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

Weeping Sun

Then she blinked, and they immediately softened into those kind gemstones that could spellbind anyone who dared gaze at them. "S-sorry," she stuttered, twisting her neck to look at Alia again. "I don't know— I didn't mean it."

"I know," Alia muttered, avoiding Piper's glazed eyes by paying too much attention to the ground. "We're all tired. And hungry."

My stomach growled in response to the reminder that we hadn't seen the shadow of a meal since long before the sun set yesterday. Another stomach growled right beside me.

The blue shade tinting Caiden's cheeks deepened as he clenched his jaw. A faint smile crept into the corner of my lips.

"Maybe we should take a break," Caiden said, clearing his throat when he noticed me staring. "For all of our sakes."

"What good would that do?" Alia asked, snorting as she adjusted her torn sleeves. "We don't have any food, and none apparently grow on this cursed island. Resting would only slow us down and remind us how exhausted we actually are. I say we push through, and—"

A squeal interrupted her as she dropped to the ground, tripped by a sprouting root curling around her ankle. I cringed at the sound of her body crashing and the curses spilling from her split lip.

"What, in the name of the ancient spirits, was that?" she hissed, wiping the blood from her chin with her sleeve.

Piper chuckled faintly. "Maybe it was your body's way of objecting to your brilliant idea and telling you to sit down for a moment or two."

Alia sent Piper a venomous glare as she pushed herself to her elbows. "That root appeared out of nowhere," she snapped. "I would've seen it if—"

She sucked in a sharp breath when she tried to turn, and her ankle didn't follow voluntarily. The skin flushed to a bright orange hue where the root clutched her leg as if it squeezed her.

"It won't let go," Alia muttered through gritted teeth, clawing at the root with her broken nails. Her face twisted into a grim expression of pain as the wood dug deeper into her flesh.

"Alia," I whispered, apprehension raking a long talon down my spine. "Stop fighting it. Only Earth Iridis or Botanics can make vines behave like that. None of us has that ability, so either we're being watched, or there is something on this island none of us has seen before."

Alia stilled, her body paralyzed as if her bones and muscles had frozen to ice. I, too, swallowed the abrasive lump that had settled in my throat.

What if my meeting with Tarkan in those waters hadn't been a dream? What if he was here, laying in ambush and waiting for the right moment to strike?

Cursed blood.

My body wouldn't stop shaking. My heart raced, and my teeth clattered as I anticipated that wretched man's face to emerge from the shadows.

It wasn't until Alia's panicked scream tore open the silent air that I realized he wasn't planning on coming here. He expected us to come to him.

"Alia!" Caiden shouted when she disappeared between the shadows. She clawed at the ground, desperate for something dependable to cling to.

I gritted my teeth. My muscles were already aching at the mere thought of running. There was no way I could do anything to help her, but Caiden could. He could even rival Tarkan in case that maniac turned out to be the culprit. "Go," I said, pushing Caiden away from me. "She needs you!"

Caiden looked back at me with hesitant eyes. "But—"

"Go, Caiden!" I said louder, my voice still too hoarse to shout. "I have Piper. We'll be fine, but we'll lose Alia if you don't hurry. So, go!"