Throne of Ash

by Lena Lee

  I could feel Wyatt shaking with emotion, but he continued to show me the vision. Watching a sorcerer turn himself into a human was beyond anything I could have imagined and I tried to pull away from it, but was glued in place.

  The man collapsed and the scene shifted. He had a young girl, about five, with dark skin and hair on his lap. She was laughing and looked up at him with big slate eyes with the love only a daughter could. He was happy, but the small lines around his eyes and small flecks of gray in his hair showed the physical evidence of giving up such an essential part of himself years earlier.

  “Happy birthday, my love. This is my heart and soul, you must protect it at all costs, keep it hidden right here.” He slipped the chain over the girl’s head and let the circular pendant, no larger than a dime, fall to its place over her heart. She smiled a big toothy grin and threw her arms around his neck.

  The vision ended then. Rex had me in his arms before all of the light energy had faded. “Are you hurt? What the fuck happened?” He turned his eyes to Wyatt, who was slowly getting to his feet with the help of Alex.

  “Kyra.” I managed to choke out before ripping myself out of Rex’s arm and taking off down the street. I didn’t even know if I was going in the right direction, but one person was on my mind. The girl from the vision.

  “We need to get home.” I could hear Wyatt behind me. He had pain in his voice but when looked back seemed to be getting his color back. “This is all my fault.” He mumbled as he caught up to me. I had somehow maintained my invisibility, but the brothers seemed to be very aware of where I was. It probably didn’t help I was sucking in large amounts of air, trying not to hyperventilate.

  “What the hell was that Wyatt? You have never done that before.” Alex looked at his brother. “You’re lucky there weren’t many people around and we could block that orb from sight. We tried to break it, but it just pushed us away.”

  Wyatt looked from Alex to Rex. “It happens from time to time.” A look of sadness came over his face and this time it remained. He grabbed my arm, making me flinch away from him. “We can get a pod this way.”

  Alex and Rex followed us, probably thinking we were both crazy since we weren’t speaking about what we saw. It didn’t seem safe to speak about it out in the open. It was too dangerous now to speak about anything regarding me, especially now that I was absolutely certain my bat shit crazy mother was trying to have me killed.

  As we walked, I decided to take Rex’s hand. As much as I had fought it, his comfort was needed at the moment. My thoughts were going a mile a minute and didn’t know where to focus. I kept thinking of clues throughout our childhood. There were none. Kyra’s father seemed so normal to me. He was a loving husband, father, and friend. He had died right along with the other half of Blight.

  “What can kill a Scintillian? Besides heart or head removal?” I had assumed that those were two of the ways, both vital to survival. I looked at Rex as we entered a pod. It would take about fifteen minutes to travel to Zephyr.

  “Not much. Why are you asking?” The pod slowly rose to the hyperloop and shot forward at a speed I still couldn’t comprehend. Did someone just wake up one day and decide shooting a bullet shaped bubble through a tube was the way to transport people?

  “Just something I have been wondering about.” I turned and stared out the window. It made no sense. It had to have something to do with him putting all of his power into that necklace. Had he really made himself human? Did that mean humans could eventually become more like… us? I shivered at the thought.

  The pod exited in Zephyr and Rex typed something on the tablet screen in front of him. The pod then began rolling in the direction of the castle. We were there in minutes and exited just inside the gates. Wyatt was first out of the pod and we followed.

  Alex and Rex had resigned trying to get any information from him, and both seemed put off by the fact that their brother had been keeping his orb visions from them. I could understand why Wyatt kept something like that private, it clearly took a toll on him. It took a toll on me and I had only experienced one.

  “Are you going to tell us what the hell is going on?” Alex finally spoke as we entered the castle. Wyatt was still on a mission, going to the elevator and jabbing the up button several times. I had experimented with the buttons the day before and pushing all of the them or pushing them repeatedly did not make the thing go any faster.

