by Sariah Skye
The arguing erupted again and Maxxus growled. He thrust out his hands, causing the ground underneath them to tremble and shake. “Enough! If you quiet, I will listen to your concerns! But first, we need to clear up a little matter!”
Reluctantly, the meeting attendees tittered and sat down in the random chairs set about the room.
Elder Aleron took the opportunity to stand, and offer his calming presence.
“Thank you for your cooperation. I know there is a tremendous amount of confusion today but with your patience, we will get down to the bottom of it quickly! Just please, a moment of your time!”
Maxxus nodded in appreciation at his mentor. He knew Leorah, a spirit user, would be able to detect the uncertainty in the room with little effort, but even he could read the palpable consternation that lulled about the room.
Aleron remained standing, with Maxxus, offering his support. Out of the corner of his eye, Maxxus could see that Aleron stood, arms crossed over his chest, a solemn but stern expression on his timeworn face.
“Thank you, Elder. I know you are concerned with the queen’s absence. Let me assure you she wanted to be here today, but she is currently recuperating from a long few days that have taken their toll on her,” Maxxus said.
“How can we trust a queen that, after a short time, has already fallen ill?” Someone from the back interrupted.
Maxxus sighed audibly, almost a low growl. “Are you aware of all the things Lady Le—Queen Leorah has done for you? All of you?”
This was met with stupefied silence from the crowd.
Maxxus stood a little taller, and adjusted the heavy green robes hanging around his neck. He and Daniel had been worried about Leo, so he hadn’t time to dress underneath properly. He wore a t-shirt and jeans underneath, and flip-flop sandals. It didn’t make him feel particularly regal, but he was determined to play the part, no matter how he actually felt. Which was anything but royal.
“Leorah fought a battle—in this very room, while using her magic to subdue the Shadows. She risked her life, time and time again—she saved Valessia! Even though you’ve offered her nothing but scorn! She swallowed her pride to seek out delegates from around the realm to help us, not only to help the mythos of Castle Danger, but to help you out as well! She’s been awake longer than she should, while spirit users need their adequate rest and freedom or else this happens! She has—” Unable to find the words to properly show her sacrifice, an emotionally overwhelmed Maxxus turned away, thrusting his white-knuckled fists off to his sides. He bit severely down on his lip, as Aleron stood beside him.
“Are you all right, Majesty?” the silver dragon questioned quietly.
Maxxus nodded once, composing himself, but still unable to find the words.
Aleron patted his arm and spoke. “My granddaughter has no reason to offer you anything but the same scorn you have shown her over the years. Now, to be fair, you’ve all been conditioned to feel this way, but they are unfounded fears. If you’d only allow yourselves to be healed with her magic, we could get this kingdom up and running full speed, and take care of the weather problems, and offer our services to the haven, and prepare for further battle.”
“I will agree to a lot of things—such as allowing this pink dragon on the throne, only because I have no choice. But to allow her to touch me with my magic?” A scornful voice spoke up next.
Maxxus shifted around to see Kreegan shaking his head, and scowling.
“You’d have to be insane. We might fall under her spell like—well like you,” Kreegan spat venomously at Maxxus.
Maxxus raged. He leapt off the dais, several shifters scrambling out of the way as he landed deftly in front of the drably-colored dragon, in his equally drab Court robes. The ground under him shook in a short burst of quaking earth. He got into the dragon’s face, glowering daggers into his murky brown eyes. “I. Am. Under. No. Spell!”
Another nearby, trembling with fear spoke up quietly. She was a young, meek violet colored dragon. “How are we supposed to trust you?”
Maxxus’ glare softened. “I do not know.”
A crack sounded nearby, and Maxxus recognized the familiar hum and pop of Finnian’s portal opening across the room.
“If you will not trust him, your King, I ask that you trust me instead.” Finnian appeared commanding with dark colored khakis and a black turtleneck, his wild hair brushing the collar as he spoke in perfect Dragon.
“He is not dragon!” Someone spoke up.
Most of the Court had been acquainted with the Loremasters and Finnian, but the regular citizens of Anarach were not.
