Stars (Dragon Reign Book 8)

by Kit Bladegrave

  I left my room and found Kate and Sabella in the council chamber talking quietly.

  “Any news?” I asked as I entered.

  Kate and Sabella nodded in approval at my new outfit and hair, but from the worry on their faces, it was too soon to hear back from the messengers yet. “It could be days still before we have word, at least from Silver Valley or Boshen, but we sent one of Forrest’s guards to Gregornath. He should return any time now.”

  “And I’m assuming Craig would not let you go yourself?” I asked with a grin.

  “Course not, the ruddy bastard. He worries far too much, but don’t worry, Forrest is no different.”

  “Trust me, I already know.”

  Being with them and talking about Tristan, Craig, and Forrest, I felt a sense of companionship, of true belonging. I laughed with them easily and time flew by. I felt better than I had in days, no not days. Decades. The fear of the war raging on outside this castle was pushed aside, and for just a few moments, I felt like a normal person without the weight of the world hanging over my head, wondering what our next would be.

  And if it would ever be enough.

  As the laughter died away and a comfortable silence fell over the room, I looked to Sabella. “I never heard exactly what you saw in your visions. Forrest only said you saw me in them.”

  She tapped her fingers on the table and said nothing.

  “How bad are they?” I asked. “Sabella, I believe I have a right to know.”

  “You do, and I want to tell you, it’s just—the bells. Something’s wrong!”

  Bells rang out through the castle, and we ran after Sabella out the door and into the main hall where other shifters were running, and Boris was shouting out orders. Tristan called to her, and she went to him as Craig sprinted in the doorway, bringing with him a limping and still weak Forrest.

  “What are you doing up?” I asked as I took his arm from Craig and helped him to a chair.

  His face was mostly healed, but I could tell his wounds bothered him.

  “Thought it was time I get up and move around. The bells, are we under attack?”

  “I don’t know yet, but… I don’t think so.” I watched the doorway to the hall where Tristan and Sabella had run out. Craig and Kate paced nearby. Lucy, Greyson, Magnus, all the others filing in and waiting for further direction from their alpha. “Wait, there’s Tristan… he’s supporting someone, I think he’s a dragon.”

  Forrest stood too fast and cursed, but I helped him stay upright, and together we made it to where Tristan and the dragon collapsed to the floor.

  “Magnus!” Tristan yelled. “He’s wounded!”

  “What happened?” Forrest asked the dragon, holding a hand to his bleeding shoulder.

  “At first, I couldn’t find anyone,” the dragon uttered, eyes wide with fear. “There was no one about. No soldiers, no guards. Not even the villagers. It was quiet, so bloody quiet. I feared the worst, but there was no sign of a fight.”

  “What did you see?” Forrest asked urgently. “Tell me.”

  The dragon shook his head as if he wasn’t sure he believed what he saw. “I found bodies at Gregornath. Soldiers at their posts, and on the wall… alive. They were alive, but asleep. I couldn’t wake them, none of them, sire. I tried, I screamed and yelled, but none moved.”

  “Who attacked you?” Tristan asked gently as Magnus tore away the dragon’s sleeve to see to the gash that was bleeding freely—made worse probably the same way Forrest’s wound was, by flying.

  “I was getting ready to take off when four figures appeared out of the fog.”

  I noticed out of the corner of my eye that Sabella perked up and Tristan’s eyes locked onto hers.

  “They were hooded and cloaked, their feet not even touching the ground, but the sound they made… this horrible hissing like snakes.” He gulped loudly, not even seeming to feel Magnus patching up his shoulder. “They saw me and they… they attacked! No hands, though just these sharp, black talons. I took off and ran and ran until I was far enough away to shift.”

  “Silence,” Sabella whispered. “All will be silence. They are coming… they’re coming for us next.”

  “We have to leave then,” Craig stated. “Boshen. Or the Darrah lands.”

