"What do we need to know," Liam says, glancing at me.
I can't speak it, so Sebastian does.
"Eve is connected to this world," he says. "As a Fate, through the spell work she did to expand it. If the world is destroyed, she will die."
The room falls silent as they each process what this means.
Elijah speaks first. "This changes things," he says, turning sad eyes to me. "We cannot risk your life for this."
"My life is a small matter in the bigger scheme of things. Let's say we hand over Ana to her. Then what? She tortures and kills the child she created? Or who knows what? Are we sure she'll honor her agreement to spare the world? Racul didn't think so. And what happens next time she gets a wild hair up her ass? She comes at us again with different demands?" I ask, making eye contact with each of them. "No, we cannot allow her to hold this world hostage."
"What do you propose?" Elijah asks.
"I don't know," I admit. "But at least give me time to think about it before we ruin this child's life. There's a piece we're missing. I'm sure of it."
An urgent knock at the door interrupts us and when no one makes a move, I go to answer it.
I'm stunned to see the tall, stunning Earth Dragon in human form standing there. Her skin is a deep ochre and her eyes are emerald green with touches of brown. Her wings are also flecked with the same green, and drape around her like a cloak. Her hair falls to her knees in thick waves of different shades of earthy brown mixed with the greens of a lush wilderness, with thin vines woven through tiny braids.
"Brock'Mir," I say, instinctively touching her ring on my hand. We met briefly of course, the day I got her ring, but we've never really spoken, and I certainly didn't expect her to show up at my front door.
"Maiden Fate," she says formally, her voice husky and full of earthy resonance. "You must come with me. To the Broken Cathedral. We have all felt the death of two more of my brothers." Her face is pained when she says this, and the reality of what is happening hits me harder than it did before.
In the chaos of the world ending and trying to solve the mystery, somehow, I lost sight of the fact that these immortal creatures are losing their family, their siblings, one by one. My brother's death is still raw in my heart, and on instinct I pull the dragon into my arms, though she towers over me. "I am so sorry," I say through thick emotions. "I have been through some fraction of the pain you are going through and I know it is hell."
She stiffens a moment, then relents and returns the affection of the hug briefly, before pulling away. Her eyes glisten with emotion but it is quickly wiped way by her pragmatism.
"Thank you, Eve," she says. "But I'm afraid there is no time for mourning right now. My mother has arrived, and she is threatening to destroy the world now, not in the timeframe she originally promised. You must come and help me stop her, or everyone in the Otherworld will die tonight."
The Cave
So close that your hand on my chest is my hand,
So close that your eyes close as I fall asleep
~Pablo Neruda, Sonnet XVII
Shit. Double and triple shit.
I rush back into the house to explain to the guys where I'm going.
"We're going with you," Sebastian says, standing.
"I'll be fine," I say. "Besides, Racul 's body needs to be handled, the babies need to be watched, someone needs to keep an eye on Ana, and we can't leave Matilda alone. Also, someone needs to get word to Lily about what happened. She's probably at the grove with Kaya."
"I'll send a note out to let Lily know what happened, and I'll send a runner to fetch Ifi and Elal to handle the body," Elijah says.
"I'll keep an eye on Matilda," Liam says. "And take care of the babies."
Derek looks over. "I can make sure the dome holds for Ana until we figure out what to do."
"So everything is handled," Sebastian says. "Which means I'm coming with you."
I'm about to argue when Liam interrupts. "You're going to face off with the most powerful being in the world, who wants to destroy everything today," Liam says, his face stoic. "You should take at least one of us for the extra power."
"I know, but like I said, I'll be fine." I grin but he's not buying it, and my grin drops. "Look, I won't lie. I'm nervous as hell, but we don't have time to argue. I've got to go now."
As if on cue, my head splits and I double over in pain. Sebastian catches me in his arms before I fall to the ground. "What happened?" he asks, concern written all over his face.
