Realms

by Kit Bladegrave

  “That’s not true,” I said firmly. “You said yourself there’s magic here. We just have to find it.”

  “Yes, but having a seer, the Vindicar, and a goddess on your side sounds much better than maybe being able to find magic within herbs and other potions.” She ran her fingers through her hair madly. “And you? Can you even shift anymore? Any of you?”

  “Haven’t exactly tried,” I said tightly. “We’re surrounded by humans.”

  Tristan, Craig, and I all shrugged then watched as Craig, the demon amongst us, and the one for whom it was easiest to shift, attempted to change form. He breathed deeply, and his face scrunched, but after a few moments, he gave up with a snarl.

  Tristan and I hurried out to the backyard and at the same time, where we both sought out our other forms.

  “No,” I whispered in disbelief. “How… how is this possible?”

  I held my hands out in front of me, not willing to believe that I was still in human form. My dragon was silent inside my head, almost like I’d never been one, to begin with.

  I sucked in a lungful of air and let it out, happy to at least see my fire hadn’t gone, but wondered if it might only be a matter of time. A part of my soul felt like it had slipped away. I turned around slowly. Mori was watching us from the doorway. I’d been here before and was able to shift whenever the need arose. What changed?

  “Baladon,” she said. “His darkness is destroying the realms and the power they hold. It’s no longer strong enough to reach across the boundaries to get to us here in this world.”

  “So we’re nothing now?” Kate snapped. “Great, that’s great. What happens when he attacks us? He’ll kill us in seconds.”

  “Only if we’re not prepared,” Craig told her. “It is possible.”

  Kate gave him a doubtful look “How? We have no orb, no way to repair it, and no way to kill Baladon yet. If he were to attack today, what would happen?”

  No one said a word. The hope I’d been holding onto all this time disappeared with Kate’s outburst. How could any of us stop a god the way we were? Lucy had been the witch, and Greyson the sorcerer. With them here, we might have stood a chance, found the magic we needed, but until we were returned to the realms, we were defenseless. And our peoples, what was happening to them while Baladon roamed free through the lands, draining the magic from them? Were they dying? Was he capturing them one by one? I made my hands into fists, anything to keep myself from losing what little control I felt I still had over my emotions.

  “You mentioned a plan,” I said, looking at Tristan. “What is it?”

  He led us into the kitchen, and once we’d gathered around the island again, he began. “We are not the only ones from the realms here in the human world. I say we track them down and find them. Tell them we need their help. Some of them might not even realize yet that their homes have been taken over.”

  “But won’t they be as powerless as we are?” I asked, skeptical.

  “Yes, but there’s a chance someone out there knows more about magic and the gods than we do,” he suggested.

  “The coven,” Kate said excitedly. “I can contact them. They’re here.” She smacked herself in the head and took off, out of the kitchen. “I can’t believe I didn’t think of them yet,” she yelled and thundered upstairs.

  “I can’t believe we didn’t either,” I muttered.

  Craig nodded. “How do we find these others?”

  “The old-fashioned way I guess,” Tristan suggested.

  Mori suddenly grabbed my arm, grinning. “Or we send them a message.”

  “All of them at once? How?”

  She glanced toward the ceiling. “Stars, of course.”

  “No,” I growled, and she rolled her eyes. “You finally admitted it yourself. You’re losing your starlight. If you use that much of it to send a message, who’s to say you’ll keep any of it?”

  “That is not your decision to make.”

  “Oh, so I don’t get a say if the woman I love is going to essentially destroy herself?”

  She stood toe to toe with me as she shot back, “Not when you're a stubborn ass dragon who won’t agree to marry me.”

  I clenched my jaw but said nothing.

  Craig whistled in the sudden silence that fell over the kitchen.

  Tristan smirked until Sabella whispered something to him and he stopped, glancing away.

  I took Mori’s hand and dragged her from the kitchen out into the living room, so we had some privacy.

  “What do you want from me, huh?” I demanded. “What?’

  “I want you to marry me and get it over with, but you can’t seem to do that.”

  “You know why. I’ve told you again and again why I won’t, not until we have no other plan.”

  “We don’t if you haven’t noticed,” she yelled back even as I tried to get her to keep her voice down. “No. They all know what’s going on, they’re not idiots, and they all agree with me.”

  “Of course they do.”

  “Forrest, just please listen to me. I know what I’m facing. We all do, and no matter how long you hold out, the ending won’t change.”

  “Why are you so eager to die?” I growled. “Why?”

  “I’m not, but I will not stand by and do nothing.”

  “And you think I am?”

  “Yes,” she shouted, and I flinched back from the force of that one word. “Yes, I do. You’re letting your fear of losing me blind you to the truth. This is our destiny, and you have to accept it.”

  My hands curled into fists, and I backed toward the hall. “No, I don’t.”

  “Forrest,” she said, reaching for me, but I shook my head, backing away further. “Fine, but I’m sending that message to the others using the stars, tonight. You can either be there to help me or choose not to.”

