The Stolen Queen: Chapter 3

The boy took me by surprise.

Who were his people? What was he doing in a city, ruined and lit with fire?

His eyes stared at me, intent, waiting for my answer.

The unbelieving part of me told me this was a dream. But, the serious part of me told me this was not a laughing matter. If there were people suffering — especially little kids, like this boy — I had to help.

Maybe …

Maybe this is why I got my water powers.

The thought struck me with a chill that ran down my spine. The idea of having gotten special abilities that were meant to aid me in freeing people wasn’t necessarily a happy one.

But if it was why I had gotten my powers, I had to go through with it. I couldn’t be a coward now, no matter how much I wanted to run away and hide.

Before I could think about it, I found myself nodding, slowly at first — then faster as I realized that this would be the right choice.

The child’s eyes lit up and he smiled, his white teeth showing through the layers of grime on the window.

Now, my first step would be to find a way in.

My hand immediately pressed against the gritty glass of the window, seeing if it was unstable enough to break through. It was as firm as the ground beneath me.

The ground.

I took a step back, stomping in the dirt, testing the strength of it. It seemed solid.

I glanced back up and found the boy gone.

I groaned.

A small pinprick of light caught my eye to the left. Beneath the moss that coated the wall, a tiny bit of light shone.

I cautiously made my way over to it and brushed away the moss. A tiny, cracked door was embedded in the stone.

I tried the knob, but it didn’t budge. I sat, bunched up my knees, and kicked it open.

Then I crawled through the splinters and found myself on the other side of the glass.

You Decide: What happens next?

A. Liliana makes it to the ruined city

B. Liliana falls into a trap that brings her face-to-face with the perpetrators