by L J Andrews
Bron seemed to be spiraling in a dangerous balance between clarity and mania. I could have cried with relief when Prince Ced appeared in the doorway.
“High Priest, this is most upsetting indeed,” he muttered, as though he were bored. “A mage has unsuccessfully warded the lower prisons. I was just there with my brother. Now, there is a signal to all the world where we are.”
“What are you saying?”
“What I’m saying is, I would appreciate you taking your hands from my future mate and tending to your foolish mages in the tunnels before my father sees fit to destroy every last one of them. I hope we will see increased defenses around the manor in the event the royal bloodline mages attempt to take the queen.” Ced spoke so calm I could have believed every word.
Bron glared at me, but eventually gave up his painful grip on my shoulders. His lips brushed by my ear, and his frigid voice sent a shudder down my spine. “I don’t trust you. I know you’re hiding something.”
Bron backed away and stomped from the room without a glance at Prince Ced. Slowly, I slid down the wall. Ced waited a moment before closing my door and rushing to my side. Amber was already clutching my hand and rubbing my head. I trembled as my true fear bled through the veiled bravery.
“Are you hurt?” Ced asked, kneeling at my side.
I shook my head, feeling the burn of tears in my eyes again. “No,” I whispered. “I just…I killed her.”
I looked at Ced, then to Amber. Amber wrapped her arms around my shoulders and held me tight. Ced sighed and rested a hand on my shoulder. “I know, Jade. But remember, it’s the only way we could send a signal to both your mages. They won’t make it to the manor—I plan to meet them outside the walls. But at least we wouldn’t be wandering out there without people we can trust coming.”
“Bron will learn the truth,” I added.
Ced shook his head. “He suspects, of course he does. But we won’t have to worry about him much longer.”
“Did you find them?” I asked, the emotion fading when I looked at the prince.
Ced smiled. “Yes. I found the prisons. They are filled with lindworm warriors—and from the energy in every cell, not one has any love for my father.”
Chapter 2
The Mage
Snow stacked heavily on jagged boulders. The frosty air breathed the thick of winter, but in reality, I didn’t feel much cold lately. Golden sunlight was daring to peek over the distant horizon; the darkness before the dawn was where I’d found peace to be alone in my thoughts. I folded my arms across my chest, pacing along the deep tracks I’d carved in the snow for over an hour.
Puffs of breath trickled from my throat when I paused and glanced to the left when something rustled. Groaning when a white hare leapt from behind the shrubs, I turned my back and resumed my anxious steps.
“They’ll be here soon,” his low, rumbling voice startled my thumping steps.
I stopped and glanced toward the mouth of the cave. Thane wasn’t coated in the thick pelts and furs he’d worn when I’d first met him. Although he was dressed in black, his blue eyes and sandy hair stood out and made him seem warm and bright. They were my eyes, my hair. Sometimes I still couldn’t wrap my head around the truth that the lead wyvern warrior was my father. Thane smiled and stepped closer, leaning against one of the boulders when I finally found the will to pause and sit atop the rock.
“Did I wake you?” I muttered.
Thane shook his head, staring into the rising sun. “Truth be told, I’ve been awake for some time—I just pace inside,” he chuckled, grinning over his shoulder at me.
I scoffed and leaned my head against the stone, feeling the trickle of melting snow drip down the back of my neck when my skin touched it. “What am I going to say?” I whispered. Thane and I hadn’t found much time to be alone since the truth had been revealed the day we’d freed Gaia—my mother—from the dark High Priest’s prison. Staring at my hands, I smiled at the idea that I had my father in front of me to ask such questions.
We were still a work in progress in some ways, but being able to feel real emotions bursting from my parents whenever they were around me helped. Sometimes Gaia’s love spilling out from her heart was so overwhelming I had a hard time breathing. Calling them mom and dad hadn’t really stuck yet. They were words I never remembered saying. Gaia told me she could restore my memories, but in the haste of freeing her and gathering those still in hiding, I guess we’d forgotten.
