by L J Andrews
“Take me up,” I shouted against the blast of wind from his wings.
Thane burst through the sky, and I carefully positioned myself along the edge of his shoulder. He blew a puff of steam as he saw me inching closer to the edge, as though he didn’t agree with what I was about to do.
“Trust me,” I snarled. Thane shook his massive head, but took me higher. With a deep breath and when I was positioned just so, I leapt from Thane’s back. The warrior rained fire along smaller lindworms at my sides and took to fighting them with his claws and teeth.
I fell, the cold air bringing tears to my eyes, but with a calming breath I embraced the familiar energy pulsing from the invisible prison. Holding my blades out from my chest, I aimed for the enormous lindworm hovering over the shimmering space in the sky. With a booming cry toward the clouds, the lindworm writhed when my blades sunk deep into its back. I’d struck from behind—but then again, rule four of the wyvern warriors was to throw out the rules when it came to the lindworms. The beast flung its body, desperate to shake me off, but I only dug the swords in deeper until the dragon began falling from flight.
Thane dove toward me as I leapt from the dead lindworm’s back. There was something palpable over the open space. I couldn’t see it, but I knew it was there. As I fell, I dug my swords along the physical edge of the shimmering solid enchantment. Glaring light blinded me for a moment as the edge of my blade dug through the folds of power that hid the cage from our sights. The ground was fast approaching, and the energy erupting from my swords was burning my hands. I thudded along Thane’s back a few yards from the ground. Gasping along his scales, I tried to get the air back in my lungs. Thane landed and I rolled off his back, the scorch from cutting through the prison still tingling along my forearms.
The battle quieted.
Something pounded in the distance again. The shimmering mirrors in the empty space blinded everyone. There was a shift in power—an added energy that connected to a deeper part of my body. Thane stomped next to me, his wings spread wide as he waited. The lindworms’ fear was palpable. Then it happened.
The ground rolled, violent enough I lost my balance. The blast was as if someone with years of pent anger finally had the chance to release their angst, and energy tore through the center of the earth. I imagined that was exactly what had happened. The meadow split with an angry gash in the soil. Elemental warriors and lindworms alike rushed to the safety of solid ground. In a flash of white power, the empty space along the meadow burst in blinding rays of light, and the blast sent half the field sprawling as they tumbled forward. I was on my hands and knees and Thane’s face was turned away, but slowly we both glanced toward the blast site.
Smoke, fire, and falling bits of earth surrounded the approaching ghostly figures. Slowly, through the wreckage, I caught sight of people. Shadowed at first, but then they became clearer. Hundreds of people, but at the head, I saw her.
My heart fell to the pit of my stomach when she scanned the meadow with a fury I couldn’t match flashing in her golden eyes. I knew who she was the second her presence entered the meadow, and the burn behind my eyes proved the fury of emotion cascading over my heart. Gaia was free.
She was young in the face. Her auburn hair was long and hung over her shoulders. She was dressed in rich black, and it only made her mage armor stand out more in gilded green hues. Her arms were bare, but they were coated in jade markings that trailed along her neck then curled around her temples and jaw in delicate strokes. There was nothing delicate about the way she glared at the lindworms. The battle roared to life once more when Gaia raised her hands over her head. Thane bellowed along with the warriors and lunged toward fleeing lindworms.
I felt a shift in power as Gaia seemed to drag all the energy of the battle toward the army of mages bracing behind her. Gaia opened her palms to the sky, and with brilliant crashes of power, a wave of deadly energy struck at every lindworm near her broken cage. I swallowed hard watching the carnage. With a simple touch of Gaia’s energy burst, the lindworms’ skin seemed to melt off their bones, leaving steaming, haggard corpses on the grass.
The mages at her back rushed around her and chased after the dark mages left to fight. I felt every ounce of their fury. I hadn’t even lifted my blades, I just watched. Gaia lowered to her haunches and touched the earth. The deafening sound of splitting rock echoed through the meadow, and a blast of molten rock shot up from the crevice. Nearby lindworms and dozens of dark mages cried in agony when the hellish liquid devoured their bodies.
“Dude,” a breathy voice was at my side. Mitch had a gash along his cheek, but his eyes were wide in awe. “Is that your mom?”
