“According to Nemreth, indefinitely.”
“Huh. That’s ridiculous. They’re refugees. Not inhabitants. We never welcomed them here.”
“They could naturalize. It wouldn’t be a too far-fetched an idea. We could use their magic. It’ll advance our technology.”
“Yes, but— Lyra!” Frederick spotted me. He smiled and waved, and I promptly quickened my footsteps. I wasn’t in the mood to be dragged into conversation. I needed to get the infirmary and soon. “Ah, busy, I see.”
I slapped my hand over Frederick’s raised one. “Have a good day, Uncle Frederick.”
“Don’t you want to give your mom a hug?” Mom said, opening her arms. “I haven’t had much time to talk with you. With the fae and all, things have been so busy ever since you came back.”
“Yes, Mom,” I replied curtly. I let her hug me, but then pulled myself from her. After that, I scampered down the corridor, not keen on hearing about politics and letters, as I’d always been allergic to those kinds of things.
“That girl,” I heard Mom say as I rounded the corridor. “Always running about.” I could imagine her shaking her head as I left.
I entered the courtyard and summoned my wings. They lifted me into the air. I sucked in the warm atmosphere and blue skies of Constanria. Even as I flew, I imagined flashes of red above me. My experience with the teramarth attack was going to haunt me for a while. I’d slept only a few hours and endured many dreams of rotting flesh and rusted weapons. The memories of the dragon teramarth were worse. They seemed impossible to kill. After experiencing all that, I no longer felt invincible.
I flew into the window of the infirmary where they held Kaji. I crossed my fingers. My best friend had better be fine. The floorboards creaked under my weight when I entered the small room. He was in the evaradrae quarters, back to where he usually lodged. The triad surrounded him, and Mayhem was there, too, taking care of Kaji like the loyal creature he was.
Mayhem walked up to me and nuzzled my shoulder. I hugged the ingoria. “You stayed here the whole night?” The room seemed too small for the creature. It must have been a squeeze. Behind Mayhem, the triad sat in chairs, all huddled about Kaji, who was tucked under a blanket in his bed.
They continued to talk despite my arrival.
Cendri said, “The discussions with the dragon-kind king would have been easier with Neremin around. King Rylan doesn’t accept our authority, even if the fae vouch for us. They’re traditional here.” The grayish texture of his skin had cleared up. It seemed like he’d recovered from iron poisoning.
Aland had his ankle propped on his thigh. “We are no kings. We haven’t made decisions on such a grand scale. Rylan is right to think that way.”
“Somebody has to call the shots.”
“How is the fae king?” Nemreth asked.
“Neremin’s alive,” Aland said. “I’m not sure for how long. Using the last of the forest orb’s energy like that… The cost was great. Alyxe has been next to him for the whole night. I don’t think she got a wink of sleep.”
“Hm. Poor woman.” Cendri didn’t sound very sympathetic.
“Is there a chance he’ll survive?” Nemreth asked.
“Only if there’s a miracle,” Aland replied. “Even magic cannot solve this.”
I cleared my throat to indicate that I was standing right next to them. They seemed to have no regard for my presence whatsoever. It annoyed me, but I tried not to let my frustration show.
“Is Kaji healed?” I asked.
Three gazes turned toward me, searing my skin. Their heated looks trailed down my body. I folded my arms across my chest and shifted my weight from one foot to another.
“I’ve been worried about him,” I continued. “You guys can stop looking at me all weird now.”
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you out of uniform,” Nemreth said. “Your clothes… they’re different.”
“Yeah, sure.” I waved his comment aside. “How is Kaji?”
Answering me, the figure lying in the bed shifted. Kaji pushed himself up. He rubbed his eyes and blew out a long sigh. “Ugghh.”
Kaji looked like horseshit, like he’d been hit by the full force of Gaean’s powers. He dragged his hand down his face and looked at me with his usual bored expression.
“Hey, Ly,” he said.
I burst into tears.
