Shadow

Raedwulf Dolph

When the morning sun finally rose. I was already leaving my room to find Danal and Rikki. Both have been my companions for years and now they stood beside me as Viker; warriors and advisors. They had been given room to share in the barracks while I slept in the family’s homestead.

I walked across the courtyard to find them both already waiting outside. Danal had come from another Aeral’s family, he is the third son though, and looks forward to inheriting nothing. Rikki is the son of my father’s closest Viker, so we were essentially raised by the same Nan as brothers.

“How is our Khanelea?” Danal asks as he looks around the courtyard for eavesdroppers.

“She challenged me,” I explain to them. A certain level of amusement comes to my tone as I tell them of my mate’s strength and her desire to have me prove the same to her. I knew many Aeral’s didn’t take me seriously, especially the northern ones. Lycan up here needed to be tough to survive the dark winters. Some even train specifically to hunt shadowbeasts in the name of the Khannun and their Aeral.

I’d never been to war, not like my father. I’ve never even killed a man, not really anyways. Some believe that this makes me a weak Khanel and will make me a weak Khannun. Most of the lycan haven’t seen me in training. They don’t know the raw power I possess or that I often can’t train with only one Viker attacking me. I have no doubt that killing a shadowbeasts will be easy for me.

“I like her already,” Rikki smirks and he tightens the leather wrist straps that reach around his fingers and up to his elbow. “When do we leave for the northern lands?”

“I have to speak with Aeral Torbet about it, but soon. The quicker I can get this over with, the quicker I can have her.” I look at the main homestead. She would be in the back of the building, seeing as it faces south. Soon breakfast would be called and I would see her once more.

“The family will be eating soon, you should go,” Danal shoos me away. “We will speak to the local Viker about the shadowbeasts and how to kill them. I have always heard fire.”

“Nan always told us it was ripping them in two,” Rikki nudges my shoulder as he speaks. “Right?”

“Yeah,” I reply staying in a contemplative state. “Ask around though, just to be sure.”

Some of the younger, local Viker walkout. They do their best to avoid us both of my friends go rigid. They bow before chanting together, “Yes, Khanel.”

With this, they both leave and I go back to the great hall. Servants are bustling around to prepare for breakfast. There is a roaring fire in the single, large fireplace. It heats the whole room, probably heating other parts of the homestead as well it’s its girth.

In comes the youngest Torbet, however, his name has slipped me. They all start with vowels, I remember then. The boy couldn’t have more than ten or eleven years. Compared to Idonia, he was much younger and further in age than the others. I knew the Aeren has twenty-three years, so the gap must be significant.

“Good morning, Khanel Rae,” he chirps as he makes his way to the fire, warming his hands. I catch my name on his lips, there is no way he guessed that people call me that. He must have spoken with his sister about me.

“Good morning, pardon but your name has slipped me,” I move next to him as he watched the fire in complete awe.

“Olen, though most just call me The Little,” he explains to me. “Because I’m the smallest one.”

“I think I will stick with Olen if that’s alright.”

“It is appreciated, I do not like that name. Mostly it’s just the servants who use it to annoy me, seeing as I don’t have much power around here. I have only ten years you see and am the fifth son. No one expects me to be much.”

“You will be a brother to the Khannun,” I inform him and his whole face brightens. The large main doors open once more and my mate walks in.

“Oh, Idonia!” Olen runs to his sister, grabbing at her skirts. “I’m going to be the Khannun’s brother. Isn’t that the best news ever! Not just some stupid Aeral’s brother, but a relation to the Khannun!”

She looks up at me with shock and awe. Her hand runs through the black hair of her brother, the same color as her own. She repeats the action before her eyes move from her brother to me. “Yes, I supposed you will be.”

“Idonia,” I greet her with a slight nod of my head. My beast urged me to get closer to her, not stand a room apart.

“Are we training today, Idonia?” Olen asked his sister as she brought her over to the fire. Both parts of me agree that we like this kid. He seems to be the key to having my mate like me. He wasn’t as serious as the other brothers, and not as quiet in public as his sister.

“After breakfast.”

“You train him?” I ask her. Olen happily stands between us, his eyes moving back and forth with a large smile.

Idonia opens her mouth to answer, but Olen beats her to it. “She has trained me since she killed the shadowbeast.” His bright blues eyes look up at me as he speaks again. “It’s why I don’t want you to take her away. If Idonia leaves me then Egil has to train me and I don’t like Egil as much as Idonia.”

“Olen!” Aeralea Anrid entered the hall with her mate at her side. “That was very rude. You need to stop bothering the Khanel with your childish whims.”

“Truly, it’s fine,” I tell her, ruffling the boy’s hair. “None of my siblings are quite as entertaining as your boy.”

“See Mother, he likes me bothering him,” Olen refutes which makes both Idonia and I chuckle. Our eyes meet after the laughing is done and in a moment her face goes from amused to blank.

“Where are the other four?” Idonia asks as she takes her place beside me at the table.

“Eske and Egil went to Farth to deal with a dispute among the landowners,” Aeral explains to his daughter. “I apologize for their absence, Khanel, but it was urgent.”

“No apology necessary. I was hoping to observe some training today though,” I glance at Olen, signaling him to speak up.

“He can watch Idonia and me,” he suggests in rapid succession from me finishing my sentence. My mate tenses next to me before giving her best formal answer.

“I would be honored.”

The other two boys entered the hall, both rushing to their chairs for breakfast. The meal went on in mostly silence, with a few comments from Olen. The other two boys hardly spoke, they mostly kept their heads down and ate. Towards the end of the meal, I decided to bring up my mate’s request.

“Aeral,” I speak, grabbing the attention of everyone at the table. “How would I go about killing a shadowbeast?”