Lila qaurtzborn's Arc

Chapter 1 of 1

Lila slipped out of the council halls before dawn, one hand pressed to the dull gem in her belly. She had stopped waiting. Tonight she would wake it herself, or learn why she could not. A shimmer caught her eye at the window. A butterfly with wings like cut quartz tapped the glass, then darted into the dark. She followed. More butterflies joined, a quiet trail of light through the forest of Quartzsummit. They led her to a ring of old stones half buried in moss. At its center stood a broken statue of a forgotten queen, her stone hands cupped as if waiting. In the cupped hands rested a crown gem, blue and pink, framed in gold. Lila lifted the crown and set it on the statue's head. The stones beneath her feet lit up in slow, turning lines. Heat bloomed in her belly. Her gem pulsed once, then again, matching the circle's glow. She gasped and pressed her palm to it. It was awake. She was no longer waiting on anyone. Now she had to learn to use it before the council learned she had it.