Chapter One

A nauseating scent of damp soil churns my stomach while I lean on the boat's rusty railing with eyes trained onto the dreary island ahead, hidden mostly by fog. It swirls around the sailing boat and leaves my thin sweater wet against my skin with moisture. My nose scrunches up at the smell of damp fur of the were-creatures aboard the ship. I stiffen. The music from the Realm has turned into a chaotic desperation from the soothing melody I have previously been relying on to remain calm. I slide my eyes shut and allow the music to tug me into its sea of visions that will leave my heart pounding furiously.

A young woman hums softly to her baby girl. Dressed in an elegant violet dress she rocks side to side; the motions lulling the baby to sleep along with the soothing music the babe hears every second. Ash gray eyes sparkle with love as she lays the girl in the cradle, stroking the child's small heart shaped face. Encroaching upon the small family, a man clutches a glittering black dagger. With a sadistic smile in place, he snatches the woman's fiery red hair, startling her.

Letting out a small gasp, she grows silent as the dagger presses against her throat. Quickly spinning around her eyes widen with recognition of the elderly man who began dragging her from the room.

"Rahasya!" The mother's screams for her baby echoes through the desolate castle's walls as she's ripped away from her only joy.

Body hunched over, I grip the rail tighter when my stomach empties my small breakfast into the sea of semi frozen water and stars that made up the Celestial Sea. Trembling, my gaze turns back to the island. The frantic melody snatches back my concentration with more images to linger within my racing mind.

Laying upon a stingy cot in a damp, barren dungeon cell is the woman from before. Yet, she was pale in the minimum amount of moonlight streaming through a crack in the ceiling. The once beautiful purple gown was now in tattered rags and covered in grime and sweat. Even in the presence of the kidnapper, who wears a cruel smirk, she stares at the ceiling and refuses to stir. In the throes of a restless sleep that plagued the dreadful silence by the deep, forceful coughs while she cries softly to her daughter in despair, "Rahasya. Please, do not come back."

Black gloved hands hold me steady, startling me out of the vision. "Are you alright?" The boy whispers with a gentle smile; not at all insulted as I peer at him with confusion clouding my auburn eyes.

Haunted by the woman's frightful plea, I struggled to form the words to make a suitable reply to the boy who felt so safe that I would instinctively lean on him without another thought. The warmth his body radiates eased into my bones and promptly I became aware of the gentle melody that hummed in the air around him.

"You are the Songstress I have heard was on board." A brief smile changes to disheartened frown.

Immediately his gloved hands and almost longing gaze catch my full scrutiny. "You are a Sangsan." A warm smile crosses my face when he blinks at me in wonder when I grasped hold of his hand tightly.

"You are not going to run away?" The crushing amount of trepidation and hope in his whispered words tugs on my heart. I shake my head in a negative while eyeing the large island as it grew closer.

"It is clear to see that you have found a way to prevent the invasions." I nod at the gloves on his spidery hands, before continuing when he agrees, "Besides, you never asked to be gifted with Sangsa's powers. People really ought to remember that when they comes across others." I scowl slightly as I shake off the memories of the kids at the mainland where I had grown up.

Cerulean blue eyes widen comically as he sticks his left hand out in a proper greeting. "I am so sorry! I forgot to introduce myself." Pale face flush with contrite, he grins when I move back to accept his apology and handshake.

"My name is Antonth Darkcasta, my fair songstress."

Out of ingrained instinct to be courteous, I firmly grasp his hand and say, "Hello, my chivalrous Sangsan. Thy name is Rahasya Vega."

Giggles broke the short silence when he gave an awkward bow with a beautiful, wide smile. Antonth nods to someone behind us causing me to turn around even though the faint humming around the person was a dead give away. Malik leaned against the cabin wall with a dark glower at Antonth that led to me smirking at him. He continued gazing upon the slightly shorter boy with a wary suspicion that made me roll my eyes but smile with patience at his uncontested role as the older brother figure.

Still, the protective gleam in Malik's eyes makes me cringe. "Malik, this is Antonth." My words stutter when his intense look focused on me before he nods just slightly.

"Hello, Sangsan. My name is Malik Orchast."

We all stumble slightly when the boat hit the shores. My stomach dropped when I realized we would have to exit the boat and onto the docks.

"No, baby. Do not come back! Must stay away from him..." The woman's voice from before enters the melody and I frown, wondering why I could hear her so clearly. Her newest plea echoes my head as I tighten my hold on the suitcase I had brought. Facing the walkway down to the dock, I took a deep breath in attempts to sooth my nerves and to keep myself from running from the island as fast as my legs could take me.

As if knowing what I was feeling, Antonth took hold of my hand as we disembarked. His voice whispers into my ear with small encouragements until we had reached the sturdy dock. Going along with the flow of students we headed towards the sandy shore that led to the path to the Academy.

Yet, the woman's voice once again screamed into the chaotic melody. "Rahasya, stay away!"

My gaze shifted almost with a primal instinct to the center of the crowd where there was an elderly man smiling darkly at me. Hair on the back of my neck stood on end as I froze at the sight of cold, ash gray eyes that bore into my soul as if to steal all my strength. Legs collapsing underneath me the world turned black while a sinister voice entered the pandemonium of music, "So you have returned, Rahasya. Very good."