Shit.Is this why he didn’t burn in the fire when he grabbed my hand?
“It’s no curse, but has the gift the God of Darkness chose for him. He has the ability to scorch a Deskyiara with his bare hands, just as the lava in the Darklands. But he has the choice to do so.The control to do so.But with your sister, she will use him when the time is right.”
“The Royals aren’t cursed then? Just the… Realms?” I stutter, realizing the Realms have been lied to this whole time.
“The Royals have forgotten. Their memories of who they were before the war, gone. You must find the stones, fulfill the prophecy of killing the Wailing Mother, and the curses will be lifted, granting their memories back.”
“Then how do Florian and Koen remember!” I step away from her grip, rubbing my fingers through my hair frantically. “What about my mother? Why would she curse the Realms?”
“Their love for you must be strong enough to remember.” Her shoulder rises as she lets out a shaky breath. “Once you were taken, your mother let out a heartbreaking scream that pierced the lands. She called upon the Gods and agreed to live a life in the darkest place as a Wailing Mother, for all the royals to be cursed with the darkest secrets they hide, and for the Realms to be forever punished for not protecting you.”
A tear rolls down my cheek. “Are you saying I must kill my mother in order for the Realms to remember? For the Realms to finally be at peace?”
Her eyes close, nodding gently as the air from my lungs disintegrates.
“No!” I fall to my knees, tears streaming down my face as I grip the sand beneath me. “I can’t!”
“The God of Fire chose you my dear, not your sister. If you fail, the man you love and everyone else will fall to the darkness. They won't survive if the curses continue.”
I zone out, staring at the sand that falls between my fingers. “What you are asking is madness.” I rip my gaze from my hands to meet her weary eyes.
“It’s the only way, my child. I am sorry.”
A gut-wrenching sob escapes my lips as I clench my chest. My tears mix in with the blood from my open wound along my cheek. I know my back still bleeds, but the only pain I feel is coming from my heart.
“This might hurt.” The elder squats in front of me, holding out her hand against my shoulder. “It’s time for the dragons to give you your gifts back.”
My blurry eyes look up towards her. “What do you mean my dragons?”
My stones pulse, my dragons soaring around overhead as the fire that circles around us turns into a fiery tornado.
“You are the Queen,” she whispers. “It’s time for you to start acting like one.Rise, my Scorching Queen. Rise for the dragons. Rise for your people.”
Chapter 45
“The huntresses are connected through the stones. They are connected through the symbols. Only a true huntress can find another.” - Book of Azure
MY FIRE DRAGON SOARS AROUND me, circling me alone before the rest of them follow.
Ice. Darkness. Air. Water.
They are all here, and I feel their elements radiating off of them. My hair whips in the wind, goosebumps prickling against my arms due to the hot, yet chilly air. I catch sight of them until they begin to part ways and soar upward in the middle of the fiery tornado that surrounds us.
My chin lifts, eyes squinting as their wings become smaller and smaller, hardly noticeable the more they fly towards the dark clouds.
As they soar upward, lightning flickers throughout the dark sky. Each bolt targets my dragons. Electricity cracks and vibratesthrough the air. With each snap against my dragons, the bolts turn the color of their elements.
It’s as if a lightning storm of a rainbow is playing before me.
The fire one soars down first, like a damn torpedo, and dissolves into my chest. Directly in my heart. I gasp for the air that leaves my body. I lose my balance, but my Fireninze catches my fall with her head. My hand lifts to my chest, feeling this surge of power rush through me.
I suck in deep breaths through sudden groans of agony, my eyes repeatedly clenching shut after opening.
Flashes of the ceremony when the God of Fire chose me to rule the Realms flood through me.
Memories I have yet to discover.
I fall to my knees, hunching over as my hands squeeze into the sand.
