1

Sayr’s head throbbed as she hit the ground, her body

sprawled against the earth and a spear at her throat. She kept her eyes squeezed shut, waiting for the throbbing pain to cease and finally opened them to stare up at her opponent. Standing above Sayr, the tip of their dulled spear dug harder into her neck. A sliver of the sun rose over the grassy plains in the east, casting a bronze glow over her opponent’s silhouette. They lifted a hand, and flames shot at Sayr, landing in the dirt just to her right with a sizzle.

Sayr could feel the heat of the sizzling flames lick her cheek. She craned her neck to peer at the scorched earth just inches from her dirt-caked hair, then glared up at her opponent.

“And just like that, you’re dead,” Marenda taunted.

She took a step back and offered Sayr a hand, lifting her off the ground with ease. While Sayr brushed the dirt off her training uniform, Marenda cocked her head to one side, inspecting her mentee.

“You’re distracted again, Sayr,” Marenda said. She twirled her spear and planted her feet for the next round.

Sayr picked up her own daggers lying in the dirt, much smaller than her mentor’s spear, and took a defensive stance. She’d always favored the two smaller blades; they were easier to control with her body than the elongated weapon Marenda preferred.

“I’m not distracted,” Sayr shot back. “That kick was a foul move.”

Marenda let out a short laugh before facing off against Sayr. “Everything’s fair play when you train with me.”

The two shuffled around each other. Sayr spit out a piece of hair that had lodged itself in her mouth during the fall and inspected Marenda. Her braided hair was twisted into a high bun out of her face. Sayr gripped both daggers between her teeth to tie her own wavy brown hair into a low ponytail before taking a defensive stance once again.

Marenda twirled her spear so that the dulled end pointed directly at Sayr and lunged. Sayr twisted left to avoid the attack and swung her dagger at her mentor’s thigh. The blades were dull enough that their hits wouldn’t render their opponent immobile, but they would certainly leave a nasty bruise. Their training uniforms were no source of protection, either. They wore no more than a fitted long sleeve top, tight pants with a thick belt to hold their weapons, and heavy boots.

“You’re too heavy on your left foot,” Marenda advised.

The two continued to strike and dodge each other’s attacks. As a member of the Queen’s Army, Sayr was supposed to train with the other soldiers in the barracks. Yet Her Majesty had ordered her to train privately with Marenda, too, who was one of the most skilled fighters in Visaran, and the Eastern Queen’s personal guard.

Marenda pounced at Sayr and swung down her spear. Sayr instinctively lifted both daggers above her head, blocking Marenda’s attack, and swiped the spear down into the dirt. Sayr was within Marenda’s defense circle, she had the advantage. She aimed one dagger at her mentor’s ribs while Marenda’s spear was still lodged in the earth. Marenda shifted her body away from Sayr’s attack, missing the dagger by mere inches.

Marenda danced around Sayr, looking for her weak spot. Sayr shuffled her feet as she waited for her mentor to advance. Marenda twirled the spear around her body. Her moves were fluid while she advanced, striking Sayr’s knee with the blunt end of her spear.

Sayr stumbled from the impact. Her right leg threatened to give way, and her focus sharpened on her balance. She took one step back with her good leg, keeping her weight on one foot, and looked at her mentor.

Marenda was closer than expected. Sayr tried to move out of reach, but it was too late. Marenda took the advantage. She dug her spear into the ground and used the momentum to fling her body into the air. She kicked out, slamming Sayr square in the chest. Sayr fell backwards, her back slamming into the dirt. Marenda pulled the spear out of the dirt and dug the point right above Sayr’s heart.

Panting with exhaustion, Sayr lifted her hands over her head and dropped the daggers to the ground in surrender. Marenda didn’t look at all pleased, even though she had just bested her mentee.

“What’s going on?” she asked. She placed one hand on her hip in annoyance and leaned against her spear. “You aren’t even trying to strike me.”

Sayr gritted her teeth and rose from the ground, meeting her mentor’s stare. She’d been trying her hardest to land a solid blow against her mentor but only managed to get a few cheap hits in.

Her gaze softened as she looked at Marenda for another moment. Was now the right time to tell her? Marenda had been Sayr’s closest friend since she had become a part of the Eastern Court, and one of the very few people she trusted completely.

“Okay, listen.” Sayr backed away from her friend and took a seat in the dewy grass. Marenda followed close behind and settled down next to her.

“I keep seeing something,” Sayr admitted. “I don’t know what it’s supposed to mean or where it’s even happening, but it feels so real and it’s the same vision every time.”

She looked over at her friend sitting next to her. The rising sun made Marenda’s bronze eyes look like glowing embers as she stared wide-eyed at Sayr.

“What exactly do you see?” she whispered.

Sayr closed her eyes to recall the vision she had seen so many times before. “At first, I’m alone. I’m standing in some sort of forest, but not any forest I’ve seen before. It’s like a wasteland; bare and cold. Trees surround me in every direction, but their trunks are dead and blackened and covered in ash.”

Her brow creased in concentration as the vision began to take form behind her closed eyes.