Kaji was safe. Sound. Alive. Gods, I thought I’d lost him. I cried and cried and threw myself at him. I hugged him so tightly that I might have crushed him.
“It hurts, Ly,” he said.
“Oh.” I backed off. My excitement had gotten the better of me. I felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. Everything seemed brighter. I didn’t know how much I treasured Kaji until he’d almost died. I smiled, brushing a tear off my face. “Welcome back.”
“I’m not sure when I even left,” Kaji said. “Everything’s a blur.” He pressed a hand to his forehead. His breathing was hard. I probably should back off, but after almost losing him like that, I didn’t want to leave his side.
“Now that’s done,” Cendri said. He stood and brushed his hands together. “It was so damn tiring.”
I turned to scowl at him. His comments were ruining my moment with my friend.
“You can thank me,” Cendri said.
“Thanks,” I replied, slightly bitterly. I couldn’t bring myself to be completely mad, however. Somehow, I was beginning to feel indebted to the triad, my past bullies. They were pulling none of their mean shenanigans anymore. Things had changed since we’d arrived in Constanria.
“We’ll see ourselves out,” Nemreth added. “Your father wants an audience with us.”
“I won’t hold you up,” I said.
Aland gave me a nonchalant wave. Together, they left the infirmary, leaving me alone with Kaji.
“Are we back in Constanria?” Kaji asked.
“It’s a long story.”
“I have time.”
I dragged the chair Cendri had been sitting on closer and positioned myself next to Kaji. I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my thighs. “Where do I start?”
“With the end,” Kaji said.
The end? Kaji always had strange suggestions like that.
“All right, then. The fae are now here, in Raynea with us. Father’s trying to manage them, and they’re going to hole up in the left quarters for the time being.”
Kaji raised a brow. “In Raynea, huh?” He smirked. “Aereala’s teats, that’s a turn of events.”
“No kidding.”
“They’re in your domain now.”
“Yeah?”
“Are you going to punish them? Win?”
I leaned back. “I could. The evaradraes would listen to everything I say even if they don’t love me.”
“And?”
“I don’t see the point anymore.”
Kaji brushed his hand down his blanket. He was already visibly getting better.
“We’re at war now,” I said. “With dark powers.”
“It’s a bitch, isn’t it? War. The feeling that everything you love might come to an end.”
“You warned me.”
“And I was right.”
I nodded. I began telling Kaji about what he’d missed out on. I spoke of what Lysunth had told me, and about the plans with the forest orb. I told him about how the whole of Cardell had been evacuated into Constanria. So much had happened in such a short time. I grew uneasier as I recounted the events to Kaji. It became more evident that something terrible was going to happen to the Drae Lands, my home.
My time in Thesnan had taught me many things, but one thing that stood out to me was how I’d learned to be scared.
To be wary.
Cautious.
I was no longer the same, optimistic, challenge-driven girl. Had I changed for the better?
I couldn’t be sure.
Too much uncertainty lay in the future, and only time would unravel the prophecy.
Preview of the Dragon Fae King
PREQUEL TO RAKARTHEN ACADEMY
NEREMIN
I woke up with a sharp ache on my scalp and another around my neck. “What in Rakarth’s name?” I muttered. I reached to my hair. What in the drae lands was pulling me?
A woman grunted.
I looked down. My legs dragged against a dirt path. We were surrounded by greenery, and I heard the soft sound of water rushing nearby. I craned my neck at an awkward angle, looking up. Above me was the woman I’d met amongst the dryads. I thought her beautiful in an unconventional way the moment I laid my eyes on her.
Brown hair braided messily.
Stern features.
Full lips.
And her eyes were the most beautiful lavender I’d ever come across. I couldn’t get a good view from the way she was dragging me, but I clearly remembered those eyes from the first time I saw her. There was a scar that began at her chin and slashed toward her collarbone. It had healed long ago, but had left a nasty, bumpy texture.
“Hey,” I said. “You can stop now.”
