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

Trench Maker

** Has not been edited, but I still wanted to share, so please be patient with me :) <3

The desert was even worse than the sea. The heat was unbearable, and every step felt like walking on merciless needles.

We had been walking for hours, and my legs were shaking terribly from exhaustion. Caiden and Piper looked like dried grapes clinging to their fading vines for the sparse drops of nutritious substance to keep them breathing just a short while longer.

I guess the Water Iridis weren't particularly suited for the heat and dry air surrounding us. Alia, on the other hand, was marching forward as if the heat was a mere nuisance.

"You're falling behind, Eos," Alia shouted from the front. I looked behind me to see Eos' glistening skin curl into a wrinkled brow.

"How much further before we reach the cross thingy on the map?" she said, grunting as she kicked the heap of sand that had caught her foot.

I guess most of us had been wanting to ask that question for a while, but none of us had dared. Not with Alia in the lead.

"We shouldn't be too far from the location," Art said, pulling up the map as if he could tell our exact location based on the unidentifiable markers in the endless sea of sand. That would be impossible.

"We're here!" Alia suddenly shouted, raising her hand and bringing the shielding cloth down from her mouth to reveal her smile.

Here? This was where the X marked the spot on the map. But there was nothing here.

"I think your internal compass may be a little off, Alia," Eos said as she caught up with us. "There is literally nothing here to indicate an entrance to any kind of hidden cave or world."

"It wouldn't be hidden if it was easy for everyone to see now, would it?" Alia said, snorting before she fell to her knees to dig through the sand.

I arched my brow. "A-are you sure we're at the right location?" I said, cautiously stepping closer to her. "There isn't really a lot to go on by just looking at the map, and this place is nothing but sand. How could you possibly—"

"Are you doubting my knowledge of my homeland, Wildcard?" Alia said, staring at me from the corner of her eye as if her gaze could shoot arrows.

"N-no," I said, suddenly feeling the dread of the heavy past between Alia and me. "I'm just— The map is really old, and the cross was quite big, so—"

"We're where we're supposed to be, so just start digging."

"Leave her be, Will."

Caiden's heat had become as familiar to me as the back of my hand. I could recognize him without my eyes, even with the raging sun turning my blood to fumes.

"She may not look affected by the sun, but her brain is cooking," he said, his breath tickling my ear. "I'm not even sure she's aware that the sand is part of the earth and not the heavens."

I chuckled, but the sound turned into one of a strangled animal when Caiden suddenly dropped his weight on me.

"C-Caiden," I said, my legs about to give in.

"Just five minutes," Caiden mumbled, lifting his arms to place them around me.

Cursed blood... Was he about to faint?

"Pull yourself together, Nephew," Art suddenly said, slapping Caiden on the back of his head, so I was forced to my knees.

"Not cool... Art," I said, fighting not to taste the bitterness of the sand.