Chapter 6

The sea roared with fury, its waves crashing relentlessly against the shore, challenging the level of the land. Fallen leaves were scattered hastily about, carried by the wind's relentless force. Bins stationed at every street corner toppled over, spilling their contents onto the roads, further exacerbating the existing mess.

The choice Hayden and Miracle were about to make seemed to have angered nature.

When the twins saw a stranger at their doorstep, their expressions darkened, especially when they caught sight of the brutal condition of his chest. No explanation was needed. It was clear that the person had been attacked by Mynheex. What worried them was not the attack but the fact that he was still alive.

On top of that, bringing a mortal into their house wasn't a smart choice. True, their house was indeed a place to stay. But at the same time, it was a hideout for dragons to complete their missions in this world.

A place meant to be kept away from humans.

Standing with legs apart, Kingsley folded his arms across his chest. A bath towel drooped from his shoulders; he smelled fresh.

"Miracle, send him to the empty room upstairs," Hayden instructed.

Kingsley stepped forward to block. "Dad. We can't do this. It's disobeying the rules."

"Dad, we can't keep him here," Lyn stressed, adding seriousness to the problem her brother was stating.

"It's only until he regains consciousness."

"But Dad!"

"I've made my point clear enough, Lyn." Hayden gave a slight push to Miracle. "Bring him to the room," he repeated, sending a glare that only Kingsley could understand when he still refused to make way.

"Dad—"

Lyn stopped her brother from arguing any further. "Don't." Standing on tiptoe, she whispered in his ear, "Don't anger Dad."

Walking past them, Miracle saw Kingsley's blue eyes flashing at his sister for a second. Sharp and rich, just like Hayden's. His muscles tensed. Liquid—either sweat, water, or a mixture of both—was streaming down his face.

Kingsley felt uneasy, his insecurity spiking as he flicked a glance at the healing wound on the young man's chest. No mortal had ever survived a Mynheex attack. Yet here was this person, whose identity remained unknown, barging into their safety zone right under his nose.

The moment Miracle reached the top of the stairs, she heard Lyn saying: "Just bear with it for a few days." 

The room was dark. Miracle groped around the wall next to the door, searching for the switch.  Before long, a soft, warm glow of dim orange light flooded the space. She grimaced, freeing strands of her hair caught beneath the boy's arm draped over her. As she lowered him onto the bed in the corner, specks of dust danced into the air, causing her to waver slightly, almost losing her balance.

He was undeniably dirty—stained nails, clothes ripped off at the spots stitched multiple times, hands and legs covered in dirt, and hair disheveled in a way his parents wouldn't recognize. Watching his mess destroying the whiteness of the bedsheet, Miracle regretted that she didn't clean him up first. 

"Where did he get all these mucks from?" she mumbled.

Sighing, she made her way to the shared bathroom and retrieved the cloth hanging from the towel holder. Picking up a plastic basin from the bottom corner of the sink, Miracle adjusted the tap, testing it from different angles to find the right temperature. As she looked at the mirror, the reflection of her mark reminded her of the neglected pain from earlier. 

She ran her fingers across the bump. Redness was there.

"Breath of immortality," she uttered, staring deeper into her mirrored image. "Why are you so surprised, Miracle? A stain in the color, a drop in the lifespan. I know it well enough, don't I?"

And slowly, instead of herself, it was her master surfacing, bringing her back to the scene they had in Long Sheng Jie…

"The evils are evolving. They've eaten too many hearts and pearls that breaths of mortality no longer hurt them, unlike us." Qilong slumped his shoulders, and Miracle saw fear in his amethyst eyes.

He continued, ”Those days, the only reason we could protect them without harming our divine breaths was that they worshipped us. But now…"

"They no longer believe in our existence."

Nodding, he cupped her face and traced the scales beneath the smoothness of her skin. "Our breath of immortality fades every time we use our powers in their world. It's because of this that the evils can easily track us down. But the worst is still when our identities are forced to be revealed because of mortals' suspicions."

"Why can't we tell the mortals the truth about everything?"

Qilong held her stare. "You must never, never do that, Xue’er. It has been a long while since the mortals last believed in us. Even if you exposed your identity, the current mortals wouldn't understand. They will only doubt. And their doubts kill…"

It wasn’t until the water overflowed and splashed onto her feet that Miracle snapped awake from her lost thoughts. Quickly, she shut off the tap and supported the basin with her waist. Tilting it at an angle, she poured away the excess water, realizing it was too much for a mere wipe.

The moment she stepped into the room, she heard the boy's teeth chattering. Was he cold? Miracle then shifted her gaze to the casement behind the pale blue curtains. They weren't shut fully, and a weird sensation of chill was spreading across the room. She grabbed the thick cotton blanket and wrapped it around him, leaving only his face exposed.

"I hope you'll never remember what happened today, little mortal,” she murmured, wetting his purplish lips with the cloth. "Let this be a nightmare for you, a nightmare I pray hard it'll never repeat."

Like a mother, she stretched out his limbs and began wiping him gently, fearing she might hurt him if she were any rougher. Her fingers flinched the moment they brushed across his new skin. The white light still glowed within him, repairing his broken ribcage and rejoining the networks of his blood circulation.

It was healing. His heartbeats were stabilized.

Miracle breathed a sigh of relief.

But she cringed the moment she touched his soggy fringe. The odd, rotten stench was so strong that it deterred her from getting any closer. Holding her breath, she rushed to the casement, poking her head out for a moment of freshness.

"You got this, Miracle," she muttered.

Only then did it occur to her that his hair probably wasn't the only source. Rather, it seemed that his entire being emitted the odor. His clothes looked as if they hadn't been washed for years.

Too tired to carry on, she pulled out the stool and yawned, resting her head on her arm atop the table. "I'll continue later..." Her eyelids drooped. 

She was about to call it a night when something not-so-important-but-still-important flashed at the back of her mind.

The 7 o'clock meet-up with Rex!

As she shot up, her seat tumbled over, one of its legs stuck in the tangled carpet strings.

She stumbled, stealing a quick glance outside the window, only to be met by the brilliant glare of the moon and the dazzling stars.

'He probably wouldn't be there by now,' Miracle thought, and there went her efforts at staying awake.

***

Half-awakened by the morning rays shining through the only translucent curtains in the house, she knitted her brows and scrabbled at the table for something she could use to block the light. Her nose twitched at the lingering of the unpleasant smell in the room. Her frown deepened as she caught faint sounds of approaching footsteps echoing against the floor outside.

”Miracle!"

She jolted awake to a loud thump from the next room. Staying still for a second, she darted her eyes around before they fell on the boy. She pursed her lips, recalling what had happened yesterday. 

When the blurry scenes turned clear in her head, she immediately hurried over to him. Colors were gradually returning to his face, but he looked so dead to the point Miracle wondered if he was even still alive.

Lyn continued calling: "MIRACLE! Fast! We're going to be late!" 

She had yet to know the door she was knocking on was holding nobody in.

"Mira—" Screeches from her right stopped her from continuing her shout. 

"Lyn, I got it."

"Miracle?" Lyn pointed at the room. "You were in there the whole night?"

"I lost track of the time," Miracle replied simply, brushing past Lyn to get ready for school. "Wait for me downstairs. Will be done in five minutes."