by JF Jenkins
Love. I love her. I know it, Jason insisted.
But what do you know about her? How can you love someone you barely know? If she loved you, if this were a real emotion, she wouldn't be so guarded. Think about it. What is she keeping from you, boy? Why is she keeping it from you?
She tells me everything. I don't see why this is your business anyway.
It is now if we're going to be working with each other.
We are? I didn't realize. Jason rolled his eyes. Who are you? What are you?
A red glow appeared a few feet in front of him, and he saw that his face was mere inches above solid ground. He dropped the rest of the way and had just enough time to shield his face with his hands. With a scowl, he sat up, rubbing his arms, which were now skinned. Taking a good look around him, he found himself in the middle of an expansive cavern.
"Hello? Is anyone here? Matt?" he called out. Where is everyone? Am I dead?
"You're of no use to me dead." The voice inside of his head spoke aloud.
"Who are you? Where are you?" Jason asked, searching around him. He saw nothing but the cave walls and the red, glowing light in the distance. Then a figure stepped in front of it. All he could make out was the silhouette of a man.
"You make a lot of demands, boy," the man said, walking forward. He made a small hand gesture and a flame appeared, illuminating his features. He was young, perhaps only slightly older than Jason, and handsome with the typical marking of an Inero: dark hair, dark eyes, and golden skin. His face was strong and chiseled with confidence. Something about him felt wrong, though. Jason frowned.
"You're not human or dragon, are you?" he asked, stepping back until he was against the cavern wall. The man continued to press forward.
He stopped a few feet in front of Jason and ran a hand through his black hair. "You're observant, smart even. I can see why you would be considered favored in your household."
Jason snorted a little. "I think you missed the memo. I'm not the favored one."
"I didn't miss it. I can feel your jealousy. Your father may not favor you, but others do. They see your intelligence and power. Haven't all of your stepmothers adored you? Oh, how I bet they wanted to be yours instead of your father's. Particularly the one called Navi. You fancied her quite a bit."
"Who are you?" Jason's jaw tightened.
"I have many names. You can call me whatever you want. The most common reference is the devil or perhaps the Great Evil. My personal favorite is Leo. I'm not sure why. A girl once decided to call me that. She was so tender and sweet, naïve, but they always are—those who try to summon me. Much like your precious prophet, or perhaps I should say mine."
All he could do was stare. Great Evil? The devil? "Seth is your prophet?"
"Yes, I know, one wouldn't think it by looking at him since he's so young. He's a smart boy, though, and he's been through a lot of pain. I find they are the easiest ones to pluck away from 'the light,' so to speak. It certainly made it easy to get you."
"I don't have a lot of pain," he said, glaring. He was not the bad one. He was not the one being corrupted, driving a nation to war or performing unnecessary assassinations of good men.
The Great Evil stepped closer, moving into Jason's personal space. "You suffer because you are inadequate and bitter. Your lack of faith in anything good always plagues the back of your mind. You haven't acted on your feelings. When it comes to the fragileness of the heart, yours is a lot like glass whereas your brother has a heart of steel. He may be corrupted, but that's the thing about corruption: it is caused by someone else's manipulation. You are weak by your own doing."
"I don't have to defend myself to you or justify my life and the way I think. Now tell me how to get out of here." He looked up, wondering if perhaps he could climb his way out of this cave and back to the surface. Or if there was another exit. He moved past the man, who surprisingly did not try to stop him, and began to examine the source of the red light. What he found was lava oozing from the cracks of the far wall.
"Do you want me to tell you or are you going to figure it out on your own?"
Jason spun on his heel and faced this demon, scowling. "Tell me."
"We will go back soon. Consider this nothing more than a figment of your imagination. A dream, if you will. No doubt you'll blame it on a piece of cheese or the cereal you ate for breakfast this morning. When you wake up, everything will be so vague until it is time for me to come forward once more. Then you will help me to serve my purpose."
"Fat chance," Jason spat.
"You don't have a choice. It's a simple enough task, boy. Some day you will become a man. When you do, I will claim one of your offspring as my own."
The next thing he knew, Jason was on his back, staring up into the devil's eyes, which were pure black. The red glow of the lava reflected in them, however, sending chills down his spine. He had to look away. The Great Evil smiled, revealing a set of thick, jagged teeth.
"I won't help you," Jason finally managed to say. He squeezed his eyes shut. Just a dream, this is just a dream...
A hand reached out to tenderly touch his face. He was surprised by how soft the man's hands were, and how it came across as such an affectionate gesture. "Yes, this is just a dream. I promise, boy, that this will be nothing but a distant memory. You won't even notice me inside of you—not too much. If you let me, we can be a wonderful team."
"I don't—"
"Want to help me? It's because of you and your selfishness that I am being released to the surface world once more. For that I am eternally grateful," he said, patting Jason's cheek. "Time to wake up now. Are you ready?"
