The First Dawn (Daughter of the Phoenix Book Three)

by Victoria J. Price

  Fia paraphrased his words for Lorn before the Makya had a chance to protest Rainn’s language choices again, omitting the part about her. Lorn rolled her eyes but said nothing. So she’s just as desperate as I am for this to work.

  The angels were all busying themselves with preparing for their departure, but Evina still sat perfectly still, watching them all. Lorn still paced. Something about this felt off. The angels had said they wanted to leave. Well, Jax had said as much. And Aura’s contempt for their king was palpable. But Rainn; the way he watched and stared was unsettling.

  “You’re with Jax again, and your cousin,” he finally said to Fia as Aura handed him a bag.

  Fia reached a hand out for Evina. “We have names, you know. I’m Fia, this is Evina and Lorn.”

  “What a family,” Rainn said, arching a brow.

  Aura winked, but there was no time for Fia to say anything else. The moment Jax’s hand gripped her wrist, the tent spun.

  This time it was different. There were flashes of colour, and she saw Erebus’s face. Shit. He found us. But then his face was closer, and he brushed his knuckles against her cheek. Fia tried to speak, but no words came out—just like last time on the wall above Djira.

  His hand traced her jaw and he stepped closer, right as the world slammed back into place. Fia’s feet crunched in snow, and her vision whirled in a mix of dark shadows and snow under moonlight. She held a hand to her head as she sucked in a lungful of crisp night air, her gaze fixed on the trees up ahead. She closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, she was amongst the trees, looking back at Jax and the others. What the—?

  “Fia!” Jax called out.

  She opened her mouth to reply, just as a filthy calloused hand clamped over it, and the sharp sting of a blade pressed against her throat.

  Chapter Twelve

  Fia

  “ I thought you said this forest was empty,” Rainn hissed from somewhere nearby, but Fia couldn’t see him through the trees. That didn’t necessarily mean they couldn’t see her though.

  “It was, two days ago,” came Jax’s reply.

  Fia yanked against her attacker’s hand, but the only response was a deep grunt and the blade pressed closer to her skin.

  “You’re not welcome here, angels,” the man spat.

  The angels talked amongst themselves for a moment, and just as Rainn began to speak, a fireball landed at Fia’s feet.

  “The next one will hit you in the face.” Lorn held her head high as she spoke, even though her appearance made her seem completely unhinged. She flicked another fireball up and down like it was a tennis ball, her face illuminated in an orange glow. “Care to interpret for me, Fia?”

  “I think he got the message,” Fia said as the man’s hand fell from her mouth and he yanked her against him with his arm. She struggled against his grasp, looking for a way to disarm him.

  “Keep moving like that, and I’ll give you something to scream about,” he whispered, close enough that she could feel his hot breath against her face, the stench turning her insides.

  Acid coated the back of her throat as her stomach twisted. She would not be caught. Fia tightened her grip on her attacker’s arms. Anger coursed through her and she felt the hum of her magic so fast she almost didn’t register what it was until her hands and arms were engulfed in blue. The man screamed in pain, kicking her away from him into the snow.

  The snow hissed as her flames made contact, but they didn’t fizzle out like she expected. She turned to face him, backing away towards Lorn and the others as the man plunged his arms into the snow.

  “You stupid bitch, what are you?” he growled.

  Fia felt a wave of magic wash over her just as an orange fireball hit him square in the face and he screamed in agony.

  A strange hiss filled the air as arrows hit the snow at her feet, as if they’d been knocked off course. That wave. It was Aura’s shield. Fia scanned the trees but couldn’t see much in the darkness, the blaze of her flames was too bright.

  “I hope you were right about being able to defend yourselves,” Rainn said from somewhere close by, his words accompanied by the whine of a sword being unsheathed. “Aura, stay with Evina. Don’t wander off, we stick together.”

