by Jay Lynn
“Agreed.”
Slipping away from their post, Alec’s guardians swiftly moved to intercept the enemy raiders. Aiming at the dark brown dragon on point, they simultaneously released bursts of flame. The dragon dodged, diving down, as Ardys and Cassidy clashed with the next two in line. Jaws snapping and talons slashing at each other, the dragons instantly engaged in a brutal fight.
Curling her back legs beneath her, Cassidy kicked off the black dragon’s stomach, launching them apart. Just as she was about to reengage, their first enemy sped up from underneath, striking her right side. Roaring in pain Cassidy whirled, briefly losing sight of both of her opponents. They came at her in a joint attack, sending the green dragon plummeting into the trees.
While the ebony creature hovered above, the bronze one set his sights on Stafford.
Charging twin navy dragons, Ardys opened his mouth as his red jewel shimmered within. He amassed a large enhanced ball of fire. The heated mass pulsed brightly as he unleashed it upon his enemies.
Bursting on impact, the blast knocked the two foes away. They tumbled through the air fighting to regain control. Recovering, the dragons shook their heads with a deep growl as they charged towards Ardys once more.
Movements bolstered with his magic, Ardys darted between the dual attacks raining down upon him. His jaw clenched around one of their throats. Spinning in a circle, he released his adversary, striking the second dragon with his twin.
Eyes flashing, his opponents shot a joint fire attack straight for the red dragon.
Ardys met the blast head-on with his own blazing flames. Smoke tainted the air as the two powerful entities collided.
Flying out of the trees, Cassidy spotted the brown dragon speeding away. Roaring, she took off in his direction, momentarily forgetting about her other foe. The black creature struck her with great force, gripping her left wing.
Diving into a barrel roll, Cassidy shook him off, twisted in the air and pounced upon her enemy. Clawing at the dragon’s wings, she clamped her jaws around the bone near his shoulder. Pressing with all her might she didn’t stop until she felt it break. Turning around, Cassidy made to go after their last adversary. Yelping, she was jerked back as her injured opponent grabbed her tail.
Snorting, a long line of smoke expelled from her nose. Eyeing the forest, Cassidy dove down, taking her enemy with her. Launching herself into the trees, the jewel on her forehead glowed faintly.
Snaking their way up the trunks of trees and through the canopy, thick vines lashed out, striking the black dragon.
Snarling with surprise, he accidently released Cassidy’s tail.
The foliage wrapped around his body, tightly squeezing him as the green earth dragon doubled back with her talons ready to strike.
Above her, Ardys was looping around his enemies. Whipping his tail, he smashed one of the navy creatures in the face, then shot another round of enhanced fire.
The dragon crashed to the ground.
Flying straight at Ardys, his second foe locked his talons with the larger red dragon’s. Boiling flames lit the back of the dark dragon’s throat as he aimed to strike Ardys square in the face.
Clamping his jaw around the other creature’s muzzle, Ardys cut off the attack. Without disengaging, he took hold of the dragon’s wings and sent them both diving to the hard, earthen floor. Releasing his foe at the last moment, he hovered in the air as the first twin rose to fight him.
Cassidy burst from the trees nearby. Pausing, she glanced at her comrade.
“Don’t worry about me. Go after him!” Ardys commanded, eyeing the bronze dragon quickly nearing the castle.
Cassidy didn’t argue. Beating her wings as fast as she could, the green dragon fought to catch up. The last enemy was far ahead of her. The muscles of her wings burned, but she couldn’t seem to gain enough ground.
Zipping across the open field before Stafford’s outer wall, the bronze dragon was still out of range of her flames. She wasn’t going to be able to stop him from attacking the city.
Speeding out of nowhere, another black dragon zeroed in on their location. Suddenly, he collided with the brown, sending them both spinning in the air.
The green dragon watched as the two twisted about, clawing violently at each other. Ramming his skull into the other creature’s face, the black dragon slashed his eye. Growling, the brown managed to shake his new enemy off, but not for long.