  My heart thundered in my chest as I turned and stormed out the front door. I had to get away from her, get away from all of them. I was so torn up inside over what I needed to do and what my instincts told me not to do. The second we bound ourselves to one another—game over. It wasn’t just the prophecy that had me worried, in all honesty. Baladon knew the same information we did, and the longer I held off—or so I hoped—the less chance he would seek to attack us anytime soon. We were a threat, but not a dire one.

  I walked for hours, wandering aimlessly through the small town I first met Kate, when she’d slammed into me on her way to save Craig.

  My steps slowed as I realized I stood on exactly the same street corner. All the memories came rushing back to me of that day. The fight in Lucy’s home that sent us to the Burnt World and set us on this path, to begin with. Who knew it would lead to an all-out war against the god of darkness in order to save the realms?

  I’d just started walking again when something rustled in the alley to my right. I paused, turning just enough to peer into the shadows.

  The sound came again, and I was considering investigating when a cat rushed out of the darkness and darted across my path.

  I growled at it in annoyance but moved on. Eventually, I had to get back to the house and face Mori.

  If our not being together was what kept Baladon from destroying us for a few more days, I’d take her anger.

  That I could survive.

  Her death, that would rip me to pieces.

  3

  Mori

  “I’m going to kill that bloody dragon,” I snapped, marching back into the kitchen as the front door slammed shut behind Forrest. “Why is he doing this to me? Why?”

  Sabella looked at Tristan. “Love makes people do funny things.”

  “Frustrating things you mean,” I corrected.

  “That, too. Tristan would hardly let me do anything when we met. Thought I was too fragile to handle myself.”

  He laughed with a growl as his brow shot up. “And was I wrong?”

  “Sometimes, yeah, but I’ll admit I got in over my head once or twice.”

  “Once or twice. Right, we’ll ju
st go with that.” He kissed the top of her head, then glanced my way. “He’s trying to protect you. It’s an instinct thing, trust me. I go through the same issues every damned day Sabella puts her life at risk.”

  “I think we should start a club,” Craig added. “The stressed out beyond belief husband club.”

  Tristan lifted his coffee mug in agreement.

  Sabella and I frowned at them.

  I looked back toward the front door, but Forrest probably wouldn’t come back until he had a chance to cool off. Tapping my fingers anxiously on the countertop, I knew I needed to figure out how exactly I was going to send this message via the stars. I could feel my power dwindling, but there was enough remaining for what I had to do—but what to say? That was the better question.

  I said I could do it without Forrest, but that was a lie. With him here, I felt stronger. The stars in my hair and eyes always appeared in his presence, even if just briefly.

  I needed him to see that the two of us, bound, would aid us in this fight.

  “What are you thinking?” Sabella asked.

  “Huh? Nothing, why?”

  “I know that look because it’s the same one I get when I’m planning something Tristan won’t like. Or so he says. Come on, spill. What are you plotting?”

  “Just wondering how much Forrest would hate me if I tricked him into marrying me.”

  Craig and Tristan shook their heads, but Sabella started grinning.

  “No,” both guys said.

  Sabella’s smile turned into laughter, and she clapped her hands.

  “You can’t do that to him. He’ll be pissed for one,” Tristan said.

  “And two that’s just wrong,” Craig finished the thought for him.

  “So is his denial that this is what needs to happen,” I pointed out. “We found each other; we’re meant to be together. We knew it centuries ago when he was Malcolm. I’d have thought he’d want to get married, since now we finally can.”

  “Mori, you can’t,” Tristan growled. “Do you have any idea what that’ll do to him?”

  “But the prophecy will be fulfilled, and I guarantee that’s the only thing holding us back right now. It has to be. If we’re wed, then it completes the circle, and then we stand a chance.”

  Craig held up his hands and headed for the door. “If you plan this, it’s all on you.”

  “Same,” Tristan muttered. “I’ll have no part in driving that dragon to do something he’s not ready to embrace yet.” He stalked out of the kitchen after Craig.

  “But you two have,” I pointed out hotly. “Why can’t he?”

  They stopped and turned back around, glaring at me.

  “To be fair,” Craig stated, “I wed Kate before this prophecy came into being. We had no idea what we were a part of.”

  “And Tristan?”

  He looked past me to Sabella. “I wed her because I could no longer deny how much I loved her. And we were going to rescue the gods. If we were going to die, I wanted her to know what was in my heart.”

  “Then what’s so wrong with me wanting Forrest to do the same?”

  “He has his reasons for waiting,” Craig told me. “That dragon does not do anything lightly or without thinking it through. Trust him, Mori. And talk to him. There’s a reason he’s waiting, and I’d bet it’s not what you think.”

  Then they were gone, and it was just Sabella and me in the kitchen. I was ready to pull my hair out from lack of progress with the orb, not knowing if the gods still lived or not. Not knowing when Baladon was going to attack. With Forrest not listening to me. Though I guess to be fair, I had been a bit pushy with him since we arrived in the mortal realm. But how could I not be? The time to find a solution to our problems was limited.

  “What do you think I should do?” I asked Sabella.

  “Well, I understand where they’re coming from, but I grew annoyed when Tristan took so damned long to finally accept that we were meant to be together.” She shrugged. “I didn’t go quite so far as to trick him into marrying me, but if that’s what the prophecy requires, I say you at least try it.”

