Book one in "The Reign of The Flame" series
"If she became queen, she would be the end of us all."
A disinherited princess and a kingdom on the verge of ruin.
The birth of twins were once a joyous occasion in Vequera but in the year 602 C.E, it was...
LOCATION(S): VALLEY OF DEATH - EASTCLIFF, ELER - EMBERFELL, VEQUERA
YEAR: 621 C.E
THE SKY SCREAMED ABOVE HIM.
The clouds darkened as rain poured down. He stared up at it with a somber look. Never acknowledging to himself that he hadn't gotten over what occurred in the previous six months, it had taken a toll on him. But he kept everything inside because why would he vocalize it? The gods wept above the valley. It took everything in him not to fall to his knees and cry with them. He stood at the edge of the cliff above the valley. Bodies filled the once-green valley. Some of the bodies had now faded into the earth underneath them and sprouted trees in their wake.
His gaze briefly strayed before settling on her. Her body was still where he had left it. His clothing was matted to his skin as he tried to block all of the memories of his childhood that flooded into his mind. Every laugh. Every smile. Every joke. Now lost in his memory and he could feel them fading away never to be heard again. "Koa?" He turned and Valia was behind him with Mary.
She moved to stand next to him, her shoulder brushing against his as well as her hand. His eye twitched in anger. Arya's death flashed in his mind, and he prayed, "May death find you peace." Koa wasn't stupid. He knew she was not at peace. She never would be not until Nikolai was dead and Valia was on that throne. That was the last thing she wanted, so until then, she would not meet the gods.
Her soul would be trapped in Kisma until then. Like all of the others that died in pain. He let out a shaky breath as he turned to Valia. Gods, he did not want to tell her of Arya's fate. Even though he told her no more secrets.
"She's over there." Valia's eyebrows knitted together in confusion before it dawned on her what he was talking about. There was a shift in her expression. It became darker as she turned to the valley. He silently prayed for the gods to open the earth, so it could swallow him whole. He couldn't tell if the cause of her shaking was from crying or the rain.
Valia stared into the distance for a while not saying a word. Her silence was deafening but the pounding of the rain filled the quietness. He wanted to hug her, but he felt if he did, she would just push him away.
So, he went against it and stepped away from her, not wanting to make it worse than he probably already had. He wanted to help her try to heal the wounds that Arya's death had caused or at least take a step toward any type of healing. Valia was his friend after all, and he cared about her deeply. His hand clenched at his side as he waited for her to react until she fell to her knees and let a scream that caused a shiver to run down his body.
Mary tried to reach out to Valia, but Koa quickly grabbed her wrist, backing away from Valia. She grabbed at the earth under her, and her body shook and this time he knew it was because of Arya. Rain erupted to steam as it struck her skin. Valia rose from the ground ever so slowly. Her fists clenched at her sides. Minutes passed before she turned around. Her dead eyes stared back at him with only two emotions. Rage and determination. She began to walk away but she stopped at him, "I will take everything from him and more." Her promise rang in his ears and he believed her.
"And we will be with you," Koa whispered to himself.
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