by Everly Frost
A scary smile crosses Dread’s face before he mobilizes, moving so fast that the crowd gasps. Raiden misses the rock-of-a-fist Dread smashes at his head, but he doesn’t avoid the lightning fast punches to his chest and stomach, followed by an upper-cut to his jaw.
My brother flies backward in a spray of blood, landing to the screams of a crowd who are suddenly on their feet. Skylar cries out from the side as Sebastian and Jordan grab her just in time. She was ready to fly across the field. I’d pity Dread if she got to him.
Dad steps up beside me, his power glowing crimson and swirling around him. I hear the tension in his voice when he says to Elise, “Be ready to heal my son if he isn’t able to heal himself.”
Mom grabs my hand, her face pale. “Crushed a sol bear?”
“You didn’t believe me.”
“I do now.”
Dread towers over Raiden as my brother groans and spits blood. Nobody has ever put him on his ass with such efficiency.
Dread says, “With respect, Supreme Incorruptible, please stay down. If you get up, I will continue fighting you.”
Raiden twists to grin up at him, his mouth covered in blood. He punches off the ground and bounces back to his feet. “Like hell I will.”
He takes another swipe at Dread, who ducks it this time and returns a punch that Raiden avoids, deftly dancing out of the way. For the next minute, they avoid each other’s hits, ducking and sidestepping until Raiden clips Dread’s temple and follows up with a roundhouse kick that cracks into Dread’s chest so hard, it would have put a bull out of action.
Dread stumbles backward, digs in his heels, and charges forward, grabbing Raiden around the waist, but Raiden was prepared, pummeling both his fists down onto Dread’s shoulders before ramming his elbow into Dread’s face. They crash to the ground and roll to their feet in opposite directions, charging back at each other without pause, this time colliding midair, both of them landing head knocks that send the other spinning and thudding into the ground.
I sense Raiden fighting his instinct to draw on his power to heal himself, but Dread has already had his wings pinned. It would be dishonorable for Raiden to use his power now. He leaps at Dread, who lands a kick on Raiden’s chest that breaks his ribs. The arena is so quiet that I hear the pops.
Raiden grabs his chest, wheezing as Dread strides over to him. Blood slides down Dread’s face and neck where Raiden’s fists and boots have cut him.
He roars, “Supreme Incorruptible, you will yield!”
Raiden struggles to his feet, one arm wrapped around his chest. “A Rath never yields.”
Dread exhales, his head lowering, but his eyes piercing Raiden’s. “Then this fight is unwinnable.”
Raiden wipes his streaming nose. “Why do you say that?”
“Because I could beat you to a pulp and you wouldn’t surrender.” He takes a deep breath. “You could beat me, and I wouldn’t surrender, either. Not all fights can be won.”
Pure surprise passes across Raiden’s face. “Very true.”
He rises to his feet but raises his hand, palm up to show Dread that he isn’t about to attack again. He harnesses the thunder in his voice to direct a statement to me. “Sister, I can keep fighting this gargoyle for as long as you like, but if you say you have seen enough, then I will follow your wishes.”
My fist is pressed to my heart. “Well and truly enough. Please heal yourself, brother.”
Raiden exhales and closes his eyes. Within seconds, the strain in his face eases, his wheezing stops, and he straightens fully again.
Without thinking, I head straight for Dread, crossing the distance at a run, my dress swishing around my legs. He watches me coming with wide eyes, casting a questioning glance at Raiden, who gives him a shrug before jogging away to the family area. Skylar will need to see him.
I stop in front of Dread, fighting my need to move closer as I reach for his face. “Come here, please.”
He bends his knees and then kneels, a little too unsteadily, indicating that he’s hurting. I place my hands across his cheeks, close my eyes, and draw on Virtuous, my thumbs stroking across his jaw. Healing warmth spreads from me to him and back again, knitting his broken skin. This close to him, I inhale the scent of wild air, ashen ground, and burning embers, unable to fight the pull, swaying closer to him.
