Page 156 of Heiress of Fire

“Don’t worry, she’s not a threat to Bellatorm. Although she might be for your relationship with him,” Raven chuckled. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Davina Almenara.”

Raven mockingly bowed, Davina couldn’t help but notice how the house that she shared with Leilani was no more. The fairy tale forest that surrounded their home was now filled with ash and blood.

Then she noticed Caleb and Leilani fighting behind Raven. Her chest heaved as she shook her head. This wasn’t a training session. This wasn’t a duel to see if their powers had grown within the connection they shared as twins. They fought because they were on opposite sides.

Davina stilled as she watched her friends’ battered armors.

Valerie had a mob of Predators surrounding her, she sliced through them with her katana, a flash of light passing through them, leaving behind a trail of black blood. Beacon raised his arms and suffocated the Predators before him. Cara clapped her hands, and the Predators flew away from her. Ron then soared high in the sky with wings made of lightning bolts while they struck various Predators that surrounded Cara. Snow threw sharp icicles into the throats of several Main Predators.

Several other Leaders, Soldiers, and Apprentices fought against the Lowly and Main Predators. More Main Predators were using their shadow abilities than the strong Lowly Predators that stumbled around the battlefield.

She had to get out of those bondages of ink fast.

“I was one of the few who had the gift of light,” Raven began. “Just like your friend, Val, over there. I was proud of my abilities because I wasn’t like the rest of the people on my island, who had fire powers. I wasn’t hot-headed like everyone else. I was once calm, positive, and good. Back then, everything was brand new and the King had told us to never leave our islands unless we were going to Castellum. He said it was to protect our eyes from what we might see on the other islands. But I didn’t agree with his statute, there were too many strict rules for such powerful creatures like us.

Davina curled her fingers inward and continued to convulse against Raven’s chains of shadows.

“One night, I decided to sneak into the other isles. I watched them with such admiration. It was wonderful to see the different powers that the King had given to my brothers and sisters. When I visited Neptulus, I met Ashira. She had my face, my hands, my everything. Yet, our minds were completely different. I was enchanted when I realized that I had a twin. Suddenly, I didn’t feel so alone.

“Me and Ashira decided to slip away almost every night to see each other. She’d use her water powers to come to me. We’d stay to see my island or we’d go to the others and observe the rest of our siblings. But as I watched them, I realized that all I could do was bring light through my hands. I couldn’t do much else. And it bothered me. What use could light ever be? I wanted more, I wanted to be able to do more. Then came the wish to control all the elements. I went to beg Father to grant me my wish. After all, he always claimed that he loved us. So, I believed, if he loved us so much then he would give me what I wanted.”

Raven stood still. She could see the way the Dark Mistress was reminiscing her memories, her eyes stared longingly at the distance. Until Raven’s face contorted with anger. Davina looked around for Ron or anyone who could help her but they were nowhere in sight.

“But he rejected my request. He said that too much power would corrupt me, but I didn’t believe him. It was like he was telling me that I was too weak to have that much authority. I refused to accept that, even though I was so hurt that my own father didn’t trust me enough. So I left the castle and began to talk to my brothers and sisters. Some of them believed me while others chose to remain loyal to the King. Pathetic,” she scoffed.

The Captain remained calm.

“I talked to Ashira about it but she was so stuck in her love haze over a Mistran man that she paid no attention to me when I needed her most. I decided to speak about my plans to a few of my siblings from the other islands, and most of them listened to me and marched into the castle by my side, and we called him a liar, a selfish King, a horrible father. In his anger, he cast me and my brothers and sisters out of Bellatorm. But before the clouds could carry me too far, I used the winds to my advantage and grabbed Ashira before she could marry that brainless fool. I couldn’t accept that I was to leave without my baby sister. She was my rock, my light, my everything. I couldn’t leave without her. Even though she’d rejected me and tried to put a man in my place.

“The King sent us to desolate and faraway lands. It was as if he had forgotten that he was the one who gave us life. When me and my siblings woke up, our powers were stripped of us, and we were left with nothing but the darkness of our choice. So, we decided to wield the darkness in our favor. All except little old Ashira.” Raven rolled her eyes.

“But the darkness came with a heavy price. Instead of being easy to wield, like our natural powers, it drained us. But we did not accept defeat, so we practiced until we could gain enough resistance to the shadows. I came back as soon as I could, and I saw how he dearly loved a new generation of his people. It was as if our presence wasn’t missed. He continued with his life as if we were nothing. He was close to his people and he allowed them to travel to other islands, unlike my generation. When we tried to attack Castellum, we found that there was a force field around it. Me and my siblings were able to enter the other four islands, but not the one we truly wanted. I got so angry I went back to my native island to make them the first victims of my darkness. But that was when I met your ancestor, Freya. She was fire incarnate. Similar situation to yours. Miserable life. Horrible parents. Poor.

“And I loved that about her. I was able to make her see how twisted the King was. How could a good King ever allow his people to be so poor? She was like a rag that absorbed all my water.” Raven smirked and laughed. “And Freya’s fire worked to my advantage. She did all the work for me. I didn’t have to do much. She caused a riot in the people and then the Revolt began.”

“When the Revolt ended, the powers of those who didn’t believe in the practices of Castellum were taken away. The King told the Master at that time there would be a required Ceremony if the Bellatormans wanted to have powers, then Magnar locked himself in his castle.”

Davina shook her head, comprehending Bellatorm’s history even more.

“See, what I don’t seem to understand is…What did he see in you that made him give you your gift? The power of a Phoenix is great. Why did he give it to you and not me? Why did he reject me?”

That must’ve been the reason why Raven wanted to convince Davina to join her cause against the King. It would be a slap to the King’s face.

“Doesn’t matter. With your power combined with my own, we’d be unstoppable. I do not understand how you can remain loyal to a father who has stood still and watched as you suffered at the hands of your mother and stepfather. He watched and did nothing. He could’ve exempted you from that pain and yet he didn’t. But you are my sister, just as much as Ashira is, we are more alike than you can imagine. Please, stop denying it,” Raven pleaded.

At times, it was hard for Davina to understand the reason why she had to suffer through what she did. But then she remembered what the King had said. Great stories are only born after great tribulations. If she had not passed through the difficulties, she wouldn’t have developed into the woman she was today.

“There will never be a lifetime, world, or circumstance where I would choose you,” Davina spat, fighting against the shadows around her wrists.

Raven’s lips formed a line as her black eyes scanned Davina’s glare. “Ashira may be too good for me but at least she never denied that we were sisters.”

“We aren’t sisters and we will never will be!”

“Perhaps some motivation would help,” Raven chirped before snapping her fingers.

Three clouds of dark smoke appeared behind her. Two on her left and one on her right.

Micah, Genevieve, and Emmy appeared. They were down on their knees, gagged, and with their hands tied behind their backs. Tears streamed down their soft skin, their cheeks completely reddened as they cried against the tight cloth around their mouths.

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