Prologue
She's out of breath and her lungs ache with every air she inhaled. It was pitch black in the woods, but she can still see clearly, her senses tell her she's not alone in the woods. It's her gift, heightened senses, a lot of people would kill for and a lot of people who wouldn't understand.
She stopped, not knowing where to go. She needed help, her family needs help. But where? The woods don't seem to end.
Men shouting and giving orders.
Celaena knew she have to start running again, they're near, she shouldn't be caught, they don't allow her existence, her family's existence. That's why she needed help, but they're smarter, they have skills for hunting her kind.
My family, my mom, dad, my baby brother who hasn't been born yet, they're all gone. Celaena thought wildly, maybe she should just give up. Tears started welling up her eyes blurring her view. She didn't even know who they are, intruders in their home.
Her grief and exhaustion took a toll on her and her legs gave out, she stumbled face down, her face on the dirt. She tried to get up but a foot on her back was stopping her, hands grabbed her hair forcing her to look up.
This is the end, Celaena thought. I hope they kill me fast so I won't feel the pain.
"What's this? A teenage girl?" a man's voice, cruelty in his tone. "Stand up and let me see your face."
Two of the hunters took her arms and forced her to stand up, her head bowed, not letting them see her eyes.
The man walked to Celaena, only inches away from her face. The man grabbed her chin and lifted it so her eyes are level with the strange hunter.
"Such a waste, but the world has no need for an abomination like you." He said, flashing a menacing smile.
Celaena looked at him like recording her killer's face and voice. He's talking to his man, ordering them, in words she can't understand. It must be in French.
No matter how hard she thought of a way to escape, she cannot come up with one. She wants to live, she's not a criminal, she's trying to live a normal life. Tears started to fall down on her face again, everything is lost, everything she loved is dead. Dying might be the easy way out.
She glanced at her right hand, and saw her bracelet glowing faintly, and no one seems to notice. It belonged to her mother and gave it to her when she was born. It's an old family jewelry passed on to her mother's family for generations.
"Live." someone whispered to her. A voice so familiar. She thought she's hallucinating. Celaena closed her eyes trying to stay focused. "Live." She looked around trying to see if someone was there other than her and the hunters. "Live." There's no one. She can hear it clearly now, like it's talking to her mind. "Live."
She then realized that an arrow is pointed at her ready to aim at her chest. Panic came surging through her now, she started to try and get away. "Live."
"NO!" she shouted at the top of her lungs.
"Live."
And that was the last thing she heard.