Fated Hope

by Sariah Skye

  Maxxus shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He ran a hand through his hair, and down his neck, shuddering, as if something disgusting were crawling on his skin.

  I grasped his elbow. “Maxx?”

  He turned to me, looking severe.

  His eyes were black as night.

  Chapter 36

  I cried out in terror.

  “Maxxus!” I exclaimed.

  The green dragon clenched his eyes shut, shaking his head from side to side.

  “What?” he asked, looking perplexed; his blue eyes returning to normal.

  He was pale, his expression harsh.

  I forced a smile, slowly rising from my seat. “I—uh—am going to get something to eat. Care for anything?”

  He shook his head dismissively, and turned away from me, to stare back at the crowd.

  “Okay then.” I quickly stood and dashed from the thrones, across the room.

  Gabriel caught my eye as I darted, probably looking terrified and panicked. His brow furrowed. “Leo! What’s wrong?”

  I placed a finger to my lips, nodding towards the other dragons nearby. I leaned into him, whispering quietly, “There is something wrong with Maxxus.”

  The blood drained from his face. “No. Not him.”

  My mouth opened. “Not him? You don’t sound surprised.”

  Gabriel exhaled deeply. His eyes darted around, and he motioned for me to step back, away from the crowd. I followed him to an empty corner, where panels were hiding food trolleys and stacks of plates and napkins.

  “There is Shadow magic. I can’t explain it, I don’t know how—but I feel it.” He said to me urgently.

  I gasped. “No! Not now!”

  “What an opportune time, though? All the kingdom is here—everyone is here. What better way to get to everyone,” he replied.

  “That does seem to be their thing,” I grumbled, recalling the last time the Shadows invaded: during a Mabon gathering. “Shit. I knew this was a bad idea! I knew it!” I stomped my foot angrily, like a petulant child.

  Gabriel grabbed my hands and yanked me, forcibly closer. “It would have happened eventually, don’t blame yourself. Maybe we can quell this before it gets out of hand.”

  “But, what about Maxxus? What’s wrong with him? How did no one sense anything before?” I demanded, my tone high-pitched and panicked.

  Gabriel shook his head. “I don’t know. We need Finnian.”

  I nodded in agreement, and, pulling me by the hand, he led me through the crowd, to where Daniel and Finnian were speaking in hushed tones. The two gentlemen gazed at each other—starry eyed, and Daniel tilted his head, and took aim to kiss the Loremaster—I assumed.

  “Daniel!” Gabriel shouted, and Daniel came out of his trance.

  The two snapped out of their dream-like state.

  “Damn, bro—you got some bad—” Daniel protested, but Gabriel gave him a hard shove.

  “Not now! There are Shadows!”

  Daniel’s eyes widened. Finnian’s changed color, from muddy yellow, landing on a light brown.

  “No…” Finnian’s expression was troubled.

  I nodded insistently. “Yes! I don’t know how—but Maxxus is…something.”

  “Maxxus?” Finnian retorted, surprised, as if I just announced the world were really flat.

  “Yes!” We all stepped back, away from the crowd once more, and watched the green dragon—my beloved mate, the king.

  He sat nearly motionless, except for every now and then he would flinch. One of his eyes twitched and his chest heaved up and down rapidly.

  “Something is wrong with him…” Daniel mused. His eyes went glassy, as he scanned Maxxus.

  A hand flew to his mouth.

  In panic, I grabbed at his bicep, looking at him pleadingly. “Is he Shadowtouched?”

  “I…” Daniel was bewildered. “It’s weird. It’s like there are two distinct auras around him.”

  “Two?” I repeated, confused.

  He nodded. “Yes. Two. I can’t describe it…”

  Finnian burst forward touching Daniel’s cheek with two fingertips. He shut his eyes, and his eyelids trembled, as he searched Daniel’s mind. They flew open again, his irises nearly white.

  He reached out for me, and I pressed my cheek into his hand.

  I gasped, seeing through Daniel’s eyes.

  “Normally, Maxxus is green, with a slightly hue of pink,” Daniel said.

  I wanted to nod, but didn’t want Finnian to lose his grip so I barely uttered a, “Yeah…” He told me this once before.

