by G. Bailey
“We were one of the first creatures in Frayan when the fates came here thousands of years ago. It was our land, and we were happy with the other creatures that are all but extinct now. We lived happily by the fates’ and their descendants’ side until Queen Lilyanne. I escaped, by chance, when no other of my kind did. I hear the fates call, because like you, our blood is connected,” she explains to me. “Many of the creatures of Frayan are dead or close to it, and I do not want to be alone.”
“I’d like us to be friends, you know that?” I ask her. “I want you around for a long time more.”
“In the future, we may be friends, yes,” she replies, lifting her head up in a snotty way.
“Would it help if I say you are my family, Tay? You are more than welcome to live with our pack for the rest of your life. I know Rick, Josh, Mich and Nath feel the same way I do. We are all connected,” I tell her, being nice, and she seems somewhat surprised by it. “I’m not taking them from you, but if you throw anything at me again, I will throw it right back.”
“I’d like that. Family,” she replies with a little smile. It’s good to see her smile.
“Family,” I say, holding my hand out for her. She steps onto my hand, and I feel like we have finally come to some kind of truce. “What did you wish to show me?”
“You must fly up to the stars,” she tells me, and I frown; that is a long way up. “Trust me?” she asks, and I know I need to in order to prove that she is family to me. I didn’t trust her once, and if I had, maybe I would have had more time with my aunt. Maybe I would have been able to kill Lilyanne by now. Overall, things would have been better if I trusted Tay.
“Alright,” I say, feeling my wings appear behind me. I only have to think of them now for them to appear, and I imagine a day when I will never need to hide them away. Tay flies off my hand and into the air, and I jump off the balcony and fly up out of the academy. We keep going higher and higher until we hit the clouds and come out the other side. I freeze, going on alert when I see we aren’t alone. An elderly woman sits on the back of a butterfly, not the same one as Casella’s in the academy, as this butterfly is much larger with black and silver wings.
“Come over, dear Adelaide. I have looked forward to meeting you for a long time,” she tells me.
“How do you know my name?” I ask as I fly closer and watch as Tay lands on the old lady’s shoulder, sitting comfortably.
“I am the last living fate in all the worlds now. Every ounce of magic the fates once held is in my soul, and I have chosen three new fates. Two are not born yet, but it will not be long. Time is different here,” she explains to me, and I feel shocked into silence as I stare at the woman in a gold cloak. She looks serene as she sits so still in front of me, not a single movement.
She is a fate. A goddess.
“You’re a fate?” I ask, moving closer as she chuckles.
“Your father and aunt were dear friends of mine once. You look like your mother though, with your father’s spirit in your eyes,” she tells me. “Did you know your father once didn’t want his powers? He did not want anything to do with Frayan, and somehow he ended up dying for you, your mother and Frayan. You should not feel so bad for second-guessing and fearing your destiny. All the great heroes in the worlds have second-guessed every decision they have made, but in the end, they make the best decision.”
“Thank you for telling me that. Frayan needs help, and I will fight for it, but I’m worried. Lilyanne’s army comes to us, and we don’t have the numbers to beat her,” I admit. “I was hoping you could help.”
“Your numbers lie in your friends and family,” she tells me with a frown. “You don’t need my help.”
“Any family or friends we could call live in other worlds we can’t get to,” I explain.
“You can open portals between the worlds, Adelaide. It is a gift I will give you now,” she tells me, and she holds her hand flat in front of her. She closes her eyes and blows gold dust right at me. I stay still as the gold dust disappears into my skin, and the old lady smiles at me. “Now you need to practice, but you shall be able to open portals.”
“Thank you,” I whisper. “I don’t know how to thank you for this gift.”
“Adelaide, there will be a time when you have a child, and I will be there to bless his birth. I foresee him as a fate,” she tells me. “As fates came from a world, so will our enemies. This war is nothing but a dot on a map in the grand scheme of everything. I cannot help when the real war comes, so all three worlds will need to team up together to win.”
