by Sariah Skye
“That’s what I feared,” he said, with a smirk.
“What? I didn’t say anything!” I protested.
“You didn’t have to. If you hadn’t any feelings for him that way you would have been all ‘Of course not! No way!’ but because your initial reaction wasn’t that….”
“Ugh. I really don’t know how I feel. I never thought about him like that…” I felt my cheeks heat slightly as my brain thought back to the kiss Maxxus unexpectedly planted on me.
Daniel nudged me. I felt sheepish and quickly wiped the smirk off my face.
“But you’re obviously thinking about it?” he prompted.
Reluctantly, I nodded. “I shouldn’t be saying this to his brother, but…”
He waved me off. “Don’t think of me as Gabriel’s brother, think of me as your seer and your friend. What we talk about stays between us.” He wiggled his eyebrows and grinned cheekily. “Just… just be honest with me. Or at least, Gabriel. Let him know where he stands, even if you do opt for Maxxus.” He shrugged. “I wouldn’t blame you, same species… might make things easier for you.”
“I never did things the easy way,” I chuckled.
He smiled. “I bet you don’t.”
Kiarra emerged with the boys in tow moments later, both looking sheepish but complacent. They both sat silently in respective corners of the room.
“That’s better,” Kiarra muttered. She turned to me. “Did you explain to Daniel about the potion?” I shook my head no, and she proceeded to do just that: what the potion would do, how long it would take and what I might do. She instructed them that they were all needed for this particular endeavor for strength, support and magic because it was unknown how I would react, totally. This seemed to worry all of us—especially me—but it wasn’t like there was a choice. The threat of Shadows in the Court was very dire indeed and the sooner we found out how high the threat went, the safer we’d all be. Time was ticking. They needed to be ready at a moment’s notice to be here, or wherever I was, and they needed to help me weather the storm as I gained full hold of my magic: all of it.
She dismissed the boys then, like a stern mother insisting I needed my sleep. Gabriel insisted on staying behind—as did Maxxus. Kiarra said Finnian was heading over right now to place more wards on her house, but she agreed that Maxxus could crash downstairs in her ‘dragon lair’. The brothers could fight over who got the couch and the floor in the living room and she ordered us to sleep, insisting she’d watch over me and hoped the additional wards Finnian was putting over the house would help.
I felt like somewhat of an invalid, but recalling how disturbing the dream visits or whatever they were to the Shadow realm were, and Nicodemus’ intimidating form, I allowed the Mothering. To be safe, she left the light on in the room.
“Kiarra?” I spoke up, just as we were both getting comfortable enough in our beds.
“Huh?” she asked, dazed, slowly opening one eye.
I smiled pleasantly at her. “Thanks.”
She opened both eyes and grinned back. “Hey. What are sisters for, right?” She sighed, wistfully, probably thinking about my brother and not officially being “sisters” yet and with everything going on not knowing when that would ever happen. “Go to sleep, now.”
I gave her a mocking, complacent salute and lay my head back down on the pillow and allowed sleep to take me away from my troubles for a brief amount of time.
Chapter 7
I was having a dream about refereeing a boxing match between Gabriel and Maxxus in the middle of a WWE ring (with Daniel in the center holding up a sign like one of the scantily-clad girls—but that’s another story) when suddenly, the entire arena shook in a gigantic earthquake. I tried to gather my bearings when the earthquake spoke my name, rather insistently.
“Leo? Leo!”
I sat upright immediately. My eyes flew open to find myself in the calm serenity of Kiarra’s white, country bedroom. Kiarra was over me, shaking my shoulders gently when I realized I had been dreaming.
I let out a simpering moan. “No… I want to see who won.” It would sure be a lot easier than trying to make up my mind myself.
Kiarra gave me a strange stare. "Not sure I wanna know…" She shook the small vial that had been on the nightstand gently in my view. It had turned a bright, stomach-medication pink, much like the color of my dragon skin.
I lifted my eyes. “It’s ready?” I swallowed, suddenly feeling apprehensive.
“Aw… it’s going to be fine. We’ll all be right here. We won’t let anything happen to you,” she said, offering me a comforting pat on my arm.
