With shaking hands, she drew the small curved blade from her thigh, running after the group. Her body and mind were numb. Surely this was a dream? A nightmare? The point when reality and fantasy started to bend and bleed together? Hyperventilating, her palms tingled. The group in front of them consisted of three men, all with long black hair braided back, blue ink staining their skin. The deadness in their eyes stopped her short.
“Well, well, well. What do we have here? A band of misfits?”
His crew laughed, and Nyx snapped at them, “To say the least.”
Nyx was liquid fire as she charged the raider, throwing her knife, the steel cutting through the air and finding its mark in the raider’s heart, as he dropped dead. Pulling the knife from the body, Nyx ran on to find her next victim. Flames jumped into the remaining raiders’ hands, and they didn’t waste another second with pleasantries.
Fire roared and twisted around them, Memphis leaping from the flames. Nyx narrowed her eyes, knives flying from her hands faster than humanly possible. Brokk lunged, only to be blocked and forced back with a wall of wildfire. His growls felt like thunder when he snapped his enormous canines at them. Emory violently shook as she watched the fight.
Whoever these raiders were, they were powerful. So, in that second, with no one noticing her, Emory slinked back amongst the shadows and waited for her opportunity. Memphis and Nyx had one raider, and Brokk fought off another. Her heart pounded with each breath, and she hoped she was right. That the power and electricity in her veins wasn’t lying to her.
The man was forced back, coming closer and closer until Emory lashed out, grabbing his forearm. She had dropped her blade at this point, and instantly, her world shifted and changed. It was like the flood gates finally opened, and her whole body electrified, her blood was boiling.
Raw, undiluted power flushed her cheeks, and she swore in disbelief, looking at Memphis and Nyx, her eyes burning red like embers in the night. The man sagged against her touch, and as she snapped her fingers, flames danced from fingertips, coolly kissing her skin. The other raider’s mouth hung open, and he whispered, “Impossible.”
Sending the flames toward him, she said, “My thoughts exactly, if I’m being honest with you.”
Brokk pushed him down, his paw holding him in place. Memphis said, “Now, boys, there are only two of you left, and we find ourselves at a crossroad. Either you can comply with us, or you will not like the result if you don’t. We have a message we would like you to spread amongst your clans in the Risco Desert. As well as making sure Adair’s soldiers find out.”
By this point, the raider’s eyes rolled up into his head, and she continued to consume his power. His friend took one look at them and desperately said, “We’re listening.”
Memphis clapped his hands together. “Excellent! Please tell anyone you meet that the Academy lives, and our rebellion is marching upon Adair. And most importantly, that our Queen has returned. If they would like to join our cause, then they can meet us on the outskirts of these woods. We will find them.”
Letting go of the man, he dropped like a bag of rocks. Brokk growled down at him, and Emory was sure he had pissed himself. Lifting his paw, the man scrambled toward his friend, dragging him away and not looking back once. Memphis gleefully looked at her, but in that instant, Nyx shoved her against a tree, her knife pressing against Emory’s throat, “What are you playing at?”
She shoved Nyx back, exhaustion clouding her mind. “I don’t know. I followed my gut, and that’s where it took me. It looks to me you were lucky that I did that.”
Nyx barked a laugh. “We were doing just fine without you, thanks.”
“That’s not what I saw.”
Her violet eyes flashed, and Memphis quickly intervened. “We accomplished what we came out here to do. Now, let’s get back to the Academy in one piece, yeah?”
Nyx sneered at her and took off, Brokk by her side.
Memphis came up to Emory, squeezing her hand. “You did great out there. Now, let’s go home.”
She looked into those ice blue eyes, and from her overwhelming anger, shock, exhaustion, fear, and adrenaline, it was all she could do to nod and put one foot in front of the other as they navigated the forest together.
***
Her new room was bleak and small. Emory’s head pounded, dots dancing in her vision. Cupping her hands over her eyes, Emory took in deep breaths. This was her reality now. A war zone. A long lost princess. A savior.
Hot salty tears leaked between her fingers, as she tried to make sense of her thoughts. Of her life.
A knock sounded at the door, and she jumped, scaring herself back to the present. Clambering, she quickly wiped her cheeks and shuffled to the door.
Bryd stood outside, waiting meekly, not quite looking her in the eyes. “I thought I would come for a proper hello. I know how it feels to lose your home, and to be swept up in the business here.” She smiled weakly, finally looking her in the eyes. “Plus, we girls have to stick together.”
Emory choked out a teary laugh, hysteria on the edge of it. She assessed the younger girl. “It’s Bryd, right? How old are you?”
“Seventeen. I joined the rebels shortly after ...well, everything happened. I was eleven at the time.”
An awkward silence followed, and Emory tried to find the right words to say. Instead, Emory stepped out into the hallway, shutting the door behind her.
Bryd quickly changed the subject. “It looks like you need some fun. Want me to show you the ring?”
The hope in her voice trapped Emory in a corner. “Sounds good.”
They wove further down
