This suit I crafted in the Darklands for you, no one must ever know I went there. It’ll protect you from the heat tomorrow against the fiery breaths of the dragons. But it will also protect you from the spikes of their tails. No onecan know you have this, or they will kill you. If they know I helped you, they will kill you.
Burn this in the flames.
Stay alive,
Florian.
My eyes dart in a panic, every direction possible, scanning the room to see if anyone is here witnessing me reading this. With a swift motion, I run to the wall, letting the letter hover above the torch, and watch the paper burn to ash.
The char floats in the air, embers dying out as they fall to the ground. My jaw tightens and my palms begin to sweat, knowing that the Queen is on edge with my arrival here in the Realms. How far will she go over someone as normal as me?I am no one.I wish she could see that. All I have wanted is to find my sister, return with her to Seattle, and get back to a normal life. But, I feel our father will now lose us both.
Normal feels impossible.
I start to unbutton my suit, fingers fumbling and trembling, eager to remove the suit as quickly as I can before someone walks in. Night has fallen, and we have only a short window to find the archive. To find the answers Koen and I both need. My stomach clenches with a mix of guilt and fear as I carefully remove the suit Koen gifted me, deeply aware that it once belonged to his mother and now is in tatters because of me. Completely ruined. The fabric clings to my skin, tugging on me before I slip out of it, removing the memories with it. I swiftly slip into the new suit Florian has given me, smooth leather against my skin yet bulky around my chest for protection. I begin to wonder what the Darklands crafted this suit with and how the hell is it going to protect me against dragons. I’m also curious as to why the Darklands are so forbidden to the people of Azure.
But this is better than not having anything that might protect me out there tomorrow.
Though it mirrors the design of the old one, this suit covers both my arms. Within seconds, I begin ripping at one of the sleeves, frustrated with the suffocating feeling this gives me. The fabric breaks at the stitch lines, the sounds echoing in the for once, quiet dormitory. My bare arm shows, and my finger glides over the healed scar, reminding me of the anger that has built up inside me. My blood boils as I can still hear the Queen saying my sister's name.
My chest rises and falls. This is the way I entered the games, and this is the way I intend to leave them. These scars do not define me—I want my healed wounds to show, proving to them all that no matter how many times they hurt me, I will always heal. I want to prove to these men who have hurt me, that they do not have the right to dictate what I will become from this. They will not have the pleasure of killing me, or hurting me, ever again. The journey that led me to this moment has molded me into exactly who and what I’m meant to be.
Every scar will mold me into the woman I must become.
A woman that will not let this world burn me into ash. No man.No damn dragon.
And with the burning desire to revenge those who have wronged me, they should fear what I might do.
I fear what I might do.
I NEVER BELIEVED IN MAGIC, even as a kid.
It was Tilly who saw something different with our world. I saw nothing.
Yet, as I gaze at the night sky, a parade of shimmering, silver dragons dances across the starry sky, weaving around through the chilly air like a play for the laughing children below. The children run around, jumping up in the air as if the dragons are just out of their reach. Their laughs echo with the breeze that dances around with the music. A group of women with long, silver-braided hair, their pointed ears adorned with flowers cuffing around them and their emerald gowns with high slits, weave their hands through the starlit air and with the mere flick of their fingers, paint the night sky with beautiful images.
Magic. Right before my eyes, yet, I still don’t believe it.How is this real?
The music drifts through my ears, the beat of drums and harmonicas perfectly in rhythm. Tall trees soar above us with milky-white leaves that sparkle like stars. Golden lights are wrapped around their trunks and weave into the air to meet a branch of another, wrapping around in a circle for those to dance underneath. I wasn’t expecting so many people to be here, the night before some souls will be taken. And yet, those who live here in the Realms celebrate. Tons of women dance with their partners, gowns in different colors bellowing out as they spin, while men fill up their steins by the enormous wooden barrels. As I glance around, the shade of the moon casts a soft, indigo hue to the dance floor. I look up, tilting my head as I glare out to the unknown. Their world is much different than mine, their sky is much different than mine, and their people… are much different than mine.
The sky is out of the ordinary tonight. The moon's outer edge is a deep shade of rust, almost melting into the light tone of the ocean blue, which is the color it is every night. Remembering Koen’s words takes my breath away, and goosebumps prick along my skin as I recall him saying, “and if you are ever nearme on the night where the azure moon turns to blood… you run.” What the hell does it mean when the moon turns to blood?
But as fear creeps through me, I catch sight of Queen Antivianna and Skie. I suck in air, holding it deep inside so I won’t make a sound. They cannot see me. I scurry backward, tripping over branches and running into people, apologizing with my hands as they look bothered by my appearance. They all know I am the first woman to compete and for some reason, hate me for it. It's written all over their faces, nose squinted as if I smell, lips curled as if I am some wicked person. And the worst of it all, if I accidentally bump into them, they wipe the spot as if I've infected them.
I do not belong here. This could never be my home.
I wonder what lies the Queen has spread about me. Let them talk, let them judge me, and let them watch me fight in these games.
My back slams into a tree and I move around it, letting my back slide against the ridges of the bark. I don’t care if it pulls against my hair and suit, as long as I am out of sight.
I exhale, letting my head hit against the massive trunk. “That was close.” My eyes close and my hand covers my heart. I never want to find out what the Queen or Skie would do to me if they caught Koen and I escaping for the night.
“The party is over there?” A soft voice startles me and I flinch, eyes widening as I stare at the woman before me. Her golden dress ombres down to an indigo hue at the bottom with a high slit up toward her hip. Seashells in a golden chain wrap around her thighs, and tiny bones hang down along the chain as well. Her eyes widen, showing the shades of an ocean blue mixed with a light autumn hue that sparkle against her raven skin. Around her petite neck, more shells wrapped in golden chains rest perfectly against her chest, showing her collarbones that are marked with what appear like micro pearls against her skin.
“Do you speak?” She crosses her arms, letting her braids fall over her shoulder. Her crown is detailed with waves and shells, chains falling from it as one wraps across her face over her nose with delicate crystals dangling off of it.
“Yes,” I stutter. “I’m sorry, it’s been an exhausting week.” I let out a nervous laugh, clearing my throat as I know she is from the Realm of the Sea and I am unsure if I can trust her. I’m unsure if I should even be in her presence.
“I can’t believe the Queen threw you in the games.” Her eyes trace every curve of my body in the most pitiful way. “Has my brother given you any problems?”
