by Eric Vall
“I see. Well, then it’s very nice.” Ravi smirked at me, and I pulled her inside.
“Come with me. I can show you much nicer things.”
I led her around the building as we quickly made our way to my room. As soon as we reached it, I pulled her inside and slammed the door shut. Then I pressed Ravi against the door and kissed her.
“Evan!” she gasped against my mouth before she melted into the kiss and moaned quietly.
My hands trailed down her arms and toward her stomach to undo the ties around her robe. I kissed down her neck and finished with the knot at her robe, but as I pulled it back to reveal more of her skin, there was a sharp knock on the door.
“No,” I growled under my breath, and Ravi laughed softly. Then I stepped away from her, and she retied her robes as I opened the door.
My father stood on the other side.
“Hey, son!” Ruslan greeted, but then his eyes widened in surprise when Ravi appeared next to me, and he bowed his head to her. “And hello to you as well, Ravi.”
“Hello, Lord Ruslan.” She waved as a bright flush came to her cheeks.
“I’m sorry for interrupting,” Ruslan turned back to me, “but Alyona wants to speak with all of us, she’s waiting in her room.”
“Yeah, of course,” I said. “We’ll be right there. Just give us one minute.”
“Well, I could wait--” Ruslan started, but I shut the door before my father could say another word.
Then I exhaled a deep breath before I looked to Ravi, who bit back a smile.
“Sorry about that,” I told her with a small laugh. “Duty calls, I guess.” I pulled her in by the loosely tied strings of her robe and kissed her deeply. “We can continue this later, yeah?”
“I hope we do,” Ravi nodded and bit her lip, “but we should probably go. I think Ruslan is still out there.”
Ravi gestured behind me where Ruslan’s shadow could be seen under the crack of the door.
I shook my head fondly at the shadow. Then I opened the door and let Ravi leave first before I followed her out.
Ruslan smirked at me from behind Ravi’s back and gave me a thumbs up.
I rolled my eyes, and he laughed as he walked ahead to lead the way to Alyona’s room.
I loved my father, but sometimes I was surprised Julia had been able to put up with Ruslan’s antics for multiple centuries. The woman was a saint.
“Come along,” Ruslan called over his shoulder. “We don’t want to keep a letter from the king waiting.”
I blinked in shock. A letter from King Rodion?
What could it say?
I grabbed Ravi’s hand and quickened my pace to catch up with my father.
Only one way to find out.
Chapter 3
Ravi and I quickly followed Ruslan down to Alyona’s room, where Laika and Julia waited for us as well. The wolf Demi-Human and my mother were talking quietly in a corner while Alyona sat at her desk with opened books all around her. The princess flipped through the pages lazily and with a bored, uninterested expression on her face. Her pale hair was pulled back into a braid, and her black forelocks were entwined into it as well.
“Hey,” I greeted as I strode into the room.
Alyona whipped her head up, and a grin replaced her bored expression. “Evan! Thank goodness you’re here.”
“Ruslan said you wanted to speak with us and that we’d received a letter from the king, is everything okay?” I asked, and Alyona nodded quickly.
“Yes, of course! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to cause alarm. I just received a letter from my father an hour ago, and he wants us to discuss our engagement campaign. Tension is growing in Rahma, and my father fears we could be on the brink of a civil war.”
“You’re engaged?” Ravi’s voice spoke up from my side.
We all turned to the phoenix in unison. Her blue eyes were wide, and I could see a slight glimmer of hurt in them. Then I realized I hadn’t talked to Ravi about the other women in my life. I knew Inati was generally okay with the concept of polygamy, but I didn’t know where the phoenix stood on the subject. We’d grown close, and I didn’t want to lose her.
“Yeah, but it’s not known to the public yet,” I explained quickly. “King Rodion wants us to wait until we can campaign around the country and sway nobles to our side. Once we have enough support, then we can announce our engagement. Sorry, I didn’t mean to keep it from you. It just didn’t seem important compared to the other things we were dealing with.”
