Page 5 of Burning Heir

Voices echoed in my ears as I splashed cold water on my face. After changing into a beige sweater Mother had knitted for special occasions, I left the bathroom to join the others outside. We prepared for the final flight to Serpent Academy.

Dew coated the shabby welcome mat. A perfect circular sun rose high, warming the land with its radiant heat.

Cully once told me the sun was meant to breathe. Ours, though, only warmed the land for three months a year. He said ours was borrowed. I never understood.

I shoved the cloak into my bag, unwilling to feel the sun’s harsh rays as we climbed higher into the sky.

Charles joined me for breakfast, crossing his arms over his knees as he chewed oats, tossing a few bites to Setrephia and Julian.

“Big day today, little sister,” he said with a thin grin.

I nodded, dropping my spoon into the chipped bowl. “I’m going to die, Charles. I’m scared.”

“I was scared once.”

Knox mounted Julian eagerly, tapping the griffin’s mane. “The wind’s not getting any younger.”

“How much longer?” I asked as Charles slammed the bunker’s hatch shut.

Charles helped me onto Setrephia, and we took flight. Once in the air, he glanced at the peaks. “About six hours.”

The wind had settled overnight, but knots twisted in my stomach as we passed over three smaller countries. The sweltering heat beat against my scalp as we crossed the dunes of Ravensla. I stared at the endless hills and ponds, dragon-shaped sand sculptures lining the vibrant city.

Ravensla, the closest port to the academy, would be where the flightless travelers left. I wondered what it would be like to grow up under a bright sun, to never fear the cold.

Charles pointed to a group of cloaked figures. “Those are scavengers. They have no quells. More or less, they’re nomads roaming Verdonia. Stay away from them if you leave the academy.”

Trinkets hung from their frail bodies as they dragged their feet through the sand. They looked withered, nearly skin and bone.

A sour feeling twisted in my chest. “Is that what Mother is?” Her quell had dimmed two decades ago—no amount of Cully’s journals could explain it.

Charles’ tone snapped. “Mother was stripped of her quell at the academy. Don’t speak of her like that.”

“Stripped?”

Charles shuddered. “I’m warded against speaking about a lot of things, Severyn. I’d rather not risk us falling to our deaths. Let’s just say she was gifted a quell that wasn’t allowed.”

Charles kept his gaze fixed on the cloudless sky. “It’s rare. Mother was stripped the year Father claimed the Serpent title.” A vein twitched in his forehead as he closed his eyes. “I wasn’t supposed to tell you. Please don’t tell Mother I did.”

A forbidden quell. My mother had a forbidden quell? How had I not known? “Charles, what was her quell?”

He hesitated, clearly weighing his words. “Severyn, a quell doesn’t define a person. I can wield ice, but I’m not Father’s heir. It’s better if I don’t tell you. All you need to know is that Mother is not... one of those street rats. The land we stayed in last night was attacked by a powerful force, and the scavengers are the civilians left behind.”

“What powerful force?”

His tone lowered. “I can’t speak of them.”

The silence stretched between us. I thought of the Seekers—those whose written prophecies once foretold the future. They’d been wiped out by the Herring family nearly three decades ago. My mother couldn’t even predict her own children’s moods. How could she have written the future? Surely… it had to be something far worse.

“Her eyes,” I stuttered. “They’re black.”

“Don’t let it consume you, Sev,” Charles said firmly. “Our family has secrets—many. I’ve protected you from most of them, even in my daily work.”

During last year’s harvest break, Cully had told me about the dangers of forbidden quells. Most quells were tied to one’s realm—Winter’s being ice or some form of snow-wielding. But unnatural quells existed, born from darkness too potent for any one person to hold.

It started with six, they said. Six who defeated the Forgotten. Six Gods for each Season, including the shadows and light. Clearly, Charles couldn’t speak of the Forgotten who had killed the Gods.

Charles had sworn an oath to safeguard Verdonia as a guard, yet I didn’t realize how deceptive that promise was. I was his sister, but he still treated me like I was seven.

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