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

Ancient Scripture

I didn't resist Caiden like I did back then. Instead, I embraced his warmth as if he were the sun and I were a tree craving his restorative energy. He was already healing me.

"Will!"

Piper's eyes were as wide as her favorite teacups as she leaned over my tranquil body. Strands of her blond hair stuck to her bluish lips, and her forehead was damp.

"Piper," I said, my eyes heavy with sleep. "You got out too?"

Caiden slowly put me down, not letting go of me until I proved that I could stand on my own feet. My muscles still ached, but it wasn't unbearable.

Alia and Eos stood a little further behind her, speaking quietly. Art almost blended with the shadows, his angry face only lit by the burning breath of a flame as he towered over Raina.

"Of course, we got out, you dummy!" Piper chided. "Prince Arthur teleported us here when that royal bastard took off your mask. Why didn't you get out of there the first moment you learned that your disguise had been compromised!"

My pain bounced between the empty cave walls as Piper violently flicked my brow with her icy nail.

"Piper!" Caiden exclaimed, but she brushed him off.

"S-sorry," I said, rubbing the new bruise to dim the pain. "I wanted to give you guys a chance to get out so you could find the Golden Cave."

"That's a bad excuse," Piper muttered before she smacked her palm against the bruise. "You know we could never leave you behind anyway."

A faint smile settled at the corner of my mouth as Piper's healing abilities erased the bruise again. "Sorry," I whispered. "I promise not to be so reckless next time."

"Good," Piper said, removing her hand from me again. "But let's hope there won't be a next time."

I chuckled, my fingers itching to throw my arms around her. I'd never, in my wildest dream, dared to believe that my participation in the Crown Trials would allow me to have this — a new addition to my family.

"Hold up," Piper said before I could step forward. "What's that?"

Wrinkles creased the bridge of my nose as Piper reached out to rub my cheek with her thumb. "How did your lipstick end up all the way up there? Did you have to fight to get away?"

I stopped breathing. Only one incident could've caused my lipstick to smear like that — an incident I wanted more than anything to erase from the written words of time.

"What?"

Caiden suddenly stood before me like a lingering shadow, with piercing eyes staring down at me. His mouth was tense; the corners turned downward. "C-Caiden," I whispered before his hand grabbed me by my jaw.

Was he going to kiss me? In front of everyone.

I squeezed my eyes shut and braced myself for Caiden's lips to claim mine. But instead, a rough and unpleasant texture abraded my skin as Caiden violently wiped my lips with his sleeve.

"Hey!" Piper exclaimed, grabbing Caiden's arm to keep him from tearing my lips bloody. "What is going on with you, Atlas? You've had a perpetual scowl etched onto your face since you stepped in here."

Caiden flexed his jaw as he searched my face for residue traces of his brother. Then he let me go to turn his back on us. "Calix kissed her."

"What?" Piper whispered, furrowing her brow as her gaze caught mine. "Is that true?"

I bit the inside of my cheek, avoiding her gaze. "H-he caught me off guard," I admitted, curling my hand into a fist behind my back. I still hated myself for trusting my instincts toward that trickster so blindly. I couldn't rely on anything I thought I knew about him.