Three Lies, All True || ONC2021 Longlister

Chapter 6: Same Story, Different Narrator

Petra didn't have to check any timepiece to know how long she and Peter had been running. Kytzlanna was a huge place, and getting from Royisa's side to Nuryyn would have taken them around one or two days by walking. She wanted to preserve some of her energy, but she had to use a bit of them just so they could reach Nuryyn's side by sundown.

Just as the sky slowly darkened, she saw Adrien with a flame in his hand. Petra slowed down in her tracks and took a deep breath, before letting out an even deeper sigh. She was probably lucky that all that running didn't take up all of her energy. The last thing they needed was another delay of plans.

Next to her, Peter fell down his back as he caught his breath. "I think I just died..." He lifted his hand in the air and pressed two of his fingers together. "By this much..."

Adrien kicked him on his side, making Peter groan as he sat up. "What the hell was that for!"

"Don't exaggerate," Adrien replied as he dusted his hands. "It wasn't that long of a run."

Peter opened his mouth a few times before standing up, dusting snow off of his body. "Wasn't long? Adi, we ran through a damned battlefield for half a day! How isn't that 'long of a run'? Especially for you."

Petra shrugged. "You're probably just not used to running all the way through Kytzlanna. We used to normally do it before, especially if the Tactics Brigade makes a change of plans."

"Who were those guys anyway? What did they want?"

Petra sat down on the snow and furrowed her brows. She pressed a hand on her forehead, digging up memories of the time she last saw that symbol. It wasn't easy, but she doubted it happened more than fifty years years ago. That woman, Allaine, still looked young. She doubted that it would have taken them that long to revive a group like that.

Before she could reply, Adrien already beat her to it.

"They call themselves Black Feathers. They're a group of Nuryyinians and a few Royisans dedicated to stopping Royisa during the war. They were supposedly stopped, but I think the ones we saw earlier are remnants of the first Black Feathers."

Adrien flicked his eyes to her. Petra felt a shiver down her spine, but she swallowed down the fear in her throat.

"Did I get that right, Defakt?"

Peter furrowed his brows. "What? What do you mean?" His eyes flicked between Adrien and her. "Petra, what is he talking about? How come you two keep knowing things that I don't and keep me in the dark?"

Ignoring Adrien's glare, Petra turned to her brother. "Everything that Adrien said was right. The Black Feathers is one of the many organizations I stopped during the war. They were the ones that I absolutely obliterated, but I don't understand why there are still remnants of them left."

"How come Adrien knows this and I don't?" Peter asked, this time with a brow raised. "Did you tell him and not me?"

Adrien turned to the both of them and lowered his head, making Petra furrow her brows. He was fine, right? There was nothing wrong with him? She had a sinking feeling in her stomach, one that almost made her press her hands in her stomach, but she pushed it away.

Finally, Adrien sighed and lifted his head, meeting their gaze. "I'm not supposed to tell anyone this, and for hundreds of years I've been successful. But..." He placed a hand on his forehead and narrowed his eyes.

"I can read people's minds."

Petra held her breath as she felt her blood turn cold. "Y- You can... what?"