Finnian’s eyes shifted from his normal blue to a deep brown, and several shifters gasped in surprise.
“Maxxus, may I?” Finnian questioned respectfully. Maxxus motioned for him to stand atop the dais to speak.
“Please do.” The green dragon said with frustration, waving his hand toward the crowd of cranky shifters.
Maxxus sat back down in Leorah’s throne—his still in a jumble on the floor—and allowed Finnian to speak.
“I know my appearance is shocking. I belong to a very old, very ancient organization called the Loremasters, designed to keep balance between the realms and timeline, as well as keep accurate records of everything that has ever happened,” Finnian spoke, still in Dragon. The room was transfixed with Finnian’s voice and presence, as was Maxxus even though normally, he was irritated with the demon/Loremaster/conjurer mytho. He couldn’t deny, Finnian could command a room indeed.
“I am here to tell you, that I assure you Leorah’s magic will not harm you. It is the reason many of you stand here today, and more of you were not killed. I helped unlock a magic block cast upon her at birth to tame her magic, for her safety. Not because she would have harmed you, but because of her magic you may have harmed her. In fact, several tried over the years.” Finnian paused, and several dragons looked away, guilt in their eyes. Maxxus snorted under his breath at Lorusto’s inconspicuous presence in the back of the room. “Not only was her magic hidden, but an entire relationship—with your King here—hidden from her. There was no magic cast in forcing Maxxus and Leorah’s relationship. In fact, the opposite occurred. Magic was cast to help keep them apart.
“If you do not allow the queen to begin healing you, when the Shadows return, many of you will succumb to the Shadows pull…and it will not be a peaceful demise. No, you will remain tormented, and uneasy for the rest of your existence. There’s no death, no afterlife. Cyril has an agenda, beginning with the Court of Anarach: to make you suffer for all the misery he has lived over the years. He is Mad, but not because of his magic or the color of his dragon-skin, but because your society and your Court made him that way!” Finnian’s voice echoed off the stone walls, as the Anarachian citizens remained transfixed on the Loremaster.
The same meek dragon who spoke earlier, raised her hand slowly, as if in a school room.
“You want to know how I can be trusted, do you not?” Finnian inquired, and her indigo eyes widened as she nodded.
“I can show you. Any number of you. It’s part of my magic; I can show my intentions are true,” Finnian spoke, lower this time, in soothing tones.
“How do we know it’s not more of the crazy pink magic?” Kreegan demanded.
Finnian just stared at him severely. “Because, it’s not.”
Maxxus groaned, and rolled his eyes. The Elder nudged him. “Just give him a chance.”
Maxxus nodded agreeably. “Fine, fine.”
“Will it hurt?” the young dragon asked quietly.
Finnian grinned, his warm, charming grin and even Maxxus could see she was transfixed with him, like so many often were. “No, not at all. I’ll just touch your cheek and you’ll see what I see.”
“Okay.” She stepped forward, putting on a brave face, and Finnian reached out and touched her cheek gently. Maxxus couldn’t see the Loremaster, but he knew his eyes were probably flashing colors right about now, because several dragons nearby let o
ut small gasps. A few moments later, he removed his hand and stepped back.
“He’s right! He’s telling the truth. She…she’s only ever been trying to help us!” she said earnestly.
Kreegan scoffed. “Oh come on. How can you tell?”
“I just can! I saw…I saw things. Some of her memories. Some of his,” she nodded towards Maxxus, who raised a brow at this idea. How would he have seen his memories? “I haven’t been harmed by the Shadows, but I will do my part in convincing everyone to allow them to be healed. The Shadows…” she shuddered violently at the thought. “They aren’t something we want to be trifling with.”
“Thank you.” Finnian smiled his bright smile at her, and she grinned widely.
Maxxus fought to roll his eyes at Finnian’s obvious charm. He let out a pointed cough and called the attention back to himself. He didn’t recognize the young, violet dragon. “What is your name? Where are you from?”
The young lady stepped forward, tossing her long blonde braid over her shoulder. She bowed but Maxxus quickly urged her to stand.
“Ly’andra, Majesty.” She replied, bolder than she had spoken before.
