Bane of Dragons

by Clara Hartley

  At first, it seemed like it’d work. Magic rushed out from at least ten beads—probably a couple of oxen worth—and gushed around the seeds. The seeds lifted into the air and danced in the magic, swirling in the winds the magic created. My chest tightened in anticipation.

  And then the light disappeared as soon as it came, misting into nothing. The seeds dropped onto the table, some scattering onto the ground, and were just as dull and brown at they had been before.

  “It… it didn’t work,” I said. A hint of doubt crept into my chest.

  Micah smoothed his hand across my shoulder. “It’s okay,” he said. “Try the next one. We have about ten more spells to go through. That one was the most likely, but as mentioned earlier, spells can be random, and we can’t know for sure.”

  “Yeah, we’re going to work this out.” I prayed to Aereala that luck was on my side.

  I picked up the next sheet of paper and read the spell out. When the magic glowed even more brightly this time, I felt hope. This time, the glow flashed into crimson before popping out of existence. It was an even bigger failure. The seed hadn’t changed.

  “We used that one spell,” I said to Micah. “Back in that garden… it wasn’t even from the original spell, but it worked. The plant didn’t come out the way it did, but at least the seed changed. What was so special about it?”

  Micah answered, “Invongar respodalis vin garlis ron siras.”

  “It sounds basic,” Gaius said. “Try the next one.”

  And I did. And the next, and the one after that. None worked. I couldn’t even make the seed change color, much less become the answer to all of Constanria’s food problems.

  I wanted to slam my forehead on the desk once I finished. “Nothing’s working.”

  Checking my watch, I noted it was already late at night. I had to leave by tomorrow evening, while the council vote was the next morning. I’d run out of time, and I wasn’t as useful to Gisiroth as I hoped I’d be.

  I tried to hide the despair from my expression, but it gripped me so tightly it made my chest hurt.

  “We’ll think of something else,” Micah said. All of them wore disappointed expressions. Frederick was sitting on a chair, sighing as he spooned a piece of cake into his mouth.

  “I’ll go pack my things,” I said.

  Gaius reached for me. “You can’t give up now.”

  “It’s not going to work. Playing god was probably a stupid idea. We should have come up with something simpler, but my mind’s hurting, and I’m out of ideas. It feels like… feels like I’m drowning. I’m trying so hard to grab for something, so that my head can break the surface of the water, and I can breathe, but there’s water all around me and I’m too deep in. There’s no way out of this.”

  “Stay,” Micah said. “We’ll talk to Rylan. We’ll beg Gisiroth to let you back. We can help.”

  “Maybe.” I flopped onto the bed and pulled a pillow to me. “Do you think that might work?”

  Kael ran a hand down his face. “With Father? His head is a hard as a dragon’s scales.”

  I buried my face into my pillow. I shut my eyes tight, trying hard to think of another way. It was already too late.

  I got up and looked for my suitcase. “Will you guys be able to visit when I’m gone?”

  “We’ll find a way,” Gaius said.

  “I’ll come with you,” Micah added.

  Kael nodded. “It’s too hard to stay away. Did you see how much alcohol I drank? My liver hurt. It healed immediately, but dang, I wasn’t expecting that sting.”

  Frederick set down his dessert. “The council doesn’t give us many off days, but I’ll do my best.”

  “You guys are the greatest,” I said, almost tearing up. I reached my arms out.

  “What?” Kael asked.

  “Need a hug.”

  “That’s actually kind of cute, Sera-kit.”

  “Yeah, just come over here. All of you.”

  They chuckled and neared me.

  I accepted their warmth. It felt like we were one big family, although Frederick was perhaps taking the opportunity to get closer to Kael.

  I was in a big hole, and it seemed too tough to get myself out of it, but at least I wasn’t alone in it anymore. I had Frederick, and my princes, and it was okay to get stuck in it, because it wasn’t all bad with company around.

