CHAPTER 26 #3
I let my fingers curl out, revealing my bloody palm and I tremble as I reach out towards it.
I close my eyes for a brief second, just to gain my strength, and force my hand through the fire.
Just as Koen forced his hand through the dragon's fire for me.
Then it hits me, how did he not burn? How the hell did he not burn to ash like the one man did?
I’m not a Royal. Florian believes it's because I am the Prophecy Queen. The oracles and the Queen believe it's a curse. I’m going with the latter, since I have begged the Gods multiple times for me not to love and they just have a sick way of answering.
But Koen… he isn't cursed. So how did he not burn?
Not now. I can’t think of this now.
I need to stop thinking about him.
I clench my teeth, forcing my arm further into the blue flames as it crackles. Sounds of fire popping like a fireplace resound around me, echoing in the room. But no pain, it doesn’t burn.
My bloody palm is inches away until I finally reach it and rest against the red stone, the warmth of it radiating through my body.
Then the air is sucked out of me.
My eyes see a life before me. It's as if I am in the body of another. My eyes hazily flicker open and close until everything clears. A young teen, maybe thirteen at the time, running in the hills… no. It’s Prince Florian.
I see him.
His golden hair falls to his shoulders, a few braids twisted on the top as he runs in front of me. With his arms stretched out, his fingers graze the tops of the thin, tall grass.
We spin around, hand in hand, laughing and chasing the butterflies that dance around us in a field of flowers.
The Kingdom of Eekatia is in the distance, but the arena is not there.
Neither are the mountainside edges where the Royals sit for the battle games.
I have no control over this body, it feels as if it's a memory and I am watching it through the eyes of the soul that lived in this moment with him.
But a weird feeling sits in the pit of my stomach, as if I have witnessed this before.
That I have felt this before. This all feels too real.
Him and I fall to the ground, our backs thumping against the lush, green grass that hovers around us. The butterflies with seven wings and three tails soar above us, thousands of them. Our giggles, so pure and sweet, soar in the air with them. Almost like a melody… almost like a melody.
“Hey, Serene.” Young Florian rolls to his side, and I notice his cornea free of the scar. “Do you think the Kingdom of Eekatia will finally accept the Darklands into the treaty?”
He calls the young girl, “Serene.” Not Viveon.
I can feel my body gasping for air as my cheeks are wet from tears that are pouring down from my body, but the memories of this girl don't feel it. Only my own body, yet I keep my palm on the stone despite the pain that is coursing through my body. I need answers.
“I hope my father will accept them, especially with him and Koen’s mother.
You are sworn to Eekatia, there is no need to worry.
Your mother was the true Queen of the Ice Land, not his.
Just because your father has moved on after her death, doesn’t mean Koen will take the throne,” I whisper—the girl whispers.
“He will never be the true King of Azure, you will.”
This isn’t me. This can’t be me.
“Even if their love is treason?” Young Florian’s eyes soften, his elbows digging into the ground. “Koen has been in hiding all along, my father hid him from me just so his mother and him had the chance to live. Now, the Royals want to fight against the Realm for hiding the truth about it.”
“I won’t let that happen,” I whisper, reaching out to touch his hand. “My mother will talk to him. She agrees with us.”
She holds, I hold, his hand tightly and I can almost feel the same touch the girl felt in this moment.
“There you two are!” A young voice teases, chestnut curls bouncing and swaying in the wind as he pounces on Florian.
Their laughs are full of life and joy. But once my eyes lock onto the boy, I gasp for air. Koen.
“You might be older, but you know I will always be the stronger brother.” Florian yanks Koen to the ground, and they tussle in the dirt.
“Knock it off!” I throw dirt at them, laughing in a way I haven’t heard me laugh. Or the girl laugh, before.
What is happening to me? This can’t be me.
“Ah, there you are, Spark.” Koen grins. His eyes glisten in the sun, and no scar is present on his lip.
He called me… Spark.
Is this my memory?
I rip my palm away, yanking my arm out of the fire as tears soak my cheeks. They cascade down my face, slipping off my chin and trickling along my neck. My eyes grow wide as I collapse to the ground, my knees trembling as I settle onto the steps.
My bottom lip shivers, staring at the blood that still puddles in my other palm, while my other hand is still bandaged. I heave, feeling my chest rise and fall. My heart races at a deadly speed, and I feel the room around me spin.
Through my blurred vision, I catch the Queen walking in, her eyes widening as she sees me on the ground, blood dripping on her pearly-white cobblestone floor.
“What did you do!” She fixes her crown before her hand catches herself against the couch, slowly walking up to me with hesitation. “Serene, what did you do?”
Her voice drops to a soft whisper, her eyes flickering to mine and the wound on my palm.
“What the hell are these stones?” I growl, raising my chin up to meet her dark forest eyes. “What are in these stones!”
