Chapter 1

Eva's lungs felt like they were going to explode. She drug breath in and pushed it out, willing her lungs to expand just that fraction more. Her muscles strained and screamed in protest as her feet planted even more firmly into the ground. She pushed her sweat matted black locks away from her face impatiently.

Her only comfort was the sound of her father's labored breathing behind her as he struggled to keep pace. Internally she snickered.

"Keep up old man," she said over her shoulder.

Eva was of average build, height, and appearance. The only extraordinary thing about her was her emerald green eyes and long seething black hair. Curls that even now were trying to work their way out of the single braid she had down her back. Several pieces of the silky mass had already escaped in defiant protest.

In desperation she blew a great breath upwards, trying to force a lock of hair out of her face with her breath alone. It only worked for a second before it fell back into her eyes, adhering more than before, glued there with the sweat that fell down her forehead.

Eva's dad Caleb's face was purple and his breaths were ragged and sharp as he looked at his daughter, a forlorn look in his eyes, "I'm just trying not to make you feel bad," he choked out.

"Oh and I suppose that shade of purple on your face is for my benefit too?" She asked with a giggle.

The sound was short as she too tried to hide her shortness of breath.

"Cocky little…" Caleb growled but was cut short by the lack of oxygen.

"You better pick up the pace or I'm going to finish all of mom's pancakes before you even see the house," she said with an evil grin.

"You keep your grubby paws off of my pancakes," he warned with another growl.

Eva giggled again and began to pick up her pace, pulling away from her dad quickly. She turned around, facing backward while still running and mouthed All mine. This seemed to spark something within Caleb. Eva could see the light change in his eyes as they narrowed, black lashes suddenly framing their aqua blue depths as he scowled, cocked his jaw and suddenly took off at full speed.

She watched him pass, surprise clear on her face as he looked at her as he passed, grinning. Suddenly the millions of times her father had recounted the story of the tortoise and the hare played in her head so loud she could hear it with crystal clarity. Her dad's voice explaining the merits of pacing oneself in life played like on a loop. He tricked me! She said with indignation. Slow and steady, blah, blah, blah. She thought humorously.

It was only a breath and Caleb had jogged out of sight as he rounded a curve. Eva sighed in frustration. She shook her head and slowed for a second. She inhaled deeply. The cool air filling and settling on her burning lungs like a balm. It was sharp but the chill felt nice, smelled fresh and revived some of her stamina.

She leaned down, resting her hands on her thighs as she took in the oxygen slowly. Eva loved the morning runs. Especially in the early spring mornings. There was something about the smell of life coming back from winters cold and deathly bite that rejuvenated her.

Eva took one more deep breath, stretched her arms and then braced herself as she took off again. As she leaned into it, became one with it she felt it. The moment her body became one with everything around her. The road, the air, and even her fatigue melted away. She wasn't her. No longer was she locked in her limited body. She was energy, untethered and pure.

The screaming strain of her muscles no longer an obstacle. Instead, they became an addiction. She strained into the pain, a thrill climbing over her body. She loved this part. The feeling of her muscles straining against her and knowing that she was willing herself past what felt like her breaking point. It was in these moments that everything fell away, and she felt like she was completely outside of herself. It was as close to flying as she could be and that was a completely addictive feeling. Sweat poured down her arms as she kept up her relentless pace.

Just as she would have thought she was going to collapse on the blacktop of the road she opened her eyes and saw in the distance the familiar outline of her home. There on the front porch, smug and smiling was her father. He waved at her, his black curls bobbing with enthusiasm.

Caleb was tall and lean with broad and muscled shoulders. Black curls fell in unruly loose ringlets to his shoulders and thick black lashes framed his aqua blue eyes. If it wasn't for the salt, peppering his temples he'd look far younger than his forty-seven years. It had only been in the last few years that laugh lines had begun to etch themselves in the corners of his eyes. Whenever he smiled, the right corner of his lips would pull up, giving him an off-center smile.

All Eva could see as she got to the house was that crooked smile as he grinned at her smugly.

"Well, little hare. Did you learn anything?" He asked in a sardonic tone.

"Yes. That you're a turd," she said, trying to hide the heaviness of her breaths.

"No sweet child," he said with a pause, "Never threaten a man's pancakes."

Eva rolled her eyes but laughed as she came to sit next to her dad. She hugged her legs as she felt the cool air rush over the sweat on her skin, cooling her. She sighed as she reveled in the exhaustion she felt spreading over her legs.

"Are you two back then?" A familiar female voice called from somewhere inside the house.