“Thank you, Ly’andra, for volunteering. Would you say, given what you know, it is safe to allow Leorah and the Knight heal the Shadowtouched dragons?”
She nodded earnestly. “I would. I would be healed myself if I’d been Shadowtouched, but I do hope those who are from the Court agree, because our family’s farm is at risk.”
“What do you grow, Ly’andra?” Elder Aleron asked her.
“Wheat, mainly. My grandparents run the bakery in the Court. My mate is between tasks at this moment; when the Court broke apart he lost his duty,” she explained.
“They were not harmed by the Shadows?” Maxxus asked.
“No,” she shook her head once. “Thankfully, they were visiting family in Ne’emire at the time. My mate was home in Morenden.”
“Fortunate indeed.” Aleron nodded in appreciation at her. “We will do what we can.”
She bowed lowly once more. “Thank you, your highness.” She stepped backward and blended into the crowd, once again.
“Anyone else?” Finnian turned expectantly and pointed at Kreegan. “You. How about you?’
Kreegan scoffed, uproariously. “Like I would allow that!”
Finnian smirked, crossing his arms over his chest. “Scared?”
“Of course not!” Kreegan exclaimed, a bit too insistently to be convincing.
“All right, then.” The crowd parted, and allowed Finnian to walk to Kreegan. Finnian touched his cheek and Kreegan gulped nervously before relaxing under Finnian’s touch. His incensed expression softened.
When Finnian pulled away, Kreegan immediately looked to Maxxus, mouth open, agape.
“Your highness, I’m so sorry…I didn’t know.” The most surprising thing happened then, Maxxus thought in amazement: Kreegan bowed down lowly before the dais. “I realize you are telling the truth. Please accept my sincerest apologies.”
Maxxus raised a brow. Really, he wanted to channel Leorah and tell him to go commit unscrupulous actions with a desert plant, but he figured in this instance mercy was probably more advisable. “You are forgiven, Kreegan.”
Kreegan’s worn face smiled with appreciation. “Thank you.”
A collective murmur hovered through the group. Kreegan and his mate were amongst the most passionate dissenters of Leorah. If his mind could be changed, perhaps there is hope for the rest of them, Maxxus thought.
Feeling hopeful, Maxxus continued his discussion with the citizens of the kingdom, ensuring that the weather issues would be taken care of shortly. Finnian volunteered to employ the fae and nymph refugees from Castle Danger to see what they could do, and a handful of dragons with farms agreed to try it. He also dodged questions about Leorah, and her health. It continued to make him anxious, because although Aleron assured him she was fine, he still needed to see for sure.
When the meeting dispersed, Finnian disappeared through his portal to do—whatever Loremasters did—and Maxxus was eager to make haste to her family home, when he was stopped by none other than his parents.
Disgruntled, he let out a warning growl and demanded that they let him go.
“Just a minute, Son,” Oreste insisted, reaching out to touch his arm. Maxxus pulled away, quickly, and scowled. She appeared slightly wounded but fixed the expression on her face to a stoic one.
“Son. We just want a word with you,” Jalenn said, his tone calm.
Maxxus grumbled. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked down at them sternly—he was taller than both of them, and currently he was grateful for the height so he could appear intimidating. Truth was, he still felt badly all these years later his parents had acted like assholes to him when he couldn’t do magic correctly.
Of course, now they knew why, but unlike Leorah, it wasn’t a spell. They really were just huge jerks.
Aleron paused nearby Maxxus and asked quickly, “Is everything all right?” He gazed at Maxxus parents with stern warning: Do not hurt him. Besides Leorah, Aleron knew everything about what had happened with his parents.
Maxxus nodded. “It will be fine. This will only take a minute.”
“Okay then.” The Elder dragon patted his shoulder in solidarity and pretended to be occupied with dusting off the banner that hung on the wall.
Maxxus turned to his parents and lifted a brow. “What do you want?”
“We wanted to know how Leorah was doing? Since she’s family, and all now…we wanted to know if there is anything we can do to help?” Oreste asked.
