by Max Andren
“But, I didn’t tell Cipriano about you. I didn’t tell him about Kristóf and Júlia, I wanted to mourn them first.”
“I would have done the same and Cipriano will understand.”
“He won’t, Sterling, you don’t understand. It’s Aiden that I’m destroyed over. Cipriano has been searching for centuries to find his brother and I just killed the only man who might have information about where he could be located.”
“Explain.”
“We don’t share this, but Aiden was trapped by dramperic dark magic within the Sword of Dramascus. He’s been forced to kill our brethren for centuries. Hulbetto used Aiden to mortally injure our father which led to his death and Júlia’s. He used Aiden to mortally injure me.”
“Mia, will you tell me about you? If you do that, I think the rest will make sense to me.”
We spent the rest of the trip to Everlasting discussing our pasts. I started with the vision Dreah had shared with us and how Sebastian and Helena had come to adopt me. I told him about my life with them.
“It was so confusing as a child, to hear so many voices and to feel their pain. I was empathic, but I had no idea why. The little boy, Rowan, was my breaking point. His pain and cries for mercy had caused an empathic overload. My parents had been instructed to have me admitted to an asylum. I had no idea who or what I was at the time and I wouldn’t fully understand it for years to come. But, it was the beginning of my journey to discovering the real me.”
I shared most of my experiences from the asylum, but left out the most heinous of the experiments. He didn’t need to know about those, there was no sense making him feel sorry for me and the pain I’d suffered. I couldn’t stand to see, nor feel, his pity.
Sterling asked numerous questions and I, for the most part, answered him truthfully. I explained about Dr. Hanley, his botched reaping, and discovering that Mia, the voice in my head was actually me. I told how Cipriano came to find me in my dungeon hell; that the stories he had shared with me had saved my mind and, his essence had saved my soul.
“I’m so thankful Cipriano found you and saved your life. I’m indebted to him for making you Renascent and will strive to find a way to repay him. We would have never known each other…” he trailed off, as all the what-ifs floated through our minds.
The fog hovering over the serpentine Lake of the Ozarks had lifted to reveal the Magic Dragon. The surface tonight was glassy in its stillness and kissed by the crescent moon. I looked down to see our reflections captured upon the mirror-like surface as we traveled the waterways to home.
Finishing my story, I told him about finding Dreah and Aiden at Hulbetto’s warehouse.
“Aiden had begged me, ‘Tell my brother to break the sword and destroy me! I can no longer endure the blood of our race upon my hands and staining my soul.’ I could feel Aiden’s lingering sense of desolation, but before that feeling could disappear, along with Aiden, I snatched a remnant of his essence and tethered it to my soul for safekeeping. We will find him, but I refuse to destroy him.”
“That is how I will repay Cipriano. I will join in the search for Aiden.”
Turning to look at Sterling, I was saddened by all the time we had lost. What might our lives have been like had we not been separated?
I ended this part of my life by explaining how the other voices in my head belonged to the collective, which were thousands of our brethren that had been trapped in the Amulet of the Dead, and my coalescence with them.
“They saved my life when I was mortally wounded by Hulbetto and, along with Mia, helped me to realize the full potential of my Phoenix. Together, we destroyed Hulbetto.”
“You are a warrior, Mia. As the last true Phoenix, you were born to lead the dragons. Once they realize who and what you are, there will be no question as to your rightful place as clan leader to all the dragons at Everlasting.”
“Sterling, you’re the eldest and as such, you should be the rightful leader. You’re a Phoenix, too.”
“But, I’m not a true Phoenix. I wasn’t born dragon, but rather druid. Júlia gifted me with her dragon essence after I died from a childhood illness and I became Renascent and as such, dragon. Eventually, I became Phoenix when I shifted for the first time and survived, just like you. Though unlike you, I knew what to expect and had Kristóf and Júlia to aid me in my transition.”
After that astounding revelation, the rest of the trip was made in comfortable silence. I didn’t share with Sterling the revelations DeChadik had made regarding Sebastian and Helena.
How much had he’d seen, I wondered, but decided no one could help me with the pain or the guilt I felt, so it didn’t matter if he knew or not.
Could I have saved them from DeChadik if I had returned home to see them? I’ll never know and I now must live with the knowledge that they had truly loved me and died believing me a monster.
31
I summoned the elite guard to come to the Great Room for a debriefing regarding DeChadik and all that had transpired. Tarrin and Tauric were the first to arrive, but once the entire elite guard was there, I shared most of what had happened. When I finished, hellfire was blazing in their eyes and retribution was in their battle cry.
They would be a force to reckon with.
“I’m calling an emergency meeting with the remaining clan leaders and would like you to be present,” I asked, though it came out sounding like a question.
“There’s no place we’d rather be than right here, protecting the leader of Everlasting,” Eduard, their elected captain, said.
As one, the guard proceeded to take to a bended knee—heads bowed and fists over hearts, in a show of solidarity and united in their fealty to me, the last true Phoenix.
