by Lacy LeRoch
“Ahhh…” Claude groans and tries to roll over onto his side, his chest heaves heavily as he attempts to catch his breath.
Sophie comes to a stop at my side, lowers her head in a brief nod, lowering her voice timidly. “My Prince, apologies, but the Seers wish to see you in their chambers.”
Mon Dieu, she can’t be serious. That’s the last thing that I wanted to hear. I don’t want to go to the Seers. Sophie, the ever-ready Healer, turns to Claude as he struggles to find his feet.
“Claude, do you need medical assistance?” she asks, pulling her hair out of the way and braiding the long tangles.
Claude glances over in Sophie’s direction and shivers as he tries to get to his feet. His face flushes a bright scarlet, as he realizes that Sophie has just witnessed his less than graceful landing.
Come on buddy, just open your mouth and speak to her. Come on Claude. Seeing that Claude isn’t going to speak anytime soon, I shake my head in disappointment and turn my attention back to Sophie.
“Sophie, my dear, take Claude down to medical.” If he won’t help himself, I will have to do it for him.
“Why are you helping him, when you won’t help us?” Dragon growls at me.
Claude groans in protest.
Oh, hell no. I will not be disrespected, so I lower my voice and allow Dragon to push forward and show in my eyes. I stare at Claude and growl, “And that… is an order.” I spin around to face Sophie and soften my voice, not wanting to startle the youngster, “Sophie, do you know why the Seers wish to see me?”
My heart hammers in my chest, I’m surprised that I’m still able to stand. The blood is pumping through my veins so fast. My foot starts to tap on the tiles in a quiet beat, as the frustration rises. Don’t they know that I need these answers now? I wait for Sophie to take her eyes off Claude long enough to reply. I try to regain her attention back to the matter at hand by clearing my throat. “Sophie,” I call out when she doesn’t turn to face me. “Sophie…”
Dragon chuckles under his breath. “Seems to me that the little one isn’t so into you, dear Philli.”
“Shut the fuck up, Dragon. I’m in no mood to hear your banter right now,” I growl inwardly at Dragon, making it quite clear that the conversation is long over.
“Sophie!” I growl, loud enough to allow my voice to echo off the great hall walls.
“What? Uh… what did you say?” Sophie jumps back and lowers her head in submission, once she realizes who she’s talking to. She looks sheepish as she clears her throat, “Oh my… oh my God, I am… so very sorry, my Prince.” Sophie bows low as she tries again, “I really am very sorry. Um… yes, the Seers wish to see you. They sent me here with an urgent message to bring you to them, as soon as possible.”
I raise my hand and point down to Claude on the floor and growl, “When you’re able to stand without tripping over your own tongue, you are to go with Sophie to medical and get checked out. Report back to me in the morning, do you understand?”
I don’t wait for Claude to answer as I stride out of the great hall and down the corridor, following the long walkway to the end, and taking the first left out of the front doors.
If the Seers want to see me, this could turn out very bad. The fact that it was me that was called, and not one of the other Watchers, has my mind starting to run with all the possibilities as to what is actually going on? And none of them are good.
The Seers are a group of paranormal creatures of all shapes and forms, who have the ability to see into the future—they’re born with the gift. The majority of the time, they will only see pictures or shapes and will need to attempt to piece it all together, like a giant jigsaw. This can bring about a lot of misleads and faults, but there are the odd times one of the Seers will actually be able to give great detail. The council relies on the Seers for everything we do, we have a duty to protect and keep our existence a secret. And without the sight from these creatures, we never really know when trouble is going to strike us down.
Something about this whole situation is putting me on edge, my own intuition is screaming at me to hold on and brace for the worst. I have the gift of a Seer, but for reasons I have no control over, I have not been able to see anything since the death of my mate, Louise.
I haven’t had anything to do with this side of my life since I allowed Louise to walk out on me and become Markus’s mate. Why would they call me here, when they know this is the last place in this realm that I want to be? Being here is torturing me because everywhere I look I see things that remind me of her. She loved nothing more than coming with me to look into the Globe and see the things to come.
