by L J Andrews
Swallowing hard, I moved my face slightly closer toward his. His scent was as though all my favorite smells had combined in one perfect woodsy aroma. Infatuation, or the connection between us? I really didn’t care and just enjoyed it. “I have a confession—Sapphire didn’t give you your room back because you were sick. He feels badly—and I think he wants to keep an eye on you.”
Teagan furrowed his brow. “Keep an eye on me? What am I going to do?” Teagan’s voice fell into a soft whisper. “If he is who you…said he was, what would I be able to do? He could like…eat me, right?”
The laugh was louder than I’d intended. Teagan grinned but instantly checked his door. He had a right to worry, I wasn’t positive I could hold Sapphire out should he suspect my presence. “Sorry,” I whispered. “I’m imagining how you must think of us in our true forms. You’re thinking towering, skyscraper, flesh-eating lizards, right?”
Teagan flushed. Even in the darkness of his room, I could see the blood rush to his face. “Well, in my childhood, fairy tale dragons were usually the fire-breathing bad guys.”
“Yes, well,” I began bitterly. “There have been several wyvern wars, and one of them involved uneducated, ridiculous humans centuries ago. Those fairy tales are slander in the purest form. After the medieval wars, we blended in with humans—only a few wyvern staying in their constant true form, but still well hidden. Our council of elders rarely change into human form, but they never venture out into the world. For council or trials we must go to them.”
“Okay, it sounds like no knight-slaying-dragon stories for you,” Teagan chuckled, his fingers tangling tighter with mine.
“Not unless it’s the dragon who is victorious,” I added lightly. “Sapphire won’t eat you—he can’t shift anyway. Humans are not in our diet. The forest supplies our food, and when we age and allow ourselves to pass, we supply the power to the forest—or desert, or oceans—wherever the wyvern calls home, really.”
“You allow yourself to pass?”
I nodded, knowing it would be a strange concept. “Unless we are killed, wyvern can live for thousands of years if we choose. Most opt to pass before then, and their energy peacefully fades and the body dies. It is a conscious choice, of course.”
“This is all so—I don’t know—I want to say insane, but it doesn’t feel insane.”
I scooted off the edge of the bed slightly, my thumb absorbing the shocking surge passing between our hands. “It’s not insane, Teagan. Surprising, hard to believe, perhaps, but not insane.”
“Are you alright?” he whispered. There was a jolt which I relished when he traced his fingers over my cheek, his eyes searching for something in my own, but I had no way of knowing what he was searching for.
“I spoke with Eisha—she didn’t take it well,” I muttered, the wrenching guilt building in my chest.
“What happened?” he asked, moving slowly from the chair to my side on the edge of his bed.
Without pause I recited everything that was said between my guardian and myself. I explained how Eisha didn’t trust him—what good was it to leave out the truth? Teagan’s face fell, and he leaned forward on his knees when I’d finished. Gently pulling out the old book from my back pocket, I tapped the corner against Teagan’s arm.
“What’s this?” his voice was raspy, and again I knew he was struggling to process everything.
“This is the book I spoke of. The one of the mage.”
“Jade, I’m not…I’m not this mage thing,” he said, though still took the book from my hands. “I’m just…me. I don’t have powers. I’m not a warrior.”
“I admit, I didn’t know of the mage race before today. I certainly didn’t know of the connection and betrayal in the Great Wyvern War. But if it’s true, Teagan, it would explain why the others are so wary of those marks on your arms. And whether we want to admit it or not, the idea that you descend from mage explains a lot of empty holes. You sense things, you stopped a zomok, the willow speaks the same energy I feel inside you.”
Teagan thumbed through the book for several minutes. I stayed quiet, allowing him to read and enjoying the way the muscles in his jaw and neck pulsed. “So,” he said after some time. He was studying the image of the mage armor. “Ms. Drake—or Eisha—believes it’s impossible for one of these mages to connect with you?”
“Someone of my bloodline.” I was fully aware I hadn’t explained the status of royals. How would he react if he knew what I was meant to be?