  We made our way to the North wing. I knew exactly where he was headed. I ran to catch up with him.

  “Let me go in… she barely knows you.” We arrived at the door and I stood in front of it, blocking his path.

  “We don’t know what she’s capable of, it’s a danger to you. Until we know you should stay away from her.” Wyatt tried to reach around me to open the door, but I shifted to block the handle. Rex and Alex stood behind him with their arms crossed, confusion on their faces.

  “We don’t even know if she is awake or if it’s going to kill her.” I looked him dead in the eye, I was not budging. She was my best friend and the last thing they needed to see was her falling apart when I told her that her dad was supposed to kill me.

  “Dorian is not the kind of sorcerer to take lightly, he was powerful. The most powerful at that time. Whatever he gave her is too, since it essentially was him. I am also pretty sure Rex isn’t going to allow you to go into a room with the daughter of your kidnapper.” Now he’d gone and crossed a line.

  “You ass-” Before I could finish, the door opened behind me and I was yanked inside.

  Chapter 12

  The pounding on the door had finally stopped after about ten minutes. Kyra had done something to the room to make it impenetrable. I sat across from her on her bed, both of us with our legs folded like we were children again. We used to sit like this and have stare-off competitions. I almost never won, her facial expressions always causing me to crack up. Now, she just stared at me with her red flecked, gray eyes.

  Finally, I spoke, not being able to handle the silence. “Are you okay?”

  “Yes.” She continued to stare at me, unblinking. Honestly, I was a bit freaked out at how intently she was staring at me. I could feel the power radiating off of her. “No.” I didn’t like this new Kyra. Even when she was in a bad mood, she had way more than one-word responses.

  “I was worried for you. Now even more so…” I reached across the several feet between us but Kyra shook her head. Was it possible for your mouth to fall off from frowning too deeply? It felt like it was about to slide right off the end of my chin.

  “He lied to me. My entire life.” A tear slid down her cheek, tinged red. I had seen her father cry the same color tears in the vision. She held the necklace up from her neck. “Do you know what this is?”

  “That is the necklace your father gave to you when you turned five. I remember I was jealous of you and you stuck your tongue out at me.” I smiled gently at her. “Then I punched you, our parents were so mad at me. It’s more than just a necklace though, isn’t it?”

  “My dad told me again that night that it was a special gift and some would try to take it from me due to our circumstances. I thought he meant that it was worth money. Now I know why it was so important to him. And why someone would have tried taking it from me.” She dropped it from her fingers and tucked it back into her top.

  I watched her carefully for a few minutes, waiting for her to say more but she just returned to staring at me with an intensity I had never seen from her before.

  “You are freaking me out a little… why are you staring at me like that?”

  She cleared her throat. “You are my destiny…”

  “I hate to break it to you Ky, I like men.” She was being too serious, but her lips did move a little as if she were going to smile.

  I was no one’s destiny, besides maybe Rex’s, well at least according to him. “What did the necklace do to you? Wyatt had a vision and Dorian shot all of his… essence into that necklace.”

  “When we landed o
n this planet the necklace activated. It released itself into me and at first I couldn’t handle it.” She held her hands out and front of her and sent a few red sparks up into the air. “All of his knowledge, power, lifeforce was in that necklace. I can tell he tried to keep some of the pain and suffering out of it, but he couldn’t keep it all out.”

  “What does this mean?” I watched her carefully and she stood and came near where I sat on the bed. I wasn’t exactly scared of her, but I can’t say I felt like I was with my best friend at the moment.

  “It means…” She brought her hands in front of her and examined them with furrowed brows. They started glowing bright red as she met my eyes. “I am a sorceress now. I can break the spells he placed, you have already weakened them yourself. It shouldn’t hurt.”

  “I'm more worried about me hurting you, my dragon told me that I am powerful. What if I explode or something?” I got up from the bed and stood in front of her, watching as red power swirled on her hands. At least if I was going to combust, I was glad it would be at the hands of my best friend.

