Chapter 1- Kegan

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It almost felt impossible that I could learn so much in a week of being brought to the Fire Palace in the Fire city of Bermingham. When I first got the strength to stand up and go stand out on the balcony, after a long conversation mostly of Miles trying to smooth things over with myself and our mother. He acted like a shrink, poking and prodding me for information why I may feel I am not ready to be Queen, why I am so attached to finishing what I started and getting revenge on the Water kingdom, I came to the realization that this was nothing that I anticipated. From the gate it only looked half as beautiful as it was standing midair on a balcony looking below at the people mingling, unaware of the future Queen standing out soaking up the sun and the smoke.

The mountains that I had seen in the distance so long ago weren’t mountains as much as they were volcanoes that spurred and shook the earth once in a while. The air was yes, hot. It stung my throat at first and I couldn’t believe how dry my throat was. Another piece of flaked black skin fell onto my tongue and without alerting them of how gross I was about to be, I quickly removed it from my mouth and let it fall from my fingers. Red flowers that stretched all the way to the ground were homing small little gold and black insects that didn’t look bothered as I picked a flower and brought it up to my nose.

The Queen smiled and stroked my hair leaning in and taking a chance of putting her head close to mine. “They’re called Embothrium lanceolatum,” she smiled pulling a red bud for herself. “They were your obsession when you were a baby.”

I raised an eyebrow. “I was two.”

“Yes, but a fae child is different than a human. A human child is simply that, a small body with barely any intelligence, but a fae child is already using ninety-nine present of its given brain. You knew what you liked and what you wanted young.”

I only stared, not at her but at the flower pinched between my thumb and index finger. It smelled sweet, but it also smelled salty, like something I smelled before. I remembered as I took another whiff and the thought was so painful I almost dropped the flower and stumbled back but I caught myself on the rail. Miles touched the small of my back as if knowing something was wrong.

“We need to help him,” I whispered, just loud enough for them to here and look at me.

“Help who?” My mother locked eyes with me before throwing her bud off the balconies edge. I flinched. I didn’t want it to come out how it did, but as the thoughts and memories came flooding back I began to ease away, in mind and heart. These people wouldn’t help me, couldn’t help me. It was my fight, my reasons. It was Cal who I had to save, me, not them.

“I- I’m sorry…” I stuttered. The pricks of tears stung as they settled in the corners of my eyes. “I need to save Cal, Levi is going to mock me with his capture until I do something a- and even then she might kill him. Kade will help me, it’s not something you two would understand, but I do. Nathaniel even will help me, he’s helped me before and h- he would do something n-now.” I was crying before I could even think of the consequences for being too weak natured when discussing the royal family of Water.

Miles shot my mother a brief look that was skeptical but she smiled gently and put a hand out.

“This will not be necessary to discuss today, you’ve had a rough day and I would like you well rested for the crowning ceremony next week.”

My heart stuttered to a stop, or so it felt. She was right, I couldn’t do anything today. I’d have knights watching my every move today because I was finally awake, I would be under their thumb for a couple days probably before being able to think clearly about how to save Cal, and that was my number one priority.

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