“The one who protects that…jade stone? Why is your bloodline different that you wouldn’t have a defender or mage?”
I studied the simple lamp on his desk, my heart leaping to my throat. “Eisha told me a mage for me would come from the highest mage bloodline, which ended with the High Priestess. The highest mage blood used to defend the highest wyvern blood. Just like any royal family, there are those who are the ones who will ascend the throne.”
“What are you saying?”
“My mother was in line to be the next queen of elemental wyvern, Teagan. My grandfather was the king when he was killed—you know my parents were killed as well.”
Teagan’s eyes widened. “Wait, are you saying you’re…the queen?”
I nodded, the thudding of my pulse deafening in my ears. “I like to say I’m a queen in training. I wasn’t set to rise to the throne for centuries. I’m the youngest queen in our history, which is why we’ve been protected for so long, so I may learn and grow and allow the elders to guide our people for now. Things changed when we ran from our homes, when we came here. I’m not certain I will ever rule as my grandfather did before me. Before you came,” I continued, my voice shifting to a soft hush, and I took his hand again. “I found myself questioning my purpose more and more. I felt so weak, powerless even. What sort of queen could I be? But you bring me strength like I’ve never known. When Eisha told me of the mages, to me, it made sense. It explained my connection with you, how your power fueled me. Doesn’t it explain things to you?”
Teagan turned the book in his hands once before meeting my eyes. “In some ways, but I’m not supposed to have your color, right? How is that possible?” He met my gaze sharply and with a new determination. “Jade, you don’t believe what she thinks, do you? That I’m fooling you somehow or trying to harm you? Because I would never, never harm you.”
My throat was dry when he spoke. He said the word with such passion, I shuddered, again foolishly wanting to bring myself even closer, though I resisted. “I trust you, Teagan,” I whispered.
He shifted his body so his shoulders were squared toward me, his strong hand finding the side of my face and sending me into a whirlwind of wyvern emotions. Maybe I’d been in human form too long, because I’d seen this feeling so many times on the screen in movies I’d watched. The glazed eyes and floating sensation before a couple kissed. I wanted Teagan to kiss me—I’d never experienced such a thing—but nowhere in the book did it say mage and wyvern united as lovers. Only strengthening companions—warriors with a common bond to protect the other. Partners, in a way. Not this—not what I was undeniably feeling. “We’re going to figure this out,” he said.
His nose was close to mine, his lips only inches away. It was going to happen, and I held my breath, waiting for that sweet moment—what would a kiss do to my energy? I couldn’t wait to find out as slowly, with an underlying thrill, Teagan moved ever closer.
But we both stopped.
Downstairs there was a booming shout. It wasn’t a cry of pain—no, it was a shout of war and battle. I heard those cries in my nightmares. My heart pounded against my chest, painfully bludgeoning my rib cage. My fellow wyvern, my friend, Sapphire, was undoubtedly under attack.
Chapter 16
Desperation fueled my steps, and I nearly tore the door from its hinges when we bounded out of Teagan’s room. The door had been locked—Sapphire never locked the doors. But between the two of us, the weak brass knob and hinges didn’t stand a chance. In the long hallway other students wer
e banging on the doors, locked away from the scuffle downstairs.
Teagan swore loudly when we took to the stairs and there, sprawled out, was the body of the balding man Sapphire had hired two years earlier. His eyes were open, staring blankly at the ceiling, a gash along his throat.
“That’s Bart,” Teagan gasped, his arm blocking me from taking another step. I noticed for the first time how his shoulders were heaving, and small beads of sweat were already dripping over his forehead. The ancient markings on his arms had brightened, and the skin beneath the jade strokes was irritated and angry. “Stay here, Jade. Please.”
“What’s happening, Teagan?” I said, gently brushing my fingertips along his arms.
His eyes were pained but locked in deadly focus when glass shattered from the main floor. “I don’t know—I feel different—but stay here, please.”
“I can’t, it’s Konrad. His cry spoke to my heart. He’s in trouble. Now, come on, we have to help him.”
