The sound of shattering ice jerked Sephirah out of her deep sleep. She leapt to her feet, half-opened eyes doing a sweep of her surroundings as her arms raised defensively.
"If you're planning to fight the sun, then please do," Aydin said. Sephirah blinked sheepishly, running her fingers through the bird's nest on top of her head. She cringed as she pulled on a ball of knots in her hair.
The scorching sun was inexorable as she bent down to roll up her blanket and shove it inside of the pommel bag. She stared at the bag with a wary expression. Despite all of her training, she still dreaded carrying the hefty thing and her boomerang through the feet-sucking sand and a traitorous, brutal sun.
Even she had her limit. And that limit was steadfastly approaching.
Nova dove down instantly, dropping onto Sephirah's shoulder with a quick snap of her feathered wings. Sephirah grimaced at the added weight. But she knew Nova had been flying for hours to stay away from the sandstorm; the least she could do was give her companion a ride.
Sephirah yanked out her canteen, parched tongue dry as sandpaper. She drank from the water, ignoring its overly warm temperature as it quenched her dying thirst. Sephirah poured some of the liquid into her cupped palm, allowing Nova to stretch out her neck and drink from it.
She dug inside of the contents of the bag, feeding her bird some berries. Then, she slung on the bag and strapped on her boomerang. As the burden of everything settled onto her shoulders, the others began fastening on their cloaks and mouth cloths. Sephirah hurried to do the same.
Vultures were taking over the blue sky. Threatening hisses and grunts came from them as they circled, looking for anything they could eat. Heatwaves caused the air in front of them to blur like the inside of an oven.
Alethia pointed off into the distance, her eyes squinting against the intensity of the sunlight. "Look there."
Sephirah followed the girl's finger, noticing the green three-branched thick figure off into the distance.
There were no arguments as Alethia started after it, a hand gripping the hilt of her sword beneath her cloak. Sephirah trudged after her, sand pushing against her every step.
The sun shifted across the sky, moving to its apex as they passed by the third cactus of the day. They had decided to take breaks at each one they came across, and Sephirah's tongue burned with the desire for water as they paused. She yanked off her mouth cloth and popped open her canteen, which was empty.
She turned desperate eyes to a soaked Aydin. He accepted the flask, grimacing as he flexed his free hand. The water lifted out of his palm, and he controlled the stream to the canteen, filling it up. He repeated the process for Ren and Alethia.
Aydin gulped from his own before looking out at the dunes of sand. "I don't see another cactus. Where should we go?"
Alethia's hair plastered on her glistening face, and she kept shifting on her feet. "Straight."
"This is just bloody great," Ren snapped, wiping a forearm across his shining forehead. His baby hairs were in a frenzy, and his long braids were beginning to unravel at the ends.
"Do you have a better idea?" Alethia asked with a slight bit of irritation in her voice.
Ren turned around, eyes latching onto Nova, who had remained perched on Sephirah's shoulder for hours. "Let the damn bird fly ahead and figure out which way to go."
"We can try it," Sephirah agreed. She was beginning to understand why the desert was named the Dreary Wastes. It was an awful place to travel in. Her nose was sweating. The bottoms of her feet were blistering from the hot sand that scorched through her boots. It was as if she had climbed inside of Mount Ashstorm mid-eruption.
Nova chirped, shooting upward, overtaking the low flights of the vultures until she was a speck in the sky. The lessened weight nearly made Sephirah groan with relief.
"There's no point in stalling," Aydin mumbled, shoving his canteen back into his bag. "The faster we walk, the quicker we can get out of this hellhole."
The group started off again. Sephirah didn't have the energy to try forcing a lighthearted conversation out of them. It took most of her focus to push forward and put one foot in front of the other.
At least in the Nix Kingdom there was a slight breeze every now and then. In the desert, there was nothing. There was not one reprieve from the torrid, sweltering air that bit at her skin and seared her to her core. The sun seemed to suck the water right out of her body in mere seconds.
Sephirah's head was down when she banged into Ren's moist cloaked back. His rigid body pushed against her as she stepped backward. Sephirah walked around him, staring at what had made him stop.