I didn’t look at Mitch, I just watched as Gaia pulled a blade from a fallen dark mage and smirked at one of the last remaining lindworms daring to approach. I nodded slowly, the same disbelief in my voice. “I think so.”
Mitch scoffed, his white smile shining through the blood and grime on his face. “She’s hardcore.”
Gaia sliced through the lindworm easily, and with a furious cry, she stabbed the sword deep into the ground as I’d done. The blast was enormous. Mitch ducked, but I accepted every speck of energy she pounded across the field.
It was over. Gaia’s last attack sliced through the meaty flesh of the remaining lindworms, and the final, traitorous dark mages fell.
I released a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding and took in the meadow. The earth was shattered, ravaged between all the mages fighting. Behind Gaia I saw an entire civilization. Huts now littered the meadow as the mage prison took shape entirely. Dust settled, and I looked around for my friends. Mitch was still at my side. Athika was propping up a wounded mage. Raffi made his way across the field when he caught my eye.
Thane was behind me, but I didn’t see until he shifted. His chest was bare now. He was even stronger than I imagined, and I saw for the first time how long the scar was. The wound was angry and seemed as though whoever caused it had wanted to dig out his heart. There was something else about Thane I hadn’t noticed before. My pulse pounded loudly in my ears as my lungs stopped working. Along his forearms were two golden markings with a subtle green tint. The marks reminded me of Jade’s seal, written in the mage language and covering the entire space from his wrist to his elbow.
My jaw dropped, and I tried to meet his eye, but Thane was looking across the meadow. I followed his gaze. Through the smoke and debris, she was there. Gaia was locked on Thane with the same intensity.
“Thane…what…what are those?” I muttered, feeling Raffi shift forms on my opposite side now.
Thane dropped his eyes from Gaia and followed my gaze to his arms. He stepped next to me, one hand cupped around my head so his fierce eyes could meet mine. “They are mage seals,” he said, his voice hoarse with emotion. “One for my mate, and one for my son.”
He released me and tore across the meadow. I was breathless, his words bouncing in my head.
“What did he mean by that,” Raffi snarled. “Teagan, what did he mean?”
I didn’t speak. Shock is a funny thing—I couldn’t move, but I also took in everything around me as though nothing was wrong. Thane rushed toward Gaia. The instant he reached her, she flung her arms around his neck, and he in turn held her against his chest. Thane lifted her feet from the ground and buried his face in her neck. Gaia’s energy filled my body, and I clutched my chest feeling her relief, her pain, her love—for Thane.
Raffi’s mouth widened as we all watched Thane brush Gaia’s hair from her face, then crush his lips against hers. They held one another as though death and blood weren’t strewn at their feet.
“Hey Teagan,” Mitch whispered again. “I think…I think Thane’s your dad.”
“Yeah,” I replied without blinking, my voice a breathy whisper. “Yeah, I think so.”
Raffi’s eyes darted constantly between me, then to Thane, then back to me. I swallowed my tongue when Thane pulled away from Gaia and glanced at me. I wasn’t sure when Mitch,
Raffi, and I started drifting toward them, but I heard Gaia whisper as she brushed her hand over Thane’s cheek. “I knew you’d find me. I heard you shout my name, and I knew you had come,” she said without looking anywhere but at him.
Thane kissed her quickly before gently tugging on her hand, and together they stalked toward us.
I wanted to run—I wasn’t sure if I was ready for this moment, but my feet were frozen in place. Thane held tight to Gaia’s hand when they came closer. “He’s here, Gaia,” I heard Thane say.
I met his eye. Thane was nervous, maybe even more than me, but he smiled, urging Gaia in front of him. Mitch and Raffi backed away when I turned my attention to Gaia’s eyes. Their color was like honey, but they were glistening with tears. Slowly, she reached out a hand—it seemed to take forever until her warm palm touched the side of my face.
Instantly, I was enrobed in familiar, loving energy. I lowered my gaze, feeling tears bleed from my eyes. I didn’t want to break down in front of the warriors.
