by Sariah Skye
“Humans started to gain power over the elements; intentions. They had powers—some say the Titans helped them, we could never be sure. But human and dragon DNA was combined by one of each sacrificing themselves to a very powerful spell cast by the Gods themselves. Since then every dragon after that had the ability to be both human and dragon though there were downfalls. We became smaller, of course. Now we're the size of a large horse; but long ago we rivaled the largest dinosaurs in size. We gained magic besides just fire because that's what the spell did.
“To boot, every human—as rare as it is—with magic has a bit of dragon in them. Or Titan. Or both. It was a very, very powerful spell, but it resulted in a beneficial relationship for many years.
“Legend has it that somewhere exists a land of dragons—unspelled dragons—that descended directly from the original dragons, long before the combining but of course, that's just a legend. No one has seen one in—well, ever,” he added with a chuckle.
“No, I suppose not.” Was all this true?
“I know you're skeptical; I would be too. However, these were tales passed along for years from Sovereign to Prelate for many eons. Some entire churches were built on the worship of these pure dragons.”
“That's—insane!” I spoke, awed. “But, why tell me this? Why isn't this common knowledge?”
“Because then, dragons would have to admit that humanity is our cousin, our confidantes after all. We aren't superior. Humanity brought many, many advantages to dragonkind. They taught us science, how the world worked and compassion. Which sounds odd given so many don't seem to be—we're better for being with them.
“At the end of the day, when all join together—there is nothing that can stand against us.” Yarrem bowed his head slightly and stepped backward. “Good day to you, Milady Leorah. Go with your heart, and all will reveal itself.” He turned slowly, and sauntered off, leaving an air of mystery behind.
Ohhhhhkay… that was certainly odd. “The fuck…?” I muttered under my breath. I scoffed, waving him off. I turned back towards the Lake and stared out over the horizon. The sun had nearly disappeared and the moon was making its first appearance, combining with the inky purples left behind and danced across the water in small waves that gently lapped against the rocky shoreline. It was hard to believe that a body of water so large could be so calm, but it was. Entrancing, actually. I found a spot where the rocks looked relatively flat—so not as to hurt my backside with poking—and sat down cross legged, mindlessly grabbing for stones the size of my hand to toss into the water. They rippled outward as they splashed and the simple act was cathartic; the act of giving the lake back it's tie to the earth.
I don't know how long I sat like, that, silent except for the light sounds of the mild splashing but it was long enough for the stars to appear and brighten, the arms of the Milky Way hugging the moon as she raised high in the sky.
“Here you are.” A voice behind me almost made me jump into the water. Out of instinct I spun around, grabbing at the nearest magic which was water and tossed it toward the voice.
Gabriel let out a small surprised yelp, and summoned a fireball in his hands and deftly chucked it at my orb of water; effectively dissolving it into a puff of warm steam.
I shook my finger at him, admonishing. “Don't ever sneak up on a dragon, ya hear?”
“Sorry, I thought I was making a good bit of noise for your sensitive ears to pick up on! Guess you weren't paying attention,” he added with a playful wink.
I stood there in a huff, placing my hands on my hips and narrowing my eyes. “What do you want?”
He held up his hands, palms facing me with a sign of truce, or surrender. Whatever. “Hey, I was just told to come find you; we have a long night ahead of us tomorrow and you need your rest. Especially since you haven't slept yet in god knows how long,” he said this last bit with bitter disparity, clearly alluding to a particular reason why Maxxus and I wouldn't have slept.
I groaned. “There wasn't enough time, I told you. Time passes differently there.”
“Right, right,” he said, clearly not believing me. “Look, I have a lovely potion here from Esmè. It will help you sleep; I know you must be anxious after—well after all that.”
“You think?” I spat sarcastically.
He looked down at his feet nervously. “There's another reason I came to get you. I wanted to talk to you about... well.”
I sighed heavily. I knew this was coming. I sat back down towards the water and patted a space of rock near me. “Pull up a rock, and talk.”
