MATURE FANTASY** He is a predator who thought he captured an ordinary girl... but her mind is sharper than any of his claws.
Ariana lives in the shadow of her monstrous father in a world barely held together by a treaty. Until her lands are invad...
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It felt as though my soul wanted to crawl out of its skin. I was a foreigner within my own body. Every ounce of my being wanted to warn all of our people of the threat heading right for us. Sickness moved through my stomach whenever I heard a child laugh, my mind imagining the laugh turning to horrid screams.
It had been exactly one day since my conversation with the Lysian prince named Erik and now not a single moment went by when I was not haunted by his presence, by his words, and by the looming doom which now surrounded my home and the Bavadrin race.
A dark and terrible storm was heading right for us. One that was invisible to all but very much seen by me. I wanted to scream in warning, but Edda had convinced me that doing so would have caused more harm than good. For her, the storm threatened destruction, but with it came the possibility of giving way to something new and better. I kept remembering that conversation over and over, replaying it in my head and hoping it would make me feel a fraction less guilty.
"As wrong as it may feel, sometimes the best course of action is none at all." Edda had said when I found her after my conversation with Erik.
"But they will suffer. Some will die," I countered.
Her face wrinkled with a knowing smile. "We often feel like we need to do things in turbulent times. It seems unnatural to ride the wave. However, when caught in a riptide, it is those who fight it that often grow tired and drown. It is those who allow the tide to suck them up and spit them back out that then go on to swim another day."
"We can send word to the sparrow archers. They would protect their home." I was desperate. The Bavadrin sparrow archers were not in the city, making it easier for the Lysians to take it. The archers would be able to see the enemy approaching, for their abilities bordered on magic. They had a way with the forest, noticing when something was amiss. They had always been revered by the people, which our leader superior hated. Fraser always assumed he should be the only one others looked up to. So, years ago, he sent the archers away, stating that they needed more practice and that our great city did not need their meager protection. They now made their homes amongst the trees, about a day's journey from what was once the home they swore to always protect.
