by Sariah Skye
Maxxus’ lips turned up slightly. “I’m like a peeing dog?”
I bobbed my head to the side. “Somewhat.”
Maxxus chuckled. “Yes, perhaps you’re right. After it slows down a bit, I’ll confront them. Especially since they’re lingering around here so much anyway. Happy?”
I smiled and nodded. “Yep.” My stomach growled again, reminding me of how hungry I was, but Maxxus had other ideas. He pulled his hand out of mine and his fingertips began trailing up my arm lightly. His eyes hooded as he bit his lip. I swatted his hand away.
“Eat first. Then…things. Maybe.” I admonished.
He outright grinned lasciviously. “Exactly what I had in mind!” He pawed at me once again. I smacked his arm.
“Seriously! I’m hungry! Don’t you know better to get in between a dragon and her food?” I let out a harrumph sound of frustration and dug back into my dinner. Maxxus chuckled, relenting, and did the same.
*
I sat upright quickly, startled by the loud noise I wasn’t expecting. “What the…?”
After we’d finished dinner, when I was finally sated from my hunger (actual hunger, not the horny kind), Maxxus was kind enough to clear the bed of trays and silverware. I laid back, resting my head on the pillow just for a moment when I was rudely interrupted by my phone, on the nightstand, blaring “Radioactive” by Imagine Dragons—Gabriel’s ringer.
I fumbled in the dark for the phone, my hand inadvertently goosing Sona, who’d obviously been napping with me on the pillow. She let out a disgruntled meow and darted off for the bathroom. Grumbling, I flicked my hand open for a ball of light magic to illuminate the room and I saw my phone resting face-down, the edge of it sticking out from under a set of crumpled up robes.
“What is it?” Maxxus asked groggily, draping an arm over my waist.
“Gabriel.” I hit talk on the phone and quickly answered.
“Leo! I’m sorry to wake you, but—” was Gabriel’s hesitant tone on the other end.
“What is it?” I asked sleepily. “What time is it?”
“It’s 11:30. I was hoping to catch you awake…guessing I didn’t huh?” he replied from the other end with a chuckle.
“Ah, no, it’s fine. I’m just out of it. Meeting all those delegates really took it out of me,” I replied.
“I understand. I wouldn’t call except…Yarrem is asking for you. He’s been healed fully and he’d like to speak with you. Given the urgency of everything I figured—”
“—no no, it’s fine. Really. I want to speak to him.” I pushed Maxxus arm off, reluctantly, with a sigh. It flopped to the bed with a quiet thud but he otherwise didn’t stir. Cradling the phone between my cheek and shoulder, I slung my legs over the bed and started hunting for clothes. “We need to get Zyanhei here or at least, agree to have them send guards. The Shadow reach is more than we thought.” I summoned another light ball again, this time letting it float in my hand as I walked, searching the room for appropriate clothing for meeting with a renowned Prelate. “Where is that…?” I mumbled to myself in the dark, bumping into the desk where the silver trays and plates had been left. They shook with a loud metallic clang. I gritted my teeth, looking over at the bed where Maxxus still lay, motionless and undisturbed except for the gentle rise and fall of his bare chest.
“Leo?” Gabriel questioned on the line.
“Shit. Sorry. I’m trying to find something to wear but I haven’t gotten the hang of this room yet. I don’t want to wake Maxxus. I just need a little light,” I said with dismay, as the summoned magic in my hands sparked and crackled lightly before fizzling out. I sighed, once again.
“Shouldn’t he be coming here with you?” Gabriel questioned.
“There are a few things I want to talk to him about alone first. Besides, it’s been a long day, one of us ought to get some rest.” My tone was dry and disgruntled as I replied.
“Sorry,” he replied sheepishly.
I frowned, regretting my words. “No Gabe, you’re fine. It was just a trying day, feeling like you’re on parade for the world to see,” I said. “Where are you? I’ll be there shortly just give me a minute or two to get dressed.”
“Your family’s home; Yarrem has been recuperating in Braeden’s chambers.”
