by G. Bailey
"I love you," I breathlessly whisper to Luke, even though the wind most likely carried my words away like a secret.
He holds my hand tightly, and squeezes once as I stare up at the sky full of stars.How can the world be so beautiful and so full of darkness at the same time?
What did Selena find to love in this forest all those years ago? What did she see in us?
Selena, guide us, and don't let me lose any of my mates.
Please.
Chapter 3
Izora
Gold swoops down low after a good hour of flying and I get up on my knees, holding onto his scales as I look down at the beach we are heading towards, right on the edge of the enchanted forest. I've never been here, but I recognise it from photos. Aurora Bay. The glistening sea brushes softly against the stone-covered beach and glitters like a thousand diamonds lurk within its depth. I know there aren't actually diamonds in the water, but the rocks under the sea cause it to look that way. It's a romantic place in the forest, somewhere fae take their dates and shadowborns are usually not allowed to visit.
Gold lands us near the edge of the bay, a place covered by the cliffs on the one side, making it easy for us to hide.
I climb off Gold's back with Luke and rush to Scott and Axel.
"He looks too pale," I tell Scott.
Luke pulls his jacket off and covers up Axel as Gold shifts back into his human form and makes himself a blue plain t-shirt as he walks over to us.
"I need magic to heal him. Can I tap into yours?" Scott asks me and I don't even blink as I offer him my hand.
"We will find a cave and get a fire going. It will be dark soon and we must move inside," Gold suggests, nodding at Luke and the two of them walk off.
Scott takes my hand, placing it over Axel's chest. Straight away I feel the nudge of my power, pouring out of my soul and right into Axel. His skin instantly starts to look better, a nice glow coating his cheeks as his breathing slows to normal.
Scott starts to struggle, a coat of sweat covering his forehead as his hand shakes over mine. I close my eyes and push more of my magic into my connection with Axel and Scott, overtaking Scott's.
"Izora, don't!" Scott shouts, but it's too late. The magic leaves my soul like a wave, crashing into Axel and building a strange connection between us that wasn't there before.
"He. Doesn't. Get. To. Die. Yet," I bite out.
"I wouldn't leave you. Stop, Iz. I'm okay," Axel groggily whispers and I open my eyes, seeing his whole body glowing white under my hand.
Scott lets go, leaving Axel's hand to cover mine, anchoring me to him. He slowly lifts one of my fingers at a time before pushing my hand off his chest and releasing me.
The world smashes back into focus and I fall back on the sand, gasping for air. Scott picks me up in his lap, brushing my hair from my head.
"You almost went too far. Healing is a hard art to learn without losing yourself," Scott softly tells me. I want to feel guilty, but as Axel sits up, he smiles at me and the world just seems right again.
"We are free?" Axel whispers, climbing to his feet.
I stand up with Scott, feeling a bit dizzy but better by the moment.
Axel stares around in wonder, holding his arms out at his side. I almost forgot how long it must have been since Axel has been outside the prison and free. His joy is addictive and as he breaks out in joyous laughter, Scott and I can’t help but join him. Axel and I spin around on the beach, making ourselves dizzy and falling over next to each other.
"We. Are. Free!" Axel shouts, pulling me up off the ground and kissing me.
"Not for long if you attract attention," Gold grumbles, interrupting us.
Axel laughs softly, wrapping his arm around my waist as we turn to face Gold. He holds his hand out to the former dragon."You saved my life. All of you played a part, but I doubt it would have been that easy without a large golden dragon," Axel says and Gold shakes his hand. "I owe you a debt."
"We are family. We do not owe each other debts for our lives," Gold replies, meeting his eyes. Something passes between them and Scott places his hand over their joined ones.
"Family is something we all can agree to fight for," Scott states.
Luke steps to Gold's side and places his hand over Scott’s.He meets all their eyes, including mine last of all. "In the name of Selena, I vow to protect my family who are here for those who have died and those we have lost."
