Page 25 of The Curse of a Kingdom
She moved on her perch, feeling the rough texture of bark beneath her wooden claws. Anger flared in her chest as she took in the destruction. Embers blew in the wind with fallen trees, and the cry of animals surged within the chaos beneath.
Her body faded, becoming pollen, dirt, and leaves as it traveled to the ground. Pain scorched through her skin at the heat. She bared her teeth at the demon; its black, beaded eyes came to her and the rumble of a growl started in its chest as it lunged for her.
Nava moved out of the way, and her sharp wooden claws slipped over the demon’s chest. Her hands burned from the contact, but its chest split open, showing embers of magma behind the wound.
It screamed, and the fire behind her claw marks subsided as nature reclaimed the demon’s body. Branches grew from its heart, and its pained scream filled the air.
At some point, Nava would’ve been sorry to see a life sucked away like this, but not with a Zorren, their mortal enemy. Not when she was so angry.
It was the nature flowing through her that called on the dying trees, and its branches swung low, catching the demon and sending it flying up in the air. It became a pile of ash and fire when it landed.
The demon materialized back in front of her, and she attacked it again, slicing over its head and neck. It cried out, its eyes staring right at her before they grew slack, and slowly it dissipated in the air, following the ash of the burning forest.
Nava gasped for air as she woke, drenched in sweat beneath layers of silky blankets. She studied the room but found no ash and no forest, and definitely no demon.
In the green room, she was still a prisoner in the Copper Kingdom.
However, she knew deep within this had not been a dream but a reality for Ari. It wasn’t the first time she’d dreamed of him this way. He usually was awake in the forest while she slept. It had been the first time she’d seen a Zorren, however, and she hadn’t been there to help him.
A ray of lightning illuminated the dark sky, and a few moments later, thunder rolled in the distance, and wind swept into the room like a storm. Nava rushed to her feet and ran across the room to close the terrace's doors as the rain fell sideways, drenching everything in its path.
The gods were angry, and the Zorren had arrived in this kingdom. A coincidence? Unlikely. The three of them in this land just meant the demons would gravitate here, right?
Unlike the rain in Grey Island, this was unnaturally warm, as if the sky was telling her hell was coming. Releasing Arkimedes from this new curse of amnesia was her first job.
After quickly closing the wood doors, Nava wrapped her arms around her body and stared out past the terrace to the forest that surrounded the palace. It had been raining a storm where Ari was, much like this one, which meant he was there, waiting for her.
Nava needed to get to that forest, away from these four walls that constricted her. It was true the bracelet didn’t work on canceling her magic. However, it numbed her skin with whatever power it had, like mild poison.
The likelihood of her leaving the palace was low, and making a plan with Devon had become another hurdle. In hindsight, she wished she had gotten an adjacent room to the Crow. Maybe both of them would have better luck finding a way out of this mess.
Where was her soulmate? He had to still be in the palace and close by since she hadn’t been dreaming of him. She’d half expected to see him at some point.
They had locked the doors of this bedroom, and even though she had been speaking to the door every day, no one answered. It was almost embarrassing that the first couple of days in the room, she hadn’t wanted to get out of bed, the heaviness in her heart too strong. She had cried until she’d had no tears left and her head hurt.
Nava wasn’t sure what she was mourning. Her stolen memory or the fact that Arkimedes also didn’t remember her and their love story had been sabotaged in such a horrible way. She missed Cameron, Aristaeus, and Laurie.
Then after sadness had come anger. He had been the one locking her in this room, even though he didn’t intend to visit. Devon had likely gotten more attention since he was remembered fondly, maybe had even been outside of his gold room.
Leela, the redheaded maid, had brought her food every day but hadn't stayed or said much. The message was loud and clear. Arkimedes didn’t give a flying rat's ass about her. After getting a sneak peek of the nightmare Ari was going through, Nava understood she had been wallowing in her self-pity long enough.
* * *
The sun had come up to the highest point in the sky, casting sharp shadows. Nava couldn’t stay inside this room for a moment longer. She grasped the brass door handle, shaking it with pent-up frustration. The thing didn’t budge.
She pounded on the heavy wood so hard the skin at the heel of her hand discolored purple and blue. “You can’t keep me a prisoner here forever!”
No answer.
A sensation crawled over the back of her skull, and the oppression in her chest grew stronger. The energy in her body had dwindled since this morning, and she didn’t know if it was because Ari needed her. Not being able to touch the rough texture of wood or the leaves and dirt and bask in the scent of the forests had to be affecting her.
There was no guard by the door. She hadn’t heard or seen anyone during the time she’d been locked inside the hellhole. Hitting the door again, she put more strength into it this time. “If you are there, let me out at once.”
Silence.
The weight of her skull touched the cool surface. She took in air deeply, trying to calm her ragged breathing. Not knowing how long she stood there, she opened her eyes with new resolve.
It was time to stop avoiding using her Beekeeper magic. Nava had transferred before—granted, with the direct guidance of Aristaeus, but she knew how to do it. She was not as helpless as the king intended her to be, and the thought comforted her.