  Looking at Maxxus’ aura was like staring at a road, in the sunlight during the heat of day. It wasn’t fully clear, a little blurry, you felt a little detached from reality, but you could still tell what you were seeing. Shades of green emanated out of him, surrounding his body, ebbing and flowing around him peacefully.

  But, every now and then it disappeared, and his entire aura was replaced with something completely different; in not only color, but texture and feel. It felt…ominous. Slimy. It was shades of gray, tinged with absolute black…

  …like the Shadows.

  Finnian pulled away, and I covered my mouth with my palms. Tears stung at my eyes as I tried to blink them away. “Maxxus…no!”

  “What’s going on?” Kiarra, arm in arm with my brother, joined us. “I saw you huddled over here, something is up.”

  “What is it?” Braeden questioned.

  “We—we need to get everyone out of here.” Gabriel’s tone was flat, as he stared past us, towards the dancefloor. He slapped at my arm, not looking at me. “Now.”

  “Gabriel?” I asked, eyeing him. I could feel the panic crash off him in waves; the very hair at the back of his neck standing up.

  Energy cracked at his fingertips, and sparks flew from his hands.

  “Shadows?” Kiarra questioned, seeing the absolute terror on Gabriel’s face. She didn’t wait for confirmation; she and Braeden exchanged nods, and Braeden pushed through the crowd, Kiarra hot on his heels.

  “Attention! Attention everyone—you need to evacuate! Quickly!” He waved his hands in the air rapidly, trying to get everyone’s attention.

  A fiddler on the stage saw him, and dropped his playing. He made a cut gesture, telling the band to stop.

  “Everyone, you need to leave! Now!” Braeden cupped his mouth with his hands, and began to shout.

  Everybody glanced around at each other, confused, staring at my brother like a deer in the headlights of a pickup.

  I grumbled under my breath. I stomped through the crowd, elbowing shoulders, and pushing into people. “That is a direct order from the queen! Everyone—out! This party is cancelled!”

  “Cancelled?”

  “What?” The confused titters rippled over the crowd.

  Gabriel joined me at my side. With his magic, he flung a plasma ball in the air, followed by a sharp gust of wind. It mixed with the plasma and made a loud popping sound—like a crack of thunder.

  Several guests jumped, crying out at the sound, and began slowly taking steps for the ballroom doors.

  “Leorah!”

  I turned, as Maxxus called my name. I cried out, as he stood in front of the throne, ram-rod straight, eyes black as the inkiest night. “Maxxus!” I shrieked.

  Maxxus tossed aside his robes, revealing a sheathed sword at his waist. His sword, the one he’d crafted for himself when he first remembered he could. With a graceful swoop, he drew it, and held it in front of him.

  Several Court members screamed around us. They took panicked footsteps back, for the door, leaving Gabriel and Braeden and I in the center of the ballroom, facing the king: my mate.

  Maxxus held the sword in front of him, and spoke deeply; his voice unfamiliar, words I couldn’t recognize, or understand.

  The sword rippled and hissed, as a puff of black—smoke?—from the hilt exploded from it, in little wisps, wrapping and twisting around the blade until the sword was completely back, and oozing with Sh
adow tendrils.

  “Maxxus! What are you doing?” I asked, panicked.

  A pair of hands gripped my shoulders. “Whatever that is, it is not Maxxus…” Gabriel said quietly in my ear.

  I let out a yelp.

  “The sorcerer is right.” Maxxus spoke, his voice echoing with something dark, and yet—familiar. And, he collapsed to the ground, writhing, and screaming in agony. He nearly dropped the sword, as his free hand clawed at his face in pain.

  “Maxxus!” I screamed, beginning to run towards him instinctively, my mind forgetting anything reasonable, the only mantra going through my mind: my mate is hurt; my mate is hurt—I must fix him!

  It took Gabriel and Braeden both to hold me back, as Maxxus continued to writhe and groan on the ground.

  I barely even heard the other sounds around us, of everyone screaming in terror, and trampling over their feet to get out.

  “Maxxus!” I screamed again, reaching for him.

