by Lena Lee
I heard Edrie let out a shaky breath from near me, which was an odd sound to hear from a dragon. “You are the Great Spirit. I didn’t think it was possible, even when the wolves were adamant it was true.” I didn’t feel like a spirit, certainly not a great one.
I slowly stood from the ground, realizing that the ground where I had fallen was now covered with grass and a few flowers. Had I done that? I looked at Edrie who was just as wide eyed as me. I had grown friggin’ grass in a wasteland.
“What’s the Great Spirit?” I had been told I had the power of the five creators, but this seemed greater than that.
“The Great Spirit, the Queen of Light, is a legend we are taught of at birth. It is said that in the beginning she arrived here from a very distant realm in which war and darkness had destroyed. She was pregnant and birthed five creators, to which she gave each a gift: air, water, fire, spirit, and nature. These gifts together could be used to build a world better than her own. Her mate, the King of Darkness, learned of this deceit and followed her here. He killed her, but could not stop his five children from creating from the light. His anger fueled a darkness in the land, that created the first demons that tried to stop the light from taking hold. Lightness won in the end, but the creators also had to sacrifice themselves to protect the land from darkness.”
My brain wasn’t sure what to make of this tale, but something deep inside of me felt connected to her words. They were similar to the tale Rex had told me about the original royal families.
“Is that why I am growing green stuff with my feet?” I looked down at the patches of green dotting the area around us.
“I am certain of it. This land has never held any life since it is the birth place of demons and their prison.” Edrie sniffed the grass. “It is definitely real. Can you do it beyond where you touch?”
Since there were no individual ribbons anymore, I was the ribbon, I focused on a piece of ground about three feet away. Nothing happened.
“I had been thinking about how hard the ground was, maybe my body just did it to protect me?” I shrugged and teleported to Edrie’s back. “Let’s go.” Now was not the time to figure out how I was a walking gardener of sorts.
Edrie took to the sky and we rode in silence back to the sanctuary. I felt rather weird without my powers swirling inside of me, there was no more unease coursing through my body. I felt complete, not even having realized how incomplete I had felt until now. I felt more in control than ever.
As we landed in the field, I covered myself so my father and Rex didn’t have to see me naked. Not that I would have minded Rex seeing me, but my dad was still a stranger and well, my dad. Sebastian was nowhere to be seen thankfully.
“Where’s Mira?” Rex had a panicked look about him. “I felt her pain and then…”
“I’m here. The fire burnt off all my clothes.” I probably shouldn’t have led with that because Rex had a horrified look on his face. “I’m fine, it was my fire mostly.” Not helping.
Rex took off his shirt and threw it in my direction. It was just long enough to cover all my important business. As soon as I was visible again, he rushed to me and pulled me into a hug getting soot all over him.
“You feel different… inside.” His bond was still hitting my wall but there was nothing on the other side of the wall now. I felt a need swell inside of me but quickly pushed it down. Not now in front of an audience.
“You’re awfully quiet.” I had come to Rex’s room after showering. We had been sitting on the couch for quite a while in silence besides the chatter of people on the flat screen. I still wasn’t sold on entertaining myself with characters on a screen.
“I think I can complete our bond now.” I said it quietly, examining my hands. “It scares me more than the fire did.”
I felt Rex immediately sit straighter next to me and he turned off the screen, silencing the characters. My words were probably music to his ears.
“It shouldn’t scare you.” He took my hands in his. “A soulmate bond is meant to strengthen both people. Mentally, physically, spiritually… you don’t have to do anything right now if you are uncertain though.”
“I don’t think I have a choice in the matter.” If the bond would strengthen me then that’s what I needed to do. This was bigger than me, that was becoming increasingly apparent. I’d much rather do this now instead of having my body randomly decide to take care of it for me. I wasn’t exactly opposed to being bonded to Rex, it was just quicker than I would have liked.
“What do you need me to do?” He looked worried at my sudden silence again. I wasn’t used to having someone worry over every facial expression. “Sit here with you or leave?”
“Just… be quiet.” I stood and went to the windows. I could see my reflection in the glass, I barely recognized myself these days. So many things had changed about me, including my appearance. It had only been a slight physical change, but still surprised me every time I caught a glimpse of myself.
I felt my skin tingling at the thought of connecting with Rex. Would that change me too? I was one thread away from losing myself. I am not sure how long I stood staring at my reflection before my eyes settled on the mountains in the distance.
“Edrie? What should I do?” A dragon guide had to be good for advice on my love life.
She didn’t even need to ask what I was talking about. “I think you already know the answer to that question. A soulmate bond is an undeniable match of two souls. Fate wanted you to have the rare gift, two in fact since you and I also have one.” She must have been sleeping, she sounded like she had just woken up. “A storm is coming Mira. I know deep inside you know that you are the only one who can stop it. And I think you know that Rex eases some of that burden. Plus, he’s hot.”
I appreciated her attempt at making me feel better. “It would have been nice to have a choice in the matter.” I started pacing in front of the window. Funny how this all started with me trying to steal a recipe for hooch.