Yes, please wake me up. "I didn't have a—"
"There is always a choice. You could have said no. On three. One, two…"
Chapter Forty-Three
Lost in euphoria, Matt didn't know when he had stopped floating and landed on solid ground. It didn't make much sense, but there were no other words to describe the sensation. His body had drifted toward the sky, or at least that's how it had felt. There was no way he could have actually done so because when he opened his eyes he was laying in soft, plush, green grass under a perfectly clear blue sky.
This is beautiful. He sat up, seeing nothing but grass all around him. The most he could tell was that he was on a hill. The area was unfamiliar to him. In Inero, perfect green grass was not easy to come by. Am I in Heaven?
Off in the distance he saw a lone figure. On further inspection, he saw the outline of a woman—beautiful and curvy, her long, nearly black hair blowing in the breeze. Her skin was a soft golden tan. Soon, Matt found himself on his feet and walking toward her. It was almost as if he wasn't in control of his own body. He wouldn't have protested either way. He had to know more about her.
She faced him, piercing blue eyes met his, and he noticed how strong her jaw line was. Her perfect cheekbones made her all the more gorgeous. He'd never seen another woman like her. She was perfect. Her coloring suggested she was of the Inero bloodline, but her eyes were of the Oceina. Never in his life had he met an Inero with blue eyes. They were always a shade of brown, black, or gray. Sometimes on a rare occasion, he'd see something resembling an almost olive green or gold, but never blue.
"What's your name?" he asked, though he wasn't sure if she heard him because the words got caught in his throat and stumbled out of him.
"Who is like God," she said.
"What?"
"Who is like God. My name. And yours?"
"Gift of God." He could have sworn he had only said Matthias. It came out as the meaning of his name instead. Then he understood, though he didn't know what the meaning of her name translated into.
"Where are we?" he asked after she didn't say anything more.
She gave him a beautiful, radiant smile then pointed in front of her. "Home."
A gasp escaped his lips as he saw the tall, glimmering glass towers of Oceina City. Some of the buildings were different, newer. Most of the old ones were overpowered by these
new pillars of glass. He could still see them laced throughout the skyline.
"Your home?" He looked at her, his eyes wide.
"Our home."
"Are you Inero?" He had to know. She nodded. Tears filled his eyes as he was overwhelmed by his own unworthiness. He didn't deserve to know this information. Most of his life he had tried devoting himself to God. He had always felt as though he came up short. He'd done horrible things, and yet he was the one receiving the prophecy full of the answers his people needed to fulfill their destiny.
"I need you to listen to me, Gift of God." She waited until he was staring into her bright blue eyes before she continued speaking. "The darkness is coming. It wants to take you away from the right way. If you let it, you could lose the chance for our people to be at home. There will be war, but there will be peace following soon after, for what will feel like a long time. To God it will only be a blip. So is our life span when compared to eternity. Focus on the eternity, and everything else will fall into place. If you only pay attention to the short run, then we will not succeed. Do you understand?"
"I think so," he whispered. There was so much to take in. He wished he could write it down—something, anything to make sure he didn't forget one piece of this information. Already he could feel his mind starting to slip away as he felt his body become heavy. He fell to his knees before her. A hand touched his hair. He felt a surge of energy, love, and pure light flow through his veins.
She placed a gentle kiss to his forehead. "You may think you've forgotten, but you will always know what is true in your heart. Do not feel unworthy, Gift of God. There is still goodness inside of you. Love your wife, your child, and you will never lose sight of it. Everything else will fall back into place if you let it."
"Don't let me forget you either, please." He couldn't. She was beautiful, inspirational, and pure. The love and peace she radiated was something he wanted to emulate in his own life. As his eyes began to close once more, he could already feel his mind failing him in remembering the details. He didn't want to. If she could keep him in her light, he could make amends for the things he'd done wrong. Maybe there could be another answer than war.
Her fingers grazed over his eyelids, helping them close. "Rest. I won't ever be gone from your heart. You'll find me again if you remember to search for me."
"Please," he whispered. Soon he found himself in a deep and pleasant slumber. All he did was dream about those blue eyes.
Chapter Forty-Four
Wake up. Please wake up. Why haven't you? Your brother woke up an hour ago. What's wrong?
If she could scream her thoughts in order for him to hear her better, Kat would have. He looked so peaceful in bed. He'd been sleeping for so much longer than he should have. It'd been nearly a day since he was brought to their room inside of the castle. She still didn't know why he was unconscious to begin with. Lynx had showed up, dropped his son off, then said he'd return later to check in. He never did. A doctor came by six hours later and said he was fine and to not worry. How could she not? Who slept for twenty-four hours for no apparent reason? Something had to be wrong.
Matt stirred as though she had finally gotten through to him. She sighed with relief. When his eyes opened, the first thing he looked at was her.
He frowned as he rubbed his face with a hand and yawned. "Why are you sad?"
"Because I didn't know if you would wake up again." She cupped his face with her hands and closed her eyes. A few tears spilled down her cheeks. She didn't want to cry, but she was pregnant, hormonal, and now afraid. No one had told her anything, not even him.
"Why wouldn't I wake back up? There's still so much I want to do, like raise our family." His hand touched hers as he closed his eyes again. For having slept so long, he still seemed exhausted.