“Wow, I don’t know what to say.”
“Nothing can be said. Every part of our future is already in the works,” she tells me, smiling sadly. “We all will pay a dear price.”
“You said you see three new fates?” I ask her, not wanting to think about this at all. One war is bad enough, but what she talks about sounds terrifying.
“I do. One will be a Fray, one will be a dragon, and one the child of a secret no one will ever speak. One will betray every world and bring about ruin, one will love an impossible dream, and another will save every world with one decision,” she tells me. I try to remember it all, knowing I need to tell Queen Winter and Queen Isola about this. We should all be ready…that is if I survive the war of Frayan.
“Why are you telling me this?” I carefully ask.
“A warning, as well as a little information. The power of the fates is great...” She pauses and looks away from me and over the clouds around us. It’s so silent up here, perfectly still. “The gods and goddesses of fate will rise once more, but I will not see it. The curse of the fates is to lose everything for power. For to be a god, you must wish for nothing else, and the gods that chose power over everything are a fearful sight.”
“Did you lose someone?” I ask.
“Everyone, in time. We fates are immortal until the time we are not needed anymore,” she explains to me.
“I’m so sorry,” I say. After a long silence, I gently ask, “Will I win the war for Frayan?”
“To tell you the future would change the outcome itself,” she warns me. “Trust your mates and your soul. You are Queen Adelaide of Frayan, and your name will never be forgotten in the land of Frayan. Now I must leave.”
“It was an honour to meet you. What is your name?” I ask.
“Wouldn’t you like to know, Queen Adelaide?” she replies. Tay kisses her cheek before flying over to me, and we watch as both the old lady and the butterfly disappear into gold dust that blows away in the wind. I hear her voice once more, this time like she is speaking into my mind.
“The creatures of Frayan will always come for the call of their queen. Maybe you should call if there is no other choice.”
14
I fly down with Tay, landing on the rubble edge of the academy, overlooking the part of Frayan that I can see.
“Call the creatures.” I remember the words of the fate, and I close my eyes, feeling a strange power in my chest. I instantly feel a connection slam into my heart like a rope, pulling me towards the world that needs so much help. I feel the pain and fear of all the creatures that hide around Frayan, and how they don’t want to fight because there are so few of them. I can’t ask them to. I open my eyes, gasping for air as I step back.
“Why did you not call them?” Tay asks me, flying off my shoulder to hover in front of me.
“This is war for the Fray, not the creatures. They will come to the land when the war is over, and we will be blessed, but I will not ask them to fight,” I explain to her. She flies closer to me and places her tiny hand on my cheek.
“Get allies then, silly fairy,” she tells me before flying off, and I shake my head with a chuckle. I spin around and fly down the cavern into the academy, seeing Rick at the bottom.
“Rick!” I shout to him so he doesn’t run away, and he looks up as I continue to fly down and slow myself so I can land.
“Adie, we were looking for you, are you okay?” Rick asks, rushi
ng up to me as I land on the ground floor of the academy. I kiss him gently and nod as Josh, Nath and Mich walk over to us. Tay flies past my cheek as I try to catch my breath.
“We saw the fate,” Tay says, though they still can’t understand her as she sits on Rick’s shoulder.
“It’s a long story, but I can open portals to Earth and Dragca now. I think. It’s going to be hard to do for the first time, I bet, but with practice, I can easily make it work,” I say with a big smile.
“That’s amazing,” Josh says in wonder. “Where did you learn that trick?”
“I will explain it all soon, but not right now. I want Rick and Nath to go to Earth to see Winter and ask for her help in the war,” I say as Jonas and Casella come to our circle. Mich quickly fills them in on everything, and Jonas crosses his arms.
“Can you send me to Dragca?” he asks. “I know Queen Isola will send an army of dragons to help us here, and that would give us a chance. Combined with Winter’s army, we could easily win this war.”