Biting into his foe’s back leg, the ebony dragon flung the other one away from the castle.
“Well, what are you waiting for?” he snapped at Cassidy.
She hadn’t realized that she’d paused her flight after the arrival of the fifth dragon. Racing forward, she struck the brown one with a blast of flames as the black dragon attacked from the other side. Teamed up, they made short work of their common enemy.
Carriage speeding down the nearly vacant dirt road, Queen Kalendra gripped her hands together on her lap as her armed escorts journeyed towards Stafford. The king was away at the West Circle when the message arrived from Duke Stafford. Marked as urgent, she read the scroll at once, fearing there was ill news of the dragons. The short sentence was nothing she could have imagined.
Mind instantly going blank, Kalendra reread the words at least five times before they seemed to take hold in her thoughts.
The bearer of the dragon mark is here.
That was all Edmund’s rushed script said. It was more than enough. Departing at once, the queen made all haste to the eastern city.
He was alive. Somehow, her son was alive and the only thing she could focus on was reaching his side. The carriage bounced along as they traveled the climbing layers and came to a brief stop outside the portcullis. The Stafford Guard drew themselves stiffly to attention as the royal convoy appeared in the battered courtyard. Barely registering the destruction Malcolm was beginning to repair, Kalendra glided straight up to the sorcerer.
“Take me to him,” she commanded.
The sage had no need to ask to whom. There was only one person she could be referring to.
“At once,” he replied bowing. I hope Alec is ready for this.
Malcolm could not delay the truth any longer. Turning about, he entered the castle and led the queen towards Alec’s chambers. Four guards were stationed outside. Hastily stepping to the side, they cleared a path. Malcolm went into the room with Kalendra on his heels. Coming to a halt, he peered around the space with a frown.
The bed was empty and neatly made. To the left, the sitting area was unoccupied with the doors to the balcony thrown open. Striding forward, Malcolm crossed the room and looked through the doorway. There was no one outside, nor was anyone in the dressing area or wash room.
“Where is he?” Kalendra questioned, her strained voice rising in pitch.
“I don’t know,” Malcolm admitted.
Eyes widening, her face paled. “How can you not know? Where is my son, Malcolm? Find him!”
“I assure you, Your Majesty, he’s somewhere on the castle grounds. The dragons go where he goes.”
The sage didn’t think the queen’s face could get any paler. At the mention of the dragons, her skin became a ghostly white. Pulling the bedroom doors open with a jerk, Malcolm scanned the face of each of the guards.
“When did he leave?”
The men’s eyes darted between each other.
“His Highness has not left his room all morning, Master Malcolm,” one of them answered.
I didn’t think he departed this way. “I see. Thank you.”
Quickly disappearing down the hall, Malcolm’s mind compiled a short list of places Alec would go. The click of heels shortly caught up to him. Kalendra said nothing as they neared the landing of the servants’ staircase leading towards Kayla’s.
Garth appeared, descending the steps.
“Garth!” Malcolm called out, increasing his pace. “Did Alec by any chance come to pay you a call?”
Bowing to the queen, the warrior shook his head with a puzzle
d frown. “Not at all. I haven’t seen Alec since I left his room early this morning.”
“Alec?” Kalendra echoed.
Her eyes narrowed on the wizard beside her. Shoulders pulling back, the royal’s gaze purposely traveled between the two men.
“Your protégé, Alec? The one His Majesty named the Dragon Sage?”
“That is correct, Your Majesty.”
There was a pause. “Malcolm…you and I shall have a talk later.”
“Of course, my Queen,” he answered smoothly, already knowing something of the sort would be forth coming.
“First, I want him located with all haste.”
Garth’s brows lowered into a point. “Aren’t there guards outside his room?” he questioned looking at the sage.
Malcolm nodded. “No one saw him leave.”
“Then I imagine he’s still close by. Did you try the roof?”
“The roof?” Kalendra repeated incredulously.
