APRIL SYLKRANA IS DETERMINED TO RISE. After the devastating news of her mother, the Imperial High Queen's, death, she only has one job before she can take what is rightfully hers: kill her half-brother, June. Not only is he elusive and serious about...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
2412, Diori 22, Velpa
Night had fallen on her, and this time, April lost count of how many she had lived through and all hope for how many more she had to. A solemn cloud descended over the camp and hasn't dissipated since. Something must have happened.
"Can you believe it?" a voice lacing around rhythmic clinks of metal boots edged from the corner. By estimation, two people. "The Virtakios lost it today."
April scooted deeper into the darkness of her cell, hiding any trace of her white feathers to remind these soldiers of her presence. Let them talk. She needed this information if she was to stay sane.
Shadows clipped the edge of her view of the camp, proving her estimate. Two soldiers sauntered past her cell, wearing the armor native to their territory and race, one a light blue of the ice sprites and the other fiery red of the fire sprites.
"You think so?" the ice sprite asked, scratching the side of his head. "I wouldn't call that 'losing it'. She's saddened by what happened today."
"For that spy, I know," the fire sprite answered, no ounce of empathy lacing around his tone. If anything, he seemed convinced he's being sensitive about loss by talking about someone else's. "He shouldn't have tried to assassinate the Sovereign. It's not a surprise."
The soldiers zipped past April's cell before she decided to charge out of her cell and pound the living torches out of these two. It's too late to chase them down now.
"The battlefield is unpredictable—that's what you should be saying," the ice sprite whacked his comrade upside the head. "There's a chance the spy would have succeeded. The Sovereign isn't infallible nor is she invincible."
The fire sprite snorted. "Is she now?"
The rest of their conversation vanished through the howl of a chance breeze blowing through the inner quadrant, leaving April to stew in her new discovery. This was why the Sovereign and the Heiress drugged their subordinates. They couldn't handle being talked about behind their backs, especially if the remarks were something they wouldn't like. Coups and mutiny often began this way, too. Too much freedom, and the common folk would start to think they have power and authority to take control of things.
And sometimes, the illusion of control goes into people's heads, and that would be a massive problem later.
"Something on your mind?" a new voice popped into April's senses.
April whirled to the rails to find Rutoria camping behind it again. A frown twisted April's features as she slunk closer to her visitor. "What are you doing here?" she demanded. Deep inside, relief swam in her gut. At least her saliva wouldn't go stale with Rutoria dropping by every now and then.
The fairy—April still didn't know what kind; it's not like she had peeked at Rutoria's trail—chuckled and set her lantern down. Her skirts dampened most of its green glow when she sank into the ground without reservation. "Are you going to answer my question with another question?"
