Chapter 47

I closed my eyes and searched for what could unlock the memory orb. I let my energy wander through the glass sphere, pulling some of the power that was coming out of it. I imagined it looking like small strings tied taut inside the orb. I slowed my breathing and listened to the magic’s vibration passing through my fingers and flowing in me. I didn’t quite know what to do, so I whispered an unlocking incantation and felt my magic tug at the invisible lock that resided within. It didn’t want to open.

I tried a different approach; I would force the lock and break it. I gathered as much energy as I could muster. I felt hot, and the memory orb became hot as well. I needed to control my power, or else it could shatter the delicate magic that created the small spherical storage.

Sweat dripped from my forehead, gliding down my side temples and lining the base of my neck. I created a delicate balance between high force and a gentle touch. It was not a small feat and required all of my concentration.

Magic was swirling around me, blowing like a soft wind through my hair and ruffling my dress. I opened my eyes when I heard a ‘click’ in my mind and saw that the orb was glowing. I kept it in my hands while transporting the vaulted room in a forest.

I knew it wasn’t real because I could feel the magical energy all around us, but the scene looked as though we were deep in the woods. I could no longer see the walls or the thick metal door. The sun shone brightly between the trees, letting small rays of light pass through the treetops. I could almost smell the pine trees and the damp, rotting leaves on the ground, just as I would if we were really walking in the forest. Diana gasped in amazement while the man simply looked in awe at the sight before us.

“You can see this, right?” I asked them both.

They nodded.

We saw what my father had seen. We were witnessing his memory from his point of view. He was walking in the forest slowly, and his vision slightly lowered, showing us a bow and arrow in his hands. Father was hunting. He nocked the arrow on the bowstring and continued strolling upwind hunting prey.

There was a loud ‘boom’ coming further in the distance. It had almost sounded like an explosion. The forest that had been bustling with bird songs and small critters chirping became eerily silent. My father ran toward where the sound had come from, jumping over fallen logs and ducking tree branches. The forest vision was shaking from his running.

Eventually, he had found a clearing that had an almost blinding light at its center. I had to shield my own eyes from the light that was before me. When it subsided, I saw someone floating over the ground. Beautiful transparent-looking wings stood out of that person’s back. As my father came closer, I saw a young woman with pale blond hair and a flowing white gown. Her hair was swirling around her pretty face, almost spiralling at the top of her head. She looked strangely familiar. When she opened her eyes, they were completely white.

She smiled adoringly at my father, who had extended his hand and offered it to her. I could hear his breath hitched as she took it and lowered herself to the ground, folding her wings on her back. They slowly dissolved into tiny bright sparks of light. The white of her eyes vanished, and I choked when I saw their colour; they were the same as mine. The only other person who had those was my mother.

“I am Prince Cameron Cardinal. I am at your service, Faith.” My father’s voice beamed. I could tell it honoured him to be in the presence of a Faith.

The Faith chuckled and stroked his hand.

“My name is Alayna.”

The memory ended, and the forest disappeared, pushing us back into the darkened vault. My heart was hammering in my chest, and my hand burned from where the memory orb sat. Diana had been right; my mother was a Faith. Which meant that I was indeed a half-blood. That had been how my parents met.

“Ida! You need to breathe. Look at me! Breathe. That’s it, take another deep one. Good.” Diana held me steady and guided me through the anxiety attack that had taken hold. My shaking knees gave out, and I slumped to the ground, fisting my free hand in the folds of her skirt. That damn corset was going to be the death of me.

The slender man plucked the orb from my other hand and wrapped it in a cloth to prevent himself from getting burned by the orb’s hotness from the magic. He made it disappear in his long brown robe.

“This was most interesting. I had never seen an actual memory from a memory orb. It was very enlightening.” The man spoke excitedly. “My master will be pleased to hear that his suspicions were true. Now that he has finally found you, Princess, you will bring upon this world a new age!”

“What?” Diana exclaimed in surprise.

The man laughed cynically and moved to the door, turning the metal wheel to unlock it.

“Oh, come now. You are smarter than that, miss Chickadee. We intercepted the message you were to receive and replaced it with our own. We needed to draw Princess Cressida out, and you gave us the perfect opportunity. It would have been extremely difficult to find her on our own since her hair is not Cardinal red, and she hides her magic energy so well. It makes the job of a hunter that much challenging... but also satisfying.” His face contorted in a smile that went from ear to ear. He had enjoyed this hunt.

