Golden Dawn

|Chapter 23 ~ Fight Or Flight|

The sun was setting when I finally met Ferîan outside Gandila's room, the latter having awaited me with muscular arms folded across his chest.

As soon as he saw me, he readied himself. "Are you finished?" He asked and I nodded softly, the sight of Gandila's tear stained face still fresh in my memory. The sapphire pendant was safely hidden beneath the fabric of my shirt. Icy against my chest.

Ferîan noticed my downfallen expression and kept his distance as he led me outside. Even though a piece of my heart felt like it had been torn to ribbons and abandoned in that summer room, it was the very first time I ever laid eyes on Lîxîlîa's palace from an outside perspective and the sight left me momentarily stunned.

The palace was a glorious sculpture of architectural wonder, great balconies and steep obelisks built into delicately sculptured walls. The awe-inspiring structure towered over the expanse that was Lîxîlîa's capital. The palace was built from a light material that appeared to hum with pure energy as the last of the afternoon's flaxen light fell on the beautiful stone. 

I had seen many holographic images of castles. Kingdoms built out of dark cobble and towers that loomed over cities, cathedrals built from so much coloured glass it seemed like rainbows formed inside their hallways.

Lîxîlîa's grand palace however was nothing like the images I'd seen. It was not crafted by mere human hands and the sight caused my heart to race. Simple yet astonishing in every aspect. Purely alien.

There was no sight of Angelus and the rest of the party that were to join us on our journey to the southern territory of the Sandrîanî people and the observation slightly unnerved me. I kept following Ferîan across the so-called courtyard of the palace in grim caution.

My eyes widened. Courtyard, wasn't the right word for what was spread out in front of me. We stood on the edge of a big field. Crystal-like plants grew in their millions around us and the edge dropped into nothing but pure clouded sky. The sun seemed to halt its decent over the distant mountains and the light was trapped in the moment, colouring a magnificent picture I never thought I would ever lay eyes on. A sky so blue and clouds so white they blinded my eyes. Air whistled past my ears as I stared out over a sight so surreal I thought it a dream. Billions of shades reflected off the crystal plants and painted the sky in dozen different colours.

For once, the beauty of it all grabbed my attention more than the thought that we would soon fly. Back to the underground city.

"We must leave Artemisia. It will take us a while to reach Osseus and it can be dangerous if we wait for too long."

It was Ferîan who finally shook me out of my stunned trance, voice delicate. I had to take a deep breath in order to clear my head before I could answer him. It was time to fight the fear inside me again. I had to keep going.

"Alright." I finally said when I managed to find my voice again, dread swirling in my stomach.

It was difficult to rest when we were almost able to touch the clouds.

Cold wind kept forming goosebumps across my skin and the nausea did not fade as Ferîan flew us to Osseus. I clenched my eyes closed, not daring to open them when I knew what I would find. Ferîan oddly enough, kept speaking to me throughout our journey. It was strange and surreal after my flight with Quîncîn. The memory left me furious, reminding me yet again how terrified I was and how much Quîncîn made me suffer for it.

"If I may ask..." My ears perked at Ferîan's low voice over the rushing wind. 

"Why do you harbour such great fear for heights? Do all humans have some kind of terror that drives you all this mad?"