  “Leo! You can’t!” Braeden cried, and he and Gabriel’s clutch on my arms tightened.

  Maxxus let out a feral scream, as he clawed at his face as an unmistakable ripping sound echoed throughout the ballroom.

  I screamed with him, as Maxxus collapsed to the ground…

  …and standing in front of him was Nicodemus.

  I gasped, as the black dragon—his Shadowform—stretched out before us; deep, echoing back orifices where the eyes and mouth would be, his arms and legs incomplete, with chunks taking out—he had a non-corporeal form, clutching Maxxus’ sword.

  “How—how are you still alive?” Gabriel demanded, confused.

  “We saw Maxxus kill you!” I exclaimed.

  Nicodemus threw back what would have been his head, and let out a peal of disturbing laughter that penetrated our very souls, making our blood squirm, and our nerves twitch with discomfort. “Did you? Did you really?” He taunted. “He killed my body—yes. But my soul is pure Shadow! I sought out the nearest body, when it was cut from my body and it was your precious Maxxus!”

  My knees went weak, as I looked past him, at the crumpled form of my mate behind him. Maxxus was motionless. “No!” I cried, and fought myself out of the grip of my brother and Gabriel, I started for Maxxus’ crumpled form.

  Nicodemus threw up a fractionated arm, and dozens of Shadow tendrils shot out from it, in a shield, blocking me from reaching my mate.

  I slammed into the slimy, disconcerting wall and I screamed as I stumbled backward, landing in a heap on the ground.

  Gabriel was by my side in a split second, clutching my shoulders and helping me back up.

  “Are you okay?” he whispered to me, concerned.

  I nodded, even through my teary eyes. “I am…but…Maxx…”

  “We’ll get to him, don’t worry,” he said, comfortingly. But his brow furrowed, betraying him.

  I whimpered, but allowed him to pull me to my feet.

  “How could you have been there the entire time? And we not notice?” Daniel had joined us now, and was furious in his demands.

  “Because, the green dragon is strong—way stronger than I could have imagined. He fought me. Hard. For weeks I was silent, subdued inside him. But something upset him to the point where he became…unnerved. And, I began to reclaim control!” Nicodemus shouted triumphantly.

  The news about the baby. It was his undoing. No…

  “No! How is that possible?” I demanded.

  “You should have listened to your instincts, pink dragon,” Nicodemus spat the word pink at me with disgust.

  “What do you want from us?” I asked.

  Nicodemus laughed shortly. “Oh, you’ve already given us what we wanted: your king.”

  “What?” I asked, confused.

  He snickered.

  “Leo?” Maxxus’ worn body behind the black dragon raised slightly. His disheveled appearance and horrified eyes landed on mine. His lower lip trembled. “I—I am—” he started.

  Nicodemus threw out a hand, and a spray of Shadow came out, surrounding Maxxus with tendrils. He screamed as they hissed and slithered around him, binding him from moving.

  “You can’t have him!” Frantically, I called for my magic inside; it tingled and trembled for release. I threw off my robes, tossing them in a heap on the floor as my wings jutted outward, effectively tearing through the back of the dress for escape. I didn’t care. They spread out as I threw a wave of magic at him—pure light magic, to counteract Nicodemus’ horrid Shadow.

  Effortlessly, Nicodemus threw up a hand again, shooting more Shadow out, colliding with my magic. It twisted and hissed around, snuffing my magic out effectively.

  I was pulled backward, this time by Gabriel and Daniel.

  “What do you mean, you want ‘the king’?” Gabriel demanded, as I crumbled helplessly into the arms of my magic brothers.

  Nicodemus let out a taunting laugh, as he paced back and forth, as if debating on whether to regale us with his plan. “The plan all along was revenge; get the king on our side. But, Athalos was too strong; your grandfather was too smart and it prevented us from taking him. With a king on our side—we will be able to rip a hole effectively between our two realms, thus allowing us to escape our Shadow prison once and for all, and recruit power to the Shadows!

  “But, you stopped us. It was coincidence that, when Maxxus killed me—tried to—that I could possess him. The next best thing to getting you, would be getting him. His blacksmithing powers will make a great addition to our faction,” Nicodemus said. He stopped, turning to look at me with his soulless, void eyes.

