1. PROLOGUE

PROLOGUE

T he young girl wore a simple beige dress. She almost couldn't find her skin under the muted clothing she wore, but it was tradition. She was most accustomed to wearing mixtures of orange and yellow; the colors that were assigned to Auris Island.

Auris, the island of fire and sunlight.

She had never cared enough to allow the warmth in her chest to grow too strong.

Since her entire life consisted of ignoring the fire that dwelled inside of her heart – her mother and stepfather taught her to reject the power that lived within her. They said there was no necessity to do so because the King was a traitor for locking himself up in his castle.

Once a Bellatorman decided to activate their powers, they would immediately become an Apprentice. If the Apprentice desired to become a Soldier, they'd have to undergo six more months of intensive training. Her parents said there was no point in becoming an Apprentice, much less a Soldier.

But she couldn't deny it anymore. The fire was calling to be awakened since she spoke to that girl from Auris who had sunlight abilities, along with that girl from Basalt with plant-growing powers.

She refused to pay attention to the distasteful scowls of the crowd that surrounded the arena, all of them sitting in their designated sections. On one side of the amphitheater, she found the sunlight girl she spoke to in a beautiful shiny yellow dress. Then, she noticed the other girl with her wavy blonde hair and a green dress with flowy sleeves and flowers stitched to the hem of her gown. Those two girls were the ones who fulfilled their duty as Soldiers and helped her see why it was important to activate her powers.

The girl had a deep belief that she would truly feel alive if she allowed her fire to be enabled.

"Are you ready?" Master Abigail asked. She nodded and kneeled in front of the warrior woman. The torchlights around the amphitheater cast a golden blanket over the woman's face. The Master smiled slightly. "From this day forward, you shall be an Aurisan with activated fire powers, an Apprentice."

She couldn't help but smile. The Master held the horn above the girl's head, she curved her head down. Closing her eyes, she could feel the warm oil falling onto the top of her head.

The fire used to be a little speck inside of her. Now, it was becoming a pleasurable wildfire inside of her heart. An exhilarating rush ran through every nerve in her body. She opened her eyes and stood up. Master Abigail stepped back with a small smirk on her face, an empty horn in her hand.

The girl looked down at her fingers, stretching them as they tingled. She furrowed her brows as she pictured purple fire enflaming her hands. The image in her head matched the scene before her.

Her fire was purple. It crackled loud, high, and mighty. Her face was covered in a violet hue as she watched in wonder at the fire that escaped her skin.

Surely there are other more useful, and better gifts.

A thought slammed into her mind, making her chest hurt. She was in front of a crowd, so she remained with a steady grin.

"Seems to be that you, Davina Almenara, are a unique child of fire."