by SJ West
His shoulders relaxed with my assurance.
My eyes were once again drawn to the students sitting at the table still huddled together discussing something quietly amongst themselves.
“I think it's time we took inventory of our assets,” I said, my gaze returning to Gabriel. “Magic could be one of our greatest advantage in this war. Maybe we should see what exactly the students here can do to help us win it.”
“Don’t forget me,” Dracen said, as if I might consider his help as just an afterthought. “I may be old, but I still have a few tricks up my sleeve Nuala might not be aware of.”
I smiled at Dracen. “You are one of our greatest assets. This is as much your war as ours.”
“One I do not relish fighting in.”
“None of us do,” I sighed. “But Nuala must not be allowed to win. There’s no telling what she might do if she controls all of Vankara. A woman like her won’t be satisfied with just one island.”
“You think she’s that ambitious, enough to attempt to take over the world?” Gabriel asked.
“I think she feels as though her people have been persecuted for the last five hundred years. None of the other nations came to the aid of the Fae in the first war. She most likely feels justified in claiming restitution from them.”
“I wouldn’t put anything past her,” Dracen agrees. “She is capable of far more than I ever thought to give her credit for. She’s been planning this war for a very long time. And since she did not restrict the spell to be cast only on Vankara, I would have to agree with the queen in saying she has her sights set further than our shores.”
“If we can convince Aleksander of Nuala’s intentions, perhaps he will forgo the price he has set for his country’s help,” I said. “I’m sure he would rather stop the fight here than contend with it on his own lands.”
“Perhaps,” Gabriel said with great hesitation. “But he has pined for you since before your marriage to his brother. If King Leopold had not died of the plague while you were so young, Aleksander would have been the one you married. Nevertheless, Fredrick was still in power at the time, and you needed the added weight of the Chromis Empire behind you to solidify your position with parliament. Otherwise, they would have found a way to make you a monarch in name only.”
“I was originally betrothed to Aleksander?”
“Yes, since you were born. Fredrick was twenty-years-older than you. A marriage to him seemed unlikely until your father passed away.”
Gabriel’s words brought light to Aleksander’s possessive behavior. Now I better understood his motivations even though there was no longer any reason for us to be married.
“Even so,” I said, “I don’t like the idea of being blackmailed into marrying someone. Until Fallon comes back and we know the full extent of this invastion, agreeing to marry the King of Chromis should be our last resort.”
“Agreed,” Gabriel and Dracen said adamantly in unison.
We sat quietly together, each lost in our own thoughts.
I never would have admitted it to anyone but the idea of marrying Aleksander wasn’t entirely unpleasant to my mind. Physically, he was the perfect male form, and in his way, I knew he loved the queen. His desperation to have me by any means necessary was the only truly unattractive quality he possessed.
“Queen Emma!”
The same little girl who had welcomed us in the courtyard when the airship first arrived at the college came barreling though the entrance of the great room.
“The Royal Sage needs you to come to the gates right now!” She said with her last remaining breath from her run.
All three of us stood to our feet.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“No time to explain,” the girl said with a shake of her head already turning to head back out the great room expecting us to follow.
It took us a good five minutes to weave our way through the numerous corridors of the college to reach the outer gates. Isabelle stood with the gates wide open in front of her peering out at something beyond the protection of her shield. When we reached her, I looked to see what was amiss and gasped.
Standing on the other side of the shield was the same automaton and iron horse and carriage that took me to Adam Bellas’ alternate reality. A dark blue dragon sat perched on top of the iron globe hissing in our direction, taunting us to come closer so it could bite our heads off.
“Queen Emma,” the male automaton said to me from his seat, “my master sends his regards and hopes you are in good health. I have a gift for you inside the carriage from him.”
“What sort of gift?” I asked, greatly suspicious of anything from Adam Bellas.
“Your daughter.”
“It’s a trick,” Isabelle said with certainty. “Bellas is the one who conspired with the Fae to put the blame of the plagues on this college in the first place. We have no way of knowing whether he’s still in league with them, your majesty. They might have troops hiding inside that carriage for all we know.”
“Unfortunately, she’s right,” Gabriel said. “This might be a ploy to gain a foothold inside here.”
“But Dena might be in there,” I said in hopeful desperation.
“I will not allow it past my shield,” Isabelle said, her chin raised in defiance.
“You will if your queen demands it,” I countered with equal stubbornness.
Isabelle looked over at me. “I am sorry my Queen but not even then. I cannot put the lives of those placed in my safe care at risk.”
“You would defy a direct order from me?”
“Only if you give me no choice.”
Before I could make another remark that might have escalated the moment to a degree that destroyed my relationship with the Royal Sage, Dracen walked through the shield towards the carriage. We all stood in stunned silence waiting breathlessly to see what happened next.
Dracen walked straight up to the carriage and threw the iron bar on the side over to open the door.
My heart was beating so rapidly inside my chest I thought I might pass out from the flow of blood to my head. Before I knew it, Dracen was lowering Dena to the ground and instructing her to run through the shield. Dena hesitated for only a moment until she saw me. With wide eyes and a scream of “Mummy” Dena ran straight through the shield and into my arms.
