Embers and Feathers

Prologue

The wind whipped through my dark hair as I ran through the forest. The sun's warm rays made the skin on my wings and arms tingle with excitement. Even though it hadn't been that long, the weight of my mother and brother's deaths made time slow down to a crawl. My footsteps faltered for a second as the image of my mother on that awful day flashed through my mind. 

The shock on her face had slowly morphed into pain and regret as the demon's spear pierced her chest. 

My knees buckled under me and I collapsed onto the soft ground. My hands gripped the cool dirt as the rest of the memory came parading through my mind like a sick circus.
 
"MOTHER!" My older brother had yelled, charging at our mother's murderer. Staring at her falling form, I couldn't do anything as the realization sunk in. My brother looked back at me as I stood frozen and shouted, "RHEA! What are you doing?! Catch her!" I shook myself and swooped down. My auburn wings tightened as I started to gain on the limp figure of my mother. Her own wings splayed out at awkward angles as she fell towards the ground. 

A slithery voice snaked its way through my jumbled thoughts until all I could hear was its words. 'This is all your fault...' 'Your mother died because of your ignorance...' I shook my head, no. Mother didn't die because of me. She died because of that stupid demon! 'Hahaha... Puny little girl, trying to blame others when she's the one at fault...' Shut up. I thought to myself, closing my eyes tightly. 'You should have died instead of your brother, you should have taken that spear through the heart instead...' "SHUT UP!" I shouted to the trees. I waited for a second but the voice didn't say anything. My throat started to feel like it was closing up and couldn't breathe properly. The world swam around me as tears filled my eyes and trickled down my cheeks. A scream broke out from my parted lips and my voice cracked. Hysterical laughter bubbled through my burning throat and I raked my hands through my hair, as the painful reminder of that day kept repeating over and over. I crumpled into a ball on the forest floor and continued to sob, not caring if anyone saw me.

    The flapping of wings caught my attention and I quickly scrambled to regain some of my composure. "Lady Rhea," a small winged messenger called from above. I waited for the messenger to land before signaling for them to continue. "Your father, Lord Pratincola has requested your presence as soon as possible," they said formally, eyeing my tear stained face and wayward strands of hair. "Thank you for telling me this," I said almost iceilly, "I will make sure to be there soon," The messenger nodded and flew off, leaving me alone except for the gnawing ache in my heart and a quiet snickering in the back of my head.