Kingdom Dawning

Chapter Fourteen

"I can be mean!" I protested, What was I doing? I had no time for this, yet here I was. I was getting distracted from my goal, risking both our lives. 

"Oh, really? Prove it," He said with a small smile. I couldn't think of what to say or do to prove my badness, so I growled at him. He began to laugh harder than he had before. 

"You proved yourself pure evil Cyra, come on let us head to the ball before Zydan hunts me down," when he turned to reach for his black coat I sighed in relief and quickly thought of a spot to hide the bomb that was now hot from my sweat. I looked down at it to see a bright green five flashing at me from the glass; I was guessing that meant 5 minutes, and that meant I needed to move fast. I slide the bomb across the wooden floor and out of Arksel's eyesight. I gripped Arksel's arm and tugged him out of the room.

"Come on we need to go..all the best food is going to be gone see, and I don't want to arm wrestle an old lady for the last strawberry.." I got Arksel out of the room before he stopped 

"What's got you so worked up Fawn?" He sounded more dangerous now that we were out of the library and in front of others. I thought Leillan said no one would be here? 

"Nothing I just really need to get back to the ball,"

"Fawn-"

An explosion

Bright fire 

Burning pages drifting through the air

I was sent flying across the hall, and my head cracked against the marble floor. I felt the sting of cuts all over my body, and my world was closing in on me. A guard ran over and started yelling at me, asking me questions. His words came off as a jumbled mess. 

 "Don't move!" was all I could make out from reading his lips. Then I felt the earth shake and more screaming. All the windows around me shattered into a million pieces, and the chandler a few feet from my head fell. 

 "Another one....ballroom" No that was wrong. Leillan said this would be the only one. She promised me no one would get hurt. The guard ran away from me, and I tried to lift my body off the floor. My chest cried out for air that wasn't smoke-filled, and my blood slid past my eyes. I stood to my feet only to come down hard on my knees. I saw my vision was too blurry and dark to see anything other than the pile of rubble that was once the room I had been in and curtains that were now being eaten by fire. A herd of people ran past me so quickly I had to press myself up against the wall to keep from being trampled. 

Where is Arksel?

Where is Quillian? 

Why did Leillan lie?

I felt someone pick me up bridal style. I had no idea who they were, and when they spoke their words went right over me.

Where is Arksel?

Where is Quillian?

Why did Leillan lie?

I felt my eye slowly close, but the person holding me shook me awake. My body went limp. My eyes grew heavy against the person's efforts to keep me up. Even my own thoughts began to make no sense to me. They were a mixed up cluster of words and phrases that I couldn't focus on. I let my eyes close as the person carrying me ran with the crowd of people.

I woke up to bright light in my face, and I hissed in pain. My body felt too tired to move even an inch, so I just closed my eyes. 

"Hey, may you please turn that off!" I groaned

"Oh, I am so sorry! Gosh silly of me to shine that right in your eyes," a voice I didn't know rambled on. I opened my eyes again to see a small framed boy with light brown hair and almost white eyes. I sat up a bit and looked around the room. Someone had carried me all the back to my room. My memory was so fuzzy I barely remember anything past the explosion.

"Do I know you?" I asked, my voice sounded more tired than I meant it to.

"Oh no! you don't, sorry I am still new to this whole healer thing...I am Aedin Golsin; You were pretty banged up after the explosion. Zydan found you in the hall bleeding all over the place and POOF now you're here!" he had a cheesy smile on his very freckled face.

"Zydan brought me here?"

"Yeah, I was not in the mood to see you die on the castle floor so.." My eyes snapped to the door where Zydan stood. 

"I am not the strongest healer. Your left leg is still pretty injured," he said, biting his lip sadly, his eyes looked up at me with regret. Regret that his powers couldn't fix me completely.

"You did amazing Aed," Zydan walked over and rested a hand on Aedin's shoulder before kissing his lips softly. I looked between them a bit shocked. In Recline, I never saw a boy kiss another boy. My mind felt like it was doing flips in my head. I wasn't against it. I found it rather beautiful. Zydan looked puzzled at me.

"You okay there?" Aedin asked me, his ghostly eyes back on me, a light blush covered his face.

"Y-yeah I just didn't know you two were...or that Zydan even like...I didn't think," My head began to hurt. "Where is Arksel? Is he okay? He was close to the explosion too," 

"Arksel will be just fine. He has the kingdom's best healers working on him, hell I wouldn't be surprised if he came out better than before, I was more worried about you. Your head was cracked, leg was broken, glass in your skin and burns all over you," Zydan explained. 

"We should go Zydie. Let her rest. After all, you have been through Cyra I am surprised you are even awake right now, I apologize for leaving so soon, but there are many others that need my help. Please if you ever need me, come find me," Aedin put a hand on mine before hopping off my bed. They left my room quickly, and I slowly sat up. My body burned with every movement, but I kept going. I got out of my bed and over to a mirror. My skin was covered with healed over cuts and burns. My dress was burned, torn all over, and blackened from the smoke and ash. My hair was a puffed up frizzy mess with pieces of glass that glimmered in the light. Soon my left leg began to wobble a bit, and I had to sit on the floor. I ran my hand over the glass as I looked at my reflection. Did Leillan know about the second bomb and did she know people would get hurt? My heart began to break; she would never lie to me. We never would lie to each other.

 "WHERE IS HE!" I heard Aleta scream so loudly it made my head begin to pound again. I smiled a bit as I laid down on the cold stone floor. Quillian escaped, soon I felt my smile lower into a grimace. He escaped but at what price? Delaney ran into my room with a broad smile on her face.

"Well looks like someone isn't as spineless as I thought," She stuck out her hand to help me up, but I didn't take it. I didn't need her help to gain the power to stand. 

"Did you know about the second bomb Delaney?" I gritted my teeth. She sighed disappointedly

"Come on, why focus on that when we got Quillian out!" 

"I was promised no one would get hurt," I crossed my arms over my chest.

"Do you have to be such a baby? We have weakened Vinick and got someone out yet you are worried about if people get a cut or two? Who's side are you on?" she towered over me with a dark glare.

"I am on the side that doesn't attack the innocent to get ahead. If that means I am in my own side fine," I straightened my back and stared back up at her. I was never a strong person, but right now, the anger I felt pushed me to be tougher than I have ever been before. 

"Fine then, do not ask for any help from me until you find you're done pretending the Vinick aren't all sinister," She hissed at me before marching out of my room. I felt so furious at Delaney. I wanted to punch something or yell. To release my pent up boiling feelings like the explosion that shook the castle. I was lied to, I was used, and I caused so much pain to others. I grabbed the metal lamp that sat near my bed and hurled it at my mirror. The glass shattered was a fierce burst and a crisp cracking sound. My reflection was now jagged and disproportioned. This whole war was like this mirror. Cracked up in every direction until the final product barely resembled its first purpose.

{what are your guy's opinion on the whole explosion? And what about Aedin, will be tough enough to make it through the war?}