by Eric Vall
“I know how to make the walls.” I stared at him with wide eyes before I dashed to the door.
I ran out of the River Moonstone House and shifted my body. My scales rippled over me, and just as quickly as I thought about changing, I was in my dragon form. Before I even had a solid plan in my mind, I was already soaring in the air toward the broken walls that circled the city. A minute later, I dove and landed near where I had seen Alyona the first day I arrived at Hatra.
Then I focused on the well of power inside of me and the song that I heard emanate from the crumbled stone walls. It was similar to healing in that I knew I had to do it slowly, but I would be able to do it.
I was a dragon, and I was unstoppable.
A hum filled the air as I envisioned the inner wall of Hatra slowly rise up. As I focused on that mental image, bluestone rose from the ground and merged into the ruined walls. There were no cracks or crevices along the length of the wall, and it was a seamless creation that circled the entirety of the city. I could feel my power stretch along the walls, and it sung back to me with a promise that they would protect Hatra.
With a triumphant roar, I swept back up in the air and flew over the city. I was filled with power and a frantic energy that wouldn’t let me rest. An idea reverberated in my mind, and I circled back around to where the villagers worked on rebuilding their homes.
If I was able to heal people from the miasma’s curse, did that mean that I could heal their exhaustion as well? I pulled forth the power to heal and breathed a haze of healing glitter over the city. People straightened and gasped as they felt a burst of energy fill them, and all exhaustion was wiped from their bodies as their sore muscles were soothed.
I landed with a great thud as my energy waned, but I couldn’t keep the fanged grin off my face.
Once everyone was healed, they were able to reach a steady pace of work in order to bring the city back to a functioning level quickly. The people of Hatra and I worked nonstop for a week in working on rebuilding the defenses. We rose walls and dug deep trenches in front of those walls.
When I wasn’t raising stone from the ground to work on the walls around the city, I was circling the city from the sky and healing the villagers from their exhaustion so they could work throughout the heat of the day safely.
When the walls were completed, we moved onto rebuilding the infirmary and living quarters. Much of the rebuilding was based on the original flowing architecture of Hatra to make it seem like those sections had never been destroyed. Terraces and inter-connected courtyards began to fill the former village, and it began to look like a real city again.
The broken dome of the Lunar Palace loomed behind us every day, and I couldn’t wait until we could bring it back to its former glory. Sadly, it wasn’t a priority.
It was an exhausting cycle, and every night I collapsed onto my bed only to start the cycle all over again the next day, but it was rewarding. Each day brought more endless work, but we were rebuilding the city bit by bit.
Our breaks were only for food, and it was during one such break that Ruslan dragged me out to the newly built main gate of the city.
“What’s all of this?” I stared at the dragon emblazoned on the metal of the gate and blinked back tears. “Is that me? Is that me on the wall?”
“You’re our dragon, after all.” Ruslan pulled me in for a hug and ruffled my hair as he spoke. “We don’t have much to offer you except our hearts and our loyalty. Hatra will always be a home to you.”
The villagers cheered behind us after he spoke, and I jumped in surprise. I’d been so focused on the gate that I hadn’t even noticed them come up behind us. The two of us were dragged away to the plaza in front of the infirmary, and there were tables laden with food and drink. Everywhere I looked, there was laughter and dancing. There was so much celebration, but in my heart I couldn’t participate.
I slipped away from the festivities and made my way back to my tent and to where Alyona remained in her sleep. She was just like a doll as she slept through the stabilization of her soul core.
I sat beside Alyona on the bed and held onto her hand tightly.
“Hey, I wish you were awake right now,” I whispered. Even though I knew it was pointless to talk to her when she was like this, I still did because doing so calmed the raging instincts inside of me. “I wish you could see everything that’s been happening. Hatra’s being rebuilt, and we’ve raised a wall around the city, two of them actually, and we even built defensive trenches along the outside of it. Well, I dug those. There also hasn’t even been a miasma attack in over a week.”