  “It’s too late,” Sabella argued. “They saved us for last because we’re all here, and Baladon, he knew it. He’s putting us all to sleep to stop us from fighting back. He doesn’t want us dead, no idea why, but… he’s taking us out of the game.”

  “We can’t let him,” I said firmly. “If we’re asleep, who will stop him?”

  Magnus finished bandaging the wound and offered to help the wounded dragon upstairs as Lucy and Greyson stood close by, whispering to each other. Whatever they said, they both seemed to make up their minds, and Lucy stepped closer, planting her hands on her hips. “Then it’s time you go back home, Kate.”

  “Home? To the Darrah lands?”

  “No, my dear, home, home.”

  “To the human realm?” Craig blurted out. “We can’t go there!”

  “You don’t have a choice. It’s the only place Baladon can’t reach yet, and you need time, time to figure out how to kill that bastard,” Lucy insisted. “Greyson, I’m going to need your help, and we don’t have much time.”

  “Of course, whatever you need,” he said, and they ran out of the hall.

  “I won’t just leave my people here,” Tristan growled, but Boris gripped his shoulder.

  “The dragon said they’re just asleep. I could use a good long nap. You and Sabella, the others, you are our hope. You must leave, sire, and then come back for us all, eh?”

  Tristan clapped the other shifter hard on the back. “This feels wrong.”

  “The hard decisions usually do. We’ll keep a lookout, buy you the time you need to leave. Hank, Danielle, with me!”

  I watched as they both hugged Sabella then bowed their heads to Tristan as he hugged them both, too. Sabella ran off to grab the orb, Tristan yelling at her to hurry. Forrest stiffened beside me, and I sensed his guilt at not being in Gregornath to reassure his people he was fighting for them still, before this sleeping curse fell over them.

  “We’ll awaken them,” I whispered in his ear. “Together.”

  He rested his forehead to mine and held me close. “I know we will. Have faith, right?”

  Why did he sound so bitter? The visions, it had to do with them, but then the bells rang even louder, and shouts came from the courtyard. The four beasts of Baladon’s, they were here, and we were out of time.

  Lucy and Greyson sprinted back into the hall, shoving tables out of the way as they worked at drawing a circle in chalk on the floor. It was large with symbols I almost didn’t recognize, they were so old.

  “This portal, it’s one way,” I pointed out. “And it will only last for a few seconds before it’s destroyed.”

  “We can’t have Baladon following you through,” Lucy replied quickly, scattering herbs from a bowl in her hands, following the outer pattern as Greyson whispered words, running a blade across his palm. Blood dripped to the stones, and he worked with Lucy until the circle was completed. When the last drop of blood fell, the lines burst to life with a bright, purple hue.

  Lucy nodded, content with their work. “All of you, get in quickly!”

  “How are going to get back?” Kate asked, hugging Lucy, even as the cries from the battle outside grew closer.

  “The orb, you have it?” she asked, and Sabella lifted up the satchel. “You have to find a way to repair it and use it. It’s the only way, but not until you’re ready. No, not until you know you can defeat him.”

  “Come with us, please,” Kate pleaded with her.

  “I can’t, child, and you have to leave. Remember the key to all of this is already with you. Use it!” She hugged Kate one more time then moved her into the circle.

  Craig followed, kissing Lucy on the cheek.

  Tristan and Sabella went next, and I helped Forrest
limp his way over to them.

  “Take care of each other,” Lucy said to us, cupping a hand on both of our cheeks.

  “We will,” Forrest swore to her. “And thank you.”

  Hank yelled out a warning that they were coming in, and we stepped inside the circle. A well of magic reached up to surround the six of us as Lucy and Greyson started the chant that would send us from the realms and into the human world.

  The purple light flared brighter with each word spoken, and I felt myself becoming lighter, making ready to travel, when a commotion drew my gaze to the hall.

  Hank was thrown backward, and Danielle reached down to drag him back with her. His face was bloodied, and he was gagging as if choking. His shirtfront was drenched, and Boris was yelling a retreat. More men yelled until the sounds were suddenly cut off.

