Chapter One - The Night That Watches
Elara's POV :
"My dearest Aria, today marks the.." my father's voice echoed through the large Valen halls. Multiple families were gathered.
Tonight was the night we remembered my mother, and I couldn't bear the walls of the house anymore. Grief has a way of clinging to you, a shadow that whispers louder than any voice.
The overwhelming sadness I felt combined with the thick clouds of grief in the air began to choke me. With a lowered head, I slowly stepped out and ran out of the house. I let my feet take me to the hills.
When I realized where I was, my blood ran cold. The air chilly, and darkness had descended on the land. I hadn't noticed it was so late.
The chill in the air carried a metallic tang, like rain over rust or blood before it hit the ground.
The forest was a dangerous place at night. It has a way of distorting reality, of pulling at the mind until one couldn't tell truth from illusion.
I let a flame curl to life in my palm when I heard it.
A snap of a branch, too deliberate to be an animal. I froze, flame dimming as my senses sharpened. I quickly moved behind a tree nearby, preparing myself to release my fire.
There, under the shining moon, a figure moved. This figure wasn't running, no sound of feet. He was gliding, shadows folding unnaturally around him, folding like smoke, swallowing the earth.
I tried to look away, tried to tell myself it was just a Shadow weaver or the forest's illusions but I just couldn't. A man I didn't notice suddenly fell to the ground, blood streaming down his throat. The assassin, someone or something I'd never seen before stood over him as if savoring the terror in the air.
Its eyes met mine. Hollow, empty and dark but glinting with something alive that made my stomach drop.
My pulse leapt. I knew, somewhere deep in the marrow of my bones, that this being wasn't human.
"Stay calm." I muttered under my breath before I let my flames erupt, circling me like a shield and moved swiftly. I could feel it staring, boring holes in my back. It was following me. I didn't dare look back.
I stumbled and crashed to the floor. I looked up and nothing.
The cold vanished. The trees vanished. I was back on the hills. My chest heaved and my flames spluttered and died.
"What the hell just happened?" I wondered.
I was just there, running. I knew what I saw then it all just vanished.
The hill was silent until a stone cut through the air, snapping me back into the world. My flames rose immediately, a testament to my paranoia.
I turned to see long rose-gold hair and green eyes.
"Woah there. Paranoid much?" Lira spoke.
"What are you doing here at such an odd hour? Don't lie, you are horrible at it." She asked.
"I came to mourn in peace." I respond dryly.
She snorts and drops beside me. "Very dramatic. Also illegal, I had to use a veil mist to get in."
I flick a spark at her shoulder. She yelps.
"Rude," she complains, rubbing the spot. "One day, you'll set me on fire and convince yourself it was an accident." I laughed instantly.
Lira was a gifted rune smith. We met the year before when I accompanied my father to the House of Seers but we didn't become friends until a few months ago. She was chaos wrapped in confidence, all quick smiles and quicker hands.
She didn't have powers but she could create magical objects and symbols to heighten others' powers. A gifted rune smith. She was always testing one potion or another to create a box of jewels.
She wanted to create twelve unique jewels, each having its own power and the ability to heighten its wearer's magic. She called it "The Luminara."
"You quite literally almost did right now. What got you so worked up?" So I told her. I narrated everything I saw and felt.
"That's quite odd. You were at the forest though, it's widely known for its tricks. It probably sensed your deep emotions and decided to play with it." She explained. I thought about what she said, it made sense but my feelings would disagree.
Her eyes flick to the stars. "Are you signing up for the Trials?"
"Yes," I say without hesitation. I look up to the star, my star, the Flame Star. It shined brightly in the dark.
"Then I'll be watching," she says softly. "Try not to die."
She leaves soon after, her footsteps fading into the dark.
I don't follow her back.
My thoughts travel back to the forest. The scenes replay in my head. Shadows, blood, hollow eyes, flames, they all felt so real but how did everything disappear?
I crept back slowly into the house.
Inside, the corridors have grown quiet. My feet find their way to my mother's chambers. I was about to slip in when I noticed the door was open. Elias stands inside, staring out the window, fire flight catching in his hair. My twin held a book in his palm, my mother's favorite novel.
I turn away.
I try to wash and scrub every inch of the forest and the assassin away from my body.
Sleep comes slowly and when it does, it brings no comfort.
Later, my fathers knocks break the silence.
"Elara, where did you go? I was so worried." He wrapped me in his arms as he saw me.
"I'm not fifteen anymore dad." I jokingly said and he released me from his arms.
"I know. I trust you but today was her remembrance Elara, it was dark and I know you can protect yourself but please, I can't lose you too." My eyes shone with tears. He kissed my forehead and left the room.
His words stuck to me and reminded me of her. She would've said the same thing.
Grief isn't just pain, it is the absence of what gives life meaning. It is a ghost that refuses to stop calling your name. A love that is left with nowhere to go.
My heart felt heavy all over again.
I walked to my bed and watched the stars. I looked outside the window, a single star burning brighter than the rest. It felt like it was watching me, gentle and familiar.
And then it flickered, like a wink. Fast, almost as if I had imagined it. It was strange but cute. I didn't know if that was normal but I decided to pretend it was her, reminding me she was with me.
Her light would always keep me safe. I took that thought and let it lull me to sleep.