  I shuddered under his gaze. “He will never go with you!”

  “Oh no?” Nicodemus laughed again. “He will do anything to keep you safe…to give you what you want. Even if the best thing is for him to leave you!”

  “What?” I demanded, the words slamming into me like a freight train. “He would never leave me!”

  “No?” Nicodemus cackled. He thrust the sword out in front of him, spoke a command, and the sword trembled, spewing out a spray of Shadows in the form of an orb.

  The Shadow orb spun and crackled until it exploded.

  The force of it knocked us all backward—and sent many mythos and dragons running. I glanced around; thankfully many people had left, but left behind were the delegates, my parents, Maxxus’ parents, and still a great many Court members. I crashed into a table, food landing in my lap. I brushed it off and stood, wobbly, with the assistance of someone next to me.

  Prince Darzius, once I was on my feet, shifted into his dragon form.

  “We will chase you from this realm—demon!” he yelled his battle cry as he charged for the Shadow dragon.

  “No!” I said, as Nicodemus’ exploding orb took form; warping and twisting until a large portal formed.

  The prince cried out as he slid, and stumbled, trying to make himself stop before the portal.

  “Leo!” Gabriel cried, and I watched him fling his hand out, building an Earthen wall between the prince and the portal. I nodded once, and summoned my dragon mist from inside, willing it outward, strengthening his magic.

  The wall increased, and was able to stop the Northlandian in his tracks.

  I felt relieved, but it was short-lived.

  From the portal, outburst a familiar face:

  “Connor!” Finnian’s voice was pure fury; his eyes red with rage as the betraying mage popped into view.

  Connor still appeared human, but his fingers and extreme appendages were black, indicating that the Shadows were taking over. The Loremaster reached for something in his pocket, pulling out a glass vial. He flung it at the mage’s feet.

  The ground grew thick vines that wrapped itself upward, around the mage’s legs, effectively binding his hands behind his back. “How did you escape?” Finnian demanded.

  Connor’s face was wicked. “How do you think? A certain green dragon let me out! With Maxxus—I mean, Nicodemus’ help, I was able to form a portal outside of the dungeon and escape—it was so ea
sy! With a little mage magic your guards didn’t even see it coming! The Shadows gifted me with the magic to trick, and fool—a great addition to my portal magic!”

  “Why though?” Kiarra stepped forward quietly, her eyes shining with the sting of betrayal.

  Connor narrowed his eyes at the Loremaster. “Why do you think? All I wanted was to serve you, Finnian—and you denied me!”

  Finnian’s brow furrowed. “Connor, I told you—it’s not up to me. Not everyone is cut out to make it as a Loremaster.”

  “But she is?” Connor pointed a gnarled finger at Kit, who was cowering in Orion’s strong arms along a wall.

  Finnian glared. “She is a noble soul! There was always something twisted about you—your desire for power, for acceptance—it is not an appropriate fit for us! I’m sorry!”

  “You could have done more!” Connor exclaimed.

  “Silence!” Nicodemus clapped his hands, and a burst of Shadows erupted from them. Tendrils snaked across the floor, and crawled up Connor’s legs. “I have little use for you anymore; your portal knowledge has been absorbed.” With a snap of the fingers, the Shadow’s exploded…

  Connor screamed, as the Shadow coagulated around him, squeezing until it popped; effectively dissolving the mage into oblivion.

  “Why did you do that?” I demanded.

  Nicodemus scoffed. “Why not? He was a whining, simpering thing. Much like your mate here. Ugh, how I tired of listening to him… ‘I must keep Leo safe…save her…the baby…’” Nicodemus scowled, the effect was more than disturbing.

  “Just get away from him!” I cried out.

  Nicodemus grinned, revealing an endless hole where the mouth would be. I shuddered and felt unstable, near fainting.

  “I got you,” Gabriel said, arm around my waist. “Just go, Nicodemus!”

  Nicodemus wagged a finger—what I assumed was a finger, it appeared no more than a small tendril. “Ah, ah ah…I have a deal from the Shadowmaster himself.”

  “Shadowmaster?” I retorted.