I open my eyes to find him looking up at me, his lips slightly parted. “Thank you, Alessia.”
I’m suddenly aware that everyone is staring. I didn’t heal any of the other contenders, but I hold my head high. These are my trials, not anyone else’s.
“Elise,” I call, trying to sound matter-of-fact, my fingertips still lingering on Dread’s jaw. “Please release Dread’s wings.”
I sense the magic lift a moment before he breathes out his relief, returning to his feet as he rolls his shoulders and eases out his wings. With a thump, he releases them fully, stretching them out with a groan. They’re even darker in the sunlight, pure black, ochre like the wastelands.
A scream from the dais makes me jump. The field suddenly drops into darkness, the sun disappearing behind boiling, black clouds. Mom rises from the dais, lightning shrieking around her. Dad flies close behind her, their powers melding and filling the space between them with lethal light.
Confusion shoots through me. They’re coming toward us…
They’re coming for Dread, but I don’t understand why.
Instinctively, I step between them, but he places his hands around my waist, shifting me out of the way before he closes his wings and kneels again, this time to my parents.
Mom’s eyes fill with lightning. Her voice is thunder as she demands, “Who is your father?”
Dread’s response is so quiet, I hardly hear it over the wind wailing around us. It plucks at my dress, tugging at my body, trying to drag me away from Dread, but I fight it with my own power, determined to stay where I am.
“Supreme Incorruptible,” he says. “Please forgive me. I don’t want to speak his name.”
Her voice rises, cracking like a lash. “You will answer your queen.”
His shoulders slump forward, his wingtips sinking low, his arms dropping at his sides.
“I am the son of Grievous Howl.”
Howl. The gargoyle who enslaved Erador and committed unspeakable acts of cruelty. The gargoyle who killed Cassian and nearly killed Mom.
Mom recoils, inhaling so fast that the air sucks around us. Her power explodes, lightning ripping toward Dread, swirling around him. “Were you born before or after he controlled a heartstone?”
“Before,” he answers. “I wasn’t born with heartstone power.”
“Then why are you here, son of Howl? State your intentions.”
He remains on the ground, his wings tugging in the ferocious wind. He raises his head, but I am his focus. “I came for Alessia.” His jaw clenches and he drops his gaze. He exhales as his wings curve around his body, angled forward in a gesture of deep remorse. “I let my heart rule my mind.”
“Your heart!” Mom cries. “Do you have one?”
My hand flies to my own heart. Mom suffered cruelly at Howl’s hands. I know that her demand is born from pain—that Howl’s actions were monstrous—but a gargoyle without a heart would never have risked his life for me this morning.
Dread’s gaze shoots up. “I am not my father.” He meets Mom’s angry eyes, tilting his head and baring his neck. “If you think I am, then you have my permission to kill me. I will not stop you.”
“No!” I push through Mom’s power, calling on all my strength to fight her, stepping directly into the path of her lightning. “He will not be harmed.”
I push back against her, drawing on my own storm power to combat hers. Mom has never been unreasonable. Her reactions now are born of bone-deep fear. Howl imprisoned her, killed gargoyles she cared deeply about, and kept her and Dad separated.
“The only way to settle this is through Adalie,” I say, firmly.
She blinks at me, the lightn
ing clearing from her eyes. She glances at Dad as they slowly lower to the ground. Adalie was the one who, at the mere age of six years old, declared Mom to be the Gargoyle Queen.
“We will accept her word,” Dad says.
I grit my teeth. “Even though I believe you should trust my judgement.”
I spin before they can argue. “Adalie, please!”
She’s already hurrying forward with Liam close behind her. In the background, Grievous Indira edges forward with Erit and Edric close by her side. Howl was her brother, which makes Dread her nephew. Judging by the shock on her face, she didn’t know about him.
Dread remains kneeling on the ground. I sense his thoughts like a whirlwind. He has several choices right now. He could stay and listen, stay and fight, or fly away and never come back. I will him to stay where he is. “Please stay.”
