♫

Zitao woke up with tears welling up on on his eyes and cold sweat streaming down his face. Nightmares. He sat up on his bed, swiped away the beads of sweats on his forehead and breathed heavily. Nightmares were dangerous. One didn’t simply have nightmares for nothing. It was a bad sign in Lyra. And it was even worse because for a moment there, Zitao couldn’t differ his dreams and the reality.

He quickly got up from his bed and took a shower, remembered that his mother had yelled at him to get down for breakfast before they were off to the City Hall. Zitao had always loved black, he never wore clothes in other color than black, even today he dolled up in loose black shirt, complete with a black faux leather jacket and black trousers. Once he was sure that he looked good, he danced down the stairs into the dining room.

“Good morning,” his mother greeted him on the table, hands busy with plates and foods.

“Morning.”

His mother suddenly put the back of her hand at Zitao’s forehead, acting as if she was checking his body temperature. She then looked straight into her son’s black beads.

“Are you okay? You look ill since last night,” she asked.

“I’m okay. I just had a nightmare.”

His mother’s eyes widen at the word. Zitao could see it in her eyes how she forced herself not to start crying again. fell slightly agape at that and she continued preparing their breakfast. This has to wait, she thought. The air between them suddenly turned cold, and Zitao hated for making his mother like this every once in a month. He would get nightmare and she would spend the following days crying until midnight and Zitao couldn’t bear with her sobs. He didn’t know exactly why it happened to him, it was like a monthly routine that he couldn’t escape.

“Go get your jacket, we’re late already,” she sighed while looking at the clock. Zitao nodded and put his plate in the sink. He quickly took his jacket and slipped in it, following his mother and left their house, heading to the City Hall.

Right when Zitao just stepped out from his house, he could see oceans of hybrids were walking in the same direction; the City Hall. Zitao sometimes wondered how come these hybrids could follow along the rules and orders just like this, without questioning anything. Weren’t they curious? Or was it just him? Zitao suddenly felt a faint warmth lingered around his arms and looked around to see it was her mother’s arms. She tugged him closer because the winter was slowly approaching and Zitao knew just how much he needed to make sure his mother that everything was going to be just fine.

They made it halfway before someone shouted at them, “Zitao!”

The said boy turned around to see Yixing pulling him into a tight embrace. Yixing was a dear friend of him and his brother, Zhoumi. Yixing himself was a very well-known young hybrid in Corvus. A strong scent of vanilla quickly invaded his nose and Zitao couldn’t help but smile. He soon found himself returning the hug even tighter. Letting his mother’s grip go, but she understood and just walked ahead from them.

“How’s life?” Yixing asked after they parted, eyes twinkling with stars.

“Oh, I just started school yesterday. Made a lot of friends.”

“Right,” Yixing grinned at him and Zitao forgot that the other was sensitive with lies. He chuckled at that. Yixing was capable to tell if one was lying or not. He could sense it from the way one was speaking. He was a senior at school, two years older than Zitao. Yixing lived just a few houses from his and they often bumped into each other whenever Zitao had to send Yixing’s family fishes.

They walked side by side, following the lead of Zitao’s mother towards the large stone ground which happened to be the City Hall. Zitao was used to people staring at him for no reasons, especially after he lost his father but showed no emotion. But probably this time because Yixing’s arms were on his shoulders. People put so much respect for the older. Yixing was once rumored to be the new senator in Eridanus, he almost became the youngest senator at that time, but he declined it. Zitao never knew anymore about that story though, he never bothered to ask.

“Yixing, do you by any chance know what are we doing here?” Zitao asked.

“Mmm, the people from Eridanus are coming.”

“For what?” Zitao almost strangled himself on the question.

“Have you forgotten? It’s the Aquila Cadens week, boy!” Yixing said it like it was some kind of festival. Partially because yes, it was a festival—a festival for politicians and everyone to fight for a seat in Eridanus, a fight for the highest title in their life that Yixing once declined. People couldn’t blame him tho, that kid had no interest in ruling the entire constellations. He and Zitao shared the same hatred for the Eridanus.

“I almost forgot about it,” Zitao mumbled, and Yixing just ruffled his hair.