"She's starting to tear the world apart. I have to go now!"
"You can't go alone like this," Sebastian says, sending earth magic to steady me through our bond.
When I can stand, I nod reluctantly. "Fine, let's go," I say. We rush back to Brock and I grab her hand. "He's coming with us," I say to the dragon, who looks skeptical but there's no time to argue. "Ready?"
She nods, and I focus. I've never done this with two people before, but how much harder can it be?
Ha! Famous last words.
I feel like I've contracted food poisoning as I dematerialize us and travel to the Broken Cathedral. Waves of nausea crash through me but I somehow manage to avoid vomiting into the void. Amora and the Darkness Dragon are arguing when we land on top of the Cathedral, in the same spot where I killed Jerry—or he killed himself through me—and I break out into a sweat at the memory, which doesn't help the nausea one bit.
Amora is in her dragon form, hovering over us and casting a giant shadow over everything. Golden light blazes forth from her mouth as she screams out her pain into the world, shaking its very foundation. The storm we've been dealing with all day rages uncontrollably around us.
My hair whips in the wind, cutting into my face as it does. I'm soaked to the bone despite my fire magic blazing within me to keep me warm. Lightning flashes in the sky, splitting a tree on the ground near us. It catches flames but is put out by the rain.
"Stop!" I scream, channeling my Fate powers until I'm glowing with them. I ride a wind current and rise above the building to face her. "You cannot do this. Not now! Not yet."
"More of my children are dead," she screams, her eyes glowing with fury, her voice layered with power that nearly undoes me.
"And so you would murder even more innocent people?" I shout. "You gave your word. Does that mean nothing?"
"This world does not deserve to live!" As she screams, thunder crashes through the Dragon's Breath, shaking the ground.
"This is our world," Brock says, transforming into her dragon form and rising up with us. "You cannot take it from us."
Ra'Terr takes longer to join, and when he does arrive, his deep ebony black looks greyed out and he appears less vibrant than he was.
Sebastian remains on the roof watching from below. But I can feel him sending me as much power as he can, and I'm glad he came with me.
This is all terrifying, but I put on a brave face against the Mother—and Queen— of the Dragons.
"You are my children," the queen says. "I must do this to protect you."
"You are taking from them a piece of them," I say. "What do you think it will do to your remaining children if you destroy the world they helped build? A part of them will die too."
She pauses at that, looking at the two dragons flanking her. "I should never have let you do this thing," she says. "If we had stayed in our world, all would be well. Dath'Racul would rule by my side. You would all have your own kingdoms. Our world would be at peace. This world would never exist."
"If we had stayed in our world," Brock says, "we would have let all these people die. They cannot survive in the mortal world any longer. The humans have taken over and made it inhospitable for anyone else. And we are the reason these people exist."
My ears perk at that. This is the first time I've heard that particular news.
"What does that mean?" I ask.
Brock looks at me. "Magic exists because of dragons. When our kind began breeding with human, mixing our blood with them,
it created all the races that now exist. These people are our people. These races exist because our kind fell in love with humans."
The queen rages again, spewing boiling golden lava from her mouth that destroys a side of the Cathedral. Sebastian has to dodge to avoid being hit himself.
Brock continues, now focused on her mother. "We owed it to them to create a world of safety for their kind."
"We owe these mixed bloods nothing," she sneers. "Dragons should have never shared their bloodline with such inferior beings."
Ha! That's rich coming from the woman who created a magical baby hybrid monster with her lover. But then, maybe that's part of the problem. She's punishing the world for her own mistakes.
"And yet they did," Brock says. "We cannot turn our back on our people." She pauses. "If you destroy the world now, I will not leave. I will die with it."
Ra'Terr nods his giant black dragon head. "As will I," he says.
"And your grandchild will also die," I say, pulling my last card. "We are still searching for her, but she's in this world somewhere. If you destroy it now, not only will you never find out who killed your children, but you will lose your last two children and your only grandchild."
