The uncontrollable power lurking beneath Princess Alethia's skin can either be the savior of the Four Kingdoms or its destruction.
Princess Alethia was raised on three principles: (1) Mercy is for the weak, (2) Emotions are an unwanted distraction...
A/N: Thank you to everyone whose stuck through and are still reading this. You guys don't know how much I appreciate it <3 I love reading your comments! They motivate me to keep going regardless of everything. Hope you enjoy this latest update :)
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Alethia rose gingerly to her feet, returning her sword to the belted sheath underneath her cloak.
Sephirah was grinning at her, golden eyes lit with the anticipating spark of battle. Her red hair was tousled, tangling with the grains of sand whipping around her. She stood with a casual arm draped over her monstrous boomerang.
The same weapon that had ignited with flames as it sliced through the corpses raised by the queen. Alethia considered the boomerang a tool most advantageous from a distance. She had never fought against something that towered over her, or a weapon paired with someone as lethal as the Nixian princess.
As if sensing her doubt, her mother's voice invaded her mind in a cold, bone chilling whisper. The penalty for weakness is death. You must not be weak. You must be brutal.
Alethia's jaw tightened at the sound of the unwelcome monotone. Would there ever be a day she escaped the clutches of her mother's teachings?
Sephirah spoke, pulling Alethia out of her internal thoughts, "Let us have a commendable duel."
Nodding in response, Alethia walked through the sand, eyes lowered in an attempt to block the swirling particles from burning them. Her feet sank in the blistering hot grains, forcing her to tighten her muscles as she walked to the enclosed circle.
She continued until she reached the epicenter, turning to see Sephirah holding her boomerang over the sand as she approached. Alethia's grey eyes latched onto the weapon again, ignoring the gusting wind as it attempted to pry her mouth cloth off. She glanced down at the tortuous, burning hot sand that wanted to drag her down into its depths.
Even now, her feet were sinking gradually. Alethia's lips pressed together as she recalled how Ren had seemed to glide across the desert surface.
If he can do it, then so can I.
The twin whose vivid silver eyes glinted with distinct mischief drew her attention as he appeared by the boundary of the circle. Kaleb dangled the hourglass between his fingers as his brother, Kai, stepped to his side.
"Are you ready?" Kai questioned, narrowed eyes glancing from Alethia to Sephirah.
Alethia nodded. She pulled out her sword, the rasp of its release dampening the waves of doubt rising in her stomach. If she couldn't defeat a Nixian, she had no hope of saving the Four Kingdoms.
Did she want to save the Four Kingdoms?
The unexpected question skidded across the serene calm she'd barely managed to obtain, rippling through its surface.
She craved revenge for everything her mother had done, under an ancient puppet's control, as weak as she considered her daughter. That woman had succumbed to a gemstone—to dark magic—killing the only person who had believed in her, who had cherished her. The queen deserved to suffer for crushing her little sister, for twisting and planting seeds in her mind that ultimately led to her betrayal.
