Page 5 of A Kingdom of Shadow and Ash

‘What can be done to stop them?’

‘Nothing.’

The answer struck her like a blade. She leaned forward, her purple eyes burning with frustration.

‘There must be something!’

The Seer’s milky gaze narrowed, sharp as a dagger’s edge.

‘To end the curse, you must kill the Fire Prince.’

Mal went still. The words felt like an intrusion—something that did not belong to her, something that had no place in her world. A curse?

Her fingers trembled slightly, her mind turning, trying to stitch together meaning where there was none. The Fire Prince? What did he have to do with war? What did he have to do with a curse?

And what, in all the deadly gods' names, didshehave to do withhim?

She had never laid eyes on the prince before. Their kingdoms had been at odds for a century, locked in a rivalry asold as stone. Mal had spent her life despising the Kingdom of Fire and everyone within its smoldering walls.

But if killing him meant ending a war… Could she do it? Surely,hecould.

She had heard the tales. Whispers of a beast draped in gold, his hair kissed by the sun, his eyes the colour of sand on the brink of a storm. A prince born of cruelty, who hunted for sport and tortured for pleasure.

‘Is it true?’ she asked, her voice a breath above a whisper. ‘The prophecy? Does the prince have something to do with it?’

‘Yes.’ The word slithered into the air, settling in Mal’s chest like a sickness. ‘Two children were born to stop the curse; a cursed child and a chosen one. The chosen child must kill the cursed one in order to save the kingdoms.’

Mal’s blood turned to ice.

‘You said I must kill the Fire Prince…’ she said. ‘Does that mean I am the chosen one? And he is the cursed child?’

For the first time, something passed across the Seer’s withered face—something that did not belong.Fear. It nestled into the creases of her skin, dark and unwelcome, a wrinkle that no time nor spell would ever smooth away.

The Seer’s eyes darkened, returning to their eerie, yellow glow.

‘Now, you must leave.’

Mal parted her lips to speak, but the cries of the forest deepened.

They did not whisper anymore.

They shrieked.

A crackling force coiled around her skull, clawing inside, grasping at the edges of her mind like fingers of the lost, desperate to claim what was owed.

Run.

Mal did not hesitate.

She turned, her bare feet striking against the earth as she tore from the hut, the blackened trees stretching towards her like hands trying to keep her bound to the darkness.

She did not look back.

The Council of witches are scared and fear that the other kingdoms are growing jealous of our powers. They have never been before. I think there is someone behind this, someone who is whispering evil words to those in power and angering them, turning the hatred towards the kingdom that possesses the magic. However, if they succeed, I do not know what that will mean for us witches. We are strong, but we are only one kingdom against another seven. And if it comes to such an outcome, the gods will turn their backs on us, and laugh. This is what they wanted from the very beginning. We broke the order of things, so now they wish to see us pay.

I will not allow it.

Tabitha Wysteria

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