CHAPTER 2

GENERAL ADRI was speechless after hearing the report early in the morning. His fear for his life was increasing day by day. As long as Yther's Mistress of Flame was roaming free and not back to her prison, his head was in a great risk of being separated from his neck. The emperor already told him that he'd have his head if the Mistress of Flame was not caught, and now that it had been a week with no good news, General Adri was starting to become desperate.

"The soldiers that were sent to Mistvale Village has not yet returned. After investigating, we found out that all the soldiers had been slain. No one was left alive. And after further investigation, we found out that whoever took the woman from prison was the same person who killed the soldiers. It was a brutal killing, just like what happened in the moonrite chamber a week ago."

Captain Hamlin, who was reporting to the general, looked up from bowing his head down to ask, "General, what is your next order?"

General Adri wanted to massage his forehead out of frustration, but he chose to show the captain of his soldiers in front of him that he was not a bit shaken by the news. He was a general; if he showed weakness, then what would his soldiers say? "Prepare five groups with a dozen soldiers each. We will hunt her down!"

Captain Hamlin was stunned. "Y-you're hunting with us, General?" The soldier was surprised because it was uncommon for a general to hunt down prisoners. Even at war, generals position themselves behind the soldiers to command. They were not known to fight on the front line.

"Yes. That woman must be recaptured, or I will die trying!" General Adri swore, and Captain Hamlin felt an admiration toward the general. Unbeknownst to the captain, the general would really die if he couldn't capture the Mistress of Flame. "Tell the soldiers that whoever captured the Mistress of Flame will receive honor and reward."

General Adri wanted to take matters into his own hands. He would capture the Mistress of Flame and be in the emperor's good graces again. He worked hard to get his position; he will double his effort to keep it. Besides, to stand behind the emperor was the greatest honor for a general, and he swore to support Emperor Gabrien until the very end.

So early that morning, General Adri and his elite soldiers rode their horses toward Mistvale, moonrite stones and chains ready.

♕♕♕

SOLLEL knew she fell from the cliff and almost drowned, robbing her consciousness away. So when she woke up and saw a run-down shack with a thatch roof, she immediately got up and winced when she felt a searing pain from her shoulder. The wound caused by that moonrite arrow.

Discarding the pain, Sollel became alert as she looked around. Where am I?

Just when she was about to leave the bed made of dried straw, the door opened. Sollel immediately grabbed the knife she saw from the old table, ready to defend herself, when she saw a beautiful young woman entered.

She was petite and tall, maybe as tall as Sollel. The woman was wearing a dark green tunic dress that did not reach her knees. It covered her arms and had a leather cincher around its waist. She also wore black leggings underneath the dress to cover her legs and black leather boots, with a bow and arrow strapped on her back. But it was her ears that caught Sollel's full attention.

An elf? What is she doing outside their sacred forest? Sollel had a deep frown, still tightly holding the knife, ready to kill. Sollel did not care if the woman didn't kill her while she was unconscious; she did not even care if the elf took care of her while she was weak. She had suffered enough to know that no one can be trusted, not even those who extended their hands to help.

"Take it easy," the elf woman said as she entered the house. "I'm not going to hurt you."

Sollel opened her mouth to answer, but her voice did not come out as she was expecting. It was raspy and small, and she could not create a coherent word.

It's been so long since she closed her mouth and did not speak a word. Maybe this was a consequence of that.

Sollel closed her mouth and used the knife to write something on the ground.

Where am I? Who are you? These were Sollel's questions.

The elf answered forthright, "This house is just outside the Beastrela, a place where halfling resides." The elf woman put the vegetables she gathered in the woods on the table and continued, "Even though they are half-human, the humans still don't want them and decided to put the halflings in one place to control them and make them work in the mine, mining iron for the Infernal Empire's weaponry."

When the elf didn't continue, Sollel used the tip of the knife she was still holding to tap her other question: Who are you?

"I'm called Ciradyl," the elf answered while inspecting the vegetables. "You can call me Cira. If you're wondering why I'm outside the sacred forest, the answer is simple. I was banished for not adhering to their rule, which was to stay inside. I heard about this place, so I came here and became Beastrela's healer. I saw you floating in the river. I thought you were dead, but when I dragged you out of the water, you were still breathing, so I took you here and nursed you."

