Page 44 of Voices in the Stars (The Lost Witch #1)

“Again,” Leon barked at me.

I held the sword up in the defensive pose that he had shown me earlier that morning.

My focus was so trained on keeping my feet stable that I almost missed Leon swinging his sword down at me.

With a yelp, mine was knocked out of my hands.

I jumped back, the blade landing right where my feet had been just moments ago.

I grimaced as I looked at the metal shining up at me.

Even with my new boots, that would’ve needed some healing magic. I still had no idea how to weld.

My head leaned back as I let out a sigh.

We had been at this for days with little improvement.

Leon at least started giving me a sword that didn’t dwarf me.

Not that it helped. I flexed my fingers, fighting against the ugly head of disappointment that reared up.

I glanced over at the edge of the forest.

After our conversation, Atlas disappeared.

He’d be gone all day, and didn’t reappear until I felt his arms wrapping around me as I fell asleep.

This made my training days with Leon long.

We spent the mornings strength training before picking up the blades so we could spar.

It worked as a great distraction, which might’ve been why I was having a hard time picking up anything but the basic moves.

I tried to keep Leon’s calm attitude, but I found it harder with each passing day.

Something in Kilrest had changed recently.

Leon and Atlas had been traveling there almost daily, getting us food and new clothing.

Leon had the ability to completely take care of himself here between the chickens and the small vegetable garden he had.

Me and Atlas being here made us go through everything twice as fast. We couldn’t stay long.

I was certain the only reason we were still here was me.

I didn’t pick the sword back up, instead choosing to join it on the grass, crossing my legs as I stared up at the giant.

“Giving up already?” he commented, crossing his arms .

“Never,” I answered. “Just taking a break.”

Leon left as I wrapped my arms around my bent legs, my head resting against my knees, the circle I burned surrounding me.

Small sections were still smoldering. I followed the smoke as it drifted to the morning sky.

There was still the faint outline of the moon in the quickly brightening sky.

Sweat dripped down my back as a faint smile tugged at my lips.

None of this was easy, but I couldn’t help the feeling that this was right.

I was finally back where I was supposed to be.

Every hardship and pain led me to being here.

It felt like the last bit of apprehension over this world melted away as I relaxed against the grass.

Leon called out to me from the house. I tried to turn toward him, but my head was stuck.

A gasp left me as my gaze was locked into the sky.

My eyes were watering as pressure started building inside my head.

Something next to me dropped to the ground.

Cold droplets splattered across my legs.

Hands ran across my arms, but it was nothing compared to the hands probing my mind.

There were fingers shuffling through my memories, leaving me with quick glimpses before they were replaced by the next.

Mother singing me a lullaby while my eyes drooped shut.

Josi and I lighting the star candles, sending our wishes up to the stars.

Me sitting next to my father while he pulled vegetables from our garden.

Then a new one showed up. I felt like I was watching characters act out a play, but I knew it was still one of my own memories.

The child version of me was sitting on an edge of a wood stage.

She looked exactly like the paintings of me.

A loud male voice boomed through the room next to her.

She paid him no mind as she swung her legs, looking through the crowd.

This was somewhere in Feycrest. The people among the crowd were the same as the ones I’d seen in town.

Feras, people with antlers, giants who seemed to barely fit in the wooden seats.

Certainly no one I would’ve seen in Donnaway.

A soft squeak sounded behind me. It was just enough to catch my attention.

There was a little boy poking his head through the doorway.

He had fangs and little dark bumps that stuck out the top of his head.

Mischievousness sparkled in his dark eyes, something I had never seen from him before.

Atlas moved into the room, eyes never moving from her as he quietly shut the door.

My hand covered the smile that broke out as I watched her notice him.

Her eyes lit up as she sat up straight, legs still at once.

A big smile broke out across her face as she glanced at the man slightly behind her.

She glanced between the two for only a moment before sliding off the stage and running toward Atlas.

“Be back before dark, Nari.” The man paused his preaching, glancing at the two of them.

“I’ll have her back before then,” Atlas promised before grabbing her hand, leading them out of the building.

A gasp left me as I was ripped out of the memory before being thrown into the next. Smoke was thick in my lungs. I coughed as I tried to catch my breath, eyes watering as I leaned down, bracing myself on a dirt hill. I jumped at the sound of whimpering next to me.

It was the same young version of me. Tears were streaming down her face.

Even with the hand tight across her mouth, I could still hear her screams. The same man from before had her wrapped in his arms. His eyes were closed as he pressed his face against the top of her head, lips moving quickly with his whispers.

She was drowned out by the screams that started up in front of us.

My heart ached immediately at the soul-crushing sound.

I crawled up the hill until I could barely see over it.

The smoke thickened. There was a large building on fire in the center of the town with little left to it, a burning frame with a few windows left standing.

My hands covered my mouth as one of the stained-glass windows fell out of its smoldering wood frame.

Glass scattered across the ground, stopping just in front of a small boy.

The screams were coming from him as he collapsed onto his knees.

There was a man standing next to him, watching him.

It was dark enough that all I could see were the large set of horns sticking from the top of his head.

Rage boiled inside me. I didn’t need to see more to know who he was. It was Eris.

There was more yelling as another horned individual appeared next to them. They were screaming, pointing their finger at Eris before gesturing at the building as the crowd gathered around them. Their hands found their own face as a new scream joined Atlas’.

“Nari!”

Then they charged into the burning building. Atlas tried to stand as he screamed out to them. He was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. Even from here, I could see the way his fingers dug into Atlas’ shoulder, forcing him back to the ground.

The fire climbed to the top of the largest steeple.

More yells sounded as glass shattered to the ground.

Then it collapsed. The large point crumpled down into the floors below it.

Wood shattering and splintering rang loudly into my ears, followed by a loud yelp from inside.

All other screaming stopped as everyone watched with bated breath as the front of the temple collapsed in on itself.

I was ripped out of that memory next, left in the darkness of my mind.

It would’ve been easy to think I was alone if I couldn’t still feel those fingers rifling through things.

How many memories were they seeing that I didn’t remember?

I shook my head. If they were anything like that, I wasn’t sure I wanted to remember them.

Now though, I knew Atlas had been telling the truth.

I was the missing child. Not just a random child, like he originally thought.

One that he knew. A half smile broke out at the thought of being able to tell him he didn’t lose everyone that night.

I made my way back to him. Well, he forced me back to him, at least.

Slowly, the fingers retreated from my memories. Happy with whatever they had found. They were slower to fully leave my mind, though. Their presence felt like a heavy weight drowning out everything else.

Find the one who sits on a throne of the dead.

The words came across as hundreds of people whispered inside my head. There was a distinction between feminine and masculine voices. A couple even had thick accents. If the words were just spoken to me, they would’ve been lost in the sea of voices.

“Eris?” I tried to ask. The words never left my throat. Instead, they bounced around my mind, disappearing into the same void the voices were echoing out of.

A real king. He’s hunting you now.