"The light came from the direction of the lake," Michael Cardona said as they made their way toward it. Emanuel led the way, with his father and Michael, his brother, following behind him. Branches braking under Emanuel's feet as he felt the pull to reach the light.
"Emanuel, slow down. You don't know what is out there," Emanuel's father, Aaron, called out in a deep voice is out there. He tried to keep up with Emanuel as he tried to get to the lake.
Something within Emanuel kept pushing him to get to the lake faster, making him forget that his father and brother were following behind him. Although they were in the woods surrounding their home, the raveling clans sometimes passed those boundaries to cause trouble. The moon had not come out, but it was okay. Emanuel didn't need the light. He had his night vision. He had grown up in the Montana Mountains and knew the paths pretty well, so he could make his way even if his vision had been still found missing for any reason.
Emanuel broke into the clearing, and the first thing that caught his attention was the body lying between the water and the dry earth. He was so focused on the creature that was before him that he didn't notice that his brother and father had finally caught up to him.
"Who is that?" Michael asked as he stood behind Emanuel.
Aaron was moving around Emanuel to get to the body, but before Aaron got past Emanuel, his hand shot out, stopping him. "What do you think you are doing?" Emanuel asked as he changed his position and moved in front of the body on the ground to protect it. "Don't get near her."
"Emanuel, come down." His father said as he tried to get him to focus on him while Michael tried to get to the body. "Don't you see that she needs help?"
"I will give it to her, but I need you both to move back. So, Michael, I suggest you start moving back if you don't want to end up with a broken arm." Emanuel said as he looked over toward his brother while still keeping an eye on his father.
"Emanuel, we are moving back now," Aaron said, motioning for Michael to move back to give Emanuel the space he wanted.
Once his father and brother had moved back and Emanuel began to feel safe again, he moved back to the woman lying on the ground and kneeled beside her. Emanuel checked for a pulse, and once he found it, he felt the breath come back into his body. He proceeded to check the rest of her body to make sure that she didn't have any broken bones or opened wounds that could be harmful to her.
"Is she okay? Do we need to get her some help?" Aaron asked, looking at his son as he protected the girl.
"She seems fine, but I want to take her home and have Mother check her over just in case I missed anything," Emanuel said as he prepared to pick her up from the floor.
By this point, Aaron had gotten close enough to get a better look at the girl in Emanuel's arms. "I have seen her before," Aaron said as Emanuel brought her closer toward him.
Michael had been looking around the terrain to ensure that none of the rival clans nearby had invaded their territory. As he was taking in all the smells in the area, he caught one that didn't belong in their clan, became tense, and was on guard in case of any attacks. "Dad, Emanuel, I think we should hurry territory. Michent," Michael said as he moved this up. I just cut Mathye's sc closer to his brother and father.
Emanuel became tense and pulled the unconscious girl closer toward him to keep her safe. Aaron breathed the night air into his lungs and affirmed what Michael had said. "It seems that he has been here and around her." At Aaron's words, Emanuel began to walk toward their home, the only safe place to take his mate. That left Aaron and Michel to protect his back from any attacks.
* * * * *
'Does Silver Dragons always ruin everything? I had just started to become acquainted with my new toy when they showed up, ' the man hidden in the shadows thought to himself as he watched them take her way.
This man was great friends with the Darkness. The Darkness watched him grow, becoming his accomplice in every evil he had done. The Darkness comforted him, giving him a peace that he had never gotten with his own family. The Darkness gave him purposes and power he couldn't describe.
He looked back toward the group that had butchered his plans for the night. He looked at Emanuel, the future leader of the Silver Clan, carrying the girl away. But he was not worried. The time would come when we crossed paths again, and at that point, there would be, and she would be nobody to help her escape his grasp.
The first thing Aaron heard as they approached their home was his daughter's voice. "Mom, they are back, and they have broth someone with them," Gwenith said as she turned back toward her mother.
"Gwenith, get the spear bedroom ready." Emanuel was the first one in the door and heard as his mother gave the other.
"No, she is going to my room." Gwenith stops in the middle of the steps and looks back toward her mother, waiting for instructions.
"Fine, Gwenith, go bring my things and take them to Emanuel's room," Alma said as she looked at the girl in his arms. Come on, hurry along, Emanuel." Emanuel nodded his head and continued to make his way toward his room.
His mother stayed back a couple of feet and walked with Aaron. "What happened to her?" Alma asked her husband.
"We don't know. We found her unconscious next to the lake. As we ensured she was fine, Michael smelled Mathye, and we began to make our way back." Aaron said as he put his hand around his wife and squished her toward him.
Emanuel laid the girl down on his bed and waited for his mother to check on her. "Now, both of you out so I can look at her," Alma said as she motioned for her husband and son to leave the room.
"I am not leaving her," Emanuel said as he moved closer to the unconscious girl in his bed.
"Fine, just don't get in the way, and don't you dare growl at me," Alma said to her oldest as she turned to her husband with questioning eyes.
"He has been like that ever since we found her," Aaron said, moving back toward the wall and out of the way.
"Gwenith, bring that thing over here and help me clean her up," Alma said as she looked at her daughter.
"Doesn't she remind you of someone?" Aaron asked as his wife finished cleaning her face and checking her body for any injuries Emanuel might have missed.
Alma took a step back and really looked at her. "Now that you mention it, yes, she kind of reminds me of Rosa," Alma said, looking back at her husband. "It can't be they all died three years ago," Alma said as she realized what her husband was trying to get her to see.
"I would have agreed with you if it wasn't for the fact that Ricardo called me two nights ago. He made me promise that if for any reason he and Rosa ended up dead or missing, I would take care of their daughter." Aaron said, looking at the still unconscious girl on the bed.
"The question now is, was she the only one who survived, or did her sisters make it out alive as well?" Alma asked, looking worried at the implications of having this powerful woman lost in the world, suffering who knew what.
"I am hoping that she will be able to tell us a little bit more about what has happened and maybe get a confirmation of who I believe she is," Aaron said as he put his hand around his wife.
* * * * *
Sophia began to move as she heard the voices around her. Her head hurt, and her body ached all over as she tested her arms and legs to see how mobile they were. She began to open her eyes and look around. "Where am I?" she asked as she took in her surroundings, her voice raspy and dry.
"You are at the Silver Dragon Clan, and you are among friends," Alma said, coming over to her side. "How are you feeling?" Alma asked as she looked her over.
"Fine, I just have a headache and some sore muscles," Sophia said as she tried to sit up, but the moment she tried, the pain made her rethink her decision.
Emanuel, seeing her painful expression, helped her lie back down on the bed. "Relax, your body is healing," he said.
"Do you remember how you ended up in the woods?" Aaron asked as he stood at the foot of the bed.
"No, I only remember seeing this bright light before I was thrown across the wood, and then the light disappeared, and darkness surrounded me," Sophia said as she looked at each one individually.
"Do you remember your name?" Gwenith asked as she entered the room with a glass of water.
Sophia looked at her for a minute before a small smile came over her face. "My name is Sophia."
"Hello, Sophia, I am Gwenith. Nice to meet you." Gwenith said, giving her a smile that reached her eyes.
"Nice to meet you," Sophia said, a little reserved about how to behave.
"Don't worry, honey. We will protect you, and your memory will come back to you eventually," Alma said with a comforting smile.
Sophia looked at the people in the room and hoped they were right because, at that moment, she felt that she had left something or someone significant to her in her, and she needed to figure out what it was.