‘Damn it,’ Sapphire cursed to herself, watching from the castle window. ‘Did the witch have to be right?’

She padded barefoot on cold marble as she sneaked down long corridors, slipping into the shadows when she could to avoid passers-by.

No one noticed her as she continued to move, before long reaching the doors that led out to the lakes and training grounds.

Just a few stolen moments, that’s all she needed. Walking to the water’s edge, she watched as the lake darkened with the sky overhead.

When she stepped into the water, she felt her shoulders release some of the tension that had gripped them for days. Another step forward, and her jaw unclenched. Another and the tension in her neck was alleviated.

She had never planned to dive, but the water beckoned her and she listened, moving deeper until she was fully immersed.

When she resurfaced, the sky had a menacing flow about it. The thunder felt as if it originated from her chest as it rang out in the sky, and the first flash of lightning split it in two.

Ryvinika had arrived.

The wind picked up, howling as it raced through the hills of Eriobis. Rain poured down – like tears from Ryvinika’s broken spirit.

Embrace me.

The voice echoed in her mind, and she whirled around, looking for the source.

‘Who are you?’

A gust hit her, feeling too much like creeping fingers racing up her back.

Do not ask questions when you already know the answers.

‘I’m tired of games,’ she spat into the eye of the storm. ‘Tired of riddles. Tired of questions.’

A flash of lightning across the sky looked too much like a grin, and she clenched her fist, digging her nails into her palm. A familiar sensation overtook her.

Imagine how your anger could change the world, princess.

But Sapphire was done listening, and she raised a hand to the sky to silence it. And for a moment, the storm listened. The wind halted, the air stilled, and the rain ceased. An eerie silence replaced the clatter of shaking branches and the rumbling of thunder.

Her arm began to shake as she tried to focus, but that focus faltered slightly when she felt pressure against her outstretched hand.

It is not your time. Not yet.

A gust of wind hit her hard, causing her to stumble, and she cursed the skies. As she looked up, she could have sworn the storm had teeth, threatening to close around her.

The storm passed, but not without leaving its mark. Cliffs caved, branches shattered, and the orchards she had come to love were uprooted. And two lives stolen – two citizens of Aleburn who could not escape the storm’s wrath.

Sapphire’s numbness at the news could not take away the anger that consumed her and so, with her dagger strapped to her thigh, she headed once again to Ciliria with revenge and justice coursing through her bloodstream.