The Silver Lily Plains of District Five greeted Micah and Charlotte with a welcome sight to weary eyes. After a long ride across seemingly endless grass fields and a freezing trek through the Vega Mountains, South Carnel’s lush verdure was like the homecoming of a long-lost friend. Settling into a speedy, but not unpleasant pace, they were able to find some measure of tranquility. The realm of the fifth district, normally rich with old, thick forests, soon gave way to the widespread gray flowers blanketing the hills that surrounded the Twin Cities. Metallic-colored lilies, like millions of bells without clappers, shivered with the brisk wind, signaling the fast-approaching autumn.

  Charlotte bunched up her dress as she scurried to the top of the hill in excitement, Micah close behind. And when his gaze fell on Castor and Pollux, he recognized without a doubt the new emotion welling up within his heart.

  Wonder.

  The two cities sat on the opposite sides of a vast, dry gorge, but they melded into a single immense settlement. At the center, tall buildings of black stone several dozen stories high raced each other to the sky. Stretching for several miles, the cities dazzled in the evening rays. Tiny lights bedecked walls and streets, rooftops and flagpoles, doors and windows. And not the usual city lights, but odd, twinkling bits a million fold as if the twin metropolis wanted to mirror the starry sky.

  A single bridge crossed the gorge, a colossal structure of twisted metal and carved stone. At each end, a monument to their respective cities faced each other. In Castor to the East, a steel plate hundreds of feet high rose out of the canyon and around the bridge. Blue and shaped like a crescent moon, it reached to half the height of Castor’s tallest building. On the west side, Pollux featured a similar steel plate, golden and shaped like the sun. From his studies, Micah knew each weighed several hundred thousand tons and had taken over fifty years to construct, but seeing them for the first time brought the magnitude of it to full comprehension. He had been to many places in his short lifetime, but few cities surpassed the grandeur of what they now beheld.

  Charlotte took his arm, keeping her gaze trained on the Twin Cities. “Crickets, isn’t it the most amazing thing you’ve ever seen?” she asked.

  “Irrefragably,” he replied.

  She hummed, then laughed primly, which she did often now when he answered her questions. He looked at her. She seemed genuinely happy. It was as if the memory of the attack by the Sintobi siblings was all but forgotten. But he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it, or rather, about what she told him afterward. Her words haunted him, keeping him awake nights.

  Then, he remembered something. It hadn’t seemed anything more than odd at the time, but now it seemed incredibly relevant.

  “Charlotte?”

  “Hm?” She looked up at him.

  “When we were first attacked by the Seraphs, and I put you inside the carriage, I seem to remember you were singing to yourself.”

  She blushed, letting go of his arm. “Oh… well, that was nothing.”

  “Was it?” He looked away. “I just remembered because it seemed to be your way of calming down. I haven’t been able to stop thinking of what you told me that day. In fact, it makes my chest hurt every time I think of it. I thought maybe you knew of a way to make such things go away.”

  Charlotte put her hands to her mouth in dismay. “Oh, Micah, I’m sorry. I never meant to… oh, dear. Look, sit down.”

  She directed him to the nearby grass while she sat on the edge of a flat rock opposite him. She twiddled her fingers together, and her eyes looked this way and that as she seemed to be organizing what she wanted to say. Micah waited patiently, studying her endless tics in fascination. The evening was slowly giving way to the night, sending myriad flares of color through the clouds, blending oranges with pinks and purples. Charlotte’s skin glowed with intensity under the setting sun, and her hair hinted with painted reflections of the sky, drifting lightly on the cool breeze.

  “I suppose the first thing I have to make sure you understand is that you can’t blame yourself for the things that are happening,” she said.

  “I can’t? Aren’t I exactly the reason for what is happening? For what has happened?”

  “No! Micah, you aren’t to blame! I know what I said made it seem like you were at fault, and I apologize. But that’s simply not true. I just wanted you to see a different picture – I wanted you to see their side. You are without a doubt the kindest, gentlest man I’ve ever met. You have a good heart! Who knows better than me?”

  He swallowed hard, shutting his eyes. “I do? But… I’ve killed people. I’ve hurt families and destroyed lives and—”

  She put a hand to his mouth, and he stopped, looking back at her in surprise. Smiling, she kissed his cheek.