Warm tears of happiness and relief coursed down my cheeks as I held my daughter in the safety of my embrace.
CHAPTER SIX
I held Dena tightly to me, trying to prove to myself that she wasn’t a hallucination. I felt sure if I let her go she would be lost to me forever.
“The child is real, Sarah,” the dragonling said to me in way of comfort. “Have no fear.”
Feeling somewhat reassured, I slowly loosened my hold and pulled back slightly to look at my daughter’s sweet, angelic face. I took precious seconds to sweep my gaze up and down her form, seeing no outward signs of physical harm.
“Are you all right?” I asked her. “Did anyone hurt you?”
Dena shook her head, causing her blonde ringlets to bounce around her shoulders.
“What the hell does he think he’s doing?” Gabriel asked sharply.
I followed Gabriel’s gaze and watched as Dracen simply stood in front of the open door of the carriage and stared at something inside, paying no heed to the dragon still perched on top of it growling at him. I saw Dracen glance in my direction with a worried frown marring his features just before he stepped one foot inside the iron conveyance.
“Go through the shield,” Dracen instructed the automaton driver just before he went completely into the carriage and shut the door behind him.
The automaton did as ordered, urging the pair of iron horses through the Royal Sage's shield. Apparently, Dracen did something to the shield because the carriage was allowed to pass straight into the school’s courtyard unhindered. The blue dragon was perched on top of it, but was not allowed inside. It screamed in agony as its body was unceremoniously slammed
against the shield and not allowed to breach the safety of the barrier.
The driver brought the carriage to a stop in front of us. A few minutes passed before Dracen finally swung open the door and stepped out.
But, he wasn’t alone…
Adam Bellas emerged out of the depths of the carriage directly behind Dracen.
I heard Gabriel’s sharp intake of breath. He seemed startled by Bellas’ unexpected presence, but it seemed to be for a reason beyond just the other man’s sudden appearance. Bellas exited the carriage and immediately fell to his knees in front of me.
“My queen,” Bellas said, his head bowed in complete contrition, “please forgive me. Nuala led me to believe the Royal Sage and her students were the cause of the plagues. I never dreamt it was actually her who orchestrated such a travesty.”
“And yet you had no compunction about believing I could?” Isabelle huffed, filled with righteous indignation.
“I humbly apologize to both of you,” Bellas said, keeping his head bowed and eyes fixed on the gravel at my feet. “I have known Nuala for a very long time and had no reason to doubt her word.”
“How is it that Dena has been in your care all this time?” I asked him.
Bellas finally raised his gaze to meet mine.
“When Nuala brought her troops over the Iron Wall, I fully realized what her true intentions were. I went to the palace to do what I could to help. I was able to make it look like Dena simply disappeared into thin air, and I took her to the alternate reality to keep her safe until you returned from Ledmarrow.”
“The same reality I visited when you kidnapped her?”
“Yes, your majesty. She has been there since the start of the invasion. I hired a nanny,” the corners of Bellas’ mouth lifted into a half smile, “by the name of April Pew. She lives only a few houses down from me there.”
The way Bellas looked at me was the same way he looked when I first saw my doppelganger in the other reality. For reasons I could not fathom, he knew who I truly was, what I was. But how did he know I was a shifter, and why did he care that I had at one time been April Pew? It was almost as if he sought out the other April Pew purposely. But, why?
“I’m sure she took very good care of Dena then,” I replied.
Bellas nodded. “Yes, your majesty, she did.”
Without warning, Gabriel grabbed Bellas by the collar of his coat practically dragging the other man to his feet in one swift move, displaying a strength I didn't realize he had.
“Who the hell are you?” Gabriel demanded of Bellas, shaking the other man where he stood.
“Gabriel,” Dracen said, placing a gentle hand on my friend’s shoulder, “please, let him go.”
Gabriel didn’t relent. He pushed Bellas up against the side of the carriage roughly, practically crushing Bellas’ throat as he held him in place with his forearm.
“Not until he tells me who he really is,” Gabriel said angrily, an emotion I had rarely seen Gabriel display.
“Don’t you recognize me?” Bellas choked out, not attempting in any way to make Gabriel back off. He seemed desperate not to escalate matters further. He simply wanted Gabriel to see him for who he truly was.
Gabriel looked confused as he stared into Bellas’ beseeching blue eyes. Then, as quickly as he attacked the other man, Gabriel let him go and whirled around to face Dracen.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Gabriel demanded of the sorcerer.
“I didn’t know myself until just now,” Dracen replied with a shrug of his shoulders. “I had no idea he was even here. I was just about to ask you why you didn’t inform me my son was masquerading around as this Adam Bellas.”
“Your son?” I asked, feeling sure I misheard Dracen.
“And what do you mean by masquerading?” Isabelle asked, though I feared I already knew the answer to her question.
“My son is something called a shifter,” Dracen told Isabelle.
