The Dark Queen ✔

20

Another week passed and I wasn't getting any better. 

I slept all day and shook all night, trying not to scream when I woke up from another nightmare. I started throwing up in the middle of the night. I didn't eat anything, I barely spoke. I was wasting away and I couldn't stop.

Ruby sat down next to me. It was morning, the sunlight reflecting off of my translucent skin. She ran a light finger down my arm, mesmerized by the tattoo. "What's it for?" She asked her finger following the pattern. I didn't mind her asking. Ruby was the one I was always fine with talking to. 

"A gift for my birthday. Watch." I sat up and flexed my arm. It took more concentration than usual, but the sword appeared, scraping the floor. She gasped in awe. 

"It's beautiful," a voice said. I jumped and looked up, glaring at Phoenix. I said sharply, "Thank you." I willed the sword away again. 

He smiled and asked, "How are you feeling?" His eyes raked over my skeletal body, my pale skin, the bruises under my eyes. I wondered if I should've lied to him. Ruby whispered to nobody in particular, "Phoenix, listen."

He looked at her, his mouth a tight line. She was staring at him intently, her hands in her lap. It took me a moment to realize they were talking telepathically. I took the moment to study Phoenix. 

He had smooth, tanned skin, a few scars crisscrossing his arms. His hair was a hair looked reddish-brown in the sunlight, glowing faintly. He had deep brown eyes with dark circles underneath. He was well-built, toned but not overly muscular. 

"Ruby," he said, breaking the silence, "Tell her." He leaned against the stair railing, his jaw tight. Fear washed over me as Ruby took my hand in hers. She closed her eyes and I was forced to watch what she wanted to show me. 

Tristian rose from a blood-red throne, an army behind him. The whole land of Vivanenth was crushed under his feet. A warrior in black carrying a sword sliced his head off and he fell, the army falling behind him, Vivanenth rising back up. 

Ruby pulled away and I was back in the cottage. "Who was the warrior in black?" I asked, trying not to show my hands shaking. She looked at Phoenix, who sighed and said, "You are."

"What?" I shouted, standing. The floor rolled under my feet, black dots spotted vision. I must have started falling because Phoenix put his hand on my arm, steadying me. He said "You have to start training again. You have to get better. Or else."

Ruby was standing now, holding my hand again. "Will you try? For Vivanenth?"

I looked between them, flashing back to the moment I was chained on my knees, forced to bow in front of Tristian. He would do that to all of the kingdoms. He would do that to everybody, every family. I gripped Phoenix's arm, taking a deep breath. 

"Yes," I said. "I will try."