Landing herself in trouble with a man who seems to always be there for her, Winter learns she is a cursed witch with a ruined magical core.
Secrets and lies appear more often than she expected as she tries to escape what she thought would get her fu...
The rocks flew out from underneath her feet as she was dragged along, doing her best to keep up with Phoenix. It would take them some time to get to her mother if this was the only way. Though, she still wondered whether he was telling the truth. The sad part was that there was no way for her to know until they got there, a chance that could be possibly too late.
Still, she kept her hold onto Phoenix's hand, eyes trained in front of her the entire time as they flew past witches and wizards.
"Phoenix..." she trailed off, catching her breath for a second. "Can't you use your magic?"
At the sound of her words, his shoes dug into the ground while trying to stop. In between breaths, a weak smile spread onto his face, letting go of her hand. "You're right. With your mother in danger, we need to get to her as soon as we can. Of course, I can use it."
Winter shook her hand as she tried to get rid of the sweat, relief rushing through her once she knew she didn't have to run anymore. Why didn't he think of using his magic sooner? If they really needed to get to her mother, shouldn't that have been the first thing on his mind? Uncertainty rumbled through her mind, wondering if he could even teleport, like her father, using his magic. Either way, they would get there quicker than they would if they ran.
"You've got to get close to me if you want this to work, Winter." He sighed.
Without realizing it, she stepped away from him, ending up under the shade of a tree as the sound of the waves filled her ears once more. She longed for the life where all she had to worry about was how long she could stay at the beach. The life of being Queen one day was not one she wanted, but she knew there was no way to escape it.
Her eyes met his face for only a moment before the space in between them crept upon her. She was farther away than she intended. "Right, sorry."
The gap slowly closed as she moved forward, letting him grab her hand once again so the magic could continue. All she wanted was to get away from everything, but more importantly, she needed to figure out if this curse was really true. Maybe if she confronted her mother about it, it might lead to more clues.
A snap of his fingers told her that, if Phoenix could do this, they would soon be engulfed in the wind. He never showed her this was possible, which had to mean he trusted her enough or he just wanted to use her for whatever plan that was coming next.
It wasn't long before they were wrapped in what could've easily been a tornado. The tips of her hair slapped against her forehead as the wind blew around the two of them, but she closed her eyes from the pressure.
Once she opened them again, they were floating in darkness, her hand was still connected to his. They must have been in the process of teleporting. Her father did this a lot, but she was never with him as he always thought it was too dangerous. What would he think of her now? No matter what, at least she was going to save her mother.
Her hand was slowly slipping from his while the gust pushed and pulled at them.
"Don't let go!" Phoenix yelled, his voice barely audible over the howl of the wind. "If you do, we will be separated, but you won't go back to where we started."
Temptation to slip away gnawed at Winter. It would be nice to not have to see Phoenix anymore, but where would she end up? That was one thing he didn't specify.
No matter how much she didn't want to be with him, a part of her was afraid of what would happen if she decided to do it. Plus, they hadn't saved her mother yet. Even though she couldn't stand Mother, letting her stay in distress was not how she wanted their relationship to be. Since she was to be Queen, no matter how she felt about it, she needed to face her problems just like she would be dealing with them for the entire kingdom.
Time ran out too fast. Before she knew it, they were both whisked away, landing gracefully in front of the castle. Her chance to leave Phoenix behind was no longer there and now, she had no choice but to face her mother.
"Ah, we made it." Phoenix stretched his arms and walked toward the steps.
Winter moved with him, about to open the castle door when she realized that there were no guards. Turning her head to the right, then the left, there was no one around. Her heart beat rose. Where were all of them? They were always by the door, or at least surrounding the palace. Was Phoenix right? Was Mother actually hurt?
Her mind kept drifting away as the nervousness ran through her bones. She had no idea what to think or who to trust anymore. One small glance at Phoenix told her he didn't seem fazed at all. Then again, he knew what was going on. He was the one that told her.
It was too quiet as they made their way through the castle. Without footsteps or talking, it was empty. The smell of smoke came through her nostrils, Winter's small cough being the only sound that echoed through the air. Something strange was going on and she couldn't figure it out.
Until her mother's scream filled the room.
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