Sollel took a controlled, deep breath. Ytherians were a long-lived race. Still, just like any other race, they could be killed. But as Yther's Mistress of Flame, a being blessed by deities, Sollel had an indomitable body. As long as her blood of flame flowed inside her, it would replenish her body with strength to live. That's why she was so weak now—not only because of the moonrite prison but also because of blood loss. It would take time to recover it all back.

"I won't ask you questions. You can leave if you want, I won't stop you," said Cira before handing a small vial with clear liquid inside. "Here. Drink this. It'll heal your throat and other injuries."

Sollel did not accept the vial, so Cira had to drink a small drop of liquid from the vial to show Sollel that it was not harmful.

"See? It's a medicine, not poison."

Sollel stared at Cira for a long minute before accepting the medicine.

"Give the medicine twenty-four hours to heal you and you'll be able to speak," said Cira before putting the vegetable in an old pot, and then she went to the back of the house to start a fire so she could start cooking the vegetables.

Sollel looked at the small vial in her hand, and then she used the knife to cut the tip of her finger. She put one drop of her blood inside the vial to purify it. Her blood could purify anything, detoxifying any harmful substances. Just in case.

After her blood entered the vial and was mixed with the clear liquid, that was the only time Sollel drank its contents. Then she went back to lie on the bed made of dried straw.

When Cira returned inside her house, she was relieved to see the woman lying on the bed again, resting. Cira moved silently while cooking the vegetable and the little meat she had to not disturb the woman.

While cooking, Cira kept on glancing inside the house. She couldn't stop thinking about the woman inside. Even though she looked pale, the woman was still gorgeous with her dark red hair and eyes. Though those color combinations were uncommon in Azitera.

Not uncommon, Cira corrected herself. She knew a race that had such hair and eyes, but they were now extinct. But there were still halflings around, Cira thought because of the color of the woman's hair. A pure-blood Ytherian had a more vibrant hair and eye color compared to the halflings who had muted colors, just like the woman.

Halfling Ytherians were known as a slave to royalties in human kingdoms. There's only a handful of them alive, and that made them rare and valuable goods to slave traders.

Cira entered her house after cooking the vegetable and meat. While setting the table, the woman got up, her eyes alert and ready.

Cira sighed. "Take it easy. I'm not going to hurt you."

Cira could see that the woman did not believe her, so she just let the woman be and gave her food.

"This is not poisoned, just so you know," Cira said after giving the bowl to the woman, who accepted it after a few seconds of hesitation.

And when Cira turned around to return to the table, Sollel used her flame to detoxify the food—just in case—before digging in.

It had been so long since she tasted good food that Sollel didn't realize she was wolfing down the food too fast until she finished everything in less than a minute. Seeing that, Cira gave Sollel a second serving and a soup to pair with it.

It was Sollel's first hearty meal since her capture, and it was satisfying. But knowing that she couldn't stay to enjoy another bowl disheartened her.

Sollel knew she had to keep going, or she will be captured again.

Using the knife that Sollel was still holding, she wrote something on the ground.

How long have I been here?

Cira answered while eating on the table, "Three days now."

Thank you for taking care of me. I need to go.

Cira shook her head in disagreement. "I won't stop you from leaving, but you have to recover your full strength first. Give me a weak to heal you, then you can leave."

What Cira said made sense. Sollel knew how weak she was at the moment. Maybe if she accepted the elf's offer since elves' essence were known for their healing properties, she could recover even one-eighth of her strength. With this, she'd be able to fight her pursuer. She might not be able to raze hell yet, but Sollel was certain she could at least damage and kill her enemies while fleeing.

Sollel nodded at Cira, and then she wrote on the ground again: I don't have anything to pay you.

Reading that, Cira shook her head. "It's okay. You can just help around the house while I'm healing you. You can cook, get some water in the stream, or clean the house." Cira had a feeling that the woman would be more wary of her if she told her to just do nothing and rest.

