Fallon Roe was only ten years old when the Great War began.
Only ten years old when the world she knew shattered.
Only ten years old when House Verona marched into Reposar, the capital city of Vadell, and slaughtered half their people.
Only ten years old when her sister. Fallon remembered it like it was yesterday. How could she forget? After all, it was all her fault.
"Nessa!" Fallon had whispered. "Nessa, wake up! It's House Day!" Her sister was up in an instant, her tangled brown curls a warped mess atop her head. She was dressed in an instant, and the two girls scampered out the bedroom door to survey the coming Houses. Even the grouchy cook seemed in lighter spirits. House Day came but once a year, and this was the year for House Roe to choose an heir. Her House.
"Nessa, look!" Fallon cried, pointing jubilantly out the window and jumping up and down. The three other Houses had arrived! Nessa and Fallon hung onto the window as the orderly troops marched solemnly by. First came House Maze, with their crimson banners flying high. Fallon could spot two children walking next to the flagbearers . The girls waved excitedly. Second marched House Morgan, their silver flags held stately above. There were no children in the crowd, Fallon noticed. Finally, House Verona marched through, green pennants waving. Fallon spotted a boy about her age walking next to the House Heirs. She smiled at him. The boy scowled at her. Fallon frowned and turned away to snag a pastry from Cook's overloaded platter.
"Fallon, the Heirs are here! The ceremony's starting!" The girls dashed away from the window to stand on the platform next to their parents, the Heirs to the House Roe. Nessa tugged her sky-colored skirt straight and nudged Fallon to do the same, but she ignored her and surveyed her surroundings in awe. The blue House Roe banners were waving overhead, and Fallon's chest swelled with pride.
The girls and the rest of the gathered crowd hushed as the House Heirs stepped forth, waiting to be called to the platform. An announcer strutted to center stage and bellowed,
"House Maze! Residing Heir; Andromeda Maze. Bring forth your Future Heir!" She was a proud-looking woman with sleek auburn ringlets piled atop her head. Her red gown trailed the ground as she stepped onto the platform and whispered into the announcer's ear. "The Future Heirs to the House of Maze areā¦ Elodie Maze and Riddle Maze!" A girl and a boy, both with hair the color of a cardinal's feathers, ran onto the stage. They curtseyed and bowed, accepted the signet rings with their house crest, a phoenix, and skipped into the crowd. Interesting...there hadn't been double House Heirs in years. Morgan next, Fallon thought.
"House Morgan! Residing Heirs; Aspen Morgan and Briar Morgan! Bring forth your Future Heir!" The petite Asian couple strode onto the stage and spoke to the announcer briefly.
"The Future Heir to the House of Morgan isā¦ Verve Morgan!" A tall, dark-haired boy emerged from the crowd and clambered onstage. He accepted the signet ring with the Morgan pegasus crest and disappeared once again. Third, House Verona.
"House Verona! Residing Heirs; Crane and Elle Verona! Bring forth your Future Heir!" A stout man and a silver-haired, willowy woman made their way onto the stage. The announcer bent down to the squat man's height as he whispered. "The Future Heir to the House of Verona isā¦ Drake Verona!" The boy Fallon had seen in the crowd strutted proudly to the platform to accept the House Verona dragon signet ring. Fallon tensed with excitement as her parents stood at the platform. She, as the eldest Roe child, would be named the Heir. She would escape the castle Roe and learn her House Trade at the Warriors' Guild.
"House Roe! Residing Heirs; Urgan and DanaĆ« Roe! Bring forth your Future Heir!" Silence fell on the crowd. The announcer straightened. "The Future Heir to the House Roe isā¦" Fallon squeezed her eyes shut in anticipation. "Nessa Roe!" the announcer bellowed. Fallon's eyes flew open.
"What?!" she exclaimed. The crowd burst into giddy cheering. Fallon watched, dumbstruck, as Nessa beamed and skipped to the platform to accept the House Roe griffin ring. The shouts of the crowd blurred into intelligible murmuring. What was going on? The House Heir was always the eldest child of the line. Always. Why had they chosen Nessa? Fallon had been forced to train for this moment her whole life. Was it just pointless? Fallon was jerked out of her reverie by Nessa's joyous hug. Fallon stiffened and pried her off. As her sister looked questioningly at her, a whistling noise filled the air. The House Morgan Heir peered at the sky. His eyes widened.
"Get down!" he shouted.
Arrows sailed through the air, thudding into the ground around them. Citizens and Heirs fell alike. Nessa screamed and Fallon dove to snatch her out of harm's way, an arrow grazing her left arm. House Verona soldiers dropped their flags and drew swords on the crowd. Screams rang through the air as the soldiers slaughtered with reckless abandon. The rest of the Heirs ran, but the House Verona Heirs stood regally, overseeing the massacre. The boy Fallon had seen stood at his parents side, a blank look on his face.
"Nessa, we have to go!" Fallon said as she cradled her terrified sister. After all, she was only eight. She started to run, but an explosion shook the earth and Nessa was torn from her grip. Fallon screamed her sister's name, but the smoke was too thick to see her. Fallon tore through the rubble, searching and shouting. She spotted a shape near a building fallen in on itself.
"Nessa!" she cried, stumbling toward her. She rolled the body over to see who it was. She had been right. It was Nessa. Fallon pushed a strand of dark hair, matted with dirt and blood, out of Nessa's face. Her blank eyes stared back at Fallon. The feathered end of an arrow stuck out from her chest.
She was dead.
Fallon shrieked in anguish and clutched her sister's limp body to her own. She didn't know how long it was before her father found her, sobbing, surrounded by fire and death. She left Nessa there. She left her sister all alone.
As Fallon escaped with her father, she remembered how she had pushed her away. Into the arrow's path. She knew that it was her fault.
She knew that she had killed her.