Aurora Wildhart's Arc

Chapter 1 of 2

Aurora Wildhart ran with twelve stolen animals at her heels. She was no ordinary girl. Wings beat at her back, and a wand burned bright in her fist. She could call fire, water, wind, and stone. Tonight all her magic could do was run. Behind her, hunters crashed through the trees. Ahead lay only wilderness she did not know, and somewhere beyond it, the sanctuary she dreamed of ruling, where no hunted creature would ever bleed again. The animals trusted her. That was the problem. A fox limped at her side. A winged chameleon-dragon clung to her shoulder, its spotted skin flashing panic-red. Her pet darted above them, a seahorse with shimmering wings and colors that would not hold still. She led them into a frozen valley, hoping for cover. Instead she saw snares strung between the pines. Traps. She had run them straight toward a hunting ground. "Stop!" she cried. The animals skidded on the ice. The hunters spread out behind, nets ready. Aurora raised her wand and threw a wall of wind. It knocked two men down. Three more pushed through. She did not know which way led to safety. Every path looked the same, and every wrong turn meant a cage. Then the snow itself stood up. A huge shape rose between Aurora and the hunters. White fur, scales like deep water, horns curved against the moon. It was part yeti, part dragon, part something older. Its voice did not come through the air. It came inside her head, calm and sure. *Behind me, little queen.* The creature swept one great arm. Hunters flew into the drifts. Nets tore. The men scrambled up and charged together, blades out. The guardian roared and drove them back toward the trees. But a hunter's spear found its side. The beast staggered. Dark blood spread across the white fur. The hunters ran, dragging their wounded, leaving their traps behind. Aurora rushed to the fallen guardian. Its breathing came slow and heavy. She pressed her hands to the wound and called water to clean it, then cool wind to numb the pain. The seahorse hovered close, its light steadying. "Why did you save me?" she whispered. *I have watched you.* The voice grew faint. *You seek a safe place for them.* Its eyes found the shivering animals. *I know which lands are safe. I have guarded them for a thousand years. The valley you fled into is death. But there are havens. I can show you each one.* Aurora's heart leapt, then sank. The guardian could not stand. The one creature who knew every safe haven in the wild now lay bleeding in the snow. "Then I won't lose you," she said. She gathered her magic and her twelve animals close. "First I heal you. Then you show me the way home." The guardian's eyes closed. Aurora had her guide at last. Now she had to keep him alive.