The warrior flashed her a humorless smile. “I mean no disrespect, Your Majesty, but when you’ve survived being imprisoned in a cage for as long as we were, you tend to dislike feeling trapped. No matter how fancy the chamber may be, when there are guards outside the door, you tend to resent it. Besides, Alec is one man who doesn’t need a bodyguard. Trust me, he’s on the roof.”
Dropping into a bow, Garth walked off down the corridor.
Mouth slightly parting, Kalendra couldn’t gather her scattered thoughts. There were few who would be so bold. In some ways, it was refreshing. Kalendra didn’t know of this man, Garth. However, if she had to venture a guess, then she would say he was the other Stafford gladiator Alandra mentioned. A small grin touched her lips. Part of her liked this friend of her son’s.
Spinning on her heel, the queen’s long brown hair sailed behind her as she retraced her steps. Two of Alec’s guards were still in the corridor, while the others were frantically searching his room.
Ignoring them, Kalendra glided out onto the balcony. About ten feet long, it was deep enough to hold a small table and two chairs to the right in front of one of the suite’s windows. Walking to the left, Kalendra placed a hand on the rail and looked out over the castle. One of the building’s wings stood adjacent to the balcony she was standing on. The roofline of the lower structure stretched out past the balcony, with the gradual curve of the roof’s pitch flowing underneath her position. Kalendra’s fingers tightened on the rail as she leaned forward and looked straight down. A section of the roof was only a few feet below her, making it relatively easy to access. Sure enough, further along the tiles, was a man stretched out in the sun beside a bright red dragon.
Sprawled out in the light like a cat, the large creature raised his head to gaze at the queen. His sharp green eyes studied her for a long moment.
Kalendra froze, locked in his sights. This was her first encounter with a dragon. In the background, she could make out a green one on the edge of the gardens. These must be her son’s true guardians. Heart beating wildly, Kalendra couldn’t utter a word. She didn’t know what powers a dragon possessed, but it felt as if the majestic creature could see into her soul.
Finally shifting his gaze, Ardys looked down on the dozing sorcerer.
Alec had his hands tucked beneath his neck and his legs stretched out in the sunlight.
Ardys blew a long gentle breath of warm air on Alec’s face. Groaning, the sage swatted at the disturbance. Chuckling softly in the back of his throat, the dragon did it again.
“Alright Ardys,” Alec mumbled. Shifting, he yawned without opening his eyes.
Lowering his head the red dragon nudged the warrior, rolling him onto his side.
“Hey!” Eyelids flying open, Alec pushed himself into a sitting position. “I’m awake. I’m awake. Care to tell me what’s so important?”
There was a deep rumble before Alec followed Ardys’s gaze to the queen. One brow lifted as he said something to the dragon Kalendra couldn’t hear.
Slowly getting to his feet, the sage climbed back up the roof. Everyone stepped back as Ardys assisted Alec up over the railing.
“Thank you,” Kalendra’s elegant voice flowed through the air. Praying her racing heart wouldn’t give way to the uncertainty within, she continued to peer up at the dragon towering above the railing. “Thank you, I am in your debt.”
Dipping his head, the dragon turned away to lie back on the roof.
Her voice sounds strangely familiar, Alec thought with a frown. It had to be from his time at the castle. There had been few moments he was ever in the same room as the queen and the sorcerer couldn’t recall ever hearing her speak. Why is the Queen even here?
Chin raised and shoulders proudly back, Alec stood before the royal with his neutral mask carefully in place. He bowed stiffly before catching sight of Malcolm standing in the doorway. A small smile touched his lips, causing Kalendra to squeeze her fingers.
“How can I be of assistance, Your Majesty?”
Eyes locked upon Alec, Kalendra opened her mouth to speak, yet no words emerged. Tears building in her eyes, she had to press her lips firmly together to keep them from quivering.
Walking up beside her, Malcolm answered instead, “In truth, we came to speak with you about something fairly important.” Stepping to the side, the sage motioned for his former student to follow him inside. “You may leave,” Malcolm told the guards, dismissing them from the chamber.
The door clicked shut behind them.
