by Eric Vall
“I need to think about it.” I shook my head and pulled away. “There’ll be rules and things I won’t be able to do if I agree to this.”
“So?” Alyona’s delicate fingers were firm on my cheeks, and they held me in place. “The people of Hatra love you. The Elders adore you. And you’ve risked everything for the city.”
I realized then, as Alyona spoke, that she looked at me as if I were the sun. It was sheer, unadulterated love in her eyes. That was where her trust and confidence in me and my power came from.
Not only her, but the rest of Hatra as well. They loved me, and I loved them in return. I wasn’t throwing away my mother and Aunt Emma, but expanding my family.
“I don’t want to fail.” I rested my forehead against hers and sighed. “I want to lead Hatra to glory and greatness, so that never again will this city fall to anyone.”
“Then become Ruslan’s son.” Alyona pulled away and pressed a chaste kiss against my lips. “Become heir to the House of Hatra. Become the son of a Lord and accept the glories and the burdens that come with such a title. From simply Evan, you will be a Lord, but then, you never were just Evan, were you?”
I pressed a kiss to the palm of Alyona’s hand as her words resonated deep inside of me. She shifted next to me and kissed me again, this time a much deeper kiss that left me gasping and her mewling softly. This wonderful woman loved this city, and I did, too.
Hatra wasn’t just walls and buildings, it was my home now, and the people who lived here were my family. From little Ilyushina and Ilya to the Elders, they were all my family. And now, my family needed me to become more than just their dragon. They needed me to become the heir to Hatra.
So, I would become the heir to Hatra, and anyone who threatened those that I loved would meet a swift death at my claws.
Chapter 5
To be adopted into the ruling house of Hatra, even if it was a thousand years after the city was destroyed by demons, was an important affair.
A priest or priestess would have to preside over the adoption ceremony, and there would have to be a member of the royal family or high ranking official of the White Jade Sect present.
Luckily for us, Alyona would be able to fill the role of both priestess and princess. As heir to the Seat of the White Jade Sect and Divine Maiden of Rahma, Alyona answered only to the Lord of Rahma.
The only issue was that all of the temples of Hatra were completely destroyed when the city fell a thousand years ago. Only small shrines remained, shrines built and maintained by the survivors, but none of them were large enough for what we needed in regards to the adoption ritual.
According to Julia and Alyona, the adoption ceremony, when for members of nobility, was traditionally held in the largest of the temples in the city so the populace could be a witness to it. The reason behind this was so they could witness the summoned god judge and oversee the adoption ceremony.
If the summoned god judged the adoption candidate to be a fair choice, the ceremony would go on smoothly. But if the summoned god found the adoption candidate to be corrupt, unjust, or incapable of fulfilling the duties of their position, the nobility wouldn’t be able to hide it.
I’d suggested the idea of using one of the large open spaces in the city I’d cleared during my first round of rebuilding the city walls. When I brought that idea up during the discussion about the ceremony, Julia’s eyes lit up, and she explained that we did have the perfect place for the ceremony.
In preparation for the ceremony, I’d been stripped and forced into a hot bath in one of the old bath houses by a group of motherly looking villagers and an anxious Julia.
These bath houses had been repaired simply long before I’d ever arrived at Hatra, and they somewhat reminded me of the Turkish baths Aunt Emma was so fond of. There was essentially a massive oven built underneath the bath house, and that heated up the small pool I was floating in. Riverstones lined the walls and floor of the pool, but they were all smooth to the touch. Now that I thought about it, this was the first proper bath I’d taken while conscious in Inati. All the other times I’d ended up in water while awake were pretty much by necessity or accident, like swimming through an underground lake or fighting water demons. I might as well take this opportunity to relax in the deliciously hot water because I didn’t know when I’d have time for such a luxury again.
