"The enemy will always cheat, Isla, you need to be prepared for anything."
Isla and her siblings have lived in a cave for as long as they can remember with no memory of how they got there or who they were before. They only remembered two things...
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Again I don't know if I've used this photo or not! It was taken in Scotland!
"How am I going to address all of Shadow?" I ask. "Shadow is such a huge country, I can't be everywhere at once," I explain to the others as we ride into the city.
"You see that stone disk in front of the bank, on the floor. It looks a bit like a stage," Oliver says. I look over and see it. It is basically a circle stage or standing platform protruding from the ground. I nod my head.
"Well, there's a shifter who can project sound and images to other points in shadow." My eyes widen, that is a very strong power.
"These blocks are in every town, village and city."
"So the shifter will project our bodies and voices all over shadow through these blocks?" Tanya asks.
"It is as though you'd be standing there in person."
"How do we know if everyone is listening?" Serenity asks.
"We got him to send out a voice message that there is soon to be an important announcement, everyone will have gathered by now." I gulp. I'm going to be addressing a lot of people. A crowd has already formed in front of this stage. A big one a that. All of the city is standing in the streets looking at the small stage where we will all stand. All the royal children. Future rulers and their siblings. I stop, nerves fluttering through me. Serenity looks at me.
"Isla, don't panic," she smiles at me. "You are a queen and a strong woman. Speak from your heart like you did with the High Queen. If you speak confidently against her, then you can speak confidently to anyone." I nod my head. She smiles warmly and adjusts my crown on my head.
"We are strong," she looks at all of us royals. We are all nervous. "Be the rulers you were born to be." We all nod and make our way to the stage. Shifters part for us as we all walk and it is silent. I notice a single shifter standing on the stage. He bows and I guess that it is the one who'll be sending our message.
"When you're ready," he speaks. I take a deep breath and step onto the platform. When we're all standing, I look at him and nod my head. He smiles and I watch as his eyes change, going completely white. I try not to think about the fact that right now, my image is being shown to every shifter in Shadow. I begin.
"Good Afternoon," I start, my voice thankfully staying even. "You may have been expecting to see our High Queen and ruler, Queen Katrina standing on this podium in front of you today. However, it is us who address you. Your future rulers and myself, the current Queen of Zola." I take another deep breath. "As most of you are aware, this morning Shadow was attacked." I let a little anger fill my voice. "An explosion caused by NightShade magic killed one hundred and twelve shifters, fifty-seven of those were children. Seventy-two died upon impact. Another twenty-six died in pain, screaming as they were getting crushed by rubble or burned by the flames. The last fourteen have died since, succumbing to their injuries which were too great even for the most powerful shifters with healing magic." I had been told all the figures before going on stage. "Another Fifty-six are still needing major medical attention and will be permanently scarred for life. Lost limbs, burn scars." I stop again. "Only forty-two made it away with only minor injuries, myself included." My face, neck and back are still burned and I know the shifters can all see it. It doesn't look fresh though, the skin is disfigured and red but it will disappear soon.
