“Gloria!” A breathless shout and a banging on my door registered in my ears. I quickly opened it to reveal Aelia. “Sis!” I exclaimed, but she shushed me, throwing my closet doors open and tossing me a cloak. “Mother and Father are already there, so we have to go!” Aelia grabbed my hand and started to tow me out the door, but I yanked myself away. “Aelia, where are our parents?” I stubbornly remained in place. I wasn’t going to leave until I knew where we were going.
Aelia became quiet, her hand falling and bracing herself against the door. “They’re coming.”
Her voice echoed between us with a cold finality. The silence stretched as I slipped out the door, and I could hear Aelia’s running steps, pounding in time with my heartbeat.
-------------
We reached the gathering just when they were arriving. Thunder boomed as they arrived on large raptors with wings tightly tucked in. Their armor was sleek and reflected the lamplight as they landed on the ground.
A trio.
One was tall, the clear leader, with a hooded face and dark cloak as if he was an executioner.
The one on the right was thin and wiry, armor gold save for a black slash stretching from right shoulder to left hip.
The third, the last, had no hood or helmet. Her eyes had slitted pupils, the color of emeralds.
I tightened my hand around Aelia’s, which had found its way into my grip.
The trio advanced, their boots clacking against the shadowy ground.
“Where’s Mother and Father?” I hissed at her, and she nodded towards a small group of people. I could see Mother and Father conferring together, before he stepped out to welcome the strangers. “My lords…” he began, bowing low, but the figure in the lead spoke in a deep voice, halting him.
“You have not followed our instructions, Aoko.”
My father managed to bow even lower. “We…”
“There shall be no excuses.” The leader raised his head, and the stranger to his right shifted. With anticipation or nervousness, I couldn’t tell. “Tell him.”
The dark armored one spoke, and I swear I could hear the smile in his voice. “The king has gotten impatient.” he said to my father, who’s eyes had gone cold. “This is the year of hope. Not sacrifice.” he responded, and the woman laughed. Her laugh was light, but I shivered with the fake merriment. “Oh, Aoko, you know that’s not how it works. We don’t play by your supposed rules anymore.” she teased, but her eyes were narrowed. I started to shake as my father straightened, his back stiffening. “Our people will not be subjected to slavery on the year of hope.” he announced loudly, and the crowd whispered, echoes spreading out to reach the blank walls behind us. “We cannot help you.”
The leader stepped forward, and promptly struck my father.
He skidded into the ground, gashes tearing into his skin. Red started to seep into his surroundings, and the trio of strangers only watched as his chest shuddered. “You have already tried to delay what you know is inevitable. Give them over, and no one else has to get hurt.”
I couldn’t stand them anymore. Ripping my hand from Aelia’s grip, who tried to pull me back, I shoved past people in an effort to get closer, “Get away from my father!”
A ripple of shock passed through the crowd. It parted around me, as if I was a rock in a river. My father groaned a soft plea as the leader stood. In three steps, he crossed the ground between us and picked me up by my chin. “Aoko, who is this girl?” He turned to face my father, who whispered something into the ground. It sounded like a prayer, to the gods who had abandoned us.
“Tell me.” He started to squeeze, and I could feel the pressure build as I tried to yank my head from his grip.
My father coughed, red splattering everywhere. “She...”
“I am Gloria of the Shimmering Isles. Daughter of Aoko and Shina.” I spit, pushing at his arm with no success.
The leader’s grip faltered and I fell to the ground at his feet, my knees striking the ground with a muffled thud. “How old are you?”
My father lifted his head, his gaze darkening quickly. “Don’t.”
The woman’s grin glinted, the artificial light making her face glow with malice. “Aoko, if you talk anymore, you won’t have a daughter.”
Then they don’t know about Aelia. Good. I bared my teeth at her, but my arms and legs had gone numb. My father reached out to me, and only our fingertips brushed before the leader kicked my side.
I could hear bone crack as I curled in on myself, rolling from the impact. “She’s just a child, Raze!” My father croaked as I shuddered with the pain.
From my position on the ground, I could almost hear the smile in his voice.
“Then she’ll be the payment we have been expecting of you.”
ns 15.158.61.8da2