Kat kissed his forehead and let out a small laugh. "Good answer because we need you with us." She didn't even want to think about having to raise their daughter alone, especially since this would be the first female dragon born in history. Already, everyone was starting to look at her differently, and she wasn't sure how to feel about it. Nobody knew about the baby possibly being a girl outside of Lenora, Lynx, and Doctor Ryan. All three of them were sworn to secrecy until after the egg hatched and they could see for certain.
The eyes were on her all the same. She was the wife of the favored son. Self-consciousness and worried were two emotions ever present in her mind. No one said it out loud, but a lot would be expected of her as a mother and a wife. After all, she had to have been chosen for this huge honor for a reason, right? The idea of Matt not being there almost sent her into a panic.
"What happened?" he asked. He stared into her eyes, and she saw so much innocence in them—something she hadn't seen in quite some time.
"I'm not sad," she said.
"You're making this face," he said, mimicking her frown. This got a laugh out of her, and he smiled. "That's better. Please, tell me what happened."
"I should be asking you that."
He closed his eyes, turning his face toward the ceiling. "My father needed my help. I performed a spell to aid him in his goals. From there, I'm not sure what happened, but I had the strangest dream. It was good though. The details are fuzzy still, but I feel amazing."
"What kind of a spell? Wait, no you can tell me about it later. I'd rather save it for when I'm positive you're okay." Why hadn't he told her about this spell or these goals? She could only assume it had something to do with the upcoming war against the Oceina. Matt was good at keeping her in the dark until after the fact. She hated it. Right when they were starting to bond so well… I'll save that conversation for later.
Matt let out a soft and happy sigh. "Don't worry about me. I'm fine. I feel fantastic. Outside of the fact that I don't know what you mean by we're going to have a conversation later."
"It's not worth talking about until you're—"
"Kat, I promise I'm fine. We can talk now." For the first time since he'd woken up, he dropped out of his dreamy, dopey state and gazed at her with a straight face.
She was unsure of how to say everything on her mind. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I didn't want you to worry or stress out about it. You're pregnant and have more than enough to deal with. Stress can't be good for either of you."
"No, it's not. But you not telling me what's happening then going off and doing…whatever it is you just did, and coming back to me unconscious for a full day isn't making me any less stressed out!" Kat had every intention of keeping calm and talking about this rationally with him. By the end of her speech, her voice raised so much that Matt winced.
"I didn't think about that, to be honest."
"Sometimes I wonder if you think, period." The words flew out, and she immediately clapped a hand over her mouth. She hadn't intended on saying it. Then again, even if she thought them he would have still heard them anyway. The ability to block him out was still one she was having a hard time mastering, especially now that she was further along in her pregnancy. The baby would be out in only a couple of months, and as she developed, her needs became more vocal. Thankfully, at this point in time she was quiet, because Kat didn't know what she would do if she had to fight with Matt and the baby at the same time.
He didn't reply for a while nor was he thinking anything. If he was, he did so in a way that she couldn't pick it up.
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
Matt shook his head. "You're right. I should have been more considerate of you and at least told you what I was doing beforehand. I see that now. It's unfair of you to say I don't think, though, because I do often, and about you. Everything I've done has been for you. To see your smile, to make sure you're safe, or to give you anything else you might need."
"I said I was sorry."
"I know, but…" He stopped and shook his head. "Never mind, you're right. You said you were sorry and that's all that matters now."
Kat stared at him, surprised at how easily he let it go. Normally, Matt was a
bit more aggressive. He hated to be wrong. "It's just like before. I need you to communicate with me."
"Yes, I understand that. Why are we continuing this conversation?"
She stood up. "Tell me about this dream you had. It's affected you a lot. I don't think I've seen you this happy and relaxed for a while."
"I wish I could remember more of it, of everything, actually. The only thing I do remember is that I was afraid while casting this spell, then I drifted to a new place. It was home but I wasn't here at the castle. I remember seeing skyscrapers in the distance and lots of green, which reminded me a lot of the country of Oceina. Someone was with me, and they said…I don't remember what they said, but I know it confirmed everything my father has been telling me. I can feel it here." He tapped his chest. "I just know. Which sounds silly but it's true. That's about it. Everything else is a blur outside of blue eyes. Somebody had blue eyes."
"I don't understand."
"I don't either. The only thing I know is I haven't felt this much peace since the night you were first mine and I knew you were safe."
Kat's eyes brimmed with tears. This time happy ones that were accompanied with a smile. She didn't want to cry. All of the stupid hormones were making her whole system go bonkers. "You felt peace because I was safe?"
"Of course I did, silly. What else would I feel? You were finally in my arms where you belonged." He got out of the bed and, as if to prove his point, held her close from behind.
Chapter Forty-Five
"Are you sure you're okay?" Gwen asked him for what felt like the millionth time. She knew she should have probably let it go. She couldn't help it. Jason wasn't acting like himself. His body was tense and he was jumpy. He flinched just about every time she touched him and he had a short fuse. Every little thing set him off.