  Twenty-Four

  With less work to worry about, it gave me time to appreciate the beautiful things in life, like the orange sunset. I noticed how the trees around us caught the orange only around their rims during this time of day, and how their shadows weren’t actually gray, but a deep, bluish purple.

  I was walking alone, in front of the outbuilding. We’d just finished dinner—which was better than most things they served on the council—and the men were still joking and bickering.

  Gaius and Kael were back, too. That made me happy. But then I thought about Rylan. What was he doing? Was he locking himself in his study, surrounded by the messes he created? I wanted him to be next to me as well. If I had been able to stay, then maybe I could have slowly broken down his walls. I might have been able to figure out a way to show the people in the palace I wasn’t the curse they thought me. But we’d failed, and I couldn’t be with Rylan.

  “All done?” Micah asked, walking up beside me.

  I nodded. My eyes searched through the warm clouds. The military was no longer practicing, and ceased to form winged silhouettes in the sky. A sense of serene peacefulness calmed me. It was the peace of acceptance. “Guess I’m finally leaving those pesky documents behind.”

  “I’m sorry it had to be this way.”

  “I’m not. Maybe this was what I needed.”

  “This?”

  “Losing everything again. Made me realize that it wasn’t that I couldn’t make myself good enough, it’s that the people around me weren’t, and now that I have you guys, I can be all right.” I grinned sheepishly. “That perhaps sounds a bit narcissistic. But maybe it’s okay to be a little every so often. I have to love myself by finding people who love me for me, and not people who want to spend time with me because of an image of myself I created.” I looked up at him and flashed a grateful smile. The birds chirped in the background, playing a tune that fluttered as my heart did.

  It wasn’t what I wanted, but I could accept this.

  But Rylan…

  I wanted to be better not for myself, but for him. So that I didn’t have to leave him alone anymore. The palace, despite the beauty of its architecture, and the way it was forcefully built around nature, could feel cold sometimes. At least Kael and Gaius would still be there for him.

  “You’re really coming with me?” I asked Micah.

  “Will you let me?”

  “Are you sure about this? It won’t be easy. You won’t be the prince all the servants are pining to serve anymore. Gisiroth might provide us with lodgings, but it’s definitely not the high life you’re used to here.”

  He shrugged and pulled me closer to him. I let myself sink into his sweetness. “I’ll manage.” Silence lingered between us as we soaked in the golden sky. “What do you think they’re going to do to you? Gisiroth’s going to want to test your powers.”

  I bit my tongue. “I’m not sure. But you’ll be there for it. I think with that, I’ll be able to handle it.”

  “I’m coming along too,” Kael said, striding toward us from behind.

  I spun and looked at him, seeing the cheeky grin plastered on his face. “What?”

  “The palace is getting boring anyway. I’ll tag along with you guys, and maybe once that new place gets boring, we can ride to farther places, escaping from Father’s watch. We’ll explore the cold regions to the far east, beyond Beyesteria, or maybe even over the Black Ocean. Adventure and danger.” His eyes sparkled with excitement.

  I found myself laughing at his childlike wonder. “Nobody crosses the Black Ocean. The ancient witches used portals of the old to cross them.”

  “
What are we going to eat?” Micah asked.

  “We’re dragons,” Kael said. “We can hunt.”

  “You’ve never hunted a day in your life.”

  “Actually, I have. I often go past Gaean’s pit to get myself some dinner. You’re always mucking about within the palace’s walls. You should try it sometime. It’s better than those drawings and numbers you’re always drowning yourself in.”

  “Hunting? Around Gaean’s pit? I’d never thought of that… I mean, dinner’s always available back home.”

  “This lifestyle’s probably suppressing your dragon instincts too much. Your beast will have a blast.”

  “Can we bring Frederick along?” I asked. “I’m not sure about your cooking. I don’t want to eat raw meat with bits of charcoal around them.”

  Micah grimaced. “It’s different. The sound of having Frederick laughing on my dragon’s back isn’t as appealing as hearing you do the same.”

