank god Atticus was behind us, paying attention to his phone rather than our bickering. "He isn't old enough either. He's also a guard in training."
"Tori literally made him drag me to JAU alone and everything was okay with that." I stomped my foot against the ground, crossing my arms. Lysander didn't have a response to that. But, he did make another point.
"Can either of you even drive?"
So, an hour later, after biking back (Atticus rode his bike to the graveyard too) and telling Tori and Sophia about our plans for the day, Lysander got out his car from the garage and the three of us headed to Auxillium.
I called shotgun, opening the passenger door and sliding into the seat. Atticus didn't mind sitting in the back, which allowed him to have all three seats to himself. The car smelled of lavender, the scent coming from a weird plug on the vent. Lysander got in the car and started the engine.
The car roared, startling me. I've been around cars, sure, but it's been a while since I've actually been in one. Most missions I was on was in the city, within walking and/or running distance. Why depend your life on a vehicle that could break down in any minute?
"It's going to take a while to get there," Lysander said as he reversed out of the driveway and onto the road. "A couple hours, at least. And it's the beginning of winter already in Auxillium, so the road conditions might not be the best-"
"Actually, Auxillium hasn't had a proper snowfall in decade," Atticus clarified. I turn around to look at him, raising an eyebrow. "Hey, I do my research on things I'm interested about. Reports say that it's just really cold there, but no snow. It affects the crops there, since their growing season is when it snows."
"There are plants that can grow in winter?" I questioned. Lysander seemed intrigued, too.
Atticus nodded. "Only in Auxillium, though. One of their most popular crops are ice berries, and they're like white blueberries and are cold when you eat them, whenever you do. They could be out of the fridge for a while and they're still cold."
"That's pretty sick," Lysander said, driving onto the highway. "No one's been there for a while thought, right?"
"Yeah, the royal guards on patrol there said that no one has gone over the border in a while, and everyone living there just stays there." Lysander was Captain of the Guard, should he have known that? "Not even delivery trucks go there, or any of the districts. They live off whatever they can manage there."
I rolled my eyes. "Sometimes you can be such a nerd, Att." I mean, I was interested, sure. Atticus knows that and smirks at my comment.
"I mean, I'm sure you know a bunch of random facts about Noatra if I asked you," he said in response.
I rolled my eyes again. "I mean, it's different for me. Everyone knows a lot about Noatra, because that's all they teach everyone in school. Everyone probably knows random facts, because they look them up."
"Tell us something interesting about Noatra, Vera," Lysander said. "Educate us on the lovely kingdom of ours."
I crossed my arms. "You really have to be that annoying, don't you?" I kneed my hands through my hair. "Okay, let's see, Noatra comes from the Latin word for night, noctis. Every heir was born sometime in the dead of night, based on what's recorded in the book."
"What book?" Lys asked. "There's a book."
"There was a book," I said, remembering flipping through the old pages of the detailed book of our family history. Every generation of heirs and their immediate family was recorded in it. "I don't know where it is now."
"So, when were you born? What time?" Atticus asked.
"Midnight, right on the dot," I said. "October fifteenth. Isn't yours two days before?"
He nodded. "I still get to brag that I am two days older than you." His expression turned a bit bitter. "Mickey always points out that she's five months older than me, like I know that, stop rubbing it in my face."
"Did Mikayla ask you about what Professor Lorcan said about the families?" I asked him. She seemed pretty eager of wanting to be a part of our conversation the other day. "Did you end up talking to her after we kicked her out yesterday?"
He shook his head. "I - uh - I actually didn't talk to her since yesterday." Atticus pulled at the collar of his shirt. "I mean, the news kind of rocked me and after you left, I kind of just locked myself in my room for the rest of the night. Is that bad?"
I turned to Lys. He's probably be the only one capable of answering that question. "If she cares enough, she'll realise you need your space. Has she been calling?"
"Yeah, almost every hour last night. I texted her and said I didn't want to talk. She didn't reply, but didn't call me again." Atticus pauses, thinking. He's about to open his mouth, then closes it again. I raised an eyebrow.
"Nevermind. I lost my thought."
The drive continues. Lysander continues to drive, Atticus pulls out his phone. I don't have one, because apparently that's also part of my restriction. I press my head against the window and stare out the window. At one point, Lysander puts the radio on to deal with the unsettling silence.
When I open my eyes again, we're in a different place. I know we're in a different place, but not by the signs or the landscape outside, but because of the feeling in the air, the burning in my chest.
I lift my head off the glass window, wiping the drool off of my chin. Gross. If it's possible, an imprint of the window might be on my skin - maybe it was slightly more flatter in some places. My hand goes to my chest, rubbing it. It burns. It burns a lot.