“It’s alright.” Ravi blinked a few times before she smiled and reached out for my hand. “I knew you were already with each other, I noticed it when I first came to the city, I just didn’t realize how serious it was.”
“It doesn’t have to change anything between us,” I told her quietly and squeezed her hand.
“I know. I wouldn’t want it to. I was just surprised is all. As long as I can have you too, it doesn’t bother me. It’s not unusual for a powerful man to take multiple wives, and I’m sure a dragon would not settle for anything less.” Ravi turned back to Alyona and bowed in respect. “Sorry, Princess. I didn’t mean to interrupt you. Please, continue.”
Alyona smiled warmly. “It’s alright, Ravi. We should have told you before, but like Evan said, it slipped my mind while we worried about more important things like the echidna attacks. But, as I was saying, my father is concerned about a civil war breaking out soon due to the tension from the demon attacks. They’re getting worse. A week ago, an entire city was slaughtered by what we assume was a small group of demons, most likely summoned by a powerful magic user. The people are scared, and they blame my father for that fear.”
“Was it close?” I asked Alyona, but she frowned in confusion, so I clarified. “The city that was attacked, was it close to Hatra?”
Another attack was the last thing my city needed right now.
“No, it was near the southern coast line,” she assured me.“My father will warn us if any attacks seem to be heading toward Hatra.”
“Good.” I nodded, and my shoulders relaxed a fraction.
“I think a wedding will give the people something to look forward to,” Alyona continued. “Royal weddings are always a massive event, so hopefully our announcement can help boost morale and help settle the tension a bit. We’ll have to wait until after our campaign, like we planned, but I really think we should start making plans to leave as soon as possible. My father thinks his advisors and his loyal friends from noble families can hold the fragile peace for a few months, maybe half a year, but he wants us to leave as soon as we can.”
“If Rahma is at risk of civil war, then we are in worse shape than I thought,” Julia mused as she fanned herself quickly. “This could be a very dangerous tour for the two of you.”
My mother looked to me as she spoke, and I could see the worry in her blue eyes. Then Ruslan wrapped an arm around her waist in a show of comfort.
“Our son is strong,” the fox assured Julia. “He’ll be okay.”
“And I’ll go with them to help keep them safe,” Laika spoke up with fiery determination in her gray eyes. “I’ve traveled around the entire country many times, and I know the people of the cities. I might not be able to sway the nobles, but I can help sway the citizens.”
“Thank you, Laika, you are a loyal friend,” Alyona said, and my two lovers smiled at each other.
“Once Hatra as been rebuilt, we can make our plans for the campaign,” I suggested. “I know it’s important to all of Rahma for us to leave, but I can’t abandon the people here without ways to defend themselves. Leaving before the city is finished is just asking for someone to attack. Not to mention we’re holding a group of comatose members of the Green Glass Sect. If they find out I’m not here, they could attack, and who knows what they’d be willing to do to retrieve their members.”
Ruslan nodded in agreement. “The Lunar Palace is the last thing we plan to rebuild. According to Raisa and Azra, it will take around two months for it
to be complete, which is the longest time out of everything. As long as we stick to the schedule, we should begin the construction on it within the next few weeks. I’m going to estimate that it will take us closer to three months, just to leave us with room for error, or in case someone tries to kill us again.”
Ruslan smiled at his own half-hearted joke, but we all rolled our eyes, so he just sighed and continued.
“But I would say after the Lunar Palace is finished, you should all be fine to leave. Give or take four months from now.”
“That will be near the end of the year,” Julia commented.
“Then that’s what we tell King Rodion,” I replied before I turned to Alyona. “Write him back and tell him to keep the peace as long as he can, and we will start our campaign at the beginning of the new year.”
Alyona nodded and began to write quickly on a piece of parchment.
