Page 48 of Grave Flowers
No, that wasn’t right. Confused thoughts fell through my mind like hailstones. It couldn’t be Inessa. I’d set her free after killing the Radixan. I looked wildly around. A flutter of a red skirt disappeared around the doorway. Had I gotten it wrong? Was she not free after all? A more pressing, panicked realization gripped me: What was I doing? If it was indeed her, she’d seen me kissing Aeric, reason abandoned to appetite, duty forfeited to passion.
I’d forgotten myself. I’d forgotten my kingdom. I’d forgotten my sister.
“Madalina?” Aeric asked, his voice thick with yearning. I could hardly hear him. He said something else, but he might as well have spoken another language.
I ran from the balcony into the hall. I had to find Inessa. I had to reassure her that I would still find her killer and that the embrace had been a ploy, nothing more. Because it had been. I would make it so. I would remake the night in my mind, in my every recounting of it, and I would never act in such a way again.
The dim candlelight of the hallway received me, but Inessa wasn’t there. More horror set upon me. What if Father learned of this and knew I’d kissed Aeric sincerely? He would punish me—maybe even kill me—for betraying my family, my home.
And I would deserve it, for failing us once again.
ACT II
In Media Res
“Rock me asleep,
Bring me the quiet rest;
Let pass my weary guiltless ghost.
”—poem from the Tudor period,
often attributed to Anne Boleyn
DRAGONSLIPS
Grave Flower Experiment Six
Appearance
Like the mythological creatures said to be made by the Primeval Family to curse the earth in the old years, these grave flowers are covered in iridescent and pearlescent scales. The buds form snouts with long whiskery petals extending from the sides. A distinct smell of charcoal hangs about them, and they cough little bits of fire every now and then.
Invocation
Cursed creature who once ate its own tail,
warmth, light, protection from night terrors,
melter of metals, renewal of earth,
perhaps your curse isn’t so terrible and it was us who bear the fail.
Come, ignite my hearth.
Results
They became dragons! I was not prepared for that. But out of these tiny flowers morphed large dragons with wings and everything! By Family fortune, we were in a very spacious dungeon, so they had room to flap around. It was like living in a fairy tale, albeit a very terrifying one. They even spoke, which made me nearly fall over. I’ll remember their terrible and thunderous voices till I die.
Complications
I am very brave, but I must admit it was a bit scary because they said they hate humans and wish to destroy us. They breathed great bouts of fire, and all who were near were incinerated. The Fely prisoner was present after arriving yesterday, and I asked his thoughts on the matter. He cursed me and was very rude. I threatened to feed him to one of the dragons, and he still wasn’t moved. I threatened to find his family and feed them to the dragons instead, and that at least made him compliant. Resentfully, he told me Felys have a few other invocations that differ from ours. I know their approach to the faith is blasphemous, but given that I wish to never die, I shouldn’t worry. I’ll never encounter the Primeval Family myself, and I soon plan on starting my own religion and replacing the Family entirely. I told the Fely of my plan, and I sensed there was something he was thinking but hiding from me. I would’ve pressed the issue, but we needed to escape due to the fire. By the Family fortune, the invocation wore off, and the dragonslips were grave flowers once again.
Applications
Needless to say, an army of dragons would be absolutely astounding. However, given the fact they wish to kill all humans, I don’t wish to ever bring them back again.
Chapter
