Gabriel made a low, grumbling sound. “Not yet. Give Raven time to catch her breath and enjoy the child. Come, Tobias. Look for yourself. It is small as dragon eggs go but healthy. It has taken to the fire as expected.”
“Oh, I think your child is far more exceptional than you give it credit for, considering it almost knocked the three of us unconscious.”
Although Tobias said it in an almost ominous tone, Gabriel’s reaction expressed nothing short of pride. “He will be a strong little dragon with his mother’s power.”
“And we will all arm ourselves with defensive magic when she reaches the terrible twos. It could be a girl, you know.” Tobias poured himself a cup of tea.
“I’d welcome a girl,” Gabriel said. “She will be fierce and all the other dragons will fear her.”
Raven raised an eyebrow at him.
“I still think we need to talk about Aborella sooner rather than later,” Tobias said. “We can’t hide in here forever.”
Gabriel held up his phone. “Rowan and Nick have been patrolling New Horizons. Aborella hasn’t returned to the vehicle or to the room. There is no place safer than this cave. Alexander has so many layers of magic around this thing, I’m surprised Rowan was able to find it at all.”
“She used Nick,” Alexander said. “That human is worthy of her.”
Tobias sighed heavily, his frustration evident. “I need to call Sabrina and let her know what’s going on. She was expecting me home tonight.”
“Where is your wife, Tobias?” Avery asked.
“Sabrina is in Chicago running the coven,” he said.
Avery’s eyebrows shot up. “Your wife is a witch too?”
He shook his head. “No. A vampire.”
“There are vampires!” Avery slapped the arm of the sofa. “Am I the only human left in the world?”
“I am human,” Maiara said, then frowned. “At least I was. I am unsure now. My Midew powers were divine but not immortal.” She touched her face lightly. “I am not sure what I am now.”
“You should feed her your tooth, Alexander, to be safe,” Gabriel suggested.
Alexander nodded and asked Maiara in a whisper if she’d be willing.
“Your tooth…” Avery said. “You swallow each other’s teeth?”
They all looked at her like she had two heads. “Of course not,” Gabriel said. “We don’t randomly swallow each other’s teeth. Dragons only have so many.”
Raven came to her rescue with an explanation. “Dragons are magical creatures, and if they want to bind a mortal to them, either for love or for employment, they feed them their tooth, and it imbues the mortal with the dragon’s immortality. Unless I am killed by violent means, I will live as long as Gabriel does.”
“Is that how you became a witch?” Avery whispered the word witch like she still couldn’t believe it was true.
“Kind of.”
“Oh! That must be how you survived your cancer.” Avery’s jaw dropped as she put it all together. “He fed you his tooth and turned you into a witch.”
“Not really. I… was always a witch. The tooth enhances what’s already there,” Raven said.
“How could it already be there?” Avery asked with a snort. “We grew up together. It’s not as if it could be hereditary. Did you sell your soul to the devil or something?”
Raven froze. Her blue eyes held Avery’s as the entire room fell silent aside from the crackling fire. Why had she never considered this before? Raven was a Tanglewood witch, descended from Circe. Avery shared the same heritage. Was it possible her sister was a witch as well, her abilities sleeping latent somewhere inside her? Maybe.
But this was not the time or the place to discuss this, not without extensive research. It would be wrong to worry Avery when she had no reason to suspect her sister had any power.
“Raven? How did you become a witch?” Avery pressed again.
She rubbed her face and leaned back against the sofa. “I’m… I’m sorry, Avery. I’m exhausted and probably not making sense.”
Concerned, Gabriel turned to his brother. “Where?”
“Take the second bedroom,” Alexander said. “Down the passageway. There’s a fireplace. We can move the baby in there. Avery can take the couch. I’ll have Willow find a mat for Tobias.”
Tobias shook his head. “Don’t bother. I’ll shift and go deeper into the cave.”
“Shift?” Avery scratched the side of her head as if all the new information was making it itch.
“Into my dragon form,” Tobias explained.
“Of course, because it couldn’t just be the wings and everything,” Avery mumbled. “You all actually turn into dragons?”
The three siblings nodded in unison.
“Avery, are you going to be all right?” Raven squeezed her hand. “Maybe you should eat something. Have the rest of what Gabriel made me.” She pointed at the remaining food on the tray.
“Okay. Um. I’ll be okay. I just really need to sleep. It’s a lot, Rave. Just a lot. And I… Part of me wishes I’d known sooner so that maybe I could have suspected there was something going on with Charlotte, I mean Aborella. But I’m not sure I’d have believed it—”
“I know,” Raven said. “It’s okay. I forgive you for any part you played bringing her here, and I’m sorry, genuinely, that I didn’t tell you earlier. I should have.”
“Do you think we should warn Dad?”
Gabriel shook his head. “He’s not in any danger, Avery. Now that Aborella knows where we are, she’ll hunt for us here. He’s safe in New Orleans.”
After they exchanged good-nights, Raven allowed Gabriel to carry her to bed. Her mind raced. Her sister was part of this now. Everything would need to change, and she wasn’t sure Avery was ready for any of it.