A deep frown briefly marred Alec’s face prior to him carefully concealing it. Taking a seat near Malcolm, he said nothing as Kalendra joined them. All others having departed, the great sage rested his arms against his legs while he interlaced his fingers.
“Alec, I’m sure you can recall the conversation we had in Marcia a short while ago.” He watched the younger man nod. “This is not the way I wished to finish such a discussion. Yet, time is no longer with us. And…and you deserve to know the entire truth.”
Alec stiffened, observing Malcolm intently. So, it’s time for me to discover the other secret of the prophecy. Malcolm was being unusually serious. Alec glanced at the royal quietly sitting with them. Part of him wasn’t sure he wanted to know after all.
“Do you remember the words of the first two lines of the prophecy? They go like this:
“Ancient dragons, their magic combine,
the blood of one throughout his line.”
Malcolm let the words sink in for a second, prior to speaking again. “You do not have the dragon’s mark by mere chance. The emperor and empress dragons chose who to give a piece of their magic to all those years ago. It has been passed down through the generations in your bloodline to you, Alec. Meaning, your ancestor was there that day during the gathering.”
Alec’s brows furrowed. Moisture started to build on his palms and he had to resist the urge to wipe it away.
“What are you saying?”
The great sage sighed, dropping his gaze for a second. Glancing at Kalendra, he continued, “Fate has not been kind to you, my boy. I believe it is because of that, you bear an extreme dislike of all nobility, but a few. It may have also kept you from seeing the truth about yourself.”
“I don’t understand.”
“You were never born in Zerrok, nor is your family from that kingdom.”
The warrior just stared at him, his lips parting soundlessly. A coldness swept through Alec’s core. After a moment, he squeezed his eyes shut. A hand rubbed the upper half of his face as he gave his head a slight shake.
“That’s not possible.”
“We both know anything is possible,” the sage quietly returned. “Come now, my boy. The few memories you have from your childhood, and what little Theron Kinsley was able to find, must have made you question your true origins.”
No. No, no, no, no, no. The sage had to be mistaken. If his parents weren’t slaves, then where were they? And why was he left to suffer practically a lifetime of torment? Was it because of the mark? Had they known,
as Malcolm suggested, that someone in their family would be born with it?
“What are you saying Malcolm, that I was abandoned because I’m marked?”
“No, not abandoned. You were taken by an enemy of your parents out of pure spite.”
“What enemy?”
“Baron Lager Hawkins, though we could never prove it.”
Alec raked his fingers through his hair with a shaky jerk. “Why would the Baron want to kidnap a child? Unless…”
“He was the son of a noble,” Malcolm finished for him.
Shaking his head, Alec rose to his feet and rounded the chair. A hand gripping the back of it, he refused to meet Malcolm’s eye.
“You are the first born of a noble line, and not just any line. Your—”
“Enough,” Alec declared cutting off the sage’s words. “I don’t believe it. There’s no way I’m a blue blood. And…and even if it were possible, wouldn’t my family have come for me?”
“Alakaid, pray, let us explain,” Kalendra suddenly implored.
His entire body tensing, Alec turned to gaze upon the queen as if moving in slow-motion. The sound of his name coming from her lips was far too familiar. Somewhere in the depths of his memories, he could hear his mother.
‘Alec, are you hiding on Mommy? Alakaid?’
It can’t be…
His eyes narrowed sharply and his voice sounded quietly through the room with all the warmth of a deadly winter storm.
“How do you know that name? Few have heard me say it.”
Kalendra refused to look away from his piercing gaze. Mouth going dry, she licked her lips. “There is no need for you, or anyone for that matter, to say it. I know the name Alakaid well, for it was I who gave it to you. I am your mother, Alec.”
Alec’s expression didn’t change. Unable to speak, his body appeared frozen.
The queen squeezed her hands together. “You look so much like your father did at your age. You even have the same dark hair and brown eyes as your sisters. I was foolish not to see it earlier. We believed you to be dead, Alakaid. I never dreamed after all these years that I would be fortunate enough to see you alive,” Kalendra’s voice cracked, as she fought off a painful sob.