  Fia didn’t have time to worry about Evina but she doubted that Aura’s shield would be able to cover all of them for whatever came next. A vicious roar cut through the night and the snow shook beneath her feet. Large shadows approached through the trees, but Fia held her ground.

  Lorn released a fireball and it connected with a creature, mounted by a rider holding a spear. There was no time to think. Fia merely acted on instinct, releasing a spluttering jet of blue flames at the rider’s hand and sliding through the snow as the tail of the creature swung to knock her off her feet.

  She grabbed the spear, spinning around as the creature turned back to her, her grip on her flames dwindling. No. Not now. Just a little longer. But she’d barely had time to practice, let alone understand how to call upon it in the first place.

  Fia stepped back, the spear raised as she released another broken ribbon of flames at the creature, but it merely hissed and fizzled into nothing as it hit its scales. What was this thing? The rider was screaming, clutching his arm and swearing as he shouted commands. The forest was a flurry of movement around her, but she had no time to look or check on her acquaintances. The creature lunged for her and she took a step back, her foot tangling in a tree root and she fell back into the snow, the air whooshing out of her as she landed. But she didn’t let go of the spear, she held it high as the creature lunged, three rows of jagged teeth snarling down at her, its lipless mouth webbed with dark saliva.

  Fia sucked in a breath and braced the end of the spear in the snow, just as the creature dove towards her. It let out a bone-rattling roar, but she was ready for it. She rolled out of the way as its mouth came down on the spear, the tip poking right through its head. Its rider was thrown off, and Fia reached for her dagger.

  He was young, Fia realised, too young for this. “Stay back, or I’ll burn you again,” she called out as he clutched his burnt arm to his torso, the other reaching for a weapon across his back. It looked like a… hammer? That meant he’d likely be slow, and with his injury… Fia considered her options. More of the creatures roared around her, and she knew it was only a matter of time before someone, or something, else attacked her.

  The young man raised the hammer and threw himself towards her. She knew she wouldn’t survive a blow to the head from that thing, that it was her, or him. “Please, stop,” she huffed, pivoting around to miss his swing.

  Something hit her in the side and she stumbled, spinning around to release a jet of flames onto the young man to give her time to figure out what had hit her. She spun again, narrowly avoiding the tail of one of the creatures as it swung for her a second time. The young man wasn’t moving, but she didn’t have time to think about it, as two more of the creatures approached, their riders shouting commands.

  Exhaustion weighed down on her, and Fia chanced a look back over her shoulder at her allies. They were about to be surrounded too.

  “Jax, take Lorn and Evina, now,” she heard Rainn call out as she turned back to the creatures tentatively stepping towards her. They were backing her up against two trees.

  Rainn called out again. “Fia, get over here, we have to leave, now.”

  But there was no clear route to Rainn and the others. The riders blocked her path, and their creatures were steadily stepping closer, herding her back.

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered to the riders, as her hands ignited, and in the flicker of her blue flames she saw that their faces were as young as the last, but it was them or her. No, it was them, or Ohinyan, she told herself.

  She followed that hum and reached deep within herself to where she imagined the magic took root, willing it up to her chest, to her fingertips as the creatures stepped closer. She didn’t step back. Their glassy eyes danced with blue flame, and with a p
ained cry she threw her flames towards them all—one furious jet of flames that flowed from her and made her think of the Northern Lights. One by one the riders leapt off into the snow, but Fia didn’t stop, not until the creatures stopped moving. Not until the glassy rounds of their eyes turned milky, the scales on their faces began to char and crack. Not until they all fell to the snow with a heavy thud, lifeless and smoking.

  Fia fell to her knees, her breath catching in her throat as her flames dwindled to nothing. A roaring filled her head, and she was vaguely aware of more of the creatures approaching in the shadows. Someone was calling her name, but she had no idea where the voice was coming from.

  A hand clamped around her wrist. “Fia, we have to go now.” It was Rainn.

  There was no time to reply. The world spun, and Fia knew he’d evanesced them out of there.

