I walked through the kingdom of Kaija, searching for people. There was no chatter, no laughter. The village was dead. No one was present.

I turned my head, and saw in the distance, a black land lined with orange lights. I walked, destroying homes with a flick of my wrists as I made my way to the lights.

Men were saddled on horses, dressed in armor. A king stood with a queen by his side. They were wearing the same garments from my dream. The king wore robes of black threaded with gold. His hair was white like snow, falling to the nape of his neck in delicate waves. As for the queen, a white robe touched the ground, melding with the woman's long golden dress embroidered with black. The woman's hair was a similar white, shining more silver like the moon. Her hair curled in ringlets, touching the small of her back.

Someone had to pay for what had happened. Since Jonga couldn't, Kaija would.

They humiliated me, degraded me. I would show them what a true queen was, one not capable of offering mercy.

"Protect the queen!" a voice called from behind.

I turned my head, Dari was standing behind with a small army of Udanians. He nodded, holding a spear in his hand. Hona's obsidian dagger was in his other hand. "If you want vengeance and war," Dari began. "We stand by you."

"Queen of Udan!" the king called out. "Stand down or we will be forced to avenge our daughter and her lover."

I stepped forward, flames burning from behind. They snaked around my army and theirs, creating a ring of fire. Even if they were to surrender, they were trapped. They would pay.

"Stand down!" The king called.

"Spears at the ready!" Dari's voice rang.

I reached down, pressing my hand to the ground. The earth shook, splitting in two. The terror on the Kaijans faces was enough to drive power to react. I composed, arching my shoulders and screamed, "Burn!"

Dari and the other Udanians rushed forward, releasing a powerful war cry. I waited in the center as they stormed past, the air whirled with the deep breeze that had overcome them. The Kaijans grasped their swords, readying themselves. Many men would die with honor, fighting for Hona, fighting for Udan.

Dari was the first to clash. He raised his spear, piercing it into a man's chest. He fell to the ground, grasping the hilt. Dari pulled it from his chest and stared back at his queen.

"For Rodi."

I raised my hand, causing the flames to leap. They cornered them, tightening the circle. I walked through, eyes set on the king and the guards that had humiliated me.

I reached forward, sending a fireball toward them. The guards leapt in front of their king, throwing him to the ground. He scrambled, pushing with his hands to get away from me. The queen of Kaija ran to his side, staring at me, she narrowed her violet eyes.

"Tara?" she whispered. I heard it even through the carnage and screams. "My Tara, what has happened to you?"

The King's eyes widened as he sat up to see what his queen was staring at. His mouth fell in a gasp. I approached them, no longer feeling anything. I was numb.

"Tara," he whispered.

"I am not Tara," I answered. "I am Mara, queen of Udan!"

The king blinked. "It is," he answered. "We thought you were dead."

"Silence!" I spat, reaching down, I placed my hands on each side of his cloak, drawing him upward. "You refused to help my people, my kind. I was humiliated in front of my own and you will pay for it!"

"Tara, listen," the queen begged. "It's your mother."

I lashed my head toward her. "If you do not stop speaking I will end his life!" I promised. "I will have order and justice!"

"Tara!" she shouted. "Remember the mountains," she whispered. "Look at the mountains."

My eyes never left the queen's. "I will never obey the likes of you," I spat. "You've tortured my people for years. You are the cause of his death."

"Whose?" he asked. "Tell me who."

"Is it Ronian?" she questioned. "Are you in grief?"

"Stop!" I shouted, dropping the king to the ground.

"Ronian was your betrothed," the queen continued. "He loved you, and you loved him."

"Enough!"

"Remember who you are, Tara," she whispered. "You are the princess of Kaija."

Filthy Kaijan.

Nothing but a Kaijan.

Kaijan.

Traitor.

Intruder.

"No more!" I cried out, holding onto my head.

The memories were trying to overwhelm me. I sealed my eyes, pushing them away. Opening my eyes, I reached down and ripped the king's heart from his chest. He fell to the ground, the queen screaming behind me.