  “You should let him try sometime. He’s always talking about how dreamy the lot of you are.”

  Micah squinted. “And that’s supposed to convince us how?”

  Kael chuckled. “Do you think the same, Sera?”

  “What?” I pressed my lips together, feeling my pulse heighten.

  “What do you think about us?” Kael strode around Micah and looked at me.

  “You can be assholes sometimes.” I tried not to look at him, because when he studied me like that, I couldn’t quite trust how my body reacted. “Gorgeous assholes,” I muttered, blushing.

  Micah hugged me tighter. “Give Sera a break.” There was something possessive about the way he held me—like he didn’t want Kael in. “She’s been through a lot.”

  “Just some teasing.” Kael dropped down to the ground, crossed his legs, and craned his head up. He closed his eyes and released a deep sigh. “It’ll be different. Different isn’t exactly bad. It’ll be the three of us. We’ll invite Gaius in sometime, and when this thing dies down, maybe Rylan can come along. We can still be together somehow.”

  Yeah… together… under this orange sky. It was pretty nice—

  A thought lit in me.

  “Holy Aereala!”

  I jolted out of Micah’s arms. Their blue eyes shot toward me.

  “What’s wrong?” Kael asked.

  “The spell. I know why it didn’t work.” The answer was right there. I’d been too concerned about the words themselves, instead of how the spells were cast. “I know why those seeds turned orange.”

  “What are you talking about?” Micah said.

  I darted toward the outbuilding, not bothering to take a moment to gather myself. My mind raced, too quickly for me to catch up. I shoved the door open, seeing Frederick sleeping with one of my romance novels over his head, snoring loudly, and Gaius having a second helping of dinner—the men had managed to clear out my pantry with their monstrous appetites.

  I scampered up to our list of spells and fished for our hoard of soul beads.

  Gaius dropped the bone he was licking and peered at me. “Sera?”

  Kael strode in. “I think she’s finally lost it.”

  “No, it’s not that,” I said. “I got it. I think I have the answer.” I arranged the seeds and the pieces of paper on the table. “We can solve this.”

  “Okay, what’s your grand plan?” Kael asked, leaning against the doorframe. Their attention was locked on me.

  My heart pounded so hard that I heard its beating in my eardrums. “Micah and I managed to make some progress that day, when you passed us the original spell from Rylan. At first I thought it had something to do with the spell we used—that we somehow managed to create one that worked despite all the other failures. But that wasn’t it.” I was panting because of how flustered the excitement made me. “What are the factors that determine how strong a spell can be?”

  Gaius folded his arms and leaned back into his chair. “The spell itself, and how many souls it’s able to use and needs.”

  “There’s one more.” It wasn’t often talked about, but people used it to determine whether one could be a witch or a warlock. After that, they didn’t think twice about it. “Affinity to the art.” I looked at the seeds. “What if… what if two people using a spell at the same time made it stronger, amplifying it?” I could sense the promise of this new idea bristling at my fingertips. This would work. It had to. “Our bodies are all attuned to magic. If we combined our affinities, together, then maybe any of the spell combinations, or even just the right one, would activate.”

  “You want us to cast the spell at the same time?” Micah asked, worry in his tone. He paced toward me.

  “Yes,” I replied.

  “No,” Gaius said.

  I shot a glance at him. “What? Why not?”

  “I remember the last time we tried that.”

  Micah shook his head. “My dragon side doesn’t often come up, but it did when we both used our powers. I’m not sure how or why it happens, but it’s too hard to hold back. We shouldn’t risk it.”

  “It’s worth it to solve a problem concerning the nation,” I said. “If we make this work, it’s going to save lives. Feed people.”

  Micah’s eyes burrowed into me. “You don’t know the thoughts I had when I looked at you in that state.”

  “What thoughts?” I asked.

  “It was like an overwhelming voice. And the only thing I could focus on was to take you.”

