by Lena Lee
“It was outside a window and it just kind of… happened?” Totally believable. His eyes narrowed a bit, but he dropped it. For now.
“You aren’t going to go meet wolves alone. We will go with you.” He picked his drink up and took a long gulp of the same alcohol he had earlier. “And why are you searching for somewhere for Edrie?” I had forgotten they hadn’t heard that conversation.
“She is going to help me with a few things regarding my power.” I briefly glanced at Kyra across the table. I had almost said powers.
“You are very special indeed… we will have to be careful having a dragon here until we figure out how to subdue the threat to your life. A dragon will draw attention to you.” Rian looked excited as he said this. I guess all of the brothers were excited about dragons. Well at least friendly ones.
“We will have to be careful Alex doesn’t take off on the dragon.” Wyatt entered the dining room, looking like he had just worked out for hours. His hair was disheveled, and his gym clothes still had the faint darkness of sweat.
“Nice of you to grace us with your presence.” Rian watched his brother carefully as he sat next to Kyra. “Is everything okay?”
One of the kitchen staff brought Wyatt food and a drink. He downed the drink rather quickly before setting the glass down rather loudly and clearing his throat. “Jadan contacted me.” He picked up his fork and started shoveling food into his mouth.
Rex, Rian, and Alex all looked between each other with serious expressions on their faces.
It was quiet for a very uncomfortable amount of time before Kyra decided to address the elephant in the room. “Who is Jadan?”
“Ladies, I think it’s time for us to retire to the sitting room and let the boys talk.” Sara stood and walked towards the door. “I will have dessert served to us in there.” Kyra and I followed behind, needing no other bribe to leave, although I really wanted to find out what was going on.
The door shut behind us and immediately we heard voices through the door. We followed Sara across the foyer to a quaint little room that had a giant fire place and books lining almost every other surface.
“Is there a bathroom somewhere?” I thought I had wanted to escape the tension in the dining room but as soon as the voices had been raised I changed my mind. Kyra gave me a look as if she could read my mind. Sara pointed to the bathroom door and I quickly went in and locked it.
I wasn’t sure if it was even possible to combine two powers, but even if I failed, Rex would protect my spying ass. Hopefully.
I took a deep breath and covered myself in invisibility. I thought of a corner of the dining room and let myself be pulled there. Things had calmed exponentially in the brief minutes since we had left the men. They were sitting quietly, all nursing drinks. They sure did drink a lot here.
“I know he has been through a lot, but it seems rather suspicious he wants to come for a visit right now. He hasn’t been home in 40 years, how do we know he hasn’t gone dark?” Rex asked.
“I agree. With the return of the princess and Kyra getting her father’s powers… why now?” Rian stood and went to the window to look out. “Did he say why he wanted to return?”
“No.” I could tell immediately that Wyatt was lying just from his body language. When he spoke he made eye contact, now he was regarding the remaining liquid in his glass by swirling it around the bottom. His brothers didn’t seem to notice. Maybe he lied to them a lot.
“Well if he comes back, I am out of here.” Alex stood, gulped the rest of his drink, and walked towards the double doors of the room.
“It’s been 40 years Alex, none of us blame him for what happened to mom and dad. You are the only one.” Wyatt stood and blocked Alex from leaving. “Mom and dad wouldn’t be on board with this behavior.”
“You weren’t there! He just stood there and…” Alex tried to shove past Wyatt but Wyatt was stronger. “Get out of my way brother.”
“He had a choice and he chose to protect you. Mom and dad would have had it no other way.” Alex snapped then, shoving his brother away from him and into the wall near me. I held my breath but didn’t need to worry because Wyatt almost instantly pushed away from the wall and tackled his brother into the dining room table.
“Enough!” Rian slammed his hand on the table and Alex and Wyatt were both thrown to the wall and pinned there with an unknown force. “I am the King and I will make the decisions. Jadan will be allowed to return, and Alex, if you wish to be an asshole, you can stay on opposite ends of the castle. Now if you’ll excuse me, I am going to go help my wife entertain our guests.”
As Rian left the room, Wyatt and Alex were released from the wall and turned to glare at each other. Rex was still sitting at the table. He had been awfully quiet through the whole exchange. The action seemed to be over, so I went back to the bathroom.
I had just sat down in a comfortable chair, rejoining Sara and Kyra, when Rian entered the room as if nothing had happened in the dining room.
“So girls, tell us a little more about Earth, is it as bad as our astronomers say it is?” Rian was enjoying what looked like a mini chocolate cake. When he cut into it with his fork it gushed melted chocolate. I grabbed the same thing off the small table in the center of us. You could never go wrong with chocolate I was quickly learning.
“It is pretty bad. We aren’t sure how many people are still alive or how many cities there are. We just know Felix and Blight. It’s pretty bleak in Blight, but at least we had each other.” Kyra smiled at me and continued. “We both lost our parents at the same time and pretty young. We had to grow up fast. We pretty much are sisters.”
“I am glad you had each other. Losing parents is tough, especially when young.” Sara was looking at Rian as she said this. I felt a pang in my chest, thinking of Alex having to watch his parents be killed. Scintilla was supposed to be a peaceful planet, wasn’t it?