“There is ash everywhere, covering the ground, the trees, falling from the sky. I turn around and I can see someone standing in the tree line in the distance, watching me. I move towards them but every step I take feels like I’m stepping through thick mud. I can’t make out any features of this person, but something about them feels important to me. They move farther and farther away from me, until I can’t help but run after them. I call out to them, but they never slow down. I keep running and running but they never get any closer. The ash comes down thick like black rain, filling my mouth and nose as I’m running until I am suffocating on it. I collapse to the ground as they vanish into the dying trees in the distance. That’s when I wake up.”

Her voice was barely above a whisper when she finished. She stood from her spot in the grass and hugged her arms tightly around her body to ward off the shaking from the memory.

She was used to having visions, and they were often unpleasant, but they never occurred more than once or twice. She had never been the main focus of a vision before. They always revolved around her observing others, not her interacting with them.

This time she was the focus of the vision. She and the stranger that ran from her. And in the past two weeks, she’d had the vision three times.

Marenda slowly stood and put a hand on each of Sayr’s arms in a comforting hold. Her touch held its usual unnatural warmth, easing the chills that ran down Sayr’s spine.

“You said you keep seeing the same vision,” Marenda noted. “Does Her Majesty know?”

Sayr shook her head, hating the weight that the secret held over her. “I’ve requested to meet with her, but I haven’t told anyone about the details of the vision yet, besides you.”

Sayr saw the disapproving look rise in Marenda’s face and lifted her hands in defense, knowing she would be furious that Sayr hadn’t told the queen yet.

“I have a meeting with Her Majesty and the Council later this morning.” The words shot out of her as quickly as possible. “I plan on telling them everything then.”

“The Council meeting this morning?” Marenda repeated. “I’ve been ordered to attend, too.”

“Really?” Sayr asked. “What for?”

“I have no idea. I didn’t ask any questions when Her Majesty demanded my presence.” Marenda gave Sayr a reassuring smile, the tension dissolved from her face. “I’m sure everything will be okay; Her Majesty will know what to do and the Council will help.”

Sayr huffed out a laugh. “You haven’t been to a Council meeting before,” she said. “You have too much hope in the Council if you think their best interest is in helping me decipher these visions.”

Marenda steadied a hard look at Sayr. “You are the Queen’s Seer, Sayr. I have no doubt that the Council recognizes your importance to the queen and her Court.”

She gave Sayr’s arms a final squeeze and turned to retrieve the discarded weapons in the training circle.

“We’ll end training early today,” she called over her shoulder. “You clearly have a lot on your mind and it’s not as much fun kicking you into the dirt when you’re not fully committed.”

Sayr grinned at her back and headed in the opposite direction towards the Eastern Palace.                                

 **

The East Wing of the palace was home to the more permanent members of the Court, including Royal Guards and high officials. The Eastern Queen wanted everything and everyone in her Court where she could monitor them.

Sayr’s suite was conveniently placed in this wing as well. She didn’t mind its location, though she stayed away from any high officials in the halls. The location kept her away from the rest of the Court guests and aristocrats that often whispered about her when she passed. She preferred sticking by the people she saw daily during drills. Plus, Marenda bunked with three other Royal Guards just down the hall, though she usually stayed in Sayr’s much more spacious suite.

The rest of the Queen’s Army bunked in the barracks located between the North and East Wings. Marenda had been sleeping in the barracks before her promotion as the queen’s personal guard and Sayr had spent much time there with her best friend in those days.

As much as Sayr had wanted to bunk with the other guards and trainees, Her Majesty had prepared a separate suite for Sayr when she first arrived at the palace to help disguise her real reasons for entering the Court.

Most of the Court believed Sayr was an apprentice to one of Her Majesty’s Councilmen. Her duties consisted of taking notes during Council meetings and acting as Councilman Danil’s personal assistant. Her duties also consisted of training with the Queen’s Army, which stunned many Court officials. No one dared question the queen, though, and after a couple years, the lie stuck. No one knew about Sayr’s true abilities other than the royal family, the Council, and Marenda.

Sayr swung the doors to her suite wide open. The morning sunlight streamed in through the two enormous windows that took up most of the wall space across from the doors, showcasing Visaran’s glowing City Center just a mile outside the palace grounds.

Visaran’s palace sat atop the rocky cliffs of the ocean shore at the southernmost tip of the country. The road between the City Center and the palace was surrounded by stretches of grassland that covered most of the country’s terrain.

Sayr spent the early morning hours in the bath, scrubbing the dirt and sweat from her body, and ordering breakfast from the servants in the East Wing. She pulled a pair of cotton trousers and a sleeveless linen shirt out of her wardrobe. She tucked the loose shirt into her trousers and slipped on a pair of sandals.

Sayr sat on the loveseat, nervously touching each finger together one by one while she waited for the knock at her door.

Finally, a light rhythmic knock sounded, and she rose from her seat to open the door for the guard that would escort her to the Council meeting.

