(Amaia)
"No, we don't," Kacir stiffly answers and walks away.
"Ohhhh! Seems like trouble," Alnitak amusedly says to his brother.
Rahria just crosses her arms over her heaving chest, narrows her eyes, and rudely asks me.
"Why are you clinging to him when he is not your mate?"
I straighten my posture. I might be short but I am not going to be intimidated.
"We met during the trial, and he just came to fetch me for the ceremony. I don't think there's anything wrong with that." Calmly, I answer but my gaze remains sharp on her.
"It will be in your best interest to keep away from him." She flares at me which has Alnitak placing his huge arm around my small shoulders and gently squeezing.
The tingling sensation from his touch sends a shiver rocketing down my spine. My mouth waters from that intoxicating scent of his and I don't even care about the emerging pain in my thigh.
"Look, Rahria." I notice the amusedness disappearing from Alnitak's voice. "We are in the same guild and Amaia here saved not only my brother's life but Kacir's too. So let's not get rude. She can talk to whomever she wants."
I don't remember hiring Alnitak as my spokesperson but whatever. The glare he sends her back and the possessive way he holds my shoulder seem to agitate her even more.
"What are you? Alnitak. Her bodyguard now? Or are you claiming her?"
"Just being a decent person. Try it, Rahria. It will do you wonders," Alnitak sarcastically answers.
They bicker like siblings or friends who have known each other since childhood.
"Cut it out, both of you," Mintaka seems slightly furious at her and yet he has that dazed look in his eyes. She just flips her ponytail back.
"Never!" And turns her attention towards Kacir.
In all that commotion, we have missed that Kacir has been selected in Guild Leo.
He triumphantly walks back, holding a smile, his right eye still concealed by his long hair.
Alnitak, let's go off my shoulder and do a high five with Kacir. "Yahhh! Man, we knew you could do it."
Mintaka gives him a nod but doesn't appear as thrilled as his brother.
Kacir, on the other hand, doesn't even glance at Mintaka. Instead, he turns his attention towards me and I offer him a gentle smile. "Congratulations, Kacir."
"Thank you!" A smile graces his lips but fades when Rahria tries to cross her arm with his.
He stiffens at her touch and gently removes her hand from his arm, taking his earlier position on the right side of me. He even avoids looking at her, let alone talking.
I sense a history between them, along with this stifling tension, and somehow I am finding myself in the middle of it.
Did they all know each other before?
"So now you are going to ignore me and make friends with the new girl?" Rahria asks Kacir with gritted teeth.
Her hands have balled up into fists and the veins in her neck go taut. She is barely controlling herself.
Before Kacir can answer, my name is called, "Amaia Zhāng!"
I observe that I am the last person. Everyone else has already been sorted.
"Go, go. Be a Leo. Become the fifth member of our group," Alnitak claps my back and excitedly pushes me forward.
"Good luck, Amaia," Kacir's serene voice follows while Mintaka just hums.
Taking bold steps, I try to control the surging beatings of my heart.
Sweat oozes on my forehead as all eyes are now settled on me.
I climb the two carpeted stairs and reach the stage where the golden statue is. My gaze takes in all the people sitting on the stage including the king and the queen.
Others appear like Instructors, Enforcers and Mentors. Differentiated by their capes. I know Enforcers have blue capes, Instructors have to be red and Mentors green.
"Place your hand on the head of the statue," Jamina kindly instructs, carrying that sweet smile she always has on her lips.
She hasn't said even a single harsh word to me and yet seeing her fills my being with this gripping jealousy. What makes it worse is that the man who is my mate seems to hate me more than anyone else.
I do as she asks, and instantly the ruby eyes of the statue glow, and I am hurled away.
As if the ground has disappeared from underneath my feet, dropping into a bottomless chasm.
I try to scream but my voice is gone. My head spins, my hands and legs flail, desperate to hold onto something but there is nothing.
Only an endless void of pulsating energy and gaudy colours.
Finally, I land on something soft, something white, something feathery. It appears someone has caught me. I glance at the figure and the creature in the statue seems to have been awakened. It's the wing of the Pegasus on which I have landed but he gently puts me down.
Bewildered, I scramble back from the creature. It has a long slithering body of a serpent, a huge head of a lion with a thick golden mane and gigantic silvery white wings.
Intimidating and beautiful at the same time, this creature has me mesmerised and terrified. Yet, I cannot look away.
"Amaia!" It gently calls me out. "What a destiny you hold, child."
His reddish orange eyes are fixated, carrying the wisdom of a thousand years.
"Who are you?" I ask, gathering myself from the ground and standing up, adjusting my clothes.
"The one you come to find when all will seem lost. The upcoming war, you will be crucial to it…when the blood moon will rise." His tone remains calm, although his words are not.
"What do you mean?" I ask, taking a step towards him. The initial fear in my heart has evaporated and I extend my hand towards him. He lets me touch his mane.
Soft and thick, it feels under my fingers.
"When the time is right, you will understand," he answers in an amused cryptic way. "And now where to put you. Where else but with your mates? Don't give up hope, one day they will discover the truth and own you."
With that, I am hurled back the way I had come, and before I know it, I am standing in front of the statue as it loudly calls out.
"Guild Leo!"