I swallow a lump in my throat and pray to whatever gods are listening that she will be swayed by our words.
Finally, she lowers herself back to the roof, turning into her human form. The other dragons do as well, until we are all facing each other. Sebastian rushes to my side as support.
"I do not understand your loyalty to this wretched place," she says. "But I will honor my word. On one condition," she says, looking to her children. "When this is over, however it ends, you agree to come home with me and take your rightful places in our kingdom. Swear to it on the blood of the dragons."
I hold my breath, waiting.
Ra'Terr nods. "If we all make it through this, I will come home."
Brock hesitates, but eventually nods too. "Very well. I swear it on the blood of the dragons."
The queen doesn't look happy, despite getting her way. "I will hold you all to your promises." Then she turns her golden eyes to me. "You are running out of time, Fate. Bring me my children's killer and my grandchild, or be prepared to face the consequences."
Then she returns to her dragon form and flies high into the sky, her wings expanding to cover so much of the Dragon's Breath I can barely see anything beside her as she uses her magic to tear a hole in the fabric of this world and disappears.
I half expect the storm to stop the moment she's gone, but it continues to rage around us, and the Darkness Dragon slumps against his sister.
"Fate, before you leave, I must speak with you. Privately," he says, glancing at his sister who seems to know what this is about and nods.
Sebastian looks reluctant to let me go, but he waits with Brock as Ra'Terr and I walk to a corner of the Cathedral where there is a bit of shelter from the rain.
We both sit, our backs against a wall.
"There is something you should know," he says, his voice sounding weak.
"What is it?"
"I am dying," he says bluntly.
"What? How?" My mind tries to wrap itself around this news, but I am too stunned to make sense of it.
"In the darkness of my own cave, I was attacked." He pulls up his shirt to reveal a deep wound that is turning black at the edges. "Whatever did this to me, it left its poison in me and I will not last much longer."
"Did you see what attacked you?" I ask, my heart sinking with the answer I know is coming.
"A monstrous creature, though I only saw it for a moment."
Ana.
Gods. That means… The Mother of Dragons is going to lose her shit when she realizes Ra'Terr is dying too. There will only be one of her children left then.
And Brock'Mir will have to live the rest of her long life without her siblings. The truth of that crushes me.
I don't know The Darkness Dragon well at all. He is like a shadow, dark and mysterious. He keeps to himself. But I take his hand nonetheless, and let my dark magic flow into him, but I wrap it in light, because the two cannot exist without each other.
Cole taught me that.
His ebony eyes fill with tears, and I have a feeling this isn't a man who cries often. "I have not told anyone this, not even my sister, but since the attack… I have felt fear. It is the first time in my long life I have felt such a thing. The darkness used to be my haven, my element, and now I find myself scared of the dark." He chuckles, but it is a humorless sound of self-deprecation. "How silly is that? For a being of darkness to fear the dark?"
"None of us are made of just one thing," I say. "There is light in your darkness, just as there is darkness in light. Maybe it is time to step into the light, just a little. My father used to tell me in lumen et lumen. To be in the light and of the light."
His hand squeezes mine. "I have spent millennia in the dark. I do not know what to do with the light."
"I spent so much of my life fighting to live in the light, that when I found out I had darkness in me, I feared it," I confess. "Perhaps we all have to face the parts of us we fear and embrace them. This could be your time to do just that."
We sit there in silence a moment, then Ra'Terr stands, and I join him. "Thank you, Eve, Maiden Fate. You have brought me hope."
We walk back to Brock and Sebastian and Brock rushes to her brother. "I must get him home," she says, reaching for Ra'Terr. "Let us meet soon to discuss next steps." She pauses, looking at me carefully. "But before we go, I must say this. I know you have Ava'Zara, my sister's daughter."