“You always have a choice. Be well.” With that she cut our connection.
Damn her and her cryptic advice. I let out a frustrated sigh before returning to the couch and standing in front of Rex. “Let’s do this. Whatever this is.”
“If you don’t want this then don’t force it. I don’t want you to resent me.” He grabbed one of my hands and pulled me to sit on his lap, our eyes level.
“I don’t resent you. I just don’t like that I haven’t had any choice in any of this. For once I would like the choice.” He cupped my cheek and gently ran his thumb over my bottom lip.
“You have a choice in this.” His lips brushed against my jaw before he took my mouth with his. I let out a small moan before my hands landed on his chest. I didn’t have that much of a choice when he kissed me like that.
His half of the bond smacked against the wall again, so I took a breath and let it shatter into a million little pieces.
Chapter 18
I stood in the center of a field, soot covering me from head to toe. My clothes were ripped to shreds and my hair was plastered to my head as if I had just taken a shower. I surveyed the scene. Large chunks of ash were fluttering down from the sky. Or was it snow? I held out my hand and a few flakes gently landed on my blood-stained hands before turning to a fine dust.
I turned in a circle, where was I? I stopped when a line of trees caught my attention. The sanctuary? I teleported to it. I walked down the familiar path towards the field that I was so familiar with.
“Edrie?” My voice cracked as I said the word. My throat felt like I had swallowed a million nails. The field was empty, and my eyes landed on where the cave entrance once was. It was gone. A sense of dread over took me and I ran to the water. I kneeled next to it and rinsed the blood from my hands. Where did the blood come from?
I called to the water and it came at me with a splash, washing away the soot and blood that had covered me. I stood and surveyed my surroundings once again. A small sound to my left caught my attention. It sound
ed like the tiniest of birds tapping on a window.
I approached the sound, it was coming from under a rock. I kneeled next to it and pushed the rock from over a hole, gasping at the pearlescent egg that lay before me. It was as large as my head and the tapping was coming from inside of it. A dragon egg? How did it get here?
I let my hands fall to it, it was slightly warm to the touch. “Edrie?” I knew it couldn’t be Edrie, but where was she? Where was Resa?
“Fire.” The voice was barely a whisper in my head but wrapped around my very being. I let my fire unfurl from inside, running down my arms and engulfing the egg. A sharp sound pierced the air and I was flung back from the egg.
I scrambled to my feet quickly, flinging a shield in front of me as flames engulfed the area. This was no typical flame, it burnt hot and had a magical energy which made my goosebumps have goosebumps. The flames disappeared as quickly as they had sprung up. In its place was a black dragon with pearl colored eyes staring up at me. Despite its size, this dragon looked like it was ready to take over the world.
“You must go now, your job is done here.” It spoke as if it had lived more than just a few minutes of life.
A warm hand was shaking my shoulder and I sat up with such a start that our heads collided.
“Ow.” Rex started rubbing his head where we had bumped heads. “You were having a nightmare and almost burned the sheets.”
I jumped out of the bed, naked, and examined myself. It had felt so real. I looked back at the bed where Rex’s eyes had changed to a dark emerald color as he looked me up and down. Oh right, that happened.
“Come back to bed, the sun hasn’t risen yet.” I walked to the windows instead, gazing out at the night sky. “What was it about?” I felt Rex get up from the bed and make his way towards me. I could feel his worry now, but also could feel his desire.
Before I answered him, I opened my connection to Edrie. “Edrie?”
“Hmmm?” Dragons apparently slept a lot. It probably took a lot of energy to fly and breathe fire and all.
“I had a nightmare. You and the dragons were gone. It felt so real.” I sighed in relief and leaned back against Rex who had wrapped his arms around me. I included him in the connection.
“She shot fire from her hands for an instant and threw a shield in front of her while she was sleeping.” Rex spoke, concern evident in his voice. “She used my power.”
“Of course she did, you are part of her now. What was the dream?” Edrie seemed curious.
“The cave was gone and there was a large egg under a rock, it said “fire” to me so I hit it with fire and a dragon came out of it.” I felt Resa enter the conversation.
“What did the dragon look like?” Resa’s voice was serious, like she knew the answer already but needed confirmation.
“It was black with pearl colored eyes.” Both of the dragons let out a slurry of cuss words. They finally stopped before there was silence. “Care to share why you two all of a sudden gave us a vocabulary lesson?”
“It’s Ona, the mother of dragons,” Resa spoke. “Did she say anything?” I repeated the words the dragon spoke. Why had I seen and played a part in the birth of their mother?
“Why is Mira dreaming of Ona? Isn’t she the first dragon born from the creators?” Rex knew his Scintilla history apparently.
“She was, and she also disappeared with them after creating our sanctuary. It is said that they combined powers to lock away great darkness, sacrificing themselves to seal away the darkness.”
“I did not start my dream in the sanctuary, I was in the deadlands surrounded by ash and had blood all over me. Not sure what that means.” I felt Rex tense behind me but he remained silent.
“Well if the cave wasn’t there then it had to have been the past. For now, keep your guard up, we don’t know what this means,” Resa warned.