“We received word from an anonymous person, not too long after your arrival, that the princess was coming here under a new name and that she was accompanied by a Lord, a shifter from the rebellion, and three other people. Finding you has been the highlight of my career, Princess. I will be immensely compensated by his royal highness once I deliver you to him. Now tell me, does your fiancé know who you are, or is he as clueless as everyone else except your maid? Duke Kestrel will be very interested in knowing who his son planned to marry.”

“Xander doesn’t know who or what I am. He thinks I am truly an orphan that became a maid. He has nothing to do with this!” I spat at the hunter. I didn’t want Xander to be involved in any of this. I needed to be sure he would be safe from any blame or doubts. This man could not know that Xander and I were mates.

I clung to Diana, forcing my legs to lift me. I needed to take a defensive stance and quick. The door clicked and swung open with a creak; the vault was flooding with Osprey knights who surrounded us. I flicked my hands to create a shield and asked Diana to stay close to me. I could feel her shaking as she pressed on my back. I didn’t know if it was from fear or anger.

“What did you do to my brother?” She shouted in a fury at the man.

“We punished him, of course. Maybe missing a couple of fingers for not telling us that the princess was here. He knew what the price was for treason. The letter you would have received from him said he was sorry and couldn’t help you. That’s brotherly of him, isn’t it? After that, we simply retrieved what you had requested from him and hoped you would take the bait.”

I saw a knight advancing on us from the corner of my eye. I shifted my hand in his direction and blasted him back, doubling the force of my energy shield.

“Stand back!” I shouted, pressing Diana closer.

We were seriously outnumbered, and I had no idea if we would get out of there alive. The knights fidgeted in place, unsure of attacking now that they faced a wielder. The hunter man laughed at my warning and pointed at two more knights before nodding at them and crossing his arms over his chest.

“It’s been a while since we’ve encountered such a feisty magic wielder. I hope the knights' training will be put to good use today!”

The two he had pointed lifted their swords and slung them at my barrier. It held, sending their weapons flying in the air as if they had hit a rock. I was making sure we wouldn’t go down without a fight. I wasn’t ready to give up that easily. More men charged and hit the energy shield, but it drained my magic as though the protection had countered a magical attack this time. This surprised me since my field should hold and keep us comfortable until my strength weakened, which would typically take hours since I wasn’t defending myself from other magic wielders. Their hits should have felt like a flick of a finger, but they were like a cannonball breaking through walls.

Diana saw me shudder and exert more energy as the rain of swords slashing at the barrier weakened my protection. She frowned as she examined the knights.

“They have carvings of glyphs on their swords. They’re imbued with magic! If you keep this up, your shield will break, and they’ll get to us. We need to attack!”

It was all I needed to hear. I blasted every one of them with a wave of energy, propelling them to the wall. I turned to grab Diana and make a run for it when I suffered another significant energy loss. The hunter had a short dagger that had penetrated my defence. He was forcing it down on my field, twisting it to further push it in. I cried out as it continued to weaken me. What in Faith’s name was in those weapons?

Diana saw what the hunter was doing and seemed determined to stop him. She turned and placed a hand on my arm, shooting me a friendly smile with tears in her eyes.

“I’ll buy you some time!”

“NO!” I screamed at her as she pushed off me and hurled herself at the hunter, passing through my barrier and tackling him to the ground.

They rolled on the floor. Diana knocked him away and was returning to my side. She was on her hands and knees, slowly crawling her way back. But she did not move fast enough. I saw every second of the dagger plunging into Diana’s back. I heard the crunch of bones as it pierced through her. Her chilling cries of agony broke my heart and my barrier. I fell on all fours and screamed. My heart raced at a sped-up pace. The ground shook, and I felt my eyes glaze over by the familiar force I had unwillingly welcomed in Perch. I lost control of my body and was lifted into the air, hovering inches from the ground.

The knights all stared in shock and fear as I lifted my opened hand then closed it in a fist. This caused the metal on the floor to melt and swallow their feet, then resetting hard to prevent them from escaping. I heard the rock and soil above our heads crack and rumble. I guessed that whatever was in me had the intention of crumbling down the vault. I could still hear Diana’s gurgling breaths. Blood was spewing out of her mouth while she extended her hand toward me. I wielded myself to take it, to grab her and flee, but my body was not responding to anything I was ordering it to do.

The hunter looked at me in defiance, calling my bluff. He didn’t know that I no longer controlled myself. I was also at the mercy of whatever had taken hold. I felt my body wanting to split in half from the force of the energy I felt flowing through me.

There was a low detonation, and the ceiling gave out from the explosion the magic created. I fell to the ground, and darkness filled my mind just as the ceiling crashed down on all of us.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This book is coming to a close. What do you think will happen? Will Xander be able to get to Ida in time?