The tale of Aurelia Hawthorne is anything but simple. Faced with the horrors and reality of living in a nation that hides secrets and punishes children for the sins of their parents, she is forced to make difficult choices.
Especially ones that str...
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"Nothing kills powerful, unshakable love faster than opposing ideologies."
——The Journal of Warrick of Luceras
This was going to end in heartbreak. If there was one thing that would ever be true in Aurelia's life, this would be it. She clutched the streaked parchment in her hands, all her energy focused on not bursting out in tears.
She had to stand there, in front of everyone, and say the most traitorous lies she could ever fathom. None of this was fair, but neither was watching your parents be put to death simply because they believed in something.
The execution room was huge. It was practically an arena, with millions of bleachers watching the chaos in the centre. Codagh—Genereal Melgren's dragon, stood in the middle, the leaders of the rebellion chained together in a line.
A fucking death lineup.
Aurelia scanned the stands for her friends, seeing them rounded up on the bottom row of the bleachers. Guards surrounded them, some even antagonising the few that dared to make eye contact with them.
This is Navarre. A nation that tantalises children and murders in cold blood.
Aurelia made her way down to the bottom, weaving through the millions of people gathered today in the stands to watch what they had been anticipating for months now. They pushed past her, unaware of the way her arm burned with magic.
She'd been mended immediately after by some healer—Nolan. Gods, she never wanted to feel that kind of pain again.
At least for the next few hours, it wouldn't be physical.
Aurelia tried to steady her breathing, counting backwards from ten as she continued the journey. It felt suspiciously similar to the grand staircase in Hawthorne Manor.
The half-destroyed Hawthorne Manor.
Aurelia tried not to focus on that, instead moving faster and faster as if to get her task over with. Her lungs almost gave out, but it wasn't from exercise.
No, it was panic.
Shit.
A fucking panic attack.
She ducked out of view, bracing herself up against an old statue of General Melgren, which did not help in any way.
One breath in.
One out.
Nope.
Is this how you breathe?
Wait...how do you breathe?
"Are you okay?" A curious voice probed at her side.
"What?" Aurelia managed to get out between her shortness of breath.