Thane rested one hand on the pommel of the blade that was constantly on his hip and looked down from where he stood. “It will be overwhelming, I’m sure.” That’s what I liked about Thane—he spoke plainly and didn’t hide the truth. “Although, riding a dragon will hopefully add some proof that you’re telling the truth.”
I laughed and nodded. “You think she’s going to notice, huh?”
Thane chuckled and sat next to me. “Yeah, that will be a hard detail to miss.” We settled into a short, comfortable silence until Thane tapped my leg and lowered his voice. “How are you? With everything else.”
I cocked my head and smirked. “You know, keeping things inside isn’t easy when you have two empaths as parents.”
He grinned and leaned back against the rocks. “I think it’s really helpful as said parent—makes it easier to know when your son might be hiding things.”
I traced my finger through a pile of snow, gathering the right words. We hadn’t really talked about the seal on my back, or the deeper feelings I had for the queen of wyverns, but soon the words were spilling over my lips. “It’s been weeks,” I whispered. Thane shifted so he faced me. “I hate to say it because it makes me sick, but after all this time, I can’t imagine King Nag allowed her to not…”
I couldn’t even finish the thought, but when Thane nodded, I knew he understood.
“I can’t know for sure what’s happening with the lindworms,” he began slowly. “I have sensed the queen joined with them—it’s an emotion each elemental would feel. What I haven’t felt is a strong pull that she is united with them. There’s a difference. I know she’s there, but I haven’t gotten the sense they are one. It’s hard to explain.”
“Yeah, some of the warriors have told me the same thing,” I agreed. “But it took you some time to feel she’d joined the lindworms. Maybe it’s delayed.”
Thane sighed. “I suppose it’s possible.” Maybe I wanted him to lie a little. After a few tense heartbeats, Thane gripped my shoulder. I liked when he did that. He was strong in every way, but it sent a rush of energy pulsing through me that brought this unconditional charge between us. “I may not know exactly what’s happening, but I understand the power of that seal on your back, and these.” Thane rolled up his sleeves to reveal the two mage seals on his forearms. “I know how strong these are. There is power in that bond. If Jade feels even half of what I do for both you and Gaia—well, I’m positive she will be doing anything to avoid uniting with the lindworm prince. Anything.”
Clearing my throat, I waited until the swell of emotion passed before responding. I knew exactly the strength he was talking about. I’d told my fellow mage, Athika, once that I would love Jade even if she told me to never speak to her again; it would be impossible to stop. Thane’s hand gripped the back of my neck now, and he nudged me playfully until I smiled.
“Thanks,” I muttered. “That makes me feel a little better.”
Pushing off his knees, he chuckled. “You know, it still boggles my mind thinking about the twists of fate that led us here. That my son would bond with the queen. I’ve told you I was her father’s guard, right?”
I nodded and stood next to him, both of us looking to the rising sun once more. “Yeah, you protected both her parents, right?”
Thane nodded. “I did. We were all very close. I knew Malik, her father, best. He was a warrior before he united with Princess Reya. I can remember watching Jade as this tiny thing all day because Malik couldn’t get enough of his child. It will be…good to see her again.�
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I could have hugged the man, but I didn’t. I still wasn’t sure how to show affection with my parents. Thane and Gaia had no qualms with showing affection to each other—their time apart seemed to amplify it all. You’d think as their son it would be nauseating, but secretly I enjoyed watching how much they truly loved each other.
Thane laughed and wrapped his arm around my shoulders, clapping me on the back tightly before releasing me again. “I’m glad we don’t disgust you completely.”
Empaths—they could sense everything. Heat filled my cheeks, but I smiled. With a final glance to the rising dawn, my throat tightened, and it seemed as though my heart plummeted to my feet.
“Look,” I gasped. “They’re here.”
Thane looked to the horizon. With a swift nod, he turned back to the cave to gather the others. I recognized Raffi’s earthy wings, but the flash of brilliant blue brightened my heart more than anything. Sapphire, Onyx, Ruby, Eisha—all of them were coming. I didn’t miss the riders on some of the dragons. My palms were clammy as I thought of what I would say—then another thought crashed over my brain. All this time I’d been worried about what I would say, but what would it be like introducing the woman who raised me to the parents who had left me with her?