I finished my dessert and gave Kyra the let’s go look. “I am feeling pretty tired after the last few days, thank you for a wonderful dinner.” I stood and Kyra did as well.
“We have dinner together most nights, you are always welcome to join us. Would you like an escort back to your rooms?” Rian stood to walk us to the sitting room exit.
Kyra and I declined assistance and walked quietly down the hall. We turned a corner and I grabbed her arm and took us to her room. As soon as we were there, I filled her in on what had happened in the dining room.
Kyra closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. I opened my mouth to ask her what she was doing but she held up her hand to stop me. After a few minutes she opened her eyes and they were flecked with red. “I was digging in the information my father left me.” I gave her a confused look so she explained, “It’s like a library in my head. Anyway, Jadan is a sorcerer, he left after his parents were killed by a sorcerer who had been touched by darkness.”
“I have been slowly going through the information. He had a lot of knowledge. The fact that he gave all of it up…” She swiped a tear that had rolled down her cheek. “As mad as I am that he took you and then lied to everyone, I can’t help but love him even more.”
“It was better than him killing me, plus if he wouldn’t have done what he did I wouldn’t have you.” I hugged her and then said goodnight. I was tired.
I had just about used all my energy for the day using my powers, so I took the normal walking method to get to my door. It was as if my body knew I had tapped out on the magic or whatever was at play. It seemed to be a waste to teleport a short distance anyway. I walked straight to my bed and face planted, letting out a groan as the softness enveloped my body. It wasn’t fair that the beds here were so soft.
“When were you going to tell me you could teleport?” Rex’s voice came from the corner of the room where there were two chairs. I let out a curse and rolled to face him. I couldn’t see him very well since I hadn’t turned on the lights. I had a sense of déjà vu from when he had been in the apartment back in Felix.
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�What do you mean?” Playing dumb had gotten me out of sticky situations before. “Why are you even in here, McCreeper.” I kicked my shoes off in his direction, maybe one would hit him.
“McCreeper? You know exactly why I’m in here. What else have you been hiding from me?” He made his way to the bed and laid down facing me. “You seem to forget we are connected still. I found you all the way on Earth, did you think that you teleporting into a room would go unnoticed?”
What was I supposed to say to that? Kyra had warned me not to tell all my secrets, but this was my soulmate, or at least eventually he would be if I figured my shit out. The wall was still just as solid as it had been earlier.
“You are connected. We aren’t completely connected because of me. I am blocking it or something. Probably for the best.” I said it in a whisper, hoping that would somehow make it easier. I honestly had no idea why my brain was being stubborn, but there had to be a good reason. “I can’t do anything to the wall either. Kyra said it’s not a spell. Maybe it just needs… time.”
Rex’s eyes flickered with hurt with my admission, but he put his hand on my cheek. “As much as it hurts… I am just glad you allow me to even be in your presence.” He ran a thumb over my bottom lip, making me forget there was even a barrier between us in the first place. He really needed to stop saying the most perfect things. “I’m not sure coming in here was a good idea.”
He let his thumb and the rest of his hand gently trail down my jaw to my neck before tracing the skin right at the top edge of my blouse. I let out the breath I had been holding in and closed my eyes. I could get used to his gentle touches.
Just when I thought he had forgotten why he had originally come in my room he stopped and ruined the mood. “I could sense you in the dining room tonight. I don’t think any of my brothers could, but I felt you as soon as you were there, in the corner. I thought my mind was playing tricks on me because surely you wouldn’t be so stupid. Spying on the King is punishable by death.” My eyes popped open to a concerned set of eyes gazing into mine. “Don’t do it again.” He stood, leaving an empty void next to me. The punishment of his exit was almost worse than death.
“Was it stupid? I barely know any of you. You all could be plotting against me.” I said it as a joke, but the anger in Rex’s eyes flared. “Kidding, I was kidding.”
“I would never hurt you.” Before I could say anything else, he had lowered himself back to the bed and captured my lips with his. This kiss was much more urgent than the previous ones we had shared. A bed would do that.
Maybe my mind wasn’t connecting to him but my certainly was. I pulled away from him and placed my hands on his chest. “I should get some sleep.” He let out a small groan before rolling off the bed.
“Goodnight Mira.” He leaned down and kissed me gently on the forehead before leaving.
Chapter 15
The next morning, I awoke before the first light, so I would be able to go find the wolves before anyone else was awake. Yeah, it was a dick move to go alone when all they wanted to do was keep me safe, but I could teleport and go invisible. What other protection did I really need?
I showered and dressed in dark clothing, which was much more my style. My plan was to be back before anyone knew I was gone. As much as I was starting to have feelings for Rex and respect his opinion, I did not like having to answer to anyone or ask permission, especially when I hadn’t since I was 12.
From a very young age my parents expected me to pull my weight. It was purely from necessity, not because they thought a kid should have to learn how to be an adult. I was glad they had because when they were gone, I was fully capable of taking care of myself, well for the most part. I probably would have stayed out of some dicey situations had they been around.