The others paused, following their gazes.
In the distance stood two lone figures, white cloaks draped across their olive-toned skin and green mouth cloths covering the lower half of their faces. Sephirah squinted, shielding her eyes in an attempt to get a better look at them.
It was a futile effort as the heatwaves blurred her vision. Sephirah inhaled deeply, feeling her magic flare in agitation.
The figures remained unmoving. Sephirah felt a flood of unease wash through her. Her adrenaline quickly chased after it, pumping in her veins and tensing her muscles in preparation.
Something was wrong.
She didn't know what it was about the figures that were filling her with an insurmountable amount of dread. Ren's face had hardened as if he felt it too. Alethia was as still as a statue, hand clenching the hilt of her sword so tightly her knuckles whitened.
Aydin stood at her side, spear unstrapped and grasped in his left hand. Sephirah bit the inside of her cheek, watching the figures which remained where they were.
Just as Sephirah was about to look away to address Aydin, a bolt of white light snaked through the sand. A white light flashed in a circle beneath them, and a ripple of foreign energy ran upward from her feet to engulf her body. The feeling disappeared as quickly as it came, caressing the borders of her shielded mind with a talon of darkness.
The waves of heat vibrated and moved as an image formed before her eyes that caused her heart to throb like a sword wound seeping blood. A claw of visceral panic and fear overtook her body, digging ruthlessly into every corner of her body. Sephirah took a shaky step back, her unsteady and buckling knees causing her to stumble.
Her breaths hitched as her golden eyes widened. Trembling hands scurried like fluttering wings to clumsily unstrap the bag weighing her down. She yanked off her boomerang, magic racing irrepressibly as if a seal had broken within her. Power swelled as her body outlined with fire, extending to engulf her weapon.
Sephirah's worst nightmare had come alive before her very eyes, but she'd be damned if she allowed it to stay that way.
The dark figure in front of her shot forward at inhuman speed, slit eyes glinting with malevolent humor as it opened its mouth to let out a shrill laugh. Sephirah's ears burned as the sound of its laughter pierced them like needles.
She snarled at it, fire sparking in her eyes. Sephirah raced toward it, her boomerang hand extending outward. Suddenly the figure glided to a stop, its dark face shifting and warping as it bowed down. A familiar head of unruly wild copper hair appeared along with a sharp jawline with red stubble growing in.
Her heart faltered as her steps did. Sephirah's arm lowered as her brother raised his head. His soft matching golden eyes latched onto hers, a smile crossing his face hesitantly as he reached out a hand. Warmth blossomed in her chest. She longed to ruffle her brother's curls and hear him tease her endlessly before flicking her forehead.
He was so clearly there; her mind wasn't speeding up to comprehend how it was possible. Instead, she blindly walked closer to him, her boomerang dragging in the blistering sand.
Abruptly, a spear went clean through his chest, blood gurgling out of his mouth as he mumbled an undecipherable word. Sephirah felt as if someone had reached into her chest, snatched her heart out, and burned it to ashes. Fear and sorrow warped together until they formed an everlasting scorching emotion of rage.
Golden eyes fixated on the spear, following it to the figure that held it. The queen's malicious smile greeted her. Sephirah growled, heat racing through her as her magic ran rampant. Her hair rose as fire burst and ran rapidly upward from her feet, shooting to engulf her boomerang. Sparks leapt from her body, sizzling as they landed and flared on the sand.
Her brother's body crashed to the ground, a cloud of grains dusting the air above him briefly. Sephirah dashed forward. The sand no longer sucked in her rapid steps. The sun's heat fueled her magic, blazing her fire until it was hotter than it had ever been before. Orange flames quickly turned red as the queen beckoned her with a mocking finger.
As Sephirah let the blazing boomerang fly, a ripple went through the air as the illusion shattered. Newfound terror shot through her like an arrow as she realized her grave mistake.
‡
A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed this part! Things are about to get a bit wild when this group collides with the desert clan. Don't forget to leave behind your lovely thoughts <3