Another grunt was my response.
“Hello?”
She yanked me even harder. My scalp burned.
I groaned, then reached up to wrap my hand around her wrist. I dug my heel into the dirt ground, making it harder for her to pull me. “Can you let me go already, you crazy woman!”
She only stopped after I shouted. I heard the halting of her boots as the tension on my scalp loosened. Had she pulled out my hair by tugging so hard? I snarled, pushing myself off the ground before spinning around, facing her. I paused, the insult on my tongue disappearing once I fixated on her. Her gorgeous features took me aback, and I was left wondering why exactly I was so attracted to this woman. Faint yellow light shone through the canopy above and onto her face, lightly accentuating her cheekbones.
I brushed dirt off my tunic, then reached over my shoulder to check if my sword was still there. It was, fastened against my torso by the leather straps I wore. I didn’t think I’d need my sword. I usually relied on my soul beads, which, after checking, I’d found out were still circling my wrist.
Finding my words again, I said, “Why were you dragging me?”
She flicked her nose, eying me with suspicion, before answering. “I need to go home.”
“And that answers my question, how?”
The woman gave me an eye-roll. An eye-roll? What did I do to deserve such condescension? I was merely trying to travel. “It’s a long story,” she said.
“All right.” I brushed my hands together, deciding that I was too busy a man to care for long stories. “Summarize, then.”
She sighed, acting as if I didn’t even deserve a fraction of her attention. “We can’t leave each other. One of the dryads cursed us.”
I vaguely recalled waking up to tree-like women around me. “How so?”
“With her magic.” Her left eye twitched when she said “magic,” as if she had a strong hate for it. I lived and worked with magic. I’d practically been forced to dedicate my life to its study when I’d been selected to be the mage meister.
“Dryads specialize with binding, correct?” I rubbed the sore part of my scalp. The ache refused to relent.
“Yes. And Sister Elfaryelle bound me to you. She wants me to befriend you. The dryads act crazy sometimes. It comes from their inability to rationalize things. Childlike minds and all that.”
“Friends,” I repeated, my lips twitching from how amused I thought the word. “That’s not going to happen.” I hadn’t had a proper friend in years. Everyone saw me as the mage meister and not my real self. I’d decided it was better not to waste time with people who couldn’t understand me and lived through each day going through my duties. Whenever I tried to connect to people, they’d only see me for my shell, so what was the point?
“I told her that.” She frowned. “Wait, why do you think so?”
My mind snapped to the quickest retort it could think of. “Because if you and I are going to be anything, cherub, it’s not friends.” I winked at her and raked my tongue over my bottom lip. That gesture often worked well on the dragon fae ladies back in Cardell. Just because I couldn’t connect with anyone didn’t mean that I didn’t get around. The women were all too willing to throw themselves at the mage meister. I was also considered their king, and fae were drawn to power.
Instead of throwing herself at me, however, the woman rolled her eyes again, then scoffed. “You’re just going to be a thorn. An annoyance.”
I raised a brow, confused. Why wasn’t she taking her clothes off and asking me to ravage her? Things were usually easier than this. “A thorn. I’m guessing you haven’t been poked in a while.”
Her eyes widened at my teasing.
Instead of flirting back like I hoped she would, she raised her boot then aimed it between my legs.
That was the first time a woman had ever kicked me in the balls, and it hurt far more than I thought it might. The pain was like an arrow through my flesh. I had to cup my cock and kneel to the ground to cope with it. The ache died down only after much seething and controlled breathing.
“How are you so violent?” I asked, my voice cracking as I recovered. I got to my feet again, careful not to nudge the area between my thighs lest I reignite the agony. “First, you almost turn me bald by pulling at my hair, and now you’re trying to make me barren?”
“It’s difficult for fae to have children anyway,” she replied. “You’re not missing much.”
I scowled, then shook my fist at her. Should I turn her into a frog? Her looks would be far less distracting if she were a frog.
