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A nudge on her shoulder startled her, and Aurora turned to find Midnight nuzzling her hair. A smile played on her lips as she caressed his neck. But then a gust of wind sent an icy chill between them, and Aurora pulled back, knowing exactly what was coming next.
The bell tower rang, resetting the eclipse, and the familiar black fog rose from the ground within the woods. Someone had entered the Dreamworld, and they had until the eclipse reached its apex to escape.
Aurora hurried to mount Midnight. “All right, boy,” she said, grabbing onto his mane. “Let’s go save a life.” With a nudge, she spurred him forward, and they rode into the dense fog. The wind whipped through her blonde braids. It was cold and wet, and it tickled her cheeks.
They emerged from the mist into a desolate clearing, the stench of death lingering in the air. Midnight whimpered, and Aurora knew they were headed in the right direction.
She pushed Midnight to go faster, until they finally reached the end of a dirt road. The sight that greeted them was horrifying. In an abandoned village, a dried-up fountain lay broken in the middle of a square. The small homes surrounding the square were trashed and burnt, and the air was thick with the acrid smell of smoke and death.
As they pushed farther, a man’s screams echoed through the ruins of the village. Aurora urged Midnight to hurry, her heart pounding as she searched for the source of the screams.
Aurora found a man on the roof of one of the homes, teetering at the edge.
“Get back!” he shouted, his voice desperate and ragged. He held up his hands to keep whomever was after him at bay, but without a weapon, he would never stand a chance against his attacker.
Aurora drew her bow and arrow, taking aim with practiced precision. A guard with golden armor came into view, and she released the arrow. It flew through the air, finding its mark on the guard’s neck with deadly accuracy. He vanished into a cloud of smoke, as did all illusions in that realm.
The man on the roof turned around, his eyes wide with shock and confusion. Clearly, he had no idea those guards were illusions created by his own mind.
“Jump!” Aurora shouted to him, gesturing to Midnight’s back.
The man hesitated, but another guard charged at him, and Aurora quickly took aim and fired another arrow. Finally, the man jumped onto the horse’s back.
As they made their escape, more guards appeared, multiplying in the blink of an eye. Aurora fired three more arrows, each one vanishing the guards in a puff of smoke.
She gripped the reins tightly, ready to make their getaway, but then the home next to them burst into flames, causing Midnight to rear up on his hind legs. Aurora struggled to hold on as they bolted forward, but the force of the explosion sent her and the man crashing to the ground.
The flames licked at her cloak, threatening to consume her, but she leaped out of the way. Once back on her feet, she spotted two guards roughly grabbing the village man and hoisting him up to his feet.
Aurora drew her bow with a steady hand, her eyes locking onto the guards. “Let him go,” she hissed, her voice low and menacing. “Or I’ll make you.”
The guards laughed, their golden armor gleaming in the pale light of the moon. “You and what army?” one of them sneered.
Aurora didn’t answer. She didn’t need an army. All she needed was her skill, her courage, and her unwavering determination to protect the man in front of her.
She released two arrows, and they sliced through the air with a deadly whisper. The guards stumbled back, their faces twisted in pain, as they clutched at the arrows piercing their armor.
Aurora strode forward, her sword flashing in the moonlight. The guards tried to rally, but they were no match for her. One by one, they fell to her blade, their bodies vanishing into clouds of smoke.
The village man scrambled to his feet, his eyes wide with amazement. “Who are you?” he asked.
“I will explain everything,” she said, unsheathing a second sword, “but we need to stay alive.”
The man nodded. “I would very much like that.”
Aurora scanned the area for Midnight, and her heart swelled with pride as she saw him wreaking havoc among the guards. But her attention was soon diverted to the army of soldiers closing in on them, their golden armor glinting in the moonlight.
“Take this.” She tossed him a sword. The way he almost dropped it made it clear to Aurora that he hadn’t been trained in combat. But despite his lack of experience, he turned around and swung the weapon with all his might, causing puffs of smoke to swirl around him as he struck as many guards as he could.
Aurora wielded her sword with precision, making each guard vanish into thin air. The sound of a sword hitting the ground echoed behind her. She turned around to see that two guards had seized the man and were dragging him by both his arms. He screamed at them, not out of fear, but out of sheer fury.
“They’re only your illusions!” Aurora yelled at the man. “Fight them!”
Picking up the fallen sword, she charged toward them, her blades swinging fiercely. “Let him go!” she demanded. More guards tried to stop her, but she cut through them with ease, making them disappear.
But then a familiar figure emerged from the crowd of guards, causing Aurora to halt in the middle of the square. It was a king, with a golden robe fluttering in the wind and a crown of gold atop his gray hair.
King Midas.
