The uncontrollable power lurking beneath Princess Alethia's skin can either be the savior of the Four Kingdoms or its destruction.
Princess Alethia was raised on three principles: (1) Mercy is for the weak, (2) Emotions are an unwanted distraction...
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The sound of shattering ice jerked Sephirah out of her deep sleep. She leapt to her feet, half-opened eyes doing a sweep of her surroundings as her arms raised defensively.
"If you're planning to fight the sun, then please do," Aydin said. Sephirah blinked sheepishly, running her fingers through the bird's nest on top of her head. She cringed as she pulled on a ball of knots in her hair.
The scorching sun was inexorable as she bent down to roll up her blanket and shove it inside of the pommel bag. She stared at the bag with a wary expression. Despite all of her training, she still dreaded carrying the hefty thing and her boomerang through the feet-sucking sand and a traitorous, brutal sun.
Even she had her limit. And that limit was steadfastly approaching.
Nova dove down instantly, dropping onto Sephirah's shoulder with a quick snap of her feathered wings. Sephirah grimaced at the added weight. But she knew Nova had been flying for hours to stay away from the sandstorm; the least she could do was give her companion a ride.
Sephirah yanked out her canteen, parched tongue dry as sandpaper. She drank from the water, ignoring its overly warm temperature as it quenched her dying thirst. Sephirah poured some of the liquid into her cupped palm, allowing Nova to stretch out her neck and drink from it.
She dug inside of the contents of the bag, feeding her bird some berries. Then, she slung on the bag and strapped on her boomerang. As the burden of everything settled onto her shoulders, the others began fastening on their cloaks and mouth cloths. Sephirah hurried to do the same.
Vultures were taking over the blue sky. Threatening hisses and grunts came from them as they circled, looking for anything they could eat. Heatwaves caused the air in front of them to blur like the inside of an oven.
Alethia pointed off into the distance, her eyes squinting against the intensity of the sunlight. "Look there."
Sephirah followed the girl's finger, noticing the green three-branched thick figure off into the distance.
There were no arguments as Alethia started after it, a hand gripping the hilt of her sword beneath her cloak. Sephirah trudged after her, sand pushing against her every step.
The sun shifted across the sky, moving to its apex as they passed by the third cactus of the day. They had decided to take breaks at each one they came across, and Sephirah's tongue burned with the desire for water as they paused. She yanked off her mouth cloth and popped open her canteen, which was empty.
She turned desperate eyes to a soaked Aydin. He accepted the flask, grimacing as he flexed his free hand. The water lifted out of his palm, and he controlled the stream to the canteen, filling it up. He repeated the process for Ren and Alethia.
Aydin gulped from his own before looking out at the dunes of sand. "I don't see another cactus. Where should we go?"
Alethia's hair plastered on her glistening face, and she kept shifting on her feet. "Straight."