"And for our family, we will take the Light Fae Throne and rule. I am going to claim my birthright, and I will be seen as a Light Fae Queen. Next to my side, you four will rule with me. I'm choosing my family, my mates, and my throne."
"We choose you," Gold replies.
Luke, Scott and Axel repeat the sentence and tears fill my eyes.
"I love you four," I whisper just as Oz lands on our joined hands and falls to the ground as we all jump back.
"How did you escape, you lucky fucker?" Gold laughs, picking him up.
I reach out, stroking his fur as he snuggles into Gold's chest. Yup, I love to do that too. I don't blame you, Oz.
"Their kind imprints on their owners, linking themselves to their magic. I imagine he can pull himself through magic to wherever you are," Scott ponders. "Although I have not studied his kind in intense detail."
"Gotta show me how to travel like that, Oz," I whisper to him.
"We found an abandoned lighthouse up the beach. We should go there for the night," Luke suggests, smiling at me.
Gold places Oz in my arms and pats Scott's back. "Let's go and hunt something for dinner."
"I am not good at hunting," Scott warns him.
Gold’s laugh warms my heart, while Scott looks like he just realised the dragon is a little crazy. Cute crazy in my mind. "I will teach you. Come on."
I rest my head on Axel's shoulder as Luke leads the way to the lighthouse. I look back to see Scott and Gold deep in conversation and I wonder what they are talking about, but as my stomach rumbles, I wonder more what is for tea.
Wrapping the old blanket around my shoulders, I stare out at the beach below me; the waves crashing across the rocks making the only sound out here. I glance back into the lighthouse where the guys are sitting around a fire, above it hangs a pig of some kind they are cooking.
Scott is making something with vegetables and herbs he found, mixing it in a pot above the flames.
Axel is sleeping, needing more rest than he would admit even with my magic healing him. Luke went out to get more firewood not long ago, but even with him not here, it's so warming to have this moment of freedom.
We are all here because we want to be. We are free for the first time in so long. Tears fill my eyes as I think of my mum and father, how I had to lose them to find out the truth of my entire life, and I want to make them proud. I can't think of any other reason why my mum would have lied to me about who my father was my entire life unless it was to protect me until I could be an heir to the throne.
I wonder if Corvina wants the Light Fae Throne; she has as much of a claim to it as I do.
Something in the water below, like a bright light, catches my eye. Using my wings, I fly off the lighthouse and to the rocks below, right before the waves crash over them. In front of me is a small pool of still water and the shimmering image where the water should show my image is not my reflection at all, instead, I see Kaelah covered in a light blue glow.
"Princess Izora. You are free, as the goddesses said you would be. It's your time to fulfil your destiny and find the keys. Find the keys, Izora Dawn, or else everything is lost."
Her image fades as a wave crashes over the rocks, splashing the water, and something flashes into my mind. A battlefield soaked in blood, a girl that looks like me with ripped fae wings and a sword piercing through my heart.
I gasp, stumbling back as the image leaves my mind, the warning sticking, though.
"Izora, are you alright?" Luke asks from behind me. I turn around as he jogs over, an arm full of logs in his hands. He p
laces them down on the rocks and pulls me into his arms at whatever he sees in my eyes.
"I'm okay. I just had a stark reminder of the future if we don't find the Titan keys and send the beasts back," I mutter to him.
"Let's go back to the guys so we can talk about it," Luke suggests. I nod and he lets me go. I use my wings to fly right back up to the top of the lighthouse, and thankfully my flying skills are getting better. I still crash land, smacking into the glass before rolling to a stop and picking myself back up.
Luke lands gracefully behind me and I glare at him.
"How are you that good?"
"I practiced flying around my room when we were in solitary confinement," he answers with a shrug. "You will get there."
"Sure, sure," I mutter, opening the door for him, he walks through and places the logs near the fire.
