All Chapters of Fire's Determination: Chapter 21 - Chapter 24

Waking up the next morning, I was glad I hadn't been teleported back to my nightmare memory. Thankfully it seemed I had been too exhausted to revisit that night in my sleep—my mind had mercifully turned off. However, my relief was short lived as I opened my eyes, my vision immediately swimming with the papers I had taken from the Captain the day prior. I reached out, placed my hand atop the documents on my bedside table and flung them away. The room was temporarily filled with the sound of fluttering papers until they rustled against the floor, falling silent as they stilled. I sighed, put my arm over my eyes and rolled away from the bleak reminders of my future. After a few calming breaths, I peeked out from under my arm to judge how early it was from the light shining through my window. Still dawn. I wondered briefly how long I could postpone my departure with the Captain. How far would he let me push him before he put a foot down? Forcing myself up, I decided first and fo

My father came up behind me as I watched a group of Tross's soldiers coming across the land bridge. There were only about six men but I knew there was a larger group beyond the chasm. They brought two horses with them, to pack the supplies that my entourage would be bringing with us. I turned to see more than half the island’s worth of mages standing there, watching the small procession make their way over the bridge—here to say their goodbyes to Gil, Evelyn and myself. My knees shook beneath my dress, and I was glad no one would see them. As if he could feel my trepidation, my father put his arm around my shoulders, pulling me closer to him. “You’re going to do everyone proud, little Lyre,” he whispered and I bit down hard on the inside of my cheek to hold back tears that wanted to form. I refused to show that weakness in front of anyone, especially the humans. So, instead, I just nodded while I stared back out at the approaching men and horses. Sylvren came to