As soon as Gabriel laid her on the bed in the back room and placed their child in the fire Willow had started in the fireplace, Raven reached for him. “I have to tell you something.”
“What is it? Are you having pain again? I can get Tobias.”
“No. Listen to me. Avery is my sister.”
“I know.”
“I am a witch because I descended from Circe. That means Avery—”
“Also descended from Circe, yes. But that doesn’t mean she’s a witch. Remember, even before I fed you my tooth, you had psychic abilities. That’s how I found you. She may not have inherited the magic.” Gabriel stretched out beside her and covered both of them in a fluffy black comforter.
“True.” Raven frowned. “But maybe she did.”
“Why didn’t you tell her of the possibility when she asked?”
“She’d been through too much today. I just couldn’t add one more thing.” She sighed heavily.
He pulled her onto his chest. “Rest, Raven. After everything, the only one you should be worried about is you.” He groaned. “Tobias thought you’d… died. I… thought you died.”
She cuddled into his side. “I think… maybe I did.”
He raised his head to look at her.
“It felt like I was standing there, watching it all. I had the strangest dream that I saw my ancestor, the goddess Circe.”
“You dreamed about Circe?” he asked, gently stroking her hair.
She nodded, her eyelids heavy. She gave up fighting the exhaustion and just closed them. “She was strange and wonderful. Her eyes were like molten gold. Do you think that’s because she’s the daughter of Helios?”
“What did she say to you?”
“She said Hera was behind what happened in Paragon. Her Golden Grimoire was stolen and hidden on your world. She said Hera corrupted Eleanor and Brynhoff. She wanted to overthrow the kingdom to weaken Paragon’s goddess of the Mountain. Circe is helping to protect Paragon, but she said if the mountain falls, your world will fall. Something about gods having limits and rules. I don’t fully understand.”
It sounded ridiculous now. Goddesses at war. Hidden grimoires. Raven needed sleep to sort it all out.
�
��Gods are strengthened by belief and ritual. Eleanor has cast aside the old ways.” Gabriel trailed his fingers along her arm. “What else did she say?”
She yawned. “She said I should find the three sisters. Isn’t that weird? Like the name of my mom’s bar. She said the three sisters were the most powerful beings in the universe and could wield magic strong enough to save Paragon. Only when the treasure of Paragon sits upon the throne and the Golden Grimoire is returned to Hera will Paragon be safe and at peace.” Raven shook her head. “It sounds so crazy now.”
“Did Circe think you should go back to Paragon?”
“Hmmm. I think so. She whispered a little poem in my ear:
Three sisters the way will make
the book, the tree, the throne to take.
One will read it, one will slay, one will sing death away.
The treasure then will rise again,
complete the crown in the dragon’s den
A ring of jewels that number nine
must use their hearts to return what’s thine.
With the heirs upon the throne,
the queen shall fall an aged crone.
Only then will goddess sleep
her deadly fire at last appeased
And wrong undone peace doth reign
never war to come again.”
“What does it mean?” Gabriel whispered.
Raven sighed, her mind close to sleep. “I don’t know. Maybe it was just a dream. Maybe it doesn’t mean anything. But she was beautiful. My brain is so weird.”
“Hmm.” He tucked the blankets around her. “Sleep now, Raven. There will be time tomorrow to face all these things.”
With her ear pressed to his heart and enveloped in his warmth, she drifted off in the safety of his arms.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Maiara snuggled into Alexander’s side in his bed beside a mountain of treasure the likes of which she’d never known. The gems reflected the candlelight and color, and shadows danced across his bare chest. This was his way.
Strange, all their time together before had been spent living her way among her people. He had never complained of this, although it must have been far different from what he was used to. Treasure, dragon eggs, wings to fly, a kingdom in a faraway land—he’d told her about all these things before, but it was different now, seeing them for what they were.
Willow had lit candles around the room, and a warm glow filled their section of the cave. It brought peace to her heart. It reminded her of their teepee when they were first mated.
“Are you tired? Do you want me to blow out the candles?” Alexander asked.
“No.” There was much to be said, and she’d only recently found her voice.
“You saw something today you’ll never see again. A dragon egg born to a witch, a former human. Who would have ever thought such a thing was possible?”
“She died,” Maiara said.
“Hmm?”
“She came back, but she was gone. I feared I would have to tell her mate that his wife had taken my place in the Land of Souls.”
“Oh hell.” Alexander rubbed his eyes.
“How long until the egg will hatch?”
“No one knows. In dragons, the gestation is about a year. Half inside the mother, half outside. But with the mother being a human witch, no one understands for sure what we’re dealing with.”
There were many things Maiara didn’t understand. Her mind jumped to Avery and the amulet they’d destroyed. “Why do you think Avery had the same amulet as the wendigo?”
Alexander threaded his fingers behind his head. “I never had a chance to speak with you after I killed the wendigo. The orb was Paragonian. It was from my world.”
Maiara dragged breath through her teeth. “How would something from your world end up around the neck of the wendigo?”
“That, I don’t know. In Paragon, enchanted orbs like that were used to spy on our enemies. They were made by Aborella.”