“Okay. I’ll see you soon.” I hung up the phone, tossing it on the bed and without being distracted I was finally able to call for a larger light magic and toss it into the air. I didn’t bother getting too fancy with the clothing: just a t-shirt, leggings, and some black flats—but I did find a heavier set of more official pink robes with my symbol embroidered on the back.
I got re-dressed quickly and, while fastening the robes in front I leaned over the bed and nudged Maxxus gently. Just in case he woke while I was gone, I wanted him to know where I was. “Maxx? Maxxus?” He didn’t stir, except for the slight moan escaping his lips. It wasn’t a pleasured sound, but a tired one so I just let him be. I patted his outstretched hand and quietly opened and shut the chamber doors behind me.
The palace was quite dark, with only a torch lit every few paces instead of having them all lit as normal, but it was enough to see as I padded quietly down the hallway.
“Hello?” called a familiar voice at the end.
“Braeden?”
My brother sat in his red dragon form, standing guard at the end of the hall, a look of surprise on his green eyes. “Why are you awake?” he asked.
“Gabriel called; said that Yarrem needs to see me. I figured I’d just go real quick, talk to him and get back to bed,” I replied, attempting to stifle a yawn.
“And you’re going alone? You can’t do that; not as the queen,” Braeden scolded.
I rolled my eyes, griping under my breath. “I’ll be fine. It’s just to our home, and while flying no one will see me, let alone catch me.”
Braeden shook his large dragon head. “No way. I will come with. Nadeirain will just have to cover for me here.”
I snorted. “Maxxus definitely does not need a guard.”
Braeden snorted back, curls of smoke escaping his nostrils. “Be that as it may, it’s the rules. One guard per monarch nearby at all times at night. Normally this place would be crawling with guards but since a lot of them are out of commission, we’ll have to do. Sorry, it’s just the way it has to be,” he finished as I began to protest again.
I growled. “Fine.”
I had to walk briskly to keep up with Braeden’s slowest dragon pace—damn short human legs. I wasn’t even at the entrance to the castle when he had stopped, conversed with a yellow dragon I assumed was Nadeirain and the yellow dragon had passed me just as I neared the heavy iron entryway.
He lowered his head and deep brown eyes at me when I passed. He said something along the lines of caring for the castle in my absence, but I was not paying attention. Fatigue was quickly pulling at my eyelids; I wanted to get this over with and crawl back into my warm bed with Maxxus. A smile began playing at the corners of my mouth when I thought about snuggling up to him, and running my hands through the curls of his—
“—Leo?” Braeden interrupted my thoughts.
I scowled, thoughts of Maxxus drifting away. “What?”
“Are you going to shift, or do you want to ride my back?” he questioned.
I snorted. Even tired, there was no way unless I absolutely had to I was ever riding another dragon ever again—unless it was some sort of bedroom activity. “Forget that!” I said. I patted at the pink crystal tucked under my robes, checking for its presence, and willed the shift.
Becoming Dragon had perked me up some; the sleepiness taking its respite from my foggy brain for a time. I stretched my wings and kicked off, launching myself in the air. I caught the air in my wings and felt the cool wind energize me as I gained altitude. I noticed that since Finnian’s spell, I no longer needed to breathe my dragon ‘fire’ to fly; I just created it naturally as I flew, leaving a trail of glitter and mist behind me.
I chuckled to myself,
watching Braeden close behind, shaking off the mist as he flew. I really was a damned fairy dragon after all.
“Remind me never to fly behind you!” Braeden said, in between wing beats as he glided next to me.
I snickered, and just to be obnoxious I exhaled deeply, causing even more mist and sparkles to dance around us. I laughed as Braeden sputtered and sniffed as he inhaled some of my fire.
“Did you ever think in a million years, we’d be flying side by side back home?” I asked, after he’d finally stopped sputtered. I could see our home, bathed in the moonlight and aurora that blanketed the Anarachian night sky. Normally in the past, I’d feel a sense of dread and foreboding when going ‘home,’ but this time I felt more welcoming.
Braeden grinned. “I honestly can’t say I did, but I hoped by some miracle maybe we would.”