“We don’t know.” She crouches, her hand resting against the ledges of the staircase. The language of the flames almost covers up her fair skin from her fingertips to her ear on her left side. More have been added since the last time I saw her.
These oracles are controlling her. The markings have scorched more of her body, leaving almost no room for more on her left side.
What hold do they have over her?
“What happened?” She leans closer.
“I touched them.” I choke on the words, the flashbacks of the memories I saw of the young girl are too much for me to bear.
This can’t be real.
“No one can touch them.” Her eyes soften. Her thin brows pull together. “The fire would have killed you the second your flesh made contact with it.”
“Untrue.” My jaw clenches as my knee shakes, snapping my gaze towards my palm. “I touched the stone and saw… memories.”
“Memories?” Her voice drips into a confused tone.
“Where is Florian? I must speak with him.” I push my body off, stepping down the steps past her and catch sight of Octavian at the door with the guards.
“You are not going anywhere yet.” The heels of her shoes echo behind me, and I can feel the hair on my neck rise.
“What the hell are you going to do to stop me?” My hair whips at my cheek while I snap my gaze over my shoulder towards her. I hear the guards’ metal clink against their spears, and without even looking, I know they are pointing them directly towards me.
“You sure do like to hide behind your guards.” My throat burns with a deep, violent rage.
She scuffs, raising her eyes to the ceiling. “I am the Queen, Serene. I feel as if sometimes you forget this.”
“You’re not my damn Queen.”
I hear a scoff escape Octavian’s lip, unsure if he’s impressed or pissed that I am not standing down. I don’t owe them anything. I don’t owe her anything.
“I am your Queen, whether you like it or not. You are in Azure, and I am the ruler of all the Realms. I have the power in my hands whether you live or die. Whether your sister lives or dies.”
“Then why haven’t you killed me!”
“Because I believe those stones map out exactly what the Gods wrote for us. I believe the message is inside those stones, the map to lead us to vanish the curses for good. I need you, as you need me!”
“I need to see Florian.” My fingernails dig into my palms the longer I lock eye contact with her dark emerald eyes. “I must see him.”
“You will see him when I allow it.”
“I need to know what this is!” My throat burns by my scream as I point towards the stone. My palm drips blood down against her floor. “I believe I saw my memories. But I don’t remember any of it!”
“The stones would have never shown you that.”
I stride towards her with rage. “And how the hell would you know that!” I hiss, rage scorching the depths of my throat as my veins bulge against my neck.
My eyes burn as they widen, and I can hear the clinging of metal from the guards' suits hustling towards us but the Queen holds out her burnt palm, ordering them to stand down.
“Because those stones are from the Gods of the Realms. When the last Deskyiara fell, the stones were in the hearts of each horse that fell from the sky that day. A power that courses through them for only the Prophecy Queen. Why would the stones ever hold memories?”
“You believe in that shit too?” My nostrils collapse as I suck in a deep breath. “It's a children’s tale, Koen told me it's all a lie.”
“And you’d believe Koen over the Queen of Azure?”
“I trust Koen over you. Yes.”
“Are you sure about that?” A brow of hers rises, and walks around me, her dress gracefully gliding over the floor, smearing my blood. “I’d suggest… you come with us to the oracles once I hear from them. I promise, we might find the answers we both seek. Trust me on this.”
I’d never trust this damn Queen.
“That’s what Koen said as well.” My chin follows her path. “I don’t want the language of the flames on my skin, and I have yet to receive any answers I am looking for.”
“And yet you still trust him.” She halts at the door besides Octavian.
My chest constricts. “He has protected me.”
“But has he?”
The knot inside my throat grows with each word.
She straightens her back, chin lifting high. “We can protect you, if you work with us. For us. I know that curse of yours can help the Realm.” Her lips slightly form a smile. “I promise you the oracles can help you. Help us understand what this is. Let's work together.”
My boots beat against the floor as I stride towards them. “I will come, but I will not let them burn me. Do you understand?”
She nods.
“But also, only if you promise to allow Koen or Florian to travel back to the archives in the Ice Nation.” I suck in a deep breath. “And if you promise to never make Florian shift ever again. Do you understand?”
Her eyes widen in pure amusement at my words. “My, my… Florian was right about you.”
“What did he say about me?” I hiss, swallowing all the pain I feel away.
“You have a hot temper. Not afraid to speak your mind.” Her brows lift. “I suppose this is why the brothers admire you.”
Of course he said that. I ignore her words on purpose. “Do we have a deal?”
She grunts, her finger gliding along her chin in thought.
“I will allow this. They have one trip to find what they need and for Florian, as long as you do what I say with the oracles and what I say in the games, you have my word.” She nods, her hand gesturing outwards as Octavian strides through the doorway.
“I’ll have Octavian fetch you when we hear from the Darklands.
Go on, it’s time for you to learn how to ride for the next battle game, can’t have you dying on me before we understand the truth of who and what you are. ”