by Alexis Davie
When Romi was attacked in her home and taken, she didn’t know who her abductor was and why he had taken her, but as time progressed, and Flint introduced himself to her—in a very polite manner—everything made more sense.
Flint knew she was an Ambrosias descendent, as he had his men follow her around for quite a while. They needed confirmation that she was, and finally found it when they saw her react to the flame n the restaurant. Only an Ambrosias descendant’s eyes would flash that certain hue of red when coming into direct contact with fire. It had been unsettling to hear this from someone who seemed as polite as Flint, but when he revealed to her what he planned on doing, her blood had frozen in her veins.
Flint wanted to build a bear shifter army, but he needed to capture an Ambrosias descendent to make this possible, as only a witch carrying the blood of her powerful ancestor could turn humans into Immortal shifters. At a price, of course. With each Immortal she created, her life’s essence would drip away, leaving her wasting away until she succumbed to the emptiness. Many witches had the same fate when captured by Immortals who were power-hungry and set out to conquer a weaker species. The Norse dragons had done so, as did the Russian wolves, and unfortunately, so did Arlo Veskovic, the Dragon King, at the start of his reign.
Romi knew the consequences of creating an Immortal army of bears for Flint, but she had no choice. He threatened to kill everyone she cared about, including Nyx, and she couldn't allow that to happen. She would rather sacrifice herself than allow anyone to harm Nyx or her father.
Flint’s words echoed in her ears. “You said you wouldn’t kill him,” she whispered weakly, her lips already chapped from the strain her body had taken.
“I won’t, but I am pretty sure my army will.”
“You know he’s a lot stronger than all of you combined, right?” she pointed out hoarsely.
“Then I’ll just have to grow my army even more,” Flint smirked and stood upright. “Get on with it, little witch.”
Romi straightened her shoulders and took a deep breath as the first man in line stepped onto the collapsed stone which was once believed to have been an altar. Romi stared at the man in silence, not moving at all.
“Don’t make me wait again,” Flint’s menacing voice threatened, and she knew well enough to not disobey him, especially not now.
It was as clear as daylight that Romi’s words about how Nyx would be stronger than his entire army of bears had made Flint nervous. He wasn’t the powerful and unwavering ruler he believed he was. Romi also noticed his moves weren’t calculated and organized. His motive was revenge, which made him act rashly and on a whim. He was too emotionally invested to see things clearly or make rational, logical decisions.
This made him sloppy and, judging by the hint of uncertainty in his eyes only Romi could see, made him even more vengeful.
Romi slowly rose to her feet and approached the altar, trying to compose herself the best she could. She needed to be strong in order to pull this off. She wasn't sure how long she would be able to keep it up, but the longer she did, the longer Nyx had.
She wondered if Nyx had discovered that she was missing, or if he was still mad at her for not telling him about being related to Rhaena. Was he even worried about her, or should she just accept that he didn’t want anything to do with her anymore?
Deep in her heart she knew that wasn’t the case, and that he had vowed to always be there for her when she needed him, like now. But the mere thought of Nyx gave her the strength she needed to raise her hands up, and an orb formed on each palm. Her eyes glowed a bright red, and she noticed the satisfied yet evil smirk forming on Flint’s lips. She murmured the words of the spell, sounding like a melody floating in the wind. The air around the man on the altar illuminated in a soft orange hue before exploding into a bright red. The energy orbs blasted thick streams of red bolts toward him, and his body elevated off the flat rock he stood upon. Suspended in mid-air, he slowly started to transform into a bear, which was both unsettling and fascinating to see. Although Romi had seen many Immortals shift back into their original forms, there was something quite different about knowing she had created that specific Immortal, especially since it was created unwillingly. The energy which pulsated from her palms slowed down and soon what remained was only a thin thread which contacted them. Romi’s glowing red eyes returned to their usual sapphire blue and her hands dropped down to her sides.
The spell was complete.
Flint crossed his arms, happy by what he had seen, and motioned to the newly created bear shifter to be taken to the outer circle of stones with the others.
Romi turned her head toward Flint and did a curtsy out of pure sarcasm and sardonicism.
“Don’t get cocky, little witch. You’ve still got a lot more to do.”
Romi knew it was the grim reality of the situation, but she needed to insert a bit of humor and snark, otherwise she would not make it out alive. As she glanced at the long line of men who stood waiting to be changed into shifters, a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach told her that getting out alive wasn't even an option anymore.
“Get on with it!” Flint shouted from where he stood, flanked by his two henchmen, the one even more stupid than the next, in Romi’s opinion. All brains and no brains. She would know, as they had roughed her up on numerous occasions when her snark was too much for Flint, or them, to tolerate.
Flint had advised them to not go too far, as Romi was crucial to his plan, much to the two blundering idiots’ dismay.
Romi motioned to the next man in line to step up to the altar and she gave him a quick once-over. He looked as terrified as she was and she could understand why. Having to give up your human life to become an Immortal shifter to a power-hungry lunatic wasn’t anyone’s idea of a good time. These bears were disposable, pawns which Flint used to prove a point and stroke his wounded ego. She wondered what Nyx had done to piss Flint off the way he had, but it was more than likely his father, the Dragon King, who had pissed Flint off. It was the only thing which made sense.