“Me too, boy, if my father didn’t remind me last night.”

Zitao nodded at that. Yixing’s father was a senior senator in the Eridanus and known as Lecteur de l'esprit—the mind reader. It was Yixing’s bloodline’s heritage, and the other one Zitao knew who possessed the same power would be Baekhyun, tho that boy was nowhere compared to Yixing’s power.

Like any other things, Lyra was divided into two parts; Vega and Lyrae—the good and the bad, they said. Eridanus was the only thing that connected both stars, and rules were only made by them. Each side had their own representatives in Eridanus. But since a couple of years ago, people barely heard anything from Lyrae anymore. Zitao should be grateful for being born in Vega, because things were really hard in Lyrae. They had the highest number of criminality, poverty, and hunger. Nothing could be seen from the land of Lyrae.

And the Aquila Cadens was the only chance for people to turn their life better, especially for those who weren’t blessed with the extravagant life of Vega. Every four months, one person would be chosen to fill the empty seat in the Eridanus, becoming the respresentatives of their own side. Vega had always taken most of the portion, and it only made the gap between Vega and Lyrae even wider.

Everyone stood on their ground, heads looking up at the balcony of the Grey House. Waiting.

“I have a lot of things to tell you,” Zitao whispered at Yixing who was standing next to him, the older just nodded without looking at him. He had his gaze fixed at the balcony, and Zitao could only assume the older was trying to read anything. Zitao himself was already annoyed by the amount of dark aura surrounding this place. It was too much.

His mind was increasingly disturbed when a man with platinum blonde hair… wait, he looked so young, probably as old as Yixing. But looks could always be tricky. The man smiled towards the crowds and Zitao was soon surrounded with cheers. He didn’t like it. Hearing irregular voices being shouted, such a waste of power.

“Yixing, I-I can’t—“ Zitao caught himself lost for words. But Yixing knew all too well.

“Tricheur. No wonder he makes you weak,” Yixing lingered his arms around the other’s waist, supporting him as he could while eyes still fixated on the man up there. Yixing flashed a reassuring smile at Zitao’s mother, saying that ‘he’s just dizzy’.

The man on the balcony started speaking, and each syllable coming out of his mouth made Zitao even weaker. He could feel his skin pricking and burning. And Zitao knew Yixing felt it as well because the other’s grip got even tighter.

We better get out of here, Zitao heard Yixing speaking to him using his telepathy.

Okay. But my mother… Zitao looked at his mother’s expression.

She’ll be fine. But we need to get you out of here, Zitao. I know exactly this person.

Zitao nodded nonetheless, and Yixing quickly excused themselves from Zitao’s mother who started bombarding them with questions again if Zitao was really fine, but a quick look at her face and Zitao knew Yixing had told her with his telepathy. People were sending them stares when they splitted the crowds, but they paid no mind, even when the man on the balcony spared them a glance.

+++

They arrived at Zitao’s house right when the raven haired boy was on the verge of losing his consciousness. Yixing couldn’t teleport them because it was dangerous if he had to bring another body with him. The worst scenario would be Zitao losing a part of his body.

Yixing rested the younger on his bed, seeing how his breath grew steady and lighter.

“You okay?”

“Better. What happened out there?” Zitao tugged a blanket over his body.

Yixing was about to answer him when he suddenly felt another presence of a creature. He turned around to see Baekhyun standing with a pale face next to the bedroom door. Zitao had to bury his face somewhere, he didn’t want to get scolded today.

“Hello there,” Yixing greeted him, but Baekhyun was too busy scanning Zitao to answer the other.

“What’s wrong with him?” Baekhyun gestured at the raven haired boy. Yixing rolled his eyes and sighed. He never liked it when people didn’t greet him back.

“He met a Tricheur,” Yixing turned around again facing Zitao. Baekhyun walked closer and dragged another chair and sat down beside them, observed the youngest’s displeased face.

“You look awful.”

“Thank’s for the highlight,” Zitao replied with a raspy voice. Yixing chuckled at that.

“Yixing, what is Tricheur?”

“Tricheur is a liar. One of the most dangerous hybrid in Lyra. Tricheurs have the ability to confuse people like you. They let out a strange aura, and possess weird melodie