  “It’s because you recognize all those things that makes me right about you,” she said.

  The sudden heat in his face should have been unbearable. He wondered if she could feel it, because she laughed and let go of him.

  “So, then what was the song you were singing?” he asked.

  “I’m surprised you didn’t recognize it,” she said, laying her hands in her lap and crossing her legs. “It’s one of the oldest songs in history. Of course, I wasn’t really ‘singing’ it when you heard it. I must have sounded like a crazy person.”

  “Yes,” Micah agreed. She leered at him, but he smiled. “Just kidding.”

  “It’s called ‘Bring Me to You.’ Written by Jask Troubadour to his lover, Astrid.”

  “You’re referring to Jask of Pegasus, the Sound Sage? I’ve read several books on his life and accomplishments. He’s the son of the Drifting Queen’s adopted family, and he learned a great deal from her. Practically everything we know about sound magic is due to his discoveries.”

  Charlotte rolled her eyes. “Yes, yes. That’s all well and good. But, the important part of his life is his love story with Astrid.”

  “I’m not familiar with it.”

  She sighed, cradling clasped hands at her neck. “It’s such a romantic story! Jask and Astrid met when they were very young, joining Lord Mobius’s bounty hunter crew. He was handsome and strong, and knew every musical instrument. She was beautiful and bashful, and possessed Foresight like his beloved sister. It was inevitable they would fall in love.” Charlotte pressed the back of her hand to her forehead. “Alas, fate demanded they should part.”

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  “What happened?”

  “Well, unbeknownst to them all, Astrid was born of a foreign ruler, a man called Tasman the Red King. A cruel, evil man, he planned to use Astrid for his own gain in one way or another, the same way as he used all his daughters. Her mother, a Carnelian, discovered his true nature and stole Astrid away as a baby, escaping to her homeland under the cover of dark.

  “And so Astrid grew up in Carnel. After her mother died, she was taken in by the Lord and Queen, and joined their crew soon after. But after joining the bounty hunters, she slowly gained prominence, for she had great talent. Word eventually reached the ears of Tasman, who realized she was his daughter and immediately plotted with several other surrounding kingdoms.”

  “Ah,” Micah said. “I know this part. This is when the Red Siege began.”

  Charlotte nodded. “The Red King demanded Astrid be returned to him. Queen Aurora wouldn’t hear of it at first, but when he and his allies threatened an invasion of Carnel, Aurora left it up to Astrid to choose. And after many hard nights, Astrid decided she would return for the sake of the county she loved.

  “Well, as you can imagine, Jask had different ideas about the matter. Oh, how it must have been so hard for him! He was just a boy then, and he loved her so dearly. He wrote many, many songs about the day she left, all of them dark and soul-wrenching.” Charlotte wiped a small tear away, but then she smiled. “But it was the last song he wrote that became famous.”

  “Why is that?”

  “Because it was the song that convinced him to rescue her! Despite orders from Lord Mobius, he went after her, leaving Carnel and invading strange lands. Nothing would keep her from him any longer. And it was in the heart of the Red King’s own palace that Jask confessed his undying love to Astrid and broke her free. They fled, living nearly the rest of their lives in hiding, but together. His single decision lives on centuries later as the ultimate declaration of love.”

  Charlotte issued a small squeal of delight as she closed her eyes and imagined her story, but Micah frowned.

  “His actions struck the match that culminated decades later in the Battle of the Final Word,” he said. “Hundreds of thousands of people died as a result. It was a terrible decision.”

  She gasped. “No! Can’t you see? Love won! There will always be war and hate, no matter what decisions we make in life. But real hope dies when love fails! Jask Troubadour is inspiring because he decided not to give up on his love, even when the world told him he had to.” A small sadness came over her, a look familiar to Micah now. “Every girl wants to be the Astrid of his song,” she said. “We all dream… of the man who would come rescue us.”

  She attended to a lock of her hair, lips pouting slightly. Micah continued to frown, disconcerted by her words. How could the love of two young people be more important than staving off war? It didn’t make sense… yet, somehow, Micah could no longer shrug off Charlotte’s explanations as he once did. In fact, he realized with surprising clarity that he believed her. But he wanted to know why.

  “So, what is the song then?” he asked.

