by Sariah Skye
“So they do,” I said quietly, eyeing the man in front of me. I inhaled deeply, narrowing my eyes before I was taken aback. “You…are human!”
With a wide sweeping gesture, he knelt down momentarily before standing again. “Yes. I am Callan; I am Seer of Dreka.”
I looked at Maxxus, and then my grandfather in surprise. “Holy…” I cleared my throat, regaining composure. I nodded towards Daniel. “This is Daniel, Seer of Anarach. I am surprised to see someone else employ the companionship of humans in the dragon realm.”
Daniel straightened his posture at his “title”. “Long ago, before the separation, Le— Highness—it was quite common to have human seers and prophets in the kingdoms.”
“Yes, Callan has been in my service for a couple of years now,” Xalana said.
“Were you the one that made the prophesy about the glass wings?” I asked, speaking directly to Callan.
He shook his head. “No, that was my great-great-great-great-grandfather. Many years ago. There hasn’t been a Seer in employment to Dreka in quite a few years,” he said, folding his arms across his chest, slightly wrinkling the crest on the front of his pale blue robes.
“How did you come across Callan, then?” I asked directly to Xalana. “Is it common for you to have humans in your kingdom?”
She shook her head. “No, of course not. This is a rare case. Callan was brought to my attention from the Loremaster of Säkerhem; it is the mytho haven that resides with portals near to our kingdom,” she said.
“It is located in where humans call Sweden, at one of the very northernmost points of the country,” Callan explained.
I nodded knowingly. “I’m familiar with Sweden.” I shifted on my feet, feeling uncomfortable with everyone’s awed gaze. “Mind if I—?” I didn’t wait for anyone’s answer, I just shifted back into my human form, feeling the familiar shrink and squeeze. I stretched my arms out afterwards. “Better.”
“Okay—that is really spectacular! How did you manage to shift back into your clothes?” Callan asked, intrigued. On cue, there was a pop and a hiss, followed by a very bright blue light before it faded. In its place stood our Loremaster, Finnian.
I motioned to him. “And this is who created the magic. This is Finnian, the Loremaster in charge of the Castle Danger haven that was ravaged by Shadows.”
Finnian appeared briefly rattled, seeing the room full of well-dressed, impressive looking dignitaries but he composed himself quickly and gave a wide smile. “Of course, I couldn’t have done it without the help of several people in the town; good magic is rarely composed alone, right?”
My grandfather stepped forward, and motioned to the array of plush seating that was sprawled out in a circular pattern around the room. “Please, would you all have a seat and we can begin, if you will?”
Slowly, everyone shuffled in their robes and stuffy clothing into various seating, delegates sitting slightly behind their majesties, allowing them to be on display. Finnian moved to sit in a metal chair behind me but I clutched his hand and sat him next to me. “Oh no. You’re not going anywhere.”
Finnian smirked, eyes flashing color and he sat next to the high throne on the dais; Maxxus next to me and Daniel on the other side of him.
“I’m not sure if you should be sitting here?” Maxxus questioned softly, but Daniel turned his nose up in defiance.
“Forget it. Not going anywhere. Unless you plan to pick me up and throw me out. Do you?” He batted his eyelashes and smiled with mock hopefulness.
Maxxus grumbled, and pushed the seer playfully. “Behave.”
Daniel chuckled as my grandfather took a stand on the dais.
“Friends, it is so good to see you here. It’s been awhile since representatives from either of your kingdoms have been here, and we’re glad you could hear us out in our time of need,” he spoke with dignity. Everyone in the room was enraptured with his commanding voice. “I’m sure you know the reason you are here: we need your help, not only here in Anarach, but in the various mytho safe havens around the world—”
Xalana stood at this moment, and lifted her palm visibly, interrupting his words. “Elder Aleron, let’s just cut to the chase. Enough diplomacy. I believe I speak for the Prince when I say we are more than willing to send representatives to each haven and here to Anarach and beyond to safeguard from further Shadow invasion. We’ve already dispatched a handful of Guardians to Säkerhem to guard the portals there, and on our side. There’s a group of talented builder dragons heading this way now, ready to help rebuild Castle Danger as your people heal, Elder. I admit, we’re here under false pretenses because we’re already willing to do what you plan to ask us.”
