Sebastian crosses his arms over his chest, for the millionth time, and huffs.
I'm sick and tired of this argument. "This isn't a discussion," I say. "The note said to come alone. I'm not even sure Lily should be there."
Now it's Lily's turn to huff. "Of course, I should be there. Who else will drive you? Do you know how to effectively guide a horse drawn carriage?" she asks pointedly.
My mouth flops open like a dead fish, and I snap it closed again and ignore her question. Because no, I have no idea how to effectively guide a horse drawn carriage, and it's one more thing I mentally add to my growing list of shit I need to learn how to do in this world in my free time. Ha! As if I have free time.
"Besides," Lily continues, "I can just leave if it's a problem. Either way, Eve will be fine. She always is."
Lily beams at me and my heart swells at the confidence she has. But I have to admit to a certain amount of nerves. I'm about to meet a dragon face to face. Alone. For reasons unknown. That's not an everyday kinda thing, and I think I'm okay in feeling a bit flustered about it all.
What's the difference between excitement and anxiety? It's hard to say, isn't it? To the body, they are the same. It's only to the mind that they are different. One anticipates a positive outcome in a particular life event, the other anticipates a negative outcome. They are two sides of the same coin.
And so, I do my best to manage my nerves as Lily drives me to the water dragon's palace.
I have so many questions, and I wonder if I'll get any of them answered. We still don't know why they dropped the case against Liam, or what Cole did or said. I'm still waiting for the other shoe to drop. Will this be it? Will today be the day?
Ava'Kara walks down from her throne when we enter, and she doesn't even wait for the standard bows and curtseys. She takes me by the arm and guides me behind her throne into the water that I first saw her emerge from in her dragon form.
Using her powers, she creates a vortex that surrounds us, pulling us to the surface. Ava'Kara is about to use her water manipulation to allow me to breathe, but I beat her to it, channeling my own power to create an air pocket around me.
She raises an eyebrow. "I see you've come into your power. Good. That will make this all go much more smoothly."
"Make what go more smoothly?" I ask, feeling like a parrot.
She studies me with her large blue reptilian eyes. "I need a favor from you. A quite extraordinary one."
"What kind of favor?" I ask, suddenly more nervous than ever, my flash pinging like a winning slot machine in Vegas.
"The kind only you can provide."
We reach a platform made of the largest seashells I've ever seen, and Ava'Kara transforms into her dragon form, her sapphire scales like jewels flashing against the colorful sky.
"Get on," she says.
"You…you want me to ride on your back?" I ask, incredulous.
"It's the fastest way, and we haven't much time. Now!"
Not wanting to argue, but also very much wanting to argue, I ignore my own survival instincts and climb awkwardly onto her back.
She takes off into the sky, and I feel as if I'm being pulled through a wind tunnel.
"Use your air magic," she says loud enough for me to hear her.
I could kick myself for not thinking of that.
I channel my power and manipulate the air around me until it's comfortable. Smiling, I clutch her back and study the scenery below.
It doesn't take long for me to realize we are heading to the edge of the world, where the wall of Dragon's Breath prevents anyone from traveling farther.
Ava'Kara lands us near Kaya the dryad's tree, and I slide off, my legs trembling.
In the center of the grove is the dragon egg, shimmering and pulsing, and there's a crack running down its side. We are alone here, though I can feel the presences of the dryads within their trees.
"It was returned to me," Ava'Kara says, staying in her dragon form. "We know not by whom, but it does not matter. My heir is home, and she is being born as we speak."
Holy shit. Am I about to witness the birth of a dragon?
Yes. Yes, I am.
Because at that moment, the first little dragon claw cuts through the mucous and shell and pokes out, and Ava'Kara makes a strange clucking sound and moves toward her child.
I don't know how long we stand there, but slowly the baby dragon emerges, scales a lighter shade of blue from her mother's, eyes so large they look almost animated, and that newborn innocence that all babies have.
Once she's shed her shell, she takes a few clumsy steps towards her mother, then falls, hiccups, and then quite suddenly turns into a more human-looking baby. She giggles, then turns back into a dragon.
Ava'Kara glances at me. "She'll learn to control that soon enough."
I just nod.
Because holy shit.
The water dragon brings her baby to her, and they snuggle as if they have always been together.
"I need you to perform a ceremony," Ava'Kara says after some time.
"What kind?" I ask. I've read about a lot of different kinds of ceremonies, so I'm hoping it's one I'm familiar with.
"A World Expansion Ceremony," she says softly, setting her child down and shifting into her human form to approach me. "It will require all of the elements, which is why you are the only one who can do it."
"I've never heard of it," I say.
"Because it is the Council of Dragons' most closely guarded secret. Many have paid a steep price for even possessing a fraction of the knowledge I'm about to impart on you tonight," she says.
I think of Lester, rotting in prison because his family knew secrets and lies. And I'm reminded what he said about me, as well. Maybe his ramblings weren't so crazy after all.
"Why is it such a secret?" I ask, my throat dry. I know I'm about to hear something I very much do not want to hear. I feel the fear before I even know why.
"Because it involves the death of a dragon to perform," she says, and I gasp, stepping back.
