“Kip, come and stay on the land.”
Remy sits down on the sand while holding some shells. Talen joins him.
“I don’t want to appear rude. I am thankful that you are looking out for me. So thank you.”
“That tale the woman told us about; the brother and sister, the shell necklaces. It got me thinking.”
“About what?”
“About us.”
Talen shivers. And it’s not from the cold sea air.
“It doesn’t matter. Let’s find Deegus and be on our way.” Remy heads for the establishments.
Kip runs over to Talen and kicks sand up at her face. He buries his face in the sand.
What is wrong?
“I think I’ve hurt the prince’s feelings. I don’t want to be seen as a bad person. Oh, how I can’t wait to be free of all this and live with the Masters.”
Kip shakes the sand off him. If you live with the Masters, will we still be friends?
“Of course. Why would that change?”
Because the Masters are dangerous people. My father told me about them. My mother warned me to stay away from them.
“But I am bringing you with me to the Veiled Haven. To show them that I can speak to you and then they must come back with me to Dragmoore.”
What for? Your father is free. The king is dying. The proof you wanted doesn’t matter anymore. You want to go to the Veiled Haven because you want to feel as if you belong somewhere. You have a loving father, friends, and you have the prince who clearly likes you. And you have me, Talen. Please let that be enough. Don’t go to the Veiled Haven. It changes people.
“I must go there at least once. If you feel like I am in danger at any point, you tell me and I will leave. I promise.”
Hasn’t Kip already said she would be in danger? Still, she won’t listen. Her mind is made up. She will get to the Veiled Haven, come by sea or land.
Jexxer’s magic is failing. “My king, I can’t hold them back.” The blue light surrounding him is getting lighter and lighter.
The king sits up, swings his legs over the side. “I’ll meet her face to face.”
“No.”
The king stumbles to the door.
Jexxer slams his hand against the door. A bold and powerful blue light sends the king flying across the floor. The king is unable to move.
“I won’t have to wait for her to kill me. You’ll do it just fine.”
“Forgive me.” Jexxer goes to the king’s side. “If I activate the last thing I possess, it’ll wound her enough to where she can be killed. But I don’t want to leave you.”
“Only as a last resort.”
The bedroom door creaks, cracks, shakes. Gold beams shoot through the bottom, forcing themselves into the room but are unable to break in the door.
The elves on the other side have dark-blue skin, long pointed ears with jewels decorating the entire length, and blonde hair. One look from a male elf can make any women follow them to their doom or to pleasure. Their silver armor is blinding to look at. They have an inner light which gives power to their spirit and in turn makes any clothing they wear glow. Only the men have blonde hair and only the men are allowed to carry weapons. A single dagger made from glass found in their native land. It’s unbreakable. It isn’t very sharp, but its dullness serves a purpose. It’s not meant to penetrate skin the way a steel blade is. They rely heavily on their magic. The fact that they are failing right now is aggravating them to the point they’re going to start fighting amongst each other. Elves are some of the most hot-tempered races in Dranir.
“What is keeping this entire room closed off from us?” one of the elves asks.
“He has a mage in there with him.”
“A mage. Please, we should be able to kick the door down then.”
“This mage is being fueled with immense power that is not his own.”
“Wait, is this mage the son of…?”
“Yes. He must have kept his powers inside a vial or something and his son consumed it. He doesn’t know how to control it though.”
The elves move their hands around in odd ways. Each little hand gesture signifies a part of their ancient magic. They do not speak their magic. They are very fluid in their magic wielding. It’s one of the things that makes them difficult to kill. How can you successfully attack someone who is constantly moving and thwarting your every move?
The elf queen gets up from the throne chair. She has with her female elves which are part of her personal and elite group of guards. They are all equally beautiful with pale blue skin, dark hair, and slender frames. They wear silky dresses under their silver armor. The armor glows, like the men’s, showing off the magic that resides inside them. Only their magic is deadlier. Their attractive faces and bodies amplifies their magic. One touch from a female elf can seduce any man to the point that no sex is necessary for pleasure.
A ruckus comes from outside the throne room.
“What resistance is there left?” Queen Galaria says.
Busting into the throne room with elf soldiers flying against the walls, is Desmond.
Galaria almost loses her footing as she gazes upon the sea druid. Her female guards immediately form a V shape to prepare for their launch of attack. As Desmond continues walking towards their queen, one by one they come at him. Each one receives a blast of wind to their armor. It shatters the glow around it and the armor falls off. The female guards back up in front of Galaria. They start moving their hands around to cast their magic.
“Tell them to stop unless they want to die.”
Galaria steps in between the women and him. “Stand down.” She gives a little nod of her head like a bow of recognition to another royal. “You have changed.”
“You will leave this city or you will die at my hand.”
Galaria walks towards him. “You think you’ve become powerful enough to take me on?”
“Let’s find out.”
Galaria spots a black panther coming into the throne room. “Another sea druid. Aren’t you full of surprises?” She is secretly moving her one hand around in circles, preparing to cast magic.
