Derek shrugs. "I've never seen or heard about anything like this in my life."
Well, shit. That's not good. "Elijah?"
"I've never come across anything like it in life or in my books. It's… a bit curious. We have lived in both worlds for many lifetimes and represented and come across many beings of all kinds. It seems unlikely there would be one we have never at least heard of." He hesitates a moment before saying, "perhaps you can find something about it in the Ancient Library, if you're able to get in."
"Can I take that with me to show Racul?" I ask Derek.
None of them look thrilled at the idea but I persist. "He's a dragon. He might know something you don't. At the very least, it will show him it wasn't his mother. And if that's true, then maybe I don't have to find a way of fighting and defeating the Mother of Dragons in order to save this world."
"That is the good news," Sebastian agrees. "But Elijah, you should continue to research just in case. I still don't trust her. And if we have to go up against her, we need to be prepared."
"Agreed," Elijah says.
There's a knock at the door, and I stand. "I think my ride is here. Wish me luck."
I can tell none of them want to let me go, but we all know I have no choice.
Racul greets me when I open the door. "Have I arrived too early?" he asks.
"Nope. I'm ready to roll," I say, closing the door behind me. "How far is this place?" I ask as I look around for his carriage, but none is in sight.
"Too far for horses. You will ride me," he says, shifting into dragon form.
"Yeah, um, as tempting as that offer is," I say trying not to laugh. "I can actually fly, so let's try that first?"
"You think you can keep up with a dragon?" he scoffs, his voice even deeper now.
"Why don't we do this thing and find out?"
"Very well, Fate. But I'll be here when you tire."
Oof, the arrogance.
Racul takes off into the sky and I summon my magic to follow him.
He continues to accelerate, pushing his speed faster and faster. I'm pretty sure he's just trying to show off, but he doesn't know who he's messing with. I wrap air around me, using fire to stay warm, using light and darkness to give me an extra edge, and I keep pace side by side with him. I even give him a thumb's up when he glances my way, an incredulous look on his dragon face.
We fly like this for some time, and I do start to tire out, but I can't give him the satisfaction of knowing, so I push harder, determined that he and I will arrive together, as equals, and he can shut his mouth about it all. We are heading west and soon begin to pass over areas I've never been, though I recall these parts from the maps I studied in Elijah's office. Somewhere around here is giant territory, though I see no evidence of them at present.
And then we reach a place that doesn't exist on any maps I've seen. A body of water that spans miles, with an isolated island stuck in the center. That appears to be our destination.
When he finally begins his descent, I'm so relieved I nearly cry, but I land like a boss and grin like it was nothing.
He shifts back into human form, and I pretend like I'm not completely exhausted.
"I was not expecting that," he says, a curious look on his face.
I'm pretty sure he keeps seeing his dead girlfriend in me, which is a bit creepy but also super sad, so I give him a pass and instead ask, "Where now?"
We are in a dense jungle in the middle of an island that looks like it shouldn't exist. The temperature is sweltering so I use my air magic to cool myself. Vines coil around tall trees and fall from thick branches like snakes waiting to snap. The dense undergrowth is teeming with a hidden world of insects. A canopy of lush foliage blocks out the view of the sky, and in the distance a strange kind of shriek that might be a monkey calls out.
Racul points west and I can see through the trees the ruins of an old castle that looks like nothing more than crumbled stone at this point. I follow the Fire Dragon to a spot in the center, stepping over heavy roots that have taken over the area, my boots sinking into the decomposing plant life of the jungle.
He points to an area thick with vines and undergrowth. "There should be a door here that only you and my mother can open."
I nod and use my earth magic to clear everything away, revealing a circular metal door with a handprint in the center. I place my hand on it, but nothing happens.
"Um, do you know what I'm supposed to do?" I ask.
"I've never actually seen it opened," he says. "Though I have tried myself."
Shit.
First, I go with Liam's approach to life. I try to blow shit up.
The fire ball lands on the metal door and fizzes out, having zero effect.
"I'm not impressed," Racul says, dryly.
"Good thing I'm not actually trying to impress you," I say.
Next I use my air and water magic it to create lightning that I zap from my hands, but again, nothing.
"This is getting us nowhere," the impatient dragon says.
I step aside and gesture to the door. "Would you like to try?"
He glares at me but says nothing.
"I didn't think so."
I kneel down again, studying the handprint. "Maybe if I channel my power into this?" I say, thinking out loud.
Pressing my hand against the cold metal, I rotate through my elemental powers, but none of them work, and I'm getting a headache.
"This was a long trip for nothing," Racul says under his breath.
"You can shut it now," I say, pinching the bridge of my nose. There's one thing I still haven't tried.
Closing my eyes, I channel all six elements at once into the door, and finally I'm rewarded with a series of clicks and the sound of grinding as the cool metal beneath my palm falls away, revealing a long ladder into a dark hole.
"About time," Racul says.
I scowl at him. "How long did it take you to get in?"
He doesn't respond to that, but instead peers down into the darkness. "Ladies first," he says.
"Age before beauty," I say, and he frowns, but begins the decent.