It was humbling to see their show of support and unequivocal loyalty. I would do everything within my power to maintain that trust.
This morning’s meeting should be interesting, though I feared it would not go as smooth as this one and would contain far less acceptance.
Tarrin and Tauric wanted to speak with me privately. Before the guard left, they assured me they would return before the meeting started and left to have breakfast at the garrison. Miss Janna had taken charge of feeding them.
“We know you’re in good hands.” Delia, one of the women elite guards said, with a wink. “Miss Janna said she was making scones with clotted cream. You can’t miss out on her scones, so I’ll bring you back a plate.”
“Thank you, Delia, I would never, ever turn down scones with clotted cream.”
Once I was alone with the twins, Tarrin walked over to me and pulled me into his arms.
“Why in the hell didn’t you reach out to us, Charani?”
Pulled from his embrace, Tauric hugged me tight and admonished, “You do not have to be so strong all the time. We are family, Sister, and you should remember that the next time you find yourself in trouble.”
“I know, but I didn’t want to endanger you—any of you. I would never recover from such a loss, especially if it were somehow my fault.”
“Ian and Isabella will be here shortly,” Tarrin told me, “They’re family and need to be here. Isabella should be surrounded by protection, especially now. Dreah is still with the witches and safe in their care, but I don’t trust DeChadik.
“Thank you. They were next on my list of things to do. They shouldn’t be alone just now. I know they wanted some peace and quiet, however, I fear that will be hard to find in the days to come.”
“We’ve gathered here today for a multitude of reasons. It’s imperative that we improve communications between each clan. We must step past these insular ways of centuries past and embrace a new way of life.
“We cannot afford to sit in isolation while our race is decimated—from within and from outside. The best way to destroy any culture, plus undermine what we are attempting to establish here at Everlasting—is from the inside. DeChadik was quite adept at doing just that.”
I’d called for an emergency meeting with all the clan
leaders that had remained at Everlasting—some had left in the wake of my abduction and the subsequent fallout. DeChadik had been fairly thorough in his objective to further fracture the clans by sowing the seeds of distrust and dissension.
“With his affable façade, DeChadik hid the true nature of his personality—a cold-hearted psychopath—a rare Morpheus and Chameleon Dragon, changeable and deadly. He’d used this combination to systematically reap the essence and power from his own dragon brethren. And he would have ultimately decimated our entire culture had we not figured out what he was doing and how.
“I’m not sure I can prove it, but I’m positive he killed his own clansmen. What better way to cast doubt upon the usefulness of the amulets than to kill his people with the very amulets meant to protect them. I clearly angered him by gifting the protective amulets to everyone, but they are just as effective as we thought they’d be and prevented him from invading your dreams.
“As you should all know by now, I, Charani, am the last true Phoenix Dragon. I recently discovered my true birthright and I’ve finally accepted that truth. What I’d like to do is create a roundtable counsel. This counsel would act together and on behalf of all the clans—acting as one governing body. What I’m hoping is that we can guide our clansmen through the upcoming changes and into a brighter future.”
“Where is Cipriano? He should be the one here and leading us,” Geoffrey said.
“Cipriano is right where he should be, searching for his brother, and we will leave him to it,” I stated, my words clipped and precise.
“Charani is the rightful leader of Everlasting and if you and your clansmen don’t like it, Geoffrey—take them and leave!”
“Thank you, Sterling,” I said.
He was my brother and I could see that he was going to take that duty seriously.
“Geoffrey, I’m done fighting for your approval and acceptance. I am who I am. If you cannot accept this, then I will suggest that you leave, though I would hate to see more clansmen murdered by DeChadik and his minions.”
After that verbal throw-down, the meeting progressed better than I expected. Ultimately, those clan leaders that had stayed at Everlasting after my abduction remained—including Geoffrey. He and the other leaders saw the wisdom of fighting our enemy together, instead of separately.
Most of the clans that had left, returned after the elite guard explained to them all that had occurred with DeChadik’s attempt to destroy Everlasting and the dragon race as a whole. They were alarmed, as they should be, that he was still at large and that we remained in danger.
I should have realized sooner how the dragon deaths were occurring, but hindsight was always too clear. If I had not been captured by DeChadik and the others, we might still be in the dark and blind to the truth.
DeChadik had been leading and directing the drampires in their assault against the dragons for centuries. Eventually, he would have succeeded in destroying our entire race, as well as steal the power from all those dragons.
But to what end?
What would he gain by being the last dragon standing? What did he plan to do then? Without a mate, he couldn’t produce offspring. Without dragons to rule, what was the point?
I would never understand—even if someone explained his motivations in simple terms, I couldn’t comprehend killing just to have more power.
Despite recent events, some of the clans had decided, in the interest of safety and protection in numbers, to bring their mated dragons here. Every clansman at Everlasting was committed to the protection of these mated dragons and their offspring, should they be blessed, like Ian and Isabella.
