Dragon Guardian

by Ophelia Bell

  Confused, Neph darted a glance at the window only to see a completely white cloud of violently blowing snow. He shivered involuntarily.

  Cade chuckled. “There’s clothes in the closet upstairs that’ll fit. The Queen said to make myself at home here, seeing as how I’d likely be stuck through the winter. Go ahead and do the same. Supper will be ready in an hour or so.”

  Chapter Three

  Neph

  The Windchaser’s weather sense held true. By the next morning, the snowfall had ceased and a clear blue sky looked down on the pristine white world beneath. Neph didn’t waste time once he’d outfitted himself with warm clothes and gear from the upstairs closets in the house. He tried the men’s clothes in the two bedrooms, but found the only clothes that fit were the ones belonging to the youngest male who’d lived here. Jasper was the ursa’s name, Cade had said. The ursa Queen’s younger cousin was a big man whose shirts must’ve easily fit Cade’s broad shoulders, but were baggy on Neph’s more streamlined frame. It didn’t matter to him as long as they kept him warm.

  Once he drifted to the mountain cliff that bordered the turul Enclave, only a few moments passed before a falcon soared into view, its russet feathers glinting in the winter sunlight. The huge bird shimmered as it landed, its torso growing and elongating as it took a more human form. The wings remained, as did the feathers that covered the bird’s feminine curves.

  The familiar face that emerged when the bird’s head flowed into its new shape surprised him.

  “Sophia North. I’m not sure I deserve the honor of having you greet me. You’ve aged well.”

  The striking, dark-haired woman smiled, her eyes glinting with the kind of knowledge another of his sisters—the Diviner—kept tight to her chest. Neither were females to be trifled with.

  “So have you, Neph, but there are deeper signs of our age beyond our appearance. The fact that you’re outside the Haven will no doubt take its toll on us all. But the truth is that I came to greet you because the others are busy making a plan of attack. It’s good that you’re here—you may want to talk your nephew out of the stunt he’s planning. The way is open for a few more minutes. You may drift to him or fly. Your choice.”

  Beyond the edge of the cliff, a rippling in the air betrayed the presence of the opening in the barrier that shielded the Enclave. If Neph tilted his head just so, he could see the cliff-side structures on the other side of the chasm. Tilting the other direction, all he saw was another cliff that looked just like the one he stood upon.

  “I don’t have time to fly, if I can help it. Thank you, Sophia. I hope we have time to catch up later, but you’ll have to forgive me if I’m in a hurry now.”

  He gripped her by the feathered shoulders and kissed her on the cheek. The ancient turul matriarch had always been a close friend, though one every bit as devious as his sister … more so, if his suspicions were true and she was in fact an agent of Fate even more elusive than the Diviner herself.

  Sophia gripped his hand and held tight, pulling him closer and preventing him from leaving. “You are not meant to go with them, Neph. You may not have had time to see for yourself, but you will look, and when you do, you’ll see. Fate’s plan for you lies in that cabin you left behind.”

  His brows drew together. “In the cabin? But …” He shook his head, realizing it was a trick of words. Seers like Sophia North often spoke in riddles, or too literally to easily take a statement at face value. The only thing back in that cabin was a big ursa, whose entire life and history Neph had glimpsed the moment they’d met, and most of Cade’s future had nothing to do with a lost satyr like him.

  “I’ll take your message under consideration,” he said with a nod, then aimed his focus through the open portal to the impression of his nephew he sensed far on the other side.

  The group didn’t see him at first when he drifted into the busy dining hall. Hundreds of turul and dragons congregated, surrounded by packs and gear, apparently in preparation to leave. He easily blended into the mess and silently observed for a few moments as he made his way around the room to the front, where his nephew stood beside his mates and several others.