I'm not ashamed to say that if there's a trap in there, I’d rather let him deal with it first.
"All clear, you can come down now," he shouts from below.
I descend quickly, cheating with some magic. It's dark and dank and I wonder how any books survived in these conditions. I hold out my palm and produce an orb of light to guide us through the tunnel. I have no idea if dragons can see in the dark, but it doesn't seem to be one of my superpowers.
We arrive at another door at the end of the long hallway, and it has another handprint on it. I sigh at the excessiveness of it all and use my palm and magic to open it.
It's pitch black within, so I shoot hundreds of orbs of light into the room to illuminate our way, and we both gasp at the same time at what we see.
The library is huge, and was clearly lined with thousands of books and scrolls. But it's been ransacked. If I didn't know better, I'd say tomb raiders have been here.
Everything is torn apart and all the books and whatever artifacts may have been preserved in the glass cabinets are gone.
Racul walks in, his eyes wide. "Who could have done this?"
"Logically, if only the Fates and your mother could gain access, and the Fates have been gone for thousands of years… then… "
His face is grim at the thought. "She did this to cover her crimes."
Oh right. "Speaking of, I meant to tell you. I have a Memory Catcher of Lyx's death. It wasn't your mother."
"Show me," he says.
I pull it out and play it for him. He watches silently and when it's over he just shakes his head. "I still believe she is behind it. Somehow. Maybe she is controlling the creature?" he asks.
"Or maybe she didn't do it, and we need to be looking at this differently. Do you know what manner of being this is?" I ask.
He shakes his head. "I have never seen something like that in my life. It a
ppears to have traits of a dragon and maybe a unicorn, but that does not make sense. Our species cannot interbreed. It is impossible. Besides that, it is clearly the product of some great evil, which neither dragons or unicorns are."
His logic seems a little self-serving and flawed, but I can’t deny this creature seems to defy the natural order according to everyone who knows about such things.
"Let's look around," I say, disappointment flooding me as I realize I'd hung all my hopes on finding answers here, and now they were as useful as dead butterflies pinned to a cork board for display. Still, I hold onto what optimism I can summon. "Maybe we will find something."
He looks as doubtful as I feel. The place, after all, has been well and truly ransacked, but still we begin sorting through the scarps that remain.
There are a few books left, but they offer nothing useful. I'm not sure why they were kept here at all, to be honest. A History of Cheese in Northern Europe, for example, which looks brought over from my world. Like, okay, thanks. That's super-secret shit to save in an underground Ancient Library. Still, I add it to my bag in case Elijah finds it interesting.
I spend another hour scouring every inch of the place, and in a dusty corner under a thick coating of cobwebs I discover a trunk that looks promising. " Racul, check it out."
He saunters over, his face reflecting my own lack of success. But something in this chest feels important. My magic is tingling in my fingertips, and I use that power to unlock the trunk and open it.
The only thing inside is a deep velvet purple cloak with silver trim and embroidery, and a mother of pearl clasp that holds it at the neck.
I pull it out, shaking off the dust, and hold it up.
Racul 's eyes narrow. "I recognize that," he says. "It belonged to the Maiden Fate."
Me.
This was mine?
Or my past selves at any rate.
I drape it over my shoulders and I am thrown into a memory that feels so vivid, it's as if I could be living it right now.
I stand next to my sisters. They are not sisters by blood, I know this, but by power, by destiny, by Fate. We are the Fates and we are draped in our royal robes. I wear purple, the Crone wears emerald green, and the Mother wears sapphire blue. We have silver masks that cover our faces, allowing us to keep our mystery, and we stand before the Mother of Dragons, who is angry, but I do not remember why.
We turn to leave, and once we are alone, the Mother takes off her mask, and I see the beautiful face of Landal, her blue eyes that match her robes glistening with tears. "We have made a grave mistake in what we have done," she says.
The Crone nods. "It is as you say. We should never have agreed to this."
I take off my mask and see in a mirror my own face, similar to what it is now.
And then the Crone removes her mask, and my present self gasps as I collapse to my knees.
The face unveiled before me is one I know.
One I trust.
I am looking at the face of Matilda Night.
The Monster
"We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty."
~Maya Angelou
Racul insists on returning with me to the castle, though I'm not sure his presence will make this conversation go easier. Since time is of the essence, and I need to know what the hell is going on, I suggest teleporting us both.
"I prefer to fly," he says.
"That's fine. But I'm not going to wait for you, though."
He pauses, clearly torn between wanting to be a part of the conversation, and not wanting to trust me with dematerializing him.
"Clocks ticking, buddy. I'm leaving now." I have the cloak—my cloak—stuck in my bag. Touching it, holding it, feels like connecting with a part of myself I'm still trying to find.
And Matilda must have known this whole time who, and what, I was. Why didn't she tell me? Why didn't she help me? Why has she kept her identity a secret?
Racul cocks his head, studying me. "You feel betrayed. But you must know, the Fates identities were never revealed to anyone. Not even my mother knew who they were. Nor did the Druids. Their secrets are what kept them safe."
"Except I am a Fate. She knew that. She could have told me." I pause. "And besides, Landal told you, didn't she?"
