Fire's Determination

I stared down at the names on the scroll in front of me. Twenty-seven. Almost thirty more of us, gone. Dead and abducted. There were twelve on the list that were found dead at the site. The other fifteen were unknown. Either captured or killed. Without bodies, we had no way of knowing. I rubbed at my eyes, the weariness of the past few weeks weighing on me heavier with this news. I stood up, pushing the chair back and my mother's eyes moved to me. She looked as tired as I did, but there was a determination there that I admired. "Your father and I can take care of this, go and get some rest, Lyra. I'll send word if anymore news reaches us." I nodded mutely, not trusting myself to speak right then. It had been weeks since I'd gotten a good night's sleep, and I knew tonight would be no better. Those names, their faces... They'd haunt me along with my past tonight. The halls of the Villa were quiet as I trudged down them. I couldn't think of a way out of this. Every time we tried to

I was standing on the balcony of the Southern edge of the Villa, my hands resting on an intricately carved banister, the wood sliding smoothly across my palms as my hands moved comfortingly over the familiar surface. I'd just arrived a few minutes ago, having sent one of the other mages to fetch mother while the wind I was heating up whipped through my hair. "Lyra," my mother said in greeting and I turned my head to the side to offer Sylvren, the Queen Mage a nod and a small smile. The events of last night still hung around her eyes and my heart clenched. "Good morning, mother," I offered soflty and the queen mage came to stand beside me, joining me in looking out over the expanse of swirling mist that separated the mages island from the mainland. "I've received a reply from the kingdom of Scepterfall," my mother began. Straight to business, like always. There was no need to fill time with small talk whenever Sylvren Belle was involved. "Kingdom?" I asked, shooting her a glance. "

I sat down heavily on the edge of my bed, looking out the window at the setting sun. Chewing my bottom lip as I debated whether or not I should go talk to Gil. I knew I had hurt him, and that I should apologize. But how could I do that? I could never be around him and not try my damnedest to protect him from being hurt. It made me feel so conflicted whenever we got in any kind of argument. Then all he ever had to do was flash those sad, puppy-like eyes at me, and whatever I had to say dried up in my throat if I thought it had even the smallest chance of hurting him. Then somehow, it almost always ended with his fingers between my legs. Or worse, his tongue. "Ugh," I groaned, dragging my hands down my face as I fell back on my bed so I was looking up at the ceiling. "I'm the absolute worst, aren't I?" I asked the empty air. Truth was, I had felt such strong protectiveness over Gil ever since his parents were killed. Watching him and his siblings go through losing their parents like t

"Lyra!" My father hissed behind me, as he thundered through the trees on my heels. Branches whipped past me as I ran, stinging my cheeks and bared arms whenever I failed to block them. "We need to save her, dad." I shot back in a loud whisper. "We can't lose another one," I said, feeling panicky. The thought of us losing another life, just a single one if I could possibly stop it was too much. I pushed my legs to move faster. We paused, listening for Carmella's call for help again. "Carm?" I asked, tentatively and keeping my voice just above a whisper so as not to alert the nearby humans. I was hoping we could find her fast enough. Find her before they did. "Help!" Another scream, she still sounded far enough off that I knew she hadn't heard me call for her. "I don't think she knows a hunting party is nearby," my father rushed out as we took off again. I nodded in response, not wasting my breath with more words. I was already pulling my fire forward when we broke into a clearing,

I gasped and sat bolt upright. My eyes looking around frantically, trying to figure out where I was. Ellis swam into view, relief and awe both written on her face. Then I felt it. Like dark tethers that rooted out from me, connecting me to every life force around me. I looked up into Ellis's face and could feel her life force pulsing in front of me. I could feel all their life forces throbbing around me. One of them was so weak already... I flinched, pulling back the magic and slamming it down far inside me. Soon as I had, Ellis took a deep breath like she suddenly felt better. She shook her head as if she were confused by the feeling but offered me a small smile. "You know, a normal mage would've been out cold for days," she mused, pressing the back of her palm to my forhead. I waved her off, watching her face closely for signs of supsicion or something like it. "How long was I out?" I asked, throwing the blanket off, ignoring Ellis's attempts to get me to lay back down. I couldn't