Forgotten Kingdom (The Winter Court Chronicles Book 1)
Page 17
I followed.
*
“Why do you choose to live among such devastation?” I asked, the moment we stepped into the cavernous place.
The witch whirled around, blocking my path. The crystal of her scepter stood a few inches from her face, illuminating her eyes. “Because I never want to forget!” Her answer had been almost a sneer, yet each word was laced with pain.
She moved away, and I walked further in. The structure was unlike anything I had ever seen. My eyes roamed its every inch as the magical crystals on the walls ignited, fully revealing the place. A gasp left me as I realized we stood inside the partial skeleton of a dragon. Its ribcage formed a roof over us.
“What’s the matter?” She asked, amused. “The mighty Prince of the Winter Court, is afraid of a dead dragon?”
The blood boiled in my veins. “How dare you show such disrespect!” I roared, placing myself in her face. I loomed over her.
The smile left her lips. “On the contrary, young prince. I turned death into life.” She walked away from me, unfazed by my outburst and removed the cloak from her back. Turning to face me one more time, she sat in her chair. It was remarkably similar to a throne. Her eyes slowly traveled over me, as I too removed my cloak and sat down before her.
“So tell me, young prince. Is it Kyr, the mighty Commander of the Dark Army who sits in front of me today, or the pathetic shadow of the Dark King?”
I remained silent as our gazes locked. A month ago anyone who had dared make such a comment would have lost their head in my hands. Nevertheless, there was a different kind of storm raging inside me at the moment. I didn’t answer.
“Ah, yes.” She nodded as though understanding my silence. “The moment has finally come for the prince to realize his true self. When you last came here, you were not ready to discover everything that you must. It is why you vowed to make the journey once again, and why I removed your memories before I sent you back.”
“Did I ask you to remove them?” I asked, not sure I wanted to hear the answer.
She smiled as though mocking me and stood, walking towards the wall. I couldn’t help but let my eyes wander. An assortment of bows, arrows, swords, knives, maces and every weapon imaginable hung from every inch of this place. “Does this answer your question?”
When my attention returned to her, a heavy sigh left me, and I stood. My feet stopped before her while a sincere smile curved her crimson stained lips, her hands held my Dilrunarta Galothnae Kuru—Dragon Wings’ Cloak. My fingers reached for it, and the blue light ignited at my touch. I missed it as though it were a limb ripped from me. I stood straight as she moved behind me, and placed it on my shoulders once again. The second it connected with my body, it became alive. I could feel it humming through me.
The witch returned to the front and stared at me, the look in her eyes disconcerted me. There was something dangerously close to pride in them.
“There are two versions of you inside of you, Kyr. The one who set out on this journey at the Dragon Lord’s request, choosing to do what is right even if it costs him what he values the most. His brothers. And, the one who has followed and desired nothing more than to become the vivid image of the Dark King of the Winter Court. An exemplary son, who would do anything to please his king. When you left this place, you weren’t quite sure which of you held power inside you, and so you decided to make the voyage again, and let your actions decide.”
She walked towards a small opening between the bones that resembled a window and looked outside at the ashes that surrounded us.
“A man is shaped by the decisions along his path. Would you make the same choices a second time around? Would you honor Avra or your king?” She looked at me and straightened. “Take a walk with me.”
I moved before I realized what I was doing, and we stepped out into the graveyard once more. My eyes widened as the image changed in front of me. The grey, black and white land was gone, and the Dragon Cataclysm raged in front of us. Red, gold, bronze, green and blue dragons fought on the ground, incinerating, freezing, electrocuting and even ripping chunks out of each other. I recognized the blue dragons instantly. They were the Dragons of the Holy Temple.
“Their Majesties, Zulzrass, Xionix, and Undry,” The witch said, identifying the brothers of the temple. Some of the dragons spewed fire from their mouths, others what seemed like golden lightning, some sprayed acid while the temple brothers shot subzero air and ice.
My eyes lifted to the sky as roars reverberated from above us. Avra flew in all his white magnificence straight towards an onyx dragon that challenged him.
“Fool… that is Revyr, otherwise known as Soulless Black.” The Bloodcroix Witch said, half amused and half enraged, but my gaze remained on Avra.
His wings closed around his massive body, and he twirled in the sky, gaining speed. Before Revyr could move out of the way, Avra collided with him. His jaws opened, and he bit into the black dragon’s wing ripping a chunk of it away. The yelp of agony mixed with a roar, and resounded through the air as Revyr plummeted to the ground. The earth shook as he crashed on the ground and Avra landed next to him. He roared, and a stream of pure subzero frost shot from his mouth, freezing the black dragon’s legs on contact.
“You should have never defied me, Soulless Black!” The Dragon Lord bellowed, and all other dragons turned to see him in the middle of the battle. Many of the ones I had initially seen fighting, were now dead on the red-stained grass, including two of the temple dragons. The ones the witch had identified as Xionix and Undry.
“You were a fool to break your vows and lead your brothers to their deaths.” Avra sneered.