He glances away. "And that trust ended her life."
My own feelings give way to compassion as I see the hurt he carries with him. He's a giant ass. He has been since I've known him. But he's also someone in pain, like all of us. Someone who lost a person he loved. I can relate to that. My brother's death still tears at the fabric of my soul on a daily basis, though it's getting easier to bear, if easier is the right word.
I take a step closer to him. "You don't know that for sure," I say. "And even if it's true, I believe she would still make the same choice, to share the life she had with you while she could. I don't remember much of my time as a Fate, but I do know that life is never guaranteed, even for immortals. And spending your life hiding behind a mask is no way to live. She had love. She gave love. That's a lot for any life," I say. "Really, that's everything."
He sucks in a breath. "Take me with you," he says. "Just try not to kill us both."
I grin. "I'll do my best, but no promises."
I take his hand and close my eyes, this time avoiding the gardens and instead imagining the open area in front of the house. In a flash, we arrive, and Racul staggers as we land. I steady him and smile at the fact that I didn't send us anywhere too terrible.
"That was… awful," he says. "
"It was rough my first time too," I say. "You get used to it."
"I will not be doing this again to get used to it," he says in a clipped bass voice.
We walk into the castle and find Liam first. The dragon and the Druid stare each other down, heat building in the room and their bodies sizzling with fire.
"Settle down boys. Bigger fish to fry right now." I turn to Liam. "Where's Matilda? And where's everyone else?"
Liam doesn't stop staring Racul down as he answers me. "My brothers are around here somewhere. Lily and Kaya are at the grove. The babies are napping, and Matilda is upstairs with Ana. Why? What's wrong?"
I don't answer, I just head straight to Matilda's room, my heart and head at war for how to approach the woman I have come to love like a grandmother.
Along the way, we seem to collect the remaining brothers, who are all wondering what's going on and why we have one of the dragon's in our house.
Matilda sits in her rocking chair in front of the fire, a cup of tea at her side. Green beads woven into her gray hair. Her eyes heavy and dark. Ana is napping with a new doll Lily made her in the corner on a mat. As soon as Matilda sees my face, she knows.
She stands and gestures for us to leave so we don't disturb Ana's nap.
"The girl hasn't been sleeping well," Matilda says. "She has night terrors every evening. She can only seem to get any rest during the day."
We walk down the hall into a sitting room that's seldom used. It has a large glass door that leads to a spacious balcony overlooking one of the gardens with overstuffed chairs and couches that are arranged for conversation in the center of the room, and a fireplace in the corner to ward off the chill that all castles inherently have. Thick rugs cover the stone floor and tapestries of gardens hang on the walls. Matilda and I sit across from each other. Liam and Sebastian sit on either side of me, Elijah takes a chair by the fire, and Derek and Racul flank Matilda on the other couch. It's an incongruous group, and we are awkward with each other.
"Why?" I ask. "Why didn't you tell me?"
The Night brothers look to each other in silent question, then to me to find out what I'm talking about. My relationship with their grandmother has always been affectionate, loving, close. They've never seen me upset with her.
Matilda sighs sadly. "I wanted to. Many times. I tried. But I have spent thousands of years keeping my identity a secret. And when
I saw you, when you responded to the ad, I just couldn't believe it. At first, I thought it must be an unlikely coincidence. What were the odds that the Maiden Fate would return in the human world, so unprepared for her own life and powers? Then your magic began to manifest, and I couldn't deny the truth, but I convinced myself it would be better for you not to know."
"I'm confused," Liam says, looking between the two of us.
"That seems a common state for you," Racul says snidely.
I glare at the dragon and then look to Liam, waiting to see if Matilda will fill him in.
"My boys, there is something I have been keeping from you four for many years." She pauses, the truth clearly so hard to say, even now. "I am the Crone Fate."
Her words land like a live bomb in the room, and no one speaks, so she continues.
"When my sisters died, I went into hiding and gave up my role as Fate, instead, committing to my life as Matilda alone."
Liam sits stone faced, his emotions burning deep within him. I can feel the flare of his fire, his anger, pain, confusion. The tether between us lights up with it, and I send along a soothing stream of water and air magic to calm him.
Sebastian is stoic, as always, pushing his feelings down deep. Elijah is curious but I feel the strain of hurt underneath, and Derek is awash in deep and roiling emotion that he's barely holding onto.
But I understand their feelings. I haven't known Matilda nearly as long as they have, their betrayal must feel much greater. Especially given all the shit that went down with the Fates. I know my past self-role in their lives wasn't stellar. I made Cole's brothers torture and punish him. Or she did. It's so hard to see that person as myself, when she did things I couldn't imagine ever doing.
And why didn't Matilda stop that from happening? What role did she have in all that?
I feel even worse as I recall their story of being banished from the Order and destroyed with the Unforgivable Curse. They never said who cast the curse, but it must have been the Fates. That would make the most sense. Does that mean Matilda and I were responsible for their descent into madness? For their destruction of villages, animals, and lives?
I Am the Night (The Night Firm Book 3) Page 10