The Traitor by A. Lombardo (i can read with my eyes shut TXT) 📕

New Beginnings

Today was a sight Kai would have never dreamed possible. All eight Elders stood in a circle in the palace gardens in Diu; while they spoke of the future, Kai could see their uneasiness. The Diu council stood among them with a similar awkward countenance. Although Roark wanted to talk peace in the King’s council chamber, the Elders insisted the garden's open air would provide clearer minds. Kai also assumed it allowed for an easier exit if things didn’t go well.

Each Chief and Unie wore the color of their discipline. Their robes rustled around their feet in the breeze: Lucca, Yana, and Kam in shades of yellow—Lumens; Jin and Rochelle in shades of red—Stonekings; Wilda wore purple—Weathervane; Zook in blue—Beastmaster; and Noreen in green—Kodama.

While living with Lucca, Kai had come to know each elder well; they preferred tradition above everything else. Even though they decided to show the world their truth, he presumed some wanted to hold firm to the old ways. Although Kai had no idea how this would go, he worried with Keegan still on the loose and ramped up for war, there was no real way to know who from Katori Diu could trust.

As the talks continued, Kai found himself distracted by other concerns. It felt terrifying to know people would look at him differently. Would they see his Katori gifts as a hidden disfigurement, curling their nose at him or shying away? Worries over his newfound paradise suddenly struck him. What of the pristine cities and harmonious lifestyle of Katori? Currency, among a vast many otherworldly desires, did not exist there.

Lost in thought, Kai flinched at Iver’s touch. “Sorry if I startled you, son. If we may, I wish to leave the palace. Dante is preparing a small escort to take me to the Central City Gardens. Would you consider joining me?”

“Certainly, father.” Kai nodded, noticing everyone else had already departed.

♦ ♦ ♦

Saying today was beyond imagination felt like an understatement. The Diu Central City gardens teemed with Katori enjoying a pleasant afternoon and communing with nature. Frolicking like children set free in a sweet shop, they performed magic without a care in the world. Kai paused, caught in the surreal realization of everything that happened the past few months and how this came to be.

“Simply amazing, my son,” Iver said, standing with Kai gazing down the length of the gardens. “Never in my wildest dreams would I have considered magic, if that is what they are calling it, possible. The Katori are very blessed to be so close to the foundation of nature.”

“Yes, father.” Kai wanted to celebrate, but another instinctual feeling crept through his mind. Nature and people kept a respective distance, and the balance of the relationship felt genuine, but now the rules were changing, and he was unsure if this was for the better.

The Diu citizens seemed curious and happy with their new magical benefactors. He could not help but wonder how long the euphoria would last. Sure, the Stonekings repaired the city walls and various other structures in a single day, the Weathervanes brought pleasant summer weather while the rest of the world lived in winter, and the Kodama restored the multiple gardens around the city and grew crops overnight, helping to replenish the cities food resources.

But the Beastmasters performed no such offerings. They were oddities at best. The children were amazed, but the adults displayed a range of emotions that he found troubling. Some cowered in fear but watched anyway, and some argued, curious or radical, over the science behind their transformations. But those were not the ones who concerned him. The men and women who whispered and nodded and poked and befriended or even separated one here or there. Those were the people to watch, who were most apt to take advantage or see them as creatures for study.

“Shall we walk?” Iver motioned, cutting his eyes down the pebble path and back to squadron of King’s Guards. “They give me little room to breathe.” He took in a long, deep inhale and released it as if it cleansed his mind further and gave him with the needed courage to speak.

“Give the men more than three days, Father. Their dead king is now restored, hale beyond measure, and father to a boy who can become a dragon. It is like a fragile piece of glass in their hands. Their world is upside down with the Queen’s conspiracy, and they have yet to determine what parts to accept.”

“Wise words.” Iver started down the path, putting distance between them and their guards. “Over the recent years, we have not been as close as we once were. I blame myself for allowing Nola to come between us, and I was not the understanding father you needed after your mother passed away.”

The inevitable conversation Kai avoided four times over the past three days was now upon him. His father was an intelligent man, and it did not take a professor to piece together the details surrounding his mother’s fate. There would be no running away this time. Thankfully Benmar’s words—understand the strongest relationships require trust—offered him a place to start.

“Since you are one of them, a dragon, will you tell me the truth behind Mariana’s . . .?”

Iver could not finish, and Kai understood why. The very question bothered him not so long ago; if there was trust between the Katori and dragons, why would one kill his mother. He started in a whisper, as if the secret still mattered, and explained as much of the truth as he felt necessary.

His mother was a dragon, and she transformed that day; unfortunately in her confusion, she killed a guard and fled. Although it was technically a lie, Kai omitted the fact that his mother was the red dragon that served Diu all those years.