The Aldean Chronicles: Spotlight (Part 2)
Chapter 37

There's more security than there was last year. The crowd is also not as thick.

Aunt Freya rides in front with Kat, and Seb, Grey, and I are in the carriage behind.

We arrive at the venue and take our seats. A few minutes later, the ceremony begins.

Once again, I try not to zone out or look bored. How do people do this year after year?

It's almost time for me to walk back into the cave and I am dreading it. Soon, all I can think about are the dreams I had before seeing Cara in HQ.

At first, I picture them in my head. Gradually, their voices increase and I want to cover my ears. Not like it would help.

I try not to squirm in my seat and keep a neutral face.

Someone bumps their knee into mine. It's my aunt. She offers a fake smile. I notice that a few people are looking at me.

My heart drops to my chest when I in that it's time. I stand up slowly and begin to walk to the cave.

My steps are slow and deliberate, my heart pounds the whole time. I keep asking myself if this is it. If I'm just going to give up my crown, my powers, everything.

My head is so preoccupied, I don't notice the change in the air.

A smell hits my nose and I almost wretch. I stop walking. I slowly turn back and watch the seated crowd. I'm met with multiple confused faces.

I begin to think I'm imagining the smell of sulfur when a chill passes down my spine. I haven't felt that horrifying sensation since that night at the library. Since the...

I stretch out my hands and send fire at the emerging Rypper behind the officiator.

There's a flurry of yells before silence descends.

Suddenly, dozens of Ryppers rise from the ground and begin attacking the guests. The guards jump into combat while the guests flee.

More soldiers arrive to lead them to safety. Through the frenzy, I lose track of my family.

I try to run to them but two Ryppers block my way. I throw as much fire as I can at them. The fire slows them down but doesn't kill them.

"Cass!" Grey yells a few feet from me. He pushes the guard leading him away and runs towards me.

I'm three feet from him when something grabs my dress and yanks me back.

My head comes in contact with the hard forest floor and I wince in pain. A second later, a dark foot kicks my stomach and I roll back.

"Cassandra." Grey calls. He throws as much fire as he can at the monster and it crumbles to ashes.

Two more gang up on him and he's overwhelmed. Guards appear at his side and fight the creatures off.

A couple of guards rush towards me and are met with a dozen Ryppers.

I try to sit up and cry out in pain. My head feels like it's been split in two and my ribs make noises when I move.

Another Rypper advances on me, a nearby guard throws her sword into its head. The creature falls inches from my feet.

She throws a dagger at another and rushes forward for her sword.

A Rypper gets to her before she can retrieve her sword, and lifts her off the ground. She thrashes around to free herself but the monster's grip is too strong. She's thrown on the floor and a pool of blood quickly gathers around her head.

More guards rush to my defense but are held off by monsters.

I struggle to my knees, wincing with each move. I try to see in front of me but the pain is blinding my vision.

A Rypper comes towards me and I send a weak flame its way The monster brushes it off and reaches down to grab me.

An officer uses wind to send the monster flying into the woods.

He runs towards me and offers me a hand. "I'll get you out of..." He's tackled by a Rypper. Another joins and they pummel the officer into a bloody corpse.

The pain in my head flares again and I struggle to keep upright.

Three Ryppers surround me and I make my tiara materialise.

I draw strength from the ancient relic and summon flames strong enough to consume two of them.

I take a deep breath and drop to the ground.

More Ryppers advance but are fought off by incoming soldiers.

Soon, the monsters are outmatched three to one. I begin to feel hope that we might win.

Once all the monsters are down, an officer walks up to where I am.

"Are you alright, princess?" He has a domineering voice and a deep scar on his right cheek.

I mumble incoherently.

He smiles and runs a hand through his jet-black hair. He turns back to his troops, raises his left hand, and shouts, "Rritje e rezistencës."

Half the soldiers chant the words and pull out knives. They slice the necks of the confused soldiers closest to them.

I stare in horror as bodies drop to the ground. A few of the soldiers who didn't chant but survived the onslaught step back in fear. The look of confusion is painfully evident on their faces. A few rush up to Grey's wheezing frame and others run away from the carnage.

The soldier in front of me beams. "Today is a historic day." He yells to his cohorts. "Today is the day we have been preparing for. The day we attain true power and attain our rightful places as leaders of Ilyria." The forest is alive with the sound of two dozen cheers.

The soldier smiles down at me. His scar is more prominent when he smiles. "Princess, the crown."

Before he finishes his sentences, I raise my broken hand and take it off my head. It disappears into thin air.

He laughs.

"Pearl was right about you, you are stubborn." He snaps his fingers in Grey's direction.

Incideries advance on the group of four in the middle. The soldiers draw their weapons, ready to defend themselves to their last breath.