“Teagan,” Gaia whispered, her voice breaking when she stepped closer to me. I was taller than Gaia, but not by much. She clasped my other cheek and drew my face toward hers. I blinked and felt a few hot tears drop on my skin. Gaia returned my emotion with a watery smile. “You’re alive,” she breathed. “I never lost hope, but…” she shook her head and looked to Thane for a fleeting moment before returning her focus to me. “I missed you, son. I love you so much.”
I wrapped my arms around her waist—I guess, in this moment, I didn’t care who saw. Gaia clutched my shoulders and held me against her slender body. I heard her gasp and felt her own tears fall to my cheeks. When I pulled back, she brushed her hand over my face and turned toward Thane.
I dared meet his eye, feeling a rush of affection toward the warrior who had already found a place in my heart. “You’re…you’re my…”
Thane nodded and glanced to the ground before his strong arm crooked around my neck and he pressed me against his chest. I clung to him—as though I was a small boy again—I hugged Thane and reveled in the empty hole in my heart that slowly filled the longer we embraced.
“Why didn’t you say anything?” I asked, wiping at my eyes when I pulled back.
Thane’s jaw tensed, and now he glanced at Gaia as though she could instruct him on what to say. “I couldn’t believe it at first. For years I thought you were dead—truly. Our enemies created a way to completely wipe your energy from us after Gaia was trapped. Then I…when you came to the warriors, I didn’t know how to explain it without your mother. I didn’t want to overwhelm you…I hope you’ll forgive me. I want you to know there hasn’t been a day that has passed that you haven’t been in my thoughts.”
I bit the inside of my cheek, trying to keep my emotions in check. Gaia wrapped her arms around my neck once more, and this time Thane joined her. I clung to them. I had endless questions, but for now it could wait. I had found them, the parents I’d always missed. They were here—a powerful mage and a warrior dragon.
The entire army of mages and wyverns sat huddled around several fires—most staying near Thane and Gaia. Athika was silent on one side of Mitch. When she’d learned the truth of her High Priestess and Thane—well, I had a feeling any doubt she had about my love for Jade was gone. Raffi found a spot next to me. He cleared his throat and handed me Thane’s sword.
“Son of Thane,” he began formally. “This belongs to you.”
I couldn’t help but laugh through my nose. Quickly, I shoved the blade back toward Raffi. “Son of Thane?” I shook my head and glanced to where Thane was whispering something in Gaia’s ear. “Raffi, my name is Teagan. We’ve met many times. Don’t start getting weird on me.”
Raffi cleared his throat and sheathed the sword again. “I don’t know how to act now. You’re Thane’s son!”
“Act normal,” I whispered with a smirk. “But you should do everything I say, and maybe I’ll put in a good word with my dad.” The word sort of slipped awkwardly off my tongue. It was a word I wasn’t used to using.
Raffi glared at me and shoved my shoulder. “You’re an idiot.”
“There he is,” I teased. “That’s the Raffi that needs to stick around.”
There was silence that enveloped us. I wanted to bury Thane and Gaia in questions, but my voice seemed lost. That’s where Mitch became a good guy to have around.
“So,” Mitch chirped. “You’re Teagan’s mom and dad. Can he, like, change into some sort of magic dragon?”
Thane chuckled and shook his head. “I’ve never seen him shift,” he said, looking to me. “But when you were young you had wyvern abilities. With enough focus, I imagine you could communicate with me in wyvern form. There were times we came close.”
I nodded, swallowing the rush of emotion that this was really happening. I was talking to my father, who was holding hands with my mother. “I’ve felt that way sometimes even now.”
“Look out, Raffi,” Mitch chuckled. “Soon, Teagan will be able to hear your mind-talk.” Raffi only rolled his eyes.
“You’re the only dragon mage we know of, so we learn what you’re capable of almost at the same pace you do,” Gaia whispered. “You can’t remember, but from what we saw when you were young, you have incredible elemental power. Not only manipulating the elements like a mage, but like the wyvern race, you rule over them.”
“You did drain a river once,” Raffi offered.
I stared at Thane and Gaia. There would be time to learn about my power. I had a few pressing questions first. “So, when you said I lost my father when she was locked away…”
Thane cleared his throat. “The father who raised you,” he said. “You did, in a way. I was lost and desperate. I knew I couldn’t find Gaia on my own, and when I thought you were dead, I started to believe it wouldn’t ever be possible to reunite. I was never the same.”
