Embracing the Flames

by Candace Knoebel

  “The fire is enchanted as well, another precaution that Gidius took when he built this cave,” Naveena explained.

  “Only royal blood can touch it?” I smarted off.

  “Actually no,” my grandfather corrected with a chuckle, “only a Fate can touch the flames that surround the Stone.”

  “Oh.” I felt the blood drain from my face. Zordon was a son of The Fates. Does that mean he can touch it?

  “Now you know. Every member of the royal family must know. If something happens to us, this Stone is the most important thing for you to protect. No one can have this Stone or all hope is lost. It is more than just immortality. It is a gateway to creation. It can destroy the barrier between our realm and the non-magical realm. It can end life as we know it,” Darian heeded, his tone going dark.

  “Then why isn’t it kept in the Hall of Knowledge?”

  “When Gidius sacrificed his immortality, he bound this Stone to this altar. He didn’t want his brothers to have his power. They can obtain it only in the presence of a dragon.”

  He leaned his snout a bit closer to me, his eyes filled with shadows. “So far, they have respected his wishes.”

  “But we can’t touch the Stone…so how could we give it to them?”

  He smiled proudly. “That, Little Flame, was his reasoning for all of this — to make obtaining the Stone impossible.” He finished with a wink.

  It was just what I needed to hear. There was no way Zordon could get through all the enchantments. Though he may be a son of a Fate, he is not of royal blood. I just have to make sure that he never makes it past the Obsidian Chasm.

  After leaving the Lair, the celebration my grandfather had ordered was already underway. Rich laughter and music filled the Courtyard along with the scent of delicious food. Dragons and humans swayed to the joyous beat, all crying out in joy of my return. Platters of food passed through the crowd on the hands of Draconta waiters.

  Darian leapt into the air, signaling for Naveena and me to follow. Together we flew into the Courtyard, their screams vibrating throughout the cavern at the sight of us.

  “Draconta,” my grandfather’s voice boomed through the Courtyard as he took his seat on his throne. “Tonight we celebrate the return of our beloved Aurora. She is here to restore our faith. Let us give her a hearty welcome.”

  The cheers of the crowd threatened to blow my eardrums. My smile grew from ear to ear as I waved to them.

  “Now we dance!” he commanded from behind me.

  I found Fenn in the middle of the Courtyard, smiling at me. “Hey, pretty lady,” he said, pulling me into him. He twirled me around and then dipped me down, kissing me softly.

  “Hey, yourself,” I said, smiling back at him.

  Fenn’s grin stretched from ear to ear. “Was it fun?”

  “It was enlightening, that’s for sure,” I answered.

  I looked over to Zane who stood in the midst of the crowd looking lost. “I don’t dance,” he said quickly. Fenn and I both laughed. Zane left shortly after that but I didn’t care. I let all of my cares go and focused on living in the moment. I was surrounded by my people and by love.

  We danced into the night, sweat coating us from head to toe. I had never had so much fun. Dragons danced in the sky and on the ground, shaking the earth beneath us. After hours though, I barely noticed.

  I yawned as we said goodbye to everyone and took Fenn’s hand in mine. My mother showed me the human’s sleeping quarters, located on the left side of the Courtyard.

  “This is where you will be staying,” Myrdinn said to Fenn. We stopped just outside of a small stone room with a wooden door. Myrdinn pushed it open and then stepped back so we could see. A bed sat along the far wall and a desk sat against the other. That was it. It was as small as a broom closet.

  “Spacious,” Fenn joked.

  My mother tried to persuade me not to sleep near the humans because I was royalty. She thought I should have my own room with guards, like she did, but I objected.

  “I haven’t been here for the past eight years of my life. The war has already begun, and people who believe in me are risking and even losing their lives fighting for something that I’ve only recently begun to understand,” I stressed. My mother frowned, but my father’s eyes twinkled with delight. “I want to prove to them that I can do this — I can be their savior. What kind of message would I be sending if I continue to lock myself away, protected by others?”

  My mother heavily sighed. “I am proud to have you as my daughter,” she said humbly. “If living amongst the humans is your wish, then I will respect your wishes. But there will be guards posted on the outside of the entrance to your living quarters. You have seen how easily traitors can slip by.”

  Images of the sunken-in faces of the mindless humans in the Lair popped into my head. I shivered.

  I smiled gratefully. “Thank you.”

  They both smiled in return and then kissed my forehead. “Get some rest,” said Myrdinn. “You’re going to need it for the training you’re about to receive.”

  I’m counting on it, I thought as they walked away from us.

  “It’s a good thing you’ve been deemed my protector,” I said to Fenn, lacing my fingers through both of his hands.

  “I know. I doubt they would have been comfortable leaving you here if it wasn’t for that.”

  I giggled. “I can only imagine what kind of lock down I would have been on had I been raised by them.”

  He leaned down and kissed me softly, careful not to rouse the Imperials who stood only a few feet away from us. I squeezed my eyes tight, enjoying the feel of his lips against mine. When he pulled back he said, “See you in the morning.”

  I smiled at him and then turned. “Love you,” I said over my shoulder as I headed for my room and fell onto my bed.

