CHAPTER 23
“The sword must be found in order to reunite the hunters.” - Book of Azure
“I SHOULD HAVE YOUR HEAD for this!” Queen Antavianna bellows, her arms flailing wildly as I trail behind her along the concrete path leading back to the Kingdom.
I glance back over my shoulder, glaring up to the hovering mountains that circle the Kingdom and towards the arched doorway that leads to the Vitaei.
Her voice carries in the mountains, echoing around us and catching in the wind. “Stealing the Light Stone! How foolish can you be?”
The guards follow, their spears pointed upward as they march in formation.
My eyes roll as I stride after her. Water drips down from my hair, gliding over my forehead and cheeks.
I grab my soaked midnight strands, throwing them over my shoulder and twisting tightly, squeezing out water as my soaked suit drips to the concrete.
“Do what you must,” I mutter out, glancing towards the arena that is placed against the mountain side past the Kingdom, up on a hill.
It’s a perfect place for people to either sit in the arena to watch us fight…
or as I trace my eyes along the mountain side, I catch the sighting of something else.
Ledges are formed with seatings fit for only Royals, I suppose to also watch up high.
The golden swirls of the railings glisten in the yellow light that beams from the sun.
The flags are still whipping in the wind, and I can see their colors from way over here.
Maybe it's a safe spot for the Royals to watch those in the games fight dragons.
I always wondered if the dormitory was underground, but it makes sense now as I can see the landscape of the Kingdom of Eekatia.
“You really are begging to die now aren’t you, Serene?
” She halts, her snowy-white hair flowing in the breeze as she whips her head towards me.
Her golden crown, adorned with wings and the five stones resembling the colors of the flags and the stones I had seen in Alaska, glistens in the light.
She is still wearing the dress she wore last night at the celebration—a deep, velvet red with sleeves that billows out around her petite wrists.
Her collarbone is noticeable with her heart-shaped bodice, hitching in her stomach before her gown falls down towards her feet. One high slit reveals her full leg.
“Everyone in this Kingdom has threatened my life.” I shrug. “Sooner or later, death will have me. But who will have my life… that is the mystery.”
Her eyes squint, glaring into mine as silence takes over before she speaks. “You do not fear death?”
“Everyone fears death. I would be a liar to say I don’t.” I pause, taking a step towards her as my soaked suit rubs against my thighs. “But will you be the one to take my life? Or will you let the fate of the games decide?”
She cocks her head to the side, revealing more burns along her skin, wrapping up toward her ear now. The language of the flames by the oracles. She has seen them maybe a hundred times since being in the dormitory. “I will let the Gods decide. The games are always for them.”
I gesture my hand for her to keep walking. “Then let's get me to the first game.”
“I hope the Gods let you burn.” Her lip scrunches upward before turning. “Oh and that stone on your arm… whatever that is, won’t protect you. I’m unsure what Florian tried to tell you.”
“Trust me, I never believed a word he said. I also am not putting my faith into a stone.”
She looks over her shoulder. “How did you survive traveling through the Light Stone?” She halts again, eyes tracing my body in pure confusion. “Unsure how you are alive if you went into the Vitaei?”
Her eyes widen, almost as if something just clicked in her mind. “What has Florian said to you?”
My lip pulls upward. “Now why would I tell you this?”
“Do you want him to stay alive?”
I take a step forward, never blinking or hesitating. “I'm absolutely certain you'd never take his life. You rely on him, depend on him. That is the future King you are talking about. Are you threatening the future King of Azure?”
She nervously glances away for a mere second. “No. But something is going on, I can sense it. If the oracles can’t get to the bottom of this, I will. I will do anything in my power to understand what this is, what you are. I don’t care how many lives I take in order to do so.”
“And I…” I stride forward, glaring into the eyes of the woman who tortures people for a sick game, “don’t care how many lives I have to take in order to find my sister.”
WE’RE SILENT THE ENTIRE WALK back. Not another word leaves the Queen's lips.
And I am okay with it.
I watch the sun dip behind the mountains, creating a soft golden hue on the walk back, knowing the games are about to start. Knowing men are about to walk into a pit locked with a dragon and await their death.
Why do men risk this?
My suit is still wet, and my damp hair waves down to the bottom of my back. I thought the long walk to the dormitory would dry me by the scorching sun, but it didn't.
