Chapter Twenty-One

Entry

The stars will be out tonight. I will stare at them and gaze up, but never touch them. I look and swear I see a comet. Blink, and it's gone. I stare with unwavering attention and they blink back. So bright, plain dots with marvelous stories. They grip my attention and choke me with their beauty.

You blink at me, and I blink back at your brightness. 

Phoenix

--

Dinner time crept up, and after sneaking the file back where it belonged, Phoenix made her way to the kitchen, a smile perking up her lips at the thought of family. But when she walked in, no one had arrived yet- there were only empty seats and white noise. Wooden chairs and humming machines. 

There was an absolute need to keep herself busy, so Phoenix set the table and laid out the food to give the maids a break. She filled everyone's glasses with their favorite drinks and sat down, her feet bouncing with impatience. 

Tap, tap, tap. 

Ten minutes passed and her hands danced with her feet. After fifteen minutes, Phoenix's worry won, and she stood to look for her family. She left the kitchen but paused in the doorway; the family was making their way toward her, smiles wide. Phoenix let out a sigh of relief, there wasn't a reason for her to be so anxious.

Her family was safe. 

"Bird!" Lucas yelled as he ran across the hall to her. He jumped up at her and she picked him up into her arms.

"Hey, Lucas. You're getting heavy," Phoenix teased lightly.

"You missed the best game! Will you play with us tomorrow? Will you?" His big eyes sparkled at her.

"Game? Of course, Lucas. Tomorrow I'll play with you." 

"Thanks!" He smiled and she felt at ease. Cole, Daisy, and Greyson caught up to them.

"Sorry we're late," Cole said. "We were outside and lost track of time." 

"No worries. I'm just glad everyone's here," Phoenix said. 

Act like everything went fine while they were gone. No, she didn't get anxious, she just got nervous. Don't bombard them with negative emotions. 

Everyone sat in their usual spots, with Greyson next to her. He wore his guard's uniform, must have worked between their training session and Lucas' play session. The purple and gold seal was sewed on his chest, a carefully threaded lion and comet, but all her eyes cared to look at was his blinding smile. 

"How was your day?" Phoenix asked Greyson. 

His green-brown eyes glanced down at her as he replied, "I got to spend it with you and your family, it was amazing. How about you?"

"Better now," she responded with a twinkle in her eye. 

He was embarrassed enough to look away after muttering a "thanks." What was the Prince talking about? Greyson was not another child she had to take care of. 

"I guess being nice really does have its perks," Phoenix joked.

He chuckled to himself and Phoenix smiled at the thought of being responsible for his happiness. 

"Yeah, maybe you should start listening to me more often."

"No way!" She joined his laughter. "I would be walking around in oversized jacket and men's trousers if it were up to you." 

"Wouldn't you prefer comfortable clothes?" Greyson remarked. 

Phoenix scoffed in disbelief and playfully rolled her eyes, refusing to admit he was right. She glanced at her family and noticed Cole aggressively stabbing fruit on his plate.

"What game did you guys play?" she asked Cole.

"The same one you saw Lucas playing in the Highlands. Speaking of, any news about your mission?" 

Always right down to business with Cole. Maybe the Prince should lecture him about living a little. After all, Cole took care of the kids more than Phoenix did. Why was she thinking about the Prince?

"Sure," Phoenix shrugged. "The earth shook because of the Burning Stone, a Stone powerful enough that the Queen is testing its power on innocent people rather than herself. Roman confirmed it himself- the Queen is dangerous, dangerous because of the Burning Stone, and she's already getting violent."

"Interesting," was all Cole graced her with. "Isn't your mission to find who's trying to kill the Queen?"

Phoenix blinked for a second. "Yes, but I thought finding a motive would help narrow down the suspects."

"Well, the motive seems obvious to me," Daisy interrupted.

Everyone turned to her to elaborate.

She sighed. "Really? You're all older than me, and none of you can put it together?"

"Put what together?" Greyson entertained.

"If this Burning Stone is that important, and the Queen is in possession of it, then it makes sense that there's a thief in the castle, looking for it. Not for the money, but whatever the power of the Burning Stone is."

"I am looking for a thief," Phoenix realized. 

"If that's the case, then maybe it's time for you to tell the royal family what you've discovered so far. Warn them what the thief is after so that they can take proper measures to ensure its safety," Cole suggested.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Phoenix interjected. "If I tell the royal family that I know about the Burning Stone, it'll put a target on my back. They're already aware of the Burning Stone's value and chose to hide it from me. They obviously don't want anyone else involved." 

Roman's advice rung in her head- only ask dangerous questions in safe environments. 

"Then what are you going to do now?" Daisy asked between bites of bread. 

"I don't know," Phoenix admitted. 

Did she try to focus on finding the thief, or demand more information from the royal family? 

