A Flame in the Shadow

"Ember, wait up." Bastion yelled from across the street as I exited the corner store. I turned to see him waiving me down. My heart fluttered at his smile. Bastion was the neighborhood hero ever since he returned from training in the military. The perfect example of the boy next door, tall, strong, light brown hair with blue eyes, and a jawline that made every girl blush when he looked at them.

I stopped, waiting for him to catch up. He walked up throwing his arm around my shoulders casually. Bastion had been my best friend for as long as I could remember but since he returned things seemed to have taken a turn.

"Are you going to the festival with anyone?" He asked.

The Festival of the Offering was a tradition going back a thousand years. One we celebrate every hundred years on the same night of the Blood Moon. This year the festival just happens to land on my birthday. Not that anyone would care, the festival was the biggest event anyone in the town of Celestial Falls would ever experience. A forgettable girl's twenty-first birthday would never come close.

"Who says I am going?" I asked him.

"You have to go, Em. It only happens every hundred years. We are so lucky to get to experience it. They are already setting up in the town. There are tents and booths setup. The food is going to be so good. Plus," He smirked. "it would be a perfect way to celebrate your birthday! You didn't think I forgot, did you?"

To be honest, I did think he forgot. I smiled my cheeks heating up. I couldn't think of a better way to spend my birthday. The festival was going to be extravagant. There would be no expense spared and I had always wanted to get a look at her. 

Sariyah. The name was like a whisper one the wind in our town. One spoken for centuries. She had become a legend at this point, one that seemed too fantastical to be true. She only ever leaves the castle and her Obsidian Throne for the offering.  I couldn't explain why but I needed to see her for myself.

"Ok. I guess I could make an appearance, for you." I smiled at him as he grabbed the bags from my hands and began walking me home.

The Festival began just before sundown. Bastion met me outside my house so that we could walk together.

"Happy Birthday." He said as he handed me a bunch of wild flowers in all colors. He took a purple one out, my favorite color, and slipped it behind my ear. "There, you need a little color in your life, all you wear is black." 

We walked down the cobblestone pathways to the festival lands. The music was blaring and the dancers and fire-eaters were mezmerizing. There was a massive bonfire right in the middle. We walked down the paths of vendors, the scent of all the greatest foods wafting past us making me delirious with hunger. Bastion grabbed my hand pulling my attention away from the food.

"I want to tell you something, I have been wanting to say it for a while now Em." His bright blue eyes piercing my soul. He opened his mouth to continue when the slecting bell rang. One note, long, low and cold enough to cut bone. The crowd of people rushed to the stage where the High Priest of the Veyl stood in his long crimson robes of velvet.

"It's happening." Bastion said beside me, his jaw locked. He hadn't let go of my hand. I could feel the tension vibrating beneath his skin, like his body was already preparing to fight something we couldn't see yet.

The townspeople gathered near the stage, faces pale, under the Blood Moon. Mothers gripped their sons. Girls whispered prayers not to be chosen to weep this year. I didnt pray. Not because I didn't believe, but because if the gods had been watching Celestial Falls, they were cruel.

The Priest spoke and his voice echoed across the crowd. "Celestial Falls," He addressed the crowd. "this year we are proud to offer the pride of our town as consort for the goddess. Bastion Thorne, in three days time Sariyah will come to claim you as her payment. We have faith you will make us all proud!"

The world started to spin and everything went dark.

I awoke to a local healer splashing water on my face. There were people everywhere. Some were looking at me many were crowding around Bastion offering congratulations, or condolences, depending on how they saw the offering. Bastion, however only focused on me. As I came to the people began to clear away until it was just Bastion and I again.

"Tell me I was dreaming. Tell me they didn't say your name." I begged. He just frowned and at me as if he felt bad for me. How could he feel sorry for me when his name had just been called as the offering.

"You don't have to go," I said desperately. "you could run. We could run. I would help hide you. We could go somewhere no one could ever find us."

He tilted his head and frowned, his blue eyes darkening. "Em, you know there is nowhere we could go that they wouldn't find us." He leaned over and pressed a kiss to my forehead before turning to leave, shoulders slumped, looking more defeated than I had ever seen him.