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

Crashing Tides

The Grand Elder guided us through the maze of crystal tunnels, past more colors than I'd thought existed.

We passed the lake, the creatures in its serene waters curiously following us from its crystal sores.

Kelda walked beside me, her voice mute, but her face betrayed her desire to hide the sadness tucked behind her long lashes.

"I'll be back, you know," I whispered, lightly nudging her shoulder with mine. "Once we've found the answers we seek."

Kelda turned her saddened face away from me, scratching her naked arm. "That's not it," Kelda muttered, her shifting eyes searching for something I couldn't place.

I arched my brow, confusion scratching my tired mind. "What is it then?" I asked, leaning forward to catch her fleeting eyes.

Kelda peeked at me, pouting her green lips as our gaze locked. "I'm really not supposed to say," she mumbled, biting her lower lip. "But—"

She paused again. I let her consider her words, not wanting to pry the answer from her sealed lips if she truly felt like nothing good would come of spilling her secrets.

"Y-you know how my grandpa told you to watch out for a face among your closest people?"

I nodded hesitantly, watching several shifting emotions flee past her face as if conflicting spirits were tearing her soul in endless directions.

"I didn't like the way he gave you that prediction, so I looked into the past of the people you came with," she finally admitted, tucking her shoulders under her ears as she folded her arms around her body. "I know I'm not supposed to, but something feels off about the entire thing, and I couldn't just let you leave without doing something."

A pit of the purest darkness formed in my stomach, dread twisting my mind as I worried about what kind of answer Kelda had found from searching the past.

"What did you learn?" I reluctantly asked, knowing I would otherwise regret it. If Kelda knew something that could help us complete this mission, I needed to hear it.

Kelda sighed, internal conflict still drawing deep lines on her glistening face. "I don't like the one you call Alia," Kelda said, glancing at Alia's straightened back.

I swallowed a cold breath. "What makes you suspect her?"

Kelda shrugged lightly as if unsure of her accusations. "When I looked back, I felt the hatred clenching her heart like an invisible rope. I could barely stand being there for more than a few minutes."

"When was this?" I asked, realizing what Kelda may have seen—an isolated moment of chaos and misunderstandings.

"I don't know?" Kelda said. "A few months ago, maybe more."

I failed to suppress the smile tugging at the corner of my lip, relief washing over me as enlightenment dawned upon my cold skin.

"What?" Kelda asked impatiently.

"The hatred you felt flowing through Alia's veins was entirely justified." I cleared my throat. "We didn't meet under the best circumstances, and she believed me a terrible person who intended to hurt her very dear friend."

I doubted I could explain the Crown Trials to her without swimming into deep waters where I could barely glimpse the bottom. It would be a long and complicated explanation for someone unfamiliar with the surface.

"Why didn't you just tell her that?" Kelda asked as if the quarrel could've been sorted as easily as that.

I smiled. "Because I thought the same of her, and we both had secrets we were unwilling to share with strangers, leaving us in an endless cycle of misinterpretations and assumptions."