by Jadyn Chase
As the sun rose in the early morning sky, Aya gave us the last bit of help she could … a map. Ashton took one look at it, committing it to memory and then handed it back to her. He didn't want us getting caught with it. The city of Empyrean was meant to remain somewhat of an urban legend, a myth, and Ashton wanted to be sure that was upheld at all costs.
One of the many items in our sack included a vial of musk-scented oil. It helped mask our scents while Onyx Skulls and Black Sapphires continued to scour the skies looking for us. My years scraping and scavenging through the city helped us make it out in a few hours.
By the time we made it to the outskirts, it was already early in the afternoon. We couldn't help but stop and look out at the place we'd both called home. While it meant different things to the both of us, we were leaving a piece of ourselves behind.
Ashton laced his fingers between mine, "Come on. Let's go."
I refused to let any tears fall. Maybe we'd be back someday. After all, I'd told Raven I'd go back to The Gears when in my heart I just knew I wasn't. That didn't hold up, so this goodbye wouldn't do it for me either. We'd be back to Black Harbor, but for now, our hearts and eyes were on the journey ahead of us.
The edge of the forests that touched Black Harbor, seemed to be various shades of grey and black. Soot and ash were the only things surviving there until we walked deeper into the thicket. Green grass, trees, and leaves began to surround us as we ventured into the wilderness.
I could have sworn I heard one flying above us, but Ashton assured me we were in the clear. Perhaps we weren't, and he just didn't want me to worry.
We hiked for another two hours until he decided we should take a break.
"I want to show you something," he told me extending his hand out to me.
I let him lead me to the place that I once thought was too beautiful for word before I knew it was a grave and not simply a lake made of glass. I had no idea he'd take me here.
"I haven't been here in forever," he laughed nervously running his fingers through his hair. "Whisper Chalice, this is my mother, Lorna Cane."
I rested my head on his shoulder as we looked out into the dark abyss marked as his mother's final resting place. I didn't have anything to say. We just stood there silently. I let him have his silent discussion and I'd give him as much time as he needed.
The sound of wings flapping overhead was the only thing to bring us out of the brief tranquility. My heart began to race as the blackish grey beast landed in front of us. His royal blue underbelly had a streak of grey cracking through it as if he were wearing his age on his scales.
When Preston Cane scaled down to greet us, Ashton didn't run. As a matter of fact, he held my hand tightly and moved me behind him. Always my protector.
"I'm not here for either of you," he called out.
"Then why are they still looking for us!? How could you sick those demons on me, Father?! You sent Finch Skinner, of all Scalers, you sent him?!"
"You don't understand, but please give me a moment alone with my wife. Don't leave, Ashton. Please. I've lost enough people I love. Just stay a moment and talk to me," he pleaded.
I could tell Ashton was ready to bolt, but I squeezed his hand, "I don't think your father would ever betray you. Not after everything. Give him his moment. I'm in no rush."
"Fine, but regardless of what he has to say or whatever conclusion we come to, you and I are going to Empyrean."
"Yes, yes we are."
16
Ashton
Whisper walked off to give my father and me some privacy. He approached me with a different demeanor than usual. He seemed at peace and a little sad.
I had to pry, "Why did you come here?"
"Probably the same reason you did, for a little peace amongst the chaos," he said with a heavy breath. "I want you to know that it was never my intention for Finch to get involved. When Miranda came to me and then Ivan, I only wanted to speak with you. Then they told me the Anthro, she tricked you and took a swan dive off the floor to get you to follow her into the station after her. They told me you were being held captive. And …"
"And you believed them? Dad," I turned to him with a raised eyebrow, "Of everything you've witnessed me do, being held captive by a few Anthros didn't seem a bit far-fetched."
"It did and still does until you mention the name Whisper. She has you through the heart, Son."
"I know," I smiled, "But my feelings for her keep me sane and keep everyone safe. No one wants this Scaler back."