Maxxus narrowed his eyes. “Her well-being is not of your business. You never cared about her—or me—during our entire relationship. Even though it was hidden from all of us, you still didn’t bother to show me any kindness whatsoever. Why bother to care now? Because I’m all of a sudden somebody?” Maxxus’ tone raised with each word, like a pot of water beginning to boil. “Hate to break it to you, I’m not suddenly someone—I’ve always been someone! You were just too blind to notice!”
“Maxxus, I am sorry for the misunderstanding over the years. We simply—” his father spoke, but Maxxus fumed at his words. He lifted a palm, effectively halting his speech.
“What excuse could you have for shunning me all those years? There simply is none! Most dragons aren’t what humans would call emotional, or affectionate, but they’re rarely downright unkind, as you both were!” Maxxus’ voice boomed and echoed throughout the throne room.
“I know it doesn’t seem like it now, but we were trying to do the best we could for you,” Oreste insisted, her voice almost pleading. “We simply thought you were being lazy with your magic, and—”
“So, by acting like jerks you thought, somehow my magic would come out?” Maxxus laughed menacingly, throwing up his hands in the air in exasperation. “Great plan! Worked like a charm!” Maxxus scoffed, and pushed past his parents and stormed through the throne room. They protested, but Maxxus made no move to console them.
“No, this is done.” Maxxus was about to push through the heavy doors when they came bursting open, and Leorah’s brother came bursting in, looking frantic.
“What is it?” Maxxus demanded, catching Braeden by the arms.
“I’m afraid I have bad news!” he said, swallowing nervously, and wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead.
Maxxus’ face fell, panicked. “Leorah? Is she—”
“No! She’s just sleeping! It’s…the mage. In the dungeon.”
“What about him?” Maxxus demanded.
“Somehow, he’s escaped!”
Maxxus groaned, slapping his forehead with his hand, and swearing under his breath. “What else can go wrong?”
The Elder came tearing across the room, as fast as the old man could walk—which was pretty fast for someone of his years. He looked his grandson in the face with all seriousness.
“Braeden! What happened? Wasn’t he guarded?”
“Yes
! He was guarded by two of my best men! Suddenly, Gaster turned around and the mage was nowhere to be found!” Braeden hunched over, to catch his breath.
“Are you sure? He’s a mage, who knows what kind of magic he was capable of! He could have been hiding somehow and when one of them went into the cell, he escaped!” Maxxus insisted, feeling frustrated and angry all at once.
Braeden shook his head insistently. “We never opened the cell. We still haven’t! He’s just…gone!”
Maxxus growled. “Shit.”
“Go to Leorah. I’ll handle this for now. I’ll get in touch with the Loremaster and we’ll go examine the dungeon for any clues to what happened. Meet us there after you’ve dealt with your wife.” Elder Aleron offered a playful wink, before guiding his grandson out the door, leaving Maxxus alone and bewildered in the throne room.
What was that? Maxxus shrugged to himself, and shook his head. Pushing it out of his mind, and the worry about the disappearing mage, he made his way to Leorah who was resting at home.
Chapter 16
I felt a soft touch on my cheek as my eyes slowly opened to find Maxxus’ handsome face peering over me as he waited for me to wake up. Grinning lazily, my hand searched for his. Maxxus smiled softly and clutched my hand in between his, pulling it to his lips and lightly grazing my knuckles with a kiss. “Feeling better?” he asked.
I nodded slowly. “I think so. Just a bit…dazed I suppose.”
“Are you okay?” he asked, his face lined with genuine concern. “What is wrong? Is it the magic? Are the Shadows—”
“No, no! Nothing like that!” I insisted, and Maxxus’ tense face relaxed, and he breathed a sigh of relief. “Did you figure out why you can’t shift all of a sudden?”
I nodded, carefully bringing myself up to a sitting position. I know that the growing fetus inside me was safe, but for some reason I felt like moving would endanger it. Which was stupid, because I knew that when dragon females were pregnant—in either dragon or human form—that they didn’t become weaker. In fact, they became much stronger. The dragon would become overprotective, and adrenaline would be at maximum. If anything, I was more badass now then I was before. I didn’t have to move gingerly…but I felt like I had to. Perhaps it was all the exposure to humans I had.