  Chapter 22

  Training Isn’t for Sissies

  WEEKS PASSED BY IN A blur. Fenn, Zane, and I lost ourselves in the relentless training of the Draconta guard. Day after day we met up on the training grounds just outside of the Chasm. A large cliff off to the side was covered with plush grass and was filled with target dummies to practice on.

  The air turned crisp and cool as fall set in. The leaves turned colors and danced around us every time we passed through with a parade of yellows and oranges. Those were some of the happiest days of my life.

  As the days wore on, my focus began to change. I became obsessed with learning everything and anything I could to defeat Zordon. Absorbing myself in this task was the only thing that even remotely eased the feeling that I had let everyone down.

  Today, we were learning how to defend ourselves against the Dark Saar. The Saar would be what ultimately undid the Draconta should we not be able to prevent them from crossing the Chasm.

  “The killing blow must be made here,” Warren, the head guard for the human side of the Draconta, instructed. He pointed to the center of his chest. “This is where every Mage’s energy sits, whether dark or light. A Dark Saar can only be killed by a human. We will be the only weapon that can stop them from killing the dragons.”

  “That’s easy enough,” Fenn boasted confidently, literally bouncing in his fighting stance.

  Warren and Zane stared at Fenn, lips pursed in doubt. “Have you ever been face to face with a Saar?” Warren challenged.

  Fenn stumbled a bit in his bounce. “Well…no,” he answered, frowning.

  Warren moved closer to Fenn, chanting, “Nebulum.” A dark fog rose up from the ground, enveloping Warren in a swirling circle. “The Dark Saar is always shrouded in darkness, and in their darkness is only madness. If you touch their darkness, you will be as affected as if you were inhabited by a Shadow.”

  I looked at Fenn, the pained memory of that day clearly evident on both of our faces.
/>   Warren stalked around the three of us, the fog following him in a trail. His steps became quicker, making it harder to keep up with where he would appear next. “They can float like a cloud,” he continued. He appeared behind Fenn, a dagger at his throat. “They can take you when you least expect it.”

  My fingers curled into fists. I was no longer outside of the Chasm. I was back in the other realm, fighting against the Shadow. I turned to face Warren.

  “Show us how,” I said, my voice on the verge of a growl.

  His scarred lip slightly curled into a smile as death flickered in his muddy brown eyes. “It’s all in the sword,” he said dangerously. “You must strike, and strike fast. Don’t give them the chance to attack you. Like this.” He ran in between two rows of dummies, stabbing and striking all the while, never even blinking. Within seconds he was at the other end of the grounds, arrogantly smiling.

  “Now,” he shouted from the other side, “begin!”

  I looked at Fenn and Zane who both wore a mischievous look upon their faces. Zane winked and then went for it.

  He picked it up a lot quicker than I thought he would. It was like he was meant for battle — a trait he must have inherited from his father.

  “I’m next,” Fenn said, patting Zane on the back. After the initial shock of discovering they were brothers, they became best friends, realizing they had more than they thought in common.

  “Aim for the heart,” Warren instructed at the other end of the grounds. The fog swirled around him, hiding his form from light.

  Fenn took a deep breath and then went for it. He moved as fast as Zane and was at the other end in a matter of seconds, the dummies full of fatal puncture wounds.

  “Good job,” Warren commended, smiling. He locked eyes with me. It was my turn.

  They all waited at the other end, watching me. I shifted and focused on the heart of the dummies. My daggers were in my hands, blazing and ready to pierce.

  I took off, sprinting faster than both Fenn and Zane combined, and stabbed each dummy right in the center. It all happened as fast as it took Fenn to blink. When I looked back, each dummy had gone up in flames, leaving nothing but ash.

  “Excellent!” Warren said, gripping my shoulder. “Now let’s try a warm body.” He pointed to a group of men who stood in a rigid row off to the side.

  “Nebulum,” I heard them chant as a dark fog rose up to enshroud their bodies. My lips curved into an anxious smile.

  When I wasn’t fighting, I was absorbing the ways of the dragons. “There are certain things expected from you, Aurora. You are royalty,” my mother explained while we lounged on the grass inside the Courtyard.

  “Like what?”

  “For starters, you are to always heed the word of your grandfather. He is the King and should be respected as such. You must also put our law above all else. A dragon’s sole purpose is to protect the Stone and the ones we love. We do not pursue physical combat.”

  I narrowed my eyes at her. “Mother, I am supposed to defeat Zordon. How can I avoid pursuing physical combat?”

  She smiled at me, picking at a glowing flower next to her. “Some rules are meant to be broken, Little Flame. A dragon is also supposed to take one mate for life. This mate must also be a dragon. Your father is not.”

  “Clearly,” I laughed. “Grandmother doesn’t seem to approve.”

  “She doesn’t agree because we are the example to our people and she worries that other dragons will prefer a human form.”

  “Can they do that?”

  She shook her head. “Not unless they have the power of The Fates behind them. Do you honestly think your father was that powerful? He would be a Liege, if so. He was given extra power by the Fate that has helped you. That is how I was able to take on a human form. I wasn’t given it permanently though. It’s just glamour.”

