by Riley Storm
The Archmage shouted something and thrust his other hand forward, unleashing a second stream of energy against her shield. Kyla grunted and poured some more energy into her shield. Old and terrified he might be, but the man wasn’t a weakling. He was one of the most powerful mages on the planet.
Yet he fought without any conviction, without urgency. All he fought with was fear, and that, in her eyes at least, made him weak. His attacks were all brute force, no subtlety, no tactical thought. He was just trying to blow right by her, crushing her like a boot does an ant.
Not today, Archmage, she thought to herself, feeling the magic pour into her body as she opened her mind to its currents. Not today.
She’d been using both hands to maintain her shield, but now she straightened, no longer bowing under the pressure, with only her left hand outstretched to block it.
The right called her staff from where it lay against a nearby railing. She snatched it up, thrusting the tip of it through her shield, and counter-attacking the Archmage.
Red darts spat forth in a stream, spiraling outward into a massive cloud as they continued to stream outward. None of them individually was deadly, but there were a lot.
Kyla’s lips peeled back as she felt one of the attacking streams fizzle out and cease. The Archmage was turning part of his attention to her attack. But what he didn’t know was that it was a diversion.
She couldn’t see him through the cloud of red, but his voice was audible, and she heard him shout yet again, just before he cast his spell.
At that exact moment, she thrust her staff through her shield again. The tip glowed green, and a perfectly circular beam of green magic shot from the tip. It impacted the unsuspecting Archmage in the right shoulder, spinning him around and to the ground.
The cloud of red darts swooped up high and then descended on the old man.
She’d caught him by surprise with her second attack, but that didn’t mean the fight was over. Even as her first attacking spell raced toward him, he flung up a hand, fingers bent. A solid rectangle of green, so bright it turned opaque blossomed into existence, and her spell shattered on it.
“You will pay for your insolence!” he shrieked, getting to his feet. “We will find out everything you know about the shifters, that they may have let slip while you were on your back for them, and we will use it to crush them!”
Kyla shook her head, not bothering to reply. He wasn’t listening to what she was saying, letting his fears and prejudices guide him instead of relying on cold hard data, like a smart leader. It was past time that someone new led the Guild. She hadn’t intended it to be her, but for the moment, perhaps, she was what they needed.
Green from her staff met red from the Archmage’s arm as he renewed his attack, once more trying to overwhelm her with sheer force.
The magic was singing to her now though, and she rode its currents, unleashing more power from her body than ever before, all just to counter the Archmage’s ferocity. Her life depended on this.
As did Galen’s. And his brothers. And Olivia, Cheryl, Liz, Sarah were counting on her as well. Even little baby Melina, the youngest of the dragon shifters, was desperately counting on her to win. If she could defeat the Archmage and bring the Guild to aid the shifters…
Inch by inch, the green began to push the red back. At first she couldn’t tell. The energy was flying so wildly in the room that it was getting hard to see, the light dazzling her vision as it danced and swirled.
The rest of the Council still stood off to her left, hidden behind a barrier cast by most of the members still in attendance. She couldn’t spare time to judge their reactions, but she hoped that they understood why she was putting herself out there to do this. It wasn’t just for fun.
“How is this possible?” the Archmage shouted as it became noticeable he was losing. “What sort of black magic have the shifters given you?”
“Nothing,” she called back. “I do this on my own. They don’t even know that I am here asking for your help.”
“You are no match for me! You are not this strong.”
“I am exactly what I need to be,” she retorted. “Perhaps it is you who aren’t as strong as you think!”
The red magic suddenly ceased as the Archmage’s eyes went wide at her taunt. “I will show you strength!” he bellowed, thrusting both hands forward.
Blue light pooled in his hands.
Kyla only had a split second to realize what he was doing before the spell came lashing out at her, sapphire blue and full of the promise of death if it touched her. She opened herself fully to the magic around her, asking for its guidance, willing it to let her shape it into something that could protect her.
For Galen.
The blue beam seemed to come forward in slow motion, but before it could reach her, it shattered on a green-gold barrier.
Kyla gaped at the odd-colored magic. What was this? What did it mean? She’d never seen anything like it in her life. But it was repulsing the blue magic, keeping it at bay.
If blue magic is the color of death, then that must mean…
Life. Green-gold magic was the color of life. Green was creation, but that didn’t mean life, it just meant to build, whereas red was to destroy, though neither was necessarily tied to life.
Green and red were opposites, so why couldn’t blue have an opposite?
“Impossible!” the Archmage shouted again, a record repeating itself.
“As impossible as the Archmage casting spells that have been forbidden except in the most dire of circumstances? I wonder,” she called angrily, speaking to both him and the observing Council. “Just who has been responsible for the uptick of rogue mages with access to blue magic we’ve heard about lately? Could it be?” she asked, gesturing with one hand at the Archmage.
The Council seemed unimpressed, but that didn’t mean they were entirely on her side either.
“This ends now,” she said, and took a step toward the Archmage.