Just the walk down to the quarters reminds me of her. From the beautiful lilac flowers that run the length of the path, to the statues of the Watchers and Dragons that line the wall on the left-hand side.
God this is harder than I thought it would be. My heart starts to pound faster, the closer I get to the front door. I don’t know if I can do this?
“Breathe, Philli, for I am with you,” Dragon cooes and sends a warmth through my body. Dragon isn’t one to be cooing or comforting for that matter, but when it comes to Louise, he feels the loss just as much as I do.
I take a moment to admire the carved butterfly on the heavy oak door of the Seers’ hut. The butterfly wings are stretched out across the opening taking up the space of the two doors. I pull in a deep breath to stop myself from shaking and raise my fist to knock on the double doors. As I’m raising my hand to knock a second time, Romie opens the door wide, startling me.
“Come in, Philli.” Romie swings his large arm out wide and gestures for me to enter into the quarters.
“Since when is our second-in-command a Seer?” Dragon mumbles.
Confusion takes over any common sense and I blurt out the first thing that comes to mind, “What the fuck? Romie, I never knew you’d become a Seer. How long have you had the sight?”
Romie walks over to the large black sofa in the center of the room and takes a seat. He runs his hands up and down his thighs nervously. “I’ve had the sight for a few months, Philli, I wanted to come to you, but…”
What the hell am I missing here? Walking over to the large Dragon Shifter in front of me, I place my hand on his shoulder, not sure what’s going on. I know that I need to let him understand that I’m not upset with him.
“I understand, Romie, but I do wish you had told me. I’ve lost a good fighting Dragon.”
Romie tenses up at my words and stares down at his feet.
“Now, enough with the girl business. What is it you have seen? And make it quick, Romie. You know better than anyone I hate this place.”
Romie runs a hand over his dark brown hair, his long curls tangle in the ends of his fingers.
“You haven’t lost me as a fighter, my Prince. There is much to explain but now is not the time. Know this, my Prince, I will always fight at your side if you’ll have me.”
Relief, unlike anything I’ve ever felt before, floods through my body. A huge grin takes over my face. I nod to Romie in understanding. I know that he can feel my emotions when he smiles back over at me.
“Romie, you understand that this will be difficult for you to manage both jobs, but I’m truly grateful for all you can give me. I do not want to lose you as my second-in-command, you have been with me for more battles than I would care to admit.”
The air starts to crackle with energy, I glance over at Romie, and notice that he has a light sheen to his skin and his hazel eyes have clouded over, turning completely white. My feet move before my mind has a chance to catch up, and before I realize what’s happened, I find myself standing in front of the sofa that I was just sitting on. I run over to the Romie to hold him steady, as a vision takes over his sight. Romie starts talking a million miles an hour, and I’m having trouble understanding what he’s trying to tell me.
“Fire… blast… death… injury… baby,” he pants.
Romie’s body shakes uncontrollably as the vision hi
ts its peak. I try to tighten my hold on him, but the shaking doesn’t ebb it only increases in violence. Romie is shaking that violently, his teeth chatter and his head bobs up and down.
I can feel Romie’s Dragon wanting to come out and help. I’m the oldest elder on the Island and of Royal blood. It gives me the power to see and feel the other dragons around me. I am connected to every dragon alive. I feel their emotions and pain as my own. It’s a burden, but one I will carry for my clan.
“Let me out, Master, let me talk to his dragon,” Dragon growls, trying to fight me for dominance.
My Dragon has never allowed me to call him anything but Dragon, and I respect this. His need to want to help is strong, and he’s trying to push himself close to the surface to take control.
I scowl at him. “Stay where you are. You are not allowed to come forward. Speak to his dragon if you must, but remain in this form.”
Dragon is displeased as he sends healing waves over to Romie and his dragon.
