The Raven Flame [The Crown Saga III] (First Draft)

A Sea of Stars

Whispering voices saturated the air around us.

People were flooding the streets as the sound of the castle's warning bell turned night into day, awakening every sleeping citizen.

I would never, in my wildest dreams, have expected this when I first accepted the king's offer to have me join the Crown Trials.

Art had promised me that my family would be kept safe. I didn't know how or where, but maybe that was for the best. If I were captured and pressed for information, I wouldn't be able to give up their location no matter what.

Suddenly, a hand wrapped around mine, and I looked up to see Caiden staring back at me with a reassuring smile. I reluctantly returned it.

This mission was important; I knew that. My golden blood would remain a mystery until we found the cave where it all began, and we didn't know what consequences that could have for me — or the people around me — in the long run.

Finally, we reached the edge of the stirring city, and the darkness of the night embraced us, hiding our wanted bodies in its shadows.

"This way," Art said, pointing toward an almost invisible path between two massive trees.

"Do we need light?" Eos asked, snapping her fingers for sparks to sparkle from her fingertips.

"No!" Art whispered loudly, grabbing her hand to lower it.

Eos gasped in surprise at Art's rough voice. Even I felt my heart skip a beat.

"No," Art said in a softer tone as if he knew he'd been too harsh on her. "We're still too close to the city. Light would make it easier to detect us. We'll use the stars to navigate, but stay close. We don't want anyone to become lost already."

I looked up to watch the celestial bodies twinkling through the naked branches above us. Art was talking about reading the stars. I'd never been able to do that.

Mom had shown me a few of the constellations binding a few of the stars into a larger picture, but it wasn't nearly enough to navigate them.

"Come on, Will," Piper whispered as she passed me to follow the others.

I took a deep breath and glanced behind me to get one last look at the city I'd spent the past half a year in. I was leaving everything behind, but I wasn't doing it alone.

Clenching my teeth, I turned around to follow Piper into the woods, where Art would lead us to our first safe location.

The trip would last two days, and the day had already been too long.

My legs were already trembling, my body was on the brink of exhaustion, and I could barely keep my eyes open.

The air in the forest was brisk compared to the city, and the cloak no longer felt warm enough to keep my teeth from chattering.

"Here," Art suddenly said, bringing our group to a halt. "We'll sleep here tonight."

I looked up, staring into the depths of a dark cave.

There? We were sleeping there?

Even in the dim lights from the moon and her stars, I could see Alia's deep frown. I'd grown up in a place where a cave wasn't far from what most people were living in. Alia, on the other hand, had grown up in luxury and soft sheets. I doubted she'd experienced much of the night from the other side of her comfortable windows. I actually doubted that any of them, except Art, had.

"Are you— Are you expecting us to sleep in there?" Alia said, pointing with a shaking finger at the opening.

"Yes, I am, Miss Harrington," Art said, smiling uncomfortably. "However, if your new quarters don't suit the princess, you're welcome to head back and explain to my brother why Calix is accusing you of treason."