Green-gold magic continued to push back the deadly blue, and with each step, Kyla felt like she was stepping into her destiny, into what she was made for.
“I claim the position of Archmage of the Council!” she shouted, now less than ten feet from the Archmage, his long white hair billowing backward, even as her own short bob danced like crazy from the energy being unleashed nearby. “Yield!”
“Never!” the Archmage shrieked and redoubled his efforts.
It wasn’t enough.
29
Galen watched the skies around Drakon Keep.
A vast stormfront was moving in, the first layers of its clouds just now drifting over Drakon Keep, covering it in their dark embrace, a foreshadowing of what was to come. The system was supposed to hang around for the next three days, though Galen didn’t expect to live long enough to see it end.
Thirty-six hours.
That was as long as he gave the vampires before they attacked, their strength finally at a peak and ready to eliminate the dragons now and forever. He almost hated that it would be that long before it all began. The anticipation had reached its height, and now it was just wearing on everyone’s nerves, leaving them frazzled beyond belief.
The siege had gone on for months now, ever since he’d been awakened, though it had grown stronger with every passing day, until they were all hemmed in. Thankfully, his brothers had foreseen this eventuality, and the Keep was fully stocked with provisions to keep them going for a long time. They wouldn’t starve to death.
All the preparations had been made by this point, not just the food. The exit tunnel, carefully crafted by Jax over the course of several weeks, ran under the building and to the edge of the wall. The spot was marked and the gryphons would come in once the main bulk of the vampires was busy assaulting the Keep itself.
Then the women and child, along with the three humans who lived there would all be taken away to safety. Once they were clear, Galen intended to ensure that as many of the dark creatures within his embrace burned before h
e went under.
The vampires couldn’t lose since they were too strong, too numerous, but he was damn sure going to make them know they’d been hurt, and badly. His mouth formed a silent snarl as he looked out at the edges of his property, barely visible from this distance, even lifted high into the air as he was on a cloud of wind that swirled silently beneath his feet.
A flash of light to the west caught his eye. Galen brought his hands together and then compressed the air, using it to bend the light as he peered through it, the effect amplifying his vision, acting like a set of binoculars.
“Kyla?” he gasped watching as a familiar figure exited from the rent in reality, immediately erecting a wall of energy behind her as she raced for the safety of the wards around Drakon Keep.
A mental thought triggered his air cushion, and Galen went hurtling toward the main gates on the western edge of the property at full speed. A sonic boom would be heard by anyone around as he broke through the sound barrier.
Air swirled around his forearms and leapt up from his fists into two long curved blades, twin scimitars that shrieked as they cleaved the air. Galen could see figures racing forth from underneath the tree cover, going after Kyla.
Their attacks came on, but green-gold energy deflected them all. Galen eyed that magic, wondering just what it portended. He’d never seen its like before, but Kyla didn’t seem overly bothered by the attacks, blocking them all with ease.
A dark shadow rose up in a solid wave as Galen neared the edge of his property and dove down at Kyla. He landed at the same time and thrust both hands forward.
His blast of air mixed with Kyla’s energy and together they tore right through the ominous shadow, obliterating it. Before the caster could recover—it had to be one of the most elder vampires to create something that large and strong—Kyla darted through the wards and into the protection of the Keep.
Galen didn’t wait for the gates to open. He leapt over them, snatched her into his arms and flew off.
Behind them, the angry vampire lashed out. Shadow met the wards, and golden energy spread for hundreds of feet in every direction. Galen swallowed nervously, wondering if perhaps Kyla’s arrival had set the vampire attack off early, but nothing else came. The light slowly faded away, matching the last of the sunlight as the clouds finally blocked it off too.
Drakon Keep was now utterly engulfed in shadow.
“What the hell are you doing here?” he growled at Kyla as they landed on one of the spire balconies.
“It’s nice to see you too.”
Galen glared at her. “You were supposed to leave,” he whispered fiercely. “You were supposed to be safe.”
She smiled, reaching up to stroke his cheek. Galen trembled at her touch, not realizing just how much he’d missed it. “I’m aware,” she said just as quietly. “I’m also aware that I’m an adult, and I get to make my own decisions. If want to be back here, at your side, there isn’t much you can do about it.”
Galen bit his lip. “You would willingly choose to be back here, with me, instead of somewhere else, living safely?”
“Is that so hard to believe, Galen Drakon? That someone might enjoy your company?” Kyla put her hands on her hips, giving him a look that warned him to think before answering.
“You won’t be able to enjoy my company for long,” he pointed out fatalistically. “In less than forty-eight hours, I’m going to be dead. As will anyone around me, which is why I wanted you somewhere else!”
“Well maybe I don’t want to be somewhere else,” Kyla snapped, losing her patience. “Maybe I like you. Maybe I want to make things work with us.”
Galen sagged. “It’s not that I don’t want things to work with us, Kyla. I…I think I do. I’ve missed you. More than I was able to admit to myself, until I saw you again. But when I saw you, under attack, you have to understand…it worried me.”
