It was supposed to be their everything.
He skidded to a halt in front of Nathan’s mansion and nearly went over the handlebars in his haste to stop.
He jumped off the bike and ran for the front doors, suddenly needing the reassurance of his brothers. Help in contacting any shifters from another world. Anyone who could help with his questions.
He pounded on the door, resting his head on it, trying to fight off a spectacular headache. He couldn’t even think right now about Ada’s look of disappointment.
He could only think of his own fear and how he was going to explain it. He couldn’t tell Ada what he was, not now, not ever.
So how could he explain anything else?
His brothers had made it work somehow, but Theo was too afraid to reveal himself like that. What if she rejected him? What if she only liked the handsome surgeon, never guessing there was a monster inside?
“Please,” he said softly to the night air. “Someone open up.”
He stumbled as the door pulled open, and Dare glared at him, pissed and tan with all that golden angel beauty.
His mate was by his side, a small, blond woman, and Dare stepped in front of her, hiding her from sight.
He didn’t want to say what he had to in front of Dare’s mate. But Dare and Nathan would need to know this all was possible at least.
“I need to speak with you and Nathan. Right now. Alone.”
Dare raised an eyebrow. “Finally happened, huh? Fell for a human? Back to ask for forgiveness? I’m going to need an apology to me and my mate for calling me a dumbass.”
“I apologize,” Theo said quickly, surprising Dare. “I was wrong. I mean in more than one way. And I need to talk to you. I’ve found something out you’ll want to know.” His eyes darted to Dare’s mate. “I don’t want to say it in front of the women.”
Dare sighed, turning over his shoulder to call for Nathan before turning back to Theo. “I didn’t think you would be back this fast. You can sometimes go a year without seeing us.”
“I need your help, or at least some info.”
“Are you Theo?” The blond woman stepped forward with a kind look on her face, extending a hand. “I’m Sasha. It’s nice to meet you.”
Stunned, Theo put out a hand, still numb with shock as he shook Sasha’s. “Nice to meet you, too,” he mumbled.
Oh God, if only Nathan would hurry.
Dare’s eyebrows furrowed. “You don’t look well.”
Theo felt as if the world was spinning out from under him. He swayed slightly. “I don’t feel well. At all.”
He stumbled forward, and Dare caught him under the arms, calling again for Nathan.
“Sasha,” Dare said as Theo tried to regain his strength and consciousness. “Go hang with Lillian. I need to be with Nathan and Theo right now.”
Sasha nodded. “Good luck.” Her eyes went sympathetically to Theo. “Anything I can do to help him?”
Dare shook his head. “Just go.” Dare’s eyes were wary, and Theo could tell he feared a transformation or something worse.
Theo pushed back onto his feet, relieving Dare of his burden. He put a hand on the wall and leaned on it, taking a deep breath. “I’m sorry, but I’ve had a big shock, and I’m not sure what to do about it. But what I’ve discovered concerns you.”
Dare nodded.
Theo heard footsteps and looked up to see Nathan charging down the steps into the foyer and looking concerned but pleasant as always.
His face lit in a smile. “Theo! It’s nice to see you—”
“We gotta go,” Dare said, watching Theo as he headed to the study. “He’s not doing so well.”
Nathan was immediately all business, holding the door to the study so they could all go inside.
When Theo was slumped safely on a large, velvet chaise, he felt a glass placed in one of his limp hands.
He looked up to see Nathan holding a glass of his own.
“You looked like you could use a drink,” Nathan said.
Theo glared at the glass. Human alcohol hadn’t done much for him, but it burned and distracted at least. He raised the glass and gulped, coughing and wincing when he was done.
“Okay,” Dare said, leaning on a nearby desk while Nathan sat on a chair next to it. “What’s this about?”
“I’ve gotten a woman pregnant,” Theo said, looking vacant.
“It’s not… Are you sure?”
Theo nodded. “It could only have been me. I thought it wasn’t possible because…”
“We were supposed to be sterile,” Dare said. “Due to the darkness. I’m not sure, though, about the other side of us. The dragon side.”
“Is that what it is?” Theo asked warily. “Because you were right. I can feel something waking up inside me. Whenever I’m with Ada, that is.”
“Is Ada her name?” Nathan asked quietly.
Theo nodded. “Yeah.”
“Is she your mate?” Dare asked.
“I’m not sure what you mean by that,” Theo said.
“We aren’t typical shifters, but I’m pretty sure we can still have mates due to the dragon blood in us. It’s when you find one person and you can’t let them go, no matter what. You’d die for them, die without them.” Dare shook his head. “It’s no fun at all when it’s not working out.”
“But the best thing in the world when it does work out,” Nathan said. “Like it has for us.”
Theo stared up at his brothers helplessly, knowing Ada was his mate from their description. He couldn’t live without her. He’d never have hurt her on purpose. “I… What if I’ve just killed my mate?”
Dare just stared at him. “Why would you?”
“You’ve seen our form. That creature growing inside a human?”
Dare cocked his head. “I hadn’t thought of it like that. I mean, I figured if we weren’t compatible with humans, we couldn’t mate like them. Sasha and I have been careful, though, just in case.”