  Boris and Danielle shut the doors to the hall, screaming at us to go, but magic like this couldn’t be rushed.

  The rest of the shifters there pressed themselves to the door. I nearly ran to help them, but Forrest gripped my arm, holding me back. “We can’t,” he whispered painfully, and I saw the strain it was taking for him not to do the exact same thing.

  I watched, willing them to hold out, but then the doors split and exploded inward.

  Four figures stood on the threshold and reached out to those near them. Instantly, they collapsed to the floor, I prayed asleep. But then they turned as one toward the circle and lifted their hooded heads.

  I could see nothing beneath the hoods, and a shiver raced down my spine as they came closer and closer. Danielle screamed, throwing herself at one. Tristan snarled furiously when she was struck down by the hooded monstrosity. Sabella barely managed to snag his arm before he broke the circle. Danielle clutched at her wounded chest, but I couldn’t see what happened next. The other three were closing in. Lucy and Greyson couldn’t do anything to defend themselves, and from the way the figures raised their hands, flashing black talons, they weren’t going to just put them to sleep.

  “No… no!” Kate yelled, and Craig had to wrap his arms around her to stop her from rushing out of the circle. “Mama!”

  “Go, child,” Lucy replied, her voice hoarse from the magic.

  Just as I felt the final rush and my feet left the floor, one of the figures slashed its talons across Lucy’s back. Her scream echoed around us as we shot through space and time before landing in a pile of limbs on a wooden floor.

  “Let me go!” Kate cried, struggling to get up, but Craig wound his arms around her tighter as tears streamed down her cheeks. “No! I have to go back, I have to save her!”

  “You can’t! Kate, I’m sorry, but you can’t. She’s… she’s gone.”

  “No!” Kate screamed and yelled, hitting Craig in the chest and shoulders until her arms gave out and she sagged against him. He held her close, whispering to her softly as she cried.

  Sabella sniffed hard and wiped at her eyes as Tristan pulled her into his arms, both of them looked shocked. Danielle and Hank, we had no way to know if they lived or not. Even Forrest had tears shimmering in his eyes as I helped him get to his feet a bit unsteadily.

  Lucy’s death, and the deaths of who knew how many others, hung over us, making it impossible for me to speak or move for a long while. Kate’s crying finally slowed, and Craig picked her up in his arms.

  “I’m taking her to her room then I’ll be back down,” he told us and headed for a doorway.

  “Where are we exactly?” I asked Forrest.

  “This was where Kate grew up,” he told me. “Lucy… Mama Lucy raised her here. This was her home.”

  The four of us stood in what appeared to be a sitting room of some kind, too wrapped up in our fears and grief to talk anymore. We were on our own now, completely cut off from the realms. I felt the loss of power, the stars in my hair dimmed and my skin was still pale, but not luminescent. If we stayed here too long, I wondered if I would lose my magic forever.

  We were all that could save the realms now. Our mission was simple: find a way to kill Baladon.

  But how were we going to do that when we were now trapped in a realm with no real magic and no army? How were we going to do anything?

  12

  Forrest

  Lucy was dead, and everyone else in the realms was asleep. My brief elation at learning the truth about Mori and me had been pilfered away by what occurred while we’d been stealing the orb. My people had been left to fend for themselves, and now they suffered for my inaction. The world had fallen apart too fast for us to react. And now I wondered if we’d ever get back.

  Kate was still in her room, only letting Craig in to see her. He came down the stairs rubbing a hand down his face and sank onto the bottom step.

  “How is she?” I asked, sitting down beside him.

  “Bad. I’m not sure what to do right now. She hasn’t eaten anything. Won’t talk. I can’t get her to move from that damned bed.”

  “She’ll come around, she has to.”

  “That’s not going to help anything,” he growled in warning, but then he cursed. “I’m sorry, I just… I never expected Lucy to die, or any of this to happen. It’s like we’re starting all over again.”

  “Same place, different villain,” I mused. “How do you even kill a god?”

  “Mori have any ideas on that?”