I didn’t have time to worry long before Raffi and Leoch landed in a thud. The warrior called Haitian had been left to protect Aunt Liz. His sky blue scales melted away quickly when he landed behind them. He nodded his head in a greeting. I offered a swift nod in return and rushed toward Raffi. Leoch shifted forms immediately, his bare chest brimming with exertion and his long blond hair wild around his shoulders.
Leoch took my arm, his voice low when he spoke. “She’s very disoriented,” he warned.
Dash shifted into his human form and smiled at me, but silently agreed with Leoch. I clapped Dash on the shoulder, grateful to see my friend once more, but let both Dash and Leoch move toward the cave so I could go to Aunt Liz.
I drifted to Raffi’s side as the other dragons landed with their riders at a distance from us. Glancing at Raffi’s peering gaze, I slowly looked to his back. “Aunt Liz,” I whispered.
She was staring straight ahead, her cheeks covered in tears, but when she saw me, she practically leapt from the warrior’s back.
“Teagan,” she gasped, clutching my neck tightly in her strong grip. “Teagan, I…I…don’t know what’s…how are you here?”
This wasn’t Aunt Liz’s first encounter with dragons. No, she’d been kidnapped by the lindworms, but Jade had been able to manipulate her memories to forget. Now, I had no clue how to explain everything.
“Aunt Liz, hey, it’s okay,” I crooned when she started sobbing against my neck. She pulled back, letting out a small shriek when Raffi shifted forms and became a man. “Aunt Liz, there are a few things I need to tell you.”
“A few things,” she hissed, wiping furiously at her eyes. “I’m dead, aren’t I? This is some form of a death dream.”
She clutched my waist, staring at each warrior who had come with her before gasping and covering her mouth. “You,” she breathed out. I followed her gaze. I knew Aunt Liz was terrified, but I couldn’t help but smile. Daring to let her go for a moment, I wrapped my arms around Sapphire’s shoulders when he shifted, the royal color of his scales turning into a long robe.
“You’re safe,” I said, both of us slapping each other’s backs before I returned again to Aunt Liz, who trembled in the snow.
Sapphire grinned. “We’re all safe. It’s good to see you. I’ve heard a few things have happened in our absence.”
I started to speak but stopped when Aunt Liz seemed ready to faint by the way her breaths heaved. “He’s…he’s the man…he’s the principal of the reform house,” Liz stammered. “I’m a failure. I left you with monsters.”
I scoffed and squeezed her shoulders. “No, you didn’t. You left me with dragons, Aunt Liz. And they are awesome. They’re also…my family,” I whispered.
Her eyes widened. “You’re a…”
I shook my head, but then considered it. “Well, come here. I’m kind of a mix of things.”
This moment was the instant I’d both looked forward to and dreaded. I knew how Aunt Liz felt about the mother who left her small son on a doorstep. I wish it was a simple story I could explain, but nothing was simple about anything anymore.
My heart hammered against my ribs, and I winced when Liz dug her fingernails into my bicep the more dragons we walked by. Athika shrieked, rushing by and flinging her arms around Ruby’s neck even before the royal wyvern shifted to human form. Onyx had returned with his brother Peran, their youngest brother Shiv, and a grisly mage with silver and ebony markings that I could see coated his jaw, down his neck, and across the tops of his hands. I assumed he was Donovan, the onyx bloodline protector.
“Teagan,” Aunt Liz gasped. “Please tell me what’s happening. Haitian came over, and then the next thing I knew I was…I was on that thing’s back.”
“Aunt Liz,” I said softly, clasping the tops of her shoulders and squaring my body toward her. “I know you don’t understand yet, but trust me for now—you’re not in any danger here. Now, I’d like to introduce you to…my parents.”
Liz gasped, her hand wrapping around her throat as though her airway had completely closed off, and gripped my arm even tighter. It didn’t take an empath to absorb the heavy anticipation that was bleeding between me and Liz. Nerves didn’t describe half of what I felt.
“Parents,” she whispered under her breath several times before we reached the mouth of the cave.