“Yes he is,” comes a familiar voice to her.
Just as she is about to cast the magic, she looks upon Gavin. She silences her hand. Tears form in her eyes. “For me the pain is still here, Gavin.”
“That’s interesting considering you never paid your respects.”
“Blame your king for that. Let me kill him. Let me kill the harpy queen as well. She is weak. Tully is weak.”
“The only death that happens today is yours, Galaria,” Desmond says.
Galaria assesses the situation. She can easily take out the panther. She can sense that the female sea druid does not possess the kind of power that Desmond has. She can also easily kill Gavin but that is something she’ll never do. Even if something takes control over her forcing her to do it. “Where is Talen?”
“You are not going anywhere near my daughter.”
“She isn’t here, is she?”
Desmond blocks Galaria’s view of Gavin. “Turn your attention to me, elf queen. Gavin lacks the thirst for vengeance.”
“What if I leave?” A sly smile forms on her pretty face.
“And you will lift your curse on the people?”
“I will. But when Talen returns home, she is to be sent to me immediately. And Gavin will make this deal with me. I won’t accept anyone else.”
Desmond runs up to her. His hand hovers in front of her face. She can feel the raw power like a magnet that is pulling her in. “You are not involving Gavin.”
“He involved himself. What say you, Gavin? Does this sea druid prince speak for you?” She peeks around Desmond.
Gavin waves the panther away and instantly it transforms into Bessy. “I can take her or at least wound her.”
“Don’t be absurd. You two have no idea what she’s capable of.” He walks up to Desmond, puts a hand on his back, then steps in front of him. “Galaria, you have
a deal.”
The elf queen bows her head and turns around. She does a little wave with her hand and a blue and green portal appears. A giant circle with a clear image of what the destination is. A crystalized palace. Her female guards walk through and then she does. The portal closes.
Desmond turns an angry look on Gavin. “We could have ended this today. Why did you make a deal with her?”
Gavin can’t explain. He may have made the wrong choice but it’s his choice. A part of him, however small, doesn’t want to kill her.
Deegus meets up with the captain of the ship that he will be travelling on. Captain Gilderoy Buckman has been with the Dranir fleet for nearly thirty years. He’s in his late forties, but still young when compared to the other captains. Handsome with a neatly trimmed black beard and flecks of greys in his shiny black hair that is always tied in a ponytail. He has been painted as more of a pirate than an honorable man. Due to passengers claiming that the four captains tend to take advantage of female passengers, Buckman is unfortunately included in that assumption. He has tried to shine a light on his character by how many times he has rescued maidens from undesirable situations rather than dismantling their purity.
Each captain wears a different colored coat to represent the port they sail from and live in. Since Buckman is from the North Port, he wears a dark-green coat with gold buttons, a red-orange vest, brown trousers, and dark-brown boots. He prefers his hats to be pure black with a green feather but has been known to wear white hats to symbolize purity.
His ship is the Seraphina. She is the largest of the four passenger ships. She was built for him when he first became a captain as is customary when a new captain is chosen. After acceptance into the fleet a captain can choose another ship docked at Grecia or accept the one made for him. Most of the captains accept the latter.
Each captain sails to another’s port but a connecting boat or ship takes the passengers onto their final destination. Since the Grecians control the ports, they make up all the laws and rules of the sea. And their reason behind a passenger ship not going beyond another port is to ensure that there is no shady business taking place. No favors being made. They are very strict about their captains doing their job but not having full control over their ships. The sea druid admiral is employed to oversee the captains’ progress and performance, which in turn reports back to the Grecians to determine a captain’s status. They will only employ humans to be captains since other races are not as reliable. Humans have always been seen as more controllable.
He shakes hands with Deegus, then goes into the Port Master’s building. There is a room in the back for captains to go over their manifests privately and be told about passengers of concern.
Talen and Remy walk up to Deegus.
“Everything all right?” she asks.
“Fine. The captain is eager to have us on board. I just have to check something out.”
Talen watches Deegus walking away. He is heading for one of the cottages.
“I don’t trust him,” Remy says.
Kip snorts.
“See, even your dragon agrees with me.”
“I am leaning towards your side.” She walks onto the dock to get a closer look at the two ships.
Desmond and Gavin come to the king’s chambers. Jexxer bows before Desmond. “The excitement has weakened him further.”
“Oh, for all that is sacred, let them pass already,” the king says from his bed.
Desmond goes straight to the side of the bed and gently takes the king’s hand into his own. “Uncle.” He doesn’t hold back. He lets the tears out.
“Forgive me for what I’ve done. How is my brother? Your father.”
“He is not well. I haven’t received news on him for months now, but with the last message I got from my friend Deegus, he confirmed that my father isn’t getting better. They can’t help him.”
“I know you want to take the throne.”
“I understand why I can’t.”
“Do you want it?”
It’s not something Desmond ever had to think about. Not after his uncle stepped in for the line of succession.