I nodded reluctantly. Suddenly I had a million questions… would it hurt? Would I hurt someone? And if I had all this magic, supposedly, where was it hiding? Gabriel or Kiarra might insist that it was all about intention, but… besides that time, you’d think I would have let something slip, even if not intentionally. Or perhaps it was like Charmed and my dragon magic was spelled?
I furrowed my brow at the thought.
“I know that look,” Kiarra said with a chuckle. “Finnian said you would understandably have a lot of questions.”
“You think?” I retorted sarcastically, sounding a bit more irritable than I had intended.
“He said to tell you he swears he will tell you everything but for now, he can’t and to just trust him.” She shrugged wryly with a half-smile. “I know you don’t have a lot of confidence in him, but I’ve known him for a long time; if he does something that seems off, there is a reason for it. It’s part of being a Loremaster, and keeping the balance. Can you trust me?” she questioned.
I sighed slowly. I suppose I trusted her. She’d given up a lot to bring me here, keep me safe, the least I owed her was my confidence. I held out my palm for her to place the vial in. “Let’s get this over with.”
She pulled it away. “In due time. For now, breakfast and shower. Get ready, you’ll need all the energy you can get, I have a feeling.”
I noticed my bag with an assortment of my clothes was sitting on top of the commode, and a couple velvet robes were folded neatly on the counter.
“Gabriel and Daniel brought you the rest of your clothes that were left in the guest room so you’re all officially moved in here, more or less,” she chuckled.
I grimaced at the thought of them seeing my granny-looking under things and hoped that at least he didn’t see the worn ones with the holes. I slapped my palm against my face and Kiarra laughed.
“Daniel says after all this is over, you’re going to Victoria’s Secret,” she said with a laugh. “Might want to bring those along, too.” She nodded towards the robes on the counter.
“Bring? Where are we going?” I just figured we’d be here, at Kiarra’s.
“In case things get out of hand, Finnian has set up an area alongside the woods on the far side of Castle Danger with magic wards surrounding, just in case. When we get in, magic won’t be able to escape.” Kiarra lowered her voice for this next part. “You should also be aware that if your magic strengthens… Gabriel’s might as well.”
My eyes widened. “What does that mean?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know, but things could get pretty dangerous for a time until you can grasp control.”
I groaned. “Wonderful.”
Before Kiarra closed the door behind her, she said over her shoulder, “Might want to hurry. Remember, the potion is only good for twelve hours and I’m not quite sure when it changed over. At the most, it could have been right after we went to sleep, which would put us at around eight hours, but I don’t want to push our luck. Okay?”
I nodded. “Got it.” She stepped out and shut the door behind her.
I took a quick shower and was reluctant to get out. Fatigue was still holding on and the hot spray on my face and shoulders was invigorating. I was tempted to stay in all day, but… duty called.
I still wasn’t over the fact that “duty” no longer involved scrubbing down counters or serving up coff
ee and forcing smiles to crabby commuters and never would again. Instead duty was swallowing a substance that would do who knew what to me and evoke things I never imagined I could ever do.
And throughout everything, I was just supposed to accept that this was what was; this is what must be done and I was just supposed to accept rather blindly with little answer… and I wondered why my magic never came to me like everyone else’s did. Well, except Maxxus.
“What the…” I said to no one in particular. Maxxus was pretty much the only other dragon whose magic didn’t come naturally to him. I wondered if there was a connection…
I couldn’t wonder long because Kiarra was outside the door, knocking urgently and reminding me that the potion’s effective window would only be open for a short time and we weren’t entirely sure when it reached max effect.
I dressed comfortably in some black yoga pants and stretchy blue T-shirt and was towel drying my hair, squeezing out the excess water when I heard another knock on the door.
“Come on Leo, let’s do this.”
I scoffed. “Easy for you to say. You’re just watching the freak show,” I muttered dryly under my breath. With a sigh, I left the bathroom, following Kiarra down the small hallway to the living room, where she and the rest of the posse had been gathered when Gabriel grabbed my arm gently and pulled me back.
“Are you going to be okay?” he asked, with genuine concern in his tone.