“The problem is I’ve never seen Dragca, and I can’t imagine where to send you. It could be a portal anywhere in that kingdom,” I say. “I’m going to open a portal to my house on Earth, so that won’t be as bad, as I know it’s near the castle. I know it’s a big risk because when I re-open the portals later, I don’t know where they will be. I will try to re-open them exactly where I sent you, so you will know where to find them. I will re-open the portals; I feel confident that I can.”
“I can go with Mich to Dragca. Once we are in Dragca, Mich can use his witch powers to get us right to the academy there, as he has been there before. Isola is living at the academy as they finish off the final touches,” Jonas suggests, and Mich nods in agreement.
“I will stay with Casella to protect Adelaide,” Josh states.
“We came to tell you the army is nearly here. We have sent out everyone to get in their positions, but by nightfall, she will be at the shore,” Casella explains. “We don’t have much time now.”
“Then we have a few hours at least,” I say, feeling more nervous as everyone stares at me.
“You got this, and we love you,” Rick whispers to me, sensing my nerves.
“I’m going to make the Earth portal first. Are you ready?” I ask. “Tay, go to Josh, and everyone else, can you move back? I haven’t done this before.”
“Of course,” Mich says, and everyone except Rick and Nath step away. I close my eyes and hold out my hands in front of me and picture Earth. I try to picture Queen Winter and seeing her right in front of me just as my fingers feel like they are burning, and suddenly a blast of power shoots down my arms. I open my eyes to see a glowing purple portal that looks like a wavy wall of water.
“Brilliant,” Rick says, and he runs headfirst into the portal.
“I love you,” Nath says before running in after him, and I stare at the portal for a second before clicking my fingers. The portal disappears into purple sparks like fire that float away. I hold my hands out once more, thinking about Dragca and every little thing Jonas has told me about it. I try to imagine the big castle he described. I feel sweat building on my forehead as power shoots down my arms once more, and another portal opens. Jonas kisses Casella before running through the portal, and Mich’s hand strokes my arm as he passes me and jumps through next. I click my fingers and fall to my knees, sucking in deep breaths of air and feeling lightheaded. Josh picks me up into his arms as Casella comes to me, placing her hand on my arm.
“Go and rest. There isn’t anything we can do. I will find you when it’s time,” she gently tells me.
“I can’t rest right now,” I mutter.
“You must. You have to open the portals to get them all back,” Casella reminds me, and I give her a shaky nod before resting my head on Josh’s shoulder. Tay lands in my lap and rests her small body on my hands, giving me comfort in her own strange way.
“I’m so proud of you,” Josh tells me.
“I haven’t done anything,” I whisper. “Yet.”
15
Rick
The portal drops us in the sky above the castle, and I swear all the words under the sun as I free fall, Nath falling out the portal right after me.
“Dabriel! Atti!” I shout, hoping one of my uncles hears me. Or any angel or witch for that matter. Just as I’m about to hit the top of the castle, a ball of water crashes into Nath and me, sucking us inside. Freezing cold water fills my lungs as I try to float in the ball of water as it takes us to the ground before popping, sending us crashing across the grass. I gasp for air as I brush my wet hair out of my eyes, and I hear Nath doing the same.
“Who the fuck is it?” I hear Uncle J demand.
“I don’t know, how would I?” Atti sarcastically replies, and man, it feels good to hear their usual arguments. I sit up as they come down the steps, their tense expression soon changing into one of happiness and shock as they run faster towards us. Atti goes to Nath as Uncle J offers me a hand.
“How?” he demands, though he sounds a mixture of happy and scary. That’s pretty normal for Uncle J though.
“Adie can make portals now, but she didn’t get it in quite the right place,” I chuckle as I wring my shirt out of all the water in it.
“If I knew it was you, I would have made it a gentler landing,” Atti says, and Nath all but glares at him.
“I’m going to find my mother,” Nath says to me, patting Atti’s shoulder. “Good to see you.”