Adena, Eva's mother popped her head out of the front door and smiled at the pair sitting sweating and exhausted on the front step. Her fiery red hair danced and burned in the early morning light as it fell forward.

Adena was striking with her tall and willowy build. Her bright green eyes caught the light and danced like the finest emerald as she took in her husband and daughter as they turned to look at her wearily. Her skin as smooth and pale as cream seemed to glow and Eva could smell the familiar scent of lemons drift in the air. Sunshine and lemons. Eva mused.

"Well don't you two look like a right old' pair," Adena giggled. It was a musical tone that reminded Eva of the delicate twinkling of wind chimes.

"Breakfast is ready, get in here before the pancakes get cold," she said tenderly before turning to go back into the house.

Eva and Caleb looked at each other, a spark of competition and humor rose up as they both shot to their feet. Caleb shot out an arm as he fought to make it through the door first but Eva ducked under it easily and rushed into the house.

She was nearly knocked off her feet as big black paws jumped up in elation. Spiris, the family's great Pyrenees greeted her with eagerness. Soft and enduring whimpers escaped the great beast as he tried desperately to lay kisses on her face.

"Geez boy, we weren't gone that long," she giggled.

The dog whimpered again in disagreement. Huffing as though scolding her.

"Spiris," Caleb said in a short tone.

The dog sat instantly, shooting a grudging look at Caleb. He laughed and patted the dog's head affectionately. Spiris turned his head and laid a sloppy lick to Caleb's hand. In which Caleb shot him a warning glare and the dog huffed, looking quite pleased with himself, his tail making a companionable thump on the wood floor.

"Come on you two, or perhaps I will eat them all myself," Adena teased.

"Woman," Caleb warned, "You keep your hands off my pancakes! Adena leaned over and whispered something in her husband's ear, giving him a knowing smile that had him turning pink. Adena laughed musically when Eva visibly cringed. Adena pecked Caleb on the cheek.

As they sat down to the table, Eva's stomach gave a great growl as the smell of buttery pancakes wafted up and made her mouth water in anticipation. She heard her mother snicker softly at the sound.

As soon as her mother laid the plate in front of her, Eva began to tuck into the bounty greedily. She closed her eyes as the flavors hit her palate. The soft cakes melted in her mouth and the warm maple syrup coated her tongue in a delicious melody of sweetness. She tried to lessen the hum that escaped her. She peeked through her lashes as she heard her dad snicker. He was watching her with a tender expression.

He had stolen a piece of pancake off of Adena's plate, and she was looking at him annoyed. He grinned at her sheepishly, his cheeks full of pancake. Eva couldn't hide her grin as her mother rolled her eyes. She laughed outright as her dad reached for another bite and Adena smacked his hand with an exacerbated sigh.

"Caleb, I swear, you have your own pancakes!" she said.

"Yes, but yours taste better," he teased his aqua eyes radiating restrained humor.

"How do you figure," Adena retorted.

"Because they are yours," he replied with a chuckle.

He acted like he was going to steal another bite and caught her hand when she went to smack him, bringing her hand to his lips with a loving smile. Adena rolled her eyes, but the flush on her cheeks gave her away.

They settled into a companionable silence as they began to eat the breakfast laid out on the table. After everyone was finished, they all worked together to clean up. Eva's mother went out to tend to the flowers as Caleb and Eva finished up the dishes.

Eva wondered if it had always been like this. For her, the warmth between her and her parents was almost bone deep but there always seemed to be missing pages in the story of her childhood. At the age of ten, Eva had been in an accident that had wiped her memories from everything before the moment she'd woken up in a hospital bed.

There had been no outward injuries, all she knew was that everything before that day was gone. It felt like someone had come in with a giant eraser and wiped everything clean. The only thing that had remained was the memories of her name and her parent's faces. Everything else was like big white open space that left her feeling empty and as though something absolutely critical to her very being had suddenly been ripped from her.

Every time she tried to chase this feeling and recall what it was that made her ache so much, the face of a boy would weave in and out of her mind. She had begun drawing, hoping that it would create some sort of clarity but instead, it left her more confused and frustrated than before.

Images of a boy's face and a gigantic black wolf would take over her. Images that didn't make sense, fantastical things. Eventually, Eva had put these images on a mental shelf, unable to understand them or sort through them to make sense of it. She finally began to shrug it off as her brain's desperate attempt to fill the void with anything, and because she had a particular inclination towards fantasy films and books this must be why she was thinking of these things.

