The Last Wars by Bianca Gray (suggested reading txt) 📖

the hand of my sister, then Rose has already figured that out,” said Lilly.
“How would she be able to figure that out?” asked Fayre. Then there was silence. President Rose tortured Valora so much that she should’ve died…but didn’t.
“It’s like a curse,” whispered Venus. It felt like a ball was in my throat. A curse that I gave to her. That she can never die.
“There is only one way she can die,” said Lilly.
“And what’s that?” asked Daniel. Lilly looked at me.
“Only the One can kill her,” she said. Great. Now I had to kill one of my friends when the time comes. Always love when THAT happens.
“If we all have some super power thing, why don’t I have one?” asked Fayre getting right to the point.
“I don’t know. Maybe yours hasn’t come yet,” said Lilly.
“It only comes when you desperately need it, like the One,” whispered Venus. I knew she was right when Lilly nodded her head. Look whose selfish NOW, I couldn’t help think. I still hadn’t forgiven her for the whole ice-cold river thing and the constant dunking and almost killing me. Yeah, I think I have the right to hold a grudge against her about that…
“Come with me,” she said. She led us down a metal hallway. We passed a lot of people dressed the same as Amelia. We got to some doors.
“These will be your sleeping quarters,” she was saying as alarms started to go off. There were red lights everywhere and the alarm kept going.
“Oh no,” whispered Lilly.
“What? What’s going on?” asked Fayre. Lilly didn’t answer and started to run down the corridor.
“Come!” she yelled back at us. We ran after her. We followed her into what seemed to be a weapon room.
“What’s going on?” asked Venus. Lilly just handed her one of those alive weapons. It was at first a gun and then it transformed into a tube of lipstick. Venus just stared at it in awe.
“Huh, never did that before…” said Lilly. She handed Daniel a gun as well that transformed into…something. None of us knew what it was. It was a glove that clamped over his hand. It wasn’t metal anymore, it was a black fabric.
“What is it?” asked Terryn.
“A glove…?” said Daniel unsure.
“Guess you’ll find out won’t you?” asked Lilly. She handed Terryn a gun and it transformed into a spear. Then she handed Fayre one, and Fayre’s turned into a talon, a hawk’s talon. Fayre stared at it; missing home I’m sure. Then when Lilly handed me mine, it didn’t turn into a weapon, it turned into a mini dragon. It was coal black with bright yellow eyes. It curled itself around my arm like a snake, and stayed there.
“What the-?” I asked looking at it. It coughed a little ball of fire. Lilly didn’t look surprised.
“Each of you name yours,” she said.
“What are they?” I asked.
“Shape shifting dragons, of course,” she said.
“What else?” murmured Venus. We all named our…dragons… And then I caught Lilly’s arm before we left.
“Tell me. What’s going on?” I asked. She sighed.
“They’re here… Not all of them. My sister is here with some Fighters. It’s one of her tests for one of the Fighters. Someone has family here,” she said.
“And we need weapons because…?” I asked.
“Because the one who’s being tested, is Snow,” she said. I felt like the world had slipped away from me again. Snow can’t. She can’t. But she’ll have to, or she’ll die. Fayre was frozen, staring at Lilly.
“Let’s go then,” I said. We needed weapons so we can actually save her. So we can put a stop to this…at least for today. Daniel had to carry Fayre because she just couldn’t move and we ran up to the surface. HQ was literally under the city. We got up and were in a crowd. I pulled my sleeve over my dragon, which was STILL curled on my arm. It hissed at me as I pulled it over.
“Don’t do that,” I heard a voice in my mind.
“What?” I asked in my head.
“Don’t do that. I’m right here. And you STILL haven’t named me,” said the voice.
…My dragon was talking to me inside of my head….
“I need to cover you up so no one notices you,” I told it.
“Well, I won’t be able to attack faster if I’m under your sleeve,” it said.
“Just leave it to me,” I said hastily.
“Your life,” it told me. Ugh. Dragons.
“Oh, and my NAAAME?” she asked obnoxiously.
“Ebony,” I thought. It was the first thing that came to my mind. She shut up so I guess she liked it. I pushed my way through the crowd and came to a stop behind the first person in line. There was Snow. She looked skinnier and more sullen. In front of her was a little girl who was practically the spitting image of Snow. I knew Snow had a soft spot for children, which is why she took Bambi and Fawn under her care. Behind Snow was, who looked like, President Rose. She had the same strawberry blonde hair as her sister but her eyes were an unsettling crimson red. Her face was an ashen color and her lips were pale pink. She looked like a dead lady…but I knew her heart was still beating. She whispered something into Snow’s ear and Snow started to shake uncontrollably. I saw tears about to overflow out of her eyes as she stepped up to the girl. The girl just stood there staring at Snow curiously. Then I realized it. Snow wasn’t holding any weapon because she already had one. It was good for torturing people with. She would touch someone in a certain way, and that person would feel the most pain they have ever felt in their lives. No, Snow can’t! I watched Snow touch the girl, and then the girl’s screams pierced the silence. She fell to the ground, writhing in pain. Snow’s tears fell down her face. I was about to run to the girl, to rescue her from that pain, when Lilly’s voice sang in my ear.
“Don’t do it,” she said. What? Don’t run to save a girl. Screw her.
I ran towards the precious child. Snow looked over at me as I rolled up my sleeve. My dragon leaped out but not at Snow, at the guard holding a gun to Snow’s head. Ebony transformed into a glowing red-hot knife and sunk the blade into the guard’s chest. Snow let go of the child and stared at me.
“No! Annika it’s a trap!” she screamed out. Ebony leaped back towards me, dripping in blood, and curled herself around my arm. What? A trap? I looked around and suddenly I was staring into crimson eyes. Cold, crimson red eyes. And then once again, I gave myself to the darkness that I had taken over me.