“I will let you know when we get a response,” she promised. Then, with a flick of her wrist and a spell whispered under her breath, the letter vanished into thin air.
“Is there anything else we need to talk about?” I asked everyone.
“Once the king responds, we can talk more about plans, but until then I don’t think we do,” Alyona replied.
Everyone else shook their heads no, so they slowly made their way out of Alyona’s room, but I hung back for a moment.
“Are you going to be okay?” I asked the princess as the others left the room. “Your dad kind of dropped a lot on you all at once.”
Alyona sighed and gave me a tired smile. “I’ll be fine, but thank you. I’m just tired, but after a good night's rest, I’ll be perfectly fine.”
“Are you sure?”
“I promise,” she assured me as she grabbed my hands, “I’ll make sure to talk to you if I get too overwhelmed.”
“Thank you,” I kissed her forehead, “I just don’t want you to stress yourself out too much.”
“I know, and thank you for that, but I really am tired,” she replied with a laugh. “I’ll see you in the morning, okay?”
I kissed her on the mouth quickly. “Goodnight, Princess.”
“Good night, Lord Evan,” she giggled and pressed another kiss to my lips. “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” I whispered against her lips as I stole one last kiss, and then I slipped out of her door.
Laika and Ravi waited for me just outside in the hall. My parents were gone, so I assumed they must have gone to bed already.
“Do you want me to walk you two back to the airship?” I asked, and they both smiled at me.
“I think we’ll be okay, Lord Evan, but thank you,” Ravi murmured with a slight blush.
Laika nodded. “I’ll make sure Ravi reaches her room safely, and then I’ll retire to my room as well.”
“Alright. I’ll at least walk you to the front door of the palace, and then I guess I’ll see you both in the morning, okay?”
“Of course, my lord,” Laika replied with a bow while Ravi nodded enthusiastically.
We continued down the halls of the temporary palace, and Ravi and Laika walked on either side of me as we made our way toward the exit. When we finally reached the front doors, Ravi grabbed my hand and pulled me to a stop.
I glanced down at the phoenix while Laika gave us an understanding look and continued out the doors.
“Everything okay?” I asked Ravi when we were alone.
Instead of replying, she stepped onto her tiptoes and kissed me fiercely.
I staggered back in surprise before I steadied myself and wrapped my hands around her waist. Then I pulled her close and deepened the kiss.
“I would very much like to continue our conversation from earlier,” Ravi whispered against my lips.
“You can always come back to my room after we walk Laika back to the airship,” I offered, and she giggled.
“I want to so bad, but I want it to be perfect, and I don’t think I have the energy to satisfy you right now. I didn’t realize how tired my body still was after everything. And after nearly getting caught by your father, I don’t want to tempt fate again.”
“Tomorrow then?” I asked.
The phoenix kissed me again and pulled away with a beatific smile.
“Tomorrow,” Ravi confirmed.
“It’s a date.” I grinned.
Ravi blushed, and then she took off down the stairs toward Laika, who stood at the bottom. The phoenix waved, and Laika bowed her head at me before they set off into the dark to return to the airship.
I watched them go, and I was thankful my dragon enhanced eyes allowed me to follow them until they turned a corner and disappeared from sight. Then I sighed in disappointment before I turned and made my way through the halls of the palace back to my quarters.
When I walked into my room, I used my fire magic to light the lanterns and candles that lined the walls. The space was quickly illuminated with soft yellow light, and then I noticed a slight glitter on the ground in front of the door.
It only took me a second to recognize the item. It was Ravi’s necklace, the one that had belonged to her mother before she died. The phoenix must have dropped it during our heated make out session earlier, so I gently scooped up the necklace and slipped it into my storage space. I would return it to her in the morning. Then I quickly undressed and climbed into my bed. I could feel the edges of sleep begin to take over my consciousness, and before long, I drifted off into darkness.