I grinned at him and we began our descent, landing outside our home. I shifted quickly as Braeden pushed the heavy doors open with his dragon nose and followed him inside.
Chapter 14
“What the—” I started to yell as I entered our family home.
I was met with somewhat of a…party?
“What the hell is going on here?” I demanded, as the sounds of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana emanated down the hallway…and someone singing very, very badly.
“Leo!” Gabriel greeted, as he came tearing down the stairs and barreled into me.
I nearly fell over, but a large red dragon braced me with his body from behind. “Thanks, Brae!” He growled in approval and stepped back.
I turned to Gabriel, as we adjusted ourselves. Once again, he ended up face-first into my boobs. At least, I was fully clothed this time. His head snapped up, his cheeks flushed with embarrassment. “Oh shit, Maxx will kill me…” he muttered.
I sputtered a chuckle. “I’ll protect you,” I said with a wink, and then winced as the song changed and thudded throughout the house. Aqua’s “Barbie Girl” pierced my ears as it played.
I raised a brow and looked at Gabriel sternly. “What. The. Fuck?”
He threw up his hands in exasperation. “It’s Yarrem! He’s…sorta losing his shit!”
“Losing his shit? Is he playing this crap?” I asked, surprised. Braeden snorted behind me. I turned and gave him a severe look over my shoulder…which of course made him laugh even louder.
“He is. Since he woke up, he mentioned how good he felt—how he hasn’t felt this good in centuries, and the one thing he missed more than anything was dancing. So he got a hold of someone’s really bad music collection, and—” Gabriel explained.
“—no no no. I claim Nirvana, but I do not own this pop garbage that’s playing now!” I wrinkled my nose and smashed my palms against my ears as the song his it’s annoying chorus and got louder. “Who gave him this crap?”
Braeden whistled nonchalantly from behind me.
“You? You own this?” I pointed my finger down my throat. “Well of course, he’s in your room.”
“It was a gift?” Braeden replied with false innocence.
I rolled my eyes. “All right, lead the way. I have to turn this nonsense off.”
“Gladly.” I followed up the stairs and down the hallway to the east, to where Braeden’s chambers were.
When Gabriel opened the door with a gust of his wind magic, I stood in the door frame, mouth agape.
There was a one-hundred-year-old looking man, with a Fu Manchu beard and mustache, and long, straggly black hair down his back, toppling around with a large stick for support as he spun around the room, singing nonsense and…shaking his butt?
Gabriel covered his mouth with a hand, stifling a giggle. “Is he twerking?”
“What’s ‘twerking’?” Braeden whispered to me.
Gabriel pointed at Yarrem with his free hand. “That is twerking.”
I bit my lip and tried not to laugh; it seriously looked like Mr. Miyagi from The Karate Kid was in there, having a seizure. It was hilarious. And, as much as the music annoyed me, my heart warmed to see the big, goofy smile on his face. The door had been opened for a few moments, and Yarrem still had no idea we were there; he was in his own little world.
Gabriel stood beside me, hands crossed over his chest. A smile played at the corner of his mouth as he nudged me. “He still looks crazy.”
“Indeed. But for all the right reasons, now. Can you—” I motioned with my hand, indicating for him to turn the music off. I was too busy stifling a huge laugh to concentrate on magic.
Gabriel nodded and with a flick of his hand, the music playing from a black boom box on Braeden’s bed went silent. I wasn’t sure what kind of magic Gabriel used, but I was just glad it worked.
Prelate Yarrem stopped his dancing and swiveled around on his heels, clumsily but ably as he noticed us in the doorframe.
“Queen Leorah!” He bowed down low, making a sweeping hand gesture as he did.
“Prelate,” I replied, hoping he’d stand back up. When he didn’t, I awkwardly shrugged in confusion at Gabriel, who shrugged in return. “Um, at ease?”
Yarrem stood back up slowly, but the smile never escaped his aged face. “Oh, I cannot tell you how thankful I am to the two of you for healing me of this ailment! I feel like a young drake again, it’s liberating! I feel sensational!”
I grinned. “I’m so happy you’re feeling better, but do you mind keeping the music down?”
