My Brother’s Mate
Chapter 44

Emily's POV

In the distance I see a large mountain that stands above the rest. It is snow capped. I can see the city on the east side of the mountain and a large wall covering the south side. "Millerborg." Liam says.

"We made it." I reply. I feel Liam come up next to me. He places his arm around me and pulls me in.

"Wow. It's beautiful."

"Yes, it is." I reply. I lean in and kiss him on the cheek. We continue walking towards the snow capped mountain.

"I didn't imagine it to be so big. It's kind of intimidating." I admit. Liam laughs.

"Uh yeah it's definitely intimidating." Liam takes my hand as we walk with the rest of the group.

Everyone is so eager to get there we don't even stop for lunch. We walk until we reach the outer wall of the mountains defenses. Hiroen and Miranda are at the front of the group, while Liam and I were in the middle. I see them talking to someone at the gate. "I wonder what they are saying?"

"We bring the mighty Tribrid for you to worship." Liam says in a funny voice. I laugh and nudge him. He wraps his arm around my shoulder again. After a few minutes the gates open and the group starts to walk in. As we walk in, I can hear them saying Tribrid in my mind. And glancing over the faces of all the women in our group. They don't know which one of us it is.

"I think they are trying to find out which one of us is the Tribrid." I tell Liam.

"What do you mean? How?"

"They are sending out a message in their minds, kind of like how we do mind links, but for people with magic."

"That's cool they have a way to communicate." Liam says. We walk up to Miranda and Hiroen, who are about to be greeted by an older looker woman.

"Sister Miranda. Hiroen. It is so good to have you here. It's been too long." An older woman with long gray hair says. Ryfin and Vasylia join the older woman on either side.

"Ah, and you must be the Tribrid." She says to me.

"Uh just Emily is fine." I say blushing.

"Emily." She affirms, "My name is Edaline. It is an honor for you to join us." The woman looks to me and bows. Ryfin and Vasylia bow too. Immediately, everyone bows to me, except Liam, Hiroen, mom, Cyran, and Samson. I look around at everyone and lock eyes with my mom. She can see the embarrassment on my face she smirks in response. I don't know how to make them stop.

"Just tell them thank you." Hiroen mindlinks me.

"Thank you for providing us refuge." I say quickly. Hoping she'll stand. Finally she slowly rises from her bow. Everyone else follows suit.

Whew.

"Of course. Please, allow us to lead you in." Edaline says. I nod, still a little uncomfortable from the bows.

Oh goddess I hope it won't be like this everyday.

Edaline leads us into the mountain city. Our group follows closely ooh-ing and ah-ing at the architecture. Hiroen was right, the city was huge. There were people who lived in it, but not as many as you'd think.

Edaline leads the way with Ryfin and Vasylia following close behind her. And Liam and I follow behind them. Liam reaches out to hold my hand.

"How many people live in the city?" Liam asks as we walk.

"Oh not many. I'd say less than 100. Most everyone has moved into the mountain itself. It's much safer there. That's where you all will be staying." Edaline answers.

"And how many live in the mountain?" I ask.

"Just a few hundred. But I suspect that number will grow over the coming months. This mountain is one the Dawn's strongholds. It has never been breeched." She says proudly.

"It's also never had the Tribrid in it before." Liam mutters under his breath.

Edaline laughs. Liam looks embarrassed that she heard him.

"That is true young man. But Millerborg is stronger than she looks." Edaline says.

"And we will do whatever it takes to protect her." Ryfin says firmly.

"Th-thank you." I say awkwardly.

It's gonna be rough getting used to this attention.

We continue our walk through the city streets. Tall buildings surround in on both sides.

It seems like such a waste of space if no one is living here. A few people peek their heads out every now and then to get a glimpse of our group. Some people come out of their homes and just stare as we pass. I hear them whispering and looking over at me. I try to ignore it and keep walking.

This is definitely gonna take some getting used to.

"So Edaline are you like the mayor of Millerborg?" I ask.

"Not exactly." She says.

"Who's in charge here?"

"Well actually my dear, since you have arrived, you are in charge."

I freeze.

"Uhhh what? No, I couldn't. I wouldn't know what to do..." I say panicking. Liam places his hand on the small of my back. His touch calms me. I take a deep breath.

"It's ok, no one is asking you to make any decisions just yet."

Liam says in my mind. I look at him and smile.

Edaline continues on. Ryfin and Vasylia look at me reassuringly, and then follow. We continue on walking, but I have decided to refrain from asking any more questions. After about 10 minutes we reach the inner part of the city, where the mountain is. There's a huge opening into the mountain itself.

This area is a lot busier with more people. They part ways when they see us coming. We head into the mountain. I thought it would be dark and cramped but it's not. It's open and airy and very bright. They must have hollowed out this entire mountain. Im gawking at the magnificence. The only thing that breaks me away from staring at the ceiling was the bustling sounds of the nearby market. People are walking around shopping and talking. There are different doorways along the perimeter. Who knows where they lead off to. There are rock bridges above us connecting from one side of the mountain to the other. I can't believe how big everything is. I feel Liam take my hand to lead, because my eyes can't stop looking up. I barely noticed that most of our group was gone behind us. All that was left was Mom, Cyran, Hiroen, Liam, and myself.

"They're getting settled into the housing district" Hiroen answered my question before I could even ask it.

Edaline leads us toward one of the doorways near the edge of the mountain wall. We walk through it and into a great hall with a long table.

"Here have a seat. I'll have some food brought in." Edaline says. We all take a seat at one end of the table and several people come in with food and place it down in front of us. They have whole chickens, bowls of salad, trays of roasted potatoes & carrots, and entire loaves of steaming hot bread. It smells amazing. We dig in and start eating. I was so hungry I felt like I was eating like a wild animal. I pause and take a moment to look around the table, everyone else is silent and eating their food just as fast. When we've had our fill and everyone seems done, Edaline came back in the room, she sits down close to me.

"So what happens now?" I ask.

"What do you mean?" She asks.

"Well, we got me here in one piece, more or less. Now what do we do?"

"Now we keep you safe. There has been a battle going on between the Pures and the Seekers for a little over a day now. For us this is good. Our enemies are weakening each other. But soon their attention will be drawn back to us, to you. I understand you know magic, but not how to control it? I was told there was an incident on the journey. We need to train you so you are not consumed by the Fog." She says. "The Fog?" I ask.

"Yes, Oracles pull their magic from within themselves. Sometimes, if not properly trained, they call forth too much magic. It consumes them. They are no longer themselves. You will notice their eyes get clouded and gray."

"Is that what happened to me?" I ask looking around to everyone. No one spoke.

"But I can learn to control it right?" I ask her.

"Yes, but it will take some training. And it can be a little intense."

"I don't care, I'll do it." I say.

"Very well, we will begin your training tomorrow. Other than that, we need to prepare for war. The Pures are our biggest concern. Their reach is long and they have tried to infiltrate our ranks for years. I will say, you are safe here, but not completely. Keep your guard up at all times." "Is everyone here a witch?" I ask.

"No, we have werewolves and vampires here as well." She glances at Cyran and Samson.

"I do have one question for you all." Edaline says. "About the prisoner you brought.. Would you like him placed in a cell?"

"Yes." Liam answers quickly. I just nod in agreement.

I'm saddened to think of Mike as a prisoner. But I remind myself of all that he's done.

"Very well. If everyone is finished, I will show you to your rooms."