Xylia

Twenty

My stomach dropped with each second in my descent, the forest below looking more solid and damaging than ever. In this moment, where I bordered the cusp of flying or falling, I groped for control, scouring my mind and body for the spirit that determine whether my insides would splatter on the ground or not.

Another moment passed, and I continued to plummet towards the sea of trees. I curled into myself. My body thrummed with fear and adrenaline that had my gut reeling in knots.

"XYLIA USE YOUR POWERS!" Drea's voice was muted by the wind, but her words rang clear in my ears. That's when I remembered the three other people who were literally putting their life in my hands. A heaviness weighed down on me at the thought of failing them.

Then don't. The thought rang confidently in my mind, a wave of heat following in its wake. My body flared with the familiar current of energy, its commanding presence a warm and comforting sensation to my mind. Gusts of wind shot out of my finger tips, fanning around the four bodies that hurtled toward the earth. The action jerked our bodies back, flinging us around like ragdolls. Masses of purple and lavender hues melted into one as I dropped to the earth again, yet I had never felt lighter. My body hit the ground with a muted thud ripping the breath from my lungs. Eyes burning and body aching, I blinked path the collecting tears to stare at the delicate petals fluttered in the wind above me, dappling the warm rays of the rising sun. The orange and pink painted sky now bled with black as I lost consciousness.

___

"Xylia. Xylia wake up." A light tap on my cheek awakened me. Wrinkling my nose in distaste, I cracked an unwilling eye open. Hissing as the blinding light burned my corneas. Slapping a hand over my face, I shifted into a sitting position, ignoring the dull throb of my bruised back.

"Woah you look awful," the voice commented. I frowned, peering at my audience.The familiar planes of the strong jaw and golden mass of curls had me reeling back in shock.

"MARIAN?!"

Marian shifted uncomfortably, readjusting his Cyran armor while I openly gawked at him. Rubbing my eyes once more, I let out a series of unintelligible noises.

"H-how, why?" I spluttered out.

"Xylia," he started, raking a hand through his golden locks, "We need you back in Cyra."

All the air whooshed out of my lungs, his words hitting me harder than the fall. Screwing my brows together, I was about to barrage him with questions but he continued his speech.

"We haven't been able to expand our resources due to the beast, and now companies are crumbling, riots are breaking out, and people are losing faith in our leaders. In other words, Cyra is falling apart." The once strong and esteemed chief of police looked so defeated, his thinning frame and hollow cheekbones made him appear so much smaller than the man I once knew and disliked.

"The High Council has decided unity is most important in times of chaos and sent all of the guards to retrieve the exiled." Marian's hands shook with the news, his gaunt face and bloodshot eyes echoed his fear for our home. "Xylia, we messed up, but we need you." His tired eyes bore into my own, pleading with me. The tightening feeling in my chest unravelled and for the first time since the fall I could finally breathe. Soaking in the news, my face lit up with joy at finally being wanted in Cyra.

It's a dream come true.

All the blood drained from my face, sapping away the glimmer hope that had began to bloom. Peering at Marian's thoughtful eyes, my chest tightened even more at the revelation. "I can't." The words slipped past my lips like a broken prayer, plummeting the hopeful mood much like my earlier freefall.