I open my mouth to say… well, I'm not really sure what I'm going to say, but she holds up her free hand. "Wait. I understand why you took her. I believe you have a good heart, Eve Oliver. And you didn't know which amongst us you could trust. You were keeping her safe."
Relief floods me at her words.
"Are you going to take her away now that you know?"
She hesitates. "I want to. You are not equipped to raise a dragon. I do not know how you are even feeding her."
"Cooked shark is her favorite," I volunteer.
She raises an eyebrow. "Be that as it may, you are not wrong that she might be safer with you for now. As dragons are being killed off, we cannot be trusted to keep her safe. So take care of my niece, but when the time is right, I will bring her home."
My heart tugs at that. Ava'Zara has already become so close to Alina. The two of them are nearly inseparable. But Brock is right, we aren't in a position to raise a dragon. She will quickly outgrow our space and she needs her own kind to teach her their ways.
But that's a problem for another day.
"Take care of your brother. We will talk soon." She transforms and her brother climbs onto her back, looking weaker by the minute. But before she leaves, I add, "And come visit Zara when you'd like. She would enjoy that."
Brock nods and then takes off, soaring into the sky with Ra'Terr clutching her back.
Once they leave, Sebastian turns to me. "What was that about?"
I tell him what Ra'Terr shared.
"She's even more dangerous than we thought," Sebastian says, frowning. "We should get back to tell the others."
I nod and take a step toward Sebastian, but I stumble. I feel sick and weak and dizzy.
"You need to rest," he says.
I shake my head. "We need to get home, like you said."
I grip his hand and try to teleport us back to the castle. But even as we begin to disintegrate, I can feel it all going wrong. I'm too tired, too drained from all the magic I've been expending.
I screw up, and when we land, it is with a crash that results in bone deep pain that makes me almost pass out.
We look around to find a wilderness with mountains surrounding us. The storm is still raging on, so violently it's already pulled some trees from their roots.
Sebastian looks pale, but his stoicism holds him in good form, and he kneels at my side, examining me. "Is anything
broken?" he asks, concern edging his voice.
I can barely hear him through the screams of the wind and the damage it’s doing to the nature around us. "No. I don't think so. Just the wind knocked out of me," I say as loudly as I can, trying to catch my breath.
"We need to find shelter," he says.
I want to argue, to say that we should try again, but I know I can't. Not just yet. I need time to recover. And he's right, we can't stay out here in this. It's too dangerous and honestly, too damn miserable.
I can't get dry no matter how much fire I build in myself, and that isn't much at the moment. I need to save my magic for later.
I try to stand, but dizziness overtakes me, so Sebastian lifts me into his strong arms and carries me instead. I wrap my hands around his neck and let my head fall to his shoulder. He's wet, we both are, but he feels so solid and safe I smile as I close my eyes and he begins to walk towards the closest mountain.
It feels like we are trekking through a tornado, not that I specifically know what that's like, but I imagine it to be like this. Without Sebastian's earth magic and strength, I'm positive we'd be swept up in the air currents like Dorothy and Toto.
We walk for what feels like forever before we reach our destination. Sebastian scans the area and grunts. "I'm going to have to make us a cave to take shelter in," he says.
I just nod. It's all I can do at this point.
But I feel as he pulls at his power, channeling it at the base of the towering snow-peaked mountain.
Rocks grind and dirt shifts beneath us, and it sounds as if there's an earthquake. Feels that way too, but Sebastian holds on tight to me and I pry my eyes open to watch as a hole forms where once rock and dirt filled. He walks us into the new cavern and uses more magic to cover the opening with thick vines that block out the wind and rain. It's a small space with crystal stalactites hanging from the ceiling.
Sebastian props me against the wall. "Stay here, I'm going to get us some supplies."
I don't have time to ask what kind of supplies when he's gone, dashing away using his vampire speed.
He's back in record time with wood and animal fur. "Um, did you just go hunting?" I ask.
I Am the Night (The Night Firm Book 3) Page 12