CHAPTER 38
“WELL IT ISN’T LIKE YOU died…most of the competitors just die, so this is a first.” The Queen drags out her words. “You may try again after the rest of the competitors go, and only if the people vote for you to continue.” Her arms raise, lifting up high as she glances towards her people.
“And if they do not want me to continue?” My brows raise, crossing my arms.
“Then you’ll be sent off to the caves.”
She walks away, her gown trailing behind her as I speed up to her, the tip of my boots catching in the pebbles.
“You can’t be serious?” I walk beside her.
“You would just throw me into the caves? I thought you said you cannot have your daughter rule the Realms! That would be giving her the throne without a fight!”
“I’d have to. But if the Gods choose you, they will not let you die.” She walks away, lifting her head up high as I slow down. “I have no control on who shall reign when this war comes, it's been written in the book of Azure long before I took the crown.”
My boots beat against the pit's rusty dirt as I try to catch up. “Then fight for me! Fight with me!”
She pauses, glancing over her slender shoulder. “I shall choose no side, and fight for no side. I shall only pray that the God of Fire doesn’t scorch us all for what we have done.” Her head tilts down then up, letting out a sorrowful sigh.
“Unless,” I pause, “this has been a part of your plan all along? Studying me, watching me, in order for your daughter to destroy me. Whoever the hell that might be. If you wanted me to be on the throne, you would protect me during the games.”
Her head shakes, catching one last glance towards me. “As I said, Serene, the oracles have no prediction of who will win the battle that is to come. But all I know is that I have no say. The Gods control this, not me.”
The guards help her up the horse of air, Laysius. The mare’s coat is bright as the sun hitting the snow on a winter day. With a swift lunge, they give into the air, swirling upward as they soar towards the top ledge of the mountain cliff.
The crowd cheers for her, praising her as they do so. Flags whip in the air as they shake them, men wrap their arms around their friends, pulling them in as they roar for more. They want more blood.
They all crave bloodshed.
My hands toss to the side, glancing at the guards who stand in position with their spears pointed upwards. I hadn’t even noticed the one guard that had been scorched to the ground. The armor lays in the dirt as ash trickles over it.
I glance over towards the ledge by the narrow, raven walkway, catching sight of the chains where the dragons were once tied up.
I remember their wings, slashed, scars all over their bodies.
Just to think they would do this to a dragon, what’s stopping them from ever doing this to Florian or Koen? Nothing.
“I’m going to sit on the edge and watch,” I holler out, the guards steadily watching me. “Do not shoot your arrows!” I lift my hands, raising them high as my chin lifts to the archers in the mountain. The archers stand their positions, pointing their red-tipped arrows precisely towards me.
“Are you sure you want to do that?” a guard grunts under his breath.
My eyes widen. “It’s not as if I can walk back in the dormitory, I didn’t pass. Nor did I die.” I breathe heavily, steadying myself to climb the wall. “And I'm sure as hell not going to stay in the pit with one of those horses when I don't have to.”
A breathy laugh escapes his lips. “How do you think we feel being here?”
I pause mid-way as my hands rest against the wall. He’s right. They have to stand their ground, protecting the wall in case a competitor tries to escape when they more than likely would rather be far away from the horses and dragons.
The tips of my boots slip into the ledges of the rocks against the wall, and my fingers wrap around the burning rocks that have been slowly heated by the sun. But gentle rain drops begin to fall from the sky, cooling them when a hissing sound sizzles in the air as the rain beats against the rocks.
With a grunt, I pull myself up on the ledge, close to where Koen is sitting.
I lift my knee casually and let my arm rest of it.
My other leg hangs over, and my thigh feels the sharp indentations of the rocks.
The arena looks enormous from where I view it.
I am so used to seeing it by looking up, that now looking down, it feels as if I could get lost and never be found.
Ash and bones are all I see, mixed with the rust dirt that slightly forms a tornado with the current gust of wind. My chin rests against my arm, impatiently waiting for the rest of the men to compete so I can have another chance.
And if they don’t give it to me… I suppose I could just unleash my dragons on them all.
But then again, a true Queen would never do that.
