Celeste's life is far from the enchanting fairy tale one might expect from a princess. Her father, a ruthless and self-absorbed king, leaves a trail of death and destruction in his wake. To seal alliances and maintain his power, he arranges for Cele...
The flames get more oxygen. The fire spreads at a furious pace. The heat grows hotter and hotter. It seizes everything it can grasp, latches onto it, and destroys it at a raging speed. There remains nothing; everything burns or suffocates.
My hands have clutched the edge of the saddle. While the fire previously devoured my arms, the flames have now also bitten into my back. With my teeth clenched together, I try to extinguish the flames, knowing it's futile.
In my peripheral vision, I see Micca glancing my way regularly. His green-blue eyes keep a close watch on me.
'How much longer?' I ask, gritting my teeth.
'An hour or two,' answers the dark-haired man, whose name I've already forgotten. I don't know what has been said in the past hours; my focus to listen is gone.
'Should we stop?' Micca asks. I shake my head.
The next two hours will be hell, but currently, we have no other option. If we stop now, the pain won't diminish, and if Elien ends his spell, the hell will break loose.
Sighing, I look ahead, trying to divert my mind and ignore the pain.
Ignoring the pain is impossible. I feel the flames searing their way through my back. The heat, the pounding and hissing pain.
I have moved so much in the past hour that Novak has asked four times if I'm okay, if we should stop, or switch. Each time, I said no.
Sitting upright is as impossible as sitting still. There's no comfortable position anyway, but leaning forward is the best option I have.
The last hour is the most painful hour of my life.
I fight with all my might against the tears forming in my eyes, my jaw hurts from clenching, and my hands from gripping the saddle. The flames burn so intensely that it feels like I'm being burned alive on that stake, this time with the flames biting fully into my skin.
Alisha and Micca keep a constant eye on me, while Novak continues to ask if I'm okay.
It's just bearable enough that I can keep my lips sealed, but something in me tells me that hell is about to break loose.
'We're almost there,' Alisha smiles at me. The concern in her eyes shines through the twilight.
Where or how far we are from the castle, I don't know.
In the distance, between the trees, a small wooden house appears. It resembles the cottage on the edge of Vion where Alisha, Novak, and I lived all those weeks. However, this cottage is slightly larger, has fewer windows, and the wood is darker. The dark wood blends into the colors of the evening.
'This is an old observation house. In the past, army commanders lived here during the conflict with the humans. Since then, no one ever comes here, so we are safe for now. We were prepared for your arrival. There are enough sleeping places, medication, and food,' Gwen explains. I can only nod.
A few meters before the cottage, we stop the horses. Gwen, the other woman, and the two men dismount first. They open the door as Micca and Elien get off their horses.
Elien hasn't said anything anymore, barely moved, just staring ahead. I can't quite put my finger on our new discovery about Micca, but currently, I don't have the attention to think deeply about it.
Novak jumps off his horse and reaches out his hand to help me.
'Novak, will you help me?' asks Alisha, trying to get her bag off her horse at that moment.
He nods but first wants to help me get off the horse.
'I help,' Micca smiles, coming to stand beside Novak. The red eyes look at him with some doubt, before he nods and goes to Alisha.
With difficulty, I take Micca's hand. Slowly, he helps me off the horse, supporting me on the least painful spots.
'You don't have much longer,' he whispers, his arms supporting me.
'I know,' I manage to say.
The moment those two words leave my mouth, I feel the flames move. The fire spreads violently, grabbing hold of the place I've feared for weeks: my spine.
'Aaah,' I groan, tears welling up in my eyes.
The pain I thought was severe was nothing compared to the devouring pain now. Every nerve and vein seems to be aflame. Nothing is spared by the flames.
Micca pulls me upright.
'You need to go inside. We have pain relief.' Micca wants to lift me, but I stop him. The mere idea of someone touching my back makes me even sicker than I already am.
I bite the inside of my lower lip, tasting blood, and grip Micca tightly. My nails dig into his skin, but he doesn't flinch.
I take a deep breath and take a step forward. Immediately, I collapse on my legs again, and Micca catches me.
'Let me carry you,' Micca encourages. I shake my head, take another deep breath, aggressively wipe away the tears from my cheeks, and with great effort, take a first step.
'What's going on?' Novak asks, surprised.
'Her feet are burned,' Micca answers for me.
'Lift her.'
'She doesn't want that.'
Novak sighs and takes a step towards me, intending to lift me.
'No,' I snap at him with aggression. He looks at me, surprised, and then nods slowly.
'Let me help support you.' With a nod of approval, Novak stands on my other side.
'Don't touch her back; it's burned,' Micca warns.
With the help of the two men, I stumble towards the small cottage. Taking steps is nearly impossible; the two men hold me up. My teeth sink into the inside of my lower lip, tasting blood, and I grip Micca tightly. My nails dig into his skin, but he doesn't flinch.
'I can't,' I reply through clenched teeth. My voice is trembling, but I try to keep myself together.
The world begins to spin around me as they pull me into the cottage. I'm completely oblivious to what the inside looks like.
Micca and Novak carefully lay me on my stomach on a bed.
'Aah.' My hands find the blankets and squeeze hard.
'Go help Alisha with Elien. I'll handle this with Gwen,' I hear Micca say in the distance. I can only focus on the excruciating pain.
'Bring the Viante, now.' Footsteps pound on the wooden floor before returning.
'Make it stop,' I plead with Micca as he sits next to me on the bed.
'I will. I need to loosen your dress, bite on this.' Micca places a piece of fabric in my mouth before starting to untie the strings of my dress as gently as possible.
If the fabric weren't in my mouth, my teeth would have shattered. I bite down with all the strength I have while gripping the blankets tightly.
'Oh gods,' I hear Gwen gasp next to me as I scream into the blankets.
'Give it,' Micca says. His hands have stopped untying my dress.
The next moment, I scream at the top of my lungs as the needle disappears into my spine and lifeline. Immediately after, everything turns black before my eyes.
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