{ARIA'S POV}
A terrifying scream tore through the night like a blade, ripping me out of my sleep. It sounded like someone had been torn open. My heart hammered so wildly against my ribs that it hurt. I sat up, gasping, the sheets tangled around my legs. For a moment, the room was silent. Too silent.
"What was that?" I thought. "Was that real?"
At first I thought it was a dream but then I heard it.
The ground trembled as the sound of hooves approached. A stampede of them. They were fast approaching, thundering like a storm breaking down the hills.
Before I could even move, the door burst open and I flinched.
"Aria! Wake your sister now! Hurry!" My mother screamed, her voice was sharp and trembling with fear.
I froze. I've never seen this look on her face before. Her face was pale and her eyes were wide with fear.
"Mama?" I said, my voice barely audible as I scrambled out of bed, blankets tangling around my legs. "What's going on?"
"There's no time," she snapped, rushing to Mira's bed and tearing the covers away. "Up, Mira. Come on sweetheart," Mama's voice broke. "We have to go."
Mira whimpered, half-asleep. "What's wrong…?"
"We have to leave, now!"
The pounding outside grew louder. Closer. I could feel it in my chest like a second heartbeat.
Then I heard it.
Male voices barking orders, steel slamming into wood, then the front door bursting open.
"Mama!" I rushed to her, grabbing her arm. "Is it them? Is it—"
"Witch hunters."
I froze. My heart dropped. My blood ran cold sending chills all around my body. That name… it gave me goosebumps.
I always knew this day would come. The day the kingdom would finally find us. We'd lived our entire lives in hiding, dancing on the edge of shadows. Deep down, I'd let myself believe that if we were careful enough, normal enough, then we would be safe.
But clearly we weren't.
"They're here," she said again, her eyes brimming with tears. "They've found us."
"No…" I shook my head, the room spinning. "No, this isn't happening. This can't be happening—"
"Listen to me!" Mama grabbed my shoulders. Her grip was iron, but her hands trembled. "Take your sister. Go through the back window and run! Run toward the forest. Don't stop. Don't look back."
"No. I'm not going anywhere without you!" I choked out. "Not without you and Papa!"
"You have to!" Her eyes locked onto mine, blazing. "Your father and I will hold them back. You must live, Aria. You and Mira, no matter what. Do you understand me?"
"No!" I cried. "I can help! I can fight! Mother, please—"
"You can't control your magic, Aria!" Mother screamed, her nails digging into my shoulders. "Not yet. And if they see what you can do, they'll kill you first! You have to run!"
Mira looked up at me, crying now. "Aria, why are they coming for us? What did we do wrong?"
Nothing. That was the truth.
Our only crime is existing.
"Mama, I beg you," my lips trembled as tears ran down my face. "Please come with us."
"I'll find you again," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "I promise. Now promise me," she said, wiping her own tears. "Promise me that you'll protect your sister, that you'll both survive."
I didn't way to say it, cause saying it meant I was letting her go. But I had no other choice.
"I–I promise."
"Then Go! Run away as far as you can and never come back!" Mother cried.
I wanted to scream. To grab her and drag her out with us. But she was already pulling away, limping out of the room, magic crackling around her hands.
I turned to Mira. "Come on now. We have to go"
And so we did. We bolted out of the room and towards the back window of our house. I pushed Mira through the window first and dropped down after her. The grass was wet and cold. I grabbed her hand and we ran barefoot into the trees.
We ran.
And ran.
And ran, until heartbeat roared in my ears like war drums. As the sharp blades of grass and thorns slashed at our feet, I turned around just for a second to see our home… our memories… erupting into flames.
{ESTELLE'S POV}
I knew this was the night I'd die.
I felt it in my bones the moment I saw them coming from afar. I limped into the main room, heart hammering, blood thundering in my ears.
My husband, Jacob, was already down. Two armored hunters were on top of him, one holding a blade to his throat. His face was a mess of bruises and blood and he was struggling to breathe.
His eyes met mine, and that look on his face made my heart bleed.
He didn't need to speak. I already knew what he was asking.
"Were they safe?"
I gave a single nod.
"Where are the girls?" the captain growled, his blade pressing against Jacob's throat.
"Let. Him. Go." I said, magic sparking to life at my fingertips.
"Another one," he said with a smile. "So many witches, hiding in one house."
I raised my hands and wind exploded from my palms, blasting the soldiers across the room. Jacob coughed, blood splattering from his mouth as he rolled onto his side.
"Run!" I cried.
But he didn't make it far.
An arrow shot through the air and punched into his thigh. He collapsed to the floor with an agonizing cry, dragging himself behind a chair.
The rage surged through me like lightning. Fire roared from my hands, searing the air, lighting up the room with furious gold. I flung them at the nearest soldier. His scream tore through the room as the fire devoured him.
Another came at me with a blade. I slammed my foot into the floor.
The ground cracked open and he fell into the pit. With a clap of my hands, the ground sealed like a coffin, consuming him with a sickening crunch.
But they kept coming. I turned around and they were surrounding me. They were just too many.
Arrows started to rain down through the ceiling. I summoned ice, shattering them mid-air.
"Estelle!" Jacob screamed. "Behind you!"
But by the time I could turn, it was already too late.
The bolt arrow struck my calf and pain exploded down my leg. I dropped to my knees, a loud cry escaping from my lips.
The hunters were on me in seconds. Binding my hands with chains made of arcanium.
My power sputtered and died instantly.
"No!" I thrashed, screamed and kicked. "Let me go! Damn you bastards! I said, let me go!"
The captain immediately stepped forward and punched me across the face with iron glove. I immediately kept quiet, tasting the blood pooling in my mouth.
"Not so powerful now, are you?" He laughed.
They dragged me outside like an animal. Jacob was tossed beside me, gagged now, blood soaking his shirt.
The village was awake. Torches everywhere. Neighbors I'd known for years stared at me like I was filth. Like I was a monster.
I heard them whisper.
"What's going on?"
"Are those witch hunters?"
"By the gods! Estelle is a witch?!"
"Burn her! Let the gods see justice!"
"She cursed my crops last season, I know it!"
"Witchcraft killed my son! Kill them all! No mercy for monsters!"
"Don't let her speak! Her words are poison!"
"Estelle of the Northern Vale," the captain declared mockingly, "you are hereby sentenced to death for the crimes of witchcraft, heresy, and treason against the Crown. How do you plead?"
I spat blood onto the dirt and looked the bastard in the eye.
"Plead?" I laughed bitterly. "I've seen your justice. You don't want a plea, you want a spectacle."
"Then give us one," he sneered. "Make it pretty."
He turned to the crowd.
"Let this be a lesson to all who think themselves above the law. Magic is a plague and it will be purged."
{ARIA'S POV}
We didn't get far.
I could still see the village, still hear it.
Mira clung to me, sobbing quietly. I crouched with her in the brush, barely breathing.
Through the branches, I saw them.
Mama and Papa on their knees, bound and covered in blood.
"No," Mira whispered. "Aria, we have to help them. We have to do something. Please—"
I held her tighter as my whole body shook the horror of what we were about to witness.
"We can't," I whispered. "She told us to run. If we go back..."
"But they're going to die!" she cried.
I pulled her closer and covered her mouth. My own tears blurred everything.
We watched as the captain raised his sword at our mother.
"For your crimes against the Crown and mankind," he declared, "you are sentenced to die."