I am standing in a garden. The grounds are immaculate. The cream stone paths slice into the green field with sharp precision, not one weed pointing out between the stone tiles. Sections of flowers decorate perfect little squares and a small pond sits right in the centre. An elaborate statue of a rearing horse stands at the centre, water dancing around its hooves. Green lilypads with pretty pink and white flowers glide along the surface. The gardens are spectacular.

I am so lost in my daydreaming, that I jump as a young boy runs through me. It reminds me that I am not really here. I am an observer. Though what I am observing, I am still not sure. Though looking at the horse in the pond, my guess it has something to do with my father. The horse is the symbol of House Baylon, the family my father is from. That and the last vision I had was of his birth.

The boy comes to a stop at the pond and runs his fingers along the water. I walk closer to him. He wears a fine red shirt, embroidered with golden swirls. His black hair has been neatly pulled back and his pale skin is spotless of any sort of dirt. My guess is that he can't be older than seven. His face is so young, yet the way he has been dressed and groomed does not suit his age. It's like he is a young boy, dressing up to be a prince.

Another boy runs over. "Master Matt!" he shouts. I look at the new child. He is very different to the rich boy. He wears a grubby white shirt and brown trousers that don't quite fit. His dark, bronze skin is stained slightly with mud and his dark brown hair is ruffled and messy.
"Tristan!" the rich boy shouts with a wide grin.
"Come on master Matt, I have something to show you," the boy grins and takes the young masters hand.

By now, there are no doubts in my mind that this child is my father. Though who the other boy is I do not know. He drags Matthias to a flower bed.
"My father planted these last year so they would flower this year," the boy says as he stands proudly. From that statement, my guess is that he is the gardener's son.
"They are pretty," my father replies with a small smile. His fingers stroke delicately at the bright red petals.
"When you are the master of this manner, will you make me your gardener?" Tristan asks, looking at Matthias.
My young father frowns.
"Of course. Why would you ask such a stupid question? You and I are going to be best friends forever," he smiles. Tristan's eyes widen and he steps back with a small gasp, his head quickly pointing to the ground. Matthias tilts his head confused.
"Matthias?" a deep, cold voice speaks from behind him. I look up, seeing my grandfather looming over my father. Shivers run through my body as Sebastian Baylon glares down on his son with the icy blue eyes.
"Yes, father," Matthias squeaks.
"What are you doing playing with the gardener's boy? Do you not understand that these people are your employees and not your friends? You are above them and should not bring yourself to their level." The way he speaks the last few sentences is with such disgust that again I find my shivering as my grandfather sneers at the young boy. "And are you admiring flowers?" he spits. Matthias looks down at his feet. "Men don't admire flowers. Only women like such pretty things. You are a young man. The only fields you should be in are the training ones. The only red you should be admiring is the blood of those you defeat."
"Yes father," Matthias replies with a shaking voice.
"Come," Sebastian orders and starts walking away. Matthias hurries behind him, turning back to give Tristan a small smile before he leaves.
...

I look at the book entranced as my I hear whispers of my name in my head.
"Illyana. Illyana." Like it is pleading with me to read it. A thundering sound distracts me, breaking me out of the spell. I frown and look into the forest. The thundering gets louder and I realise that it the sound of heavy hooves stomping against the ground. Hundreds of them.
"Nianzu!" I shout, rushing to him and dropping the book. "Centaurs!" They appear from the forest and into the clearing. Their voice all mould together as they shout my name. Nianzu grabs my hand and we run to the cliff. He swings me up onto his back and leaps off. His body transforms as we fall into that of the dragon and we fly out of reach. I look behind me and back at the cliffs as hundreds of Centaurs line it. I see as one leans down and picks up the book I drop. A feeling of dread fills the pit of my stomach.

The scene changes around me. I am in the throne room.
"What the fuck?" I ask, looking around and down at myself. I am not wearing the clothes I was travelling in, but a plain black dress. I glance up at the throne where my father sits. I panic, thinking he can see me. The door opens and he looks up, his eyes glazing over me to look at the person entering. I frown, confused. I twist to the entrance of the hall to see a centaur enter the room. He is huge. His horse body towers above mine, my head not even coming up to where his fur turns to skin. The Hall is silent all but the echoing claps of his hooves against the marble floor. His eyes don't even find me and I jump back in shock as he walks straight through me.

My father stands slowly off the throne and walks down from the golden tree slowly.
"My King," the centaur says, his voice unnaturally deep. "The book," he continues and stretches out his hand, the small black book looking tiny in his huge palms. My father walks toward him slowly. When he reaches him, his fingers skim the black leather before he grabs it from the Centaurs hand. The centaur bows and walks away, leaving my father standing alone in the great hall, his eyes not leaving the book. He opens the pages.
"I am so close to spilling your secrets," he whispers as his fingers glide across the pages. "I would have done it sooner if my bitch daughter hadn't taken you from me," he growls and closes the book with a loud snap which echos around the hall. He then rushes from the room and the scene around me changes again.

