Heir of Dust and Wind

Chapter 57 - Beneath Your Own Reflection

Twins.

That was the first thing that became apparent as Kernan's company stepped into the light was that the two males looked absolutely identical. Both of them were tall, fair-haired, and broad-shouldered, yet they weren't bulky. However, they both moved with the casual grace of any predator, so he was absolutely certain that there were lean muscles hidden beneath their simple and plain clothing and that they could more than just handle themselves in a fight. The intensity of their gazes as they studied the room and the beings assembled inside of it added to his assessment. 

Their faces were all sharp angles and high cheekbones, their noses slender and elegant. While these features alone would have made them strikingly handsome, it was their eyes that were truly spectacular.

They were of no colour Trygve had ever come across, and that meant something since Dracaeni tended to develop rather unusual colouring themselves once they turned into their dragon form for the first time. All he could say for sure was that they were blue, but it was impossible to say what particular shade in the wide spectre of the colour. It was as if their irises were in constant motion, like the ever rolling sea, shifting and changing with the wind, the tide and the lighting.

What were they? He yearned to ask Orla, who - if anyone - knew the answer to that question for sure. But without Ava's telepathic abilities would have to ask it aloud and even he realised that this was rude.

Trygve knew, however, they must be something other than the beings they had encountered ever since joining Ava, since Kernan had set out to find just that: a seventh species of magical creatures. However, he couldn't for the life of himself think of any kind he'd ever come across - even before the great persecutions had extinguished nearly all of them - that even remotely resembled them.

Luckily, not everyone was as clueless.

"You're Kelpies," he heard Gainor blurt out next to himself, his voice full of wonder.

Neither confirming nor denying the assumption, the right twin, tilted his head ever so slightly, fixating those wondrous eyes on the auburn-haired Dracaeni, as his brother - or at least Trygve believed the other male to be, even though he knew nothing about Kelpies - kept gazing at the rest of them without even blinking once. There was something distinctly eerie about their demeanour, Trygve thought, shifting slightly, readying himself to whatever might come of this encounter.

He felt his body tense even further when Gainor started walking towards the male, face slack, as if being pulled by an invisible string. 

What in the name of the stars? Trygve's hand closed around thew dagger he kept hidden behind his back, drawing the attention of the other Kelpie right towards him. Those mesmerising eyes locking with his.

It was then Kernan stepped into Gainor's path, blocking the newcomer's view and breaking whatever spell the Dracaeni had been under and drawing the others gaze back to him. Although the sorcerer was smiling, Trygve was sure there was was a tension around the edges of his mouth, giving him all the more reason to stay alert. 

"Kade and Cian," he indicated towards the two males he had brought with him, "let's not get ahead of ourselves, shall we?" His voice was friendly, yet firm. There was a smile on the sorcerer's face, but it looked tight around the edges.

The left twin, whom Kernan had referred to as Cian, gave a hardly perceptible nod. "We've agreed to meet everyone with an open-mind. We shall stay true to our word. But say, friend, where is the sorceress you have promised us?" 

Just as his eyes, there was something about his voice. It was neither old nor young, somehow musical and promising, alluring even. Trygve felt himself unable to look away.