  Calder was carrying on an intense conversation with another man as they leaned over a table, pointing at what appeared to be a map on its surface. Something about the other man triggered a chilly feeling in Neph’s gut. If he could just see the man’s eyes …

  “Can we help you?” someone asked when Neph stopped on the opposite side of the table and stared pointedly at the stranger his nephew was talking to. He looked toward the speaker—an intense-looking man with stormy eyes, cropped black hair, and a glowing dragon mark on one side of his neck.

  “Neph?” another voice asked, and gradually everyone stopped talking, their attention shifting to him. The second speaker he recognized by his deep green eyes and black hair, and let out a sigh of relief.

  “Nicholas. It’s so good to see you’re safe.”

  The big ursa chuckled. “Thanks to you. What the hell are you doing here?”

  He glanced at Calder, who finally tore his focus away from his conversation. His eyes widened. “Dion’s balls, Uncle. Why aren’t you back in the Haven?”

  Calder trotted around the table and pulled Neph into a big hug, then held him at arm’s length with a worried frown.

  “Nyx …” Neph began, but was cut off by a collection of curses as his nephew’s mates came to stand by his side.

  “We heard what she did,” Aurum said. “Should we be worried that you didn’t make it back inside?”

  “I have to trust that Assana will do what she can. She’s a strong girl. You all need to find Nereus.”

  “Come with us,” Calder said. “We need every able-bodied creature we can recruit for this, Uncle. Nikhil’s intent on going on the offensive against the Ultiori. Finding my dad is only the start of it.”

  Calder glanced at the man he’d been speaking with, who still stood on the other side of the table, arms crossed. Now that Neph could see the man’s eyes, the chill increased. This man was touched by the River, and not in a good way. The remnants of his past clung to him, stains of the blood he’d spilled over centuries … millennia …

  “You …” Neph said, his voice low and menacing. “You’re the one she corrupted.”

  “Might want to take a step back, brother,” a male voice said, and a pair of hands belonging to two different men gripped his shoulders and held him.

  Nikhil took a deep breath, regarding Neph for a long moment. Then he nodded and dropped his hands to his sides.

  “Let him go, Iszak … Lukas … He’s right to hate me, and wise to be cautious. Neph, I hoped we would meet because now that I’m free of Meri’s spell, my mission is to end her. I’d hoped Aodh would get me into the Haven so we could speak, but it seems he’s there and you’re here, so I guess this was meant to be. Tell us Meri’s secrets so we can destroy the bitch once and for all.”

  “You’re fucking blood-melded to the bitch, and you don’t know already?”

  Nikhil closed his eyes for a beat, seeming to draw strength from within. He slowly shook his head as he opened his eyes. “She first melded me when I was weak. I was almost never in control during all the years we were melded. That’s done now.” He unbuttoned the cuffs of his shirt and slowly rolled up his sleeves, then pulled open his collar. His neck and wrists displayed brilliant glowing blue marks. Dragon marks the likes of which Neph had never seen, and filled with even more power.

  “You belong to a dragon,” he said.

  “I have always belonged to a dragon,” Nikhil said. “Meri stole me. Now that I’m back where I belong, I intend to make sure she pays for everything she made me do. Will you help?”

  Soft murmurs flooded the room as Neph’s identity was shared among the group. He glanced around, taking in all the creatures. Dragons and turul mostly, but there were a few humans too. Two of th
e humans he instantly recognized as dragon-blessed. Most were mated. In a rush of images, he saw all their futures too quickly to fully process, but the kaleidoscope of lives was so complete without a single gap, it was clear there was no space for him.

  At least until he returned his gaze to the closest group. He met the eyes of the dragons who were his counterparts as leaders of their race. Belah, Aurum, and Ked stood side by side. Within their futures, he saw the place where he belonged. That unfilled space belonged to their three missing siblings, who he easily envisioned right beside them where they belonged. And beside Aodh’s vacant spot were two other conspicuously empty places … too empty for Neph to deny.

  There was only one dragon whose future he was tied to, and that dragon wasn’t in this room. No one in this room required his presence to complete their journey.

