(Myra's POV)

I looked at Elio in surprise as I was awed by him. 'He is a student at Kingsterdom, really? That's impressive. But why didn't he mention it before?'

Elio scratched the back of his head, as he whispered to me, "I was going to tell you when you got enrolled there. It was supposed to be a surprise." The sudden closeness made me hitch my breath. His greenish blue eyes fluttered as he was gazing at me. The wind blew and his cedar wood like scent attacked my nostrils, sending my mind in frenzy. I was feeling stuffy all of a sudden.

I gulped down hard, composing myself from the sheer torture. 'Get a grip, Myra. Don't fall for this charm of his. You know how all of them are playing with you. Don't get caught in there cheap game.' I created some distance between us, brushing off the topic, "I don't have the necessary documents right now. I'll apply when I return." Elio noticed my sudden coldness but didn't comment.

As I said this to Nora, my internal thought was to just somehow return to Damona. 'Sorry Nora, but even if my dream is to attend the finance school in Kingsterdom University, I don't want any involvement of the Everests whatsoever. You are so dear to me but if I have to keep meeting this lot, I rather don't want to stay here.'

"Let's talk about academic stuff later". Nora then turned to Alaric, as Brave also joined us and sat beside Dion, "Brother Alaric, bro told me you are good at playing flute, hmmm, will you play for me, pleeeeeasee?"

I turned to look at Alaric, feeling surprised, as he replied, "I would have, but, there is no flute here."

Nora was beaming at his words, "I knew you would say that, so I came prepared, wait a minute, I'll be right back." Then she ran off to the tent where our bags were. I called out to her, "Be careful."

The few minutes where she left me with her brothers alone were nerve-wrecking. For some reason, I couldn't lift my eyes to look at any of them. I saw Dion taking the chance to occupy Nora's place, now sitting just beside me.

I was sitting between him and Elio, as Alaric and Brave were sitting across from me. I knew what Dion's intents were but I remained silent shifting a bit to the other side to keep some distance. Again, I could feel it, four pair of eyes gawking at me. It was more like I was there prey. It sends shivers down my back.

Soon, Nora returned with a bag which puzzled all of us. Seeing that her seat was already taken, she made her way to sit between the elder twins. Elio asked, "Am I mistaken or does a flute need this big a bag to keep itself?" All of us were curious.

Nora rolled her eyes at his comments but didn't reply to it. Then she commanded, "Brothers, Myra close your eyes. I have something for all of you."

All of us did as Nora told us, we closed our eyes. Then, I heard the rustling sound, someone walking around. Nora then called, "Now you all can open."

When I opened my eyes, everything was as it is, as it was before, no change. Nora laughed out loud seeing our puzzled expressions. She said, holding her tummy, "It's so fun teasing you all." Then, she took out a bamboo box and handed it to Alaric, "Brother, this is my token of thanks to you."

Alaric's face had a glint of excitement, though when he caught me watching, he covered it well with his poker face. He unlatched the box carefully and a high end shiny gold flute was in it. Nora was noting every reaction of Alaric as he gave a genuine smile. Nora then hugged him tightly, "Brother Alaric, thank you so much for your care." Alaric hugged her back.

Dion, who was sitting quite closely beside me, said in a dramatic tone, "Ohhh, such a wholesome display of sibling love, I feel like crying." Then he made a gesture to wipe of his nonexistent tears.

Nora showed him a tongue emoji as all the other brothers laughed at their banter. I too smiled at them. Then Nora turned to face Brave. Brave, seeing the focus has shifted to him all of a sudden, asked, "Do you need something for me, umm Nor?"

Nora smiled at Brave, asking him to stretch his hand. Brave complied without question and extended his hand. Nora kept something on Brave's palm. Brave's eyes widened looking at the object. Then his eyes became a bit teary, 'Is he going to cry?' I was a bit taken aback.

Not just Brave, all the Everests brothers had a look of disbelief and astonishment, which I couldn't quite get. As I looked closely, it was a rare black opal pendant. I could tell it was way too expensive for me to even imagine its price. I have once read about it some book or magazine.

Elio must have seen the confused look on my face as he came closer and whispered again, "This is something very precious to Brave." Then, I heard Dion asking Nora, "Where did you get this? All the pack members have been searching it for since~" he stopped midway, which I found a bit suspicious.

'Pack members?' What does he mean? Are the Everests from some sort of tribe? Nora didn't tell me about that?' As I was still in the middle of thinking this, Nora replied, "I found it in the underground auction."

Hearing them talk, I thought, 'this talk is not for me, I guess.' Underground auction, rare gemstone, pack, this all sounds foreign to me. It made me unsettle, I felt like I didn't belong to that place, with them, even if I was with my best friend. The difference between me and the Everests was astronomical.

To Be Continued . . . . . . . . .