The Upside-down (Norminah)

Destiny Fulfilled

《Solàna》

Giselle and I were the last two people to make it back to camp. It looked like dinner was just getting started. Mani bumped into us as we were walking, her and I embracing as Giselle and Dinah greeted one another.

"How was training?" she asked me. "Did your Phoenix spirit fully manifest?"

I flexed my wings for her and her eyes lit up with wonder.

"It did," I smiled. "She's amazing! Giselle knew exactly what to do! But we found something out that we need to tell you all."

Her smile faded as she looked at me.

"Is it bad?"

"Not bad per say. But it gives us clarity on why we're really fighting. I'm afraid I misjudged the situation at hand. There will be a battle...a great one...but not for the reasons we thought..."

Normani followed me until we were with everyone else. They were all seated by the fire, Giselle coming to sit next to me before placing the book down in front of everyone. They all marveled at its gold trimming. I looked at Mani and saw her staring at it in wonder.

"Làna..." she said, "...is this?"

"The Scribes of the Phoenix," I smiled. "It is. We thought it was lost to us. But it's been nestled in a library deep in these woods."

"It was fate that we found it," Giselle said. This revealed to us the real reason why we're preparing to fight."

My Phoenix spirit stirred as Giselle threw the scribe into the fire. The pages didn't burn. Its sparks formed fiery visuals to help explain what her and I had discovered. It showed my nana's last moments on this earth, her Phoenix spirit separating from her human spirit, the hunters...everything. When all was said and done, the fire dwindled, me going in to retrieve the scribe.

"So," Dinah said, "your great grandmother is on our side?"

"Not yours," I said. "Mine. The hunters that killed off our people are still out there looking for me. If they get me, the Phoenix lineage will truly die forever. The reason my nana destroyed our home is because she knew they would do the same to try and find me. She was protecting us from them."

"But why is she threatening to use our homes as a vantage point?" Mani asked.

"The two of you belong to the most powerful kingdoms in the earthly realm," I said. "She needs all the power she can get in order to protect what's left of our people...what's left of my lineage. If there's a chance for the Phoenix to be reborn after I'm gone, the people that are after me need to perish."

"Have you been able to communicate with your great grandmother since finding all of this out?" Lauren asked.

"No," I said. "I don't know how to. My Phoenix spirit has been separated from her for years. I wouldn't even know how to go about trying."

I looked at Giselle as her eyes widened. She looked back at me and smiled.

"Come home with me..." she said.

I chuckled beside myself before caressing her cheek.

"You know I want nothing more," I told her, "but we can't put your people at risk."

"My love, you don't understand," she said. "There's a place in my queendom you can go to reach loved ones of the past. We can all take refuge there before going to battle. But we must leave now. Time is running out."

I looked to everyone else. Everything was happening so fast. There was still a lot we needed to discuss. I felt Giselle's hand on mine, willing me to look at her.