Gabriel chuckled and sat cross legged as well, shoving his hands into the front pocket of his standard hoodie. He adjusted his glasses and sighed. “So... Maxxus.”
“Yes. Maxxus,” I repeated with discomfort.
“I just... I just want to know what's going on so that I can make a decision or at least know where I stand. Though I already have an idea...” he said, trailing off sadly.
“What is your 'idea'? Look, nothing actually happened. As I said we weren't there long enough for anything to happen. We kissed, yes. More than once. I liked it, yes. We had a very tight relationship for a long, long time. It's hard to compete with that, I admit but—”
He held up his hand, effectively cutting me off. “—you can't compete with it at all, Leo. Look, perhaps I was so angry at him because I knew the truth: it's clear you two are meant for each other and I'm just a distraction. I don't want to get hurt again. So... for now, I'm stepping aside.”
My eyebrows flew upward and I stared at him cautiously, mouth agape. “Are you sure?”
He shook his head, and chuckled dryly. “See, that's what I feared. If your first reaction isn't anything but 'Noooo!' then clearly, my instinct was right.”
“Ugh...” I palmed my face and grumbled in dragon under my breath. “It's more complicated than that, Gabriel. You know that.”
He nodded. “I do know; that's why I'm simplifying things for us. You need to explore your feelings with Maxxus. I need to work my shit out. I should never have gotten so jealous in the first place. It... just something about it...it just makes me not feel like myself, you know? I'm not an angry or jealous person!”
I laughed shortly. “I do know. I know how you feel.”
“Maybe we'll come together and discuss this after all this Shadow shit is over. In the meantime...” he reached over and grasped for my hand and smiled at me fondly, “I am still your friend. Daniel is your friend. More than that—we're family. That's the way it will always be whether you're with Maxxus or me or someone else. I am always here for you.”
I beamed at him brightly. “Me too, magic boy.” I pulled him in closely for a tight hug and felt the strangest sensation... peace. Like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I pulled away and looked at his bewildered expression.
“Did—” I began, but shook my head. “Ack, nevermind.” I was just tired.
Gabriel clumsily got to his feet and held out his hand to help me up. I smiled at the sweet expression on his face. “Let's get you some rest, how about?”
I yawned, thrusting my arms over my head. Gabriel stuck out his elbow and I wrapped my arm around it and leaned my cheek on his shoulder, a familiar comforting sensation.
“By the way, did you see that big, scruffy dragon? He was... odd,” Gabriel mused with a laugh.
I chuckled. “You have no idea.”
“What did he say, even?”
I shrugged. “Later.” I didn’t feel like talking much; regaling the crazy dragon’s information. I didn’t want to think about it tonight. He assisted me back to Kiarra’s, offering his friendly shoulder as we traipsed through the dark with a ball of light ahead of us to help guide.
As he deposited me at Kiarra’s door, before I turned inside, he grasped my shoulder, spinning me around.
“What?” I asked, confused.
“Friends?” Gabriel forced a smile in the dark where he could almost hide his hesitation. He thrust his hand out in a gesture of pea
ce.
I smiled and grasped his with my own hand. “You got it.” His grasp lingered briefly before he allowed it to drop and turned, summoning up another light ball to walk back to his room.
I sighed on the doorstep, feeling both relieved and confused at the same time as I watched him walk away.
Chapter 16
Gabriel waved his palm over the magically-locked doorknob of his guest room and with a wide gesture flung the door open with such force it smacked against the wall and slammed on him. He cried out, startled, and jumped out of the way.
He sighed, leaning face-first on the door, resting his forehead against the hard surface of the door with a mild thud.
“Now what’d you do?” said a voice behind him.
Gabriel yelled in surprise and spun around on his feet, summoning up a fireball in his hand to throw at the voice in the dark when the lamp on the end table switched on.