My eyes widened with surprise and I exchanged glances with Maxxus and Finnian in turned. We shrugged at each other.
Maxxus looked suspicious. He stood, and motioned for my grandfather to sit in his seat, as there were no more available. Reluctantly, he obliged.
“May I ask then, your majesty, why you are here then? You could have dispatched that knowledge in an email or call, and not bothered the tiring trip,” Maxxus crossed his wide arms over his chest and attempted to look foreboding as he stood, looking over the crowd with distrust.
Queen Xalana swallowed, almost nervously. “You must realize, no one has seen a pink dragon for decades. We wanted to see if she was, in fact the one spoken of in the prophesy.”
Maxxus growled. “So, you came all this way to view my mate as a sideshow attraction!?”
I narrowed my eyes slightly before letting my gaze fall into my hands, folded in my lap.
“I do apologize, King Maxxus. We should have been more forthcoming with our reasons,” Xalana spoke, sounding somewhat embarrassed.
“Highness, you are more than welcome here anytime, you didn’t need an ulterior motive,” my grandfather spoke through the tension that was dripping off Maxxus in tense waves.
“But Elder—” Maxxus’ voice boomed with obvious irritation. I stood and put a comforting hand on his forearm to catch his attention. He raised a brow.
“I got this, hun,” I said quietly, and he stood down.
“Listen, I get it,” I said to Xalana. I turned to Prince Darzius. “Is this the same for you?”
“Well we aren’t as good with the technology as you are, so we did feel delivering the message in person was a wise move,” he said. “We also wanted to see for ourselves the aftermath and…well you of course. It has made us re-think our position on pink dragons.”
Rosis coughed slightly behind him. Darzius glanced at him over his shoulder but Rosis waved him off, obviously indicating he was fine.
“May we tour the damage, your highnesses?” Xalana asked.
I looked at Finnian. “What do you think?”
“This is fine. But you’ll need to port through no more than two at a time; the portal isn’t stable enough for large group travel,” Finnian said.
“Are you ready for travel now?” I asked turning to Xalana and Darzius. They both nodded. “Fine, let’s go.”
Chapter 13
I slammed the heavy door behind me and pulled off my robes, flinging them to the floor. “Ugggh, I’m glad that’s over!” I ripped the tiara off my head and tossed it unceremoniously on the vanity, where it landed with a metallic clink and rolled onto the floor. I flicked it off, and tossed myself on the bed.
“Your majesty, you’re supposed to treat these with reverence!” Maxxus said with false dismay. He picked up the head jewelry and set it carefully on the vanity again.
I groaned. “Hey, if it’s broken I’ll just find some pushover earth dragon to fix it for me.” I buried my face into the pillow and covered my head with my arms, pissing and moaning in unintelligible Dragon.
“That was a long day, wasn’t it?” I felt the bed dip slightly under Maxxus’ weight on the other side.
“Mmmmmffffff…” I agreed incoherently.
He chuckled. “I take that as a yes.”
I lifted my hand awkwardly to
give a thumbs up. My head and eyes felt heavy as drowsiness overtook me.
“Leo?” Maxxus shook my shoulder.
I sat up with a start, and a snort. “What?” I asked, rather crabbily.
“You fell asleep.”
I scoffed, glowering at him. “I did not.”
“Yes you did. You were snoring.”
I sat upright and gave him a dirty look. “I do not snore.”
“Not usually, but you were that time,” Maxxus said, reaching out for me. I pulled away, resisting. He tried again and this time, I allowed myself to fall into his warm arms, comforted and safe against the solidity of his body. “Are you feeling okay, darling? You look...not yourself.”
“I’m fine,” I said, fighting a yawn. “Just stressed and tired. I could use a nap.” We’d spent the day until near sunset touring the remnants of Castle Danger, and flying around the kingdom to view the damage. Castle Danger was now entirely evacuated and had been minimally scrubbed of Shadow so far. Xalana had committed about a dozen earth dragons and others who were masters of building to come help put the village back together.