Alyona’s chest barely moved as she breathed, and her heartbeat was such a slow rhythm that I would have missed it if it weren’t for my enhanced hearing.
“The Asura’s had a sacred metal, too,” I continued. “Natalya was their blacksmith, and she told us their secret. She and Ruslan have been making weapons and armor almost nonstop. The only breaks they take is when they’re making metal for the walls and the gates.”
My voice trailed off, and I stared at her.
I hadn’t tried to heal her again since that day in the underground library but maybe, just maybe, I would be able to now. After my time in the Moonstone River House, I was more in tune with my powers, and they were stronger, too, after I used them every single day in the past week.
Maybe I was strong enough now.
Slowly, I drew in a breath and let it out along with all of the worries and thoughts in my head. There was only the thought of healing Alyona and seeing her eyes open.
I focused on her, and I barely noticed the scales on my body multiply and spread further down my arms and torso. Even the claws on my hands grew longer and sharper as I held onto her small hand in my larger one. I frowned at that sight since I wasn’t trying to shift into my dragon form, but I kept my focus on her as I felt a great storm of power form inside of me. It was similar to the deep lake that I had found inside of myself at the beginning of the week, but it was comprised solely of healing power.
And all of that healing power was directed toward the priestess in front of me.
“Alyona,” I pleaded to her as I raised her hand to my lips. “Please come back to me.”
I pressed a kiss to her hand, and through that kiss I pushed out all the power I had accumulated inside of me.
There was no giant cloud of glitter this time, only a small glossy sheen where I had kissed her hand. It reminded me of the walls in the River Moonstone House, but nothing seemed to happen after I had pushed out all that healing power.
I swayed where I sat and blinked as my vision swam. I hadn’t felt this tired since the first time I had healed the villagers from the miasma and overdid it. My well of power really had grown larger compared to that time.
Had it really been less than two weeks since I came to this world?
Once more I swayed, and I fell on my back on the bed beside Alyona. I stared up at the ceiling of the tent and sighed as darkness lurked on the edges of my vision. I had overdone it again, but at least I was on the bed and hadn’t collapsed on the floor.
As my vision continued to tunnel, I turned my head to look at the sleeping priestess.
And her brilliant gemstone eyes stared right back at me as mine began to close.
My only thought as my consciousness slipped away was that I had done it.
Alyona was healed, and she was finally awake.
Chapter 13
I woke up to the sight of Alyona smiling sweetly at me, and I lifted a hand to stroke her face. I needed to reassure myself that she was real and that I wasn’t dreaming.
An orb of white light floated in the crystal lamp on the nearby dresser, and it illuminated the tent. Through the opening of the tent, I could see that it was already nighttime outside.
“Hello,” she said, and her voice was soft as she spoke. “I missed you.” Tears welled up in her gemstone eyes, and she blinked them back.
I lifted my hand to caress her cheek, and I couldn’t hel
p the smile that crossed my face.
“Alyona.” My voice cracked as I hoped this wasn’t a dream and that she really was awake. “You’re back, you’re really back. Are you alright?”
“I am,” she laughed lightly and shook her head. “How long was I asleep?”
“Nine days.” I clenched my jaw as I answered her.
“Not long at all then.” She rolled onto her back and tugged at one of the braids in her hair.
“Who hurt you?” I asked as I turned to face her more fully. “Did you see who it was? Was it that scholar, Olivier?”
“I can’t remember.” Her brow furrowed, and she bit her lip in thought. “All I can remember is being in the atrium, and then I was deep inside of my consciousness.” She sighed and fiddled with a strand of her white hair. “I didn’t mean to lie to everyone about who I was, but I had to.”
I could sense guilt from her as she spoke, and I knew she hadn’t wanted to lie. But if she was the Alyona that Olivier had mentioned, then I understood why. It wasn’t safe for someone of her status to wander around the countryside while there was miasma and demons attacking. That would strike a lethal blow to the country’s moral.
