Page 44 of A Rising Hope

I had to lead.

“Aurelia, I—” I opened my mouth.

“Did you know I speak crow now?” Aurelia mumbled quickly, changing the topic, and my heart ached at that notion, so I played along.

“You do?” My tone shifted a notch, the upbeat melody we both now played as we talked.

“Yes, you know when the shadows swallowed the world, bird watching became quite the hard hobby to have. So, naturally, I had to pick a new one.” She adjusted her seatbelt at the waist, wiggling in the seat after what must have been a rushed and rapid flight. “Liriya was a good teacher. We’d screech crow so loud we could almost ignore all the screaming around. I wished my own parents had learned, but it was hard to teach them while they were . . . lost in their screams. Though my mother tried.” Aurelia’s words sent a chill down my bones.

I swallowed hard.

“Aurelia—”

“But check this out,” she interrupted by cawing loudly in what sounded like a phrase of some sort. Her voice mimicked the bird’s call without flaw. She pointed with her chin in the air. On command, the demon-bird appeared with a brash clap of her wings. “A neat trick, don’t you think?” Aurelia turned to me, grinning, very proud of her skill. As she should be.

“Very impressive.” I nodded, mouthing a silent thank you to the bird, who had kept the ethereal girl safe through the darkness and the haunted mist of nightmares.

Liriya hovered in the air, impatiently waiting, cawing something in reply.

“She says get your ass moving,” Aurelia said, reaching for the reins.

“Aurelia, language!” I laughed, shaking my head, but she just shrugged.

“Tell that to the bird. I am just translating.”

“Well, lead the way then.” My knuckles turned white, holding on for dear life as Aurelia pulled on the reins, steering the dragonfly straight into the sky. With a loud squeal from her and from me, we launched into a rapid flight towards the sun.

32

GIDEON

Sudden agony burst me wide awake.

I was alive—an odd feeling, truly. Alive, but not for long. I knew that. The Queen usually didn’t bother keeping me breathing for her conversations, killing me off before I could blink twice. Each death, each passing, kept me longer and longer veiled beyond the present. The life within me cut and flailed at the ends.

I was glad the twisted black thorns held me up. I wasn’t sure I could stand on my own as my vision darkened and cognizance faded in and out. The Queen was asleep in her chair, worn-out by what I could only imagine was the most excruciating pain she’d ever experienced.

The silver glow of the stars spilled past the arched windows into our room. The steady moonlight landing on my body, the dim light hued with a reddish tint from my blood shields.

I could feel the poisons from the vines mixing with my blood again, their venomous drops quickly making way towards my brain. A few more silent blinks, and I’d die again and again, until I wouldn’t wake up anymore.

The blood barrier was still in place, locked even after my death. It’d stay still forever, trapping the Queen to rot alongside me.

My eyes lingered on the dark horizon, an eerie silence settling deep within me. Maybe it was because I was dying, maybe it was because the little consciousness that I fought to keep was swarmed with pain and anguish, but I let myself blink, making the shields invisible again. Just long enough for me to see the ocean and the star-spangled sky and for a moment, just for a brief moment, let myself hope. Hope that it’d work out. I wasn’t sure how or why. But I’d hope. Because when all the plans and all the strategies were executed and all the bargains played, hope was all I had left.

The ocean’s white peaks reflected the night’s glow.

My mouth was torn with thorns ripping through the bottom of my chin, but I clenched my jaw tighter, fighting for another moment of clarity, of living.

The fire within me was empty, weak, drained by the constant death. But even if I had any of it, it was no use with the Basalt Glass arrow piercing through my heart.

All that immortality and all for nothing. I stifled a groan. A blink and the shields returned to their bloodied tint. I tasted the tangy, bitter poison on my tongue. Death knocked, ready to swallow me into the abyss.

A vile smirk lingered on my face as blood dripped from my lips, and I scattered my last thought.

I had only a second left.

Yes, I was a hopeful fool. But I was also the brutal Destroyer General . . . The thorns moved, tearing through me, and with my last breath, I called upon the Utradecend powers.

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