There wasn’t much downtime after the adoption ceremony, since it was already all scheduled out. Rebuilding and fortification was going to continue in full swing, especially since our population had massively grown with the addition of the Blue Tree Guild. The jump in the populace was immense, and I didn’t know yet how many people would move from the Blue Tree Guild airship and into Hatra itself, but the airship was larger than any aircraft carrier back on Earth and, if I remembered right, those ships could house over five thousand people. I couldn’t even begin to imagine Hatra rising from a hundred or so people to thousands.
I sighed and leaned my head against the rim of the stone bath. Lavender leaves and cuttings from the dragonsblood plants floated around me in the stone pool I soaked in. The water was a deep mahogany from the resin of the dragonsblood, and it almost seemed like a dye had been poured into my bath.
Absently, I wondered if the snake Demi-Human’s baths were as relaxing as this one, or if her mind was too shattered to enjoy the gentle heat and the relaxing scent of the flowers.
“Think, Evan, think, what kind of treatments for war victims can you combine with magic?” I murmured to myself as I sunk deeper into the water.
A little voice in the back of my head whispered that maybe I’d find a way to stop Alyona from ever falling into deviation again, and I smiled at the thought. If I found a way to combine medical treatments from Earth with my healing magic, I’d be able to protect my princess from any danger that threatened her.
And if through that, I was able to help others, that was perfectly fine.
Nothing came to mind at the moment, though, so I would have to study as much as I could to find a solution.
Suddenly, nearly silent footsteps fell on the stone floor of the room, and I lifted my head to see Julia standing in the doorway with a pile of folded robes in her hands.
“Time to go?” I asked, and she nodded.
There were towels next to the edge of the bath, and I grabbed one of them to wrap around myself before I got out of the water. Then I used the other towels to dry myself as Julia gently shook out any wrinkles from the robes she’d carried in.
“Do you remember how the ceremony is going to go?” Julia asked as she towelled my hair dry.
“Yeah, Alyona is going to summon the Hearth God and give him a body to inhabit.” I nodded as I repeated the steps I’d memorized. “The Hearth God is going to ask for her opinion as priestess and princess as to my qualifications for being adopted into Hatra’s ruling family. Then the Hearth God is going to question Ruslan and me.”
Alyona had explained to me the Hearth God was the deity in charge of all familial affairs, especially in regards to adoption ceremonies. When a priest or priestess summoned a god in order to oversee an adoption ritual, it would either be the Hearth God, or his wife, the Hearth Goddess.
“And then what happens?” Julia hummed as she moved from towelling my hair to running a comb through it.
“If and when the Hearth God is satisfied about me being the right choice, we move on to the next step,” I recited as I patted dry the small black scales on the inside of my arms. “Ruslan and I are going to be given a knife by the Hearth God, and we prick our fingers with it and let some of our blood fall into a cup of alcohol. Then we both take a sip and receive the Hearth God’s blessing. After that, we state our intentions as a family.”
Julia handed me the first layer of the azure robes she’d brought in, and I noticed there were tiny moons embroidered with silver thread on the hem. Carefully, I slipped into the first layer and bent down to slip on a pair of dark blue trousers.
“Are you sure you’re ready for t
his?” Julia paused and tightened her grip on the blue fabric in her hands. “There’s no going back on this once the ceremony begins.”
I could hear concern in her voice, and I knew it was the proud Elder being worried over my choice. While she’d been pleased that I’d agreed to become part of her family, she was worried I’d rushed into my decision and would come to regret it.
But I wouldn’t.
“I know,” I said gently as I turned to face the Elder, “and I’m prepared for that. I want to be a part of Hatra, I want to belong here. I’m not giving up on my old home, or trading it in for Inati, but I’m accepting that I can belong to two different worlds.”
What I didn’t tell her was I was also accepting that I was dragon and human. Two different species in one body.
“Oh, Evan.” Julia’s pale blue eyes watered with unshed tears, and she placed a hand on my cheek. “We never meant for you to feel like you had to give anything up, we just wanted you to be a part of our family. Maybe we were being selfish, we didn’t even think about that.”
