FIRST BOOK OF THE CHRONICLES OF FANTASILIA SERIES
𝘈𝘯 𝘢𝘨𝘦-𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘺. 𝘈 𝘵𝘺𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘦𝘯. 𝘈 𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘳.
Xanthiene Vivenca's life drones on in a cycle of finding her next meal, ensuring...
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2412, Strilaxis 01, Briss
Xanthy tapped her foot against the carpeted floor as Vikara and her men filed into this brand new room. Instead of bare walls, maps the size of the tapestries hung from the ceiling and depicted various parts of the island that Xanthy wasn't familiar with.
Across the large round table, June had his chin on his hand while the fingers from his other hand drawing hazy circles on the table's varnished surface. Reeca examined her nails from her seat a few distance from Xanthy. The varichria even had time to change from her bark armor to a simple tunic-and-trousers pair. Nyxis, unsurprisingly, was absent.
Vikara strode to a cushion-backed chair beside Xanthy and plopped down after gathering her skirt behind her legs. Diran, Nadia, and the twins took their seats and leaned against the table. Xanthy's shoulders tense. The electricity in the air was enough to fry a vulkraine.
"State of regions?" Vikara cleared her throat.
Diran raised a hand. "I have alerted mine," he brushed his hair off his forehead. "They are bound to arrive soon."
"Mine will be on standby," Nadia folded her hands atop the table and grinned. "They have been alerted."
The twins glanced at each other and one of them, either Viktir or Pikard, gave Vikara a thumbs up. "Warriors are good to go."
Vikara raised her eyebrows and blinked. "Okay," she turned to the rest seated around the table. "The plan, then."
Xanthy sat up straight. Vikara turned to her. "Xanthiene, you stay here."
The illusory sound of glass shattering echoed in Xanthy's mind. She knitted her eyebrows. "What? Why?"
"Reeca," Vikara turned to the varichria.
"Wait, wait," Xanthy waved her arms. "Why am I staying here? It is me who has to save the Draswists. That is my mission."
Vikara rolled her hands in Reeca's direction. Xanthy frowned. "Vikara, I—"
"You will stay here," Vikara hissed. "You will not survive out there. You are not ready."
Something twanged in Xanthy's chest. "I can handle myself just fine!" she defended.
Vikara's flat stare told her otherwise. That's...what she thinks of Xanthy. Apparently, that was what everyone thinks of her.
Not ready. Weak. Someone to be sheltered.
Vikara turned back to Reeca and began discussing the rest of the plan. Blood rushed to Xanthy's face as her forehead pulsed with her heartbeat. Her fists bunched up her skirt from under the table.
She was not weak. She could save their butts out there and Vikara just stopped her from doing so.
"Reeca and June will sneak into the palace to get Jarvik and Marin out. The rest of us will wait outside for the signal," Vikara was saying. The woman barely looked Xanthy's way as she explained the layout of the Palace to the varichria.
