Chapter 17 - Is She A Goddess Or Am I Crazy?

Minori opened the door for us, allowing Erin, Aubrey, Evander, and me in first. Before the rest of our group could enter, they paused, glaring at the others. "Only one more person can enter. Yuki doesn't like large groups of people."

Alpha Lorence stepped forward without allowing us to decide. Minori accepted it and told the rest of our group to wait outside, then closed the door. I turned around to look at the house. It was warm and cozy, filled to the brim with books and plants. Lots of plants. They clung to the walls and fell from the ceiling in delicate assortments. A loft accessed by a ladder was off in the back of the small cottage. In front was a dining table with six seats next to a small kitchen. Off to the side was a comfortable-looking living room with plenty of blankets and pillows.

"Min? Is that you?" A gentle voice called from the loft.

"Darling, there are visitors here to see you. A kitsune had a vision that summoned them to you," Minori explained, their voice unbelievably tender.

Darling? No wonder Minori was so defensive. They were lovers. I had a thought to correct the dragon but figured it would be best not to. Alpha Lorence and Erin were there and I wasn't about to expose myself to Lorence of all people.

A head peeked down from the loft. Goddess, I think this is a Goddess. Kamihara Yuki went down the ladder and turned to face us. Her face was fair and gentle, framed by long black hair that reached her back. Her eyes were that same striking crystal Rin had. And now that I looked closer, I realized how similar they looked.

"You're Rin's sibling," Evander stated before I could blurt it out myself.

She paused, eyes wide. Minori suddenly growled, stepping forward and standing between her lover and my own. "Do not speak that name in front of her."

"You know them? Are you really their sister?" Evander asked.

"I am," the dragon stated. "Why?"

"Rin's in trouble. They summoned us to help. They said that you could help us," I explained.

Kamihara Yuki sighed, looking down at the ground. "Let's sit down. Min, please be nice to our guests."

We all sat down in the living room, my mates seated next to me and Erin on my other side. Alpha Lorence insisted on standing for whatever reason. He was usually very lazy, so it was a welcomed change. Minori and Kamihara Yuki were seated together, their hands clasped together. "So...you're Rin's sibling?" I echoed.

"Yes, I'm their sister, twin to be exact. I'm sure you noticed the resemblance."

"I did," Evander mumbled.

"You can call me Yuki. I'm sure Rin never told you about me if you know them personally," she said with a sad smile. "They never wanted to acknowledge us."

"Us?" Erin asked.

Yuki bit her lip. My eyes widened slightly when I noticed her eyes were filled with tears. Minori reached out and smoothed a hand through her hair, whispering sweetly in some foreign language. It didn't sound like anything I'd ever heard before. "Rin rejected the Kamihara name and the rest of our family. It happened years ago, but it's still a fresh wound. I'm surprised they even asked for my help."

"Why do you think they would ask for your help?" Evander asked.

"Hmm, it might be because we share an ability."

"What power?" I asked.

Yuki sighed, closing her eyes for a moment. "Magnolias," she whispered suddenly, and my entire body ran cold. "You like magnolias. Right, Aaron?"

"How-"

When she opened her eyes again, they reflected that beautiful rainbow Rin's did. "I can see your past. All of yours. Rin can see the present and close future. Our eldest sibling can see the distant future. We all share a piece of the same power, a power that has been in our family for generations," she explained.

"Our kitsune friend said that Rin was chained to a rock structure. It glowed with these weird carvings and they were in pain when they touched them. Their eyes turned the same glowing blue as the carvings," I suddenly said.

Yuki and Minori both looked at us with frightened eyes. "Was the sky red in this place?" Minori asked.

"Yes...why? What's wrong with that place?" I asked, practically feeling the tense fear that just settled over us.

"Oh, great Ryūjin," Yuki cried, clutching onto Minori as she began to cry. "Rin, what have you done?"

"What is this place?" Evander asked. "Is it bad?"

"Rin is located in the Cursed Plain, in your language. This is a place where the most dangerous of dragons are kept locked away and where countless dragons enter but never leave."

A chill ran down my spine. "Does it have something to do with those rock structures?" I asked quietly.

"Yes," Yuki confirmed tearfully. "Those rock structures harness the power of an exotic parasite that was introduced to our realm millennia ago. It forcefully drains the powers of any magical creature and slowly kills them if left unchecked, but they are known to be used as a forceful key to unlock the use of a creature's power."

"Meaning-"

"Rin's being used as a tool," Yuki finished for me. "That glow was the activation of those powers. Whoever put them there has a connection with the parasite through magical means. Think of it like a magical worm."

"Goddess," I muttered.

"So, whoever is using Rin can use it to see the present and near future?" Erin asked.

"Yes. They can use it to see anything Rin can," Minori confirmed, holding Yuki close. "This is alarming. The Kamihara power and line are derived from royalty. To use it so forcefully can only mean that Rin is in danger. Someone is using them."

The Eye.

Oh, Goddess.

"That's what it is," I whispered in horror. "The Eye. That's who's using Rin. It makes sense."

Evander's eyes widened in understanding. "They disappeared around the same time the Eye began aggressively attacking packs. They've been using Rin all this time."

I wasn't very happy to be right. Rin was connected to our conflict, but it was for every wrong reason. They couldn't help us; we needed to help them. If we could free Rin, though, then the Eye would be without some of their power. It could blind them enough for us to attack.

