Jordan's POV

     "Dearest, wake up."

     The child in front of me stirred, her usually bright eyes dull with sleep. She clutched her thin blanket with tiny hands, trying to keep herself from shivering. The cold night air was relentless, but it could get much worse during the winter months. We all had to suffer through the spring breezes before the stuffy summer nights came.

     "Momma?" my firstborn croaked, her voice high-pitched. On the mattress beside her mat, my husband stirred. He knew enough now that he wouldn't try to stop me tonight, but he would intervene if we did anything that would get us caught by the city's guards. I reached forward to unlatch my daughter's fingers from the blanket.

     "Shh, child. We must be quiet."

     "What's going on, Momma?" My obedient daughter had dropped her voice quite low. I handed her the only coat she owned, a mess of patches and thick fabric that I had salvaged from the kindness of thrown out jackets. She got up off her mat and slowly tugged on the coat.

     "Is Daddy coming?"

     "No," I pressed a finger against her dry lips. She met my eyes with her large exotic ones. Though the child was only six years old, her genetics from my side of the family were shining through. Already, she had my pointed ears and paler-than-normal skin. At least she had inherited Carlos' wavy blonde hair. I was afraid she would grow to look too much like me. "Now no more talking. We must be silent."

     The child dutifully obeyed as I led her out the back door. A full blue moon shone brightly over our dilapidated home, casting the whole Lower City in a glow of silver light. The moonlight made my skin tingle as the effects of elemental power reached the surface of my being. My mother had always told me there was magic in a blue moon. I stopped at the back door, listening for the guards. The nighttime patrol had already come and gone, and they wouldn't be back for another hour. We had until then to return. I descended the few steps from the door to the sand and held my arms to my firstborn. Again, she took the hint and allowed herself to be carried.

     I made my way over to the lake behind our house as quietly as possible. It was hard to be stealthy when the full light of the moon made you an obvious figure to anyone who might be awake at this time of night. I had to move as silently and quickly as I could. When I reached Carlos' simple rowboat, I gently placed my child into one of the seats and dislodged the oars from the sand. I could tell my daughter was filled to the brim with questions, but thankfully she was keeping quiet due to my earlier instructions. Or perhaps she was just as entranced with the full moon as a future elemental master should be.

     I untied the loose knot Carlos had made the evening before and pushed the boat off into the water. When he had asked if he could accompany me, I had to tell him this was between my daughter and me. As much as I wanted him there, I couldn't risk his life if we were caught. This was strictly my choice. Even though the danger was great, I had to do this, for both my daughter and myself.

     I stepped into the water as I prepared to enter the boat; I felt its gentle touch against my feet. The water of Songdragon Lake was salty to the taste, but the water in itself wasn't that concentrated. Even though the lake sat unmoving as a result of the mountains surrounding it, the movement inside of the lake kept it constantly flowing. That's why they called it Songdragon Lake. Colonies of Songdragons lived under the waves, keeping the water fresh and full of life. I know both sides of the lake feared the Songdragons, but I wasn't afraid of them. They would do me no harm.

    The lake water gently rocked the boat as I sailed away from the shore. Fear clogged up my throat, but I pushed it down with each stroke of the oars. Doing this now was an act of treason. We weren't allowed to travel across the lake. Anyone caught traveling from the other side of the lake was killed immediately. I had only survived the first time because of Carlos' intervention before the officials, and that had cost him everything. I would not let that happen again. No one was going to die tonight.

     When we were far enough from the shore, I returned my attention to my shivering daughter, whose eyes had glazed over with exhaustion.

     "Do you remember the song I taught you?" I asked, making sure to keep my voice low. It was unlikely any of the shore dwellers could hear me, but I had to be safe.

     My daughter nodded, her face instantly brightening.

     "I'm going to need you to sing it with me in a few minutes, okay?"

     She smiled, but the face didn't last long. "Why are we traveling across the lake?"

     "There's magic in a blue moon." I whispered as the midway rocks came closer and closer. The midway rocks sat in the middle of the lake, stacked on top of a Songdragon colony. They were the border of the two sides, crossing them meant you belonged to the other side now. No one got near the midway rocks unless they were looking for a suicide mission. Neither side of the lake liked the other side, you'd have to be crazy to think you could cross without consequences.

     It was true that the ceremony I was about to perform could be done anywhere under a blue moon. My mother had passed her power down to me on these rocks, and I wished to do the same to my daughter. Besides, here we wouldn't be heard by anyone other than the Songdragons.

     When the boat bumped up against the rocks, I set down the oars and grabbed the rope. I clambered out of the boat, trying to get a foothold on the rocks. The less water I could get on my clothes, the better excuse I could spin to hide the real reason why they were wet. I only had two dresses, and the other one was drying right now. When my toes touched upon the moonlit rocks, I stumbled on them and tied the rope down. Then, I held out my arms to my daughter, who looked terrified.

     "Why can't we sing in the boat?" She asked, eyeing the water. The dark pits of a deep lake swirled beneath us. My daughter did not live under a rock. She had heard the tales of the creatures that lived in the lake. The Songdragons were supposed to be wicked creatures who preyed upon humans for fun.

     "The rocks are much steadier than the boat. Please, just close your eyes and I'll carry you over."