“Thank you, Dragon,” I mumble softly.
I fill my body with warmth and Dragon huffs in displeasure. He’s on edge with the mating heat coming. I do understand his displeasure with me not taking up a mate—or, at least, having a bed partner—but he needs to understand that my duty to the council has always come first. I just haven’t had the desire to even want to look for a woman. I can’t seem to get myself to want anything.
Romie’s body stops shaking after a couple of minutes, his body is still showing the signs of having been through a vision. His teeth are chattering with the aftermath, and he’s covered in a thin layer of sweat. He leans over his knees attempting to catch his breath, as it soars in and out of his mouth roughly.
The reaction that the sight has on our bodies is ridiculous. Our bodies take a toll from having the vision hit as fast and violent as it does. And being carriers of the dragon, they see the vision as a threat and want to come to the surface to protect us. Our dragons are loyal creatures and would die before they allowed us to come to any harm. It’s why in adolescence that we need to keep the young from being in the form of the dragon for too long. The longer we stay in dragon form, the more power our dragon will have over us. We try to avoid giving that ability to our dragon at all costs. Once that power exchange has taken place, it’s hard to pull it back. There are a few dragons, who live on the Island which are exactly that… Dragon. Their human side gave into the power exchange and freedom of the dragon too often, which resulted in the dragon taking over.
“Romie, are you all right?”
I start to lift Romie into a sitting position slowly, trying not to jolt him too much. Having had the vision before, I know not to move him too quickly or suddenly after the vision has faded. It makes you feel queasy and like you’ve been hit with a semi-truck.
“Philli?” Romie croaks disorientated.
“I’m here, Romie,” I call out.
I have to push down on his shoulders gently, when he tries to stand up. “Stop, Romie, now. You need to take it easy. How long have the visions been coming on like that for?”
Romie shrugs, blinking a couple of times rapidly. He blinks again to clear his eyesight.
“Romie?” I question with a bit more force.
When Romie doesn’t reply right away, I take hold of his shoulders and give him a light shake. His focus is off, and I need to know why I was brought to the Seers in the first place.
“Romie, must be a strong Seer for his body to react the way it did, Philli. His dragon was very strong but showed signs of being carefree during the attack of the body,” Dragon hisses.
“Understood, Dragon,” I mumble back.
For Romie’s dragon not to be bothered during the attack, both worries and fascinates me.
“Maybe we can ask Romie to take over once I step down,” I tell Dragon telepathically.
I feel Dragon’s scales brush up against my skin in anger as he thinks about what I’ve just said. “I don’t think you’re very funny, Philli,” he says through gritted teeth.
Romie rises to his feet and stumbles when he tries to regain his balance. He stabilizes himself and walks into the kitchen at the end of the room. I hear him opening and closing cupboards, then a tap being turned on. He strolls back down to the sitting room to join me, drinking water as he enters. After taking a long sip, he turns to face me. His shoulders are hunched, his chin close to his chest, and he’s breathing rapidly. I can smell the acrid stench of anxiety and worry rolling off his body in waves, as he chews worriedly on his bottom lip.
“We are all in great danger, Philli,” he spits out evenly, still seemingly lost in the haze of the vision.
I walk over to the panicked Dragon, lowering my eyebrows as I go. My mind starts to buzz with all the possibilities. “What do you mean, great danger? What is it that you have seen?”
Romie raises his face to look up at me, the panic I see in his hazel eyes is enough to make me worry. I’ve been into battle many times with him, and he isn’t a dragon who scares easily. He can fly into any fight and come out the other end, half a beat away from being dead and he would still be smiling about it.
“Romie, please come and sit down. I need you to focus and tell me everything right from the start.” I walk over to the table underneath the window, and pull out a chair and make myself at home. From the look on his face, I can tell that whatever he has to say to me is going to take a while.
Romie makes his way over to the table and pulls out the chair in front of me. He stretches his long legs out in front of himself, then scrubs a hand down his face and glares at me. “Philli, can I be honest with you, with absolutely no sugar coating?”
