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

A Sea of Stars

I could hear it as Alia inhaled and never exhaled again.

"This goes for the rest of you as well," Art said, raising his voice for us to hear him. "This journey will require you to forget the comfortable life we've left behind. This cave will only be the first of many. There will be no meal served or guards protecting you. We will catch our own food and prepare our own food, but do not let yourself be fooled by the calmness of these surroundings. Nature is not your friend, and we will likely encounter both humans and creatures who will attempt to kill us. So trust nothing and no one but each other."

I gulped as Art reminded me of my life before the Crown Trials.

The Bronze Region may have been my old home, but we'd always been warned about the night and the creatures that lurked in its cloaking shadows.

Eos was probably kicking herself mentally for begging to go on this journey with us by now.

"Good," Art said when none of us protested. "Now, get inside. The morning will be here sooner than you think, and we can't afford to miss a single ray of light. "

Suddenly, heavy hands grabbed my shoulders. "I won't mind holding your hand tonight if you can't sleep."

I bit my lip to suppress the whimper threatening to pass them as Caiden's breath warmed my frozen ear.

Then my heart started beating faster.

I wasn't just going to sleep in the same cave as the girls and Art. I was going to sleep in the same cave as Caiden, our bodies touching in the dark.

A ragged breath warmed my lips as panic washed over me. Was I ready for that?

"Sorry to spoil your plans, Atlas."

Piper suddenly grabbed my wrist and pulled me out of Caiden's gentle grip. Alia joined her side with a smile on her lips.

"We're going to steal your survivor for the night," Alia chuckled as she wrapped her arm around mine, guiding me toward the cave. "We're going to need the heat."

"Come on, Alia," Caiden said.

"You aren't married to her yet, Caiden. So, suck it up and sleep beside your grumpy uncle if you need company."

I looked back with an apologetic expression on my face. However, Caiden had already crossed his arms and was wearing a skewed smile as if he had expected them to take me away from him before he'd offered me the comfort of sleeping in his arms.

"You'll sleep between us," Piper stated, pointing at the dirt-covered floor.

I sighed and took off my bag to lay it where Piper had pointed without objecting. The cave wasn't big, but it wasn't so small that we had to sleep in a pile on top of each other.

Caiden entered after Art, dusting off the floor and the spiderwebs in the corner opposite ours. It didn't look like this was his first time sleeping in a cave, which I hadn't expected.

"How does Arthur expect any of us to sleep in conditions like these?" Alia muttered, fluffing her bag to fit her head. "The ground is cold and hard."

"Shut up, Alia," Piper muttered. "I don't think Prince Arthur is doing this to torture us. It's our only option."

Ironically, I think Alia was the first of us to fall asleep once Art told us to shut up. Piper followed shortly after, but I couldn't seem to find peace. It wasn't just because of Eos' incredible ability to make the ground rumble when she breathed.

I sighed and sat up to stretch my sore back after an hour or so had passed where I'd been tossing and turning without luck. Maybe a short breath of fresh air would do the trick.