During the time of the first Dragmoore ruler, who named the city after himself, the thought of a sea druid ruling was unthinkable. Although druids are human, the people never saw it that way. They feared the druids. They welcomed mages only because a mage needed a source to use magic. Druids were all about centering their minds and souls to tap into a spiritual and elemental plane. To mask his true self, he suppressed his druid abilities and married a non-magic person. It also helped that the elder mage cast a spell over the city that made everyone forget he was a sea druid.
Over time, the sea druid rulers lost sight of their druid powers and ultimately ended up acting as normal humans. They never thought it’d come with a price. Suppressing something so powerful and bordering along the lines of godly, has devastating effects on the body. Madness crept in. All the way up to the current Dragmoore line.
The current king of Dragmoore had no choice but to step in for his brother Hestin. The eldest of the brothers went mad after he tapped into his sea druid abilities, letting himself be consumed. He vowed to plunge the kingdom into darkness. Their youngest brother was said to be dead, but no confirmation was possible since he was lost at sea. Tully was the only logical choice in the line of succession since his nephew Desmond wasn’t seen as leadership material. The elder mage was forced to cast a powerful spell making them forget all that transpired. Tully had always been lacking in his druid abilities so he never thought it’d become a problem, until Remy was born. His wife was a druid who gave up her link to the elemental plane and went on to become a mage. He knew Remy would become powerful if he ever knew about his lineage. He had to do something to ensure he never found out.
The king coughs up blood. “He doesn’t remember that your Hestin’s son.”
“You have put a forgetting spell on nearly everyone. Why did you leave me, Gavin, and Bessy with our memories intact?”
“I had no reason to keep things from you, Gavin, or from Bessy. I’ve done a lot of wrong. I can’t fix it.”
The king notices a look on Desmond’s face that he’d recognize anywhere. He puts his hand against Desmond’s face. “You love her. Talen. You love her.”
Desmond blushes. “It’s not like that.”
“It is. I remember that look. I only had it once. With Lianna.”
“It complicates things between me and Remy. But Talen won’t be the only wedge between us. His mother was my aunt. We are bound by blood on both sides. When he does remember everything, he’ll hate me more than he does now. I don’t want Remy hating me for being the reason his mother died. How I sided with you against my father. He was always fond of my father.”
“Do you hate me?”
Desmond hugs the king. Cries into his shoulder. “No, I don’t hate you.”
“I want to be alone with Gavin. I need to tell him something that only he can be allowed to hear. Farewell, Desmond, my brave nephew. Don’t let your love for Talen destroy your family.”
Desmond kisses the king’s forehead and then walks out of the room.
The king tries to sit up but finds his strength is gone. Gavin sits down next to him. “Do you forgive me for the cruel things I’ve done? The deception that I had to give everyone?”
“I have had my hand in the deception jar as well. I’ve kept so much from Talen where you have told Remy everything.”
“Not everything.”
Gavin raises an eyebrow. “You told him enough.”
The king forces himself out of the bed. Although Gavin protests, he is unable to stop the king. He is determined to make it to his dresser. Whatever spare energy he has, he’s using it now. Gavin stays behind him the whole time, keeps his hands against the king’s back.
“I kept this a secret because I didn’t want Remy to learn the tragedy behind his lineage.” The king opens a drawer and pulls out a piece of parchment. He hands it to Gavin.
As Gavin reads, he lifts his eyes from the paper and looks right at the king. “He’s one of them?”
Captain Buckman is positively over the moon with a dragon being on board. The fact it’s a baby dragon makes him more ecstatic. “Only the finest for my very special guests. You shall share my personal cabin. Although, I should warn you that one of my other special guests does not like dragons, but he can deal with it.”
As Talen follows Buckman down the dock she looks around to find other passengers. It’s only her, Deegus, and Remy. Kip is close to her side as always. She figures the others are already on board. “Thank you, Captain Buckman for you hospitality.”
Up they go. Across the gangplank to the deck of the ship.
The captain waves for the crew to come over. They stand in a perfect line. One of them is a woman with her white corset giving her breasts more height than they need. She has a red scarf around her neck, a short brown jacket with black buttons, black trousers tucked into her black boots, and a red beanie hat. The rest of the crew is wearing tan linen shirts, red sashes, tan trousers, and black boots.
“Feast your eyes on the grand Seraphina and her fine crew. She is the diamond of the sea, so I’ve been told. This is my first mate, Maria. And here we have the rest of the crew. A bunch of good for nothings.” The crew laughs knowing that he likes to jest. “Maria will see to your every desire whilst aboard this ship.”
“It’ll be my pleasure,” she says as she looks Remy up and down.
Talen shakes her head. He isn’t that great to look at, she thinks to herself.
Oh, you know you like him a little.
“Kip, hush.”
The captain shows Talen and Deegus to his cabin.
Remy hangs back with Maria. The rest of the crew gets to their positions to ready the ship for launch.
“You fancy her?”
“What?” Remy snaps his head around to the pretty Maria.
Heir of Dragmoore- The Veiled Haven Page 16