The visions were tormenting me.
Night after night they came, the same things, the same pit, the same darkness, the same call.
“Follow me.” El-Roi said.
Every gaze I got at that beautiful field made me long for it more. But my family! Autumnflight was so close to foaling– such a journey would be the end of her. And Whisperspring was delicate. There was no telling how the journey would toil on her body.
So I stayed in my place, waiting, telling myself that there would be a better time.
That is, until the day that a notice was posted– Fireheart was to be burned.
“Burned?” Autumnflight repeated.
Whisperspring nodded. “Everyone’s talking about it! They’re burning her wings and demoting her to Surface Order.”
“Fireheart’s not going to be very pleased about that.” I muttered.
“Me and Falconclaw saw the guards dragging her out of her cave.” Whisperspring said. “She kept screaming, “revenge, revenge! Stormblaze shall taste my revenge!”” Her worried blue and green eyes looked up at me. “Why?”
A shiver went down my spine and I exchanged a look with Autumnflight.
“She’s out for your blood.” Autumnflight whispered. “And you know what she’s going to go after. Are you sure you’ve been taking the treatments?”
“I have!” I shouted, layer of emotion and frustration finally welling to the surface.. “But they keep coming, over and over…”
Autumnflight’s eyes widened. “What?”
My heart froze. I stood still.
Autumnflight looked over at the branches, rearranged them, and dragged me deeper into the darkness. “You’ve still been having visions?”
“I’ve drank gallons of the treatment and they aren’t going away.” I exhaled. “He just… keeps coming after me.”
“So tell Onyxglade! Or your father. Surely there is a stronger medicine so that you can fight this!” She whinnied.
I lowered my eyes. The thought had come to mind, yes. But there was that one nagging question, the repeating idea.
“But what if it’s true?” I whispered.
She froze. “You can’t mean that.”
“I’ve seen things, Autumnflight. Horrible things. Beautiful things. And the way El-Roi speaks…”
She pinned her ears, the whites of her eyes showing. “Don’t speak the name!” She hissed. “Do you want them to kill you? If they find out that you’re thinking of defecting, do you know what they will do?”
“Yes. Which is why I struggle.” I hung my head. “I love you more than anything else, Autumnflight. But I’ve seen that if we do not choose this, much worse things will happen.”
“How can anything be worse than being cast out of our herd and having our wings burned?” Autumnflight asked. “Please reconsider, Stormblaze.”
“I have. I’ve reconsidered over and over.” I closed my eyes. “I… I’m sorry. But nothing else makes sense anymore. All I know is, following Abaddon leads to destruction.”
Autumnflight’s eyes filled with tears. “You’d rather die and leave us behind than recount it?”
I took a sharp breath. “I… I don’t know.”
I fought with myself for the rest of the day.
Fireheart’s burning was tomorrow. She was probably trying to pry my mind without me knowing, taking all of my secrets and spilling them to Smokewing tomorrow.
By then it would be too late to escape. So I would have to go tonight… without my mare and filly.
I began to slip out of the cave, taking one last look at Autumnflight. I felt like I loved her more than ever before.
I hope you will be safe. I thought. I looked down at Whisperspring. My daughter, my little girl. She trusted me so much. What was she going to think?
She’d come with me in a heartbeat. I knew it. But I couldn’t leave Autumnflight alone. That would be too much.
“Goodbye, my sweet girl.” I whispered. “Protect your mother for me.”
I left the cave, trying to be as quiet as possible. I only had a brief window to get out before the guards crossed by, so I would have to be quick.
“Dad?”
I froze, turning around. Whisperspring was standing behind me, looking bewildered. “You’re leaving?” She whispered.
I blinked against tears. “I wanted you and your mother to come along… but your mother said no.”
“Is the King really that special that you would leave us?”
I shook my head. “If I stay, it will be a lot more painful for us all.”
“Can I… come with you a little bit? Just to go outside?” She sidled up next to me. “I… I’ve never been outside.”
I nodded, my throat too thick to speak.
We walked in the shadows until I saw the clear black-blue circle leading to the outside. “Be fast and quick.” I said. “We can’t be caught.”
She darted forward, a brief flash of silver-white until she slipped past the stone. I quickly followed, taking in the clear air. I had forgotten how sweet it was, how clean. Did it really make me sick all of these years?
“What’s wrong with the air?” Whisperspring asked. “It smells funny.”
“It doesn’t have the sulfur and smoke.” I said.
She took in a noisy breath. “It’s different… but I like it. It doesn’t make my chest hurt.”
“And you want to know the best part?” I opened my wings. “It’s easy to fly.”
Her eyes lit up. “Oh, can we please fly for a little bit?”
I hesitated. “It might be too dangerous.”
“Please? I’ll go back to Mom afterward. Just one flight?” Her blue and green eyes shimmered in the dark.
I sighed as I stared back at them. This would probably be the last day I would ever see her again, if I lived.
One last flight couldn’t hurt.
“Okay.” I nodded. “We’ll go.”
She nickered softly and took off. I followed behind her, a fleeting sense of joy in my heart. I knew the King was real. I knew I couldn’t stay.
I just wished my daughter could feel the same.
“Whisperspring.” I said. “Come here.”
She stopped tumbling loop-de-loops and looked at me. “What is it?”
“The King is real.” I whispered. “I would not leave your mother and you if he wasn’t. Please know that I love you so very much, but He loves you more.”
Her eyes lowered. “Then why can’t you stay?”
I sighed. “Because no one else in there would understand.”
She buried her nose in my mane. “I understand.”
I blinked back tears. “Whisperspring…”
A sharp whistle drew my attention downward. Three pegasi stallions flooded from the entrance, hooves and teeth ready.
I had been caught.
“Fly, Whisperspring!” I shouted. Her eyes widened in fear, but she fanned her aqua and pink wings and shot towards the sea.
“This is the Dark Shakiran Guard!” The biggest of the three stallions shouted. “Cooperate and nothing bad will happen to you.”
“You can’t guarantee that.” I said.
He stopped, looking surprised. “Commander Stormblaze?”
I whirled around and flew as fast as I could toward the sea. The stallion shouted orders behind me. “Get the filly!”
Alarmed, I stopped, looking around for Whisperspring. As soon as I turned my head, a hoof smashed into my skull and my vision went black.
Oh dear…poor Stormblaze…