  Her expression brightened. “‘Bring Me to You’ was written the night Jask left to rescue Astrid. He was in the middle of writing it when he realized what he had to do. That’s what makes it so special. My mother used to tell me the story before bed. Then, she taught me how to sing the song. I memorized both and have never forgotten either. Now, when I’m worried or frightened, I sing it to help me calm down. It’s never once failed.”

  Micah hesitated before deciding to ask, “Would you sing it?”

  “Here?” she asked, looking around.

  “Is this a bad place?”

  “No…” She smiled. “It’s perfect actually. But promise not to laugh?”

  “I promise.”

  She giggled before sitting up straight and closing her eyes. For several moments, she remained still, taking deep, tranquil breaths. The wind quieted, and the sounds of swishing lilies hushed, almost as if to give way to her. Then, like a slow-rolling wave breaking on the seashore, her song came.

  Bring me to you.

  Bring me to you.

  Astrid, my dear, draw me near.

  Bring me to you.

  Send me whispers on the flight of your wings.

  And endless bouquets of dreams.

  But let those all pass, if given one chance

  To bring me to you.

  Bring me to you.

  Bring me to you.

  Astrid, my love, sent from above.

  Bring me to you.

  Golden hair weaved from sun’s light.

  Eyes borne of the moon’s finest night.

  Beauty foremost fair, soul ever so rare.

  I give my life to you.

  As she broke into the chorus again, Micah vaguely recognized his own thoughts as they meandered hopelessly in the soft wonders of her voice. He understood so clearly now what people meant by the phrase “voice of an angel.” She swayed and cambered with each line, filled by the emotion they conveyed. And despite her singing, a warm smile never left her lips. Shaming the proudest birds with her notes, she was transcendent. Micah could only describe it as sweet. Like sugar… honey… no, even sweeter still. The sweetest concoction he couldn’t recollect.

  Bring me to you.

  Bring me to you.

  Astrid, my light, fill my sight.

  Bring me to you.

  The day came I’ll never forget.

  The Red King came to collect on his debt.

  When you said you’d depart, took with you my heart.

  How could he take you from me?

  Bring me to you.

  Bring me to you.

  Astrid, I plead, on my hands and my knees.

  Bring me to you.

  As gentle tears fell down Charlotte’s face, so Micah’s vision hazed with sudden moisture, and his throat constricted. At any other time, he would have worried something was wrong with him, but he cared little in that moment and wiped it away quickly, not wanting to miss a single moment of her song. Such passion. Such earnest passion! Where did such a thing come from? She quieted just a bit, clasping her hands at her breast. Her eyes faltered, her words slowed, and her swaying stilled. Sadness became her with each new line.

  A dark cloud hazed my sight…

  And not yet have I had a warm night…

  In the days since you left, this life is bereft…

  My heart loves nothing but you…

  Bring me to you.

  Bring me to you.

  Astrid, don’t cry, I’ll be by your side…

  When I come back for you!

  Charlotte’s eye burned with sudden violet fire. She spread her arms out wide, and her song burst with a final sweet symphony.

  So, I’ll ride, and I’ll fight, won’t stop ‘til I’m dead!

  I’ll climb and I’ll fall, won’t stop looking ahead!

  Despite morbid fears, despite your king’s jeers!

  I’ll press on! I’ll press on! You’ll be mine once again!

  Bring me to you!

  Bring me to you!

  You’ve journeyed so long, but find my song!

  It will bring me back to you!

  And it was over. In the new silence, Micah realized how hard he was breathing, how open his mouth was, how labored his heart beat against his chest. He sat up, staring at her, unable to take his gaze away from Charlotte’s face, framed by the setting orange sun and deep purple sky. Her right eye glowed with a soft intensity, wisps of hair caressed her face, and her smile sent new shivers through his body.

  What was this feeling? Words couldn’t begin to explain them. He feared to try. Her song, so rich and fervent, filled him with a burning… a burning… something. He just couldn’t describe it! He couldn’t explain or reason it into a nice little package in the corner of his mind like other things. But whatever warmth now pervaded his being, he knew he wanted more. He wanted so much more, it hurt.

  “Would you…” he began. His hands lifted of their own accord, pleading, and he was surprised by the desperation in his voice. “Would you sing it again? Please?”

  She wiped away her tears, smiling brighter than the moon peeking through the clouds. “Okay. One more time.”