CORRUPTED FILE [Lumina Chronicles Past Drafts]

Level Two: Campfire Q&A

*Maggie's POV*

I stared silently into the curling flames of the fire Kindle had built for our little group. There were only eleven of us total. Eleven people to face the twenty eight remaining members of the Abandoned Order, and the entire army of Lumina— the size of which was still unknown. To put it simply, our mission was hopeless. How on earth could we expect to stand against that many people?

And apparently, I wasn't even included in that.

When I'd announced that I wanted to help, everyone had gone silent for a moment, apart from Inari, who actually laughed at me.

"No offense dear, but what can you actually do to help us?" Inari asked, her hands on her hips.

"Inari, that's not nice," Emrys said quietly, frowning at the redhead.

"But it is true," Inari continued. She turned her large brown eyes back to me, "What can you do to help us?" she repeated, "Can you fight?"

Slowly, feeling very stupid, I shook my head no. Inari had been so friendly when I first met her at Faye's birthday party. Why was she acting like this now?

"Can you sew up wounds, or make medicines from plants?" Inari pressed.

I shook my head again, acutely aware of the stares I was receiving from everyone who had gathered. Faye, Serpina, and Emrys were watching sympathetically, the people I had yet to meet watch curiously, and Kindle glared daggers at Inari.

"How about reconnaissance? Can you sneak into potentially dangerous areas to gather information?"

"I could learn those things though, someone could teach me!" I insisted.

Inari smirked, "I'm sure you'd love to do that, and I'm sure you would pick up on a few useful skills. But the winning question is... would Kindle actually let you learn? He risked everything just to save you, do you honestly believe he'd willingly let you into harm's way?"

I looked hopefully at Kindle, but he only dropped his eyes to the ground. My heart sank.

"And another thing," Inari continued, "Now that I know what Kindle is, I find it hard to believe that you two will last anyway. No self-respecting dragon should want to associate with a human, let alone date one. Look around, little girl. He should hate you!"

"Inari, that's enough..." Emrys insisted, placing a delicate hand on Inari's arm.

"Yes, Inari," Kindle agreed, his voice hard. "Enough."

Inari simply rolled her eyes and transformed into her fox form. She ran off into the forest that lined the Ruins, her tails swishing angrily as she went.

Emrys had insisted that she would be back after she calmed down. "She's a bit on edge, that's all. It's nothing against you personally, really it's not." Emrys said to me quietly, "She's just never been fond of humans."

I nodded, but didn't say anything.

After that, our group moved deeper into the Ruins until we found a good area to set up camp. Kindle built a fire, and I took to staring sadly at that fire as everyone else chatted and planned around me.

Inari was right about everything. Did I honestly expect to fight in this war? If anything, I would be a problem. Kindle didn't even deny it when Inari suggested he wouldn't let me learn to fight. And now that Kindle's species was no longer a secret, how long could I expect him to stay with me? I was a boring human, and on top of that, it was humans who destroyed his home and his species.

Even after everything that's happened, I still didn't belong in this world.

Across the fire from where I sat, Kindle stood and excused himself for the night. My eyes trailed away from the fire for the first time since it had been built, and I watched for a moment as Kindle proceeded deeper into the crumbling city.