  “I will tell you what I can about our enemy, though I regret it won’t be much. I knew Meri as a skilled Thiasoi fighter and an ambitious nymph. I believed she might make a worthy mate at one time.”

  “You loved her,” Nikhil said. Not accusingly, but as a simple statement.

  “No. I loved what she could offer me and Aodh. That was all.”

  He gritted his teeth against the tightness in his chest. Everyone was listening so intently he could hear heartbeats and nothing else.

  Under his breath, he said, “You all remember how strict our laws were at the beginning. Love wasn’t recognized as true unless a child was produced from a union. Did Fate even grant the turul an excuse if two males found each other? Were there ever true mates of the same gender who otherwise would never have been recognized as mates?”

  A clear, female voice rang out. “Never in our history has Fate’s mark shown a turul a mate that wouldn’t be accepted. This generation is the first to choose one who wasn’t either human or turul, or of the opposite gender.”

  Neph shot a look over his shoulder and saw Sophia moving through the crowd toward them.

  “Meri was meant to carry our child, nothing more,” Neph continued. “And she was willing, but she thought to begin a blood meld without a bond of love. I would never have blood-melded her. I didn’t take that step with Aodh only because of the limitations on our relationship. We could never be public about it, even with her as our third. As Dionarch, I couldn’t let my feelings cloud my judgment. The Haven mattered too much. It matters even more now.”

  “Does she wish to return home?” Nikhil asked.

  “You tell me. My guess is she wants power. Her blood meld with Aodh gave her a taste of immortality. She’s found a temporary means of persisting since then, but that would never be enough. Even if she managed to acquire the body of an immortal to inhabit, she would always have to share it with their spirit, or some remnant of their connection if it was an even swap. The only thing powerful enough to grant true immortality is the Source, but there’s no way in hell we’ll let her get back into the Haven.”

  Nikhil nodded. “That’s comforting to hear, but what I know about her is that she’s nothing if not dedicated to her goals. If she was willing to have a child with two immortals, that tells me she was likely after this goal long before she blood-melded Aodh. Producing a hybrid baby was the purpose of her experiments as long as I’ve known her. She made it my goal for some time, feeding on my craving for a child of my own. I have reason to believe she succeeded in at least creating a hybrid embryo … but that was the last thing that happened before I defected, so I have no way of determining if my suspicions are correct. Whether the child was viable or not, I don’t know, nor have we been able to confirm. If she wants the Source to help give that child immortality … it would be the first step in building an entire immortal army that would be impossible for us to beat.”

  “An immortal army,” Neph said. “But no one can access the Haven now. The Sanctuary is locked down until the Equinox. No one is getting in.”

  “How could she make it happen, is what I need to know,” Nikhil said in a level tone. “Think.”

  Neph shook his head. “It isn’t possible. The Source itself is how we travel in and out. When the portals are active, they’re connected to the Source … powered by it. But thanks to my sister, the Source is almost entirely shut off from the rest of the world now. Only the Sanctuary has access, otherwise the ursa would die.”

  “Which was what Nyx was threatening to do if the Queen didn’t send her our brothers,” Belah said.

  “They’ll be fine,” Neph said. “The fact that Nyx didn’t request your sister suggests that she’s interested in them as mates for the nymphs. She’s been desperate for more satyr offspring for ages, but hadn’t yet managed to talk me into it. I don’t take mating lightly.”

  “Your sister isn’t a danger to the Source, is she?” Nikhil asked

  “On the contrary. Nyx’s madness is entirely focused on keeping Meri out of the Haven and away from the Source. She was willing to risk a war with the ursa to protect it, in fact. If there’s any weakness, it would lie with the Sanctuary’s barrier and the portals inside. Cade tells me the guardians have all been called home so there are no protectors on the outside.”

  “The barrier is strong.” Aurum scowled at him. “My siblings and I made sure of that when we entered. Anyone not attuned to the barrier will be killed if they try to pass through on the Equinox. It’s impenetrable any other time.”