"Good timing, dinner is done," Scott says, handing me a plate with cut up meat and a soup with mash. I devour it and it's amazing, but I didn't expect less with Scott and Gold cooking it.
"We need to head out tomorrow to find the Titan's keys," I say once everyone is finished.
Silence answers me as they look between each other.
"I know one is with the dragons. In the vault," Gold offers.
Scott hums. "Kyllaros has songs about a key protected by a monster. The centaurs will not help us, but they may let us battle this monster to win the key. Therefore, gaining their respect. They only care for blood."
"Vile creatures," Luke mutters, rubbing his face. "And they treat women like bugs. You’ll need to keep your head down there, Izora."
"What about the old story of a well that a key got lost in? It was said to be in the fountain of Mene," Axel reminds me. "But that is only an old rumour."
"Rumours and songs all come from some truth," Gold adds in. "We will go to Kyllaros first, and then to Draconia and finally the fountain of Mene before heading to the academy. That's the plan, as of now, unless anything goes wrong."
"I love how you don't question the mission, just trust me enough to know it's what we have to do," I say into the silence.
Luke meets my eyes. "We all know we would be trapped in prison and living half a life if it wasn't for you. We trust you."
"Thank you," I nod and smile. "So who do I have to kiss for a second dinner?"
They all raise their hands, and I laugh.
Chapter 4
Izora
"So what exactly do we know about Centaurs?" I ask Scott, figuring he would know the most about the race that lives at the top of the enchanted forest. They really aren't a subject I remember reading too much about in the academy, nor did we have a lot of lessons on them. In fact, I only know that you shouldn't just wander into their lands...exactly what we are doing right now.
"Centaurs were once beloved horses of the goddess Danica. It is said she one day heard their thoughts and how they wished to be fae. Danica could not ignore their wish and turned five of them into Centaurs, a new breed of fae," Scott explains as we make our way out of the thick trees of the forest and into the sandy north clearing. On the other side of this clearing marks the beginning of the centaurs’ land. There are big signs hanging up...with skulls littering the ground under the signs.
I look away as Scott keeps talking. "The Centaurs were furious with Danica. See, they wanted to be real fae. Not half-horse, half-human. Danica explained that they could never be like the fae they adored and the centaurs left, running to the north of the forest, and they were never seen again in the lands below."
"Not never," Gold adds in. "Some travel into the fae lands, but their barbaric ways always get them killed."
"Sounding less and less appealing, guys," I mutter as we pass the giant warning signs...with the skulls.
"I'm sure they aren't that bad," Axel suggests. We all just turn to look at him and he sheepishly shrugs.
"I heard they are very loyal to those who can survive their tests," Luke chimes in. "There are people in the forest who have written books on surviving the great tests of the Centaurs and—,"
Luke stops as he hears a loud sound, much like thunder, in the distance.
We all make a circle with our backs and Gold looks down at me, his eyes flashing gold. He would get us out of here if need be. Slowly, over in the distance, a wave of centaurs runs up the hill in a straight line, with hundreds of them in lines behind them. They move so quickly, and they are far taller than I thought they would be.
They stop right in front of where Gold is standing, the biggest centaur right in the middle. I run my eyes up his tall form, the powerful brown legs and body of a horse, but instead of a horse's neck, it changes into a golden armour covered man with long black hair hanging in braids. He stares down at Gold, a clear challenge in his eyes.
"The plenty for trespassing is death," the centaur firmly states, leaving no clue whether he is going to kill us or just telling us the plenty. When Gold doesn't reply and the stare down continues, I know I need to say something.
"My name is Izora Dawn and I am heir to the Light Fae Throne. I am here—," I pause as the centaur humorlessly laughs.
"Tell your pet woman to speak only when she is spoken to," he suggests to Gold.
Gold's body tenses and my guys move closer to me.
"My name is Kirion and I am the king of the Centaurs. You are not welcome here. We do not want war, you must leave."
