“Smile.”

  ”Bow.”

  ”Betray.”

  ”Repeat.”

  Nest of Serpents

  by E.S. Mare

  ___________________________________________

  Esilian Aslion

  Kingdom Of Lions, Lionel

  Smoke rose toward the stars. The flames had died down, but it felt like the dead were still watching me; eyes like scorched coals, burning holes through my soul.

  I wanted to turn my head away, to look anywhere but the corpses. But I stopped at one small body. I held my head high, forcing myself not to look away. I couldn’t even blink, I saw him. That child. He couldn’t have been older than five, Felton, the youngest among six siblings. Now he lay motionless still, beside them. I hadn’t saved him. I hadn’t saved any of them. That’s why I looked. So at I let his look at me with his eyes of coal and vent his anger.

  “I’ll avenge you,” I whispered. I took a deep breath, and the stench of burned flesh scorched my throat. My eyes moved across every single charred body. “I’ll avenge all of you.”

  “Lian,” came Ada’s voice from behind my back. I turned to face her. She was trying not to look at the bodies, but I knew she’d seen the boy. Raiden hadn’t moved, still rooted to the same spot, but he wasn’t as composed as Ada, he couldn’t hide it like her. His tear-filled eyes scanned the corpses again and again. He hadn’t spoken a word.

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  “There’s an Owl up ahead,” Ada said, gesturing toward the trees. “Says she wants to speak with you.”

  “An Owl?” I frowned. What was an Owl be doing in Lionel? We weren’t enemies, sure, but they rarely came here.

  Ada shrugged. “Arlo asked her questions. She didn’t answer any of them. She said she’d only speak to you.”

  What could she possibly want with me? And even though they were both sky folk, she hadn’t even talked to Arlo. If she’d seen the looters, she could’ve told them too. I wonder if she was a person with strong power of vision? Maybe what she came to say was about a different disaster entirely.

  I walked where Ada had pointed. As I passed Raiden, I briefly squeezed his shoulder. He didn’t react. I left him with his memories. I knew who he saw among the dead.

  I wondered—had he, too, met a dead people accusing gaze in the black of night?

  Maybe even two. Who knew?

  A lion’s roar echoed in the distance. This meant there was no sign yet, my lion was informing me. Ada must have understood, because she added, “We’ll figure this out.”

  I nodded. We would. But I didn’t know if it would be enough to free me from the weight of those eyes. I moved down the narrow path through the trees. Moonlight filtered through the leaves, lighting our way and revealing the smoke that still curled into the air. Butterflies fluttered out from the foliage now and then. Their wings were catching the moonlight, curious, and a little afraid.

  Arlo stood just in front of an old pine tree. The moonlight glinted off the metal surface of the bow slung over his shoulder, revealing the crest of the Eagle Kingdom. As I moved a little closer to him, I noticed a woman sitting on one of the roots at the base of the tree. The woman pushed back her hood when she realized I was coming, and the old Owl's orange eyes turned to me.

  “Do you fear fire?” she asked. I frowned, but she smiled. If I had felt her smiling mockingly at the carnage I left behind, I would not have hesitated to plunge my sword into her throat. But it wasn’t mockery. It was something else. A warning, perhaps.

  “No,” I said, continuing to move towards her.

  “Good.” She rose slowly, using the tree to steady her frail body. “Don’t put out the fire, walk towards it. Don’t be afraid of fire, let it burn you. It’s the fire that will light your way.”

  “What riddles are you muttering, old Owl?” Arlo snapped, his face twisted in distaste. “Speak of the looters! Did you see them?”

  She didn’t even glance at him. Her amber eyes stayed on me. “A fire...” she murmured, Her gaze followed the smoke still rising from the houses.

  And again, she said: “A fire will bring you another fire. Listen well, young lion.”

  She turned to me once more, studying my face like she was seeing something there. But she didn’t change her words.

  “Don’t put out the fire, walk towards it. Don’t be afraide of fire, let it burn you. It’s the fire that will light your way.”

  Thank you for stepping into the ashes and dreams of Nest of Serpents.

  This story is woven with loss, hope, and the fires we carry within ourselves.

  I hope you’ll find a piece of your soul here, as I did while writing it.

  Welcome to Nest Of Serpents. Welcome to the fire!