“Go, I can explain everything,” I tell Nath who nods before running off towards the castle. Atti comes over and gives me a manly hug, patting my back hard before letting me go.
“That got the water out of my lungs, for sure,” I cough, and he grins.
“Freddy, man, it is good to see you,” Atti says. “Winter is going to be so fucking happy; she has been out of her mind with worry and guilt.”
“Rick, call me…never mind. We have a problem. Where are dad and Winter?”
“With the twins, your new brother and sister,” Atti says proudly.
“Twins?” I ask with wide eyes, joy filling my chest. “Can I see them? Is Winter okay?”
“Everyone is doing really well, and of course you can,” Uncle J says, wrapping his arm around my shoulder and leading me up to the castle. “Then you tell me everything, especially the fact I can see you are mated now. Adie, I assume?”
“Yes, Adelaide is my mate now, and I need your help with the war that is on our doorsteps,” I say.
“I never would have guessed that,” Atti jokes, and I roll my eyes at him.
“Freddy!” Dabriel shouts the second we get near the rooms on the second floor. Dear god, I’m never going to hear the end of that nickname. I hug Dabriel just as my dad comes out of one of the rooms with a small bundle in his arms, in a blue blanket. I let go of Dabriel and walk over, patting my dad on his shoulder as I look down at the small little baby.
“Your brother, Lucian,” Wyatt introduces and then gently places him in my arms. “Are you alright, son?” he asks me.
“Freddy?” Winter’s small voice asks, and I push the door open, heading inside to see Winter sitting on her bed with a baby lying on her chest, covered from her head down with a woven pink blanket. Tears fill Winter’s eyes as she holds her hand out to me, and I head over, sitting next to her. I hold her hand tightly as I look between her and the small baby.
“Congratulations, Winter. What’s my sister’s name then?”
“Alina,” she tells me. “Would you like to hold her?”
“I think Lucian has claimed me for now,” I chuckle.
“Tell me of Frayan and Adelaide? Tell me everything and how I can help you,” she asks. “Where is Josh? Is he okay?”
“Josh has found his home on Frayan, a place where his demon side can’t control him. He hoped you would understand why he can never come back here,” I explain, and even though I see the sadness in her eyes, I also see understanding. “I need an army to be ready today to go to Frayan.”
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“How do we get there?” Winter asks, not even questioning me on why I need an army or saying no. She just instantly offers to help me without question because that is what family does.
“Adelaide can open portals. My mate will make a way for us,” I say.
“How is Adie?” Winter asks, and I can feel her guilt before she even says it. “I wish I could change what happened, I never meant to put her in danger.”
“Adie doesn’t blame you, and neither do I. We wouldn’t have mated and found the life we have if it wasn’t for the deal you made. We needed to be Frayan,” I reply.
“Mate,” Winter all but sobs. “You’re all grown up, Freddy.”
“An army for our prince. Luckily, we have known this day was coming,” Dabriel says and winks at me. I forget about angel visions of the future. Of course they knew I would be here before even I did.
“Stay with me a little longer. I want to hear everything, my son.” Even though Winter is not my biological mother, she has felt like my mum from the moment I met her.
And she always will be. I owe her my life, and I simply love my mum like she loves me.
I hope one day I will be a dad, and everything Winter taught me about being a parent, I can use with my own children.
Frayan will be our home, but my second home on Earth will never be forgotten.
16
Mich
Out of all the things I expected when jumping through the portal, it wasn’t landing on the back of a very pissed off random dragon. I grip the scales tightly as I try to stand up and look around only to have the dragon look back and see me. And he doesn’t look happy.
“Hello! I’m looking—” The dragon doesn’t care, and I don’t blame him as he spins around and drops me into the air. I close my eyes and remember the Dragca academy from one of my visits, and imagine myself right outside of it. My magic moves me there, and when I open my eyes, three long spears with dragonglass are held at my throat by dragon guards.