Soulless Black looked all around him as more of his followers died. He panted, with a desperate look in his eyes. It soon turned into rage as they once again focused on the Dragon Lord. “Look at what you are doing?! You are destroying your own kind, and for what? For those insignificant worms! You are the fool if you believe they honor us and respect us. We are nothing but monsters to them. They fear us, as they should. We are the superior race, Avra. You know as well as I do that this realm belongs to us, and they are nothing but our slaves!”
His words mixed with a deafening sound of agony as Avra gripped the frozen leg and ripped it from the black dragon. The ice exploded into pieces under his bite, flying everywhere. My heart slammed against my chest as the few dragons left died around us at Zulzrass hand. My eyes frantically roamed the field and I noticed only three more remained. Two red and the blue temple brother were engaged in battle.
Zulzrass spewed a wild stream of ice, freezing one of the dragons before it could react and turned swiftly, knocking him with his tail. The dragon exploded into a million shards of ice crystals, flying everywhere. The temple dragon was considerately more prominent than the red ones, yet the other one took advantage of Zulzrass’ attack on his red brother and jumped on him. His teeth sank into the blue dragon’s neck, and a shot of fire erupted from its mouth. Zulzrass’ claws dug into the lower body of his assailant, causing him to lose the hold on his neck. The second he was free, he bit into the shoulder of the red dragon and pulled, ripping him in two.
He had killed the two fire dragons, but the damage was done. His body was burning from the inside out as the fire traveled through him. He collapsed on the grass, the light disappearing from his eyes.
My gaze flew to Avra, as his voice reached us. He had torn all four limbs from Revyr. “You were blinded by ambition, brother. You disgraced the very meaning behind your life, and now you shall die for it!” He roared, filled with pain. Although he wasn’t physically hurt, this war was killing Avra too.
Soulless Black threw his head back, bellowing in pain, and pure fire shot from his mouth, the stream reached the trees behind them and it began to spread, incinerating everything in its path. Soon, the Dragon Lord and Revyr were surrounded by a fire, which consumed not only their home, but also their once called dragon family.
Avra’s agony filled eyes followed the wildfire
to his fallen temple brothers, and I could almost feel his pain. Revyr took advantage. His wing swung towards Dragon Lord, and the claw at its end ripped through his face, barely missing Avra’s eye. He staggered backwards bellowing, while Soulless Black prepared to shoot once again, but before the fire could blast out, Avra’s ice breath fired directly into Revyr’s throat. When their annihilation breaths collided, a small explosion occurred, and a glint of light caught my eyes as the Dragon Breath crystal fell to the ground.
The black dragon chocked on the ice and fell back as the life left him.
“Who are you?” The Bloodcroix Witch repeated her earlier question to me, but soon the scene in front of us changed.
The Dragon Lord roared, as Father stood before him prepared for war. He ran towards Avra and jumped; twirling in the air, my king avoided his ice breath and claws. He masterfully crawled onto Avra’s back.
“Stop! Father, stop!” Before I even realized I had moved, I was running towards them. My daggers appeared in my grasp, and I watched the Dark King’s arms glow contracting around Avra’s neck. I knew what would come next. His ability was enhanced strength; he was going to kill the Dragon Lord.
“No!” I bellowed, and jumped in the air. My dragon wings’ cloak carried me, and I spun sending my daggers flying. I landed crouched, and stared in horror as Father’s body plummeted to the ground. My blades’ silver handles protruding from his back.
The illusion disappeared as I panted, my heart thundering against my ribcage while my eyes fought to focus on the Witch.
“Now we know who you are,” she said pleased, and I lunged my energy at her. The crystal on her wrist—which was blocking my abilities—shattered, as I flung her against the wall.
“Why have you done this?!” I demanded, walking towards her. She stood from the floor and reached for her scepter, building an energy fort around her. She looked at me defiantly, though impressed. “That wasn’t real!” I bellowed, stopping in front of her and sent another attack with my mind. Her energy wall flickered, and she laughed in wonder as her eyes looked all around it. “Are you mad?!”
She looked at me with awe and excitement. “You are a strong one, aren’t you? Hit it again.”
“Aaah!” I roared, and once again my psychokinetic energy slammed into her.
Her scepter exploded, and she staggered back stunned. She clapped. “YES!”
Ragged breaths escaped me, as I stared at her. “What is wrong with you?! You just had me kill my own father!”
“Now, that is not exactly true, darling.” The Witch casually corrected patting my arm as she walked past me, and pulled another scepter from an armoire in the corner. She faced me, slipping a new blocking crystal over her wrist. It began to glow. “What did you just do?”
“I killed Father in your deranged illusion!”
“No, young prince. What did you just do?” I stared at her perplexed. “Now, remember to use your brain, and not the rage the Dark King has instilled inside you.”
I took a settling breath, reminding myself I was here to find out the meaning behind all of this, and not tear her to pieces. My eyes closed as I replayed the scene over and over. I had run towards them and killed Father because… “I saved the Dragon Lord,” I answered, floored.
“No matter the cost,” she added, throwing my own mantra back at me. “There is a reason Avra has remained under the shadows of the temple all these years. You just witnessed the destruction that an obsession for power can bring. You cannot follow in those footsteps, Kyr. You must not.”
I blinked, as shock rendered me speechless.
