Chapter 32 #2
The searing pain in my chest is an all-consuming battle of fire against my thorny, vined beast. Burning.
My creature hisses. I writhe, clawing at my own body, dragging my nails frantically across my skin, cutting a deep and bloody motte around my solar plexus.
My creature thrashes at my rib cage fortress, begging to be set free.
But I know deep in my marrow that if I let her out, I will kill Katri.
My vision sputters and darkens at the edges, the world narrowing to a tunnel with Katri’s merciless face at the end of it.
“What’s going on?” a deep angry voice yells.
There’s movement and voices, and something wet and warm lands on my face.
I lie there, gasping for breath with my eyes closed and muscles locked tight.
My creature, inconsolable with rage a moment ago, settles instantly, and I beg the darkness to take me.
Please, please, please do not let that voice be attached to the person I think it is.
“Miss Solis? What have you gotten yourself into now?”
I open one puffy eye and look up into Kian’s face. Damnit, I would have rather died.
“Can you stand?” he asks in a stern but soft voice, as he reaches a hand out to me.
“Yeah, probably.” I wheeze, taking his palm. I feel another set of hands reach under my arms from behind. “I think I broke a rib.”
“Yeah, probably.” The person behind me mimics my words, chuckling. I glare at Boden out of the corner of my eye, or well, I try. Pretty sure they’re too swollen to glare.
“Here.” Kian hands me a silk handkerchief, concern etched in his brow. “For the fluids on your face.”
“Blood?” I nod, imagining the bloody, puffy state of my face.
“And spit, it appears.” His face is a picture of disgust. Is he disgusted with the spit or with me?
“Ah, that’s what the warm wet thing was. Makes sense,” I pant as Boden steadies my back. “Note to self, don’t fuck with Katri after she’s been pregaming.”
“How about you don’t fuck with Katri ever?” Boden rubs gentle circles on my back. Is that comfort he’s going for? Why is he being nice? “She doesn’t hesitate to hit first.”
Kian gives Boden a look I can’t read before turning his gaze to me. Why’s he looking at me like that? It’s almost like he’s concerned about me. Maybe I have a concussion?
“Here.” Boden offers me his arm. “I’ll walk you to the clinic.” Then, to Kian, he adds, “And I’ll once again talk to Katri.” For the first time, I realize Kian’s arm is wrapped around the waist of a leggy brunette who could definitely be a Victoria’s Secret model.
“Pretty.” I smile with a mouth definitely full of blood.
She giggles quietly, and I realize I said that out loud.
Well, might as well go out swinging. “Why don’t you ditch the 6’4” daddy dreamboat?
I’ve nothing to offer but an award-winning personality,” I flirt, before turning to Boden.
“Do I still have all of my teeth?” I offer up a bloody smile that I’m sure looks more like a grimace.
“You have all your teeth and definitely a concussion,” Boden so sweetly confirms.
“Miss Solis, stop flirting with my girlfriend and go get checked out.” Kian shakes his head.
“Hey, this is your fault,” I snipe, pointing a finger at Kian. “If I wasn’t waiting to be escorted back to my room in time for my curfew, I wouldn’t have landed myself in this position.”
“Somehow I sincerely doubt that.” Kian sighs. “Go with Boden.”
I give him a little sarcastic salute. “You got it, sir.”
“Good girl,” he praises under his breath.
I turn on the shower. I need to wash the mud and blood and bodily fluids from my hair.
The after-hours healer at the clinic was helpful, dulling the pain and giving me a tonic that should speed my healing.
Magica treatments are…well…magic. I don’t remember much after my fight until I came to in the clinic.
I know Boden walked me there, but the rest is hazy.
It was the least he could do since his girlfriend tried to murder me.
What does Katri want from me? Have I not been through enough?
I step under the spray, relaxing into the gentle pressure and resting my head on the tile wall.
I came here to understand magic and open a door to my past, but all I’m learning is more ways to let others walk all over me.
I’ve kept my head down for weeks. I’m learning their game, playing by their rules.
Have I not given enough of myself to this realm already?
My family, my childhood, my future? But this realm just. Keeps.
Taking. How much more can I give without taking for myself?
Stumbling into bed after my shower, I finally let a few errant tears fall on the book of prophecies I checked out from the library.
I curl into myself in my cold, damp room that reeks of must and petrichor.
The thin glass of the windows rattles as a chill draft sweeps through the trusses of the high ceiling, my threadbare quilt doing little to stave off the cold.
I page through the tome to a prophecy about the missing princess, tracing my fingers over my grandmother’s name.