Teagan pushed himself in front of me, though he didn’t protest any longer. There was a surge of power rippling between us as we abandoned Bart’s lifeless body and carefully trudged along the walls toward Sapphire’s office. My heart leapt out of my chest when a large bookshelf burst through the doorway and crashed in pieces along the front entry. Teagan filled the door frame, but I saw him jump backward slightly. “What is that?” he gasped.
I peered over his shoulder, my eyes taking in every horrid thing unfolding. Sapphire’s face was turning a ghastly plum color, his skin was covered in burns and gashes, and he clutched his throat. The office was in ruin, but I saw nothing else apart from Sapphire’s dying human body desperate to draw in a new breath.
“I see nothing!” I screamed, rushing toward Sapphire though Teagan tried to stop me, his face still as pale as though he’d seen death itself. A few steps away from Konrad, something jabbed deep into my side. I shouted, clutching my ribs, the invisible force drawing my boiling blood. It was a whirlwind after that. Teagan rushed between me and my invisible enemy—a zomok—I knew the invisible beast was killing Sapphire and would come after me. Though I should have been quite frightened, when I caught the flash of Teagan’s movements, I wasn’t—I was empowered. He stepped between me, his arms crackling and covered in a hardened, scaly armor that gleamed in rich jade green—it reminded me very much of my skin when I took my wyvern form. Though I couldn’t see the assailant, I watched as Teagan wrapped his armored hands around the bulk of space hovering over Sapphire. He grunted, pulling down the invisible zomok and allowing Sapphire to gasp gratefully, filling his lungs once again with fresh air.
“Jade,” he gasped, shoving me away like Teagan had tried. “Run, now. Don’t let him find you.”
“No. No more running, Konrad,” I snapped, my eyes on Teagan, who dodged some sort of strike. He held up his forearms, and I saw the strike spark along the armor. Teagan stumbled slightly, and though I sensed his power trembling throughout the room, he was unarmed and I could not see what weapons the zomok had armed itself with. Teagan couldn’t do this alone. The top of Sapphire’s desk was glass, and without a second thought I placed my hands across the surface, the heat from my energy chipping and cracking the smooth surface until it shattered into chunky shards. “Teagan, get down!”
With a fiery glance, Teagan saw my hands over the shattered glass and rushed out of the way. With a command to the powers of the air, my touch released the glass toward the empty space where Teagan had stood. The hiss erupting from the zomok sent a chill down my spine. Glass pummeled against its body, dripping blood along the ground. Though I could not see him still, we could track him.
Then I smelled the pyre. In an instant, the green flames erupted into a floating ball. Sapphire ripped me out of the way, preparing to sacrifice his life for mine. Teagan scrambled along the floor, his hand reaching for the place where the zomok would be standing. Everything seemed to slow its pace. I could hear the rush of my own deep breaths. Sapphire was shoving me out of the office, Teagan was set on saving us both, and I couldn’t see how we would escape alive as the zomok tossed the green flames into the air. I never expected company to our deadly battle.
The window crashed and a figure stood stalwart, gripping tight to a gleaming knife that was certainly filled with magical properties. For the briefest moment I was in awe of the weapon. It was a young woman—a very petite young woman—but her body was covered, apart from her head, in blue gleaming hardened skin. Like the armor over Teagan’s arms, except she was protected to her neck in the most royal blue armor I’d ever seen. She said nothing, simply gripped her knife and lunged toward Teagan.
Sapphire wasted no time. He shoved me away from the zomok, who had absorbed the pyre back into its poisonous lungs, and followed the blood spatter. The invisible enemy now engaged with Teagan and the visitor. The girl struck her blade, and a shrill shriek erupted through the night. But I saw something. A gash along an arm. The knife robbed the zomok of its camouflage. The girl struck again, and I saw the side of a hooded face. Teagan’s palm wrapped tightly around the zomok’s face and shoved the creature to the ground.
“Release me,” Sapphire boomed. “Release me now, and I will entrap him!”
