No one had ever broken through him the way she had. Ever since that day when she stood and made the pledge, refusing to let her fate be chosen for her, even thougheveryodd was stacked against her… he hadn’t been able to get her out of his head. He’d given up hope so long ago and wasn’t even sure if he ever had any to begin with. But that’s what she brought. In more ways than she could ever know.
Hope.
He’d find her.
The limbs of the trees swayed against the breeze the same time the screeching came back.
Followed by screams.
Herscreams.
Without thinking, he flung himself in the direction her voice had come from. Head ringing, he refused to cover his ears in case she screamed again. The sound penetrated every fiber of his being. Tearing him apart at the seams but he wouldn’t stop. Couldn’t.
The wind howled against the shrieks of the Alkijin, carrying their horrid sounds to him as though they were everywhere and nowhere. Confusion fogged his brain but he pressed on towards the direction of her scream. As his body shook, he fought the urge to light a flame and set the forest ablaze.
He’d find her.
Pressing on, he paused only when the shrieks turned from hunger, to thrill, and dread washed over the prince.
Whatever they’d been hunting, they’d found.
“No!” The cry tore from his hoarse throat and he realized he’d been yelling the entire time. Yelling what, he didn’t know. Her name? Felius’, maybe? More than likely just incoherent sounds as he desperately searched for her.
The rage that boiled inside him found a charge in the air and small blue flames danced at his fingertips and he willed himself to calm. The trees around him began to smoke and he stopped running and gathered his mind and magick. If he let go, he’d kill everything in the forest, including her. Hehadto stay calm. As he pushed the fear down and forced his magick to obey, the woods fell quiet once more.
Silence.
His heart skipped a beat.
Silence.
She wasn’t dead.
He would never acceptthat.
Silence.
Then, the screams from Podara, Danthan, Oryon and Eurus broke through the trees along with the excited cries of the Alkijin. But… he could’ve sworn it sounded likelessAlkijin. Had they separated to hunt them all?
He stood there frozen.
He had to find her.
But they were helpless against such violent creatures. His face contorted as he wrestled with his decision but he couldn’t go back. He had to save her.
Which meant leaving the rest of them to die.
He’d answer for his sins later.
Hehadto find her.
Pushing the waves of nausea down, the prince did his best to ignore the screams from the party as the sounds of the Alkijin feeding followed.
He’d pay for this.
Calming himself, he pushed his way through the trees. He forced back the memories of the first time he encountered Oryon and Eurus. They’d been just sixteen when he found them and they’d been foolish enough to try to rob him. They’d known who he was but were so desperate they didn’t care. It had been all too easy to admire the way they fought as a team, even managing to corner the prince in one of the back alleys of the market. It would’ve been a simple task to avoid them, punish, or kill them. But standing there, watching them move as though they were one, Akadian couldn’t bring himself to commit to any of those options. Instead, he offered them a place in the palace. A place where they could train and become part of his own personal guard. He never needed them of course, he could well enough protect himself and usually let them roam around the palace to their hearts’ content as they trained among the best.
It’d been a decade since then.