Yarrem chuckled and nodded quickly. “Oh yes, I’m sorry. I got carried away with myself. Apologies.” He bowed quickly once again.
“No problem.” I scanned my brother’s room, looking for a place to sit. His room was fairly sparse, with a four-poster bed, a wooden desk, red armchair and dark wooden armoire all lining the gray stone walls. Besides the gray, the only other color in the room was red, but there was a simple wooden chair at the desk. I opted for the red armchair—I was tired after all and it looked comfier—and motioned for Yarrem and Gabriel to sit.
Gabriel chose to sit at the edge of the red-comfortered bed and Yarrem opted to stand, claiming that he had been sitting and laying down for years. He’d rather tire himself out before sitting again. I didn’t mind, so I allowed him to pace about the room.
“Gabriel said you wanted to see me?”
Yarrem paused in his pacing. “Oh yes. I wanted to talk about the Shadows. I hear there are delegates from other kingdoms here today? Did you manage to get anyone from Zyanhei?”
I shook my head. “No, afraid not. We were hoping you could help talk them into it. We have Prince Darzius from The Northlands here, and Queen Xalana from Dreka. The contingency from Babua should arrive in the morning.”
He nodded. “Ah I see. I will try not to keep you, I imagine you are very tired. How is your appointment to the monarchy been?”
“Eh,” I said, shrugging, looking down at my folded hands in my lap. “It could be better.”
“Most of the kingdom is out of commission, and we’re not sure it’s safe to have Leorah heal them. Not that they’d let her. I understand, it is literally a tenth of what it should be right now,” Gabriel explained, his tone bitter. “It’s a lot more work than it should be.”
I gave a sideways glance at the sorcerer. “How would you know?” I asked, snidely. “You’ve been off doing—whatever it is you are doing.”
Gabriel glared briefly before allowing his expression to soften. “Yeah…yeah I know. I’m sorry.”
“Oh. Dissidence between the knight and his dragon?” Yarrem asked expectantly.
I pouted. “Apparently so.”
“Fill him in on the lovely spells that were casted on us,” Gabriel retorted, stubbornly crossing his arms over his chest and resting his lips in a stern frown.
Yarrem raised a brow at me, and I sighed, explaining to him everything. The spell casted on our genepools by my grandfather and his ancestor, the love spell, the relationship between Maxxus and I that was hidden, the wedding…everything.
“And that’s basically it,” I said, fighting a yawn.
There was no clock in Braeden’s room but judging by how my left buttcheek was falling asleep, I gathered we’d been there a while.
Yarrem had listened intently, looking shocked and appalled where appropriate. After, he shook his head, scratching at his chin, and twirling the long strands of his moustache as he looked deep in thought. “It sounds to me like your families cast a genestatem spell on you. That is…very…” he shook his head, seemingly at a loss for words.
“Very what? Bad? Scary?” I demanded.
“No no, what is the word? Seren…siren…?”
“Serendipitous?” Gabriel supplied.
Yarrem snapped his gnarled fingers together and pointed at him. “Yes! Exactly. It’s all meant to be.”
I groaned. “More of this fated legend crap,” I said with a scowl. “How about something that helps us? Can we seriously defeat the Shadows with it?”
He nodded vigorously. “In my day, as I’ve told you, Leorah, we had a combination of everything to help us beat them the first time. Witches, sorcerers, elemental magic, fae, dragon magic, titan, mermaid…everything. It was tremendously hard to get everyone to come together and work together, even when our interests were common. So, the earliest conjurers created the genestatem spell, combining all magic and putting it into a number of vessels for later use,” he explained.
Gabriel sighed. “Well, we’re fresh out of Titans and merpeople, so…”
Yarrem grinned, his murky eyes glinting impishly. “Is that so? Then how come it was casted on you? The Titans have been long gone for millennia.”
“Simple. We don’t have a—a genesis spell on us, or whatever it is,” I replied.
“Don’t you? Did you know, dear Gabriel, where the sorcerers’ power originated from?” Yarrem asked.
Gabriel shrugged. “I don’t know, the theory was a combination of interbreeding with dragons over the years…”