She closed her eyes, feeling the griffin shove her more forcefully against the ground. Sierra could feel its hot breath on her face, imagine its razor- sharp beak hovering above her, ready to strike.

Shink!

She opened one eye. I'm not dead! She raised her head. The griffin's foot was still on her, but not pushing her against the ground, rather, lying on top of her. She shoved it off of her and stood up, brushing dirt off her tunic, and looked up.

The griffin's eyes were rolled back in its head. It was tipping backwards, and something shiny and silver was embedded in its chest. A knife. She turned to Tia, who was panting, her eyes fierce. "It will never hurt anyone ever again," she stated confidently.

"Great work!" Esther praised, hugging her sister. Tia smiled.

"Are you ok?" Reed asked, slinging his crossbow over his back.

"Yeah, how about you?" she eyed the injury on his neck.

He followed her gaze, and turned to hide the cut. "I'm fine."

Sierra glanced behind him, noticing that Diana was glaring at them. She narrowed her eyes. Why can't you trust him? She mouthed.

Diana shook her head and motioned for her to come. She walked over to her friend, tilting her head. "He's been helpful so far. He ran ahead and warned us about the griffin. He got us the food in Helio." she said.

"I keep on telling you, we can't trust him. He was way too eager to join." Diana argued. "Why do you trust him?"

"Because he's trustworthy," Sierra furrowed her brows. "Stop being so skeptical."

Diana just shook her head. "Let's just go."

Sierra dashed ahead of her, running towards where the horses were tethered to a tree. They still had room to graze and were within reach of the creek, but it was necessary to take such precautions. She untied her mare, collecting her bags and tying her supplies around the bay's midsection. In one swift motion, she swung her leg around the horse and pulled herself up onto the mare's back.

"Come on, Ebony!" a voice behind her said.

She turned to see Esther was already on her black horse, stroking its mane. "You named yours?" she hadn't thought of that.

"Yeah," Esther responded. "Didn't you?"

"I guess I never thought of that," Sierra patted her horse's shoulder. What would I call a dark bay mare with black points?

"What are you going to call her, then?" Esther asked.

Sierra smiled. "Eclipse."

It wasn't long before they were riding through the dusty streets of Corona. The scorching heat hammered against their skin, and she could see that Eclipse was sweating under her dark coat.

She wiped perspiration off her forehead. The bright white walls of Corona buildings reflected sunlight almost blindingly. Surely this was the right place to look for the Sun Sword.

"Look!" Reed pointed to a whitewashed building with a sign in front that read, "Corona Library".

"That's where we can find some answers," Tia said, turning her horse in the direction of the building.

They let the horses graze in the shade behind the library, then walked around to the front and knocked on the wooden door.

After a pause, the door opened, and a young woman stepped out.

She was wearing a simple dark blue dress and was barefoot. Her blonde hair was tied back in a bun. Spectacles framed warm brown eyes.

"Hi!" she said.

"Um, hello. We're looking for any books on the Sun Sword," Sierra responded.

"Great! I'm Kasha, by the way," she grinned and opened the door wider. "Come on in!"

They stepped inside the cool library, grateful for the shade. The building was not large, but rather small, however the shelves inside were stuffed with books. Towards the back was a wooden table piled with open books.

"Sun Sword, Sun Sword..." Kasha murmured as she rummaged through the shelves. "You know, if you want to know more about it, I can just show you the Celestial Lake."

"The Celestial Lake?" Diana echoed. "I've heard about that. Some say it's enchanted."

"Has anyone ever drank from it?" Sierra questioned.

"Heavens no, it will most likely burn your throat," Kasha answered, selecting a book from the shelves.

"Why?" she asked.

Kasha smiled. "You'll see."