After that, we toured the refugee village and met with the mythos of Castle Danger. It took hours. Darzius especially was interested in their plight, and talked with anyone who would sit with him. They appreciated seeing the royal dragons, but I was getting antsy. I was tired, and hungry and could barely smile when spoken to; I was getting exceedingly crabby. Finnian claimed it was because of my prolonged exposure to the Shadow residue which Rosis found incredibly interesting, and after we separated he followed us down the hallway and asked me over and over again about how it felt. I knew he was trying to sympathize with his sister’s demise but still, I was fading fast.
It was nearly 7pm before we finally got him to leave us alone and I was about ready to bite something. Maxxus’ backside, maybe. Preferably, a rare steak. I was famished.
A light knock sounded at the door, and I was about ready to tell whoever it was to go fuck off when I inhaled, and smelled something divine.
“Food!” I exclaimed, practically salivating. With a gesture, I opened the door magically. Kiarra emerged carrying a tray and my mother emerged carrying another. They set them at the foot of the bed on either side and divvied up the stash between us.
My stomach growled in protest of the scents of medium-rare steak, fresh bread with butter, mashed potatoes and beef gravy, a large Caesar salad and a bottle of wine, glasses, and a pitcher of ice water. I reached over and shooed them both away, feeling ravenous. I smirked at Maxxus. “Okay, what is he going to eat?” I said, with a joking giggle. Only, I wasn’t really joking—I really did suddenly feel so hungry I could have eaten everything here. Including the glasses. And Maxxus’ butt (but just for fun).
My mother raised a brow. “Leorah, are you okay? You do look tired…”
I just chuckled, and reneged my claim on the food. “I am. It was a long, stressful day. Then being in Castle Danger all that time…” I shuddered, anytime I recalled coming near the Shadowed-destroyed wreckage.
“Far be it for me to keep a woman away from food,” Maxxus said, with a chuckle.
“I’m kidding, I’m not that hungry,” I said, with a laugh even though my stomach had other ideas. It protested, as Kiarra cautiously separated the portions.
“Are you going to bite me, now?” she asked kiddingly.
“Haha. No, I’m not foolish enough to bite the hand that feeds me. Though, I do feel strange eating like this. Like one of the ladies out of Downton Abbey,” I said, as Maxxus made a noise of confusion. “A human show that takes place in the 1920’s; the married women eat their breakfasts in bed.”
“I should like this show, then,” Kiarra retorted, smiling. “Sounds good to me!”
“Feels weird.” I said, wrinkling my nose, but it didn’t stop me from cutting into the steak the minute Kiarra had prepared my plate.
“Need anything else?” My mother started for the door, but I prompted her with a motion to stay. Kiarra too.
Maxxus’ side of the bed raised as he stood. “I think I’m going to take a shower before I eat. I eat better if I don’t stink, I think.” He gave a wink to me before vanishing into the bathroom.
My mother took his place and sat next to me. “Really, Leo, are you okay?”
“You handled today very well,” Kiarra praised, patting my arm. I wanted to snarl at her for getting too close to my dinner, but I resisted the urge and frowned instead. “Even though you didn’t wear the official garb.”
I snarled for real this time. “Hey, I’m the damn Queen and those things are fucking hideous. They have to go. I doth decree it! I can do that, right?” I shook my head in laughter in between bites.
“I can’t believe Queen Xalana pulled that,” my mother said, with a sigh.
“Leo is something of a novelty, and we’ll probably have to put up with it for a while until pink dragons become the norm again.” Kiarra frowned. “But it seems a long way to come just to look at you.”
“Well, at least the ones from The Northlands had ulterior motives.” I told them about Rosis, and his sister. Kiarra and my mother both gasped, and looked horrified. “Daniel said he saw the actual death, and said it was quite gory. I didn’t ask for details,” I added reluctantly.
“I should think not!” my mother responded in disgust.
“At least we have what we need. From them anyway. They’ll help rebuild Castle Danger and guard the portals everywhere, especially in the havens. Finnian said he’s received reports from several havens on Earth that guards from Northlands and Dreka have arrived.” I explained. “I talked about it with him as we were walking Castle Danger.”