  It felt like my heart had stopped. “I…” Heat warmed my cheeks. I tried to ignore the way they looked at me with a primal hunger, and said, “It’s still worth a shot. Just one of you will have to test out the spell with me. And the others can hold that person back.”

  Gaius leaned back, shooting me a wary glance. “I don’t like the sound of this.”

  Kael shrugged. “I can handle it.”

  “What if you slip up?” Micah snapped. “We could do something to Sera we might not be able to take back. Ever.”

  “Please,” I said. “This is my last idea. My last shot at getting back into the council. We have to try it.” I gave all of them a pleading look, hoping they’d understand. “Even if it doesn’t work, at least we’ll know that we’ve tried every single thing we could think of, and we can take our loss in peace.”

  Micah swept his hair back and breathed out a heavy sigh. “I’ll do it. I’ll cast the spell with Sera.”

  “I can,” Gaius said.

  Micah said, “No, it’s better if I do. You’re a little too brash. Plus, Kael and you will have an easier time holding me back.” His jaw flexed. “I hate to admit it, but you two are probably stronger than I am.”

  “Are you sure about this, Sera?” Kael asked. “What if something goes wrong and we can’t stop him?”

  I curled my hands into fists, trying to amass a little more courage. “You will. And even if you fail…”

  I might be okay with that.

  That was when Frederick’s snore rose in a crescendo, before ending in a loud snort. He sprang from the couch, flinging the romance novel to the ground. “Cauliflower!” he shouted. He took in a few large breaths before turning our direction. “Gaean’s balls, I thought I was about to get skewered by a vegetable. Wait. What did I miss? Why do the four of you look all serious?”

  I gathered the papers in my hands. “Let’s do it,” I said, trying to calm the swirling in my stomach.

  The orange glow had left the sky, leaving behind a twinkling of stars. There weren’t many stars up. The bright lights of Raynea drowned them out.

  We’d shifted a table out in the open. Seeds lay on top of it, lit by an oil lamp. Micah had suggested we do this outside in case things got too violent, and Kael had easily lifted the furniture and transported it.

  “This is insane,” Gaius said. “It could easily go awry. And then… Sera, you don’t want to regret this.”

  “I’m okay,” I said.

  We’d explained the idea to Frederick, and he’d decided to stay inside, watching from the small windo
w of the outbuilding. He didn’t want to end up getting clawed by one of the princes should their dragon sides go out of control.

  “No point dallying,” I said. “Let’s do this.”

  The yellow light of the lantern and the blue glow from the soul beads made the written spell legible in the darkness of the night. Micah had it memorized already, despite it being an entire paragraph of gibberish to me, so he didn’t need to look.

  I clenched my teeth together, before speaking the spell. We both had our hands up, and our voices synchronized, curling around each other.

  I heard the growling beside me, and the strange jolt of wanting zipping through my soul, but ignored them. I focused on channeling all the power into our experiment. The beads drained, forming a blinding burst of light and encompassing the pile of seeds. A thrumming sounded around us as the soul magic pulsed, spinning around the seeds.

  “It’s working,” I said. Kael and Gaius were holding Micah back. I could feel tension tight under my skin. Their grunts echoed from behind.

  “Micah, listen to me—” Gaius said.

  A snarl, then a snap.

  I wasn’t sure where to look. I ought to have paid attention to Micah—he wanted to pounce at me, after all—but the magic had turned into the colors of the rainbow, and it enthralled me.

  And then it exploded in red. That couldn’t mean…

  I squinted, seeing that the experiment had failed.

  Again.

  I banged my fists against the table, sending some of the empty beads sprawling onto the grass. “I was certain it’d work!”

  Now it wasn’t Micah they had to hold back, but me, because I wanted to flip the table. These consistent failed attempts made me violent in ways that scared me.

  Gaius hugged me, kissing my cheek, which did little to settle the storm in me. “It definitely was stronger than the first time we tried,” Gaius said.

  I spun to Kael and Micah, seeing that Micah had settled. He was panting, and his wings had spread from his back.

  “Let’s try again,” Micah said.