Song of the fireborn

the winding dirt path leading toward the valley. T

Nyrah leaves in the val

n't far. It wasn't dangerous-just a stretch of grassland with a few trees, a

from the village, an uneasy

ng between fresh rain and crushed herbs. Every healer in the village swore by them, claiming they could restore strength to the weak if taken con

ather wa

he strap of my bag. I co

between branches, calling out to each other in high-pitched chirps. Occasionally, I heard the scuttle

ree roots and under thick bushes. My heart pounded each time I thoug

t, I reached

d heard trickling in the distance ran through its center, glistening in the sunlight. Large

breath and ste

xt hour, I

hin

ng twisted i

asn't

guards. But there was nothing-just ordinary grass and w

ened. Time was

hands over the damp earth, checking un

Maybe they're hidde

, not

inside me. My father was lying in that small, dimly lit roo

ched m

sed to acc

uard's words c

beyond th

tle slope, past the trees that

taller. Shadows stretched between their trunks, the ligh

lowed

. There were tales of strange happenings, of people who had gone too far

ughed at th

hildhood tales meant to kee

me then-the one I had push

t forced my f

ere. And if they weren't here...

he last boulder, past the final stretch o

d, the world se

dull, grayish hue. The trees stood closer together, their trunks gnarled

ul not to make too much noise. The stories were

ad of me,

lver-green amon

h le

hed for them. They were perfect, smooth, firm, alive with that faint shimm

it. I had f

y, hope bloomed inside me

er my shoulder and

aid from behind me. Smoo

roz

owly, I

d behind me. A m

t beautiful peopl

ing down their backs, straight and impossibly smooth. But it was their eyes that he

ath hi

not from t

u

nto my mind, but my b

t curiosity. The woman remained still, unreada

en

olt

east, I

rush of wind, a shadow, him-moved

of my head. My vision bl

rkness swallowed me was a pair of