They're attacked two to one and are killed within a minute.

Grey sits up but doesn't stop coughing. He spits out blood and matches the leader's gaze.

The dark-haired soldier leaves my side and walks towards my brother.

Before Grey can summon fire, two soldiers grab him from behind and put Salder cuffs on him. He struggles and grunts, but his magic doesn't work.

The leader stands behind him and puts a knife to his neck.

"Are you willing to cooperate now?" He asks me.

I ignore my flaring head and broken bones and sit up. "No," I scream.

He presses the blade and a light flow of blood trickles down Grey's neck.

The crown materialises on my head. I raise my hand to take it off.

"Don't do it," Grey yells.

I shake my head. I didn't realize I was crying till now. "I'm so sorry."

"I'm serious, Cassandra," Grey yells back. "You don't have to do this."

The leader presses the knife and Grey howls in pain. The top of his suit is wet with blood.

I take the crown off my head and hold it in my hands.

The soldier closest to me comes forward to take it.

"Remember what I said last night," Grey says between howls. "You're the strongest person alive Cass. Don't give up."

The leader scowls. "Is killing you the only way to shut you up?" He snaps his fingers at me. "Dina, collect the crown."

The woman reaches towards me and I scratch her arm with my nails.

She winces in pain and wipes the blood. She stares down at me in anger and tries to hit my face.

I use my free hand to block my face and her fist collides with my palm.

She jumps back and curses. Her hand doesn't stop sizzling no matter how much she shakes it.

I stare down at the crown. It feels heavy in my hand.

The head soldier glares at me and tightens his hold on Grey's shoulder. Grey knocks his head back as hard as he can and it comes in contact with the guy's stomach.

Grey lies on the ground and I shoot a simple fireball at the leader.

His clothes catch fire and he thrashes around trying to get rid of it.

The soldiers jump into action with a few of them coming towards me, and others hanging back. I throw fire at the incomers and they join their leader in thrashing.

The soldiers who hung back create Ryppers to fight me.

I place the crown back on my head and draw as much power as I can from it.

A layer of fire encircles me and the Ryppers stand back.

I pick a fallen soldier's sword and it lights up. A protective layer of flame protects it.

I use the sword to stand to my feet and stagger forward. I cut the leg of a Rypper and it catches fire.

More come at me and I use the sword and fireballs to chase them away.

The soldiers begin to panic and fall back.

A convoy of more soldiers on foot and in cars pulls up. The insurgents disappear into the forest and the ones on fire are covered in blankets.

The last Rypper lunges at me and I throw my sword aside and send one final burst of flame at it. It's consumed immediately and its ashes scatter in the wind.

The fire encircling me begins to disappear and the pain from my broken ribs starts to take over. I rush to Grey's side and collapse beside him.

"Are you okay?" I cough.

A soldier is applying pressure to my brother's neck. He tries to speak and is shushed by the uniformed officer.

"White...fire." Grey chokes.

I look at my hands. The fireball I summon is white. After a few seconds, it goes back to its natural red hue.

"Greyson! Cassandra." A distant yell comes through the clearing. Seb sees us and runs in our direction. I sit up and he tackles me with his hug. "I didn't know where you were, I was so scared. You were beside me one second and then..." His eyes are red and he looks like he aged twenty years in the span of twenty minutes.

A paramedic rushes up and carries Grey away on a stretcher.

"Grey." Kat has arrived on the scene and is fawning over Grey. "Are you alright?"

He doesn't say anything. Just gently nods his head.

"Katya." Aunt Freya follows quickly behind her daughter. "I told you to stay close." She eyes each guard curiously, like she's worried they'll produce a knife and slice her neck.

"Cass," Kat sits on the ground beside me. "I'm so sorry." Her eyes are red and puffy from crying. "A guard dragged me out of here. I didn't realize you two were still here till we were on our way to the safe house."

A paramedic kneels beside me. "How are you feeling, princess?"

I place a hand on my stomach and wail. "I think my ribs are broken."

She nods and signals for a stretcher. "We'll rush you now to the nearest hospital."

"I'll ride with you." Kat doesn't leave my side as the paramedics lift me onto the stretcher.

Aunt Freya stares at the bloodshed with an uneasy expression. "Sebastian, we should go. Keri's already working on a press release. We have twenty minutes till the live address."

"Do whatever you want, Freya. I'm going to the hospital." Seb hops into the ambulance transporting Grey.

Aunt Freya bites her tongue. "Very well, call me from the hospital."

He ignores his sister and lets the paramedic close the ambulance door. They're soon racing out of the clearing in the forest.

I'm strapped into the vehicle and we're ready to go. Our paramedic shuts the door and the last thing we see is the Queen of Aldean staring at the aftermath of a bloodbath.