“I think I understand why you did,” I spoke as soothingly as I could so her worries would wash away. “You were trying to protect yourself, weren’t you? You disguised yourself. How did you do that?”
Her hair that had been raven black when I first saw her was now the color of starlight except for two black braids that framed her face.
“Allow me to properly introduce myself first, things will make sense then.” Alyona sat up in the bed and shifted so she could kneel properly.
“Whoever you are, whatever your status, you’re still the person who brought hope to Hatra.” I sat up and pressed my forehead against hers.
I could smell salty tears well up in her eyes again before she blinked them away. Then she leaned back with a determined smile and inclined her head.
“I am Alyona the Divine Maiden.” Alyona lifted her head from the bow, and I could see how her gemstone eyes glittered fiercely. “I was born a nascent soul cultivator and the sole successor to the White Jade Sect Seat that rules Rahma.”
As she spoke, words flittered across my field of vision, and I blinked at the information they provided me.
Classification: Divinity.
Condition: Fatigued due to previous deviation phase.
Priority: Sufficient rest will aid recovery.
Danger: Low.
Status: Unstable soul core.
“Divine Maiden?” I hadn’t been as surprised at her being classified as a Divinity, but I wondered if she was anything close to the Celestial Divinity that I had heard about. “Is that your title, instead of being called princess?”
Internally, I was wide eyed and couldn’t believe my luck. The sweet and angelic Alyona was actually a princess. Fuck, I hoped no one would think we kidnapped her because that would just be the icing on the cake. A dragon kidnapping a princess was the bread and butter of fantasy worlds.
“No.” Alyona shook her head as she placed her hand over her heart. “It’s because my body and soul are that of an immortal. Even if I were to stop cultivating and never reach the final stage, I would still be a divine existence in this world.”
“Immortal?” I couldn’t wrap my mind around the thought of living forever, and I wondered how she dealt with such a reality. “You’re really immortal? Is it because you’re a nascent soul cultivator?”
“I am.” Bitterness seeped into her smile as she stared off into the distance. “Unending and undying until this world rots around me. Even if my body is torn to pieces and my blood spilled, I will still endure. As will this power that lives inside of me.”
“That sounds so lonely.” My claws dug into the palms of my hands as I imagined everything Alyona had to have suffered.
I could easily imagine a small version of the woman before me being raised with that knowledge. There was no way she could have had a childhood because everyone would have been frantic and shocked at her existence, just like Olivier had said.
She was a doll in a jeweled cage.
“That is my fate.” Alyona lifted one shoulder in a shrug and sighed. “As the stars have written and decreed it, so it must be. There is only so much one person can run from, and I think I’ve used up all my freedom already.”
“Is it?” I lifted an eyebrow as I furrowed my brow at her words. “You ran away to save Hatra. You’re supposed to be in the Cave of One Thousand Sages, but instead you’re here. I don’t think fate can control you at all.”
How could she not see it? She had run away from the people who ruled Rahma and had managed to find her way to the single most forsaken city in the kingdom, maybe even the continent. Alyona had already defied the fate that had been expected of her.
“Fate cannot be defied,” Alyona sighed as if to refute my thoughts, and weariness was heavy in her voice.
I was sure the concept of fate being unbreakable and unavoidable was something that had been instilled in her from a young age. From Alyona’s character and personality, I concluded she was the type of person who had been raised to be a sacrificial lamb, either inadvertently or not.
“I’m not so sure about that.” I shook those thoughts from my mind and smiled at her. “Tell me, how’d you even make the decision to come save Hatra if you’re supposed to be as sheltered as that scholar said? How could you have known where to go?”