But why go after Nyx?
Was he just planning on killing the Dragon Princes one by one, or was there a specific reason Flint was targeting Nyx?
Was it because Nyx had something he wanted, or was it something more?
Did she just conveniently become part of Nyx’s life to fall into the hands of Flint, who wanted to create a bear army to kill Nyx?
Romi had known of the Dragon Princes for a very long time—most of her life, actually—and there was no doubt that they were powerful. Powerful enough to withstand an attack from an army of bears? Absolutely.
As soon as Nyx would transform into his dragon form, he would be unstoppable. His fire-breath paired with the smoke created by his massive gray wings would create a world of confusion for any enemy before the bolts of lightning which blasted from his throat would incinerate anything within a mile radius.
Nyx would have no trouble defeating Flint and his army of bears, which troubled Romi. Why would Flint go to all this trouble to capture Romi and create all these bears if he knew it would be such an easy fight to lose?
She took a deep breath as she glanced at the young man in front of her again, and she flashed him an apologetic smile.
The words of the spell formed almost automatically on her lips, and she tried to detach herself as much as possible from what was happening around her. The terrified eyes of the young man on the altar would no doubt haunt her for years to come, if she was lucky enough to live that long.
She felt herself being freed from her earthly body, and her celestial spirit hovered above the ground, above her body. Romi saw everything from a bird’s eye view, and it was magnificent and tragic at the same time. She could see the thread of her being transferring from her own body toward the newly created Immortal shifter, her own aura glowing a fraction dimmer than before. She was dying and there was nothing she could do to stop it.
The air around her unexpectedly changed, causing her body to jo
lt ever so slightly. Her spirit was abruptly and desperately yanked back down, but she remained composed, so as not to attract any unwanted attention to herself. Her body temperature rose as the familiar feeling filled her up to the brim, giving her new strength.
It was Nyx.
Had he found her?
It had to be him.
He found her!
Although there was no doubt in her mind that he would, she was still relieved to feel her heartbeat quicken and the weight on her shoulders decrease. Breathing didn’t hurt as much, and her skin even started to feel warmer, and not as transparent.
But there was someone else with him, she sensed. She closed her eyes, silently chanting a spell of her own, a spell she had not used in a very long time, as it had broken her heart once before.
The All-Seeing-Eye spell, as her father used to refer to it, was a spell she had taught herself at one of her most desperate times in her life. She had sensed that her mother was in danger, as she and her mother were strongly connected energetically, and she had quickly taught herself the words. Much to her horror, she saw the scene where her mother was killed as if she was there beside her, and it was nothing short of horrific and traumatizing. She watched her mother die, and she wasn't able to do anything about it. To this day, her father never knew she had done the spell, and she had no intention of telling him either.
But, as the saying went, desperate times called for desperate measures, and this time she was convinced it would not be a tragic decision. The words echoed in her mind, faster and faster, until she could make out the image of a black Jeep speeding along a country road. Mentally zooming in, the image of Nyx behind the steering wheel and her father in the passenger seat was as clear as daylight to her.
They were coming for her.
An unlikely partnership, but the relief washed over her.
“Stop!” she heard Flint bellow beside her and she brought herself back to her current location. Her lips stopped moving and her hands immediately dropped down to her side, the orbs vanishing into nothing.
“What did you do?” he asked apprehensively.
Romi turned her attention to the young man on the altar and her eyes widened. He was halfway transformed into a bear, his fur light gray, almost albino-like, and his contorted and deformed body lay lifelessly on the large, flat rock. Like an animal who died before developing as they should have.
“I’m sorry,” she said quietly.
“Don’t be sorry. What the hell happened?”
“I am tired. I need to rest, regain my strength,” she tried to explain, but Flint was beside her within an instant and grabbed her by the shoulder.
“You’ll stop when I tell you to stop, is that clear?”
“Yes,” she answered painfully as he threw her down on the ground.
He still gripped her shoulder as he pointed to the unconscious young man on the altar. “Fix your goddamned mess!”
Romi’s eyes flashed red, like two glowing flames, and the unconscious body floated off the rock. His body contorted as he fully transformed, and he regained consciousness. The red glow faded from her eyes and the bear landed on the ground, his eyes fixed on Romi. His light gray fur was unlike any of the other bears she had created, and her eyes lingered on it for longer than necessary.
“Get it out of here,” Flint ordered.
Romi was still puzzled by what she saw. Somehow, she didn’t feel as unsettled as she did before, and she wasn't sure whether it was the knowledge that Nyx and her father were coming for her or the intense stare from the gray bear which calmed her nerves, or a combination of the two.
The world started to spin around her and all she heard was Flint calling out to the next one in line.
“Next!”
A ringing in her ears erupted like a volcano and she stood paralyzed on the spot, staring at something, nothing. Her eyes glazed over as she was transported back in time, as a vivid memory ripped its way through her mind, forcing her to listen, to watch.
It was important.