     The obedient child reached out to me, allowing me to lift her onto the rocks. Once we had both climbed to the highest of the flat faced rocks, I instructed her to sit with her legs tucked beneath her. The blue moon coated us both in silver light; I could feel the tingling of my skin as the elemental power drew close to the surface. No clouds dotted the sky, giving me all the time I needed to complete the ceremony.

     "Sing the song," I said, gently taking my daughter's hands in my own.

     She began to sing, her voice a bit wobbly. To her, it was a mess of sounds, not words. To her, it was nothing more than a sweet melody with some garbled-up language. But to me, the sounds twisted into fully understandable phrases as my power ignited inside of me. I sung alongside my daughter, my perfect voice outshining hers. It wouldn't do so for long.

     "Gentle light, gentle night

     Come forth and bring the power into sight.

     The night is long, my voice is strong

     Let me transfer my eternal song."

     Swirls of bright light started to erupt from my skin, floating into the air like little wisps of fire. My daughter had her eyes closed, trying to remember the words. I could feel my voice weakening as the power of the ceremony reached its max.

     "Sweet melody, come forth now

     Take care of the soul I have selected

     Stay with them within and around

     Be their comfort until their power is rejected."

     My own voice weakened back into its original state, slowly losing the power it once held. In contrast, my daughter's voice was gaining strength. Each fluctuation of her voice hit the notes perfectly, and her voice was gaining a sweetness that would attract many listeners. I sung the final lines, feeling the air swirl faster with the blue moon's power.

     "Gentle light, gentle night

     Come forth and bring the power into sight.

     The night is long, my voice is strong

     Let me keep this eternal song."

     Just like that, the lights faded, leaving my voice to crack for the first time in over ten years. My daughter finished the notes with key precision, continuing the last note for what felt like an eternity.

     When her beautiful voice faded into the silence of the night, the water rippled. Suddenly, three Songdragons burst out of the lake, flapping into the sky with bliss. Their own song echoed in the air as they flew into the sky. My daughter stared up at them with delight as the Songdragons continued to sing. Their voices were lost to me, however. Only she could understand them now.

     "Momma," she whispered, her voice strong and whole. "They are singing of magic and rebirth. I can understand what they are saying." She faltered on the last word, looking to me for explanation.

     I took her hands in mine again. "You have been given a great power, one you must use very scarcely. You will want to sing but you must keep quiet. Many will kill to gain your voice."

     "But my voice is normal," my daughter squeaked.

     "Your voice is extraordinary. You will understand so much more now. Remember our rule, when in doubt..."

     "Stay quiet and unassuming."

     "Exactly. We will tell you when it is safe to sing."

     "Why aren't the Songdragons hurting us?" Her voice was instinctively shifting until she matched my tone perfectly. I had to figure out how to help her stop that. It was too easy to fall into the habit of instinctively shifting into the speech patterns of others. The only way she could stay alive with this magic is if she learned to control it. I didn't need more rumors surrounding her than what already existed.

     "They recognize the magic that was in me. Now, that magic is within you. I will guide you through the task of carrying it the best I can."

     "Momma?"

     "Yes, dearest?"

     "I'm tired. Can we go back home now?"

     "Yes. Remember to be quiet. Everyone at home is sleeping."

     She nodded, and I helped her back into the boat. We made our way back to shore in silence. It was strange being under the glow of the blue moon now. While before, it always made my skin tingle like there was magic in the air, now I only felt exposed in its harsh light. No instinct to let my voice free nagged the back of my mind anymore. I felt powerless, voiceless, normal. It was both liberating and terrifying.

     My daughter looked the exact opposite of what she did when she started this trip. Her once dull with sleep eyes were shining with the elemental power that now coursed through her. Her skin was illuminated with the magic of the blue moon, making her appear more ethereal than human. She spent most of the boat ride home staring at the moon, most likely feeling its enchantment in the air.

     When we made it back to shore, no one appeared to be watching us. I lifted my daughter out of the boat, gently placing her in the sand. I pulled the boat back onto the beach, tying the rope into a complex knot around the big beam of wood that was anchored in the sand. I stuck the oars upright beside the boat, like they were before we left, and shepherded my daughter back inside. She didn't even rinse her feet before crawling back onto her mat. Within seconds she had returned to a dreamless slumber, forgetting to take off her coat beforehand.

     I watched her chest rise and fall, feeling way too nervous that someone might have seen us. The best I could do was hope that no one had. If we were caught, then by sunrise we'd be dead.

     I found myself going back to the drawer Carlos and I kept the mysterious letter in, rereading its words once again.

    A daughter born to the Eternal Song

     A flash across the sky will signal the beginning of night.

    She shall be sacrificed by loyalty

    To save this world's son of Oni and Light.

     Carlos had told me not to worry about it. He had approved of the power transfer because he thought it would help her recognize danger that might lead to the mysterious sacrifice. I, on the other hand, knew that if this was a prophecy, then there was no avoiding it. I folded the letter and put it back in its hidden compartment.

     I would raise my daughter to use her voice properly. I would try to help her escape the terrible fate of a sacrifice. Until this mysterious flash in the sky happened, though, she would be safe.

     For now.