I enter the room and as the door closes with a loud bang that makes me jump, the men preparing to battle the dragons fix their gazes on me. They are all here. All ninety-nine of them. And I know Koen sees me. But I don’t see him.
Men begin to part ways, some tightening their daggers in their sheaths as others eat meat, ripping it apart with their teeth. Kaine and Theon hustle up to me, their eyes widening as Theon has an impressed smirk tugging on his lips.
“We thought my mother would for sure have your head for this!” Theon comes up to me, grabbing my shoulders tightly and shaking me. “The Light Stone! With Florian, the soon-to-be King and husband to Skie?”
“You’re begging for the Queen to kill you.” Kaine lifts his hand to his lips, trying to hide the teasing smile that is forming. “I bet Skie is having a fit.”
Theon snaps his gaze towards Kaine. “My sister is most likely throwing furniture and screaming in the castle at this very moment.”
I sigh, placing my hands on Theon before removing his grip from me. “It’s good to see you two.”
“Nice new arm piece?” Kaine’s voice twists into concern, but a smirk is plastered on his face. “This is interesting? What did you three get yourselves into last night?”
I glance down at my bare arm, now graced with a silverish white stone against it. Flashes of the burning sensation that ran rampant through my body convulse my stomach. “Something I can’t quite understand yet.”
“Koen is—” Theon goes to speak, turning his body to gesture to where Koen is, but I pause him, lifting my hand and closing my eyes to catch my breath.
“I don’t need to see Koen.” My eyes soften, gazing at them both. “It’s time to get ready, I need my daggers.”
“That’s my girl.” Theon leaps with a playful energy and wraps his arm around me, pulling me in close. “Let’s take down a damn dragon!”
I let out a shaky laugh, unsure if the nerves are finally leaving or if Theon pulls out a side of me that makes me feel calm. But as I glance towards Kaine, his brows are pulled deeply in and his head tilts to the side, studying me. Watching me.
“What happened with Koen out there?” he grunts. “Do I need to kill him?”
I pull my body back. “No. No need for that, I just need to focus on myself. I need to fight my way out of here, and I can’t have any distractions.”
“Distractions will be the death of most of the men here. Out there will be a bloodbath, Serene. You need to prepare yourself for what your eyes will see.” Kaine pulls his long, raven hair behind his pointed ears, crossing his arms as we all walk to my bunk.
“You will need to stay by our sides. Do not stray away.”
“I won’t.” My brows rivel.
“Are you absolutely certain I shouldn’t slit Koen’s throat in front of the dragons, letting them feast on him instead of us?” His brows lift. “It’ll only take a second, I’ll make it quick.”
I push his shoulder back. “That’s disgusting and brutal.” A laugh escapes my lips. “I am sure, thank you. He did nothing wrong. Everything is fine.”
I lied. Everything is wrong. Everything feels different since last night.
“That's assuming she's in our group,” Theon says, clearing his throat and forcing a smile as he steps back. “She has to be in our group... right?”
“There are groups of twenty-five. I passed a note to a guard who's an old friend from my Realm. If he follows through with my request, we'll be in the same group.”
“Do we know how many dragons will be out there?” I hesitantly ask as we reach our bunks, twisting a strand of my hair around my finger.
Florian and I barely escaped with our lives when the dragons from the Desert of Death attacked us.
The thought of confronting a dragon and battling them with daggers is unimaginable.
But Florian assured me, the Gods will watch after me.
If he is right about me, I will survive the first game.
But the words of Queen Antivianna about the stone trouble me… what does she know?
“Last year, there were only two—one from the desert and one from the Darklands.” Theon climbs up his bunk, swinging his feet over his bed as he begins to braid his long hair. “Still unsure how they managed to steal a dragon from the Darklands.”
Kaine sits on the bottom bed, digging into the plate of meat and fruit that has been sitting there. “That was the first time I ever laid my eyes on a dragon from the dark.”
He takes an enormous bite of the meat, his hand gripping the bone as the juice runs down his chin. Theon notices. “Damn, Kaine, when was the last time you ate?”
Kaine shrugs, holding his arm over his mouth as he laughs.
I grin, my heart easing since I have the two of them near me. But if the dragons from the desert are as deadly as I saw them to be, I can’t imagine one from the Darklands. A place forbidden.