  “Is that your new nickname for Rex?” She raised her eyebrows. I was glad to see my best friend wasn’t in completely lost. “Or are you being serious?”

  “Serious. I will tell you later about her. Do it before either of us chicken out.”

  Kyra placed her hands on me, right in the center of my chest, over my heart. The red energy suddenly burst from her hands with a crackling sound, like a piece of firewood popping a spark and it hit me in the chest, throwing me back into the wall. I landed in a crouch and felt power coming at me from all directions at once.

  She had been right, it wasn’t painful in the traditional sense. The emptiness I didn’t know I had filled and what I had been kept from spread out within me. I had been missing an essential piece of my being this entire time and had no clue. I felt suddenly connected to everything around me.

  “Holy moly guacamole!” Kyra stared at me with wide eyes. “You are like a… goddess.” I gave her a funny look and she nodded her head towards the bathroom. “Go fucking look. Jesus, all I got was creepy ass eyes and sparkler hands.”

  Even walking felt different now. I was as light as a feather, if that was possible. I had to look down at my feet to make sure I wasn’t actually floating.

  I entered the bathroom, faced the mirror, and just stared. Kyra’s reaction made sense now. My hair had darkened from auburn to a deep red color, bordering on black. I stepped closer and stared at my own eyes. They were now a brighter blue, like fresh water in a lake. I took in a shaky breath and returned to the room.

  “How do I even know what to do with all of this? I feel all these strands inside of me, like a tangled ball.” I was hoping her necklace had given her this knowledge.

  She shrugged. “That’s something only you will know. What I do know is that if you were breaking through my father’s spells, you are super powerful. You have five strands of power plus two other bonds. That’s why you could go invisible on Earth, the air power had broken through. There’s also water, fire, spirit, and nature.”

  “Fire had broken through a little too, but it was more… internal.” Kyra just nodded, she had given me all the information she had. “So I just go to some water and wave my hands? It surely can’t be that simple. When I threw the guys away from my dragon I was really pissed and it just happened.”

  “I think you need to be really careful about how much information you give to others about your powers. That is why your mother wanted you killed, she sensed a lot of power in you even as an infant. I think if you learn to control one of them then you will know what to do with the others. There is one power I couldn’t unlock though…” She had a look of pity on her face as she met my eyes.

  I raised my eyebrows in question. She cleared her throat and looked at the door and then back at me again. “Your soul connection or whatever you want to call it. I felt Rex’s end hitting a wall, that wall is of your own making and I couldn’t break it down. It is a powerful bond though, well if you want it to be.”

  My mouth may have fallen open a bit. I tried to sense what she was talking about inside of myself but couldn’t. Right now, all I could feel was power swirling inside of me. “He kissed me. Like only a little, but it was most definitely a kiss.” I blurted it out, I hadn’t talked to my friend in forever it seemed.

  “Gee, here I was practically in a coma and you’re off kissing hot men.” She shook her head and started laughing. I had been nervous before about my friend being changed, but she seemed to be returning to her normal self. “Should I open the door? I am sure your lover boy wants to see you.”

  I nodded and moved to stand between Kyra and the door since I was certain there would be pissed off males on the other side. She laughed again and I felt a wave of power spread out across the room. The door burst open and Rex and Alex filled the room with their brooding presence.

  “What the he-” Rex started before processing that I was different. Before I could stop either of them, they had taken a knee again, bowed their heads, and crossed their arm over their chest. “You are…”

  “Radiant? Breathtaking? Sexy as hell?” Kyra moved to stand next to me. “Please tell me that you will continue to allow them to bow like this while I stand next to you.”

  Alex’s head snapped up. “You are not welcome in Zephyr, we will arrange an escort immediately.”

  “What? She broke the spell that was on me you idiot.” I put my hands on my hips and tried to calm myself. I felt the power inside me begging to lash out at him, throw him against the wall.

