The Raven Flame [The Crown Saga III] (First Draft)

Dream Walker

"Mom, wait!" I shouted, leaning forward to stop her, but it was too late.

She twisted the knob, and a sea of flames erupted from the gate, consuming everything within its reach.

"MOM!" I screamed as the blast forced me backward until my feet stumbled over themselves.

Then a pair of arms caught me.

"Magpie?"

I looked back, expecting to see my dad's face, but it was Caiden's arms that had caught me.

"Caiden," I whispered, turning around with frantic eyes to grab his uniform. "My mom, she—"

"You're hurt," he said, gently moving my hand and revealing the pale blue stain my wound had left behind on his shirt.

It was the same wound from before.

I looked around, but we were no longer in front of the burning mansion. Instead, we were in Caiden's room.

Warm hands caressed my cheeks, bringing my eyes to meet the shadow of his. "Let me protect you, Willow," he whispered, leaning closer to me. "I promise that I'll always protect you."

His velvety lips grazed mine, and everything around us disappeared. This was where I belonged.

If only this obscure voice in my head would disappear or at least tell me what it wanted from me. But its voice was faint, and its words unrecognizable.

"I see you're keeping more secrets from me than I've cared to notice."

I gasped when I opened my eyes and found that it was no longer Caiden holding me in his strong arms. It was Tarkan.

He kept me locked in place, his grin as wicked and corrupt as his soul.

The ivory fabric tightened around my torso, suffocating me. Then, the vines from my dress began growing, slithering around my skin like snakes until I could barely move.

"I'm deeply hurt that you haven't felt comfortable sharing your new secret with your fiancé."

Secret?

I looked at my hand, and my eyes widened when they saw the golden substance of my blood trickle down my wrist, past the vines.

It was happening again.

"No!" I screamed, somehow escaping Tarkan's prison and pushing myself away from him.

I stumbled backward until my feet could no longer find solid ground. Then I fell.

Darkness surrounded me. I wanted to scream, but no sound came from my lips, just like when I fell from the tree.

Some kind of warm hill caught my falling body, and I rolled until the slope leveled into a horizontal plane.

My limbs ached, but I'd miraculously escaped the fall unscathed.

I opened my eyes and found myself surrounded by a new sea of sand stretching as far as I could see. The starry sky was dark and pure from light pollution.

"Are you hurt, Child?"

I sat up and saw the lady from my house. She was dressed the same, and I still couldn't see her face.

"You don't seem to be bleeding, but you look lost."

She was right.

My palm no longer ached, and the wound had healed, leaving nothing behind but a faint scar.

"Come with me, Child. I'll show you the way home."

She turned around and began walking. I didn't want to be left alone miles away from the nearest trace of civilization, so I got up.