“Who is this Aborella?”
“She’s a fairy sorceress who works for my mother Eleanor. I told you once that dragons could perform some magic.”
She nodded. It had been a long time ago, but she remembered.
“We are magical beings, and some magic spells will work for us, but our magic is not as powerful as that of a witch or a fairy. Witches draw their power from the elements. Fairies draw from living things. Aborella can literally drain the life out of a plant she touches and turn that life force into magic.”
“She is a demon,” Maiara said.
“I can’t argue with that. But in our world, we call her a fairy.”
“My people told stories of the wendigo. It was said that they were once warriors who sold their souls to the devil in exchange for power. Do you think this Aborella had the power to change a man into the monster you killed?”
Alexander rubbed his chin. “It’s possible.”
“Why did Avery not change into a monster?”
One of his dark eyebrows lifted. “Avery wouldn’t have asked for power in exchange for wearing the orb. She was wearing it because Aborella had posed as her father’s girlfriend and given it to her.”
Maiara brought her fists to her forehead. “But why?” Her voice cracked. “Why would this fairy sorceress do such a thing as to create the monster that would kill my family if she is not even from this world?”
Alexander’s eyes narrowed, his fingers trailing absently along her arm. “That’s a very good question. After King Brynhoff murdered my brother, our mother transported us to this realm. Once we arrived here, we found a message she’d prerecorded in an enchanted crystal. Her last words to us were that we must stay apart or Brynhoff would find us and kill us. Our collective magical signature would give away our location if we stayed together in one place for too long. We thought she’d saved us.”
“But she was lying,” Maiara said. She’d gleaned that much from his brothers.
“Yes, she was. I’ve only recently learned that my mother was in on the coup. She sent us here to get us out of the way so we wouldn’t challenge her for the throne. And her warning to stay apart was only to keep us weak. Together we might figure out what she was doing and retaliate; apart we would be too busy surviving to be much of a threat. I suppose there was some compassion in it, her not wanting to slaughter us all. I have no idea how she explained our absence to the people of Paragon.”
He shook his head. “In any case, in light of what I know now, Aborella must have created the wendigo to ensure we either followed our mother’s edict or paid with our lives. She’s a powerful seer. If her visions had shown her we would eventually travel to the New World…” He looked her in the eye. “You said the wendigo attacked the Midewiwin at a ceremony when they were all together.”
“Yes,” she said softly.
“When their magical signature was strongest.”
“Yes.”
“And then it came after us when we were all together.”
“Yes.” Their gazes met and locked.
“Why didn’t it follow us to the winter camp?” Alexander asked.
Maiara’s head ached, and she closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. Why? Why? Why? It came to her in a long-lost memory, the symbols she’d noticed when they’d ridden into the Potawatomi village. “Keme. The Midew of that tribe was very powerful. He once shared with me that he did a spell of protection over that place so his people would never be attacked in their vulnerable winter village. The wendigo didn’t attack us there because it couldn’t find us.”
Alexander growled. “And then when we left, it found us again.”
She placed her hands over her face, anger coiling like a snake within her. She could hear its warning rattle in her ears. She hated this Aborella, this creature she’d never met, to the core of her being, to the marrow of her bones.
“I am sorry I brought this pain upon you,” Alexander rasped. “In searching for me and my siblings, Aborella created the thing that destroyed your fami
ly. I can never make this right. Maiara, you must know how sorry I am.”
When she looked at him again, his expression broke her heart. Nothing short of devastation darkened his eyes.
“I swear to you, had I known—”
“This is not your fault, Alexander.” She ground her teeth. “One day we will kill her and have our revenge.”
He brushed her hair back from her face, his eyes becoming dark pits. “I promise you.”
She turned on her back and stared at the rough ceiling of the cave. “Aborella is deadly. It will be dangerous to kill her.”
“True.”
“You tried to take your own life while I was in Nikan.”
He frowned but he didn’t deny it. After a long moment, he said, “I didn’t know you were inside her. I wanted to join you in the Land of Souls.”
“And that is the thing we must talk about.” She stared at him through eyes narrowed to slits. “I cannot be your entire reason for living. No person can or should hold that honor. The honor of life-giver can only be given to one like the Great Spirit.” She pointed at the ceiling. “Or your goddess of the Mountain. I am not forever. I cannot be your beginning and your end.”
He shook his head, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. “We will change all that. I will give you my tooth, and we will be bound together, your life to mine.”
She shook her head. “This is not the Midewiwin way.”
He sat up, hugging his knees to his chest. His dark blue eyes turned purple from the fire burning within them. “Considering you put your soul into a hawk to survive, I think the Midewiwin way must be more accepting of immortality than you’re suggesting.”
She shook her head. “Aborella will come and we will fight her. If it is the will of the Great Spirit that we once again be parted—”
He shook his head vehemently. “No, I won’t allow it.”
She sat up then too and squared her shoulders. “We do not have a say over where the wind blows or how fast the water flows or how tall the grasses grow. We decide only to turn our face to it, sink our toes under it, and trail our hands through it.”
The Dragon of Sedona (The Treasure of Paragon Book 4) Page 23