The curvy raven-haired beauty relaxed, her irritated expression softening. “Oh Galen. How do you think I felt then, knowing that you would be under attack?”
He frowned. “It’s not the same.”
“Do not start that with me. I’m not an idiot, and you know it. So don’t treat me like one.”
Galen decided to take the wise course of action and shut up. He nodded instead, hoping that was the correct answer.
“Much better,” Kyla teased. Then she all but threw herself at him, arms wrapping wide around his chest as she rested her head on it too. “I missed you, Galen.”
“I missed you too,” he said, echoing his earlier words. “You know we’re not going to be able to set any longevity records for making this work, right? I…I don’t want you to die.”
“We all die sometime, Galen. If I choose to die now, with someone I care for, that’s better than spending the rest of my life alone, and sad. Besides, we both know the vampires are going to hunt all us mages down once they’re done with you. Just how long would I have lived anyway?”
He didn’t have an answer to her question, so he didn’t bother trying.
“There’s one other thing I want you to know, Galen,” Kyla said with sudden somberness and sincerity.
“What’s that?” he asked, not without a bit of trepidation. What was she about to tell him?
“I want you to know that I am not trying to replace Katherine. That I don’t want you to think you have to forget about her, or never think about her.” Kyla paused for a moment. “In fact, when you’re ready, I want you to tell me about her. All about her.”
“Why?” It was the only question he could think of.
“Because she was your mate,” Kyla explained. “She was taken from you, not by choice on either of your parts. You’re always going to love her, and that’s okay with me. I want to help honor her memory.”
Galen just stared at the mage, wondering why life was so unfair.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, sensing his discomfort. “Was it something I said? I…I just want to do the right thing by you, and by her.”
“No, it’s not you,” Galen said, pausing to try and swallow the lump in his throat. “I’m just upset that life has only given me such a brief time with you.”
There was more he wanted to say. More to his feelings than he’d admitted to her just yet, but he couldn’t bring himself to say it. To speak the words. Not now, not with such a short time left to them.
And if you say it out loud, it will mean admitting that you’re ready to move on from Katherine. Something you swore never to do.
He admired Kyla’s willingness to embrace his deceased mate, however, and knew that couldn’t be easy for someone to do.
Galen was torn. He could no longer deny that he had feelings for Kyla, but he felt that if he openly acknowledged just how strong they were, it would be a betrayal to Katherine.
What am I supposed to do?
If the fates really had blessed him with a second mate, something that was supposed to be impossible, then did he run a risk by denying their gift? Perhaps they were just waiting for him to accept it…
“I can’t believe you came back here to die with me,” he said.
“I didn’t come back here to die with you Galen,” she said. “I came back here to live with you.”
30
Kyla wasn’t sure what sort of reception she had expected from the others, but the broad smiles and knowing glances directed her way as she walked into the room on Galen’s arm was certainly not at the top of the list.
“They don’t seem surprised,” she said quietly, leaning her head in toward him so that only he would hear.
“Yeah. Don’t you just hate it when someone knows something before you do?” Galen grumbled lightheartedly.
“They knew that there was something between us?”
Kyla was cautious about how she phrased her question. Although it seemed that Galen was finally beginning to open up and accept that, as she’d said, there was ‘something’ between them, he’d not yet used a specific word to describe it. She didn’t want to push him
into anything, not when he was still working to accept it himself.
If Kyla had any doubts that she was on the right track in regards to their connection and what it meant, the smiles and nods from the other shifters and their mates put to rest any real remaining doubt.
Now if I can just get Galen to see it too.
But there could be no rushing him. Grief over the loss of a loved one was tricky. Doubly so when it came to dragons, who usually only mated once. Galen had become accustomed to being alone over literal centuries. It would take him time to open up to her, to let himself believe.
Unfortunately, it was time they didn’t have. Kyla had known this, had known if she came back that it was unlikely he would be able to open up and express his true sentiment to her before shadow swept over them and tore them to shreds, but she’d realized that she didn’t care. Actions spoke louder than words, and the way he held her tight now was all that she needed.
“I’m sure things from the outside were a lot easier to read,” Galen replied at last. “Though hopefully, they won’t make too big a deal out of it.”
They were in one of the smaller ballrooms that the Keep housed. Music was piped in through speakers hidden in the walls throughout, flowing notes that evoked a sense of time a century or more in the past, yet was still known in the modern day and age. Kyla soon found herself bobbing and swaying gently to the beat of a master composer long dead.
“Can we dance?” she asked, noticing several of the other couples out on the dance floor, moving and turning in time with one another. “Can you teach me?”
“Teach you?” Galen said with a grin. “There’s nothing to it, just move with me.”
“What? Hey where are we—” Kyla’s protest cut off short as Galen swept her up in his arms and guided her out onto the floor. At first, she desperately tried to keep up, watching his feet, but it was hard.