"Do you even know what the Burning Stone looks like?" Cole asked.

"Yes. I found a file that proves that Daisy's theory of it being the crown was correct. That's how I learned about the name in the first place," Phoenix said. 

"Hats off to you Daisy," Cole said.

"You've been quiet, Greyson," Phoenix said, "what do you think our next step should be?"

He met everyone's stares around the table. "Well, we don't actually know anything about this object. However, do we have to? All we need to do is stop the thief." 

Phoenix considered this for a second. Something about not pursuing the Burning Stone felt… wrong. It was unsettling to know the royals had a powerful object in their control, and that they were using it against innocents.

"The King gave me a mission to stop an assassination," Phoenix said. "Now we know the motive is theft. He lied to us. Roman told me that the Queen wouldn't be able to handle the Burning Stone. Maybe... maybe letting the thief steal the gem away from the royal family would be best." 

Cole and Daisy froze mid-air. Greyson just stared. Lucas slurped his own food in content, on a mission to finish his food before joining the conversation. 

"Is an unknown third party having the Burning Stone really better than the royal family?" Daisy pushed. 

"Or maybe," Phoenix continued, eyes widening in surprise at herself, "we should be the ones to steal it, to prevent an unknown party from possessing this thing."

Daisy dropped her spoon on her plate with a loud clang! Phoenix looked at her family, still sizing her up in shock, waiting for their response. They all said at the same time:

"You actually want to steal something?" Daisy asked with excitement.

"Makes sense," Cole pondered methodically.

"You could get hurt," Greyson instinctively warned. 

"If I give it back to Serva, then it's not stealing, it's simply returning it to the proper owner. And if I don't go through with this, then there's a chance that everyone could get hurt if the Burning Stone is abused," Phoenix defended. 

"You're proposing to steal the Burning Stone, then give it back to Serva," Cole clarified.

A hair fell loose and dropped onto her forehead as she nodded. 

"Sounds good," Cole replied with a nod of approval.

Greyson looked at Cole. "How can you be so calm about this? We are talking about stealing from the royal family. Stealing a crown that never leaves the Queen's head. A crown that a potential killer is also trying to steal!"

Cole responded using the same gentle voice he talked to Lucas with, "Of course I'm worried. But what else can we do? I agree with Bird, it's better to take offense than wait to see what could happen to us." 

"The fact is," Phoenix pushed, "we know that something dangerous is in the hands of people we can't trust. Greyson, you may not have felt it, but the earthquake was right under our rooms. The Queen is experimenting with the Burning Stone's power on innocent people. Innocent people! We need to stop them more than anything. Plus, if we get the Burning Stone, we also stop the thief's attempts on the Queen."

"But what if-" Greyson started.

The fabric of his shirt ruffled as she rested her hand on his shoulder to calm him down. 

"Greyson," Phoenix said gently, "I won the Tournament of Crowns. I jumped out of a window in front of the royal family after taking the Prince hostage. I landed in a moat and still managed to get my whole family out of the Lowlands and into the castle. I'll be fine."

"She has a point," Daisy stated. "We should think about this more, but I support the idea."

Seeing he was outnumbered, Greyson let out a heavy sigh. "I suppose so. I just don't like where this could lead."

Phoenix wondered why Lucas hadn't joined in and felt a smile spread across her face when she saw that he had fallen asleep on the table. Playing must have really taken out his energy. Everyone followed her gaze and a wholesome intake of breath wept the room as they took in his innocence. Gazes slid to each other and they all silently agreed to argue more later, as not to wake the boy. Everyone went back to enjoying their meal except Greyson. He just sat quietly and picked at his half-eaten dinner. 

That was, until the windows on the west wall shattered. 

It took Cole, Greyson and Phoenix five seconds to recognize gunfire and get Daisy and Lucas under the table, which Phoenix flipped over for protection. The shots continued to fire through the window, a rain of heavy metal. Two seconds to assess the situation. Greyson was the only one armed and the door leading away to the hall wasn't being blocked behind them. 

"Greyson, cover!" Phoenix demanded.

Not checking to see if he understood, she picked up Lucas while Cole grabbed Daisy's arm.

One last second of breath before going for it.

Greyson fired his first shot.

With the kids, Cole and Phoenix bolted for the door, remaining below the line of the table. Twenty feet. Ten feet. Just before reaching the door, the sound of a third window on the south side penetrated her ears. More intruders. Phoenix pushed open the door and they ran into the hall. Once outside the kitchen, Cole and she dropped Daisy and Lucas. 

"Hide them," Phoenix ordered Cole. 

He grabbed Lucas and held Daisy's hand and they rushed away without a moment's hesitation.

Phoenix looked at the surrounding walls for anything she could use as a weapon. All she could find was a heavy clock sitting on a dresser. It wasn't long-ranged, but it would be better than nothing. Grabbing it, she headed back into the room. 