  She saw Erebus again in the chaos. He cupped her face in his hand and traced a thumb across her lip. She was too exhausted to push him away, and soon the world righted itself and she fell face first into the snow.

  “Did they bite you?” Aura rolled her over, shaking her from her drowsiness.

  Fia opened her eyes at the panic in the angel’s voice, reaching a hand to her throbbing head. “I… those things? No, I don’t think so.” Her words slurred as they fell from her lips, as if someone else had spoken them. She hadn’t just killed those riders. She’d incinerated them.

  Aura swore. “You think? You don’t know? I’m going to check you for wounds.” The angel began patting at her arms and checking for blood like Fia had seen in first aid training back on Earth. “The dragoun’s bite is venomous. First you lose your senses, then your mind.”

  “Venomous?” Fia muttered. Something had hit her in the side. One of the creature’s tails. Her thoughts were a swarm of Erebus tracing a thumb across her lip and the four lives she’d taken. She coughed back the bile threatening to escape as Aura continued checking her for wounds.

  “They’re not here,” she heard Rainn say. “We need to keep moving.”

  The world spun again and Fia saw four charred bodies, lifeless in a world of pristine white. She tried to reach out to them, but they turned to ash at her touch. She saw Alexander watching her from a distance as the ash blew across the snow, his jaw tight and his eyes like she’d never seen them. Cold. Angry.

  She fell into snow again, the cold burning her skin.

  “I don’t know what’s wrong with her Rainn, I can’t find any wounds,” Aura said.

  “Keep checking,” he replied, as snow crunched nearby, the sound fading as the angel walked away from them.

  “Fia, stay awake. You need to tell me what happened,” Aura pleaded.

  Fia groaned as Aura rolled her over. “I can’t figure you out,” she muttered, her thoughts a muddied mess. “I have to get out of here. I have to get back to Ohinyan.”

  “Think what you want of us, but you will not die under my watch,” Aura said, her voice firm.

  “Let’s go.” Rainn grabbed her hand again, and Fia’s weak protest came out as nothing but a murmured whisper.

  The world spun once more. She wasn’t sure how much she could take. Every part of her body ached. Her head. Her heart. What have I done?

  This time, when they stopped, she didn’t hit the snow. She looked up to see Lorn yelling at someone. No change there. One moment the Makya was a few metres away, the next she was somehow right in front of Fia, and Fia unceremoniously threw up all over Lorn’s feet.

  Hands caught her as she fell, but not Lorn, Fia realised. She was too busy raging about the mess. A smile broke across Fia’s face, even as the thundering continued in her head.

  “What are you smiling about?” Lorn demanded.

  But there was no time to reply as Fia’s eyes closed and she fell back into the arms of whoever held onto her.

  ***

  When Fia awoke, she was alone. Her dreams had been a nightmarish mix of her visions from before: the young soldiers turning to ash at her touch, and Alexander looking on in disgust. Erebus, his face always close to hers, his storm-cloud eyes gazing down at her like she was the only thing in the world that mattered.

  Her stomach lurched, and she coughed up nothing but bile, wiping her sleeve against her mouth. She was in a tent, much like the one the angels had first taken them to. Fia pulled herself upright and patted her trouser pocket for the little copper sphere. Still there. She reached for it, inspecting it closely to check for any further damage. It looked fine, and she muttered a few thanks to no one in particular.

  “Hey, it’s me,” she whispered, pressing down on the button to send a message. “Something happened. A few things, actually.” She brushed away a tear as she watched those bodies fall off their mounts all over again, lifeless. “I just wanted to tell you, whatever happens. I love you. No matter what happens. We’re trying to make our way back. Apparently, there’s a gate, and—”

  “Talking to your God again?” Lorn stepped into the tent, snow falling away in chunks from her boots. The same boots Fia was certain she’d thrown up on.

  Fia shoved the little sphere back into her pocket. “Sure, why not.”

  “No snappy comeback?”

  “I’m too tired for that.” It was true. Fia was exhausted, and her head still ached.