I had come on this quest following Avra’s wishes blindly. I avoided killing those who had attacked us, because they had only done it under the influence of a spell, when I wouldn’t have hesitated before. I felt compassion for the Silestas, beings I would have never even considered worthy, left my brother Ash behind, and risked not only my life but Nyx’s for a perfect stranger. For an ideal I didn’t even remember, in the hopes that no child would ever have to go through the pain my brothers and I experienced when we almost lost our mother. The same pain I felt every time I looked into her agony filled eyes when she awoke.
I made an ally of one of our biggest enemies, and entrusted him with the care of my little brother, the one person I had protected since birth. I knew my king would never accept the things I had done, and before the last four weeks, neither would I.
I betrayed my creed, unlocked my abilities and left clues for myself to find. All so I could get here, to the Dragonash Graveyard once again and find out who I really was. I did it to discover if I would make the same choices, and standing here, in front of the Bloodcroix Witch, I knew I had.
I grew with the Dragon Lord’s teachings as well as I had my king’s, and if I ever had to choose my king or Avra, it was finally clear to me whose side I would stand on. A new question arose then.
What kind of man did that make me?
I stared at my clasped hands as I sat in the witch’s lair. I had no idea how long we’d been silent, but the light of the new day was beginning to shine through the makeshift window.
“Are you ready for the truth now?”
Her voice broke me out of my deliberation. My head snapped up. “What do you mean the truth?”
She stood from her throne, offering me a small smile, and extended her hand to me. I took it without a second thought, and a new scene appeared before my eyes. The Summer Court’s green pastures, filled with colorful and extravagant flowers, merged freely into the Spring Court, which transformed into the Water Lands. The Eternal Outlands followed, and an astonishing lake sat in its borders—what we now knew as the Lagoon of Shadows. Yet, I could see it full of life as families sat around it, and children played in the water. The hollow desert wasn’t desolate as it is now, and an entire city thrived under its sun. The Weeping Willow Lands had no tears, and the Trolls lived in a lusciously healthy forest. The Winter and Autumn Courts transitioned into one another, just like the rest of the acreage.
“What is this place?” I asked, my eyes roaming over its abundance as though we could see it from above.
“Long before your time, there was a kingdom many have forgotten. Those who witnessed it were either prosecuted and killed for their beliefs, or have chosen not to remember.” Melancholy and pain filled her words. Her hand remained on mine. “The Seelie and Unseelie Courts didn’t exist. It was all one land. No thresholds, discords or boundaries of any kind. It was called, the Rising Kingdom.”
She let go of my hand and walked away as though reliving the past. The image disappeared, but I followed her.
“All Fae existed within it, under the ruling of its merciful king and queen. The Dragons of the Holy Temple vowed to protect not only the kingdom and everyone who lived under it, but its rulers and their descendants for as long as their lives allowed them—using their own magical blood to ensure the health of the honorable royal line and its continuance.”
She sighed, and turned to face me as her words echoed in my head. “There is a flaw in your story. How could such a kingdom exist without war? The Winter Court seeks to rule over the realm, but I am no fool. Battles will have to be won over the other lands’ rulers, who want to retain their power. People must be taught to bow to one supreme monarch in order for that to even exist. Many lives shall be lost for that purpose, until everyone learns to submit.”
“That is one way to do it.” She answered sarcastically, yet her voice was chiding, and I recognized Father’s words had left my mouth, not my own.
“The other one is being the kind of man and ruler the people want to follow, and would go to the ends of this world for, offer their lives for, because they know he would do the same.” She stepped closer. “The Rising Kingdom was real, Kyr, as real as I stand here before you today. It not only existed, but it thrived with the happiness of its people, and the never-ending harvest of its lands. Until one day, tragedy fell upon the land and ambition in its darkest form infected our minds.”
“Tell me.”
“Your Grandparents ruled the Rising Kingdom. That is the real reason they were murdered.” Her words slammed into me, forcing me to take a step back, while the shock spread like veins of ice through me.
“No. That’s not true… that’s not what I was taught,” I answered stubbornly, but my whispered voice held no conviction anymore.
Her eyes soften as she straightened. “You’ve only been told one truth, Kyr. You will rule the realm one day, but not under the Winter Court. You shall do it—like your grandparents did—only under a new land…
The Everlasting Kingdom.”
Chapter 10. Twist of Fate
KYR
*
I stared at the graveyard just beyond the Bloodcroix Witch’s door, mulling over her words while the ash storm raged outside.
“You’ve only been told one truth…”
Had all my life been a lie? If what she said was true, the Summer Court hadn’t murdered my grandparents because it didn’t even exist back then. It was all one supreme reign, run not by extreme anarchy but by honor and compassion. Was I even capable of such emotion? How would I rule in such a place, when it went against everything I had been taught?
“Then perchance, it’s time you learned from someone else.” Mother’s voice suddenly echoed in my ears.
My eyes fell to the Dragon Breath crystal that twirled between my fingers. Being here in the middle of all this death was ground shattering, probably the reason the Dragon Lord had made it my purpose during this quest. Perhaps he had wanted me to wake up from this travesty my life had become.