Solar Song, Frozen Fate ✓ | lion girl, frenemies, frost curse

Chapter 14: Not Alone

"Hello?" Sovanna called. "It's your Praenglutha," she added in a quiet voice, suddenly realizing how empty the place felt as if she were the only one here.

Sovanna picked her way across rubble and fallen relics, some broken to pieces. In the back was the source of the glow.

A leatherbound book with glowing engravings of vines sat in the dust. Sovanna brushed her paw across it and undid the buckle. It looked exactly like the Tome of Song that Oolid had. The glow she thought was coming from the engravings was actually coming from inside, seeping through the pages. She flipped to the page and shielded her eyes.

On the paper after short or long lines of words, a blank space followed, and new words were being scrawled into the book with a bright golden light. It continued where the last word left off. Right after "If".

Her heart thumped. It was the continuation of the poem about her race. The one claimed to be the prophecy.

She read the rest out loud as it went by. "If the power of the sun falls in its place / the sun will be freed from binding and shadow / and sing its solar song / rising and setting alone."

Then above the entire poem, "Solar Song" was inscribed.

"You have five days," came her own voice behind her. Sovanna turned to find a Kaunlutha her age who looked like her, but who had brown and black in her mane.

"Who are you?"

The Kaunlutha smiled. "Guess?"

"You sound like me."

"I wanted to meet you, Sovanna. To warn you."

Sovanna blinked at the Kaunlutha as she grew into an adult. She recognized the female from a picture Rathana drew. Her heart swelled with joy to finally meet the one who gave her life.

She ran into her mother's arms, but passed right through to the other side. She ran back and the same thing happened.

Tears pricked her eyes. She wanted to hug her mother and bury her face in the warm fur. "I-I," She stumbled over her words as her voice caught, "Mam—"

"Oh, Sovanna, I know. I could have but now I don't have time. I begged Aurvandil to let me come and it was only for so long. I used up all the time already to let you see what he's decided before anyone else. Look," She pointed behind Sovanna, "it already fades."

The Tome of Song was fading as if its only purpose was to show Sovanna the rest of Solar Song.

She turned to Kiyamanuva. "But what does it mean?"

"You have five days until sun hides behind shadow of moon. It's strongest before then. You have window to use your full power. Destroy frost beast before it does you."

Sovanna bristled. "Five? But it'll take a week to—"

"And if you fail, yes, the Ater may work in your favor for a moment but then it will burn too much and be too out of control. After that, the frost beast will move in for the kill."

Her vision tunneled. "It can't be changed? I can't rewrite it?"

"You must leave now, Sovanna, to Drazlesk in the far north," Kiyamanuva reached out and then gritted her teeth. Her one paw solidified and she caressed Sovanna's cheek. It was warm and that one touch filled with love. Sovanna rubbed her cheek against her mother's paw in yearning. After a moment, the rest of Kiyamanuva's body began to fade.

"Mama!" Sovanna called and grabbed the paw, holding it tight, but it, too, began to fade and her fingers slipped through. She reached for the paw again, but it had lost substance. "What do I do?"