If he heard me, he gives no indication. He’s become like stone, withdrawn in a way that hurts my heart. I whirl to Adalie as she arrives. “Did you bring Dread here?”
She nods, making Mom gasp. “I found him after you left this morning. I already knew who he was.”
“Then you’ve seen into his heart?”
“I have.”
Mom holds her breath while Adalie addresses her. “You have nothing to fear from Dread. His name was wrongfully given. Yes, he has his father’s strength, but he has never used it against another living creature.” She gives him a ferocious smile. “Except sol bears.”
She turns back to Mom. “Grayson Glory once stood in Dread’s place. Do you remember?”
Mom and Dad give a single nod before Adalie continues. “I looked into Grayson’s heart and, because I trusted him, you embraced him.”
I gasp as Grayson’s voice sounds behind me. He approaches with Della and Talia. Liam waits a few paces away, his focus firmly on Adalie.
“You were the first child I held in my arms, little Adalie,” Grayson says, his gaze changing, as if he’s remembering.
He’s an imposing force beside Mom and Dad. I’ve heard whispers about the fight between him and Dad and shudder every time I imagine it.
Adalie smiles back at him. Nobody else could get away with calling her ‘little.’ “Golden Gargoyle, you had much to redeem yourself for, but you found your way. Do you trust me when I say that Dread can too?”
“Without question,” he answers.
“Supreme Incorruptible?” she asks, addressing Mom and Dad. “Do you?”
Mom reaches for Dad’s hand, the last of her lightning fading as they both nod.
Adalie raises her voice, roaring to the crowd. “People of Erawind and Erador! I am Outlier Adalie. The faint of heart do not dare suffer my Sight.”
Her voice is fierce. It’s true that many gargoyles will avoid her, never look her in the eye for fear of what she will see in their hearts. My mother’s word is law, but Adalie’s is sacred.
“Dread has suffered my Sight. He has lived a life in darkness, not by choice, but because others told him that was where he belonged. He has stepped into the light now. We who live in the sunlight must never forget that it is only through the darkest night that we find our true strength. Dread is not a threat to us. His heart is true.”
There is a pause before the crowd erupts into cheering.
Dread jolts at the uproar. Despite their acceptance, his expression closes off more and more with every passing second.
I draw nearer to him, sensing the tension in his shoulders, the thrum in his wings. He’s on the verge of flying away.
Please stay.
Indira races past Mom, slowing before she reaches Dread, dropping in front of him. “Do you know who I am?”
He shakes his head.
Tears fill her eyes. “I’m your father’s sister. You’re my nephew. I don’t know how you can forgive me, but I didn’t know about you.”
“Forgive you?” He jolts. “What is there to forgive? I lived where I belonged.”
Her face falls as Dread rises and backs away from her, his black wings stretching. She reaches for him. “No, you can’t believe that…”
He turns his focus to me, his dark eyes drinking me in for a moment. “Alessia, you can only be a dream.”
He turns away from me, his paces quickening as he strides away, powerful steps.
He can’t be walking away from me.
“Stop!” I cry.
He doesn’t look back. “No.”
What?
I stride after him, having to walk twice as fast to keep up. “You came to these trials, which means you agreed to the rules. You have to finish.”
He frowns without slowing. He wasn’t present when I announced the third trial.
“You must fight me,” I say.
He finally pauses. “Fight you?”
“That’s the rule.”
“I don’t follow the rules.” He resumes walking.
My storm power rages through me. A whirlwind rises up around him, forcing him to halt.
His dark eyes pierce mine as I draw level with him, using my power to rise up to his height.
“You wish to fight me?” he asks.
“I want you to complete the trials.”
His expression is shuttered, controlled. “Do you realize how strong I am?”
I glare at him. “I do.”
“Do you know that if I fight you, I could hurt you?”
I swallow. “I do.”
His gaze softens as he runs it across my face. “Then know that I never will.”
He releases his wings, pushing through my power, shocking me when he breaks through it.
I slump to the ground, whispering, “If you walk away, you’re giving me up.”