Eva was snapped out of her internal dialog as a blast of water hit her. She started and looked up shocked as her dad stood, hip propped against the sink, the sprayer in his hand. A mischievous grin on his face set as a challenge. Eva laughed and splashed a handful of sink water and soap at her dad, who sprayed her again in response.

"You better not be getting water all over my kitchen, husband!" Adena called from under the window where she was tending her flowers.

"Me?" he replied in an angelic tone.

Both Eva and Caleb could feel Adena's eyes roll.

He peaked his head over the window and peered over the ledge at her, "I'm sorry, my queen. I'll mop the floor if you promise not to hurt me."

Adena couldn't contain the smile as she looked up at her husband's bright smile. She noted the glint in his eyes as he saw her expression soften. She sighed, conceding to him silently. He pecked her forehead and ducked back into the kitchen victorious.

After breakfast was cleaned up, Eva forwent her shower. Today was Saturday. That meant fencing practice and historical and theological lessons on the veranda with her dad. At a young age, Eva had complained about the lessons. She never quite understood why, with the workload she already had from school, these other lessons were something that she had to do.

"Because sometimes knowing more than just what's expected of you is what makes a person extraordinary, Eva. Someday, my little princess, you may have people who depend on you to know more than just what is expected of you," he would reply softly.

Though she'd detested the lessons at first, now at seventeen she'd come to appreciate the debate and theory of these moments with her dad. She looked forward to feeling her brain race as she tried to parry her father's theories and arguments. Today they were discussing the systematic invasion and eventual near eradication of the native lands of North America.

As they settled into it, her father threw out a theoretical comment and it caught Eva's attention and sparked her incessant need to debate. Adena set out tea and snack biscuits while Caleb and Eva were locked in debate. She kissed the top of Eva's head briefly and left before her daughter could get annoyed by being interrupted.

Adena leaned against the door frame and smiled as she watched Eva's cheeks puff up as Caleb made a solid retort. Eva picked up one of the biscuits and took a grudging bite. Adena internally snickered. Eva reminded her so much of herself as a young girl. Filled with fire, and gumption. Never willing to admit defeat. But just like he'd done when she and Caleb were young, Caleb smiled in a smug manner. Adena knew that was his mistake because it fueled Eva. You've done it now, Caleb.

"But it's not like you can look at every new entity as an enemy. Especially the nations that were there at the time. They'd begun to develop diplomatic societies. Some were even developing complex trading routes as far south as the kingdoms of the Aztecs" Eva replied, "Despite what history says, there is proof that the Europeans were not the first white people that the Natives had ever encountered, they had no reason to think that the encounter would eventually lead to a mass invasion."

"Okay, so when it proved to be far less of an amicable encounter what could they have done to drive the invaders away?" Caleb asked intently.

It was then that Eva made the crucial argument that sealed the debate. The natives outnumbered the Europeans by a considerable amount. Even if you took into account the unsurpassable evidence that the Europeans had introduced the smallpox epidemic as a form of biological warfare onto the native people, decimating their numbers. Had the natives squelched the discontent and mistrust that had been sewn into their delicate alliances, they would have easily been able to fend off their oppressors.

Caleb sat back in his chair, bringing a hand to his face to scratch his chin thoughtfully. The sound of his already growing stubble made a crackly sound in the silence as Eva's eyes watched him steadily.

"But the natives weren't that well connected to each other," he said slowly.

"That's actually untrue," Eva said with a grin, recalling a documentary she'd seen recently, "There is strong evidence to suggest that there were trading routes as far south as the Aztec territory. There is connected cultural elements along these routes. The image of these tribes living in makeshift huts may not be all that accurate for much of the culture. " This made Eva smug as she laced her fingers together and sat back in her chair, watching her dad.

She thought for a second, "In fact, from what their finding now there may have been vast and sophisticated cities with decently large populations and even governments."

Eva had to stop herself, to stop the flow of information from falling from her lips and diverging on a tangent as this topic was of particular interest to her. Something about how this vast culture fell had always bothered her. How even now, her home sat on land that had been used and cherished by those who had inhabited it long before.

"What of their superior weapons," he challenged.

Eva smiled again, it was a gentle yet victorious smile, "They had the advantage of it being on their soil, the natives knew this land. The weapons the Europeans had were made for field combat. Not the kind of guerilla warfare that the natives were used to. The natives didn't march out on battlefields in straight lines like the Europeans. They would have had the numbers and the geographical advantage."

Caleb's cup made a clinking noise as he lowered it back down, swallowing slowly. "Okay so why did they lose?"