"You want me to kill a…dragon?" I can't. I cannot.
"I want you to sacrifice me," she says stepping forward.
"You want to kill yourself? Why?" I should start a support group. Nearly every paranormal I've met has serious mental health issues. And for the first time I wonder if there is any kind of mental health services in this world, but I realize this is really not the time and my mind is dissociating from what is happening because I am utterly freaked out.
Eve, note to self, think about all this other shit later. A dragon just asked you to kill her.
"Why?" I ask. It's all I can think to say.
"For too long, we have flown over this world, dictating its rules, running the lives of those in our care, hoarding our own wealth and power. And now our world is crumbling. We are overpopulated and not large enough to manage the growing magical community. Someone has to step forward, and I now have an heir to carry on my element. Only I can do this."
"I don't understand," I say.
"With your powers and my sacrifice, this world will expand, and self-renew, growing as it needs in order to accommodate all of us, present and future. It's this, or so many of us die or live in slums. I can't be the one to condemn my people to that fate." She reaches for my hands and holds them, and I feel her emotions. She is desperate for me to say yes and is very much at peace with her decision. It is the only way to save the people. To save this world.
"Will you help me, Eve?"
My throat is too choked up to speak, so I just nod, glancing over at the baby dragon. She'll never know her mother.
Ava'Kara sees me looking at the baby and sighs. "It is hard to leave her, but she will be raised by someone I trust more than anyone."
The water dragon's face lights up as she glances over my shoulder and I turn around and see Lyx, the Light Dragon walking towards us, arms open. "Sister."
The two dragon queens hug.
"Take care of her for me," Ava'Kara says to L
yx.
Lyx kisses Kara's cheek. "Like she is my own."
Further back, all of the Light Dragon's people stand en masse, waiting quietly.
What are they waiting for? I have no idea what will happen.
"Is it safe for them to be here?" I ask.
Ava'Kara nods. "You will expend so much power to me, there will be none left to go anywhere else."
She glances at her sister, who gives her a look. Kara sighs. "There's something I need to tell you," she says.
"Okay… "
Lyx nudges Kara who sighs again. "Performing this ceremony might drain you."
I shrug. "I'll plan on getting extra rest until it all comes back."
Ava'Kara frowns. "Permanently. It might drain you permanently. You might lose all your powers. I don't know. I…we…thought you should know the risks before you agree."
I won't lie. This gives me pause. I could end up stripped of powers I just got? Powers I still don't know the full potential of. Am I willing to give all this up?
I know the answer the moment I think the question. Of course, I am. How could I not be? I may not be all light, but I have to live by a code of some kind. And I can't hoard power if it means so many others suffer.
I nod and the water dragon lets out a breath, then smiles. "You are braver and more generous than I expected, Eve Oliver."
The baby dragon turns back into a child, and Ava'Kara holds her daughter, kissing her head, then passes her to Lyx while she shifts back into her dragon form and positions herself in front of the wall of Dragon's Breath.
"It's very simple," she says. "Channel all the elements and pour them through your hands and into me while chanting terry autumn usque ad terram. Of earth, to earth."
I repeat the words in my head then nod and close my eyes. My power is there. It has returned in full form, and I have a feeling I will need every drop.
Hands held out, facing the water dragon, I begin to chant the words and funnel all of my power at the same time through my palms.
The wind whips around us.
A bush catches fire and burns.
The earth rips apart, leaving gashes around my feet.
Water falls from the sky, soaking me to the bone.
Still I chant.
Still the magic flows.
Golden light builds around me, mixed with dark tendrils of smoke. It all surrounds Ava'Kara, who glows a translucent blue, like waves in the ocean.
My knees buckle under me and I land hard on the ground, but I don't stop the ceremony.
Tears stream down my face.
Fire boils under skin.
I'm being drained, as surely as if a vampire was drinking the last drops of my blood.
My vision flicks in and out.
I can't hear anything over the storm wreaking havoc around me and within me.
And then, there's a great blast that knocks me flat on my face.
Everything goes quiet. Still. And I glance up and see that Ava'Kara is gone. Disappeared entirely.
A low murmur of voices begins behind me, and then the earth under us shifts, and the wall of Dragon's Breath begins to drift away like smoke until we are all staring at a lush new land that goes on as far as the eye can see. Grass green as emeralds, rolling hills, piney forests, the sound of the ocean in the distance. It's paradise.
Lyx wipes a tear form her eyes, holds the baby close to her chest, and nods at me, then steps forward, leading her people into the promised land.
I lay on the ground for I don't know how long—too exhausted and sore to even move—before I hear a familiar voice.
"I got a note to find you here. What happened?" Lily looks around, her face full of shock.
I clutch her arm for strength as I pull myself up. "Let's just go home. I'll explain on the way."
Kaya comes over to us and leans in to hug Lily and whisper something in her ear. They kiss and then Lily guides me to the carriage.
I pass out on the way home and Lily has to actually carry me inside. The dryad is stronger than she looks.
And my mind still hasn't processed all that just happened.