I am in my father's study, looking over his shoulder as he sits hunched over the desk. His desk is covered in lots of texts and papers he has messily written all over. He glances between pages of different texts and scripts before scribbling on more paper. I step closer just as he stops writing and closes his eyes.
"I've done it," he whispers and grins. He stands quickly, closing the small black book and rushes from the room.

My surroundings change again in a snap. It takes a few seconds to take it in, but once I've processed what's going on, a scream leaves my mouth. My sisters all lie together in Fallon's room. Their throats slit and blood dripping onto her stone floor. I rush over to them and reach to hold them with shaking hands. My fingers pass straight through them. I scream again and a deep ache fills my chest as tears pour down my cheeks.
"No! no no no, this isn't real!" I plead as I look at Fallon, her eye's wide open and lifeless. Her body is in front of theirs. She was protecting them. My eyes then dart to Rayana and Shaelyn who are wrapped in each other's arms. Their eyes again are wide open and they are so recently killed that tears still fall down their cheeks. I slump to the floor a shaking mess as I look around the room for Cordelia. She isn't there. I feel a slight prick of hope. I hope she is safe. Before I can completely take it in, everything changes again.

I stand in a dungeon. The walls are wet and dripping. An unknown liquid sits along the stone floor, making it slippery as I shakily walk to the bars of one of the cells. I peer into it. A woman sits pressed against the far side of the stone. She turns when I appear and I gasp, falling back. Her eyes pierce into me. One brown eye and one blue eye. I step forward again to look at her closer. Her black hair is a tangled mess. Her pale skin is muddy and littered with scars, cuts, bruises and blood. She looks almost like a skeleton. So weak. I stare at her face and it really dawns on me. She is me. It's like she knows I'm here. The only one who can sense me. As I look at her, I see a fierceness in her eyes. There are no tear stains on her cheeks. Upon hearing the door opening a snarl crosses her, my, features. I gulp, looking around confused. My father walks in.
"Just kill me already," the other me snarls.
"I need you. You and Cordelia are the keys," he replies.

The vision changes again. I am standing in the city. It's on fire. I spin around desperately as people flee burning buildings. Their screams and cries are deafening. The Vision changes and I see the Red Guard and Centaurs loyal to my father fighting with a wild herd of the creatures. They slaughter each other and take all the children.

Change.

The Fae drag Mer and Sirens from a lake and onto their boats. Their spears dig into their tails as they hang them from them. Cheering with each catch. Then, as the creatures hang upside down, the Fae slice out their tongues or gouge out one of their eyes. I feel bile rise in my throat as blood pools along the wooden floors of the boat and into the water, creating large red clouds around the ships.

Change.

Lupine charge into villages and cities. Their wolves tear people apart and feed savagely on their flesh. The Lupine slaughter all those in their way. Again, the screams burn my ears. Houses are on fire and burning people flee, trying to put out the fires on their skin. The Lupine eat anything they find. They snatch food from peoples tables and scoff it down without even chewing.

Change.

I am standing in the middle of a battle. There is one of every race, all slaughtering each other. The smell of blood and shit fills my nose. Even if I'm not completely here, the stench is that strong that it seems to infiltrate this small amount of distance from the scenes I already had. I watch in horror as Centaur tears a Fae in half with his bare hands. A Lupine wolf then jumps on the back of the centaur, biting into him over and over, tearing away junks of flesh. The centaur falls and before the wolf can be victorious, its Lupine is killed. Upon its Lupine's death, the wolf collapses to the ground.

There is blood everywhere. It almost seems to fly through the air along with body parts. Piles of bodies of all creatures slowly begin to rise around me. I find myself climbing up one of them, just to try and get out of the claustrophobic chaos of those fighting around me. When I reach the top, I fall to my knees. More tears fall down my cheeks. The fighting goes on for as far as I can see in every direction. A sea of blood and armour. No side coming out any more victorious than another. All fighting each other. I close my eyes and bring my hands over my ears not wanting to hear anymore. My breath is heavy in my ears as I heave.
Then there is silence. I open my eyes slowly and regret it instantly.
I still stand on the pile of bodies. Except I am no longer surrounded by fighting. No. Everyone is dead. As far as I can see in every direction. Piles and piles of disfigured and broken bodies.

An odd numbness begins to fill me as I take it all in. Almost as if my body can no longer process what I am seeing anymore. It doesn't know how to react.

Change.

I am standing in the Throne room again. My father sits on the throne. I gulp, walking up to him slowly. He looks up at me with completely black eyes. I jump back in horror as a twisted smile crosses his lips.

"Vivelle will burn," he snarls. I walk slowly from the throne room and to the closest balcony. It looks over the flat farmlands. They are on fire. Everything is burning. Everywhere. The mountains seem to be on fire. The sky is smoke.

Change.

I don't know where I stand. I look around. There is no grass. The trees are black and charred. There are no flowers or buildings or even people. I walk slowly up onto a ledge. I look over miles and miles and all of it is the same. Everything is dead. A city sits in ruins in the distance and skeletons lay on the ground. Skeletons of animals and people. There is no sound around me. There isn't even a breeze. There is just silence and the smell of burning. I look down at the ground far below me then back at the miles of nothing. I can sense that nothing goes on and on across the country. That there is no one but me. Alone in a world where everything is dead.