He only half-turns. “To keep you safe, I would sacrifice anything.”
It doesn’t matter what Adalie said. It doesn’t matter that everyone has accepted him. It doesn’t even matter that Mom was swayed in his favor. Dread has lived his entire life believing himself to be evil, not worthy of anything more than a life of isolation. He knows what his father did. I see the fear in his eyes that he, too, will turn to darkness. He would rather stay away from me than risk that.
My throat fills with thunder. I have to convince him that he will never be like his father, but before I can harness my voice, he begins to run. With three strong steps and a savage downward sweep of his wings, he lifts into the air, soaring away from me. Within seconds, he’s gone.
I turn to the silence behind me.
Grayson, Talia, and Della watch Dread fly away. On the other side of Mom and Dad, Indira, Erit, and Edric are poised to take off after him.
I don’t know what to do. I can’t cage him. I won’t.
Mom takes my hands, lowering her voice. “Your father once walked away from me. He told me later that it killed him.”
“Then why did he do it?”
She considers the sky, where Dread is a fading speck. “When you met Dread this morning, you were in danger. He knew his place in that situation. Here in this place of safety, he is the danger. My guess is that he thinks he’s protecting you by staying out of your life.” She takes a deep breath, her hands tightening on mine. “I let fear rule my reaction to him before. I’m sorry, baby girl.”
I shake my head. “Mom, you are wise. A leader doesn’t have the luxury of making costly mistakes. I can follow my convictions because I know you’re here to pick me up when I fall.”
A tear slides down Mom’s cheek. “Today, you learned how to land on your own two feet. Go after him, Alessia.”
I cast my gaze across my family and all the love between them. Jasper and Elyria hold their gorgeous babies, standing beside Aunty Elise, Uncle Macsen, Sebastian, and Jordan. Raiden and Skylar hug each other at the side.
Zachary approaches Della with a blanket that he places gently around her shoulders. She looks at him in surprise and then appreciation. Every moment of tension would have been triggering her protective instincts, draining her. I’m grateful that Zachary is taking care of her.
&
nbsp; Liam draws Adalie aside and I hear him murmur to her. “I have no excuses. Please forgive me.”
She tips her head back, fiercely defiant. “Perhaps tomorrow.”
He carefully slides an arm around her waist. “Today,” he insists. “Forgive me today.”
She searches his eyes and a slow smile grows on her face. “Tonight.” She pulls his arms closer and wraps her own around his waist. “I will forgive you tonight.”
Mom tips her head at the sky, but I don’t need any encouragement. My storm power bursts through me and I rise up into the air, knowing that it will take everything I’ve got to convince this stubborn gargoyle that he has a place in my life.
Lightning crackles around me as I burn through the sky, closing the distance within seconds, veering around him and landing on the nearest cliff top with a thud that sends hairline cracks through its surface. My dress floats around me, silken lavender wafting in the breeze.
Dread pulls up sharp since I dropped myself into his flight path. The air is crisp, the sun bright, accentuating all the shadows across his face as he lands on the edge of the cliff. He grips its edge dangerously as if he’ll take off again at any moment.
My voice fills with thunder. “Don’t treat me as if I’m fragile.”
His eyebrows rise, his lips parting as he studies me, running his gaze from my narrowed eyes to my stern lips. With steady hands, I remove the jewel at my throat, pulling the necklace over my head. At the same time, I release my hair into the wind and deftly shimmy out of my dress. I was prepared for the possibility that I would need to implement the third trial today, so I’d come prepared for combat. I thought I’d have to fight Liam to get him to see what’s really in his heart.
Now, I will fight Dread.
Fine leather armor covers my torso, strapless so it wasn’t visible beneath my dress, sculpted to the shape of my breasts, waist, and hips, extending to the tops of my thighs. I step out of my slippers. I fight better barefoot anyway.
He freezes, definitely thrown.
I say, “Did you really think I was going to let you fly away?”
“Yes.” It’s a simple enough declaration.