“No, you weren’t.” I shook my head as I smiled widely. “You wanted to give me a home here, and a family can be as large and as widespread as ours. A family doesn’t have to be all in one place for it to be a family.”
The woman nodded, and then she blinked away her tears and went back to helping me with my robe. Once I was fully dressed, the two of us left the bath house and walked in the direction of the Lunar Palace. Slowly, villagers began to join us as we walked and followed behind us as they laughed and chattered away.
When we were near the smithy, Ruslan was waiting to join the parade.
“Are you ready?” Ruslan asked as he walked next to me in a dark blue robe. The Fox Demi-Human was, for once, dressed properly, and his hair was pulled back into a high ponytail. I could even see boots on his usually bare feet.
“Ready as I’ll ever be.” I grinned at the Elder in front of me before a thought popped in my head. “Pops.”
Ruslan blinked for a moment before he threw his head back and laughed.
“After this,” Ruslan threw his arm around my shoulders and mussed my hair as he laughed, “I will be.”
I laughed loudly along with the cheering villagers and felt happier than I’d ever been. The sensation of this being right wouldn’t leave me. This was even better than getting into medical school.
We continued in that manner along the path to the Lunar Palace and the location of the adoption ceremony. It made sense the ritual would take place within the palace grounds. While all of the temples were destroyed and the shrines too small for the adoption ritual, the gardens of the Lunar Palace were safe enough to enter and large enough for all of Hatra to turn up.
I swallowed heavily when Alyona came into view in the center of the garden. The sight of her was enough to almost make me go mad with desire, and the dragon instincts inside of me roared for me to take her away to a secluded cave so I could make her mine over and over again.
Alyona’s white hair was pulled back into a high ponytail except for her black forelocks, but instead of her usual braids, they flowed freely. Her amethyst eyes were heavily lined in black kohl, and her full lips were painted a deep red that was almost purple. A delicate purple flower that looked like a lotus was also painted on her forehead, and every inch of her arms was covered in intricate purple markings.
She’d traded her usual flowing dresses for a diaphanous creation of thin silk and heavy embroidery. Gold trimmed her bodice as it dipped down to reveal her waist, and I could see even more purple markings travel over the swell of her breasts and down to her full hips.
Gold dripped from both her ears and her wrists, and a thin chain of gold wrapped around her neck. The golden chain was cradled within her cleavage, and I could see tiny diamonds sparkle along the length of the chain. In her hair, she wore golden flower ornaments, and I knew Aunt Emma would drool over them if she were here.
“Once we begin, there is no turning back,” Alyona intoned as she took a step toward me. “Are you sure you want to go through with this?”
“I am.” I stood straight as I looked at the priestess with the utmost confidence. “If I’m going to be adopted by Ruslan, I’m not going to half ass it.”
“Be brave, my dragon.” Alyona stretched out her hand and let it fall on my heart. “The Dark Lady of the Nine Heavens is not known to be gentle.”
“The Dark Lady of the Nine Heavens?” Ruslan gasped as his ears flattened on his head. “She’s the one you’re going to call upon? Not the Hearth God?”
There was a fire in Alyona’s gemstone eyes as she lifted her chin and faced Ruslan. The purple flower on her forehead flickered just as silver began to tint her amethyst eyes a paler color, and a coolness settled into the air.
“Do you find the Dark Lady to be lacking in any manner?” Protectiveness slid into her gaze as she stared up at the fox Elder with cold eyes. “The Dark Lady has made it known to me that she would use her authority as Regent of the Western Palace to oversee this ceremony. The Hearth God stepped down at her command.”
Ruslan took a step back from the priestess as she closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath.
“It would be an honor for the Dark Lady of the Nine Heavens to oversee this ceremony,” Ruslan murmured softly as he kept his worried eyes on the priestess.
“Uhhh, who is that?” I glanced between Ruslan and Alyona in confusion. “I thought the adoption ritual calls on one of the family deities, like the Hearth God. Isn’t he the one who protects families and governs them?”