So many things had happened and all at once, but acceptance of who and what I was had finally settled in—for all of us.
I really was the last true Phoenix.
32
History, whether in oral-form or written-form, is necessary, even paramount to the foundation of every society and we were no different. Our natural history was lost to us and we suffered in its absence.
At some point, in the distant past, we know that druid and dragon had mated and lived together in harmony. A relationship that was symbiotic, rather than parasitic, like what exists now between the druid-turned-drampire and dragon.
Our history had been buried by DeChadik as he strove to destroy all things Phoenix. He methodically turned the new generation of druid against dragon. He empowered them with the knowledge of how to steal our dragon essence to obtain their own, hijacked immortality.
He started by killing all dragons with knowledge about true Phoenix history. DeChadik wanted to be the only one left with this information. However, while there were many Phoenix Dragons, like Cipriano and Ian, there was only one true Phoenix—me.
As the daughter of a druid father and a dragon mother—a true Phoenix, I was the only one known to be in existence.
Counter to what we assumed about our dragon history, these were shocking realizations and would take time to assimilate the implications. There could be druids out there waiting to be found by their dragon mates. This could change the very fabric and trajectory of our culture.
This could be the renascence of our race.
The clan leaders were having the hardest time with how they and their clans had been repeatedly manipulated. They had to alter their way of thinking, as it pertained to the druids and what joining with them could mean for our races. I wasn’t centuries old, so for me it wasn’t an adjustment.
Sterling told me the story of how Kristóf and Júlia first met. They had both felt that instantaneous connection that only mates experience and were completely confused, but there was no denying that visceral reaction.
Through their bravery and acceptance of what seemed taboo, they fell in love and stumbled upon the secret of dragon and druid history—we could be mated and have children, true Phoenix children.
Sterling, and their entire clan, had kept their mating a secret. Though, the clan did not realize that Júlia was with child when they went missing. Sterling had suspected it was a possibility and had searched endlessly for his sibling, knowing Kristóf and Júlia were already dead and would want me protected within the clan.
What settled my soul and brought peace to my heart, was the fact that I had been loved and wanted by my parents. They knew what I would mean for the dragon culture.
I was not a little girl thrown away.
Sterling, my brother. He had rescued me from my prison cave, thanks to Violet’s intervention. He was a wonderful discovery and we were getting to know each other.
I was well and truly loved.
Cipriano had returned when he felt my distress, which doubled my guilt. I took him from his mission to find Aiden.
“I have so many things to tell you, but first, I killed the apprentice,” I confessed quickly.
I refused to look away from his grey eyes allowing him to see my pain and remorse. I couldn’t control the wayward tear that slipped free of my control to slide down my cheek.
“I would have done the same,” he said, gently wiping the tear from my face, “He caused you so much harm.”
“But that’s just it, he did so much more than that.”
I told Cipriano everything. All about Sterling and Kristóf and Júlia. I brought him up-to-date on everything surrounding DeChadik, including what he had showed me in the cave.
“Do you think that really happened? Or was he manipulating a vision of them to hurt me?”
“We will go and check on them to see if they are still alive. He may have been toying with your emotions to make you suffer before he thought you would die. I wouldn’t believe it, not yet, but prepare for the reality that it was indeed true.”
My family, including Sterling, were all gathered for a private dinner. I wanted to tell them the story about my parents, Kristóf and Júlia, and, if Sterling was willing, I wanted him to share his story. I hoped he would include what he knew about druids and dragons mating.
Our father had been a druid until he’d me
t Júlia and they realized they were mated. After their bond was forged, he became dragon, too, sharing in her abilities. It was truly remarkable and I knew this would be the key to our future.
“Sterling,” Dreah said as she came bouncing in the room, “I made you a special amulet that’s just for family. But there’s a process to it and we all have to be here to participate. So after dinner, we will finish this, okay?”
Sterling looked dumbstruck with what to say, “Thank you, little one…”
“Not you, too!” Dreah said with a roll of her eyes.
Laughing, Sterling said, “Yup, me too. Thank you for including me in your family.”
“We chose our own family, Sterling, it’s tradition. And we’ve all chosen you. So now you’re stuck with all of us,” Dreah said with a huge grin.
Ian strode quickly into our family’s Great Room, concern evident on his face and in his voice, “Sister, have you seen Isabella?”
“She was nauseous and wanted some fresh air. She just stepped through the doors right there only a few moments ago,” I told him, pointing to the french doors that led to the enclosed garden.
Isabella had been fighting nausea this whole pregnancy and still had a couple of months before their baby was due to be delivered. Their child would be first dragon since me and hopefully the start for a new generation of dragons.
“Something doesn’t feel right,” Ian replied, “I…” he stuttered, “I can’t feel her,” he said, running out the french doors to look in the garden.
Dropping my shield, I reached out, searching for Isabella and found nothing.
“Do you feel her, Violet?”
I felt Violet move along my side and I was jolted by a wave of terror, just before she exclaimed:
“My Lady!”
THE END
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