III

"...understand anything at all! What sort of authority does that have? They simply vanished! No flesh, no blood, nothing at all!"

Through the haze of Lyra's mind came an irate voice. She gripped her head and groaned as she slowly sat up. She muttered, "Ugh, everything hurts," as she carefully touched the cuts on her arms. She stood, attempting to get her senses, and let out a trembling breath. It took a second to realize that she was in Oria, not her Indiana bedroom. A knot of fear tightened in her stomach at the thought.

Then she noticed Kara on the ground next to her, asleep. Lyra hurried up to her sister's side and gave her a quick examination. No injuries or marks were present. Kara's face looked pale, with a thin layer of perspiration covering her forehead. With a sigh of relief, Lyra brushed a flyaway hair from her sister's cheek and got up to identify the sounds she had heard. One was furious, the other composedly perplexed. Lyra took one last look at Kara before slinking over to the tree line.

She crouched in the bushes to listen as she saw two warriors examining a piece of charred dirt.

"Kara is very powerful," replied the level-headed man. "My guess is that her sister is as well."

Lyra grinned. Someone who understands it at last.

The voice of the woman growled. "I simply cannot understand it! How are two ordinary girls able to wield such power? They are already stronger than me despite not having received my training! "Cosmic injustice!"

"Please, relax, Reya. You and I both know that Kara is—"

"Yes, yes, I know."

Lyra became more perplexed. Who is Kara? What instruction? She stumbled and fell headfirst out of the bushes with a squeal as she considered this. The man's glistening energy sword was held perilously near her throat as she was cornered against a tree in a matter of seconds. A few feet away, the woman, Reya, clutched a blue ball of light in her palms.

Lyra fought in vain. Her captor's royal blue eyes were inches from hers, and she couldn't help but note how handsome he was despite the danger. That would probably not deter him from chopping off her head, though.

"Hey! Leave me alone, you jerk! Assist! Crazy!" she cried.

The man let her go after laughing. He shook his head at his partner, who sighed and let the ball of light go. "Calm down, Lyra. He whispered softly, "I wasn't going to hurt you."

After squinting her eyes, Lyra's face softened into a quick, seductive smile. "Ha! I knew that!" she exclaimed, punching him in the arm in jest.

Observing the fresh sparkle in her companion's eyes, Reya rolled her eyes and turned to go. "I'm Kiro, Commander of the Sentinels," he introduced himself, kissing Lyra's hand. "I was sent to guide and protect you until you've been fully trained."

Lyra blushed a little and giggled. "My name is Lyra. Wait, you were aware of it. How were you aware of that?

Kiro walked her back toward the walkway and smiled warmly. "When you arrived in Oria, we were informed about you and your sister," he stated. "We learned quite a bit, including your names."

They both stopped walking as their eyes locked, green and startling blue. Kiro murmured, "Uh, you're really beautiful," and hurriedly embraced her.

Lyra closed her eyes and swallowed. "Thank you. You're not that horrible yourself.

Breathing deeply, they withdrew. After clearing his throat, Kiro walked confidently back to the trail. Lyra smirked and skipped after him, silently giving thanks to whatever gods were responsible for this man.

Kiro began bandaging Lyra's minor wounds after a brief introduction between Lyra and Reya. Kara woke up with a start as he was dressing her scraped hand.

"Kara!" Squealing, Lyra threw her arms in a bear hug that crushed her sibling.

"Hey!" Kara laughed and gave the hug back. With a grim look on her face, Lyra let her go. "You scared me, you know!"

Kara raised an eyebrow and gave a feeble smile. "Likewise."

Kiro shook his head and observed them as he put away his first aid equipment. One was a spark, the other grounded. A harmony of passion and intellect, he thought.

Reya murmured, "We really must be going," from a split in the trail ahead. The twins hurried to catch up with her after giving her a high five.

"What happened after those guys attacked, Kara-kara?" Lyra inquired.

Kara turned to face Kiro, who was trailing behind. "All well, Kiro shoved me aside, and Reya kept us safe as he repelled them. You were completely unconscious.

