Prologue

Maaz awoke with the sunlight in his eyes, the shrill sounds of birds chirping and the nerve-wracking tension that his siblings weren't safe. But the soft groans and grunts of his younger siblings stirring awake from an especially upsetting night calmed his taut nerves. He blinked, letting his cornflower eyes adjust to the environment. His breath stuck onto his throat; his siblings were safe and sound right before him, looking as dazed and confused as he was, but their surroundings. They were in a forest!

Maaz scrambled to his feet and made his way towards his two siblings – twins, Dania and Danyal. Their bronze skin, just like his, was filthy with grime and sweat, their shared cornflower eyes glistening with just as much as dread and bewilderment Maaz felt. Maaz realized that he was just as filthy, but also that his back slightly ached. It wasn't much pain, but it was almost annoying, like something he couldn't ignore.

He gently hugged the twins, to wordlessly remind them that he was still with them, and decided that now he would have to take care of them, regardless of where they were or what happened the night before that could result in this happening. He straightened and looked about.

He was not in the forest, but stood before one; he had awoken at the edge of a cliff, he realized, something that didn't help with his confusion. But the view was beautiful; the sky was the bluest he had ever seen, the green of the grass vivid, with a few trails of mushrooms and daisies scattered about. The wind whipped his umber hair back, drying the moisture in his eyes, cooling his face. But the grime and filth made him uncomfortable, and he longed for a bath.

He frowned to himself – this was not the time to wish for things that you couldn't possibly get at the moment. Rather, he decided that it would be much better if he went into the wood and search for something, anything. He considered leaving the twins, the wild could be dangerous, but what if he could not return? What if he were lost? What would happen to them, as they waited for him until nightfall, trembling with fear and confusion? No. He would have to take them with him.

Sighing, he began walking towards the forest. Noticing he was not being followed by the two, he turned to the twins. "Dani's," he called them both by their plural nickname, "come on."