Sollel swiftly wrote on the ground with her knife: I can't cook, but I can get some water or clean the house.

Cira frowned at Sollel. "How sheltered are you?"

Sollel wrote on the ground as her reply: Imprisoned.

Cira's eyes widened. "How long have you been imprisoned?"

Half of my life.

That silenced Cira. Then she took a deep breath. "Very well. Just do what you can."

Sollel nodded. Silence fell on the two until Cira asked, "What's your name?"

Sollel wanted to lie, but to show her gratitude for the hearty meal, she told Cira her real name: Sollel.

When Cira read that, she smiled, like she remembered something good. "Sollel, the Mistress of Flame."

That made Sollel eyes widened in surprise, but when Cira added, "Your parents must have liked the Mistress of Flame for them to named you after her."

Sollel calmed down. You know the Mistress of Flame? Sollel wrote and asked Cira.

Cira shook her head. "Only from stories. My parents have seen the Mistress of Flame after visiting Yther. They said that when she's enveloped with her flame, she shines brighter than the sun and more dazzling that any being in Azitera."

Hearing that, Sollel felt her heart tightened and ached. The humans took everything from her, even the flame that she was so proud of.

"You must be an Ytherian halfling," Cira continued. "Only an Ytherian could have such hair and eye color. So when you leave here, I suggest you use the hood of your cloak to cover your hair and hide your eyes. That way, slave traders won't chase you."

Slave traders? Sollel's hold on the knife tightened. Her blood was boiling with rage. Ytherians were peace-loving, always offering their help. But now, they had been reduced to nothing but slaves!

I have to regain my strength, Sollel thought. She knew she could only take her revenge after her strength recovers. To burn them all and raze hell, I need my full strength.

Are there any pure-blood Ytherian left? Sollel wrote and asked Cira. She wanted to know if a small number of her people escaped.

Cira sighed and pushed the bowl with food away; she lost her appetite after reading Sollel question. "Some escaped, but they had been hunted down and executed by humans, while the not-so-powerful halflings are sold as slaves. Maybe there are still pure-blood Ytherians out there, but they're well hidden. So if you are planning to look for them, I don't think you can find them."

Sollel felt a little happiness after what she heard. Some escaped the siege. Her people were still alive!

The more reason that she had to get stronger. The only reason they lost before was because of the moonrite—their weakness. It sucked their strength and power. Not only that—they were betrayed by the humans they nurtured and protected.

Can you start healing me now? Sollel was so eager to get stronger and look for her people.

Instead of answering, Cira went to sit on the dried straw bed, in front of Sollel. "Give me your hands."

With hesitation, Sollel slipped out her hands from the cloak. She flinched when Cira held her hands with her own.

It was Sollel's first skin contact—no, it was not. Sollel corrected herself when she remembered the person who brought her out of prison. That person held her waist and even embraced her body.

"I can only do this for two hours a day," Cira spoke, taking Sollel out of her reverie. "I can concoct medicine for you, but It'll take too much time, so I can only heal you by passing my essence to your body. After that, I'll be weakened for more than half a day, but that's irrelevant."

Sollel wanted to ask Cira why she was helping her, why she was doing this. Elves always hid their healing essence, but Cira spoke with sternness, not giving her time to ask.

"Let us begin."

Hearing that, Sollel cleared her mind and closed her eyes to accept Cira's essence flowing through her body.

The moment Cira's essence entered Sollel's body, Cira felt as if she were hit with ferocious and blistering flame, almost knocking her out. But Sollel grabbed Cira's hand as Sollel controlled the raging flame inside her.

Her flame was very protective of her, so when it felt a foreign essence entering her body, it immediately tried to destroy it. But Sollel already calmed it down, and now all Cira could feel was warmth. Gone the ferocious blistering flame. Cira felt like the flame had been tamed.

Unbeknownst to Cira, only Sollel could tame the flame. Sollel was its mistress after all.

As Cira's essence was passed, Sollel could feel the blood she lost slowly being replenished by Cira's essence.

Just a little more, and I will be able to fight back, Sollel thought as she felt her blood boiling with rage...and more.



CECELIB | C.C.