Nymph Totem (E-BOOK)

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I stepped to the cliff's edge and peered down into the endless abyss. The sun hadn't yet shown signs of rising, and the last of the stars lingered in the dark like the first snowflakes of the season. A frigid chill passed through me as I instinctively recoiled from the danger. The wind pulled tears from my eyes and mixed them with the morning's cold, blue haze, swirling together with my golden hair, like brush strokes in Van Gogh's Starry Night.

My toes hung over the edge.

The wind's forceful gusts threatened me, thrashing at my back and behind my trembling knees, howling for me to jump. Hedging my courage, I willed myself to glance down once again. I saw nothing but darkness and the silhouettes of the clouds below, dipped in silver-spattered light.  I leaned into the open air, yearning for chaos.

I can't live forever.

Just as my body tipped, I stalled for a moment in sweet suspension before I plunged into the darkness.

The contents of my stomach threatened to rise to my throat as the air pounded my skin, closing in around me. It choked my air supply, and I gasped for breath. I relished the twinge of panic that rattled me to the core. It thrilled me. It was my reason why.

I felt death looming, waiting to welcome me like a familiar face, one passed a thousand times. I reached out, acting purely on instinct, grasping for anything to stop my descent, only to feel the kiss of emptiness against my hand as I hurtled out of control, down toward the world below.

The chaos gave way to routine as I angled my body parallel to the Earth, an emergency maneuver all Gardeners had to learn in survival training—the same training I'd completed nine years ago—but this was not an emergency. This was a ritual. A shrill whistle shot through the air below me. My fall halted, and in seconds, I was weightless. My golden hair spilled across my shoulders, and my blood evened out as the soft, leathery wings of my dragon lifted me back up to the world above.

"Good morning, Vex," I whispered with my lips pressed against the soft, shiny scales on his back.

His muscles rippled across his massive body as his iridescent wings flapped against the wind. Each time I rode him, it brought me back to the very first time when he'd chosen me at my Independence Ceremony. Though it had been only nine years, it felt like forever ago. That ceremony had done for me just what my mother had promised. It had turned me from a nine-year-old kid living on an island that felt impossibly small to a dragon-riding adult, free to roam the skies. I had no doubt that the Totem Ceremony tomorrow would change my life just as much. More so, even.

The question was, was I ready?

Vex's body was hardly visible against the gray of the sky. His scales had changed to match the misty morning, but I didn't need to see my dragon well to know I'd summoned the right one. I could tell by his heartbeat. Each dragon's distinctive beat was like a fingerprint. Unmistakable despite their identical forms.

A hint of sunlight slipped through the clouds, reflecting a beam of orange across Vex's silhouette.

I took a deep breath, inhaling the peace and exhaling it into the silence. By midday, the skies would be filled with other riders on the backs of their dragons. I had to make the most of the sky while it was still mine.

Vex rose higher in the sky with each powerful stroke of his wings and the morning sun followed suit, climbing from the depths, one rich beam of light at a time. I signaled Vex to turn around so I could get a good look at The Garden just as the sun rose. The island hung far above the Earth like a halo. Its greenery spilled over the edges of the landmass along with the rivers and waterfalls that shrouded the bottom of the island in a thick and heavy mist that glowed orange in the sun. I loved the way it shone at this time of day, but after nine years of taking the same flight, The Garden looked different, somehow. I traced my gaze across the lush canopy, pausing on the trees beneath where my home was nestled. I'd lived there for eighteen years, and now I had to say goodbye.

For the last few months, all anyone my age could talk about was our potential placements. We'd seen the ceremony, of course, every year, but this was different. It was finally our turn, and as exciting as that was, there was no denying that our whole future boiled down to this one moment. Tomorrow night I'd be named as a member of one of the four totems, and I'd leave The Garden to protect an element of the Earth.

Would I be named one of The Zoi, guardians of Earth's wildlife, plants, and animals? Or The Atmos, guardians of Earth's oceans, lakes, and rivers? The Gin, guardians of Earth's mountains, deserts, and valleys? Or would I be lucky enough to land my dream placement? The Sylphs, guardians of the wind, sky, and stars.

I wasn't delusional enough to believe I was worthy of such a rare and prestigious placement, but this was my last day to imagine it before that dream died forever. Regardless of where I'd wind up, I'd have to say goodbye to everything I know… and everyone. I clenched my jaw at that last thought, not because I had finally started to process everything I'd be giving up for my totem, but because of the face that came to mind first.