Page 23 of A Rising Hope

I sneered at her, ignoring the shuttering agony all over my body. The poison from the large spikes that threaded through me like needles on a cloth filled my veins.

“She would’ve died, and you could’ve lived, but now you will both die!” the Queen screeched as rage and indignation curled around her. She extended her hand, and a long Basalt Glass arrow appeared. The Queen marched towards me, blinded by her fury.

But I no longer cared.

Finnleah would live.

She would be safe.

I reached into the depths of my powers, ensuring their lingering hold.

The large thorns moved my body, my muscles no longer in control, vines stretching my arms out like ropes.

I didn’t look away, victoriously lifting my bloodied chin up.

A single flicker of fire and the pain could stop. The world could pause.

But I needed this minute. I needed this tragic loss.

“All this effort for nothing.” She slapped my face, but my body was numb from the pain, blinking in and out of consciousness. Black creeping vines like snakes twisted around my neck, choking me, but I held my head high. “I will kill you and then I will hunt her down,” the Queen replied, taking a gulp of Finnleah’s blood from her goblet. “And maybe it’s even better this way. Because I hope you watch helplessly from the Underworld as I torture and kill your Soulbond. I hope you listen to her scream as I tear her magic from her little by little until she is nothing but a husk. Then I am going to keep her body alive for eternity, so you two are never reunited in the Beyond,” she spat, her saliva landing on my face. “I really should’ve done this a long time ago.” The Queen leaned closer to my face. “Tell that bitch Diamara I say hi.” Then she shoved the Basalt Glass arrow straight through my heart.

And Death welcomed me at last.

15

OREST

Ileaned against the wooden wall of a rustic cottage, picking at the dried blood underneath my nails with a sharp dagger.

“Damn, this bath is nice.” Zora loudly moaned in the room behind the wall. The door was opened wide and though I stood behind it, unable to see directly into the room, I couldn’t resist occasionally glancing up at the reflections on the perfectly polished brass pitcher across from me, slightly fogged up from the heat. My eyes hungrily staring at the murky silhouette of her bare body half-submerged in the water. “Nothing beats a good old bath after a battle,” she hummed, lathering on the soaps.

Whatever family that lived here prior left quite rapidly, fleeing the growing frontlines. I stared at the hand-crocheted tablecloth with intricate designs, at the trunks of clothes they left behind, the toys and books and all manner of items they deemed unworthy to take, as they ran towards the cities, hoping to find refuge away from the brutality of the front lines.

They left, but there was no escaping what was to come. Today’s battle was another reminder of that. The town of Rosefront withstood only a few hours of siege, surrendering quickly under a blast of fiery arrows.

They surrendered, but that was never enough.

Not for me.

Absolute loyalty was what I desired. Loyalty to the throne, to the Destroyer, to Gideon Bellator, to the Destroyer Empire. They all lied, but no matter how cunning they were, how well they wove their web of lies, I always knew the truth.

Absolute fucking loyalty and nothing less. Loyalty to the man that was not in the battle today, nor yesterday, nor the day before as his armies marched forward. His flaming swords of Justice Fire missed in battle. The lack of raw fire magic on the fields was noticed by many. Soon our enemies would know he had left his armies, soon they’d gather as vultures to pick us off, one by one.

As if reading my mind, Zora called out from the room.

“When do you think he is coming back?” She too was aware of the growing unease. Yes, we won this battle, but we would quickly lose the war if Gideon and Finnleah were not here to unite the rest of the Destroyers in the True Order.

“Let’s hope it’s sooner rather than later.” I lowered my head, inspecting the sharp dagger in my hands, twisting its hilt. My weapons were nothing like the bedazzled, heirloom-worthy relics that Gideon liked. No, my daggers were artless, menacing in their simplicity.

A cold chill ran down my skin—a glaring contrast to the warmth of the day. My eyes darted to the windows in the room. Both of them were closed shut. Afternoon sun rays peeked behind the translucent floor length curtains. Not a single cloud in the sky.

“Do you think Finn is okay?” Zora probed again.

“If anyone can handle Insanaria, it’d be her,” I replied, keeping my voice casual, indifferent. Though my eyes still lingered on the window, little goosebumps prickled the back of my neck.

Something was off.

An invisible shift in the air.

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