Sealed within Kealie Gothalis are the secrets of a magic destined to flood her kingdom.
Trading her Mortality to disguise the heritage her mother fears most, Kealie is gifted with a blessing. She need only do one thing; keep her kingdom in the dark...
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Dirt and gravel scraped together underfoot, sending rocks clattering down the paving stones and into the gutters below.
Kealie didn't consider anything as her feet collided with the ground, pushing down harder and harder, throwing her faster and faster through the glowing street lights. She didn't notice the sounds of shattering glass as she rolled through it and didn't feel the blood still sliding down her skin in the wind.
She carved out a pocket in time where she experienced nothing but the fabric of life brushing against her face.
Eyes trained on the seaside district where a small house waited for her.
There were no stars in the sky tonight. The shapeless clouds merged together, blanketing the sky and sealing out the universe around the planet.
The colors of the world faded into grays and browns, blacks and blues, the only warmth coming from random firelight every so often, high on a post. The black beams towered in the night, looming in a way that disappeared and allowed the flame to float alone above all else.
For only a moment, Kealie wished on one of those flames for Nixian to survive. To be okay. Even if she knew little to nothing of him, she hoped to. She desired to learn more of the strange man that fished her out of the sea.
The thought was fleeting for a few reasons, the most of which being her inability to concentrate on anything but the small Caster's home.
Though she too had faith. Kealie believed that a Nerydian with access to his gifts and training very well might outsmart and put down those human guards.
Kealie prayed he did.
Her arms pumped at her sides, aching as they tugged at the strange leathers she'd stolen from the shop. Fabric she'd never once worn in her life.
It was tight and frustrating to move, like a stiff prison of leather wrapping constricting her.
Originally she'd heard people yelling frantically, both civilians and guards, but eventually they faded into silence. Far away blurs.
She was told to run.
So she ran.
Kealie found herself running the entire length of the city on nothing but pure adrenaline and good fortune. Alone.
Alleys grew on the left and right, large shadows towering in the midnight fog. Buildings phased in and out of sight, masquerading as figures from time to time. Strange, overwhelming silhouettes.
The adrenaline left swiftly like her breath, filling Kealie's legs with numbing ants and gelatin. With every step, they threatened to give out over and over again until her knees met pavement.
She coughed, spitting out bile and bracing her hands out before her.
Every inch of her stung.
Kealie's senses were flooded over with the rushing wind around her, drowning out the sounds of whispers. Now the sound was present and rising.