I tapped my foot on the glass lake.
"I'm still in awe of this. As sad as this place is for us. It was the pinnacle of your abilities. All of that rage and fire was magnificent to witness. It made me see how much stronger you are than me. And then it began to dwindle until finally, we have this. This version of you that stands before me today is something even more spectacular to witness. Growth and control. I came here today for some clarity on what to do about you. I called off the search already after remembering the kind of man and the type of dragon my son was. There's no bounty for you but I hear Skinner's looking for a rematch of sorts."
"I don't care about him," I replied honestly, "We have nothing to fight over. She's mine now. Now and forever. I marked her."
"Did you?" he raised an eyebrow, "I lost three scales on that to Grady. I never thought you would."
"Well he did," Whisper interjected from behind him. He turned around to see her holding her shirt down just enough for him to see the perpendicular line.
"Mate?" he asked eyeing us both.
"Yeah, Father. Not property. I can't do that to her. I can't restrain her. I don't want to control her the same way I never wanted Miranda to control and manipulate me. It has to be this way and if we have to leave Black Harbor to love the way we want, then so be it."
"I understand. Welcome to our family, Whisper Cane."
"Thank you, um, Preston," she blushed before stepping away again.
"You're sure about this?" he asked me with finality.
"Absolutely, Father."
"And where will you two go?"
"Empyrean," I mumbled.
"Very good," he nodded, "Tell Argos that the Black Sapphires send their deepest respect."
"You know about this place?"
"Of course I do. Where do you think your mother was headed when this happened? I just couldn't go with her. We couldn't go because you couldn't control yourself. No Scalers up there right?"
"Right," I nodded.
"Exactly," he sighed. "I'll, um, hold onto that bike Bart gave you. Maybe it'll shave some years off this old dragon's face."
"It's all yours," I laughed. "I'm going to miss you, Dad."
"Me too," he huffed pulling me into him. It was the first time in years, decades even, that he hugged me. This was the last place he did. In the fury that rained over everyone on that day long ago, my father was the one who bared the brunt of those flames to hug me. He put me out as his wings wrapped around me and we sat here for hours mourning the loss of the woman in our lives.
Letting me go, he stood back eyeing me up and down with pride in his eyes.
"We should get back on our way," I told him signaling to Whisper.
He understood, "I know. I'll spread the word that she's your mate and not your pet. If you two ever decide to come back to Black Harbor, I'll be waiting for you. I can't say you'll have the warmest reception, but you won't get any grief out of me."
"When she's stronger, I promise," I assured him.
Whisper stood by my side with her hand in mine as my father scaled before us and took off into the afternoon sky. We turned around to finish the last few legs of our journey.
It took us another three days before we finally reached something familiar from the map Aya showed me. We stood in front of a mass of rock formations. They had jagged peaks and stood as tall as The Towers.
"We have to climb," I told her.
Whisper panted as if she were out of breath already, "Can't you just
fly us up there?"
"Oh, so now you're for flying and being all close with a Scaler? Sure you are now that we have to climb a few hundred feet," I laughed.
She rolled her eyes, "Well if I'm mated to one for life, obviously I've had a change of heart. But seriously? I don't know if I can-"
I cut her off, "Are we in this together?"
"Yes," she nodded.
"Good, now relax," I told her, "I got us covered."
I pulled out some rope and flexed my talons in and out of my fingernails.
"Cheater," she huffed.
I couldn't help but snicker, "Will you relax? I may not be able to scale to get us up there, but I'm a lot stronger than the average Anthro man anyway. Now hush and let me get us up there."
She stood there silently while I looped the rope around her and through her legs like a harness. By the time I finished, she was in a sitting position as if she were swinging. I rigged the rest of the rope around my waist and my back. Looking at her, I smiled, "I climb, you sit. And don't swing. I can't scale if we fall and I'm in no mood to fight a pissed off, Golden Imperial. Okay?"
