my brother. I tuned them out as I stared off into space, the strange feelings I had getting stronger, making my head ache. My vision became blurry, and a heat spread from my toes up to my head, making me pant. A blinding, white light flashed, and I was no longer standing in the grand entryway at the palace.
I was staring into the circular stone room I’d seen before in my visions. There were men wearing black robes, their heads covered, kneeling in front of the dais in the center of the room. A body was laid upon it, but it was blanketed in a white sheet. The men around the dais chanted, and I approached curiously as the sound grew louder.
Zaros entered the room carrying a silver goblet, his familiar black robes billowing behind him and his hood drawn up around his head. He placed the goblet on the dais. I swallowed thickly as he produced a knife from his robes and began chanting with the men.
The torches in the room emitted sparks and flamed to life. The room grew colder, and a wind swirled inside, making the men’s cloaks fan in the breeze. My hair whipped around me, and I took another step closer to the body on the dais.
Zaros chanted louder. Without warning, he plunged the knife deep into the body lying upon the table before him. The sheet turned red with the blood from the body. I stumbled backward as lightning struck somewhere outside. The thunder sent a tumultuous roar through the room.
I gasped as the body let out an ear-splitting shriek and rose, its face still covered. A deep, wicked smile cut into Zaros’s face as he lifted the goblet up.
“Drink the blood. Drink it. Drink it and rise.”
There was a blinding white light again, and I fell to the ground in a crumpled heap, my head feeling like it was going to explode.
Chapter 21
“Analia. Analia!” Soran’s frantic voice roused me from my vision.
I was barely able to open my eyes. I winced as my head gave a painful throb.
I passed out again only to awake moments later with Soran shouting commands to people.
“I have her,” Tarek said gruffly, pulling me into his arms and lifting me up.
I groaned as he held my body close to his. He took off quickly, and I cracked my eyelids enough to see we were moving deeper into the palace. We stopped outside a large wooden door somewhere on the second floor, and I tried to sit up.
“Be still,” Tarek whispered in my ear as he held me tighter. “You took a nasty fall, and you’re bleeding.”
I didn’t try to move anymore as the blinding white light flashed again. Random visions began pouring in, causing my eyelids to flicker rapidly.
Incaendium.
Men on their knees worshipping.
Fire.
A shadow.
Zaros smiling.
A red moon.
Blood.
More fire.
Wind.
The sounds of evil laughter.
Burning cities.
Bodies on fire.
Thunder.
Me in a white dress, engulfed in flames.
The scenes whirled by me so fast I had a hard time seeing them all.
They ended abruptly with a vision of Calix. He was dressed in all black armor standing in the field that lined the palace walls, his dark hair whipping in the breeze. I stood before him in my white dress, my body unmoving.
“Incaendium,” he whispered softly as he ignited into black flames, reaching out for me.
When his fingers twined through my own, I burst into angry flames of varying shades of reds, golds, oranges, purples, and blues. My screams echoed around us in the night with the wind whipping around us.
Chapter 22
I groaned as I opened my eyes, my head still aching.
“Where am I?” I rasped out, trying to sit up.
“Be still,” Tarek’s deep voice commanded me, and I fell back onto the bed, not caring to argue with him.
“Please, your highness, let me do my job,” the voice of Gregor cut through.
Soran cursed under his breath and came to my side. I peered up at him through my thick lashes, his fear written plainly on his face.
Gregor’s wizened hands massaged the sides of my head, and warmth swelled through me. The headache subsided, and I breathed out easily.
“Is she going to be OK?” Soran asked in a worried voice.
“She’ll be fine,” Gregor murmured. “She’ll need to rest.”
“Analia, Sister, can you hear me?” Soran squeezed my hand gently, and I opened my eyes again and stared up at him.
“Yes,” I croaked out. “What happened?”
“You had a spell of some sort. Your eyes…” Soran breathed, shaking his head. “They turned white. I’ve never seen anything