Shadow by Colet Abedi

Author:Colet Abedi [Abedi, Colet]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Colet Abedi
Published: 2021-10-26T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

Like the gladiators of ancient times, I stood in a waiting area underneath the stadium.

It was filling up with people. The sound of the crowd growing by the minute.

There were twelve of us waiting for our Fall. We sat on two long wooden benches facing each other. There were nine Amphibian children—and every time I looked at them, I felt sick and somehow responsible for their predicament. I prayed to whatever was above that was listening, to spare these children death.

“This Kingdom becomes more fascinating by the hour,” Nisira’s tone was dry as she looked up and listened to the screaming crowd.

She was sitting next to me on one of the benches. An Amphibian man sat across from us with all the children.

“It does,” I agreed.

Yanai had left me in the waiting area with the Others after he took my wings. He said he would see me when we were called up.

Nisira looked over at me with narrowed eyes.

“It kind of makes you want to run back home and face the horrors of your own Kingdom, with your own Breed,” she said. “Too bad it doesn’t seem like we’ll be given that opportunity.”

“No,” I whispered as I made eye contact with one of the frightened kids. “I don’t think that’s going to be a possibility.”

“No,” she shook her head and stretched her legs out. “It most definitely is not.”

I couldn’t tell what was going through her mind—if she was afraid or even worried. Nisira was very good at hiding her emotions. The children seemed frightened by the noise but remained quiet and well behaved.

I watched Nisira study the kids before turning to me.

“Siren,” she said as she took a long deep breath in. “I think we are on the precipice of great change.”

Before I could ask her what she meant by her words, Zelda and another Cage Keeper entered the holding area. I thought I saw pity in Zelda’s eyes when she met my gaze, but I could not be sure.

“Stand,” she commanded. “And you will follow me up top.”

We all did as we were told as she led us down a tunnel and up a flight of stairs. I wondered if Aedan and Bibi were invited to the Fall. I wondered if they would be here, watching. There were many things going through my mind as we made our way to face the crowd—

Would I survive?

If so, what then? What would my life look like once the entire Kingdom knew what I really was? I tried to put all the thoughts out of my mind, to just be, as Yanai had said. I could not change my fate—nor could I predict what was about to happen.

The light hit us hard once we reached the top of the arena.

It was an incredible moment. It seemed as though there were thousands upon thousands of different Bird Hybrids standing and screaming in the stands. The seats were filled with people, ready for entertainment. There were some who were working, fluttering around offering drinks and snacks.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.