I nodded, breathing deeply through the emotion crushing my airway again. “The connection I felt today,” I offered. “You told me families have a power.”
Thane smiled. “Yes, I knew if we found the prison, the connection between us might be strong enough to break it down. There was a reason your energy was concealed from us by our enemies. I knew Gaia wouldn’t be just sitting in there, either,” Thane chuckled, beaming at her. “I called to her, so her energy would find us. That was my hope, at least.”
“It seemed to work,” Leoch chuckled.
I rubbed the bridge of my nose and closed my eyes. “So, Bron—he knew I wasn’t his son—he was just messing with me?”
“Bron?” Gaia hissed. “You’ve met Bron?”
Thane placed a reassuring hand on her knee when I nodded. “We’ve met twice. Both times, I’d rather he would have died. He told me I was his son and tried to get me to join with him.”
Gaia burst to her feet, pacing angrily. I felt every bitter swell she was feeling in my own heart. “I’m going to destroy him,” she muttered. “He wanted to take you from me—it would have been worse if he manipulated our son rather than killing you, in his mind. That way he could always hold you over our heads. He’ll do anything to break me.”
“Well, Teagan defeated him,” Raffi said easily. “The dark High Priest is nothing but a coward.”
Gaia nodded and returned to her place next to Thane. I swallowed before continuing. “You say you raised me,” I began. “For how long?”
Thane looked up to the sky as though counting in his mind. “We were together only as allies for twenty-five years after the divide before our seals came and we joined as mates,” he said, glancing at Gaia, who nodded. “Then you were born about fifteen years after our union. We lived with you in peace for at least twenty years. Of course, the way mage and wyvern age, you were still a boy.”
“Twenty years!” I gasped, running a hand through my hair. “How old am I really?”
Gaia smiled. “We’ve been parted for seventeen years, but if you take your age by human years then you are nearing thirty-eight. Still a young man in our
eyes. Very young,” she said lightly.
My eyes were wide, and I simply stared at the flames. It seemed so impossible. “So, then what broke us apart?”
Thane cleared his throat and spoke low. “Teagan, you remember what I told you before, the wyvern elders discovered you existed?”
Gaia hung her head but spoke strongly. “They were afraid of you. Stubborn ancient minds, unwilling to accept there was nothing dangerous about you.”
I shook my head, trying to wrap my mind around everything. “Aldwin came and acted like he had no idea who I was.”
“He lied,” Thane grumbled. “Raffi told me he was with the queen when she was taken, so he is obviously a traitor. The entire council knew you existed. As I told you, we planned to hide from them—they are ancient and wouldn’t venture out of their cave too far.”
“We all vowed to protect you,” Leoch chimed in from behind Thane.
Thane grinned at his warrior before looking back to me. “But we didn’t anticipate Bron. Now, after learning of Aldwin’s betrayal, I assume the elder was the one who told Bron that Gaia had a son.”
“Bron was coming. I knew it deeper than anything I’d ever felt before,” Gaia began slowly. “Out of anyone, he could’ve defeated me—he could’ve killed you.”
“He nearly killed Thane,” Leoch added.
Thane glanced at his scar and found my curious gaze. “Bron had trapped Gaia and came against me. He tried to take my heart—in his twisted mind, he was going to bring it to Gaia so she might always have it.”
Gaia shuddered and tightened her hold on Thane’s hand. “But he wasn’t strong enough to defeat you.” She kissed his cheek before turning to me again. “Since you were so young when the rumors that Bron might come reached us, your powers hadn’t matured. We decided we would hide you, conceal your memories so your energy would dull, and pray you would be returned to us. I watched the woman for weeks before deciding she would be the one. She was close to the willow I’d left for the royals—I hoped eventually we would return together to free them and stand against the lindworms. But, fate is cruel at times. She never returned you, did she?” I shook my head. Gaia sighed, but I sensed she was relieved, not angry. “I’m actually grateful she didn’t. I didn’t fathom I would be forced behind Bron’s prison. You would have been lost to the world, and I’m certain Bron would have found you without me or Thane knowing you were out there.”
