Serafina's Flame by J.C. Hart

Author:J.C. Hart [Hart, J.C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Etherhart Press
Published: 2017-02-14T00:00:00+00:00

7

The chill of the night was encroaching and Vana had yet to stop tracking the Asakan invaders. Soon she would lose the light, and even her keen senses weren’t good enough to keep moving in the darkness. The mushroom had imbued her with so much energy she had run all this way; the tracks were fresh and come morning she would find her child; she was sure.

She let her pack slip to the ground and sat beside it, wrestling with the knots so she could find her canteen. The water was lukewarm on her lips, stale as it hit her throat, but it was better than nothing.

Vana lay back on the grass and peered through the trees. Stars twinkled in the sky like embers flickering in a burned out fire. She wondered where Jonti was now. Whether they had even left the village, or whether they had stayed, despite everything.

Their people were too passive, too passive by far. The last time the Asakans had come—not to declare war, but to assert their domination—the Nivaens had cowered and hidden, and now they did the same. Cowered, ran. If Serafina had only been there if she’d chosen to protect her people then this wouldn’t be happening and they would not have to run from their ancestral home.

Vana was torn between wanting to seek revenge, and just wanting to reclaim what was theirs. The children were the future; clearly the Asakans knew or they wouldn’t have stolen them, killed their menfolk, left the women with empty wombs and empty beds.

Tears spilled down her cheeks as she thought of the wreckage she’d left behind, and a sense of guilt so deep down she didn’t want to admit to it seeped out. If she hadn’t been making love to her husband in the woods, they might have stood a better chance. Aida would still be with her. They would all be together as a family. She had left her husband and son for a fool’s errand, and while her goal had been worthy, her intentions were not. She would sooner run from the mess than stay behind to clean it up. She would rather face death, or failure, than watch her people try to regain their footing.

Here, alone, she could admit that it broke her heart to know Jonti wouldn’t risk himself to save Aida. Vana had thought they were a family, had thought he loved the girl like his own, and yet that wasn’t the case. She couldn’t go back to him, they would never be the same. Nothing would be the same again, and if she couldn’t get Aida back… Well, she would die trying.

The thoughts were too complex for her to sort through. All she knew was that she could trust no one, even though she wasn’t sure whether she was up to the task herself.

The dark of night seemed to press against her, closing her in, trapping her with her thoughts. Vana put her canteen back in the bag, and reached

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