“I’ve done semen analysis,” Theo said. “We should be infertile. But something changed when I was with Ada. I should have known it could affect me biologically as well.” He put his head in his hands as pain and grief waved through him. “What am I going to do?”
He felt a hand on his shoulder as Dare sat on the chaise next to him, pulling him in for a hug. “Hey, you’re not alone, Theo.”
“Yeah,” Nathan said, crouching down in front so Theo was forced to look into his eyes. “We’re going to figure this out. We have friends now who can help us.”
“Friends?” Theo asked doubtfully. “You mean the shifter at the bar you go to?”
“We met an oracle as well,” Dare said. “Not the one who created us, but someone we think is her sister. She might be able to get us more information.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “As for the pregnancy issue, I had already requested more info on that as well.” His cheeks were flushed red. “I mean, of course I want that with Sasha, if possible. I really didn’t think of it as negatively as you do.”
“You should have,” Theo said sharply.
“Well, I’ve been careful, haven’t I? But there’s a part of me that feels less and less nightmarish the more I’m with my mate. Makes me feel like normal is possible. And that means a family, too.” Dare folded his arms. “But the oracle hasn’t gotten back to me yet. She has a lot to do and probably hasn’t gotten around to it. But from what I know of her so far, if she knew what was going on with your mate, she would make it a priority to get more info.”
Theo blinked. Was there hope? “Call her. Get in touch however you can.” He looked around him. “Dare, do you live here?”
“No.” Dare laughed. “But I come here a lot. Our mates are friends, and it’s been good to spend time with Nathan.”
Nathan smiled. “It’d be fun to have you here as well.”
“Fine. That’s all well and good. Just help me make sure my mate will be safe. That’s all I care about at the moment.”
“I will,” Dare said. �
��I’m going to try and get in touch with her people. It’s going to be okay. I promise.”
Theo put his head in his hands again and tried to keep his thoughts from overwhelming him. Dare had better be right about everything being okay, because if he wasn’t, Theo didn’t want to be in this world.
Chapter 16
Far away from the prying eyes of humans or shifters, the oracle slowly descended the winding staircase into her magical prison ensconced deep in the mountain of her home.
Here she kept, under the very tightest of security and secrecy, the world’s deadliest threats, frozen cryogenically to protect the rest of humanity from their evils.
She leaned onto her cane heavily as she took one more stair then finally reached the bottom floor. She took a few deep breaths, her body aching from centuries of wear, and made a mental note to ask a blue dragon for some help when she got around to it.
Normally, she would have used something to make the arduously long trip deep into these caverns easier. But with the magical field here in the mountains suppressing even her own abilities somewhat, along with the fact that the past couple years had been some of the busiest, most stressful ones she’d ever experienced in her existence, she needed to save her energy for what she was about to do.
A long, dark hallway stretched out before her, lit by magical blue flames that burned brighter to greet her. On her left and right, thick crystalline pillars of ice stood silently around her. Each one was a criminal, an enemy to good and right, some villain with their own story, their own motives.
And their own criminal history that ensured they needed to be locked up for as long as the battle between light and dark still raged on in the hearts of all living things.
She steeled herself, plodding forward toward the end of the long, wide corridor. The cold, stale air of the millennia-old cave wafted around her, the tap-tap of her footsteps echoing on the walls the only sound she could hear.
Finally, at the end, she came to a large ice pylon rising ten or so feet before her. The blue ice was purple in some places, dark violet tendrils wound through the ice like frozen tentacles.
Her sister, Irial.
The dark oracle.
The oracle tapped a finger on the crest of her walking cane. She didn’t remember it looking like that before.
Only one thing could have brought her so far into the depths of her dungeon, face to face with her own sister, the darkest creature she had ever known.
She needed to know more about the nightmare dragons. Her sister, Irial, had created them over a century ago. In a time when humanity’s drive for advancement was ushering in worldwide bloodshed, shifter society flourished, decades ahead of the humans around them in terms of economics and technical achievements.
Somehow, Irial had made something so horrible, so abhorrent that even she had cast them out. Yet when the oracle had met Dare personally, she’d felt nothing of the raw evil she had seen in her sister or countless other shifters, some of whom were locked away in this very cavern.
Which meant there was still hope for them.
The oracle shook her head to herself, her heart aching. Long ago, there had been hope for Irial, too. At least she liked to think no creature was beyond saving, even the nightmare dragons. But Irial had made her choice, thousands of times, driving a wedge deeper and deeper between her and her sister into a rift separating light and dark.
So if the nightmares were connected to Irial, maybe even related to her, how was it they could still be good yet surrounded by so much darkness?
She had to know.
The oracle focused her mind, clearing out all other thoughts and tossing them away like dust. She needed to be able to communicate with Irial inside the magical cryo she’d been placed under, but not enough to weaken the barrier holding her sister’s own formidable powers at bay.
For a second, she rethought her plan. Maybe she should come back later with Aegis or Lead, just in case.