"Yes, since I was scolded by those people! "Pshoo!" Lyra pretended to be struck, staggered wildly, and fell on the path. Lyra leaped to her feet and bowed to a fictitious audience as Kara cheered.

Kiro caught up and carried on the tale. "The story doesn't end there. The part where Kara exacted revenge on you was omitted.

Kara searched her memories, looking bewildered. "What?"

"In fact," Reya said, cutting short Kiro's drawn-out story, "you possess the elemental power of Aether." It provides focused telekinesis and precognitive visions. When you noticed your sister was hurt, you must have called forth those abilities.

Kiro sighed. "That's what I was saying."

As Reya retorted, "Yes, but you were getting too technical," "They're new to this world, Kiro."

Startled, Kara gazed in wonder at her hands. Everything made sense, including the visions and the energy spike. She possessed Aether abilities. She touched her choker out of habit and grinned.

"Oh, Kara! You have a glowing amulet. Pointing to her sister's throat, Lyra sobbed.

Kara cast her gaze downward. Yes, the amulet was shining. While one of the seven symbols surrounding it glowed continuously, its core orb pulsed consistently. The emblem had an elaborate eye in the middle, resembling a yin-yang. "Whoa…" she exclaimed.

Kiro looked across to Reya. "The amulet is it. Her Highness was correct.

Distractedly, Reya ran her fingers through her hair and nodded. It's unlike anything I've ever seen. Does that imply...? Her face paled slightly as she looked into Kiro's eyes.

With a flash of pain across his face, Kiro gulped. "Yes."

"Does anyone want to explain why this crazy Amulet is glowing?" They were startled out of their reverie by Kara's piercing voice.

"Reya, would you do the honors?" Kiro gave a direct order before walking a short distance away.

After observing him for a while, Reya turned to the females and began a succinct explanation. Each of the seven symbols on the Amulet of Mynora stands for a fundamental component. Its association with the Orian Royal Family, where it is inherited, is symbolized by the orb at its center. After pausing, she put them to the test. "Kara, what does each symbol represent?"

Kara answered with ease, having truly listened. "The yin-yang with the eye is Aether, the flame is Pyre, the leaf is Terra, the swirl is Gale, the teardrop is Aqua, the starburst is Lumen, and the black moon is Umbra."

Reya responded, "Very good," and turned to take the lead. "We have to go on now. The sun is going to set shortly.

The sisters exchanged frightened glances and ran after the Sentinel. Kiro, who had been examining the sky, began to move quickly forward. Lyra jogged up to him and put her arm around his, laughing as the other two heard her giggle.

Kara let out a sigh. "That's my Lyra."

With a slight, sly smile on her lips, Reya saw Kiro bend down and whisper in Lyra's ear. "There he goes again." The two girls chuckled and looked at each other. "I guess we have the same problem," Reya concluded.

"Seems that way," Kara said with a laugh. "So, where exactly are we going?"

"To the capital of Oria, the Sovereign City. The Princess of Oria, who rules the area and gives orders to the Sentinels through Kiro, resides there. Surprisingly, he is her right-hand man and leads a sizable force of Sentinels throughout Oria.

Kara nodded, finding it difficult to see the blustery, impatient Kiro in a high command role. She assumed the Princess was the source of the voice from the Amulet. But with a "vast legion" at her disposal, why call them from Earth?

An earth-shattering roar reverberated across the jungle before she could inquire. Kara clapped her hands over her ears and shouted. "What was that?"

Kiro pulled a terrified Lyra back into the group as Reya spoke something in her weird tongue and a ball of blue light appeared around them.

"Reya," yelled Kiro.

"Sir!" she said, relying on her training.

Kiro pulled out his energy blade. "Retain them here. I will investigate it. He turned toward the edge of the shield after briefly meeting Lyra's gaze.

Lyra spun around on Reya. "You're not letting him go alone, are you?"

Reya's arms were crossed. "Kiro is a very talented swordsman. He will call me if he needs me. We wait until that time.

Kara tried to ignore the pit of worry in her stomach as she sat down. Glaring at her sister's poise, Lyra started to pace nervously. Already, Kiro had vanished into the woods.