“What do you mean? I’m fine,” I replied, a bit confused.
“Are you fine with this… magic crap?”
“Oh.” I shrugged. “Do I have a choice? It’s my duty, I guess. Somehow I’m fated to fight these fucking Shadows. “
Gabriel watched me sympathetically, and he started to speak again before Kiarra yelled once more to us; her high-pitched voice reverberating between the walls.
“How about us? Are we fine?” he asked, hesitantly, shuffling his feet as he stood, pushing his glasses up his nose; his nervous habit.
I shrugged. “We’re cool. Gotta do this magic shit, eh? Impossible to do if I’m pissed at ya.”
He gave a small smile. “I just want you to be happy. Just find your happiness, okay?”
I nodded solemnly. “I will try.”
Kiarra clicked her tongue from nearby. “Are we ready?” she demanded impatiently.
“Guess it’s time,” he said with a chuckle.
I exchanged an irritable eye roll with him before turning to the rest of the crowd in the room who were waiting for my magical discovery. Maxxus, who was lounging on the floral sofa playing with his phone, looked up expectantly at me as I stepped into the room. He stood, his lips slightly upturned in a smile when he saw Gabriel nearby. The smile wiped off his face instantly and he nodded, stone-faced at him and would no longer acknowledge me and looked away as he sat back down.
I dismissed him as Kiarra thrust the vial in my face. “Now is as good a time as any.”
I groaned, taking it from her tentatively. I unscrewed the cap and tossed it over my shoulder and held it up into the air in a mock “Cheers”. Gabriel reached over and grabbed my arm before I could put it to my lips.
“Wait,” he said. “Shouldn’t we be in the—you know—safe spot?”
I let my arm drop. “Yeah, shouldn’t we? I mean… I don’t want to accidentally blow up your house, Kiarra or… the entire town,” I added with a scoff.
Kiarra smirked. “Leo, your magic is spirit, not fire. I don’t believe that’s possible, at least not on that large of a scale.”
I raised my eyebrow. “Oh? But what about Gabriel's magic?” I hinted towards a conversation we had previously. “And, we still don’t know what my magic will be yet. Maybe spirit will cause me to turn you into zombies, or something.”
Kiarra frowned. “Okay, point taken.” She found the cap to the vial on the floor and handed it to me. I screwed the cap back on and shoved it in a pocket.
I motioned for the doorway. “Lead the way.”
We fell in step behind Kiarra but Maxxus this time got in my way before I left, trailing behind Gabriel and just in front of Daniel.
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” he asked, with concern. “I know you want to learn your magic, and the situation is dire, but, what is it going to do to you?”
I shrugged. Over the past couple hours I envisioned smoke coming out of my ears like some cartoon character, bleeding from my eyes and clutching my stomach in horrible pain like a mother giving birth—and those were the most pleasant scenarios I ran over in my head. I swallowed nervously, but pushed the trepidation down in the bottom of my gut and put on a brave face. “I don’t know, honestly. But, everyone is telling me what I need to do, who I need to be with so… might as well go with it, right? I mean, no one would really do anything to harm me, would they?”
Maxxus’ stance remained firm. “I speak to you as a friend, and a friend of your grandfather… I am here to watch for you. To hell with everyone else. You don’t have to do this, you know. I know you trust Finnian—” I shot him a skeptical look, and he rolled his eyes, “—inasmuch as anyone can trust him, but… he is looking out for the good of the timeline. I am looking out for you.” His eyes shone with worry and concern. Out of the corner of my gaze, I saw his hands lift and nearly grasp my arms gently but he quickly let them fall, catching glimpse of Daniel behind me who was, undoubtedly, grinning up a storm at the gossip-worthy scene.
I sighed. I smiled wryly at Maxxus, who scratched habitually at the goatee of coarse hair under his chin. I patted his chest and rested my palm there for a moment, feeling the strength of his heart through his chest. “Thank you, Maxxus. I appreciate your concern, but… this is bigger than me. Shadows in the Court? What if they infiltrate the crown? What if they already have? I cannot allow our world to fall victim to the Shadows.”