But there wasn’t time. The oracle could sense darkness spreading on the horizon in her mind. And with the sudden appearance of the nightmare dragons, she couldn’t help but feel her visions of the future and their emergence were connected somehow. If she knew what they were, she could help guide the nightmares, help them fight their own darkness, and win them over to the side of good.
Yes, this had to be done.
She just needed to be careful.
Irial, can you hear me? The oracle sent her thoughts toward the pillar of ice before her, sensing her sister frozen inside it. Like opening a door only a fraction of the way, she peeled back the magical barrier with her mind, allowing her unspoken words to trickle into her sister’s prison.
But there was no response.
Irial, I know you’re in there. I need to talk to you about something.
She could feel her sister, alive inside but saying nothing back. Perhaps she was being stubborn, as she always was.
It had taken all the oracle’s strength to get the information she had obtained from Irial about the missing dragon hearts, information that her dragons had put to good use to save many prisoners held captive by her sister’s scheming, lunatic minions.
The oracle opened the proverbial door in her mind a smidgen more, calling to her sister in annoyance. Irial’s silence said everything.
Then, with a bright flash, sharp pain stabbed at her mind like a million tiny daggers, and the magical doorway keeping Irial locked pushed back against her with incredible force.
In desperation, the oracle tried to force the barrier shut. Her cane fell to the side, and she pressed both hands into her forehead, attempting to close the gate before Irial could get out. But it was like trying to hold back a tidal wave with two hands. And gradually, the door was wrenched open.
The oracle’s eyes flew open in horror, and she watched as a hand thumped against the inside of the ice pillar. The fingers were pale, craggy, and the nails scraped at the inside, making a spine-tingling sound as glowing purple eyes appeared from within the icy cage.
The oracle picked up her cane and stepped back, immediately calling out for help from Marina, her apprentice. But with her mind weakened, she knew that help wouldn’t come in time.
Suddenly, a blinding purple light emanated from the towering crystal, filling the cave end to end as it hummed, quietly at first, then raising to a deafening pitch. The entire mountain seemed to shake with the energy for a moment, vibrating deep into the earth.
With an ear-splitting blast, the crystal exploded outward, sending ice shards both small and huge flying in every direction. The oracle waved her hand, deflecting the shards, then looked up incredulously at her sister floating in the air before her.
“Hello, sister.” Irial’s voice was calm, sardonic.
The oracle raised her cane, but Irial was too fast as she snapped her fingers and a blast of black energy flew at her with incredible speed. Suddenly, she was thrown off the ground and onto her back, completely stunned by Irial’s dark energy. The oracle tried to move her hands, tried to do anything, but her body wouldn’t respond.
Irial just hovered a few feet above the ground for a few moments, stretching her arms and fluffing her dark hair as if she had all the time in the world.
Without the opal dragon’s magic, Irial was starting to look her age, deep frown lines cutting down the sides of her cheeks and eyes. Even her hair, which was usually pitch black, was starting to gray.
Not that the oracle was dumb enough to bring that up.
“You really thought you could keep me in there forever, didn’t you?” Irial mocked, dark cloak around her waving lightly as she levitated forward, slowly descending until she stood over her, glowering.
“You deserve to be in there forever, sister. The world is a better place without you.” She should have destroyed Irial when she’d had the chance. Zach and the others had warned her about keeping the dark oracle around.
But at the end of the day, she couldn’t destroy her own sister.
“Oh, waxing
remorseful, are we now?” Irial barked out a scornful laugh. “You always were the weaker one, mentally at least. And even if you once were more powerful than I, it seems your strength has waned quite a bit in the last couple years. Whereas I’ve had nothing better to do than gather my power, waiting for this moment.” Irial paced back and forth, eyes creased in disdain down at her, arms folded.
“It doesn’t have to be like this, Irial. We can put an end to this fighting,” the oracle pled. She knew Irial had no interest in world peace. She preferred the world in pieces. But she would do anything to stall for time.
“Oh, I intend to do exactly that. First, I’m going to do to you what you never had the courage to do to me. Second, I’m going to rip this mountain in half, and I’ll conquer your tiny little island,” she said, ticking off numbers with her fingers. “Next, I’ll—”
To the oracle’s surprise, her sister stopped her monologuing midsentence, gazing to the side as if listening for something far off.
“I can sense something. Something incredible.” Irial’s vanity and hatred was matched only by her curiosity, and the oracle watched helplessly as her sister’s eyes widened in excitement. “Oh, that is just too delightful for words.”
Suddenly, Irial seemed much more interested in something other than revenge, and the oracle watched as she strode toward a nearby ice pillar and placed her hand on it. In seconds, the tall frozen mass had crumbled to the floor, the magic keeping the world safe from its prisoner now gone.
“Get up, Topaz. We’re leaving,” Irial said insistently, waiting impatiently as he brushed ice off his shoulders and rose to his intimidating height. Even in the dark-blue light of the cave, his light-blond hair and soulful brown eyes belied his treacherous personality.
“Where the hell are we?” he asked, looking around, confused. Unlike Irial, Topaz had been asleep like the rest of the prisoners here, so time had passed without him knowing.
“No time for explanations,” she replied, seeming very busy as she rubbed her hands together, then clapped, and a dark portal opened before her.
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