by Eve, Jaymin
She shook her head.
Where we are going, they cannot follow. Not unless we manage to make it through our task, and then one of us might have the power to open a path for them. It felt like she was looking at me when she said that, but I couldn’t be sure.
Her huge wings swept to the side, pumped a few times, stirring up an unnatural gust of wind. It hit us just as a long ray of light spilled down the dark path ahead. The illumination was not that bright at first, simply showing us a bridge surrounded by darkness. The bridge itself was made of no material I’d seen before, metallic and etched through with a plethora of colors, giving it an almost iridescent appearance.
The rainbow bridge is the only remaining path for the living into the underworld.
I figured Josephina was projecting this to all of us.
But it’s a path guarded by Heptashia. She was the original mate of Draconis, until he betrayed her for Lotus. Ever since then, she has barricaded almost all entrances into the underworld for the living. All that remains is Atlantis, and this one back entrance. There’s a chance she will allow females of worth to cross, and you three are the worthiest of any I know.
Her wings were pumping harder, the breeze lifting our feet from the ground. I didn’t fight it, trusting in the dragon queen. The light grew brighter with each thrust of her wings, and I had to force my eyes to adjust so I could continue to see.
“Are you coming with us?” Jessa shouted over the wind.
I am. But not in the form that you know me.
With a flash of brilliant glowing gold, the dragon was gone, and we were all being sucked up in the wind. Jessa, Mischa, me, and a golden-haired woman that I was almost certain had been a dragon not two seconds before. With a final shot of power, we were propelled along the rainbow bridge.
At first it was smooth and fast, but as we got closer to the blinding light at the end of the path, the energy got rougher. It crashed against us, trying to force us back, but whatever magic Josephina used, it was just strong enough to counter it.
Asher
The storm raged overhead, and I let it grow.
“Ash, dude, you have to calm down.”
Jesse was trying his best to get through to me, but Maddison had just been cut off from my mind again, and I was acting on the basest of instincts. My power swelled, the gold of my energy filling the air, and as it rose higher it streamed into the clouds. I was not in control, and normally that fucked me right off—I was too powerful to lose control.
But in this moment, I wanted to destroy it all.
Lightning cracked and my friends ducked for cover, but I wasn’t so far gone that I would sacrifice them in my rage. My protection extended to them, and that was it.
The two dragons in the sky. They were on their fucking own.
The beasts roared, and I felt a powerful source of energy coming from somewhere close by. This being was trying to counter my own power.
They were dead if they got any closer.
“Asher Locke, you need to stand down.”
The voice rumbled through the air, and it was definitely the source of the power.
I blasted lightning in their direction. A warning.
The only one they would get.
The return shot of energy grazed across my skin and I felt the slightest flare of surprise break through my fury. Their spell had been strong enough to slice my biceps. It healed instantly, but that spoke of how powerful this being was.
He stepped into sight, just as the two dragons from above dropped from the sky.
I knew him. Another dragon.
There was an infestation of scaly lizards here, wherever the fuck we were. I had no concept of time or place, I’d just followed Maddison, but I was reasonably sure we were in Faerie, a land I’d wanted to visit more than once. The land of my ancestors … my family. But now I didn’t care to even look around. Now I would raze this fucking world to nothing but cinders and ashes if it meant that Maddison was returned to me.
“Asher, you know me. We might not have always seen eye to eye, but we respected each other. Don’t let me have given my respect in vain.”
“Fuck off, Rayge.”
Who was this asshole, and how was he so damned powerful?
A rumble rocked his chest, the dragon inside of him always one step from losing control. It was the issue I’d had with him long ago. The issue I had with his friendship with my mate—he was not to be trusted. The dragon who killed his parents.
Sure, I didn’t know the entire story, and more than likely there was a good reason, but it made me wary. Family was not immune from punishment, I knew that better than anyone, but he always seemed one step from completely losing control. That was the part I didn’t trust.
“You need us, Asher.” Another fucker approached me. More dragons.
None of them could control me.
“Braxton Compass,” I said with a dark laugh. “Didn’t figure you for suicidal.”
He roared back at me, stuck in some sort of in-between dragon and supernatural form. He was huge, standing a head above me, his arms as thick as my fucking chest. It was impressive, but I didn't fear the dragon. He was strong in this world, but I was not from this world.
“Jessa is gone too!”
I finally deciphered his roaring words, and a stab of something other than fury in my chest. “Maddison is not alone?”
The lightning raged again, slamming into the earth between us, but no one moved. Not me, or Rayge, or Braxton, or the final member of our fucked-up crew. A vampire-dragon hybrid—Maximus, I was guessing, another of the Compass quads.
“My mate as well,” Maximus rumbled, his fangs extended, voice filled with violence.
The three of us turned to Rayge. “What are you doing here?” Braxton asked, voice low and deadly. If I wasn’t too angry to even see straight, I’d have been cautious if that voice was directed at me, but Rayge was a cocky bastard. He feared no one.
The four of us were probably the worst beings to be in close proximity like this. Especially missing our mates. Someone was going to die.