"You cannot speak to me that way," I reply, pushing to Gold’s side and facing up to the centaur. "I am a princess, a brave woman and I've been through a lot of shit to get here. You will fucking talk to me like a human or Selena be damned, we will have a big problem between us."
"What my mate means, in her delightful manner, is we have a problem in the forest," Gold pushes me behind him and I grumble. "The Titans have been freed and we need the key to lock them away."
"You will only receive death on these lands," Kirion replies. "I will happily serve you if that is what you wish. Your mate will be bred with before being killed."
"And my dragon will rip you to pieces before you even get a second to look at my mate," Gold roars. "Horse is a good snack."
They go back to their staring contest, and surprisingly Scott moves to Gold's side."The key is hidden in a cave with a monster that you have not been able to beat. If we conquer the monster and get the key, will that be enough to earn safe passage from your lands," he asks.
"The monster is unbeatable. My own mother died in that cavern, like many others," Kirion replies. He stays silent for a moment. "Women can only enter the cavern. We send our women in there to die in punishment for their crimes. No woman has ever left the cavern."
"I will go and slay this monster alone," I say, but Kirion pretends he didn’t hear me. I bite my tongue. This guy needs to go to hell.
"May my mate enter the cavern?" Gold asks.
Kirion waits a long time before nodding once. "You have five hours. The cavern is to the left, straight ahead. If you five are not off my land in five hours, monster slayed or not, you will all die."
Kirion turns away and the other centaurs follow him in perfectly formed lines. They run back over the hill and soon everything is silent once more.
"I fucking hate that guy," I say, crossing my arms. "Now let's go and slay a monster for a damn key."
"Are you sure you want to go in alone?" Luke asks me.
I look up at the bright sun in the sky, wondering if Danica is watching the centaurs and hating them as much as me. "I'm sure."
The monster’s cavern is less a cave, and more giant pit in the middle of the desert. Sand pours into the pit with every brush of the wind, and I step back from the edge while the guys all look inside.
"Why do you think men can't go in?" I question out loud.
Gold crosses his large arms. "I should test it."
"No, you shouldn't," Scott says before I can say it. "The centaurs are proud creatures. If they say men cannot enter, it means they have tried many, many times and been killed just as many."
"I can do this alone," I remind them. I brush a line of sweat off my forehead as I spread my wings out. "Wait for me and don't follow. If I'm not back, wait in the forest for me, and I will come to you."
"You best do," Gold tells me, pulling me into a deep kiss. Luke and Axel look equally worried and Scott tries not to appear so concerned, but his body language gives him away.
I have to do this.
I run and jump into the pit, using my wings to hover over it for a moment before pushing myself down and flying right into the darkness. My wings give off a little bit of light as I fly further down, not stopping until I get to the edge of a rock and I fly around it. The ground soon appears and there is no light at all down here as I land.
"What does a light fae want with this place?" A female voice asks me in the darkness.
I swiftly turn around to face whoever it is and hear her horseshoes click across the dirt as she comes closer. The centaur woman is beautiful, there is no other word to describe her. Her long white hair falls around her shirtless pale white body.
"The Titan key. Are you the monster?" I question and she laughs, the sound echoing.
"Men think women are monsters only because they cannot control us," she tells me. Yup, I get you, girl. "Women are welcome in our home. But not men."
"So you aren't going to attack me?" I ask.
"No. Now why do you need the key?" she asks and clicks her fingers. The room suddenly floods with light, reflecting off the dozens of mirrors littered around the room.
I hold my hand up to shield my eyes and slowly lower it, seeing an actual city below the sand. Dozens of wooden houses smother the rocks, big crops fill the edges of the city, and there are massive amounts of trees everywhere. Centaur women run around with young children and many stop to stare.
"My name is Izora Dawn and I am a Light Fae Princess who will take the throne. I want the world to be better and part of my destiny is to find the keys. The Titans are free, and they will not stop until the Enchanted Forest is destroyed," I inform her.