  “Magic wielders are not permitted in this house.” Alex stood and stepped towards Kyra. I guess the stick was back in all its glory.

  “You have to be kidding me. Kyra and I will not be separated.” I looked to Rex who wore a shielded expression. There was something they weren’t saying. “Spit it out.”

  “A sorcerer killed our father and mother.” Rex spoke, Alex was just staring at Kyra like she had ten heads. “Plus now we know one kidnapped you. They can’t be trusted, they always have their own agendas.”

  “I could easily kill all of you right now. Probably. Will I be banished as well? One bad apple doesn’t spoil the whole bunch. If Kyra shows any signs of going rogue, I will put her down.”

  Kyra snickered at this. I was being serious, but she didn’t need to know that. I knew our lives were going to be different now and if her father could be manipulated so easily, she was just as vulnerable, if not more.

  Alex stalked out of the room, I was certain he was going to see the King. I could see the high from Edrie was gone and he was back to his old self.

  “I am in dire need of a nap.” Kyra walked towards her bed before turning to look over her shoulder. “You two should… catch up.” She gave me a knowing look.

  I sighed and followed Rex out of the room, shutting the door behind me. I followed him to another hallway that must have been where their rooms were. I wasn’t sure why I was following him, I certainly wasn’t going to tell him it was me who was blocking our connection, at least not yet. Having fate force feelings on me wasn’t something I wanted to deal with at the moment. I was barely holding on as it was.

  Chapter 13

  Rex’s room was practically an apartment on its own. Not only did it have a gigantic bed which caused me to raise my eyebrows at its size but also had a step-down sitting area that was lined with bookshelves, a minibar, and a large flat screen. Rex didn’t strike me as a reader, so I walked to the bookshelves first. What did McCreeper like to read?

  I loved to read but books were highly regarded and limited in Blight, not really allowing me to read as much as I would have liked. Most of the books were historical or informational anyways, not fiction. Books were where I found out most of my information about Earth, at least before things went crazy.

  A few titles had the word Earth in them, but most looked unfamiliar.

  “They are all in English, you should borrow a few. Sara has quite a few b
ooks on Earth and other planets.” I nodded and walked around the room examining his belonging. He regarded me from the arm of the couch, but didn’t say more, instead watching me.

  I walked to the windows and was captured again by the vast expanse and beauty of this world. From this room I could see a large lake with a river winding off into the distance towards mountains. I felt a tugging in my chest, towards the blue expanse. I needed to experiment with the energy swirling inside of me, there was so much of it, like a ball of strings, tangled and getting more tangled the more it was ignored.

  “What’s your power?’ I turned to Rex. I wasn’t going to tell him that I felt like I had a ball of energy inside of me just yet. The last thing I needed was for everyone to try to help me figure myself out. “How many powers does everyone usually have?”

  Rex sat back on the couch and gestured to the seat next to him. I didn’t want to leave the window, but took a seat next to him anyway. He let his leg gently touch mine, sending what felt like sparks up to my gut. Sitting right next to him wasn’t the wisest choice.

  “Only those of royal descent have powers. We have one power each, fate decides which we receive. Every once in a while, someone outside the bloodline is born with a power, but they usually keep it hidden, some royal lines don’t take well to that. Most do not marry someone with a power, which works as a balance. There are rare occurrences though... like us.”

  I was going to ignore the reference to our situation. I hadn’t even thought of a future that involved being alive, let alone being married or having children.

  “You avoided my question… Alex heals, Wyatt has visions… what is it you can do?” I was very curious now, it had to be epic since he had not answered straight away. I had yet to see much from him besides when he was about to attack my dragon. Maybe he turned into a hideous monster and was embarrassed.

  “My power is somewhat complicated… I have to make sure there is a healer around.” I just stared at him waiting for him to continue. Shouldn’t he want to tell me his power? I was his soulmate, he should feel some obligation to overshare about his life.