The rook–for that's what the shadow was–let out an angry screech as it circled above.
[Defeat the boss!]
As soon as the notification popped up, Cove began casting, sending a fire shot through the air. It soared up like a firework, scattering harmlessly against the glass ceiling above as the rook swooped out of the way.
Eliza and Sinbad rushed to plant themselves before us; their weapons angled up at the rook. With a whispered word, Cove switched from mage to gunslinger, the massive pitch-black bow we'd obtained earlier appearing between his hands.
My vision of the arena was distorted, as though I were pushing myself through water. My feet moved forward on their own accord, pulling me past my distracted party members and through inches of water past the slick muraled floor and to the base of a powerful waterfall that roared down a tunnel, filling the arena as quickly as it emptied.
The current tugged at my legs, threatening to send my knees out from beneath me as the cold spray damned my face. I tilted my head up, staring into the deep tunnel above.
"Hayden!" Sinbad called, a warning in his voice.
A sudden flash of insight clarified his warning, and I sidestepped the rook swooped towards me with its claws outstretched. It missed, flapping furiously as it narrowly prevented a collision with the wall. Cove appeared beside me, yanking hard on my arm.
It was almost enough to bring me back entirely. He opened his angry mouth. "What about the–"
Almost.
The deep black of the rook faded as the room around me dulled until the rook was merely a sketch on a page.
I–she–added a final stroke, lifting the sketchbook up by the sides to give it an evaluating stare. A sour taste coupled with the sting of iron entered her mouth as she bit at her lips, tugging the dry skin clear off.
With a sigh, she ripped the page out, tossing it on her desk among many others. Written on the page directly next to the one she'd so carelessly thrown was a single word, "roc."
She ran her fingers over the pressed gold imprinted in the green leather of the bookbinding, pulling the book closer to herself. The cover smacked lightly against her desk as she flipped the book open, scanning the text on the pages.
It's not good enough. Her fingers would never be able to capture the bright image of the words. written across the pages painted of her favorite section of the tale.
"Hayden–this is–"
A bright-eyed girl pried her head up from her pillow, glancing at the stars that glittered outside her window. Her eyes were drawn to a single star that twinkled and arched across the sky, flinging itself toward her at great speed.
She closed her eyes tightly, unable to say aloud the wish she held deep within her heart. Her brother's warm and innocent hand dug harshly, almost painfully, into the meat of her hand.
He was her rock, her anchor as the light of the shooting star grew blindingly bright until her brother's hand vanished from hers. She panicked, glancing around the room that faded even as she searched.
For a moment, she could have sworn she was a green leather-bound book, pages open and the plot exposed in a way familiar to the girl. When she opened her eyes, her room was completely gone, and she stood alone inside a massive library. Her eyes darted from side to side as she took in the scenery, her shoulders gradually relaxing. The library was the most beautiful place she'd ever seen. Hesitantly, reverently, she trailed her hands along the pictures on the columns, following their stories as I had.
A tiny golden star, as large as a candlelight, floated down from the ceiling, tiny golden tendrils falling like sand from its core. With each missing piece, the light glowed just a little dimmer.
The girl smiled at the kindred spirit, ripping her hands from the precious stories and stretching her them out toward the little star. It drifted slowly down until it was hovering above her palms. The girl cupped her hands and gently collected the falling stardust, pushing it up toward the light.
The little star bobbed once, then dipped into her palms, vanishing into her body as warmth crawled through her veins to settle deep in her chest. It fits in as though it had always been there, nearly unrecognizable as something other than herself.
She couldn't wait to draw this library.
"Hello, Hayden," Shahrazad said, striding up to stand next to the girl as I shook myself out of her skin and shed away her thoughts, stepping back like I'd been burned. It felt as though it was getting more and more difficult to tell myself apart from the people in my visions lately. And it was terrifying how easy it was for me to slip beneath someone else's skin in these visions, slotting in and forgetting aspects of myself as though I'd never been anyone else.
"Hello." I greeted her in return. Uncertain of how to properly address her, I dropped titles and names altogether.
Her suit glowed steadily as she turned to look up at the stars in the sky. I followed her gaze, staring up at the tiny twinkling sparks of silver and gold scattered across the sky in a tapestry, constellations unknown to me telling their stories to the people who looked up at them.
I dropped my gaze to the girl before me, Setare, who'd graciously offered to house the fragment of the little star, preventing it from further destruction.
Setare, who'd been turned into a rook by a djinn, leaving her brother all by himself.
I thought of Ember sitting alone in her room as our parents screamed at each other and her brother climbed out the window. Ember watched as the sun rose on the bottles scattered throughout the living room, wondering if her brother would ever return. As she wondered if he'd finally left her in a house full of empty dolls pretending to be a family.