Marenda stood outside the door instead. She had also changed out of her training clothes and into her Royal Guard uniform, or an unofficial version of the uniform. Sayr noticed that the armor and weapons that went with the official uniform were missing, indicating that Marenda wasn’t currently on duty.

She wore thick leggings that faded from black to deep blue at her knees, disappearing into her knee-high boots, and a long sleeve, fitted royal blue top. Visaran’s swirling insignia was displayed on her left shoulder and a black mesh halter finished off the uniform. Her hair was no longer in a braided bun and now flowed down her back in black and deep red braids, a small tribute to her element. A long scar ran along her jaw on the left side of her face, contrasting with her medium-brown skin. Her bronze eyes ignited with light while she looked Sayr up and down.

Sayr typically stuck to the trendier Visarian clothing, light, loose pants and breezy tops. Many Visarians wore lighter colors of white, yellow, and tan along with various shades of blue in support of the royal family. The Eastern Palace was located so far south that the Court rarely ever experienced cold climates.

Marenda gave her an approving nod and closed the distance between them. She linked her elbow with Sayr’s, and they walked down the halls of the East Wing.

The palace buzzed with life. Court guests hurried by the girls in the public halls of the palace towards the gardens for morning tea. Officials gathered in the halls, speaking quietly with one another about business that Sayr had no interest in. Servants and ladies-in-waiting followed noblewomen throughout the halls or into the gardens for tea and breakfast.

Royal Guards were stationed all around the halls of the palace. Each guard straightened a little more when the girls passed, refusing to meet Marenda’s gaze. Marenda was a high-ranked soldier in the Queen’s Army as well as a personal guard. Her position, and her fierce attitude, demanded respect from just about everyone around her.

Marenda walked with a silent confidence that made her appear far beyond her twenty years. She held that confidence with her everywhere she went. She was a striking force to be reckoned with.

The girls remained linked at the elbow until they reached a door to a private chamber just outside the Royal Wing. Marenda gently squeezed Sayr’s arm before letting go to open the door.

Sayr entered first.

The long room was mostly bare besides a few small tables and chairs placed neatly around the room. A long table was placed in the center of the room where multiple people were already seated. Large-paned windows separated the room from the grassy plains down below. Both girls gave curt nods to the other members and took two empty chairs next to each other. An elaborate chair was set at the end of the table farthest from them.

Two men sat across from Sayr, whispering to each other in deep conversation. One of the men—Sayr had nicknamed Baldric—was bald and looked to be in his mid-forties. His brow furrowed in thought while he listened to the other man talk, who looked as if he had been alive for the better part of a century. The other man had long, white hair and beard, and small rimmed glasses that rested at the tip of his nose.

The aging man’s name was Danil, the Councilman Sayr was posing to be the apprentice of. Danil gave Sayr a soft nod and smiled when he spotted her across the table.

A few seats down from them sat Velda, a woman whose thin, greying hair was styled in a tight bun. Her hands were clasped tightly in her lap, and she sat stiffly, looking ahead at one of the massive portraits of some royal ancestor displayed on the wall. Another man and woman, Larse and Victoria, sat across from each other closest to the queen’s chair and exchanged quiet conversation.

Sayr recognized all the Council members from previous meetings. Council members were some of the wisest and most educated people in the country, though Sayr thought some of them were also the most boring people in the country. They only attended certain meetings that required their extensive knowledge. Apart from Council meetings, Sayr never saw any of them around the palace.

Sayr became a Council member almost two years ago, when she was just fifteen. Her Majesty believed her gifts were unique and rare. As far as anyone knew, she was the only Seer in Visaran. There was no surprise that once her abilities began to grow, Her Majesty began to take more interest in her and her visions.

Her first Council meeting two years ago was still one of the worst days of Sayr’s life. Sayr had finally begun to feel confident in her abilities, and her training as a soldier were earning her support amongst some of the other trainees. But when she was introduced to the Council that day and asked to show her abilities to them all, she had failed. She was not able to conjure up a vision for them. Her visions often came to her more than she could call on them. The Council had reprimanded her in front of the queen, who in return scolded her harshly afterwards.

“Your worth in this palace is determined by those around you,” the queen had told Sayr. “If the people of my Court do not find you worthy, why should I find you worthy enough to remain in my palace?”

Sayr was too lost in thought of the past to realize the Council members had all stood when another door opened, and three more people entered the room. The Council all bowed their heads and Sayr quickly stood and did the same. After a respectable amount of time, they all lifted their heads and faced the Eastern Queen, flanked by two Royal Guards.

Queen Cheralin was terrifyingly striking in her floor-length, royal blue gown. She had pale, ageless skin and piercing grey eyes that scanned over every person at the table. Her shoulder-length, platinum hair was pinned up off her neck and around her sharp face. A silver crown

decorated with blue crystals of every possible shade sat atop her head.

The Eastern Queen was an intimidating sight. She walked gracefully over to the head of the long table and sat down. The other Council members followed.

“Good morning, everyone.” Her Majesty’s voice was soft yet confident as she addressed the Council. Queen Cheralin locked eyes with each member before she settled her stare directly on Sayr and gave her an emotionless smile.

“Let’s begin.”