"What have you done!" the queen shouted, her lip trembling. She fell over her beloved, sobbing.

His eyes closed as she embraced his bloodied body, and his chest steadied. I held his heart in my hand, feeling it beat until it didn't anymore. Letting it fall to his corpse. I leaned down to the woman. She looked frail and weak. From the light of the fire, I could see that I resembled her.

I jolted and stepped back, turning my back to the woman. I looked around, noticing the heaps of bodies and the spilling of blood. Turning back to the woman, I noticed she was crying into the King's chest. Lifting her head, she whispered. "My daughter, how could you do such a horrible thing?"

I fell to her knees and screamed, memories haunted my being as they pooled in. The feeling was worse than the burn in my veins. It was heavy, like the crown that was once on my head.

"Tara!" Mother shouted, laughing. "My beautiful girl, come here."

She was just the same as the woman leaning before the King. She was my birth-giver, my mother.

"I am afraid he is dead."

"Dead," I echoed, my heart shattering. "Dead."

"Aye."

I shook my head. "He can't be," I argued, moving back. Father's hand fell. "He wouldn't be."

"Tara, I know this is not the news you hoped for, but—"

"No!" I shouted in denial. "He is going to come home. He promised we would wed. Our happily ever after was around the corner. We were bound to have it after he returned."

"Tara..."

"No!" I shrieked, the hot tears leaking down my face like the fountain. "He will be home tomorrow. He promised. He said so. I know it!"

"This is a lot to process," Mother said from her throne, staring at me with sky blue eyes similar to mine. The sorrow in hers mimicked my own. "I know you must be enduring a lot of pain but know we are here for you in this troubling time."

"What happened?" I gasped over the sobs. "Tell me, please."

Father grimaced. "He was ambushed by a savage," he explained. "From the North."

Savages from the North.

Udanians.

I sniffled, feeling my emotions shift. "He isn't dead," I whispered, hardening my voice. "I know it and I know him. He probably is in hiding waiting to be found."

"Tara..."

"I will find him myself," I spat. "And bring him back alive and well."

My skull burned as more memories came.

Using its paw, the Guardian moved me on my side, exposing my arm. It leaned in, no longer showing malice in its gaze, but sorrow. I stared into its eyes, feeling the deep pain in my heart rather than my body. Our minds were two alike and I felt like they connected as one.

It touched its heavy head to mine, and huffed, blowing a veil of gray mist. It whirled around us, like a dancer, and fell onto my skin. My mind began to clear. All my worries were leaving. Ronian was disappearing, my people, my family. Everyone was becoming strangers to me.

I stared at the sky, trying to remember who I was, and where I was, but nothing came to mind.

My eyes rolled, hitting the back of my skull. Euphoria. A splendid feeling I wished to hold onto forever. I wondered if death felt as liberating as this. As freeing.

I smiled, my thoughts gone. I was lost in elation.

Now they had returned.

The memories faded away. I grasped at my head and screamed, matching the horrid, pained cries of my mother. My vision blurred with red and black, the flames dead.

"Stop!"

Once it had adjusted, I noticed the sun was rising in the distance. Night had faded with the war. I blinked, staring at the bloodied bodies of my father and mother. A dagger stuck in her chest.

My mother had taken her own life to be with him once more.

Her eyes were still on my figure, her hand entwined with his. I couldn't remember who my parents were at one time, but I could tell they loved each other.

My hands shook, breathing increasing as a hand pressed to my shoulder. I twisted, noticing a young boy who yearned for adventure. I had given him loss. I had shown him war. Dari got more than he bargained for.

"Dari?" I questioned, looking around. I blinked. "What happened?"

He looked toward the bodies, and my gaze followed as I stared at the smoke, my eyes watering once more. The dead soldiers were stained in crimson, guts circled me.

Confused and scared Kaijans had surrendered and stood behind me, shaking. I looked down at my hands, noticing the scarlet blood on my fingertips.

I wasn't just Queen Mara of Udan.

I was princess Tara of Kaija.

The one who had slain her own.