One second to assess the battlefield. 

Two soaked intruders were climbing out of the moat and entering through the shattered windows while a third came through a south window. Greyson would be running out of bullets by now. He started with a standard handgun with six bullets and some ammo but was obviously running low based on his sparse shooting. 

Phoenix snuck back into the room, throwing a dresser of linens off the wall and onto the ground for more cover. It was no good- Greyson was stuck behind the shredded kitchen table, running out of bullets. He had to move. 

Phoenix stood and waved her arms in the air, "You have some nerve interrupting my meal!"

The intruders flew their attention at her. Two seconds' hesitation as they recalled from their surprise that she hadn't left yet. 

Was Phoenix not their target? 

Greyson used those seconds to bolt from behind the splitting table and rush behind the dresser with her. 

One second too slow. 

The guy from the south tried to fire his weapon but it was empty, so he sprinted to tackle Greyson. Together they brawled, powerful punches were thrown from both sides in a fury of savage attack. Afraid of hitting their comrade, the other shooters stopped firing at Greyson. 

The intruders weren't willing to sacrifice their partner to take Greyson down. 

Phoenix grabbed her clock and adjusted her grip so the metal edge would be the point of impact. As the clock slid into place, she felt her fingernails tap against the glass one, two, three times. 

Greyson's struggle ended too soon, and the intruder smiled as he pointed his gun at Greyson's head. Greyson had lost, pinned down and unable to move. He looked at Phoenix and mouthed something that she was too upset to catch. 

Half a second.

Half a second passed; the intruder pulled the trigger. Phoenix couldn't help herself. She couldn't help herself as she laughed. 

Everyone looked at her, and the other two intruders reloaded their guns. Phoenix moved until she stood behind Greyson's opponent and, possessed with adrenaline, said, "Should've paid attention." 

The intruder's skull made a loud crunch! as she whacked him over the head. Phoenix grabbed Greyson's arm and pulled him behind the dresser before the other guys finished loading their guns.

"You knew he was out of bullets?" Greyson asked.

"He fired before and it was empty. He forgot in the heat of battle."

Two clicks indicated that the remaining two intruders finished loading their weapons. The guy she hit over the head was unconscious, his empty gun laying out in the open. 

"Reload your gun," Phoenix demanded of Greyson, sticking out her hand.

Greyson's hands shook as he shoved the last bullets into the gun.

"Two."

Two bullets, more than enough. The intruders were firing at them again, splinters of wood flying about. 

Phoenix left Greyson behind and crawled out of their hiding spot. Her hands scooped up the unconscious man's body by the armpit and she advanced on the last intruders with her human shield. His heaviness made his feet drag on the floor as she moved further into the battlefield. His body pounded into her as bullets were fired into his chest.

The other two intruders fired at her, but they stopped in horror when they realized their friend was taking damage. They turned to retreat through the windows, fleeing the scene.

When Phoenix realized they were retreating, she dropped the body and fired the last two shots at them as they crossed the moat. She hit one guy's leg and the other got away unscathed. 

Phoenix needed to capture the wounded guy for questioning. 

But why did her body feel so weak all of a sudden? Make sure the family is safe, capture the wounded alive, figure out what just happened. Although this all made sense in Phoenix's head, she couldn't get her body to move toward the window as the wounded man crawled away, his friend pulling him out of the moat and escaping. Greyson pointed at the escaping intruders and shouted something at her, but she didn't catch it. 

What happened?

Phoenix blinked a few times and looked around her to take in the disheveled scene. The table was destroyed, the furniture tossed up, and the windows were shattered. But those things wouldn't warm her feet like this.

Greyson turned and his mouth opened, yet no sound came out. What did he say? Why were her ears ringing so much? Phoenix took a single step and was confused when her foot bumped into something. It felt heavy, maybe a chair fell on the floor? 

She looked down.

It was a man. His chest was ripped open with bullet wounds. Warm blood pooled out, soaking Phoenix's shoes, socks, feet. His eyes stared at her toes, no breath escaped his nose or mouth. What had happened to him? Her head was in a daze, it pounded and throbbed. Phoenix was exceptionally tired. What had she done? Why couldn't she remember? She needed to remember! 

A single image flashed across Phoenix's mind- her hands out in front of her, and this now-dead-man underneath a clock. Phoenix had killed him. She had killed a human being. Her legs wobbled and she collapsed onto the floor, her knee hitting the man's head. She felt something trying to escape her, and when she bent over she threw up her dinner into her own lap. Phoenix had killed another human.

No one deserves to die. No one.

She had said that, right? Who was she now, to say such a thing? Her head pulsed, hands shaking violently, and she felt another round of vomit rising in her throat.

The last thing Phoenix remembered was the victim's eyes staring into her before everything went black.