I was not planning on losing my independence now that my life had been turned upside down. I’d rather go back to Blight and deal with night beasts and toxic dust.
Last night after Rex had left my room, I connected with Edrie to let her know I was going to meet with wolves about a cave. She seemed to like the idea of having a place behind a waterfall but told me that it better be a big cave if she was going to share. Even dragons liked their privacy and space.
I didn’t know where the cave was exactly, so I teleported to the lake first. It was even more gorgeous, the stars reflecting off the smooth surface. The sky had lightened the slightest amount, signaling that dawn was approaching.
It took less time than expected to teleport to the waterfall. Each teleport was smoother than the last. I wondered what the range was. The birds were chirping in the trees and I could sense Pip was among them.
I wasn’t sure how to proceed so decided to just call out to the wolves. I seemed to have an instinct, and as weird as it sometimes seemed, it worked. They probably would not be happy if I just waltzed into their cave unannounced.
“Wolves, I am here to speak to you about your cave.” Not awkward at all.
I waited for several minutes before I saw two wolves emerge from behind the waterfall. They walked along a small path that was against the rock face and crossed over a rock path that kept them dry.
I felt my pulse quicken as they tentatively walked towards me. Their large eyes shining in the early morning light. Both were massive, coming to my hip level and could probably rip me apart in a matter of seconds.
They must have sensed my unease because they stopped at a comfortable distance before sitting down. The larger of the two spoke, his voice deep. His fur was black with flecks of white. “I am Micco. We have heard rumors of you. We are glad you are here, there has been much unease in the forests lately.”
This was the first time I had heard of there being anything amiss on Scintilla. So far it seemed like an oasis of tranquility. “News sure does travel fast. I am here because my dragon guide needs a safe place to stay when she is here. Would you be willing to offer part of your cave? She does not mind sharing as long as it has enough space.”
The wolves looked at each other and appeared to be communicating nonverbally. “We have some concerns with having a dragon come here. The amount of food that she would need would negatively affect us.”
“Edrie, how much food do you need? The wolves are concerned about their food sources. They are probably also concerned you are going to eat them.”
“I only require food once a week. I can fly back here if they are concerned.”
I relayed this to the wolves who looked pleased with the answer. That was a little too easy.
They invited me to see their cave. With apprehension I followed behind them but was curious nonetheless. When else do two wolves invite you into their den to meet the family? My life was perfectly normal.
“I sense some fear. We will not harm you, Great Spirit.” Interesting choice of words.
We walked behind the waterfall and into a large open area that had a large hole high up to let light in. It looked big enough that Edrie could use that as an entrance as well if she maneuvered her wings the right way.
Off of the large room were several tunnels of varying sizes. I followed the wolves down a passage that was about six feet wide and led to a darker room. I could still see, but my eyes took time adjusting.
From my quick assessment of the space there were several clusters of wolves, with a rather large cluster in the middle surrounding smaller wolf cubs. We stopped short of this group while the wolves communicated with each other.
Micco walked back to me and nuzzled my hand to get my attention, I had been staring at the wolves in the corner.
“My beta agrees that your dragon friend may stay here when needed, on the condition that you help our ill.” His gaze fell to the corner I had been staring into.
I approached the two wolves that were curled in balls with dark stains from tears around their eyes. My heart broke for them. They whimpered as I got within reaching distance.
I looked at Micco who nodded his head at me. I leaned down and placed my hand on one of the wolf’s stomach, whi
ch was bloated. He yelped and I quickly pulled back my hand.
“What is wrong with them?” I gently touched their heads, they were both burning up.
“We believe they ate something not of this land. They are not the first to grow ill. The pack to the north of here also had several that passed on. They are unable to speak so we do not know what they ate. Can you help them?” Micco looked at me with pleading eyes.
I frowned. I did not have healing powers. Alex certainly did, but I wasn’t sure it extended to animals. “I have a friend, but I am not sure he would be able to heal a wolf. We can try.” I sighed knowing I was going to also be in a shit ton of trouble for coming here without them in the first place.
I teleported back to the castle, aiming for Alex’s room. I wasn’t sure exactly where it was, but I had ended up outside an unknown door, two doors down from Rex’s room. The sky was much lighter now, I needed to be quick before anyone woke and found out about my little solo adventure.
I tried Alex’s door handle but it was locked. I knew knocking would be loud, so I just imagined myself on the other side of it. I was starting to think a lot more was possible with this teleporting, I felt more and more confident every time I used it.
Alex’s room was nothing like I had expected. It was an absolutely a disaster area with clothes and empty glasses on almost every surface. I was so shocked I missed the first signs of Alex awakening and before I could blink he had me pinned against the wall, his eyes blazing amber. He was breathing deeply.
I caught my breath. “It’s just me Alex.” I was starting to worry why he still hadn’t let me go, when he stepped back and I dropped to the ground. “Jesus, I should have knocked, sorry.”
“Why are you in my room?” He narrowed his eyes. “And more importantly, how?” He looked at the locked door. “What if I was in the middle of something?”
“Well it’s a funny story… I can teleport and I need your help saving two sick wolves.” Alex was walking towards his sitting area, and picked up a pair of pants and sniffed them. Gross.