“Because it’s my duty.” Alyona stood from the bed and paced in the tent as she spoke passionately. “I cannot just live the rest of my life between the White Wind Mansion and the Cave of One Thousand Sages. I am the successor to the White Jade Sect, and for so long they have been holding back the demonic horde that threatens this world. My sole reason for being is to protect my people, and how can I do that if I am hidden away? Even the sharpest of blades will rust away to nothingness if they aren’t used. There’s no point to a tool that isn’t being used, and I need to be used to protect this world.”
I understood why Alyona was the way she was, and my heart broke for her. She put everyone ahead of herself because she’d been raised to put Rahma first. Alyona didn’t even see herself as a person, just a tool to be used by the White Jade Sect in order to protect the world of Inati.
“Alyona, you’re more than just a tool.” I stood and walked to where she was. “I’m sure your Sect had a reason behind it. Maybe they were just trying to protect you?”
Telling her that once wouldn’t do anything because that mentality had already been engraved in her mind. She needed to be reminded on a daily basis that she was more than just a tool, she was a living person with hopes and dreams of her own.
I would remind her and show her that as many times as I needed to.
“Rahma is what deserves to be protected.” Alyona pushed her hair over her shoulder and frowned. “My hair pin, where is it?”
“I didn’t even notice it was gone.” I blinked at the long and loose hair that tumbled free down her back. “Maybe it got left behind in the library when everything happened.”
Alyona began to pace nervously in the tent again as she tugged on one of the braids in her hair.
“I need to find it.” She stopped pacing and turned to the entrance of the tent.
“Can’t this wait until you’ve rested?” I stopped her from leaving and led her back to the bed. “You’ve only just woken up.”
I was worried about any possible side effects from her coma, and I wanted her to at least stay in the bed. This was not the time for her to be running around the city looking for a hair ornament.
“No!” She tugged on my sleeve and glanced out of the tent with pain in her eyes. “It was a gift from my father. It’s a holy relic he gave to me on my fifth birthday when I saw him last.”
So, that was why she was so desperate for the hair pin. It was the only memory she had of her father, and I wondered if he was the current White Jade Sect Seat or if he had already di
ed.
“I’ll help you find it then,” I promised her as we sat back down on the bed.
“You will?” Her eyes were wide and bright as she stared at me.
“Of course.” I leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “If it’s that important to you, then how can I say no?”
The kiss felt like an electric touch between the two of us that sent fireworks down my spine. I repressed a shudder of desire in my stomach because all I wanted to do was to keep kissing her. Now was definitely not the time for that, but maybe there would be a chance later on.
“Thank you, Evan.” Alyona wrapped her arms around me and buried her face in my chest. “I know it may seem silly of me to be crying over a hair pin when all of this has happened. There’s people suffering and dying, but my tears just won’t seem to stop.”
“Just let it all out.” I tightened my arms around her.
As I rubbed circles on her back, Alyona broke into quiet sobs against my chest. Her fingers dug tightly into my flesh, and her nails scraped against the fabric of my clothing.
My dragon instincts nudged me to run my hands through Alyona’s hair and to groom her while I had her in my arms. I couldn’t resist the overbearing instincts, so I brushed my free hand from the top of her head until it was entangled in her soft curls. Her hair felt like a wash of silk across my palm, and I gently ran my hand through her hair again. I repeated that for what seemed like hours as she let out all the emotions she’d kept tightly bottled up.
After some time, I could hear the way her heartbeat slowly shifted from a rapid pace to a gentle rhythm. The smell of salt also disappeared from the air, and I knew she had stopped crying.
The dragon instincts inside of me and my own feelings were in agreement that I never wanted to hear her cry ever again. Tears of joy would be the only exception, and even then it would still bother me. Alyona wasn’t a creature built for sorrow, and I’d do whatever it took to have her live a life free from it.
“We should probably go now.” I pressed a kiss to her temple as I spoke softly to her. “Everyone’s celebrating, and this might be our only chance to search quickly. Though, Laika might not forgive us for not going straight to her.”