The next thing I knew, I was standing in the middle of Hatra. I could hear my people scream in the distance, and I turned to try and find the direction of the noise. Smoke and fire burned all around me and obscured my vision, but my blood ran cold when I heard demons screech.
Then I noticed the state of my city.
All the reconstruction we had completed was destroyed, and demons by the hundreds seemed to be all around me. Demonized harpies flew in the air with children in their claws, behemoths towered over the city as they smashed buildings under their massive feet, and echidnas clambered over the destroyed homes of my people and clicked their maws in a cacophonous high-pitched noise.
What was going on? Was this a dream? Or had I been teleported through time again?
Was this our future?
Rage pulsed through my veins like a wave of lava, and I urged my body to shift into my dragon form, but nothing happened.
I froze in confusion and stared down at my human hands.
“What the fuck?” I murmured, and then Ruslan suddenly appeared next to me.
My father panted heavily as flames burned over his arms and reflected in his narrowed eyes, and blood ran down his face from a gash on his brow.
“Don’t just stand there, son!” he yelled. “Help us!”
Then he snarled and lashed out with his flames at an approaching demon. It roared loudly and used one of its massive clawed feet to swipe at Ruslan, which sent him flying against a cobblestoned building. Ruslan hit the stone with a sickening thud and fell limp along the ground.
“Pops!” I shouted as I tried to summon my healing magic to him.
I couldn’t feel anything, though, just like before when I tried to transform into my dragon form.
“What the fuck is going on!” I screamed as I tried to shift once more.
But again, nothing happened.
The demon that attacked my father roared and came closer to me as I struggled with my magic. I couldn’t shift or use my healing power, apparently, so I reached to summon my flames. I could feel my magic react, like a tempest rolled in my spiritual sea, but it didn’t respond to my commands.
“Shit!” I cursed as I dodged away from the demon.
But the beast ignored me to continue forward into the chaos that had befallen my city, so I turned back to Ruslan and ran toward him.
“Pops!” I yelled as I reached his motionless body.
I grabbed him under his arms and dragged him through the debris on the ground. I hauled him toward an empty alley that was nearly hidden by
all the destruction around us, and then I gently sat him down and looked for any signs of life.
I tried to summon my status check ability, but no words appeared before my eyes.
I really was powerless.
“Pops,” I muttered as I tapped him gently on the cheek.
My father’s eyes twitched underneath his closed eyelids, and I let out the breath I held as I shook him gently and tried in vain to reach my healing magic.
“Evan,” Ruslan groaned as his eyes fluttered open.
“Hey, Pops,” I panted, and my heart was pounding a million miles an hour as I looked over his body for wounds. “You okay?”
“You need to find Alyona,” he rasped. “They are here for her.”
“Who’s here for her?” I asked as I leaned over him. “Is this the Green Glass Sect?”
Ruslan’s eyes fluttered closed once more.
“Pops, hey!” I shook him gently. “You can’t sleep here, we’re not safe.”
“Evan!” a voice called out from behind me.
I turned to see Julia and Moskal at the mouth of the alley. Julia was covered in black ash and dirt, she had a few cuts along her cheeks, arms, and legs, and her clothes were ripped. A broken fan was also clenched tightly in her hand.
Moskal didn’t look much better. He limped slightly and cradled his left arm with his right hand. He had a deep gash along his forehead, and his chest was covered in blood.
Sweat dripped from both of their heads and mixed with tears as they knelt next to Ruslan.
“Julia, Pops has been hurt,” I explained quickly.
“We will take care of him, you must find Alyona,” she ordered me.
I blinked in surprise for a moment before I nodded. “Where is she?”
“The airship,” Julia said as she looked over Ruslan’s body. “That is the only safe place left in Hatra. Laika and the other guild members have created a nearly impenetrable line of defense against the demons.”
“I’ll go there now, but I don’t have my magic,” I replied with a frown.
“Magic?” Julia glanced back at me with a furrowed brow. “What magic?”