Page 52 of A Rising Hope

“And you . . . you might not have raw fire, but your powers are damn close to that. You know that. Gideon knows that. I know that. The whole damn army knows that. Truth Teller or not, you are powerful. Once you drop your delusions thinking we are a match, you are going to find a beautiful,powerfulgirl your age and you two will marry and have a beautiful family and you’ll think of this tragic infatuation with me as a silly joke fromyour youth.” The muscle in her jaw twitched as her eyes darted between mine.

“Are you done spewing utter bullshit?” My gaze darkened, and she looked away. I reached for her chin, tilting her head back to me. Her black eyes were an abyss I wanted to drown in. “Now, let me bevery clear, Commander. I loved you from the moment I saw you. I loved you long before I knew your name and I shall love you long after you forget mine. The world shall turn to dust, and I will still love you, Zora. There is nothing you can do or say to persuade me otherwise. You can deny the truth, you can run from it, but you are mine, just as much as I am yours.” My voice was like a blade, sharp, precise. There was no softness. She didn’t need it. Her chest rose in uneven, jagged breaths. In one blink, my hand wrapped around the back of her neck in a tight hold as I jerked her closer to me. My mouth lowered to hers, as I whispered, “And Zora . . . do notevercall yourselfpowerlessagain. Do you understand?” A command and a warning. One she’d obey.

She swallowed hard but then obediently nodded, the lust spilling from her making me almost drunk as I breathed her alluring smell.

“Good.” I let go of her, both of us straightening up as desire thickly laced the air. One wrong word and there would be no turning back. So I took a step back, giving her the space she thought she needed. “Now that we’ve cleared that up. I believe we have a war to wage.”

38

GIDEON

“Oh good, you are finally awake.” Insanaria’s voice pounded in my ears. “I will admit, gouging your eyes was a bad idea. It’s taken a few days for you to finally come back to life and for them to regrow. I am guessing even your magic, General, is slowly coming to an end.” My eyelids were like lead, impossible to move, but I managed to open one of my eyes just enough to let daylight burn me.

My thoughts stifled, as if covered by a thick black veil, still lost in the abyss. Torturing pain rippled through every cell in my body, but I didn’t scream, didn’t even grunt.

“But the wait was worth it.” The Queen shrugged, taking a step closer to me, as she yanked my head up with a fistful of my hair, forcing me to look out the window. “Because I really wanted you to see this. Seeing you silently suffer has been quite underwhelming. But this should get you excited and more eager. At least one can hope.” Her lips stretched wide. “You see, while you’ve beennapping,I’ve been busy testing your limits. And this—” She trembled, and her eyes rolled. My power in her veins tortured her. I felt it too. My only functioning eye opened wide,terrible nausea recoiled through me, blood gurgled at my lips. “This is the progress I made.”

A little crack in the shields. The most miniscule opening.

The Queen gasped, letting go of the magic, and that little crack disappeared. Her knees buckled, and she stumbled to the chair nearby.

“I am going to kill all your little mages you have been hiding from me. I am going to devour them all. And feed their flesh to you,” the Queen proclaimed. “And this is just the beginning.”

Livid rage burned within me through the Basalt Glass shard wedged deep inside me.

My magic drained. Body hung and torn. Flesh held together only by her poisonous vines.

“You’ll pay for that,” I managed to say. My consciousness flickered in and out. I had to get out of these fucking thorns, but they strung me like I was a puppet, a doll, stabbed with a million needles.

“No,youshall pay for your games,” she hissed, a victorious look lingering on her face.

“I don’t play games I don’t win, Insanaria. But you’ll learn that soon enough,” I slurred, managing a single commanding blink. She shrieked, my blood in her veins turning to acid as she clawed her skin raw.

Darkness called my name once more.

And I fell.

39

FINNLEAH

The wind rushed past my ears as a small group of scattered islands appeared on the horizon illuminated by the bright sun. The long cliffs stood tall, topped with green hills above like little specks of paint on a deep blue canvas below. I steered us down, lowering the dragonfly until its threefold legs hit the ground. Priya swore, already jumping off the creature.

“Never fucking again,” she hissed, her dark skin gave an unhealthy green undertone in the dazzling daylight. But after a few curses, she finally paused, looking around.

“Where are we?”

“A good place for lunch,” I mumbled, unbuckling myself. I hopped off the creature myself, making way down the narrow, pebbled path towards the village. Priya begrudgingly trailed behind me.

By the time we made it to the house with a very odd glass tower, the human village was bustling with activity. Homes were built, lines of laundry hung up, chickens running around.

My hand rose to knock on the door, but before I made a sound, Aurelia opened it.

“You are right on time.” She smirked, and then glanced behind me to where Priya stood, giving her a scrutinizing stare. “She’s pretty, but mean. I don’t like mean people.”

“And I don’t like people that blabber,” Priya snarled behind me, and I turned with a warning look at her.

“Aurelia, this is Priya. Priya, this is Aurelia.” I smiled at them both.

---