Nights of Fire & Ash

Chapter 8

I awoke laying in a field with a blanket of stars above me. The grass was softer than any grass that I had ever felt before. The stars shone so brightly that I would think that they were lights of their own. I stood up and tilted my head towards the sky. The sweet smell of fresh rain and fresh growing grass filled my sense. Then, it was filled with something else. Someone that smelled of fresh flowers. I spun around. No one was there.

"Raeva, I am going to come out, but I need you to understand that this is all in your head. We are in your mental space." A light voice trickled into my ears.

"Okay, I am not going to talk to myself out here. If you want to talk to me, you come out and do it." I demanded. I spun around and practically screamed into the air. "Whatever you did to me. Get out here and face me!"

"Okay, settle down. I am sorry we resorted to such measures." There was a gush of wind at my back. I spun around to see Tatiana standing behind me.
"What? How?" I grabbed her shoulders to make sure that she was really there. Sure enough, there she stood.

"Listen to me, we won't have much time before the healers wake you up. You must leave tomorrow night while Makiel and the inner circle has their meeting. Make a run for it. I will help you get as far as I can, but we are going to make it look like we are going to the city to see the show at the theatre. You must not under any circumstances bring anything with you. I will get you better clothes, and Echa will help us. I don't want to involve her anymore than this because she could be punished. Say your goodbyes. I think this is the only chance you have." Tatiana explained. I was baffled.

"It was you? The map? It was you?" My head was spinning so fast that I could barely think straight.

"I had help, but yes, it was me." The stars started spinning around.

"You're waking up. I have to cut this short. Just tell Echa tomorrow morning, 'I'm ready for the day.' She will take care of the rest. All you will need is your map." Everything started to fade, and then, I was opening my eyes.

"Raeva, oh thank the stars." Makiel pulled me against his chest and squeeze the breath out of me. I stared up at the sky. I didn't say anything as my lungs started to ache from not being able to move.

"Dude, she can't breathe. Ease up." Heldius grabbed Makiel's shoulder.
"Oh, yeah, shit." Makiel pulled away from me. He placed a kiss on my forehead. "I'm just so happy that monster didn't do anything to you."

"Me too." I hugged him back. With the thought that I was going to be leaving this place tomorrow, I didn't have any reason to withhold from him any longer.

The next morning, the winter wind didn't wake me up in the morning. I felt like something was missing. The summer air just felt muggy and stale today. I laid there staring at the orange and red sheer that hung around me.

"Good morning, Miss Raeva." Echa smiled as she walked through the bright bedroom. "I came in before breakfast, but you were still asleep. Makiel told me to let you rest. You had a long night." I drug out a deep breath.

I slipped out of bed and into the bathing tub. After Echa helped me wash, dress, and braid my hair, I turned towards her.

"I think that I'm ready to face the day." I gave her the biggest smile that had crossed my face in years.

The rest of the day got away from me too fast for me to even fathom what was happening. I spent the day as normally as I could. I went to the library, spent my early afternoon finishing a book, ate a late lunch, and starting another romantic book filled with romance and lust.

It's a shame that I won't be able to finish this book. It is probably one of the better ones that I have found in here. I will never have the time to read like this again when I get home.

"Hello, Echa, I haven't seen much of you all day." I said as she glided in. Her blue skin and light pink dress fit together so perfectly.

"Miss Tatiana has invited you to tonight's performance at the theatre in Veranomos." She smiled. I saw that pang of sadness in her eyes. I wasn't ready for this goodbye. She was pretty much the only real friend that I had in this whole place. Between her and Tatiana, I had found people who really started to care about me even if I was just a charity case.

"I will be delighted to go. Will you help me get ready?" I gave her a smile. It would be the last time that she would help me change and put on smudges of charcoal and glitter on my eyes. We took our time walking up to my rooms, and we took even longer getting ready for the evening. Finally, it was over. I had no more time to spare with her. I took the map and slid it into the top of my gown where it brushed up against my side.
"My one last gift is going to be these." Echa gave me a smile, closed mouth smile. She pulled out a pair of actual pants. I gave her a huge grin. I had been waiting on those for this entire week. "Wear them under your dress, so Makiel and the others won't see them." She hugged me. "I'm sorry that I won't be seeing you again."

"I will be seeing you every night in my dreams." I whispered to her. "Thank you for being my true friend. I have never had a real friend like this before."

As I slid them on, I took the map out of my dress and put it in my pocket. We took the stairs down from the top of the tower. I gazed out at the pink, red, and yellow tulips that decorated the lawn. I saw Makiel at the bottom of the stairs. I all of a sudden felt guilty for what we were about to do.

"I will see you in the morning. Our meetings take most of the night, so I won't be able to see you when you come back from the theatre." Makiel hugged me. He felt so strong, so safe. What was I going to do if I couldn't find my way home?

"It's okay. We are due for a girl's night anyways. I need to branch out." I gave him a tug of a smile. I had to keep my shit together. If I started crying now, he would know that something was wrong, and I couldn't let that happen.

"Don't worry, Makiel. We will have a great time tonight." Tatiana smiled at me and Makiel. The guilt burned through me again. I knew that until we got out of here it wouldn't go away. I stopped the stalling. We quickly boarded into the carriage and left towards the city which we would never arrive at.