“She is a goddess of war,” Ruslan explained with a furrowed brow. “The Dark Lady is she who slays evil and protects righteousness through any means. Anyone she finds lacking is immediately slain and sent to spend the rest of eternity in the fires of hell. She is both judge and executioner.”
Before I could ask more about this Dark Lady, Alyona suddenly turned to face us and dropped to her knees. Then she raised her hands up in front of her and placed one on top of the other as a silver light emanated from the tips of her fingers.
There had been fluffy white clouds in the sky before she knelt, but the moment her knees hit the ground, all of the clouds disappeared from view.
“O Four Great Heavenly Kings, guardians of this world and those hereafter.” Alyona’s voice echoed throughout the garden as she spoke. “Merciful gods who dwell in the heavens above, saints and sages who live upon the earth below, your child of jade born to the North beseeches you to look down upon her and grant her your wisdom and your virtue.”
The air shifted, and a breeze curled around us as delicate flower petals from the garden whirled in a tornado. Then a feral energy filled the air, and it was an overwhelming sense of power, like being lost on a battlefield.
A mirror image of Alyona suddenly appeared before us. She had black hair drawn up in a high ponytail and white forelocks that hung loosely in the wind. Instead of amethyst gems, the eyes of this mirror Alyona were glimmering rubies shining with a cruel light.
This had to be the Dark Lady.
“Child of jade and our Numina of the Western Winds, we have answered your call,” the Dark Lady purred as she reached out to cradle Alyona’s face. “What do you seek? For what will you use our wisdom and our virtue, beloved child? Do you not have all that you would wish, child of jade and maiden of the stars?”
“A house of Rahma, bound to the first Divine Master, seeks to renew their line,” Alyona replied as she placed her palms on the ground between them, and the silver light faded. “The line unbroken, but broken still, pleads for renewal in the form of a son, an heir to the swordless Lord of the house.”
“What use do we have of a broken house?” The Dark Lady wrinkled her nose and waved her hand. “They lay broken and remain broken. Shall we care of broken lines when misfortune will come to all mortal things? What care should we have of this broken house, what care do you have of this broken house? Perhaps they even brought their own reckoning upon themselves. They fell a
nd failed and now reap what has been sown.”
Rage churned my blood at the way the Dark Lady spoke about Hatra, but I held my tongue. This had to be part of the test I’d been warned about.
“This child dares to speak, to argue, to plead.” Alyona shook her head as her eyes bore straight into the Dark Lady’s. “One thousand years has been the price of Hatra’s punishment for a sin they did not commit, one thousand years has Hatra been without justice. This child asks for your mercy, for such injustices cannot go unanswered. The desired heir and Lord stand before you today. They seek to answer these injustices and bring back Hatra el Shamash.”
“We shall humor you, child of jade,” the Dark Lady sighed dramatically as she turned to look at us. “Who is this heir who seeks to arm the swordless and mend the broken? Who is this son you speak of?”
“A dragon does this child present to you,” Alyona said as she lifted one delicate hand in my direction. “He has won both this one’s favor and her trust. He is a warrior full of honor and hope.”
“We shall be the one to judge that.” The Dark Lady sniffed the air as her ruby eyes glared at me. “Dragon in human form, step forward and speak to us. Speak to us of who you are and why the precious child of jade speaks so highly of you. Why should you be given to Hatra el Shamash, and why should Hatra el Shamash’s blood be given to you? What is it you can give to Hatra el Shamash that is so desperately desired?”
“My name is Evan, Dark Lady.” I took in a deep breath as I answered the fickle deity in front of me. “I have promised to give Hatra el Shamash all of me, all of my magic and all of my power, so it can live and prosper.”
“We shall be the judge of that,” the Dark Lady drawled as she wrinkled her nose at me. “Promises have always been made only to be broken by those without power or ambition. Perhaps there is weakness in your blood that will cause you to fail. Or perhaps there is weakness in your heart that will paralyze you at the pivotal moment when destiny and fate are on the brink of being realigned.”