I don't even think about it. I just step off the ledge.

...

I wake up screaming. My body shakes wildly. I feel Nianzu's arms around me before I even remember he is here. I lean away from him quickly and am sick. Puking up what little we had for dinner last night and more. I don't stop heaving even when there is nothing left in my stomach to bring up.

When it is finally over, I lie down on the ground slowly, wanting to feel the cool earth against my burning skin. Wanting to feel the grass as it tickles me. Longing to smell the dirt.
"What the fuck?" Nianzu asks. I can't answer him. I just lie shaking on the ground. He doesn't say anything else. He just holds me and presses a damp cloth to my temple.
"The book," I whisper, sitting up quickly and rushing to my bag. Panic fills me when I don't see it. So much that my stomach burns and when I finally feel my fingers graze the black leather I let out a deep sigh.
"Illyana, what's going on?" Nianzu asks, confused as I clutch the book tightly. I gulp and look up at him, feeling my tears prick as I think back to my dream. Except, I don't think it was a dream. It was too real and as I recall it now, it doesn't have that same feeling. It doesn't see to be drifting away from me. The images are so clear in my mind that it was as though I was actually there. Perhaps I was there.

I look up at Nianzu, my throat dries.
"We need to split up," I tell him in a hoarse whisper.
"What?" he asks, shocked. I gulp and nod my head, holding up the book.
"You need to take this book and hide it where it can't be found by anyone but me," I tell him. He shakes his head.
"If you think I am leaving, especially with how close the centaurs got to capturing you yesterday, you have another think coming," he growls.
"Nianzu!" my words come out harshly and I clutch at his face. "My father cannot get this book," I tell him with wide eyes. "If my capture is what it takes to keep this out of his hands, then it is a sacrifice I am willing to make," I tell him. He shakes his head again.
"You're not making sense." I shake my head quickly.
"You have to trust me," I say. He frowns.
"I'm not leaving you. I made a vow that I would do everything in my power to keep you safe. To keep you out of their grasp. I'm not about to go against that just because you had some weird dream," he snaps at me and I let out a growl of frustration. I snap the book up again.
"This goes beyond me. It goes beyond this Queen's Trial. If my father gets this book, then all of Vivelle will burn." I shudder as I remember his black eyes and my sisters dead. I look into Nianzu's eyes. "If he gets this book, he'll be able to capture me anyway," I whisper.
"Illyana, you aren't making any sense!" he shouts and stands up angrily, facing away from me. I stand up after him and turn him to look at me.
"Do you trust me?" I ask. He looks down into my eyes.
"Of course."
"Then you have to take this and hide it exactly where I say." He shakes his head but doesn't say anything.
"Nianzu, please," I plead. He looks away from me. "What I just saw was more than a dream," I whisper. He looks back at me with wide eyes.
"Are you saying it was a vision?" he asks slowly.
"I'm not sure," I reply back. "All I know is this book cannot get into the wrong hands. If that means I am captured and put back into the Queen's Trial then so be it."
"What about your sisters?" he asks. The image of their dead bodies springs back into my mind and I close my eyes.
"If my father gets this book, they're dead anyway. I'd rather go back to the Trial and have at least one of them survive rather than the outcome of what I just saw."
"You'd sacrifice me like that too? If you get caught because I left you, I've broken my vow. I would not have done everything in my power to protect you." He holds up his wrist and points at the tattoo. "This will kill me." I shake my head.
"I'm sorry," I whisper. "But again, if my father gets this book you'd be dead anyway. What I saw," I shudder and feel tears sting my eyes. "What I saw is beyond describing and it terrifies me. I will sacrifice all the people I love to keep that from happening." He goes silent, his face paling.
"That bad?" he asks. I nod my head. He sighs and lets out a frustrated growl.
"At least wait until we find the Mer and Sirens. Perhaps they could keep you safe whilst I take it to this secret hiding space you're going to tell me," he sighs.
"Okay. But any sign of the Centaurs catching up, you are to leave me and take the book. Do you understand me?" I ask, looking straight into his eyes. He finches and nods his head.
"Promise me," I order. He takes a slow deep breath and takes my hand in his. His eyes open again, looking into mine.
"I promise." I nod my head and hand the book to him.
"This is to stay on you at all times," I tell him. He frowns.
"Why can't we just burn it?" he asks.
"Because I think there is some sort of protection on it. Plus, I don't think I can succeed in the True Trial without it."
"If you can't succeed without it, then why am I hiding it?"
"Because you're hiding it somewhere I can get it later. I hope." He sighs and we stand in silence for a few more minutes.
"We had better get moving again," he says finally. I nod my head and he shifts back into his dragon form. I pack up our camp and climb onto his back. My hands still shake slightly, but I have calmed down a little bit. As we take off, I turn my attention to figuring out how we are going to find the Mer and the Sirens. There are thousands of huge bodies of water in the mountains of Tarlon. They could be in any one of them. I sigh and look at the ground below for any sort of sign.