So I must figure out another way to show them all that I am supposed to be here. That I am their Queen.
A loud grunt startles me from behind, Koen’s legs stretching far and wide between the arena stands and the edge of the wall. He could fall to his death if he isn’t careful.
“What the hell are you doing?” I steadily watch him, eyes widening in disbelief that he is yet again coming near me.
“Would you like to explain what the hell that was down there?” he scuffs, biting his bottom lip as he balances on the edge of the cliff's wall before plummeting to his bottom next to me.
“Are you mad?”
“You're damn right I am!” His head shakes, staring at the open pit while another man enters the game.
“No, like have you actually lost your shit?” I bellow from the pits of my stomach. My voice drops to the lowest, violent growl possible. “Or are you purposely trying to get me killed?”
“Why are you even afraid of her?” His shoulders shrug as his fingers curl around the edges of the wall, inches away from my thigh. He shouldn’t be this close. He shouldn’t be next to me.
I let out a loud breath. “That’s a joke, right?” My eyes are wide, staring at his perfectly sharp jaw where a few curls have fallen loose from his bun and gently sway in the breeze against his neck.
“No jokes here.” He shifts his head, staring directly towards me. My heart sinks. “You know that I know who you are. I remember most of our life together. And that means, I know what you are capable of. You could kill her in seconds if you wanted to.”
“That’s the thing, Koen,” I hiss, pulling my body towards him. “I am not a killer. This is going against everything the Royals have sworn to do.”
“You have been gone for a very long time, Spark. I can’t help you remember the gift the Gods chose for you, but I need you to.” His jaw clenches, gripping the edge of the wall tightly. “So much has changed, and sooner or later, the darkness will take over. There will be no return.”
“Seems as if more than just the Realms have changed.” I side-eye him, feeling the knot inside my throat grow by the second.
He clears his throat, head hanging low before his shoulders sag. “Maybe I had to change in order to bring out who you are meant to be. What if this was the whole reason I have existed, was only to fuel that fire inside of you? I am the only one that knows why the Darklands are trying to stop you.”
“I have a hard time believing that.”
“Think about it, Serene, I know why they are trying to kill you. I am the only Royal besides the Queen to ever step foot into the Darklands and not be consumed by the dark magic. The Gods must be protecting me for a reason.”
“They have a sick way of showing their protection.” I shift back, rolling my shoulders as my body aches from the failed ride.
“How else do you explain to me surviving after the night I gave you the embers of my heart?”
My eyes water, reliving the moment Tilly pierced the dagger in my heart. I can still hear the cries of Koen in the distance, running up the hill we were supposed to meet to run away together. He’s right, the pain is torturing. As if it's slowly killing me all over again in order to remember.
“I’m unsure.” My eyes lock outward, staring at the audience who waits for the next competitor.
“You know once the light inside of our hearts darkens, we die.” I hear him take a deep breath, inhaling before his eyes close. “I wonder if somewhere deep inside me, there is a flicker of light I am holding onto just to be here to help you.”
“You know the Book of Azure has never talked about the light inside of us.”
“No I don’t…” He drops his head back, tilting his chin high as his knee bounces. “Only those with the Deskyiara bloodline can read that book. Don’t you remember that?”
My gaze whips towards him, recalling the book lighting up once my palms touched it. The words rewrote themselves on the pages. It all makes sense as to why the Queen couldn’t find what she was looking for.
“Serene.” His voice drops to a sudden whisper, sucking in a deep breath.
I can feel his intense stare towards me.
“I believe you are the only thing that is able to stop all the curses and kill them all. You are a threat to them and to your sister. They are coming. Florian and I will never be able to protect you from it, only fight by your side.”
I bite my lip, eyes never lingering from his. “Unless the flame controls you and you try to kill me again.”
“If I ever do that, slice my throat. Kill me right then and there.”
My brows cave. “Absolutely not. You have gone mad.”
“If she makes me shift again,” he chokes on his words, “one day I will not be able to return from it.”
My heart sinks, my breath hitching. “I’ll kill her. Don’t worry.”
“I never worry when it comes to you.”
My shoulders relax, eyes closing for a split moment.