Who were you? I don’t want to be sheltered from my family’s histories.
I don’t want to give anymore of myself to this realm. I want to know you.
The Vanishing Star Prophecy
The Vanishing Star Prophecy is considered to have come to pass by the disappearance of Princess Vladislava, Solis.
As foretold, the night of sorrow descended upon Kingdom Convalescere with the brutal assassination of King Vasili Solis and Queen Viktoriya Koroleva Solis.
Their beloved daughter, Vladislava, vanished without a trace, plunging the kingdom into uncertainty and despair.
Her disappearance became the catalyst for a series of events that would reshape the realm.
In the twilight of a prosperous reign,
When shadows lengthen and whispers wane,
A star of light, born of royal grace,
Shall vanish from her rightful place.
Poetry, of course. Why are prophecies always poetry? It would be so much easier if everyone just said what they mean. Poetry allows for abstract interpretation. You would think something as important as a prophecy should be delivered unambiguously. With a huff, I continue to read.
The daughter of fire, with wings of gold,
In darkness deep, her fate unfolds,
A night of sorrow, a cry of despair,
Vanish will the kingdom’s heir
Yet through the void, a path shall wind,
For destiny’s threads are tightly twined.
In exile’s cloak, she’ll find her way,
Namesake returns when the night meets day.
Beware the dark, the serpent’s bite,
The darkest hour precedes the light.
The vanished stars find a way,
And bring forth peace by an umbra ray.
My heart breaks for magicae I didn’t know, so much hurt in one family tree. I flip through the book until I reach an entry on the Son Prophecy, finding more dark whispers of Adrik’s legacy.
The Son Prophecy
Prior to the Sun Wars, conflict between the kingdoms was common. The Son Prophecy foretold that a son who was never expected to rule would unite the four kingdoms. This oral prophecy was revealed to a soothsayer from House Alden in the early 1300s. It was later transcribed in 1598.
Adrik Solis, driven by this prophecy, believed it was his destiny to bring the realm under one ruler.
Although his actions led to widespread devastation and the deaths of many, his eventual defeat brought the prophecy to fruition in an unexpected way.
The prophecy was fulfilled not by Solis ruling the kingdoms, but by his war and eventual death, which led to the unification of the four kingdoms and ended the long-term and sporadic war between them.
Five rulers, who were far down the line of succession, will rise to power, ushering in an era of peace.
The Son Prophecy, therefore, stands as a testament to the unforeseen paths destiny can take.
In the era of strife, when darkness shrouds,
Four kingdoms clash under thunderous clouds,
Royalty unmarked, hidden by the fates,
Shall rise to unify, mate hand in mate’s.
Not born to rule, nor raised for throne,
This destiny forged without fire alone,
With heart of pitch and spirit gold,
The kingdoms’ tale in light foretold.
The herald of change, in the downfall lies,
The legacy of the new dawn’s skies
The true unifier’s path concealed,
In shadows deep, pain and pleasure revealed.
When old ways fall and rivals flee,
The kingdoms united in harmony be,
From the son’s rise the realm anew,
In destined bonds of peace, strong and overdue.
I ache to know my family, as controversial as they may be.
Was my mother like me? Did my father know his creature?
Not having parents around never bothered me before.
Or, well, not to the extent it bothers me now.
Because I had Dmitri. He was all the family I needed, my best friend, my protector.
My river tears come faster now, like white water rapids.
My shoulders shake with each breath. What would he think now that I’m here?
I run my hands over my face, fingers trembling as I clear my eyes. Are these the people we were trying to avoid, the magicae? What did you sacrifice to keep me from this life? Dmitri, did I fail you by going quietly into this world? Did I fail you by not saving you like you saved me?
The caged creature in my diaphragm stirs, rousing at the promise of pain.
I have magic, somewhere inside me too deep to access on command.
But it’s there. It feels too raw, and big, and wild to be housed inside my body.
How did it live inside me all this time?
Dmitri, is this what you were trying to prevent?
Did you know what I am? Is what I am…wrong?
My creature feels too strong and tempestuous to be made to heel.
It’s too late now to return to my rules, to slink off into the night.
I hold a vigil for my human life, a requiem for The Rules and who I used to be.
I understand now, as surely as I feel the magic coils of my creature swell beneath my skin, I only survived to the here and now by living a half-life devoid of magic.
My sobs wreck my body, filling the space between the rafters with the sounds of grief for the childhood I never had and the family I never knew.
But most of all, I mourn for what I may be forced to become.