"Okay," she said quietly.
So, I climbed. Claws into rock, foot by foot, inch by inch. I climbed the vertical wall with Whisper trembling beneath me. I wanted to tell her to stop, but when I saw how high we were, I knew it was something I'd just have to deal with. I was used to this height, ever without my wings but still, I didn't have any issues with it. And to be honest, if we did fall … I'd just have to deal with a pissed off Golden Imperial.
Once I made it to the top, what I saw next was far more beautiful than I ever imagined. I had to pull Whisper up so she could see it with me. Her face was beet red, and her entire body was cold and shaking. I almost forgot how frail the Anthros were.
"Look," I told her, "Open your eyes."
"Oh wow," her voice barely above a whisper.
The ledge of the jagged vertical wall wasn't as vertical on the other side. A hustling and bustling metropolis sat before us in what looked like the crater of an inactive volcano. There were roads, buildings, fully functioning buildings. Directly across from us was a huge waterfall. Clouds surrounded us on all sides until some began to shift. This crater actually sat against the mountainside of another jagged wall. Like a pocket of Utopia nestled into the mountain tops. We began our descent down toward the city.
That was another hour trek to reach the wall. The huge beige wall stood about a hundred feet high with gold trim. Every few feet was a large gate where two Golden Imperials stood at attention. Golden Imperials were even more glorious than I imagined. They each bore two large horns of solid gold that trailed down their spine to a poisonous spike on their tails. Their wings were feathered, and their scales were mostly brown with flecks of gold and yellow that made them glisten in the sunlight. The two on guard huffed smoke at us as we walked by.
Whisper clung to me as we continued through the gate and to a spot where we finally had to stop.
A man cloaked in a golden collar, along with matching golden guard along his forearms and shins held his hand out to us, "Who sends you?"
"Aya the Emerald Siren sends us by way of Preston Cane with the Black Sapphires, to Argos the Bull," I announced.
"And whom are you?"
"I am Ashton Cane, son of Preston and Lorna Cane, Black Sapphire. This is Whisper Chalice, daughter of Jasper, Anthro."
"Wait here," he said before returning to his booth.
"This place looks like the Colosseum," Whisper said to me.
"The what?"
"I've seen pictures of a place like this. Ancient times in a book about Rome or something like that. Lions were scalers and gladiators. Jasper had it in his collection. And thank you for that," she reached up to kiss me on the cheek.
The guard returned to us, "Follow me."
He led us to a carriage where we were driven by horse to the center of the city. There was so much to look at, so many people, animals. It was vibrant and colorful. There were shops and stores. The streets were clear, free of debris. No cars or motorcycles but plenty of horses, carriages, and people simply walking around. They weren't scurrying out of fear. Their eyes didn't once dart up to the sky. Even I was a bit overwhelmed.
Whisper, on the other hand, hadn't stopped smiling since we arrived.
The horse-drawn carriage stopped in front of the tallest building in the center of it all. Our guard stepped down and helped Whisper out. With a grand smile, he told us, "Welcome to Empyrean. Argos is very happy to have you. Head straight up to the penthouse."
We entered the pristine lobby of the building. No one was collared or on leashes. Everyone walked about freely with smiles on their faces. Another guard ushered us into the elevator that took us straight up to the top floor. It was outfitted much like the top floors of The Towers. No walls or windows. Seems odd for a place that doesn't allow Scalers. It made me sad that I'd never get to stretch my wings again.
Whisper squeezed my hand as a man came out to greet us. He was tall with brown hair that stopped just above his shoulders. A thick solid streak of white hair striped right down the middle of his mane. He smiled widely with a subtle tear in his eye.
"I can't believe how much you've grown my dear boy. I haven't seen you since, well since you were born," he sighed.
"I'm sorry?" Confusion struck me. "Have we met before?"
"No," he shook his head, "Never formally. You look just like your father, but the Glasslands tell me your temper is just like your mother's."