Oh shit, this can’t be good.
I nod my head toward him and reply, “Go ahead, please.”
He takes a deep breath and continues, “Okay then, this might take a while. You’ve been in my visions for months now…” Romie raises his hand with a slight shake of his head as I go to open my mouth. “At first, I thought it was because of the battle bond we share. But then I started to see more, and that more made no sense to me at all.” He straightens up and levels his chin in my direction.
“Keep going,” I tell him, the anxiety rolling off him in strong waves, making Dragon and I shift in discomfort.
“This isn’t easy for me, Philli. I hope you understand that. Like I said, at first I thought it was just the battle bond. But when Rafe brought Lucy back to the Island, things with the Seers and the visions have become strong for all of us.”
I knew there was something going on, but well, this is news even for me.
“What do you mean, stronger for you?”
Romie tilts his head to the side and looks long and hard at me before he continues, “You really haven’t worked it out have you?” He sighs shaking his head. “All of our powers have increased since the twins have arrived. There’s a theory on it, but no one knows if this is all truth or lies. Some of the others believe that the sisters are the source of all of our power. That somehow when the girls turned up, they maybe helped unlock us in many ways.”
I narrow my eyes and link my fingers in front of me on the table and grumble, “Hmm… so what you’re saying is, you believe the girls being here has unlocked your gifts. That theory is a different one.” I narrow my eyes and stare the Dragon down, waiting for the ball to drop. When he doesn’t say anything else, I continue, “Okay, let’s just say for one minute I believe you. What has this got to do with me, and why are we all in great danger?"
Romie scrubs a hand down his face, looks down at the table and huffs. “In my visions, we are involved in a great battle, one where dragons are cut down and hurt. I see an elfin-sized woman who’s a great healer. She’s needed to not only help save the lives of many dragons, but she’s also needed for her magic touch on Rafe’s baby.”
Wait a minute, what? My heart skips a beat at the description of the battle.
“Slow down… the life of the babe? And what elfin woman are you talking about?”
&
nbsp; “Calm yourself, Philli,” Dragon croons.
Romie looks me dead in the eye, slowly reaches over the table and takes hold of my hands. Squeezing firmly, he tells me, “Let me show you.”
This is the great thing about being a Dragon, we can project images to each other of things we have seen or heard. It makes communication that much easier in the line of battle. We call it the battle bond. Romie is my second-in-command, and one of the few I allow into my mind. Because of this, our connection is strong.
The minute Romie closes his eyes and allows his power to flow through my mind, the vision starts to play out. At first, I can’t see much of anything as I’m surrounded by a thick curtain of ash and smoke. My breathing is labored, and I’m finding it hard to catch my breath, as the smoke and debris makes its way into my lungs. My chest starts to heave for air, and I have to lift my hand up to my mouth, needing to get a breath of fresh air. I turn around, hoping that if I turn my back to the smoke, I won’t get so much soot in my mouth.
I’ll never get the sight out of my head as I take in the scene in front of me. What I see when I turn around is enough to make my stomach lurch. There are Dragons and Watchers lying all over the field of Trulane. There’s a thick layer of wings and scales coating the ground. Blood flows over the surface like a summer downfall of rain, as it soaks into the dirt. My heart stops beating when I notice that not all the bodies lying on the ground are warriors or fighters. Women, children, and the elderly, lie in the field broken and battered.
Just when I think I’m going to be sick, the vision shifts showing me a beautiful woman running down a long sterile white hallway. She starts yelling at a male dressed in long green pants and a green scrub shirt.
“Hurry up, move it,” she barks as she passes him.
Her long blonde hair flows behind her in waves, as she runs down the hall as fast as her tiny legs will carry her.
“We have incoming in five minutes, make sure you have everything ready. I will not take failure as an option,” she screams to a group who are dressed in the same uniform that the young man was wearing.