Lto fists. A dark purple light glows from them. I rush towards the elf. I punch him in the nose then the stomach. He collapses.
"Please, spare me," he begs.
I hit him again. He falls.
I look over at Faye. Zara managed to break free and is fighting her. Kala hangs back and fires arrows one of the star elves. An arrow strikes the elf in the heart. I summon a ring of fire around Zara to block her in. She simply waves her hands and the flames vanish. No one has been able to do that before. She appears in front of me. I grab my sword.
"Prepare yourselves. My people want war with the other realms. We will destroy all of you," Zara says staring me in the eyes. I stare back.
"You shouldn''t stand so close," I say before slashing my sword at her.
She grabs the blade before it touches her. It cuts her hand.
"You cannot stop me," she whispers.
Zara and her friends vanish.
"We''re the protectors of the realms and we couldn''t even get here in time to save them? We failed! They''re dead because of us!" I yell.
"We have to go! Zara went after them, but she might be looking to kill the king and queen of the other two realms. That would be the best way to weaken us," Kala says.
"Oh my god. My parents could be in danger!" Faye says.
"Go, take Azura with you. I''ll check up on my realm," Kala says.
I follow her outside. I whistle to call my dragon. Gaia lands next to me. I climb on. The violent wind makes it hard to fly. We fly as fast as we can. I direct Gaia to fly lower before she lands in the forest. The open realm portal glows ominously. Faye steps through it then I do. The dragons follow us.
"Come on, this way!" Faye says as she walks on the dirt road to the left. She stops at a rock wall.
"Are you sure this is the right way? Silvervein is that way," I say.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
"It is the right way. Silvervein isn''t where my parents live. The palace there is just for show. The real kingdom is hidden," Faye says as she begins to climb up the wall.
I follow her. We reach the top and continue on through the woods. She stops at a cave. Paintings and crystals decorate the opening. She steps inside. I follow along. Guards welcome us and guide us deeper into the cavern. Her mother and father sit on thrones at the end of the cave. Faye speaks with the guards.
"Did you see anything unusual?" she asks.
"No," the guard replies.
"How long do you think we''ll have to wait?" Faye asks me.
"Depends. If Zara went after the fairy realm, first it could be a while," I reply. "But when she does show her face, she''s dead!"
"Azura, the deaths of the rulers in your realm are not your fault," Faye tells me.
"They always told me I was too young to be protector of the realm. They were right," I reply.
Faye stays quiet. Guards run inside carrying a woman. She''s got a bleeding wound on her abdomen.
"I guess we didn''t have to wait quite that long," Faye says.
"Wait!" A small, weak voice says. We turn around.
A short, elderly star elf woman stands there. Her eyes are sapphire blue. Her long white hair is in several thin braids. Her cloak conceals most of her.
"It''s madame Sage, the eldest witch in the kingdom," Faye explains.
"You girls are going to need help out there," she says.
She digs in her pockets before pulling out two small dark blue crystals.
"This will give you a bit of a boost," she says.
"Thank you," I say before taking mine.
I quickly put it on my necklace chain.
"Good luck," Sage says.
"Thank you, Grandma," Faye says.
We step outside. Zara stands there.
"Come on. Show me what you got," she taunts us.
Faye vanishes. She doesn''t reappear. A cut forms on Zara''s arm. Faye appears. She''s holding a bloody dagger. The crystal must have given her invisibility. I wonder how the crystal affected my powers. I run towards Zara.
I''m faster than usual. I punch her. She flies back. I''m way stronger too. She jumps up. She slashes her sword at me. I grab the hilt of it and pull it out of her hands. Faye appears behind her and puts her in a chokehold. She claws at Faye''s hands.
"Let go!" she gasps for air.
Faye lets her go, but only for a second. She pushes her onto the ground. Elves, fairies, and humans emerge from the forest. They surround us.
"Kala is in danger. If you don''t let go of me, I will order my people to kill her," Zara says.
I look at Faye.
"You''re lying," Faye says.
"Her village is being burned down as we speak," Zara says.
If we leave Zara will attack, if we stay Kala might be killed. I zip through the forest taking out Zara''s men one by one. Soon they all lay dead. Zara vanishes yet again.
"Come on. I knew we shouldn''t let Kala go on her own," Faye says.
We run to the realm portal and jump through it.
In the distance, smoke fills the air. A small village is blazing. We ride the dragons towards it.
I scan the area for Kala. I see her on the ground. I land Gaia nearby. She''s crying.
"Kala, what''s wrong?" Faye asks.
She looks ahead. Two fairies are on the ground. Their hair is bright pink like Kala''s.
"They killed them! They murdered my parents! They left the king and queen alone and went straight for my family!" she screams. She crawls towards them.
"Kala, we have to go!" Faye says.
"My sister...I can''t find her. Please, find her," Kala yells at me.
"Where is she?" I ask.
"She''s probably in our house," she says as she points down the road.
I run towards it. I kick the door open. The flames bend to my will as I redirect them.
"Help!" I hear upstairs.
I climb up the stairs. A young fairy is pinned underneath a wooden beam. Her hair and eyes are a bright green color. I lift the beam with ease. I wouldn''t be able to that without the crystal.
The elf runs down the stairs. A human gets in her way. I direct the fire to hit him. He screams in pain from the burn. I pick up the fairy and carry her outside.
"Lily!" Kala calls out as she walks over to us.
She takes Lily out of my arms. We watch as the house crumbles from the flames.
"We''ll be okay," Kala reassures Lily.
I don''t think she believes that statement. I wish I could.