  “And if I fail and he hates me for it?”

  “Guess that’s the risk you’ll have to take. Are you sure you can do the message in the stars tonight?”

  “I have to.” I leaned back and peered out the doorway. “Where’s Kate?”

  “Good question.”

  We’d just started for the door when Kate came rushing downstairs, nearly running into both of us.

  I leaned against the wall, taking in her excited demeanor. “Good news I take it?”

  She smiled. “Abby, the oldest witch in Lucy’s coven, she’s going to gather them all together and bring them here to help us. Many died during the first fight with Cassius, but after I told her what happened in the realms, she said they would be here within a few days.”

  “And their power?” I asked.

  “Since they haven’t been officially linked to the realms for hundreds of years, their magic is still intact. Tristan was right; this might be our best option. What did I miss down here?” She glanced between the two of us.

  “Oh, you know. Mori and Forrest getting in a fight.”

  I pursed my lips but looked at the front door again. “He stormed out.”

  “He’ll be back, just give him time.”

  “But we don’t have time. We haven’t had time since Baladon escaped his damned cell,” I ranted, then sucked in a deep breath and hung my head. “Sorry, I’m just… I think I’m going to get some air, too.”

  Kate stopped me with a hand on my shoulder. “He loves you, Mori.”

  “I know… that’s why I don’t understand why.”

  “If Craig had known about this vision, I have no doubt in my mind he would’ve fought tooth and nail not to wed me, too. He was pissed the day he found out about it. As much as he puts on a brave face, he holds me close every night as if it’ll be our last together.” She nibbled her bottom lip as though she seemed to be debating what to say next. “We’d all be lying if we said we weren’t scared of what’s to come. Forrest, he’s already lost so much in his life. He doesn’t want to accept that he might lose you, too.”

  I heard her words and understood them, but it changed nothing. Did I want to die? No, I did not. I wanted to be with Forrest forever, but the weight of saving the realms had fallen on my shoulders, and I would do whatever necessary to save them. I told them I’d be outside if they needed me and walked out onto the front porch.

  The town bustled around us, no one realizing how close they were to danger. I longed for a day when I didn’t have to look over my shoulder and fear if I’d make it another day. Hearing Kate say we were all scared chipped away more of the hard exterior I’d managed to put up since being sent from the realms. Forrest assumed I wanted to die, but that was far from the case. But now was not a time to be selfish and think of our happiness. I loved him, more than anything in all the realms. He had to know that. What he thought might happen scared me, but unless Sabella suddenly had another vision that showed us a different course, this was our path.

  I stayed on the porch, in a chair all alone, ignoring the pangs of hunger I felt, for they were so new to me. I wanted to deny them. And I wanted to deny the call of the bed upstairs. I was exhausted, not that I’d been successful at hiding it. Not that I could hide anything from Forrest. My stomach growled again, and I cursed it quietly, wrapping an arm around my middle.

  “You don’t need food,” I whispered to myself. “You are a goddess, an immortal. You are starlight and life itself. You are not mortal.”

  But my stomach growled once more in protest, and I pulled my knees to my chest, watching the sidewalk for any sign of Forrest returning. The sun moved across the sky, the sun we’d all missed in the realms. I moved from the chair to the steps and sat in its direct path. It warmed my face, and I closed my eyes, letting it wash over me.

  I felt him before I saw him. Felt his eyes watching me closely, as if he sat righ
t beside me holding my hand. I smiled without even having to think about it, hearing his boots as he walked up the stone path toward the front porch steps.

  “Did you have a good walk?” I asked, keeping my eyes closed.

  “I did,” Forrest replied in that deep, growling voice I’d come to love. “Had to clear my head. Get a few things straight.”

  I heard him walk up the steps and then his arm rested beside mine as he sat down.

  “And?”

  “And I’ve decided I will be here to aid you in sending the message. However, you need me.”

  I opened my eyes. “Thank you.”

  He reached for my hand and held it. “I’ll always be here when you need me, Mori,” he promised, leaning in and cupping my cheek with his other hand.

  He frowned, and I wasn’t sure what else he meant to say because he kissed me instead, drawing me onto his lap right there on the front porch, not caring if the whole world saw us or not.

  “Always.”

  “I know,” I whispered, not certain what else to say. I wanted to ask him again what his reasoning was for not marrying me but didn’t want to ruin the moment.

  Once the sun was down, I would have to make ready to send my message and hope the others received it in time to help us. With the coven coming, I had more hope. A little more hope. I doubted any of them knew how to repair the orb, or how to kill Baladon. Killing a god took another god, but this was different. Baladon was more powerful than one god now. He’d been able to turn the minds of the gods he drew strength from, an event I’d never witnessed before. If I tried to flat out kill him, there wasn’t a chance I’d do anything more than hurt him. Even Sabella’s attack had merely wounded him for a few days.

  No matter. One step at a time, that was what I told myself. Tonight, I’d send the message and put my other plan into motion at the same time. I had a few more details to work out, but if it worked, I silently prayed Forrest wouldn’t hate me forever for it.

  4