"My mother didn't have a temper," I laughed.
"Oh," he laughed loud, "You've never driven her mad like your father did, or myself for that matter. I am Argos Ornopolis, Eldest surviving Golden Imperial Scaler and father to your mother, my sweet and very volatile Lorna Cane. You must be Whisper."
"Yes," she eyed me just as crazy as I felt, "Yes Sir, I am."
"Welcome to the family. We should catch up, and while he and I talk family, how’s about we get you some wings, darlin?"
"Huh?" she looked back and forth between us. I simply shrugged my shoulders.
"I'm assuming that mark means you’re his mate and not his pet," he rolled his eyes with disgust at the term.
"Yes, she is," I told him.
"Then your mate must have scales, and wings-"
I had to stop him, "But I thought there aren't any Scalers allowed up here."
"That's a rumor I like to spread to keep the population down. Everyone's a flyer up here. You have to be! Can you imagine falling off that damn wall?!" he said, as we all erupted into laughter.
Just when I thought I'd lost out on my family, I gained an entirely new one in a city full of people like me. The transition for Whisper happened quickly as she adapted beautifully to her new body and set of skills. My Whisper as a Scaler was a marvelous sight, at least once she got used to flying. Everything else was seamless.
We found that waterfall too. A private oasis outside of the city where we could relax together in the hot springs. As if things couldn't get any hotter between us.
"Do you miss it? Black Harbor?" I asked her as she leaned against me with the water swaying delicately around us.
"No, but I do miss Jasper. I say he's in his element down there. I don't think he'd like it up here nor do I think he'd make the trek either. We'll go back one of these days, right?"
"I'll go wherever you go, Whisper."
She turned around, straddling me in the water and kissing me softly on the lips, "You really will, won't you?"
"Until the ends of the sky," I smiled holding her tight.
She smiled with another kiss, "I like that. Until the ends of the sky."
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Sapphire Embers Preview
Years ago I had fallen in love with
Val Robbins, one of the best pilots in the military. A strong, gorgeous man with a heart of gold. We were inseparable, until a horrific plane crash took him from me.
To this day I have never stopped loving Val, and I never will. I still wear my engagement ring.
A few years later, I was moved to Antarctica to work on a new top secret project with the military.
You see a while back, deep in the heart of the continent, a major discovery was made…dragons.
The military used their extensive knowledge in genetic engineering to adapt and modify these creatures to serve them as the perfect all-purpose weapons.
But their plans quickly went astray as the dragons started to show chameleon-like abilities to shapeshift themselves into men. Men that walked, talked and looked exactly like my Val. The lead dragon, the Sapphire spoke to me like it was Val all along.
My brain struggled to grasp what was going on. By the time I was coming to grips with the thought of him being back in my life, everything went black.
No one knows what really happened that night. We suspected that an asteroid slipped through the defenses and took out damn near everything in an instant. The world had gone silent, in a hurry.
It was becoming a kill or be killed kind of world, and the dragons, our former weapons were taking their place atop the food chain.
Do I rely on this new Val for protection, or am I better off on my own?
Sapphire Embers is a unique sci-fi / shifter novella with lots of action and steam. It has no cheating, and an HEA, which means no cliff-hangers! Mature themes and language. Most definitely for 18+ readers only.
CHAPTER ONE
May, 2025
At a non-existent military base in the USA
"It's just a routine flight, Cara. I'll be back in plenty of time for dinner with you tonight," Val said, his blue eyes twinkling.
"Dinner, Val? Tonight? Well, let me see. You're offering me a dinner date in a small and boring mess hall, with no view except the open desert surrounded by mountains." Cara Windborne smiled up at him, squinting a little in the bright sunlight. He looked just as sexy as ever, with his soft dark hair slightly windswept and his bright smile contrasting with the olive of his skin. Cara felt slightly breathless just thinking about dinner with him. “That sounds perfect."