"In short?" She asked, her eyes suddenly looking sad, "They trusted the Europeans too long and let the greed breed within their villages to the point they became dependent on the influx of goods. In giving up their traditions for the fur trade they gave away their independence without even knowing it."

Caleb took a bite of a sandwich with a tentative nod. They both knew that it was more complicated than that in some ways, politics usually were and they'd only touched on the surface of where the cracks had begun to show through for this culture. Yet this was the common thread that had woven through the story over the years. The one thing that the Europeans couldn't hide away, no matter how hard they had tried. There were just some things you couldn't wash away.

For a moment both sat quietly as they finished up the tea and sandwiches. Eva gave a satisfied sigh as the tea spread over her tongue. It was Adena's own special blend of herbs that both soothed and invigorated the senses. The lemon was refreshing and tart and spread over Eva's tongue pairing perfectly with the tea sandwiches. After she finished her meal she sat back with a satisfied sigh.

"Don't get too comfortable little one," Caleb said with a chuckle as he rose.

When he came back he was holding two dulled swords in his hand. Eva eyed the swords with a sigh as she pushed herself to a stand, trying to shake off the sluggishness that had settled over her body at the full feeling of her stomach. She reached out and caught the sword that Caleb threw to her with deft and capable movements.

As it landed in her hand she swung it with a familiar arc, testing its weight as she often did, warming her hand to the balance. She let the cool steel pull muscles, warming them and waking them up. She could feel the familiarity of her hand bringing the blade back and forth.

Eva felt the moment the air changed and drew her sword up, blocking her father's blow just before it would have fallen upon her. The force knocked her down, and so she had to roll aside to avoid being struck by the second blow that he fell towards her, her eyes glancing upon the sword that fell inches from her face. Reflexively, Eva snapped to her feet, crouching to take in the environment. Her father was gearing up for another strike and Eva knew there wouldn't be enough time for her to fully stand up, and evade his blow. She swung her right leg around connecting with her father's legs and knocking him onto his back. With that Eva stood and laid her sword at her father's throat, signifying a kill.

"Good," he praised, "You're getting much better at recognizing your surroundings. That is important. You need to be able to feel your surroundings more than you see them. Any opponent bigger than you will also be slower than you."

She didn't get any warning when her father struck her sword away from his throat and grabbed her hand, putting his foot to her chest and heaved her up over top of himself. He used her moment of confusion to snap to his feet and laid a foot on her sword, hand laying his blade at her chest.

"But you let your guard down too much Eva, you must always be alert," Caleb said as he pulled her to her feet. "The minute you think you have won is when you are weakest. You have not won until your assailant is dead or completely immobile."

They continued this practice for some time until both were tired. At the end, Eva had gotten in a few decent wins. She wasn't completely convinced her dad hadn't given her those wins but she would take them anyways. As they finished, they both walked into the kitchen.

As they entered, Eva looked curiously at Adena. She'd traded her normal Saturday pajama pants and tank top for a pair of tan colored slacks that hugged her legs, emphasizing their lean feminine shape. She'd slipped on a pair of sleek cranberry colored pumps with a matching silk blouse that was tucked in artfully in the high waist band of the slacks. Her normal weekend messy bun was gone and long auburn locks were now pinned back away from her face.

"Going somewhere?" Caleb asked as she reached for her matching cranberry tote.

"I just got a call from Enid, there was a problem with a vendor that needs to be worked out," Adena said casually.

Even though her words were even, Caleb saw the strain that had pulled her lips into a tight line. She pushed her sunglasses down over her eyes before turning back to the duo. He considered for a moment, weighing his words carefully.

"Did she say which vendor?" He asked, his voice as casual as he could muster.

"Keinuka," Adena replied.

"Need any help," Caleb asked, watching her face.

"I think I have it in hand for the moment. If that changes I will let you know," she said softly giving him a knowing look.

Caleb nodded. He eyed the empty kitchen and Adena followed his glance. She smiled sheepishly at him with a small guilty shrug.

"We'll manage here, I think I spotted a frozen pizza you had stashed in the back of the freezer. It's been calling my name. Oh, Caleb, I'm positively freezing, you must cook me and consume me before I taste like every frozen contents of this icebox," he said in his best feminine voice.

"Oh my god, dad," Eva said rolling her eyes.

Adena laughed and kissed Caleb and gave Eva a peck on the forehead before leaving.

"You have fun with that, darling," Adena said sarcastically. She leaned over to Eva, "Hold out my girl, I'll bring you some of Enid's tamales."

"Deal," Eva whispered softly.