“We’ll figure out how to rebuild, everything will be fine,” Kiarra said with a nudge. “But that’s for tomorrow. Tonight you should just rest.”
Kiarra’s phone chirped then, and she pulled it out of her robe pocket. She lifted a brow as she flipped through the screen.
“What?” I asked, still shoveling my face with food.
“Yarrem is awake. Your grandfather is setting up a Skype with delegates from Zyanhei? Really?” Kiarra chortled. “I guess they want to see for themselves that Yarrem really is alive.”
“Who are you talking to?” I asked, as Kiarra tapped into her phone’s display.
“Gabriel.” She didn’t look up from the screen.
My face fell. “Oh,” I said blandly, swallowing a large bite of bread. It went down like a lump of sawdust and settled as a heavy ball in my stomach. I pushed the rest of the tray away.
“Uh oh. What is wrong?” My mother reached out and clutched my arm, looking worried.
I sighed heavily. “Gabriel. He’s been very…distant.”
“Well, you knew that would happen,” Kiarra replied softly.
“I know. I know. Even Daniel says give it time but it feels…wrong to be distant,” I said.
“Could it be the magic spell that’s calling out for him, maybe?” My mother suggested.
“The love spell? I thought that was broken?” I deliberated out loud.
“No, not the love spell. Your magic bond was created to seek each other out; you complement each other. Right? Perhaps that’s what it is.” Mother suggested, appearing sympathetic.
“Maybe,” I considered.
“Really, he should move into the castle.” Kiarra slid off the bed and was typing into her phone again. I clutched her hand and pulled it away insistently.
“What are you doing?” I demanded quickly.
“Contacting Valessia. If it’s making you sad to be away from Gabriel, he should be here. He really should anyways, what if the Shadows…” her words lingered upon mention of the Shadows.
“I don’t want to make him feel bad. I don’t think the love spell entirely wore off on him,” I said, feeling wracked with guilt. After the Shadow dream-thing though, I knew it was the right thing for him to do.
Kiarra gave me a strange look. “Well, he’s just going to have to get over i
t. It’s his job, you know?”
“What is his excuse for being so distant?” Mother questioned.
I shrugged. “Busy, doing this or that…”
“How will Maxx feel about it, though?” my mother asked.
“Maxx is fine with it; I’m not threatened by that silly human.” Maxxus emerged from the bathroom, thankfully mostly clothed with plaid pants and a white t-shirt. He toweled off his hair and tossed it on the floor. My eyes trailed from his water-droplet covered neck and the hint of chest exposed by the round neck of the tee…to the towel he just tossed to the floor. My lips thinned into a grimace.
“Men.” I rolled my eyes at my mother who laughed.
“Sorry,” she said, moving to leave. “We’ll leave you alone.” My mother gave Maxxus a brief hug, gave me a kiss on the cheek and pulled Kiarra out the door.
“I wasn’t aware you were so sad over the sorcerer’s absence,” Maxxus said, folding himself onto the bed next to me.
My face heated. “It’s not that so much…I just feel so badly if I’ve hurt him. And, with the ‘dream’ thing again…what if they are able to target me again?”
Maxxus stared blankly for a moment off at the wall. I waved my hand in front of his face. “Maxx?”
He stopped his spacing out. “Leo, if it means that much to you, have him here. Have anyone you need here. I didn’t lie; I’m not threatened by him. But, I know you have guilt about it, and it eats you alive. Can you handle being face to face with him every day?”
“I will live. It’s not like he has to be next door—the castle is nearly fully scrubbed, right? He can have some chambers with Daniel in another wing, or something. They’re family, right?” I said, not feeling fully confident about it myself. “We should be able to have our family here.”
Maxxus wrung his hands through his hair and sighed. “Of course, of course. If I were closer to my parents…”
I reached for his hand, clutching it in both of mine. “Maxx, maybe you’d feel better making peace with them. Every time you mention them, I can feel the resentment pour off you. It’s like…a dog who just drank a full toilet of water and hasn’t peed for hours. It’s just…whoosh!”