“What?” she asked, raising a brow. “Are you going to hit me?”
“I could just give you ugly teeth.”
She eyed my soul beads. “I wouldn’t use magic so carelessly.”
“It’s my right.”
“Your right?”
“Yes. I happen to be gifted with a lot of it.”
She narrowed an eye, then placed her hand on her hip. “Gifted or not, there’s always an element of chaos when it comes to magic. It doesn’t happen often, but when it does, it can get really ugly.”
I pointed to my chin, referring to her scar. “Did you get that through magic?”
Her expression darkened.
I nodded to myself. “All right, then. Got my answer.”
“Don’t butt into other people’s business.”
“It was just a simple question,” I said. “Not that I care much about your response. I’ll be on my way now. I have important matters to deal with, and bickering is just holding me back.”
“On what way? You have to follow me home.”
“You want me in your sheets now? You weren’t responding to any of my advances earlier. Women are so confusing.” I waved her away before turning around and heading off. I was supposed to find the teramarth. Where was I, anyway? I should have brought a map with me. Maybe I should teleport back to Cardell to get it before coming back here. Hopefully, whatever went wrong the first time wouldn’t happen again.
“Not my sheets. Just my home. We’re bound, remember? Can’t stay too far away from each other.”
“Dryad magic isn’t very strong. It should be easy to break.” I snapped my fingers, summoning the power from my soul beads. Nothing happened.
I held my breath, searching my memory, before remembering that I’d tried to use my magic earlier, too, and had been met with no response. I’d lost my magic through some unexplained phenomenon. My pulse skittered. Ever since I’d been chosen as the mage meister, magic had always been with me, and in abundant supply. I wouldn’t know the first thing about living without it. I’d even begun dressing with it. Putting my clothes on was much easier when they wrapped themselves around my body of their own accord.
“That’s odd,” I muttered.
“Why do you keep clicking your fingers like that?”
I did it again, refusing to believe that my magic had left me.
“Are you going mad, perhaps?”
“I’m not going mad,” I said. “Something strange is happening, that’s all.”
I didn’t like the way she looked at me with a judgmental expression, as if I were some spectacle for her to laugh at. I turned and stomped off.
“You’re not getting anywhere.”
“If I can’t use my magic, I’ll just walk.”
“We’re bound,” she said. “How many times are you going to make me repeat myself? I don’t want to sound like a nag.”
I huffed. Two steps later, my body felt like it’d slammed into a wall. The dryad magic pulled me backward, knocking me off my feet, and I fell onto the ground again. How many times was I going to end up on the ground?
“Hm,” the woman said. “I don’t like this any more than you do, but you should just come home with me and we can have pixieplum tea. We can visit Sister Elfaryelle tomorrow and get her to lift her spell from us.”
“I need to go now.”
“What’s the hurry?”
“There’s a threat to Thesnan. And I have to fix it.”
“What are you? Some kind of destined hero?”
“I might as well be.” Strangely, I didn’t want to get up. I felt like I might get knocked down again if I tried. I wasn’t one to get into fights, and my body seemed to have taken more than its fair share of damage today.
“You think you’re some savior of Thesnan, and you’re chasing a hero’s title.”
I scowled. “What? No. I just have duties to fulfill.”
“And what kind of duties are those?”
I considered telling her. I hadn’t at first, because I wanted to escape from my real identity for a while. I thought it might be refreshing and nice to have someone not recognize me, but this woman was being difficult, and my lack of authority got in my way.
When I took too long to answer, she added, “Next thing you know, you’re going to tell me that you’re the mage meister.”
“I will tell you I’m the mage meister,” I said.
Silence fell.
Lavender eyes were trained on me, disbelief flickering through them. I stiffened as I waited for the woman’s reaction. Was she going to apologize for the things she’d did to me? Was that fear I saw in her pupils? She should be afraid. Once I got my powers back, it wouldn’t be difficult for me to punish her.
Rakarthen Academy Page 28