Keep my guard up? My guard was already all the way up from being a target of my mother. Let me add potential scary dragon to that.
“Be well.” The dragons were gone from our minds.
“Now what?” I turned back to Rex who was staring out the window with a worried expression on his face. I turned in the direction he was gazing. Oh shit.
In the moonlight I could make out a large group of wolves outside the wall of the castle, forming a line between the wall and the trees. One turned towards us, Micco. “They are coming. Prepare.”
“Who is?” I got no response in return.
“He says they are coming, I don’t know what he means, he says to prepare.” I quickly started grabbing my clothes off the floor which were thrown all over the place. I threw Rex’s at him. The night before we hadn’t worried about where our clothes landed.
It took less than ten minutes for us to wake up the entire castle. We had no clue what was approaching, but with the way my luck had been panning out, it was bad.
Before Rex could stop me, I teleported us to where the wolves were. At least this time I had included him in my act now ask later mentality. He gave me a brief look of agitation but fell in step beside me as I approached the alpha.
“We were hunting in the mountains when a blackness appeared. It took three of mine, demanding you. We came here immediately.” Rex was listening in through our connection now, no need to tell him what Micco had told me.
As weird as it was, I was glad. I would need to practice how to block it though, some things a girl needed to keep private.
“How far away do you think they are?” Rex asked Micco who began sniffing the air.
“They are at the lake.” A voice whispered. “They are hurting us.” I met eyes with Rex who gave me an endearing look. The trees.
We took off towards the lake, it must have been a sight with a large pack of wolves trailing us. I could hear the others slightly behind them. I really wanted to teleport but since I didn’t know what they were, I resisted my urge. I almost had forgotten what it was like to travel the normal way.
My heart caught in my throat as we neared the lake. The trees in one area were nearly devoid of leaves and life. What the hell?
A form appeared not far from where we had stopped. At first it looked like a dark shadow but slowly the darkness solidified into a man-like figure. I felt a crawling under my skin, not my powers but a feeling of revolt. It’s eyes suddenly opened, staring directly at me. They sent a shudder through me, their red the pure embodiment of evil.
“Isabella. Your mother wishes to speak to you.” It slowly started floating forward, others popping up and forming behind it.
“Don’t come any closer.” Rex’s voice commanded from next to me. I could feel the fear and anger coming from him in waves. His eyes were glowing, ready to use himself as a shield if necessary.
“What does she want?” I gritted my teeth as my powers threatened to spill out of me. I didn’t know what was going to happen if I let them out, but they were not happy.
“She wants to apologize.” It let out a cackling laugh and then all hell broke loose.
Before Rex could take the brunt of the attack, my power surged in me. I didn’t quite know how to direct it but my body was telling me to just put my arms out. I sent Rex flying backwards, hell if I was going to let him take all the hits from the hell spawn or whatever they were. I grabbed onto our connection and pulled the shield in front of me, sending fire with it. Maybe he could only attract attention with his shield, but I could use it as an actual shield.
Some of the demons crashed into it, instantly catching on fire before flying into the sky and exploding. Those that hadn’t tried to come directly at me had fanned out, the wolves and guards from the castle facing off with them. The brothers and Kyra were there too, staying nearby.
The head demon who had spoken, stood in the middle of it all still cackling. I sent a stream of fire at him but he deflected it with his hand, catching nearby trees on fire. A brief pang hit me in the middle of the chest as they were engulfed in flames. I sent a stream of water from the lake, but the damage was done.
>
Anger flared in me, I pushed out with my energy and managed to knock him back several feet. His cackling stopped and he narrowed his eyes at me. “You will pay for that Princess.”
He sent his own blast in my direction, which despite the shield sent me flying backwards and right into Rex. He caught me before I could fall and I watched as before my eyes he swelled to almost twice his size and sent a shield around himself, throwing me off to the side.
“Rex, no!” All of the demons suddenly turned and ran at him. He dropped his shield before they reached him and jumped to the other side of them. The demons crashed into each other with shrieks.
With that slight distraction we attacked with all we had. Fire was the key to destroying them, so as the wolves and others disabled them with teeth and swords, I blasted them with fire, sending them into the sky where they exploded in a rain of ash.
The last one was finally fluttering down around us in a slurry of ash when I heard Kyra’s scream. She had just been near me, hadn’t she?
I turned and teleported to grab her hand just before it was ripped from my grasp, cackling echoing in my ears.
I landed hard on my knees, unsure if the screams I was hearing were my own or Jadan’s who had just came to an abrupt stop behind me. The loss ripped through me. This was all my fault, I should have just gone with him.
“You’re hurt.” Rex knelt to the side of me. When had he gotten there? He took my hands and examined them. They must have been cut by the gravel, blood covered them.
He pulled me to stand and I turned and looked at the surroundings. They… we had wiped out a large patch of forest near the lake, leaving burnt ground and smoldering trees. Ash was still fluttering down from the sky.
“My dream…” I turned to Rex, my eyes wide. I ran towards the tree line and began to search. Maybe I was crazy, but why else would I be having a déjà vu moment.