  She’d been working with Sabella, wracking their brains and digging through the few resources Lucy had at the house for any hint of where to start, but so far came up with nothing. Then there was the orb, in need of desperate repair. Mori might not have needed sleep before, but after seeing her just an hour ago, the bags under her eyes said otherwise. She wasn’t a goddess in this realm and being away from her source of magic was going to start affecting her. If she wasn’t careful, I worried she’d wind up starving to death, or dropping from sheer exhaustion. The only thing keeping her going now was sheer willpower.

  “We’ll figure it out, we will,” I swore to Craig.

  “In time?”

  “That I don’t know. We’ll use what we know and go from there. With any luck, Sabella will have another vision that will explain all of this.” I patted him on the shoulder again and told him if he needed anything just to ask. He remained on the stairs, resting his head against the wall, mourning Lucy quietly in his own way.

  I went looking for Mori but when I checked the living room, found Tristan sitting up, sound asleep, Sabella’s head resting in his lap, also asleep. I backed out of the room quietly and not finding Mori inside, tracked her down in the greenhouse in the backyard.

  “Find anything of use?” I asked her when I stepped inside.

  Her back was to me, and she appeared to be picking a few white flowers from a small plant. She said nothing, and I worried something was wrong.

  “Mori?”

  “Sabella’s keeping something from me,” she said, still not turning around.

  “About what?”

  “Her visions and you are, too. What don’t I know?”

  There’d been no time to explain them to her since we got back from her realm. I half hoped Sabella had already told her to save me from finding the right way to explain what our bound fates meant to her.

  “Forrest.” She turned around now and looked me right in the eye. “Tell me.” She reached out for me, but I drew back, and she frowned. “Why are you doing that?”

  “Doing what?” I asked, even though I knew.

  “Pulling back from me. You’ve been doing it since we came here!”

  I struggled to find the right words and finally gave up and just told her the truth, honest and blunt. “I’m afraid of us being together.”

  “What do you mean, why?”

  “Sabella’s visions, they’re not exactly good. She saw… she saw the six of us in one together, and it links to the riddle, as well as the other visions she had.”

  “You’re rambling, Forrest,” she said softly and tried to reach for my hand again, but I stepped back. “You can’t just run a
way from me, you know that.”

  “If I have to do it to keep you alive, I will,” I stated firmly.

  “Alive? You’re not making any sense!”

  “She saw you die!” I yelled, my fear and worry overriding my control. “If we become truly together, like how the other four are, then we’re bound and you… you’ll die. That’s what she saw, and that’s why we can’t be together.”

  Mori flinched, took a half-step back, swallowing hard as she rubbed at the dirt smudges on her hands. “You know this for certain?”

  “It’s what she saw. Herself, Kate, and you… you all die.”

  “Because we’re together?”

  “’Three must rise, three rings abound’, that’s what the key is to how Baladon is defeated. It’s the three of you together.”

  “With our soulmates,” she pointed out. “Forrest, it might not mean death.”

  “And if it does? I’ve lost too much to have your death on my head too. I just… I’m sorry, but I can’t do this to you. I won’t.” I turned to leave, but she yelled my name and my feet froze.

  “So what, you’re willing to let the realms suffer just to keep me alive?”

  “I won’t lose you right after I’ve found you!” I shouted, whirling back around. “You can’t ask me to endure watching you sacrifice yourself!”

  “That is not your choice to make.” She stormed toward me and held my face in her hands. “Look at me. I’m not running away anymore, not from my fate, and not from you. I need you by my side if we’re going to have a hope at all of fighting back.”

  My hands covered hers as I shut my eyes tight, picturing her dead on the ground. “I can’t lose you,” I whispered. “I can’t.”

  “And I don’t want to die either, but if that’s what has to happen, then I’ll meet my fate head-on.” She stood on her toes and kissed me as if this was the last day we could be together.

  I tried to resist, but found my arms wrapping around her waist and kissing her back just as fiercely, needing to convince myself she was still alive with me.