CHAPTER 12

I woke up writhing in pain.
“Where are the others, Annika? It’s a simple question,” said President Rose. I just stared at her with unmoving eyes. Then I heard the crack of a whip and the unbearable pain in my back.
“I know my sister’s hiding them, darling Annika. Where are they? Because you know, if you die, they ALL die,” said President Rose. I knew what she meant. If I die, the resistance is over. The prophecy is over. But the prophecy never mentioned that I was going to die… So, I figured I wasn’t going to. Plus, if Lilly was right, then I couldn’t die anyway. It is a curse, I thought as the whip came down hard on my back again. I screamed out and then spat up blood. I could hardly see. I wasn’t built for pain that I knew.
“Tell me,” she ordered. I just stared into her crimson eyes.
“Never,” I choked out. She glared at me.
“Fine then. I know what will make you talk,” she said. She left the room and I felt like I could breathe for the first time since I got here. She came back holding someone who was bloodied and beaten. He looked up and I saw those familiar blue eyes. But they lost a lot of life in them.
“Nick…” I whispered. Oh Nick, what did they do to you? I looked down at my arm and realized that my dragon had turned itself into a watch. I looked back up at Nick. He just stared at me, unrecognizing me, not knowing who I was. President Rose was holding Nick by his beautiful red-blonde hair and threw him to the ground. He cried out in pain.
“If you won’t talk when I torture you, let’s see if you talk when I torture him. Hmm, Annika?” said President Rose. Nick’s eyes searched mine when he heard my name.
“Annika,” he mouthed. And then the whip cracked down on my back. Nick’s eyes became enraged. He got up and got a punch to President Rose’s jaw before Snow was forced to touching Nick. His eyes bulged out of his skull. He screamed out, so loud and so pure. He fell to the ground and writhed in pain.
“STOP STOP STOP STOP STOP!!” he yelled over and over again. I couldn’t watch him like this. That woman. She was going to pay. I saw her eyes widen at me as I got up. Good, she should be scared. That’s when I noticed my hands. They were glowing white. They were so bright. And then it filled all of me, this pure light. I felt healed. I felt the scars on me go away. I looked over at the President but she was gone. I touched the guard confining Snow and he disintegrated. His scream echoing as he disintegrated. Snow looked at me, her eyes wide.
“You are the One,” she said as she let go of Nick. I hugged her, my glowing hands gone.
“Snow, I’m so sorry! I’m so sorry!” I kept saying. We were crying and hugging.
“Hey…guys…can…you…help…me…?” panted Nick. We helped him up and then we had to get out of the building. I wiped the sweat off of Nick’s forehead.
“I’m so sorry,” I whispered. He tried to smile at me.
“Darling Annika, it wasn’t your fault,” he said. We ran out of the room. (Well, sort of. Nick was sort of limping so it wasn’t a grand, quick escape.) A guard came towards me.
“Ebony,” I said. Then the dragon leaped off of my arm and attacked every guard coming towards us. Nick just looked at it in awe.
“Shape shifting dragon,” I simply said.
“So cool,” he said back.
“What about the others?” I asked Snow. She shook her head.
“The only one left is Prince. Cedric, Aiden, Bambi, and Fawn…didn’t make it,” she said. I looked at her.
“Bambi and Fawn couldn’t make it?” I asked simply astounded.
“No. Well, I mean, they’re still alive…but…President Rose has already turned them into weapons. They’re too far gone,” said Snow sadly. She looked like she was going to cry.
“Zanita?” I asked.
“No one knows what happened to her. She might’ve escaped,” she said hopefully. I shook my head.
“Who knows? …Now lets get Prince,” I said. We ran towards a closed door. Ebony turned into a key and the door opened. Sitting on the floor in a pool of blood, was Prince. It wasn’t his blood, it was his guards. He looked at us, curiously.
“Oh my God…Prince!” cried Snow looking at the guards.
“I don’t let anyone torture me,” he said. He had a bloody knife in his hands. Then he