“Josephina has undertaken a fool’s journey,” he said softly. “All to try and save a world that doesn’t deserve her. I will not let her sacrifice herself. Not even for Jessa, whom she loves more than anything.”
Braxton growled and the ground rocked where we stood. “Who the fuck is Josephina?” I bit out, sure that I’d heard the name before, but right now I couldn’t think.
“The dragon queen,” Rayge said, and sorrow filled his eyes. I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen a soft emotion from him. Not a real one. The few times we’d interacted, it had either been uncontrolled anger or a complete blank slate. There might have also been a sliver of humor when he was with Maddison in the bar—my girl had that effect on people.
Like he’d heard me, his eyes met mine. “I won’t let Maddison die. She’s important and special. The world needs her, and something tells me that if she was to perish, you would kill us all. You clearly have the power to do so.”
I didn’t deny it. I couldn’t deny it. Maddison had been strong and fought for the world when she thought I was dead, but I could not do the same. My rage would know no bounds. No one would be safe from me.
“Maddison is mine,” I told him, not sure if it needed to be said, but I was saying it. “Mine to save. Mine to protect. Just fucking mine. And I’m getting her back now, so you all should step aside.”
My brothers were still a few yards away—I was using my power to hold them in place. Protect them from whatever went down here. Jesse in particular was cursing me. I could see his angry gestures and raised fists. But he’d forgive me eventually. As long as he was alive, it was all good.
The ground around Braxton shook, the land he stood on charring black as his own fury radiated out in visible waves. “Jessa is all that matters,” he said. “She is mine.”
“Mischa is mine,” Maximus added, his voice low. “We have wasted enough time. Let’s move.”
R
ayge’s lips almost twitched then. “Okay, now that we’ve laid claim to our mates, I think it’s time we get them back.”
Braxton’s head instantly jerked in his direction and he took a step closer. “Who is your mate? Who do you lay claim to?”
If the name that crossed his lips was Maddison, I was ending him. Fried dragon was my new specialty.
Rayge rubbed at his forehead. “No mate. But Josephina, as stubborn as they come, is my kin and I will not let her be harmed.”
I was almost certain I wasn’t the only one that stared, unblinking, trying to figure out how the fuck a dragon and a supernatural could be kin. I mean, clearly it was through their dragon side…
Rayge did smile this time, the slightest quirk of his lips. “I’ll explain on the way,” he said. “For now, all I’ll say is that the queen of the dragons is not like regular dragons. She has another form. And we are family. She’s the best friend I have. One of the only friends I have. I would not survive without her.”
I didn’t know him well. One of our few interactions was when he killed his parents and was brought before the supernatural courts. He’d been found not guilty, and I should have taken that to mean he was innocent of evil, but there was always something in his eyes that spoke of a soul-deep rage. He lived up to his namesake.
As he talked about Josephina, though, I could see the reason Maddison befriended him. Rayge had hidden depths…
Maybe he was someone worthy of her friendship after all.
There was a click inside my mind and I immediately reached for Maddison, hoping to feel her. She’d been there before, long enough for me to know she was okay, but there was nothing now. In fact, it felt like we had no connection at all. She was no longer in Faerie…
My storm exploded, huge bolts of gold slamming into the ground around us. Everything rocked as my power grew, so much more now that I held Sonaris’s energy. Fissures cut through the rock around us, forming small crevices that would soon grow larger if I couldn’t stop.
“Asher!” Rayge shouted. “What are you doing?”
I whipped my head in his direction, reaching out and without touching him, cut off his words, lifting him with my energy. He didn’t fight me, or he tried at first and realized it was futile, so he chose to remain stoic, watching me with those ancient-as-fuck eyes.
“Maddison is not in my bond. She’s gone.”
Braxton dropped his head back, his skin covered in scales as flames spread around him. “Jessa too.”
The guttural nature of his words made it next to impossible to understand what he was saying.
But I understood. We were speaking the same language.
Fear and fury.
Rayge continued to stare me down and I reluctantly lowered him back to the ground. Maddison was not dead, I had to believe that, and I wouldn’t kill someone who might hold more information about whatever this Josephina was up to.
Rayge didn’t wince or rub his throat. “We need to move now,” he said. “Josephina is still on my radar. My dragon can track her. Follow me.”
He shifted so fast it was almost instant. Braxton and Maximus did the same, large beasts filling the space around me. Rayge nudged his head at me, and I knew he wanted me to step onto his back, but I shook him off.
“I don’t need help,” I said, barely managing to speak around the energy filling my body, my throat, my blood. My insides churned. “I can follow.”
Using my powers, I lifted myself into the sky, gold sparkling around me. I was no doubt going to leave a path to follow, but good luck to anyone that did. If a single being tried to stop us from getting our women back, they would regret it.
I’m sending you all back to the Academy, I told my brothers. I’ll let you know when I find Maddison. I used my powers to open a step-through, hoping they would be smart enough to get out of this unknown area.
Focusing on the dragons, I went after them. Rayge zipped across the sky and I followed at the same speed, wishing they could go a little faster. If I had a clue how to track Maddison, I would not be relying on these dragons.