  “You burned out too fast. I’m not surprised. You’ve barely practised.” Lorn folded her arms as she stared down at Fia, her ember eyes bright in the dim light. “And you owe me a pair of shoes.”

  “Sorry,” Fia muttered. She lay back down again, staring at the apex of the tent. Where were they? She was fairly certain a tent this large wouldn’t have fit in any of the angels’ bags. And she didn’t have the energy for Lorn’s attitude right now.

  “You need to practise. Come on, we shouldn’t waste time, the angels tell me attacks like that will only continue.” Lorn paced as she spoke, as if she was always on the verge of erupting and the movement helped her keep herself contained.

  “I’m too tired, Lorn. And I’m not fighting them again. If both sides in this war hate the king, then they’re on the same side, aren’t they?” Fia wasn’t sure her logic tracked, but if they were fighting for a king they loathed, then they were on the same side as whoever was opposing them.

  “Who cares, as long as they take us back to Ohinyan.”

  “Why do you care so much about getting back to Ohinyan anyway?”

  Lorn stopped pacing. “That is my business.”

  “A friend told me something about you once,” Fia said, still gazing up at the canvas. She could feel Lorn’s gaze on her.

  “Did they?”

  “They said you believe that as the fire mother, you’ll possess the power of the new sun, to give and take life as you wish after the old sun dies.” Fia pushed herself up to a seated position so she could study Lorn’s face. “You want to destroy those that don’t obey you, don’t you? To finish what you started in Ohinyan.” She didn’t wait for Lorn to answer. “What I don’t understand is, why?”

  Lorn’s face had darkened, her hands clenched into fists at her sides. “I don’t owe you an explanation. I don’t owe you anything. The only reason you’re still breathing is because I’ve allowed it.”

  Orange sparked at the Makya’s fingertips and Fia leapt to her feet, her head roaring and pounding. “You don’t owe me anything? You don’t… owe me? You murdered my friend. Alexander’s father. Countless others. And you said it yourself, you don’t care. You don’t care about any of them.” She took a step closer to Lorn and felt her flames take over.

  Lorn stepped back as she sucked in a breath, her eyes shimmering with blue. “Fia… you look like a Makya.”

  All the fight left Fia in a whoosh. “Get out.” Her flames fizzled to nothing as Lorn stared back at her. “I won’t say it again.”

  Lorn didn’t argue, didn’t snap back with some witty remark. Her expression was schooled to steely disgust, and without a word, she turned and left the tent.

  Fia let herself sink to
the floor, her head pounding worse than before.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Alexander

  “ Stay where you are,” a stern voice called out.

  Alexander had barely managed to lift himself up from the dirt after throwing himself through the gate. He took a quick count to check everyone had made it through, and it gave him just enough time to count the number of adversaries staring them down, weapons drawn. He cast his gaze over the group. They were human, except for maybe…

  “Angels are not welcome here,” a woman said. She was tall and dressed in a deep purple robe, like her two companions. And unlike her acquaintances wielding weapons, she stood tall, not a weapon on her person. She stared down at them all and something in her expression reminded Alexander of Okwata.

  “You’re Tahjiik?” he asked. He didn’t wait for a response. He could barely stand, let alone conjure up manners. “We mean no harm. We’re here to find someone; our world depends on it. We come from—”

  The woman raised a hand. Her two male companions were silent, and both possessed the same amber eyes. One had sepia skin like Okwata, the other was fair like the Nords. “We know where you come from, angel. Okwata should not have helped you. He has broken the terms of his exile in doing so. Do you know why he was exiled?” A breeze blew strands of her sleek black hair across her face, but she made no move to swipe them away, just stood unnervingly still beside her companions.

  “I do not. But it is of little consequence. Our world will die if we do not find our friend.” Alexander allowed himself a quick glance at their surroundings, a small clearing beside the gate, surrounded by trees, disguising whatever else might lay beyond.