“And what exactly is a shifter?” She asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
“Someone who can take the form of someone else if they are touching that person at the time of their death,” Dracen explained.
“Such things exist?” Isabelle asked, her arms dropping back to her sides. “I thought they were just legend.”
I faintly wondered what Isabelle would think if she knew three shifters surrounded her at that moment. I decided not to find out.
“We are not things,” Bellas said to the Royal Sage as he straightened out his black topcoat and repositioned his royal blue cravat.
“But how is it possible?” Isabelle asked. “Are shifters made by a special type of magic?”
Dracen cleared his throat as if he were uncomfortable with the question.
“In a way, I suppose,” he finally said. “When two people with very strong magical abilities come together and have children, their union can produce children who are shifters. However, I have only known it to happen when the bloodlines of the Fae and another race are mixed.”
“Is that why you trusted Nuala?” I asked Bellas directly. “Is she a relative of yours?”
“She is my aunt,” Bellas said. “I have known her for many years, and this is the first time she has ever purposely lied to me, that I know of.”
“And where is your mother?”
“Dead,” Dracen answered. “She died a long time ago.”
“Please, accept my condolences,” I said. “And excuse me for prying. I had no idea.”
Dracen shrugged. “Death is a part of life. You can’t have one without the other.”
I looked at Gabriel. “How is it that you didn't know Adam Bellas was Dracen’s son?”
“I never actually met Bellas in person,” Gabriel explained. “He was a radical element, and I saw no reason to have any personal dealings with him.”
“If you had taken at least one of my meetings,” Bellas said with controlled anger, “then maybe we wouldn’t be in this situation.”
“So you’re going to try and lay the blame for this war on my shoulders?” Gabriel asked heatedly. “I guess I shouldn’t expect more than that from you.”
Bellas shook his head at Gabriel. “You don’t deserve the second chance you’ve been given.”
Gabriel looked confused by Bellas’ statement.
“Second chance at what exactly?” Gabriel asked.
Bellas looked away as if he knew he had said too much.
“Nothing,” Bellas replied in almost a whisper, “forget I said anything.”
“Perhaps we shouldn’t waste time on petty squabbles,” Dracen suggested. “We have a war to fight and a city to retake. I think it’s best if we concentrate our efforts on that right now and not try to lay blame at one another’s feet.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” a new voice to our party, said a short distance behind me.
We all turned to see Fallon walking up to us. I saw him smile when his gaze drifted down from me to Dena who was still standing by my side, holding on tightly to my hand.
“Were you able to meet with the other commanders?” I asked.
Fallon nodded.
“Nuala was able to take out half of our troops in Iron City with her surprise attack,” Fallon informed us.
My heart sank.
“The majority of our armada was able to set sail, but over a quarter of the ships were destroyed right off our shores. The Fae used their dragon corp to take out as many of them as possible before they were able to sail out of their reach.”
“And where exactly has the armada gone?” Isabelle asked.
“In case of an invasion, the plan of action is to fight off any hostiles. However, since they were going up against a legion of dragons, some of them fire breathers from what I was told, the captains did their best to sail their ships to safety and save the lives of their crew. The default plan is to sail to Kamora, the queen’s grandfather’s nation.”
“So what is the plan to retake the city?” I asked.
Fallon turned to
Isabelle. “Do you have a map?”
“I may have something that will do,” she said. “Shall we take this conversation to my study?”
I picked Dena up, and we all followed the Royal Sage to her study.
Once there, Isabelle picked up a blue and green globe from her desk, a miniature replica of our world.
Isabelle threw the ball into the air and quickly said, “Dilato.”
The ball grew to a thousand times its size and floated in the air, slowly spinning on an imaginary axis.
Fallon stopped the globe from spinning and found Iron City on the textured map of Vankara in front of us.
“Nuala has her troops stationed at each major compass point around the city. The perimeter is guarded by her dragon corp. If we can retrieve the troops that made it safely to Kamora and gather what soldiers we can from the outlying stations, we should be able to retake the city in a ground assault. Our problem will be from the air. One fire-breathing dragon could take out a whole battalion of men in a blink of an eye. We need to devise a strategy on how to take the dragons out first, or we will be leading our men to their own deaths.”
“I have an idea…”
I looked to the dragonling on my shoulder.
“What do you suggest?” I asked her, hoping she could read my mind well enough now to hear my non-verbally question to her.
“We must go to my home…”
“In Fae territory?”
“No, my real home. The place where dragons come from…”
“Do you know where it is?”
“No, but I am fairly certain Dracen does…”
I looked at Dracen. He was ancient. If dragons had a home, he would be the one person in the world to know where it was located.
“Dracen, did dragons originate here on this island or somewhere else?”
“Dragons are not indigenous to Vankara,” Dracen said. “Their home is located above the Great Sea.”
“Above?” I asked, slightly confused.
“Their islands float in the sky,” Dracen said. “They are flying creatures after all. What better way to keep to themselves?”
“If we go there and tell them what has happened,” the dragonling said to me, “they might help us…”