For now, I needed to keep reminding myself that she wasn't dead. That she was in the company of powerful supes. And that my Maddison was both brilliant and powerful. She wouldn't go down easily. She would be fine.
If she wasn’t, it was already too late for the world.
Chapter 21
If this was a Grimm brothers’ story, that rainbow bridge we crossed would have been full of difficult tasks. Trolls. Labyrinths. Impossible riddles and dangerous creatures. That was kind of what I expected after Josephina’s cryptic and downright terrifying “this will be a hard journey” speech.
Instead, we had a clear and smooth path, and in what felt like a single blink of an eye, we were no longer flying. We landed on a round stone platform. Unlike the rainbow bridge, there was nothing glittery about where we stood now. It was hot, filled with an acrid scent: a combination of sulfur and freshly burnt wood. The scent both enticed and warned us we were entering territory that was not our own, and maybe, just maybe, the Grimm’s portion of this journey was about to commence.
“Stay close,” Josephina said, and I couldn’t get over what she looked like now. Her skin was a soft glittering gold. Her eyes were even more unusual, still gold, but with hints of caramel.
“How?” Jessa said. “How are you…” she waved her hand, “like that?”
Josephina smiled sadly, her teeth brilliant white, and maybe more perfect than I’d ever seen on another being. And I’d seen some damn perfect teeth. Still, no one would ever suspect that this golden woman before us was anything other than … well, other. She was flawless.
“As the queen of the dragons, host to an ancient magic,” she started, “I have some abilities not available to my brethren. My mother had the same, and her mother as well. It’s passed down through the maternal line. This is my other form—that of the original dragon gods from whom I descend. There are not many left who draw power from the originals.”
We silently stared at her. “You’re a god,” Jessa breathed, her eyes shiny as she launched herself at the golden figure. “You’re beautiful.”
They hugged for many seconds, and it was such a heartfelt moment that I found myself with a tight throat and shiny eyes. They had never hugged like this … I already knew that dragon to person wasn’t quite the same.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Jessa asked as she pulled away.
Josephina shot a rueful smile at her. “It’s not encouraged that we step away from our dragon for this form. My mother always warned me about overusing it, that I would grow addicted to the power in this body. This gold that coats my skin, it’s the same gold of the original magic. It’s filling my body, my blood, my soul. It’s addictive. Inviting it in is never encouraged, even for those naturally acquired of it.”
A chill ran through me. Asher. Asher had gold magic too, born from his mother, who was born of the fucking mother of all. Original magic.
That’s what happened to him when the gold took over and he lost control.
“I need to talk to Asher,” I said in a rush. “He has original magic. And if he doesn’t know I’m okay…” I had no idea what he would do, but I knew it wasn’t good. If this ancient powerful dragon was worried about losing control, what did that mean for Asher?
Josephina at least had the decency to look sorry. “We no longer have access to them. We have stepped into an in-between world, and now we must journey to the underworld. Through the path of Heptashia.”
Fuck.
“Fuck,” Jessa muttered, and I wondered if she’d read my mind.
I mean, it was the logical response to this situation, so probably not.
“Best thing we can do is finish our task and get back to them,” Mischa said, sounding very levelheaded. She was clearly upset too—I could see the tension in the lines on her forehead—but she was holding it together.
“Girl gang,” Jessa said softly.
Mischa blinked at her, but I
smiled. “Girl gang,” I acknowledged. “It was a premonition apparently.”
She reached out and we fist bumped, because solidarity, sister.
“Girl gang is highly appropriate,” Josephina added. “Since only those accepted will cross. And no man has ever made it through. This goddess is very particular. And men … she hates them.”
Not hugely surprising since she was no doubt super-pissed at being betrayed by Draconis. I wanted to know more of this story. There was no time right now, but hopefully there would be one day. It was kind of my family problem after all.
Dad the fucking douchebag. Shit father. Shit mate.
For a brief moment I wondered if understanding Heptashia’s story would help us make it through...
“No,” Josephina said. “Understanding will not help with this first part.”
She could still read minds apparently.
“This is a simple test of worthiness, and no one knows what’s used to weigh your worth, but everyone faces the same scale.”
“Worthiness means something different to every person,” Mischa said, solemnly. “I don’t understand how this test could be fair. I’ve certainly done some things I’m not proud of, and more than likely won’t pass.”
Jessa growled, a fierce sound. “You have to forgive yourself for what you did. Nothing was malicious. You were hurting, and if I had been in the same position as you, I would have probably done worse. You’re so much more levelheaded and kinder than me. I’m violent. Quick tempered. And very unaccepting of other people’s flaws when they irritate me. I’m so far from perfect.”
Josephina smiled at the twins, and it was clear she had a soft spot for the sister of her beloved Jessa. “You’re both perfectly flawed and that’s okay. You don’t have anything to prove to anyone ever. You’ve both saved the world more than once, and at great personal and emotional sacrifice. As I said initially, you are two of the best supes I know. You are worthy.” She turned to me. “And Maddison is worthy, for multiple reasons. I have almost no doubts that you’ll all pass, but it’s hard to know for sure when this test is designed by Heptashia. It’s what she considers worthy, and as I have not traveled this path before…”