He breathed a sigh of relief, snapping his hand shut to extinguish the magic before he fried his brother. With all the gel in his hair, keeping it styled perfectly, it wouldn’t take more than a spark to watch him go up in flames. Gabriel raised an eyebrow at his own thoughts. Why am I thinking about frying my brother? But really, it wasn’t anything new. He loved his brother, but he got on his nerves at least five times a day. This was about the sixth time today, though. He was in rare form.
“What are you doing here? How’d you get in, even?” Gabriel demanded in exasperation.
Daniel smirked at him. “Oh, it pays to be chatty with the Loremaster, ya know?”
“What? You’re fucking Finnian now, are you?”
Daniel let out a high-pitched ha! “Bitch, please! He wishes!”
Gabriel clenched his eyes shut and smacked his palms against his face. “What do you want? I’m not really in the mood for—”
Daniel thrust a large, brown bottle with a crude label at him. “Peace offering?”
Gabriel’s brow furrowed, but took the bottle from him, taking a whiff. “Whew! This stuff should have an octane rating!” Despite the strong smell of the alcohol, he still took a large swig. It burned like fire as it chased down his throat. Ah. Whiskey.
“What happened?” Daniel reached for another container in his jeans pockets—a smaller, silver flask—and uncapped the top, taking a sip.
“I bowed out.”
“You did what?” Daniel questioned.
“I bowed out. Leorah. I told her to go be with Maxxus. Officially.” As he said the words, bile rose up in his esophagus and he knew it wasn’t from the strangely strong whiskey, but from the realization of what he just did when he spoke the words out loud.
“Dude. Why did you do that?” Daniel questioned. “Is that what you want?”
Gabriel laughed shortly, taking another swig of the exceedingly strong alcohol. “Of course not! But, come on, man. It’s inevitable. She was so tortured thinking she had to choose between us, and now, she doesn’t have to. Isn’t that the objective of a Knight? To do what’s best for his dragon?” Gabriel let out a long sigh that elapsed into a strangled groan.
Daniel didn’t speak as they both sat on the sofa at opposite ends.
“Are you sure you aren’t doing it for you, though? To avoid getting hurt?” Daniel asked.
Gabriel narrowed his eyes at him, adjusting the glasses on the bridge of his nose. “That’s a ridiculous notion,” he retorted sarcastically.
Daniel chortled. “Ah yes, I see.”
Gabriel shook his head and leaned back further; relaxing into the sofa. “I saw her face when she came out of that spell and saw Maxxus for the first time after getting her memories back. That’s love. I can’t compete with that.”
“But—what about you?” Daniel questioned.
Gabriel shrugged. “What about me? There’s nothing I can do. If I force her to choose, she’ll pick him anyway. But if I allow her to draw her own conclusion, maybe, just maybe she’ll come back to me. Maybe. I mean—we don’t know why they split. They don’t know why they split. Maybe he was an asshole. Maybe she cheated on him, or something. I don’t fucking know. I just know I can’t do it again—get hurt—and she shouldn’t have to bear the brunt of my insecurity. Don’t you think?”
Daniel sighed. “If that’s what you think is best, bro.”
Gabriel scowled. “I don’t know anything. I’m just trying to do my job.” He snorted. “Here I thought being a knight would be performing these great acts of magic and saving people from being robbed or something. She’d fall in love with me and we’d move to a place like this and live happily ever after! I never thought it would entail me stepping aside and letting her do her own thing because it’s what’s best for her. I didn’t think it’d hurt so fucking bad.” Gabriel shook his head, while taking another drink. “Man, what the hell is this stuff?” he grimaced as the golden liquid scalded as it went down.
Daniel grinned impishly. “Spelled whiskey. Guaranteed to get you plastered in half the time of regular whiskey.”
Gabriel chuckled. “Where did you get this? Don’t tell me, you flirted with someone—”
“—one of the dragons of the brewery who make this stuff, yes. He was only too happy to oblige me with samples,” Daniel said, wiggling his eyebrows and laughing playfully.
“What’d you promise him?” Gabriel demanded, knowing fully well how his twin’s flirting could get him in trouble.
