"Place your hand to the orb . " Lord of Shadows ordered and keric obeyed, laying his fingers faithfully against the white sh.e.l.l of the orb pa.s.sing through the purple outer ring . The circle darkened for a moment but then turned bright again . A face now filled the Orb .

A small round face with fair white skin and long black hair . A little girl smiling sweetly as she sat beside a familiar zither . Her hand ran over it inexperienced but quite skilled for her age . He couldn't help but smile at the little girl trying so hard to be professional behind her instrument . Beside her however, a elegant hand pa.s.sed into frame . The girl looked up beside her and the orb zoomed out once again . Kyera's face came into view as she showed the child how to fix the chord she had missed .

"Its Her…" The Lord whispered, he knew it was the child but he wanted to hear it from keric . The wolf could hardly keep from smiling at the little girl, ready for bed and practicing her zither with such diligence .

"Yes . It seems the lady has chosen this child to be like her own . I do not know if it was intentional or not but it sure seems that way . There is a Skin Kin guard that has been a.s.signed and then she has asked the shadows to be weary of dangers for the child . She even wears Kyera's crest on her ear . " Keric explained and the Lord of shadows nodded slowly, watching as the pair interacted throughout the lesson .

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"Then We shall accept Kyera's intentions whether or not she is aware of them . She may not be consciously making her a child of shadows but we will treat her as such . " He replied with a nod and Kyera looked up as it was said . Suddenly the Lord was looking into the happy soul of his daughter . The warmth and soothed nature of those normally choppy waters made a smile crack across his lips . It had been a long time since he felt this deep rooted joy from Kyera's soul . He very much hoped it was permanent .

"Keep an eye on her then . Both Kyera and the Child . I want to know more about them both . For now, Leave me . " The Lord replied his smile softening his hard eyes . Keric stood and stepped back nodding at him with understanding .

"As you wish, My Lord . " Keric's words were to no one as the lord had already been drawn into the scene the orb shared .

He watched as the lesson continued . The little fairy dancing across the Zither strings . After a hour or so his daughter put the child to bed, a man dressed in robes, apparently the child's father kissed her forehead and tucked the little girl in .

"Goodnight, Raina . " the man whispered adjusting her blanket before leaving .

The shadows watched their lord in silence . No one dared speak a word as a lonely tear began to trail down his pale face . How he longed to have those moments with his own children, yet never could .

******************

The Rebellion House

It was well past dark when Kyera made her slow climb into the tree house . To her surprise Mally and Lazren were up, sitting at the table with Tang, a panda Skin Kin .

Tang's body was thinner than you would expect from a skin kin whose second form was a red and white furry thing . Overall her form was pet.i.te, her long red hair streaked with white was braided and wound to look like a rose on the side of her head . She smiled as kyera entered .

"There is our fearless tigress . Have you decided what your going to do tomorrow?" Tang greeted with a grin . Kyera froze at the entrance rifling through her memory for tomorrow's event and coming up blank . Lazren laughed at her reaction .

"You forgot?" he guessed with a teasing smirk and Kyera glared at him . She stuck out her tongue and he made a biting motion . In response to which Kyera raised a brow . "reflex . " he coughed looking away .

"I have been a little preoccupied saving the Empress from death . Please remind me?" Kyera suggested sitting down as Mally handed her a cup of tea . It was warm and smells faintly of lavender blossoms .

"The loyalty ceremony is tomorrow . I am fairly sure the lions and the Pride will bow to Bastil . " Mally offered with abit of a grimace . Kyera instantly shook her head .

"So we are NOT siding with them . What should we do?" Kyera asked looking at the other three . The group seemed a bit shy now, even Mally was averting her gaze .

"Honestly we were either going to bow out or bow with the pride . " Mally replied twirling her curls . Kyera blinked slowly as she recalled how Mally became a concubine to begin with .