My jaw tightens, the lump in my throat thickening. What the hell have I done to him now? I didn’t ask for any of this.
His massive, veiny hand lingers on the doorknob for just a moment longer than necessary before his attention is back on us.
“She isn’t her. I would know if she were the lost princess from Eekatia.” His eyes trace me up and down. “Her hair was piercing blonde as a baby.”
The elder lets go of my face and walks over to him gracefully.
“What happened to you? Why have you been so blind?” She reaches up to him, her hands barely touching his shoulders. He gazes softly down to her as he shifts away.
“We need to go.” His eyes snap toward me, opening the door and heading out into the morning light.
“You need to go to your father first, Florian.” The tone in the woman’s voice shifts into a deep, low bellow.
He stops abruptly, tilting his head so that every muscle in my body tenses with unease. His eyes ignite with ember flakes, glowing fiercely just like when we were fleeing for our lives.
He presses his tongue against his cheek before releasing a guttural growl. "What the hell did you just say to me?”
“You need to take her under the ice, she needs the stone. It is time for you to come face to face with him after all these years.”
He shakes his head. “Absolutely not. I will do no such thing.”
“Take her to the underground tunnels, past the castle…”
He interrupts her. “Where the waterfall meets the sea.”
She gracefully nods. “You remember.” A soft smile presses against her aged cheeks as she walks towards him. “I’m surprised.”
“How could I forget?” His eyes glance over to me. “But I cannot take her to the archives. She won’t be able to walk through.”
“That's where you are wrong.” She sighs. “I would have never thought you would be one of the few who wouldn’t believe.”
His brows narrow in. “Because I would feel itin my bonesif it were her.”
“But you need to feel itin your heart.” She grabs his hands, lifting them up to give a soft kiss before releasing them and walking back over to the kitchen. “Bring her to him.”
“He will know I came to see you,” Prince Florian growls, his hand slamming against the wooden door with a thunderous force that makes me jump in fear. I watch in wide-eyed terror as the elder remains unfazed by his aggression. “It is treason to come see you!”
The woman continues to break apart herbs. “And yet you came.”
A low noise rumbles in his throat, and he presses his lips into a thin line. His eyes still burn with an intense fury as his fists clench tightly, causing his veins to swell against his skin. But he remains quiet as if he knows everything she is saying is right.
Her weary eyes lift to meet his. “You knew I would know something… you just don't like the answer you sought.”
Chapter 5
“If a war breaks out, the Games shall return as punishment. The King or Queen of Azure shall throw ninety-nine men into the battle games and only eight shall live. But only one will be granted the Light Stone, protecting the champion’s Realm for a year from their deadly curse. A curse brought onto them by their Realm’s God due to the outbreak of violence. Blood for blood. The hunt shall resume once peace is restored.” - Book of Azure
AS I BURST OUT INTO the crisp, morning air, my breath is visible in front of me like tiny wisps of smoke.
The cabin, nestled deep in the woods, is almost hidden by the towering trees that surround it. Details I didn’t notice last night when we traveled here. It is a small, rustic structure made of logsand covered in ivy. Smoke billows from the chimney, up into the blue sky.
My chest rises, and my shoulders relax as I close my eyes for a split moment and tilt my chin high in the sky. I’m just glad nothing is flying above us this morning. Nothing is trying to eat us.
Nothing is trying to kill me.
At least for now,and I’ll take this moment to be thankful for that. Even if it's just for a second.
All I want to do is run back into the warmth of the cabin and seek more answers from the woman who claims to know me. I want to understand why she feels as if I am the traveler she speaks of. But here I am, being drawn towards him, unable to resist the pull.