"The Eye?" Yuki asked with a frown.

"They're a cult that's been attacking shifter packs," I explained. "We're trying to fight them."

"Well, if they're the ones that imprisoned my sibling, then you have to hurry. They might already know you're here," Yuki said before she paled. "You have to leave."

"What?" I asked, but Minori stood up with a glare.

"You could be leading them right to Yuki! With her power, they would become even more powerful. You must leave."

"Please, we need help. How do we get to this Cursed Plain place?" I asked as we all stood up.

They couldn't kick us out yet! We needed answers. This was our chance to finally do something. Danger be damned, this was our mission and I was intent on completing it. "Listen, please. We want to help Rin, but we can't do that if we don't know where we're going," I blurted quickly in an attempt to convince them to help.

Minori paused and turned to look at their lover. Yuki shook her head, her eyes stilled rimmed with red. "No," she whispered. "You can't. Your duty is here, with me and the portal."

"You cannot go, either. What if the mission fails and they get you, too? That is not a risk I am willing to take. I'd rather it be me than you," Minori said seriously.

Yuki's eyes filled with more tears, but she nodded. "I know I can't convince you otherwise."

"What's going on?" Erin asked.

"I will be your guide. We will travel to the Cursed Plain, rescue Rin, and discuss whatever happens from there," Minori announced.

"I'm okay with that," Erin said with a grin. "Better to have someone familiar with this place."

"Please, be careful. If these people captured Rin, then they are crafty. Rin isn't one to let someone else dictate what happens to them. If they weren't in dire need of help, they would've stubbornly tried to find a way out themselves," Yuki warned.

"They're a free-spirit," Evander agreed, before looking at Yuki. "It was an honor to finally meet you. I knew Rin had a family, but they never really talked about you or anyone else."

"I wish I'd known about you, Evander," Yuki said with a gentle smile, momentarily shocking me until I remembered that she could see our pasts. "You were good for Rin."

"They were good for me, too."

"We must leave now. The sooner we are away from Yuki, the less likely they will learn about her whereabouts," Minori pointed out.

We all filed out of the house, but not before Yuki tapped my shoulder gently. I turned to look at her and she had a sad smile on her face. "I'm sorry about earlier. It was the first thing I saw. I didn't know what it meant until it was too late."

My throat tightened as I tried to blink away tears. "It's okay. You didn't know."

I felt embarrassed. Someone had looked at my past and saw every little thing. Every single moment I hid away from others, every single instance that even Erin didn't know about. She knew it all and it made me feel vulnerable and small. I felt like a child again. Before she could speak again, I shook my head. "It's okay," I stressed.

She nodded and I left the doorway, listening to the door shut close a moment later. Before me was the rest of our group and Minori in dragon form. They were loading the supplies we'd brought onto Minori's back. I walked over to Aubrey and Evander and hugged them from behind.

"Aaron, we get to ride on a dragon! Minori said that it'll be safer if we travel on their back," Aubrey said excitedly

I hummed, not able to say anything about that. I just wanted to be comforted by my mates. After another minute or so, I pulled away. We all climbed onto Minori once we were ready to go. I felt a giddy rush go through my stomach when I realized I'd be flying on a dragon. Aubrey was still just as excited as before as he grinned up at Evander who had the nymph securely in his lap. I was by their side, my hand gripping Evander's.

As Minori started to flap their wings and lift off the ground, we all attempted to hold on tightly to their branch-like exterior. Well, that certainly made gripping a lot more convenient. Soon enough, we were literally in the clouds, flying above miles of forest. "This is so cool," I whispered.

I looked at the rest of our group and rolled my eyes when I saw Erin raising his hands in the air like the man-child he was. Alpha Lorence looked slightly panicked as he kept glancing down at the ground below us, while everyone else looked like they were having just as much fun as I was. We didn't express it with our bodies like Erin.

"Do you think we'll be able to rescue Rin?" Aubrey suddenly asked.

"I hope so," I answered seriously. "One, to help them out, and two, to weaken the Eye."

"I think we will be able to. Did you remember seeing any guards?" Evander said lowly so no one else could hear.

"No, they were completely unprotected," I said. "Though I think someone checks in on them. Rin ended the dreamscape when someone was coming."

"We will just have to be careful."

"Yeah."

Goddess, a month ago, we were dealing with a small group of psychos attacking werewolf packs. Now, we were dealing with a large and very dangerous cult with a magical dragon chained to parasite rocks. It sounded absolutely insane, but this was our life. Our enemy was far more complicated than we ever first imagined and that scared me. What else did we not know? What other surprises would show up?

I really didn't want to know.

~~~

They're on their way to rescue Rin yay! Yuki and Minori are cute lol. They'll pop up more.

Do you think this will be hard? Or suspiciously easy? We shall seeeee.

Y'all, I genuinely think this book is gonna be longer than Blueberry Scones. I'm nowhere near the climax I want, nor have I even gotten into all of Aaron's, Evander's, or Aubrey's issues.

Aaron's past is slowly coming to light and I'm sure a lot of you have begun guessing at it. Aubrey's time at the Home will eventually come back to haunt him. Evander will continue to have struggles with his feelings and his back-and-forth thing with Aaron.

Stay tuned for more insanity and thank you so much for reading!

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