Liam, Sebastian, Derek, and Elijah are all drinking hard liquor in the study and turn to us when Lily arrives with me in her arms.
Sebastian reaches me first in three long steps, his arms propping me up as Lily releases me to him.
I smile up at him and laugh in a slightly maniacal and exhausted kind of way. "I watched a baby dragon hatch, and then I killed her mother and helped create a new extension to this world with my powers."
The room falls quiet, and the brothers exchange glances.
Elijah looks ready to burst with questions, and I can see him itching to write everything down. But I shake my head. "I need sleep. Food. Wine. I don't know. But definitely quiet. I love you all, and I'll explain everything tomorrow."
My eyelids are hard to keep open, and I step away from Sebastian, but have a hard time steadying myself. Then I feel someone help me, and I'm about to refuse it—because I really do want to be alone for a while—when I realize…it's a ghost. I can't see it, but I can feel it like it's solid.
I tentatively place a little more weight on it, and it shifts to offer more support, walking like this all the way to my room.
When it deposits me into my bed, it stokes the fire, opens a window for fresh air and is about to leave.
"Thank you," I say. "For all your do. Thank you. I will always help maintain your graves, and if you ever can show me where yours is and what your name is, I'll add it to your tombstone."
A gentle breeze blows through me, like a tender caress, and I smile as the door closes and I know I'm finally alone. I flop back onto my pillow, Moon purring at my side, and feel the crinkle of paper under my head.
I reach for it and stare at the script. I've never seen Cole's writing, but I know this is from him. My heart constricts as I open it. Inside the envelope is my onyx ring and a note.
My dearest Eve,
You will likely not believe me, and I wouldn't blame you at all, but not everything I said and did was a lie. You weren't a lie. I promise you that.
My brothers deserved what they got, and I think they know it, too.
But you didn't. You were a casualty of a war that wasn't your own, and for that I will always be deeply sorry.
I'm returning your ring, in hopes you will keep wearing it. It fell off that night.
I didn't get a chance to tell you this, but the ring is a protection ring. That wasn't a lie. I made it with my own powers, which means it even protects you from me. I never wanted you to be caught in something that could harm you. But I failed to consider the emotional cost of what I've done.
It has been too long since I have had any emotion but anger.
But you made me feel something more. Something true and deep and everlasting, even if I never see you again.
I returned the egg. I assume you know that by now.
And I know what you are. I always have.
I still believe you and I are stronger together.
If you ever change your mind, I'll know, and I'll be here.
Je t'aime,
Cole Night
A tear falls from my cheek onto the paper, casting an inky smear over his signature. I set it aside, but clutch the ring in my palm, then I stand and walk to the balcony and gaze into the distance.
"Oh, Cole," I say into the wind. "How could I ever live with you?" I ask, not expecting an answer. "But how will I ever live without you?"
Already my heart is breaking. I feel like I lost both my brother and Cole in a single night.
I hold the ring to my heart, letting a sob break loose from my throat. I let the tears come, let the emotions wash over me. I give myself permission to feel pain. To feel grief. To not expect happiness for at least a few moments.
We place such a premium on happiness that we deny the reality of our own existence in seeking it. We devalue pain in all its forms, not realizing that the pain can teach us so much more than th
e joy. The joy is our reward for the lessons learned through pain. We wouldn't have the joy without it.
So, I embrace my own pain and I cry until there are no more tears.
I cry for Cole. For Adam. For myself. For this family that is broken and may never truly be mended.
I cry for Ava'Kara, who was the first of the dragons with the courage to sacrifice herself to save this world. Even the Beggar Queen chose a path that kept her alive. Sure, she drained her magic to help, but she didn't make the ultimate sacrifice and she could have. In the end, it was Ava'Kara. Maybe that was because the water dragon had an heir, but that doesn't make her sacrifice any less noble. I wear her ring on my right hand now, at her request before she died.
Someday I will give it to her daughter, when she is ready.
I open my palm and study the other ring recently given to me. Now that I know what I'm looking for, I can feel Cole's energy in the stone, pulsing at the same frequency that he does. It sends warmth through my body when I slip it on my finger, and I know the moment I do that I won't be taking it off again.
Someday, I have hope that Cole will come home for good. That this family will be complete.
Until then, I will be the best mother to Alina I can, and the best partner to other brothers. I will hold us together and help make us stronger.
There's a knock at the door, and a platter of food flies in seemingly of its own accord.
One of the ghosts has brought me food and wine and water, as requested. I smile.
And when I look down at my plate, I realize my vegetables spell something.
Mable.
A name.
"Are you Mable?"
The fire flares, and I know it's not my doing. I have nothing left in my magical reserves. "I take that as a yes. I'm Eve. It's such a pleasure to meet you."
Once Mable leaves, I head to the bathroom to ready myself for bed.
When I come out, I nearly shit myself in shock.
Standing in my bedroom by the fire is the woman I've been seeing flashes of since my interview for the Night Firm.
Tall, ebony skin with silver hair and large luminous silver eyes. And a silver horn sticking out of her forehead.
She looks like the human-ish version of a black unicorn.
I Am the Storm (The Night Firm Book 2) Page 17