The skies were blue overhead as Romi ran through the meadow, but the fear was too intense to ignore. Following closely behind her was a blonde-haired girl, the same age as she was, urging her to run faster.
“He’s going to catch us, Romi!”
Her high-pitched scream echoed through the air as Romi noticed the angry gray clouds appearing behind them.
“I’m going as fast as I can, Naomi!”
From behind the two girls, a large brown bear stampeded toward them, his eyes wild with rage.
“Run, Romi!” Naomi urged her, her tiny voice filled with urgency.
In front of them, a formation of rocks signaled the end of the road for the two young witches, and Romi stopped abruptly.
“What now?”
Naomi held her hand up in the air and chanted words Romi had never heard before.
Romi swallowed the lump in her throat, watching in terror as the bear swiftly made its way toward them.
“Naomi…” Romi said in warning and panic.
Naomi kept chanting, repeating the words over and over again without paying any notice to what was happening around her. Her eyes suddenly flashed and a ball of yellow light emanated from her small palms. She directed the glow toward the bear, and in one sudden movement, the yellow energy blasted toward the bear, plummeting it through the air.
Romi’s eyes widened in both shock and amazement as the bear crashed down onto the ground.
“There’s still no way out,” she pointed out.
“There’s always a way out,” Naomi corrected.
The ground suddenly shook under their feet and a high-pitched shriek filled the air, but it didn’t come from either of the two girls.
Behind them, large wings flapped through the air, and Romi looked up in absolute shock and awe. A large, golden dragon rose up into the sky, its yellow eyes glowing almost as bright as the sun. Romi’s blood froze in her veins, as she recalled every tale of the dragon her father had told her, but somehow she didn't feel as afraid as she thought she would be. The dragon was as magnificent as it was ferocious, but it seemed more interested in the bear, who was already making its way back to the girls.
Another deafening shriek escaped the throat of the dragon, which forced Romi and Naomi to cover their ears, followed by a thick spray of fire coursing through the air and straight onto the bear. It was instantly incinerated, and there was no sign of it, as if it never existed at all. All that remained was the singed grass and the two frightened little girls.
The dragon lowered its head, as if trying to somehow assure the girls that everything would be okay, before flapping its powerful wings and flying up into the clouds overhead.
Romi and Naomi looked at one another in awe and Romi whispered, “We’ve got to tell my dad.”
“No,” Naomi exclaimed and grabbed Romi’s arm. “You can’t tell anyone about this! Especially not Uncle Henry.”
“Why not?”
“Just because.”
“But that dragon saved us,” Romi argued.
“Romi, you can’t tell Uncle Henry, or anyone. Or it’s not going to end well. Everyone knows dragons and witches don’t play well together, and if they did, it could mean the end of the world.”
Romi’s eyes opened as the vision vanished and she let out a slow breath. She had always kept wondering why her cousin urged her not to tell her father, but now she understood. She had the power to alter history, but she didn’t because everything which had happened in her life, in the world, had been leading up to this point. Here, at Stonehenge.
Everything happened for a reason, which had been her mantra for as long as she could remember, but only now she understood. She was meant to have been captured by Flint, she was meant to create an army of bears for him, as it would ultimately lead to her rescue by her father and Nyx.
A dragon and a warlock.
Two enemies since the beginning of time, now working together to save the person they loved most in the world. It
wasn’t violence which had brought her father and Nyx together. It was their shared love for her, and there was nothing more powerful in this world than that. There was also nothing more powerful in this world than the power of a dragon allied with the magic of an elder warlock.
In the corner of Romi’s eye, she noticed the light gray bear, sticking out like a sore thumb between all the others, and she cocked her head slightly. Something seemed familiar about him, but she still couldn’t figure out what. As her gaze moved toward the man who had just stepped onto the altar—next in line, of course—her gaze fell upon Flint. He wasn't looking at her, but rather up at the sky.
And the warm feeling of Nyx’s presence started to fill up inside her.
He was close.
Flint rushed over to her, angrily grabbing her by the shoulder and dragging her toward the altar, pushing away the human who was next in line. “Perfect, you did exactly what I hoped you would.”
“And what was that?” she snapped.
“Lure the Dragon Prince here,” Flint answered, laughing maniacally.
Romi’s blood ran cold in her veins, but only for a moment.
Sure, she had been the bait, the lure which would draw Nyx out, but Flint didn’t know that her father was with him. She was sure that no one would expect her father to be at the side of the Dragon Prince.
Flint shoved her down on the altar and gripped her neck. He retrieved a ceremonial dagger, which Romi immediately recognized as part of her father’s collection. The dagger had been used for effectively killing and dismembering witches from as far back as the ninth century.
A mix of anger and fear rose up inside her. “You had no right to take that. It doesn’t belong to you,” she snarled.
Flint smirked at her and laughed again. “Once I kill you, your little Dragon Prince will be nothing but an empty shell, which my army can easily rip to shreds.”
So that was his plan, Romi thought to herself. She struggled against Flint’s grip, but he was just too strong for her weak and fragile body. The dagger moved closer to her flesh, and as much as she tried to push it away, there was no stopping it.