I realise it's like the night after I saved Tori's and Lysander's kids from the castle, the night of the invasion. I thought the burning was just from whatever sickness I was going through, but I was fine right now and I felt it.
Lysander looks over. "Morning, Vera. You good? Why are you rubbing your chest?"
I moved my hand away. "My body feels sore. Where are we?" I asked, but I probably already knew. Outside was the ruins of a place I've seen quite a bit. The white-stoned castle of Auxillium was in front of me, the roof collapsed in.
"Is Att inside?" I asked, letting out a yawn.
"He went out to stretch his legs out after the drive. I don't know how he'd be able to get inside, per say. I was just waiting for you to wake up before we head out."
I rub my eyes, trying to get myself awake. The sun was setting, an orange halo peaking above the very few buildings in the village. They were all close to the castle, which was pretty unique to Auxillium. Their castle didn't have much of a barrier between the citizens and the royal family. It was all kind of one place.
I grabbed the winter coat from the back and put it over myself. I could already feel the coldness seeping into the car, even with the heat on. I decide to put my gloves on, too, before opening the door.
It didn't feel like a normal October day in Noatra, which made sense because we weren't in Noatra. The temperature has easily dipped below zero degrees, and I was able to see my breath in the cold. I looked around for Atticus, but didn't see him.
"Att?" I called out his name. Jeez, he couldn't have gone too far already, right? Lysander was watching him from the car, did he really lose an almost six-foot teenage boy.
I turned to my brother. "Where'd he go?" He shrugged in response, looking around for him too. I tell Lysander to call him, but apparently there wasn't any service around here.
Shit.
"Who are you?"
I turn around to face a girl around my age. She was in a black fur coat, wrapped tightly around her body. Stern grey eyes look right at me, her silver hair flowing in the wind. Silver hair isn't natural for seventeen year-olds, right?
"Good question." I feel Lysander move so that he's behind me. "Who are you?"
The girl crossed her arms first. "I asked first, so you answer first. We don't ever have outsiders here. Clearly you're here for something."
I'm about to open my mouth to respond but Lysander beats me to it. "Hey, my name is Lysander Carmicheal, Captain of the Royal Guard in Noatra. This is-"
"Vera Covington," the girl cuts him off, finishing his sentence, but not quite. She uses the last name of Noatra's family, not my actual one. "The queen has finally come to visit her allies, hasn't she?"
"I'm no queen," I say bluntly. "And maybe you aren't aware, but the Covington line no longer rules Noatra, my name is Vera Carmicheal. I don't have any control over what happens to your people. Now, care to explain who you are?"
She tucked her hands in her pockets. "Jazlyn Scott, Your Majesty." It didn't take long for her to go from scowling to treating me like royalty.
I look to Lysander, who's holding back a laugh. I turned back to the girl. "The title isn't necessary," I say. "I'm just a girl. Most probably think I'm not worthy of living, never mind being a queen. Now, do you want to help us or what?"
Lysander nudged me with her elbow. Maybe I wasn't doing this ordering people around thing too well.
The girl moves her grey hair away from her eyes. "Sure, whatever you wish." Her tone is informal again.
"Have you seen a boy, about my age, three or four inches taller, brown hair with silver streaks. He's come here with us, and he seemed to have just walked away." I shoot a dirty glance at my brother, the slightest bit of guilt spreading across his face. "We're looking for something and need him, so the sooner we find him, the better."
The girl - Jazlyn - raised an eyebrow. "You mean my cousin, Atticus Rockfeller?"
At the words "cousin", I raised an eyebrow. Cousin. Atticus had other family living here - biological, blood-related family. Trust the people in the home of your ancestors. Atticus' father didn't just leave it behind to a random person, but family that he thought Atticus would meet one day.
"He just arrived and was walking around. My grandmother recognized him immediately and told him to come with her. He came here with the two of you?" Her eyes focused on me. "The two of you have already met? Are you-"
"Not dating," I said, firmly. "Just friends. Now, please take me to him. We're running out of time."
There was no doubt that we were staying in the district overnight. It was too dark to take the long drive back, and Lysander couldn't possibly be able to drive another eight or so hours without getting at least some rest.
Jazlyn nods, agreeing to what I asked of her. She turns around, heading towards the rows of half collapsed houses. The streets were ruined, asphalt turned up - or maybe that was just a bumpy dirt road. No part of this looked like Noatra, which I did expect. But it was so... different. So rural. Advanced technology was out of the question. Even in the unfortunate circumstances of part of my childhood, it was hard to imagine growing up in a society without the technological advancements we have.
The girl was willingly letting us go into her home. She probably knows what we were here for. And I doubt she was going to hand it over to us - even to Atticus.
Because what happened all those years ago still left a scar on Auxillium, especially after Noatra betrayed them.