Maxxus’ mouth held firm in a grim smile. “Well, do you really care about what happens to them? Look at all they did to you—what do you owe them?” I know he spoke from a place in his heart with similar disdain for our society as I did.
“But, Maxx, if I don’t do anything… am I really any better than they are?” I asked him expectantly. To this, he was silent. He just blinked rapidly, and still hesitant and restrained, he grasped me by the shoulders and leaned over and held his cheek close to mine. I could feel the warmth radiating from him and my breath stopped momentarily at his proximity.
“You are a better dragon—a better soul than I—Leorah,” he whispered into my ear. He placed a soft kiss on my cheek and pulled away. “You just say the word, and I take you, and we run. Anytime you’ve had enough. Understand?” He took a couple steps back and looked at me expectantly.
I smiled warmly at his devotion—sent my heart into little flutters of dancing butterflies—and nodded. “I will.”
He gave one satisfied nod of his head before turning on his heels out the door to follow Kiarra.
I sighed, watching him saunter off, passing up Gabriel. They offered each other curt looks and walked on either side of Kiarra.
A comforting hand was on my shoulder. Daniel pulled my arm and wrapped it in the crook of his elbow. I gave him an appreciative gaze. “Why is everything so complicated?”
He snickered. “Because, boys are dumb. Doesn’t matter what the species.”
I crooked my forehead at him.
“What? I have enough experience with them to know… deceptively complicated, decidedly irritating.” He shot me a smile from the corner of his mouth. “He does make a tempting offer.”
I let out a low-whistle, but said nothing. Tempting it was, indeed, to not have to deal with any of this. But running meant abandoning everything and everyone—including Kit who had been dragged into this completely involuntarily because of me. I couldn’t leave her—or anyone—behind to handle my mess, as much as I wanted to just forget about it and run…
… there were other towns like Castle Danger, safe havens for mythos and magical creatures and beings. I could go to one of those and hi
de out…maybe with Maxxus. I could open a coffee shop there and Maxxus could do—whatever Maxxus did. There’d be nothing to do but serve coffee, chat with the townsfolk about their wedding plans, their new babies and their vacations for the summer… and maybe even a baby drake of my own?
My cheeks heated at the thought. I never thought about having children before recently—who the hell would risk being with me? —but with two possible rivals for my affection that now felt like a distinct if albeit very far in the future possibility. Maxxus was the easy choice, not having to worry about interspecies complications. A half human, half dragon child? What kind of life would that be for it? Another life of ridicule?
I smiled despite myself, then frowned. I wasn’t sure if that was fair. But, I may never have the opportunity to even wonder about it, depending upon how our endeavors panned out. I could be injured—Maxxus or Gabriel could be injured or killed and there would go that plan. Or, at the very worst, the Shadows could take over both realms and we’d want to kill ourselves and everyone else out of mercy.
I shuddered, thinking of the horrible place the Shadow realm is… I couldn’t allow that to happen to anyone. Anyone. No one deserved that. Even the dickish dragons in Anarach.
I inhaled and summoned my resolve in my chest and followed the group into town, puzzled that we were going further into town, not out of it. We stopped at a stone building with windows wide open and smells wafting out from it that were so enticing I had to cover my own mouth to stop from drooling.
“Breakfast.” Kiarra opened a wooden door with a bell overhead that tinkled, announcing our arrival. She motioned for us to sit down at the café tables, with their wired-scroll chairs while she called for someone.
I saw no one enter, but behind a long, glass counter I could see a tall door swing open and shut again and a cheery voice replied, “Oh, you’re here! Everything is ready, I just have to dish it up!” A small person appeared to climb on a short ladder or stool and you could barely see their eyes as they peeked over the counter; all I saw was a pair of blue eyes, some brunette bangs with streaks of blue in them underneath a tall, white chef hat. “Good to see you all, finally! You’ve certainly been the talk of the town since your arrival!” A crash clanged out from behind her. You could see her eyes wince and roll as a male voice—sounding somewhat juvenile, but here, who could tell?—called out for her. “I’ll be right back.” The eyes disappeared behind the counter again and the door opened as she apparently disappeared behind it.