I straightened my shoulders and drew in a deep breath when I saw Gaia and Thane waiting. I might’ve been slightly biased, but I had to admit, Gaia always looked like a queen. Though she wasn’t called royalty, she technically was the leader of the mage. Her auburn hair was pulled back tight, the waves still striking in the center of her shoulder blades. I liked when her hair was pulled away; it revealed the delicate ribbons of jade coloring along her temples and jaw, just like Donovan. Gaia’s slender shoulders were coated in a silver fur wrap, and at her waist, everyone could clearly see a slender blade with gilded steel.
Thane kept one arm around Gaia’s waist. To Liz, he might seem intimidating by his strong size and the sword in its sheath, but I knew Thane held Liz in a place of prestige for raising me. I watched Aunt Liz study his face, her eyes welling with tears. “He looks…he looks like you, T.”
I nodded, offering her a half-smile and stepping up to my parents. “Aunt Liz, this is Thane and Gaia,” I said softly.
Liz trembled against my body, her jaw clenching tight, and no one moved for a long moment. Thane inched forward. I sensed a new ache in his heart. There was a heavy hole in our lives from being apart, and I knew both Thane and Gaia still hurt terribly. There were a few times I’d caught them just staring at me—I understood. Now that I knew them, I was angry for the years robbed from us. It made me despise Bron even more.
“You, I hold in the highest esteem for raising and caring for Teagan,” Thane said carefully.
Liz looked to the ground, her hands wringing in front of her body. We stood quietly for a long pause—I didn’t know what to say. How could I tell Liz I love her, but toss her in front of the people she believed selfishly gave me up and admit I was ecstatic they were in my life?
Gaia slipped from Thane’s hold and touched Liz’s shoulder. Liz recoiled slightly, but Gaia didn’t lower her hand. She offered a kind smile, though Aunt Liz narrowed her gaze. “I know you think little of us.”
“I didn’t say that,” Liz insisted.
Gaia tilted her head and cupped Liz’s face. Gaia had a unique power. She calmed others when she was near. I thought Liz would dart behind me if Gaia came too close, but she only held her breath and met my mother’s eyes. “I don’t blame you for thinking poorly of a mother who would leave her child with a stranger.”
Liz nodded. “I don’t understand how you could do it? You missed out on raising a won
derful young man.”
Gaia’s face winced, and I wanted to reach out for her when I saw a single tear form in the corner of her eye. “I know. I ache every day with what I was forced to do. I owe you my soul for what you did for our son. He is the man he is a great deal because of you. I wonder if you will allow me to show you how a mother could part with her most cherished child.”
“Show me?” Liz looked to me, but I was watching Gaia. “How can you…”
“May I?” Gaia was holding out her palms and slowly bringing them toward Liz’s face. Liz stiffened but didn’t pull away when Gaia placed her hands around Liz’s skull.
I felt the surge of power pulse from Gaia’s hands. Aunt Liz gasped, her eyes closing tight, but she slowly released my arm and clutched Gaia’s wrists. I inched next to Thane, meeting his eye. He seemed as unsure as me as to what was happening. Less than a minute passed when Gaia released Aunt Liz’s head. Liz stood still, her eyes still clenched. When she blinked open, tears dripped down her cheeks, and she smiled at Gaia.
“Did that all happen?” she whispered.
Gaia nodded, easing back against Thane’s side. “Everything.”
Liz wiped her eyes and took my hand. “You are very loved, Teagan.”
I scoffed and squeezed her against me. “So are you,” I said close to her ear. “What did you do?” I asked Gaia.
“I shared my memories. I’ll teach you how,” she said through a smile.
Liz pulled back and brushed a few pieces of graying hair out of her eyes, letting out a shuddering laugh. “So, this is all rather unbelievable, but after what you just did—I don’t know, it’s like my heart and mind are accepting the impossible.”
“I hope you find a way to believe,” Gaia said. “Because we want you here—it is the only place you can be safe.”
“That’s what Haitian kept saying, when I wasn’t screaming and trying to escape,” Liz chuckled. “I am curious…you have the same tattoos as Teagan. I’m going to venture they aren’t tattoos.”