Chapter 3 The Blue Death

The blue light from the locket hit my face, and I forgot how to breathe.

In the Sun Empire, blue was the color of death. It was the color of the forbidden moon magic that supposedly destroyed our world. To the priests standing in front of me, I wasn't just a lying servant anymore. I was a monster.

"An abomination!" the high priest shouted, his voice cracking with fear. "Guards! Drag her to the Cleansing Pit! We must burn the moon-taint out of this palace!"

The guards stepped forward, their silver swords gleaming. I looked at Lady Seraphine. She was smiling. She had won. She had exposed me, and now she would watch me die while she took my place beside the King.

I felt a surge of sharp fury. They didn't care that I had been kidnapped. They didn't care that I was a person. To them, I was just a bug to be crushed.

If I’m going to die, I thought, my heart thumping wildly, I’m going to make them regret every second of this.

"Wait!" I cried, my voice echoing through the hall. "If I have Moon magic, then why hasn't the King burned to ash? He’s been touching me! If I were a curse, he’d be dead!"

The guards hesitated. They looked at Solis.

Solis was still holding me. His skin was so hot it was steaming, but he hadn't pulled away. His gold eyes were fixed on the glowing blue locket. He looked confused, like a man seeing a miracle and a nightmare at the same time.

"Your Majesty, let her go!" Seraphine pleaded, taking a cautious step forward. "She is poisoning you! She is a weaver witch!"

"Silence!" Solis roared.

The sound was like a physical blow. The windows in the room rattled. Solis turned his gaze toward the high priest.

"You say she is an abomination," Solis hissed, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. "But she is the only person in this empire who can stand near me without screaming in pain. If she is the Moon and I am the Sun... maybe the Sun has been lonely for too long."

"It is against the law!" the priest screamed. "The Solar Council will remove you from the throne if you protect her! Do you want a civil war?"

Solis gripped my hand tighter. His bare palm pressed against mine, and that cool energy flooded my veins again. It felt like ice melting into a dry riverbed.

"Let them try," Solis said.

He looked at the guards. "Leave us. Now. If anyone enters this room without my command, I will burn this entire wing of the palace to the ground. That includes you, Seraphine."

Seraphine’s face turned red with rage. She looked at me, her eyes promising a slow death. "This isn't over, Weaver," she hissed as she was forced out of the room.

The heavy doors slammed shut. We were alone.

The silence was heavy. I looked up at Solis. He was still holding my hand, staring at where our skin met. The blue glow from the locket was gone, but the air felt like a storm was about to break.

"Is it true?" he asked softly. "Are you really Moon-bound?"

"I didn't know," I whispered. "I just knew I could see things in the silk. I thought it was just a Weaver’s gift."

Solis walked to the window, looking out at the golden city. "The moon was supposed to be extinct. My ancestors hunted them all because they were the only ones who could stop a Sun King’s power. They were the only ones who weren't afraid of us."

He turned back to me. "I should kill you, Eara. My blood tells me you are my enemy. But my body feels... finally at peace when you are near."

I stepped toward him. "The people who sent me here, the Damaris family, used me as a shield. They wanted me to die so they wouldn't have to send their own daughter to a "burning king."

"I know," Solis said. "And they will pay. But we have a bigger problem. The high priest is already sending word to the council. They will come for you with the Sun-Spears. Not even I can stop a thousand soldiers."

"Then let me go," I said. "I’ll run. I’ll disappear."

"No." Solis walked back to me, his hand reaching out to cup my jaw. "I waited five years to touch another human being. I am not letting you go."

He leaned down, his lips inches from mine. "We will lie. We will tell them the locket was broken. And to prove you are 'Sun-blessed,' we are going to get married tomorrow."

My eyes widened. "Tomorrow? But"

Suddenly, the floor beneath us shook. A massive explosion rocked the palace. Screams echoed from the hallway.

Solis shoved me behind him, his hands bursting into bright flames. The doors were blown off their hinges by a blast of golden light.

A group of men in black armor, wearing sun masks, stormed in. These weren't royal guards. These were the Assassins of the Solar Council.

"The King is corrupted!" the lead assassin shouted. "Kill the girl! Save the throne!"

Solis threw a wave of fire, but the assassins held up shields that absorbed the heat. One of them lunged at me with a jagged dagger. I ducked, but then something strange happened. My hands began to glow with a soft, silver light.

Without thinking, I threw my hands out. A blast of cold, blue energy slammed into the assassin, throwing him across the room and freezing his armor solid.

Solis froze, staring at me. The assassins stopped, horrified.

"She's using it!" one yelled. "The moon witch is attacking!"

But then, the ceiling began to crack. A voice boomed from the hallway; it was Lady Seraphine.

"If the king won't kill her," she shouted, "then I’ll bury you both!"

The floor beneath my feet gave way. I screamed as I felt myself falling into the darkness below the palace.

"Eara!" Solis screamed, reaching for me as the dust choked the air.

But as I fell, I saw something that terrified me more than the drop. At the bottom of the pit, a dozen more assassins were waiting with their spears pointed up, ready to impale me before I even hit the ground.