  She also taught me how to hone my vision. We spent hours together, staring at the veins in a blade of grass from across the room. I learned how to use the mirroring of my scales to reflect the area around me so that I blended in with my surroundings. I also learned how to see things before they happened.

  “A dragon’s Foresight,” she called it. “It’s like a sixth sense. If you pay attention, you can sense things moments before they happen.”

  “I noticed that in my training. I could sense the spells Fenn was going to use before he used them. I can do this in any situation?”

  “If you pay attention, yes. It is a part of what makes us so powerful.” She reached out and ran a finger through my hair, smiling at me.

  “Like a Seer?”

  “Almost. A Seer hears a human’s fate. They are in touch with the future in that sense. But a dragon,” she said, lifting her finger into the air, “a dragon can sense choice. And they can sense it at all times, not just when The Fates allow it.” She smirked, her light eyes sparkling with pride. She pushed her long mahogany colored hair back behind her shoulders.

  I closed my eyes, trying to sense what she was about to do next.

  “Focus on my being,” she said, sensing what I was up to.

  Even though my eyes were closed, I could sense her in front of me. I could feel her heart beating. I shut everything else out and centered myself, thinking of only her. A small glimpse of her smiling and then placing a crown upon my head ran through my mind. When I opened my eyes, she was smiling at me, a crown in her lap.

  “I sensed it!” I told her, beaming with excitement.

  “Of course,” she said, lifting the crown into the air the same way I had just envisioned. “This was made for you on the day of your birth. I wanted you to have it.”

  It was small and golden with intricate ruby work strung throughout it. “Thank you,” I said. “These past weeks have been the best of my life.”

  “I couldn’t agree more,” she said, reaching out to caress my cheek. I leaned into her motherly touch, thankful to finally have her. That’s how I spent my time with her, day after day.

  But she couldn’t help me with my power over fire. No one had ever harnessed the element before. It was something that I had to work on alone.

  The nights when Zane and Fenn would practice with the Imperials, I would take to the training grounds and push my element to the limits, testing my strength.

  Sometimes Fenn would help, using the air element to fuel the flames I forced out. “We make a great team,” he said as he threw a gust of wind into the ball of fire I blew out. The flame exploded before us.

  “That we do,” I agreed, my hands on my hips in triumph.

  I buried myself in physical pain, sometimes fighting in my human form, sometimes as a dragon. Gabe said it was best that I learn how to defend in both.

  All of this acted as a good distraction from the constant ache of missing Lexi and Astral. I kept the picture Mily had given me of Lexi tucked in my pocket, afraid that if I lost it, then she would be lost forever.

  I would have given anything to go back to the moment I decided to go after Soothe. To stop myself from walking into the biggest mistake of my life.

  But things are never that simple...or that easy.

  Warren took it upon himself to have form-fitting armor made for me. I asked that they put the essence of the Unicorn Zane had given me into it. It seemed fitting to use the Harpy’s death for something good. They used the Draconta’s titanium infused with a potion that allowed the armor to bend and stretch with my changing form. It kept me from being naked in my human form and protected me in my dragon form. For that, I was grateful.

  After a full month of practice, we finally found our rhythm. My grandfather felt it was time for us to be presented regally. Warren took the three of us around the human quarters to meet the loyal people of the Draconta.

  I was astounded at how many people had held on to the rumor that I stil
l existed. Young men lined the sleeping quarters in their armor, waiting for me to walk by them. One by one, I thanked them for believing in me. By the end of the day, the weight on my shoulders had grown to a staggering amount.

  I couldn’t let them down.

  “Why do they stay here?” I asked Gabe later that night over dinner. Fenn was next to me, still dressed in his practice armor. Zane sat next to Gabe, picking at the bones of a roasted chicken.

  “These people have served the dragons for as long as I can remember. They believe in Gidius’ sacrifice and respect the dragons as highly as they do The Fates. And so we are the Draconta,” he smiled with pride, “and would lay down our lives for what we believe in.”

  “And what’s that?” Zane asked. His left cheek sported a bruise from the day’s practice.

  “Free will,” Gabe simply said. “Zordon has been around for a very long time. When the Magiums were built, it gave Mages all around our world a place to call home. Somewhere to safely practice magic. But it also segregated our race from others like the Necromancers, the Priests, and the dragons.” He grimaced. “Zordon took over our Magium shortly after Lev disappeared. He slowly began to spread his beliefs into the hearts of our kind — that our race was supreme. More supreme than the Draconta. Looking back on it now, I bet he feels this way because of who he was created by.”

  “Those who disagreed left and came here in hopes that we could begin a new era where we weren’t separated by our race.” Though he smiled brightly, there was sadness in his eyes. Like he knew that this ideal was easier discussed than accomplished.

  He set his devoured chicken carcass onto his plate, wiping his hands on a cloth napkin and then dabbing at his mouth. After a swig of beer, he added, “You will find many different magical beings here in alliance with us in hopes that you,” he tilted his brow in my direction, “can one day reunite our world.”