Daniel let out a strangled noise, attempting unsuccessfully to be shocked by the notion. “Nothing at all! I just told him how handsome he was and played with his beard a little bit—oh I love beards—and he just started throwing drinks at me! It was shameful!”
Gabriel raised a brow. “Isn’t he married?”
Daniel waved off his brother dismissively. “Semantics. I didn’t promise him anything, just gave him a compliment he obviously needed. His wife better appreciate him more or else—”
Gabriel sighed heavily. “Don’t wreck any marriages, Dan. Please?”
His brother just chuckled mirthfully. “Don’t you do the same.”
Gabriel grumbled. “Yeah, well… this so wasn’t what I signed up for when I became a knight.”
“Not like you had a choice, though…” Daniel said, with a snort.
“No, not really. But, what else can I do? Pink dragons can be emotional and by lessening her emotional load she can be a better spirit user. And isn’t that what it’s all about?” Gabriel added sardonically, his words clipped.
Daniel reached over and patted his brother on the thigh. “You’re a good man, Gabe. Better than me. I suppose that’s why you’re the knight and I’m just a seer. I wouldn’t have given her up and probably ran her ragged until she imploded from the Shadows pull.”
Gabriel shoved his brother’s hand away. “You wouldn’t even be after her, dude. Maxxus, on the other hand—”
“Hey, I can appreciate a beautiful female, dammit!” Daniel protested. “Still, though… I think you’re doing the right thing. If it’s meant to be, she’ll come to you. If not… someone else will come along.”
“Will they, though? Really?”
Daniel offered his brother a knowing wink. “I promise. It hasn’t been that long since you and the Bitch split. What, it’s been six months only? You’re still raw, and reeling. It will… work out somehow.”
Gabriel eyed his brother’s expression; did he know something? Did a vision give him an insight? Or was he just being nice? “Yeah, well… still sucks.”
“Yes, yes it does.” Daniel sighed on his brother’s behalf and they both sat in relative silence for a few awkward moments before Daniel piped up with the question, “What do you want to do tonight? Could be our last night, you know? Should do something interesting?”
“Yeah… probably should.” Gabriel eyed the bottle of spelled whiskey he’d set between his legs, tempted to take another shot. Or five. But if they were going to do something—
“Wanna get drunk?” Daniel suggested bluntly.
“Shit, yes.” Gabriel rai
sed the bottle with his one hand, and clinked it against the flask in Daniel’s outstretched one. He took another, long shot and sighed peacefully as the liquid burned on down his throat, effectively numbing his brain—and his heart.
I fell into a fitful sleep that night before Kiarra insisted on plying me with sleeping potions from Esmè and finally I relaxed, sleeping well into the afternoon. Several hours later and much preparation, before the last rays of twilight peered over the horizon, the five of us plus Finnian and a handful of others had gathered near the spot where we’d originally entered Castle Danger. We all carried lightweight backpacks with essential gear— blankets and sleeping bags, food and water and our arsenal of potions and the weapons Maxxus had forged for us all carried in special enchanto-sacks given to us by Finnian. We also had special sheaths to wear that would shift with our dragon forms and back again, and Finnian had applied that magic to special items that would allow our clothing to do the same. Hot damn! Not that nakedness bothered dragons, but better to remain covered in battle; if it came to that. Each of us dragons had one; Gabriel’s dagger was attached to his waist and Daniel’s sword was in a sheath over his shoulder and rested on his back for easy access.
Connor claimed that portal magic was tricky, and sometimes the gateways had a mind of their own. He assured us the best way to stick together was to enter, touching in some way. This wasn’t exactly confidence-building.
He was going to attempt to put us in a forest about ten miles out from the Court—but as he’d never actually been to the realm it was a crapshoot at best; he could accidentally set us on the edge of a cliff if he pictured even one thing wrong. The forest was located on the north side, and we could hide in the woods alongside the towns and between it and the Court; so we would be undetected by any residents of these areas. If it all worked right.