The sound of cracking slate sent ice trickling down my spine. Instead of rushing forward, I continued creeping toward the portion of rock that moved toward the top of the cliff. The chill of the hard surface against my back was sinking into my weary bones with each slide closer to the edge of the next tier of slate. A prickling sensation of being watched grew as I turned toward the cliff and then hoisted myself up to the next.
A tedious amount of time passed before I finally made it to solid ground. Laying on my back on the damp, chilly ground, I gazed up at the startling, blue skies above. As my face scrunched up, I felt my eyebrows pushing together in confusion. Rising to my knees, I braced myself on the edge, peering down the slate-covered side of the towering cliff.
Darkness shadowed the cliff behind me, while daylight filled the wooden terrain before me. Inching back from the edge, I surveyed the thick, silent forest. It took effort to get up this time, as if I’d pressed myself past the point of exhaustion. I had rested little since leaving Norvalla, which was swiftly exhausting my reserved energy. I’d expected some rest before being tossed into the next challenge.
The moment I entered the forest, strange, haunting noises began thrumming through the trees. The light streaming through the treetops above kept me from blindly stumbling over fallen debris, yet every step I took had the sense of foreboding in my stomach growing stronger and stronger. I still felt eyes boring into my spine, but every time I peered back over my shoulder, nothing was there.
“I’d really appreciate that mad little pussy cat right about now,” I grumbled beneath my breath. Then a twig snapped somewhere behind me and I spun toward the sound. “Come on, creeper, don’t keep a girl waiting. Show yourself!” Sweat trickled down the back of the skin-tight black tunic Aden had provided for us to endure the trials in.
A breeze wafted against my neck, which reminded me of the rather atrocious braid Esme had done in my hair. She’d returned the favor after I’d braided hers, but with nothing to tie the end, it had been a lost cause. The girl had fuck-all knowledge of anything pertaining to girly shit. Closing my fingers against the palms of my hands, I searched through the trees for anything hunting me.
The sound of a branch snapping underfoot forced my head to turn toward the sound. As my eyes narrowed in the vicinity, the sound had come from, a flash of violet captured my attention. Dramatically shaded, heart-shaped petals clung to a lush, navy-colored flower bud. The flower was pretty, but it wasn’t why I’d noticed it. The fact that it was attached to something that was rising, is what had caught my eye. It persisted in its ascent until the bushes no longer obscured it, unveiling a sizable, pale stag that fixated its stare on me.
“Holy shit.” I swallowed the fear clawing up my throat and threatening to come out in the way of an opera singer’s highest note. Its head tilted, as though it were trying to ascertain whether I was a threat. The massive stag stepped closer, which forced me to bolt back toward the road, running blindly. I’d seen enough nature shows to know, not to mess with anything with antlers attached to it.
My heart pounded against my ribcage as fear and adrenaline clashed in my system. It deafened me to any other sound within the forest. I forced myself to keep running through the pain that tore at my side, unwilling to stop even though my body said to do so. It wasn’t until the flashes of brilliantly-colored flowers caught my eye, forcing it to a large meadow that allowed the advantage of being able to see around me, that I allowed myself a moment to rest.
Blowing the air from my lungs, I inhaled the crisp, clean mountain air. Gripping my side, I winced as sharp pain persisted from the insane mad dash through the countryside I’d not had on my bingo card for this year. I really hadn’t had ‘running from an unrealistic stag that looked like something from a fantasy painting’ on my card. In front of me, I could see the honey-colored flowers, mixed in with fiery ginger and scarlet hues, peeking from beyond the greenery.
The soft scratch of antlers against bark drew my focus back to the creature hunting me. I shifted just enough to see around the tree, observing as it honed its flower-laden antlers on the thick trunk. Confusion pinched my brows because that stag either wasn’t the same as the first one I’d seen or it had stopped to pick up new flowers. This stag had miniature sunflowers connected to a length of lime-colored stems, and someone had artfully wrapped floral vines around its massive rack of horns.
Hesitation morphed into curiosity, which slowly turned into awe because the longer I watched the creature, the more clearly I could see the untold power pulsing off it. Its raw, pulsating mana brushed against my flesh, forcing gooseflesh to spread over my naked arms.
“You’re beautiful. Aren’t you, big boy?” I whispered, my voice too low to be discernible to my own ears. The stag’s head lifted and then turned toward me. Eyes the color of midnight peered at me, ancient knowledge promised in their depths. “Hello.”
“Hello, Aria,” a softly whispered voice replied. “We’ve been waiting for you to come home.”
My mouth opened and my jaw threatened to join my feet on the forest floor. Had it just spoken to me? Either it had or I was hallucinating from dehydration and exhaustion. After taking a slow step forward, I paused, watching as the stag did the same. The moment its hoof touched the ground, my feet anchored in place, threatening to grow roots where I stood. As if it feared spooking me. Licking my dry lips, I considered if I should say something or pretend it hadn’t spoken at all.
“Did you just talk?” I called to the stag, uncertain if I’d just made a huge mistake and was losing the weak grip I had on my sanity.
“Aria Primrose, your mind isn’t fractured. It’s actually sharp for someone so young,” the voice said succinctly, though the stag’s mouth never moved. “Welcome home, Queen of Sunfire.” The stag bowed its head until its velvet, flora-covered horns bushed the carpeted forest floor.
“I’m sorry, but I’m not a queen of anything,” I returned carefully, uncertain as to what it had meant by the title. “I am Aria Primrose Prometheus, Queen of Nothing.”
“You’re not?” it asked, even as it continued toward me at a leisurely gait. “I feel you as surely as you feel me, child. The power rushing through your veins is the same power living in mine. From the first breath you took, I’ve felt your presence. I am the power which pulses inside you, fueling your endless pool of mana. Don’t fear me, for I know your strengths, weaknesses and dreams. You are a part of me as surely as I am a part of you.”
“Who are you?” I asked as fear and wonder collided, both threatening to engulf me fully.
“You know who I am,” it stated with pride pooling in the navy-colored depths. “I brought you here to me. Do not fear me, girl. I’ve always been with you. Breathe before you pass out, Queen of Sunfire.”
The air filled my lungs and then steadily left them as I lifted my hand, touching the glorious creature’s rune-covered fur. The moment my hand connected, the world tilted, and everything inside me eased to calmness I’d never felt before that moment.
“I feel you everywhere,” I murmured breathlessly. “Holy shit. You are the power within me. Aren’t you?”