I didn’t understand what he was saying, but the girl whipped her head around, her steely eyes bright and alive as though her life’s purpose had been achieved. She abandoned Teagan, leaving him to wrestle with the half-visible beast. I gaped watching the girl traipse the office in three paces. It was strange to see her place her palms on Sapphire’s chest. “Orietur verus forma, Orietur verus forma…”
She repeated the words three times, and as she spoke, the air in the room thickened. A voice whispered to my soul, speaking in the same dialect as the power of the willow—or the power I felt around Teagan. When she tore her hands away, Sapphire grinned widely. Cracking his neck once, I gaped as I watched his human form peel away; a royal was changing. Teagan stopped fighting the zomok and backed against the wall, his eyes wide as he absorbed the wyvern transformation for the first time. Sapphire’s enormous form filled out the majority of the room. Though I had so few memories, my heart missed the sleekness of his royal body. Sapphire carried himself with a regal air when his enormous black and blue wings spread wide, drawing a dim shadow over the room. His claws were the same color as his stone, rich, gleaming sapphires, and his body rippled between cerulean shimmers and rich ebony. But it was his eyes, I’d never forget those eyes. Joyful tears welled behind my own eyes when the dark flames flashed in his black crystal eyes.
“Force the snake to reveal himself,” the girl shouted across the office. She was trapped behind Sapphires thick, powerful tail. Her words were directed at Teagan, who seemed frozen as he watched Sapphire stomp toward the bloody pool in the corner of the office.
“Touch him!” she shrieked in exasperation. “And command him. He’s not stronger than you.”
Without question, possibly because he wanted to get away from Sapphire, Teagan rushed toward the corner where the zomok was bleeding, his palms covering the half face once more. He didn’t speak, but whatever he was saying within seemed to work. Slowly the form of the zomok took shape. He’d reverted to his human form, though I yearned to see the creature in its slithering, weak shape. Sapphire would crush him. The moment the zomok was revealed entirely, Sapphire unhinged his powerful jaws and a stream of blue flames spilled out. The girl was clutching to Sapphire’s tail, and I could feel the radiating power between them.
Sapphire burned a circle into the wooden floor, and the zomok hissed angrily from beneath his hood. “That’s enough,” said the girl, her scaly protection slowly fading into wyvernian marks made of royal blue and shimmering silver along her skin. I marveled at her ferocity during the fight, especially when her stature seemed to get thinner and thinner.
Teagan met my eye from across the room. His marks were back as well, but I pointed to his arms. His eyes followed my finger. The marks had burned their way up toward his biceps, carving painful red
lines in his skin. He looked pale, but didn’t collapse as he had the first time the writings etched into his skin. It wasn’t long after the scorched circle imprisoned the zomok that Sapphire’s tail began shortening, his rippling muscles shaped into arms and legs. A blue cloak covered his body as his skin shifted and the fabric draped around his feet. It was strange to watch the shift of wyvern to human, but when he was back to his human shape, there was still the crystal gleam in his eyes and a new vibrancy in his skin.
Teagan wasted no time in crossing the room and pressed his body against mine, though subtly pushing me away from the threat. “Did he hurt you?” he whispered.
“No,” I replied, my hand gripping in his. “I’m fine.
“You’re trapped, serpent,” Sapphire snarled at the zomok. “How did you get here?”
The creature snarled—well, it was more of a gurgled laugh—but I hated the very sound of it. “You fools. You think you can hide away forever. You cannot even take form without the help of a girl.”
“Oh, let me slit his throat,” the girl growled, but Sapphire held up his hand. Teagan’s head was cocked staring straight at the girl, who only winked at him.
“You’re a mage,” I whispered with awe.
She smirked and held a finger to her lips. “Later. Let’s watch the show.”
Teagan’s arm was wrapped around my waist, and I couldn’t remember when I’d ever felt safer. Sapphire stepped forward, his shoulders heaving with adrenaline from shifting for the first time in decades. He crossed over the scorched circle and tore back the hood. I gasped, Teagan snarled, and the second mage giggled.