  Neph’s eyebrows shot up. “You’ve added fire magic to the Sanctuary’s barrier? That’s good. In that case, it will be nearly impossible to breach. I doubt even I’d be strong enough to get through. I think we have little to worry about now, until we can learn more details of what she has planned.”

  Calder stood up a little straighter. “That’s the next step. If we’re going to ensure the Haven and the Source are secure, we need both you and my mother inside and in control. Preferably of your own minds, too. I have a plan to find my father, which I think is the first step. If we can rescue him and get a message back to Mother, she may regain her sanity enough to allow us back inside. Come with us to find my father.”

  Looking into his nephew’s eyes, a troubling image appeared of the younger satyr unconscious and connected to tubes, floating inside a transparent tank of liquid. Five other satyrs hung suspended near him, all in the same state. One of those other satyrs’ faces made his heart lurch in his chest. His closest friend and his sister’s mate, Nereus, was trapped in there. It was the clearest vision he’d had of his old friend in ages, no doubt brought on by Calder’s determination to carry out his plan.

  This vision of his would happen, whether he liked it or not, but he wasn’t meant to be part of it. The only thing he could influence was Calder’s understanding of the future he was headed toward, and provide him with the tools to survive.

  “This path you’ve chosen is dangerous, Calder, but I can see there is no other path for you. Unfortunately, my path lies in another direction. If Assana succeeds in getting the dragons released from my sister, I want to be close to the Stonetree portal in case Aodh exits. My journey is by his side, that much I’m sure of. I can give you one gift, however.”

  He took a deep breath and looked at Aurum and Nicholas, who had moved to stand by the side of their mate. Perhaps that vision of Calder trapped in a tank like some lab specimen was only a short snippet of the worst moment. He had seen numerous visions of people’s deaths during his brief scan of the room—some would die during the course of this mission, others in the distant future. Babies would be born and matings forged. Their races would be stronger with each new bond.

  He hadn’t seen Calder’s death, and for that he was grateful. But there was one thing he could do to ensure his nephew survived what he had seen.

  “You must blood meld your mates before you leave. If the love between the three of you is as true as it seems, a melding as intimate and permanent as a blood meld will strengthen your powers exponentially. Meri won’t expect it because she never
properly understood how a blood meld was meant to work.” He directed his next comments to Nikhil. “She overpowered your mind by brute force. If there had been love between you, the outcome would have been far different. You’ve shared blood with someone stronger since, haven’t you?”

  “He has my blood. He’s had it from the start,” the blue-eyed Belah said.

  “And yet not even that prevented Meri from influencing you?” Neph asked.

  “I let the taint of betrayal drive me,” Nikhil said. “I don’t back down easily once I’ve decided on vengeance. It took Belah’s blood and her undying love to bring me back, along with a turul’s song.”

  “Use the turul to your advantage, then. If they could break her spell on you, they’ll be invaluable. And Calder … when you do find Nereus, which you will, a drop of your own blood could revive his mind. You are Nyx’s son and her power runs through your veins. All he will need is that small taste to remind him who he is.”

  “Are you sure you won’t come with us?” Aurum asked.

  “Perhaps later I can join you all, if Assana succeeds in bringing her mother to her senses without us. If that happens, we should take the fight to Meri, and I’d love nothing more than to join you all when you attack.”

  “We’re headed to the first dragon temple, in Sri Lanka,” Nikhil said. “It’s the most secure location that can house the army I’m building.”

  Neph nodded. “I know the island well. We used to have several portals there. If there’s flowing water within the temple, a drop of Calder’s blood in the water will allow me to locate you easily via drift. Good luck.”

  As much as he hated leaving his nephew to carry out this mission without him, Neph was anxious to get back to the cabin. He couldn’t see what awaited him in his own future, but he knew Cade’s future was likely to be just as dull for some time. The pair of them would make good company while they bided their time.