Her delicate hand hovers over the stones, but the closer she gets towards them, her skin begins to turn a deep red as if hotheat is burning her flesh. She flinches, snapping her hand away and holding it against her chest.
“Interesting.” She twists her hands, snapping at a guard who stands by the door.
“You are telling me.” My facial expressions remain emotionless, bouncing my leg as my body feels called to touch the stones that hover just a few steps away from me in the other room.
“Your majesty, the book.” Octavian hands her a thick, leather book with burnt markings along the edges like someone tried to burn it. “Let me know if you need me.”
“Thank you.” She grabs it, resting it on the glass table and rapidly tossing pages. If she goes any faster, she might rip them.
Octavian strides to the door, moving to stand bedside one guard as the other brings in a cool towel for the Queen. She grabs it, holding it firmly against her burnt hand as she reads pages in the book. Moans and groans escape her lips as her eyes frantically scan. She lets out a few nods here and there, and a sigh. But her brows deepen, not quite understanding what she is reading.
“I don’t understand!” She slams the book on the table. “The answers should have been in here, this book fell from the scorching moon that night. I know it was from the Gods! Octavian, are you sure this is it? There are words missing, ash still present against the missing pages when I know we have cleaned the books! Has anyone been in my damn archive!” she screams, her once pale face turning a bright, cherry red.
“No one has entered without permission.” A guard clears his throat.
Octavian nods, standing in formation. “Your majesty, this is the correct book. Written by the God of Fire himself.”
Her trembling hands push against her head. “I think I need to take you to the oracles myself.”
I lean forward, watching her hands fall over her face. “Why do you put so much trust in them?”
“Because they have been around longer than any of us. They hold the future in their eyes. You areno Royal, so why are you cursed with this? We need to know what this is and what this means!” She stands, throwing the towel against the ground with aggravation. “Fetch my horses. We are going!”
She leaves the scorched book open, and I catch sight of a few torn pages from where she was reading, as well as a few blank paragraphs. It’s as if the author of the book, the Gods, purposely hid some of the words.
I shift my fingers over it, delicately hovering inches away from it as my hand is being pulled towards it. A soft light begins to beam from the book, words gradually reappearing along the papers. I hitch a breath, my eyes widening while the words retype along the pages with a soft golden light flickering as they are being written.
The sound of metal scraping along the cobblestone floor makes me flinch, and I snap my hand back towards my chest. Once I glance over towards the open book, the words are gone. The pages are lifeless.
What the actual hell was that?
I grip my hand tightly, holding it against my chest as my heart slams against it.
The guards grunt, nodding as they leave, and Octavian follows behind. “I’ll be right back.”
The Queen rises, striding with a fierce determination towards the door. As if this is what she has been wanting all along.
“Do I have a say in this?” I rise to my feet. “What if I don’t want to see the oracles?”
She pauses at the door, looking over her shoulder. “You want to find your sister?”
My nostrils flare, rage tickling at my fingertips. “More than anything.”
“Then you will do this. They might be able to see where she is at this very moment and what her next move is.”
“Are you certain it is my sister you found?” I stumble forward, my eyes widening with the desperate hope I have been clinging on to. She nods. “I told you. I was going to find her.” She inhales deeply as her eyes drop to the ground, avoiding my gaze. “But you might not be fond of what you will see.”
She leaves before I can ask another question.
My lips tighten, rubbing my forehead as I spin on my heels with frustration. “What the hell does this even mean?” I grunt.
But as I turn, the stones hum, beckoning me towards them. They pulse like a heartbeat, hovering over the ground like planets in a solar system. This might be my chance, just to see what they do. I catch sight of the Light Stone to the far left, first in line. I know Florian said I needed the pendant he wears to travel, or the blood of a Deskyiara.
But I am not a Deskyiara.
I am not.
But something inside me is telling me, whispering in my mind like a broken record player, to take the dagger at my hip and slice my palm. So I obey.I listen.
