‘Do you think it’s a trap?’ I asked the moment Dain let me enter his mind, carving out a small alcove for the two of us.
‘I’d be surprised if it wasn’t, but why and for who?’ His voice was thoughtful and distracted.
“Oh my goodness, did you see her?” Adley skipped to my side, looping her arm through my own. She sounded breathless as she veered us off the main path, down a smaller one that lead to a pavilion where all sorts of sweet and savory scents began to waft through. “She didn’t even use any magic and I have chills, and those men following her…”
We were surrounded by wood-burning stoves and bonfires. Spits of meat turned over high heat, charring the skin until it crackled and blackened. Thick armed men kneaded dough, barking orders at the others who flitted from the oven to the crowds building around each booth.
It was pure chaos, not a single file line in sight.
It was Dain’s steady hand that brought me back to the present, gently prying my fingers from where I had grabbed hold of his shirt. My mouth shut with a click, and I blinked back the splotches of orange light that lingered in my vision.“That is a dragon.” The stars in his eyes twinkled with excitement and just a hint of his usual madness. He held up the package in his hands, “And this is a mooncake. They have a long history in this kingdom, and in my family.”I couldn’t pull myself away from his eyes, not when they traced over my face, studying my every reaction. I had to force myself to look down as he peeled back the sparkling paper, sending it careening into a bin with a nod of his head. It was a pastry, but one I hadn’t seen before. I was certain I hadn’t tried it during my time in Iridian.“You can only get them here, during the festival of Night.” He explained, again maneuvering us away
“Alright, who pissed the dragon off?” Apollo shouted seconds before another deafening roar sounded, making the trees surrounding us groan and creak. His eyes were trained towards the night sky, but mine were focused on his suit, and the magic so clearly radiating from its fabric.“Who thought it a good idea to bring a dragon to a festival anyway?” Helios frowned, his stance tense and waiting.I had seen Helios fight firsthand, and while I hadn’t witnessed any of his magic, I knew the mountainous warrior was a force to be reckoned with. My eyebrows furrowed a little more when I realized Apollo’s suit wasn’t the only one shimmering. Helios and the others, theirs were too.Erebus, with his wheat-colored hair and striking lavender eyes, gave Apollo a pointed look.Cain brushed the midnight locks from his forehead whilst snarling under his breath, “reckless idiot.”Apollo scoffed, offense ma
Cain stretched his arms out at his sides, a dual sword in each hand. The pommels were silver, swirling and curving like crescent moons as they inched down the obsidian blades. His dark hair cascaded down his shoulders. When paired with the armor and swords, Cain looked as deadly as a warrior for the House Viotto should.The darkness seemed to gather at his feet, coating his body until he faded into every shadow. It was like a dark smog had been erected around him. I could see the glitter of magic along with his hazy form, almost invisible to the eye. He veered towards the largest dragon, slashing at its feet with his swords. She screeched and tried swiping with one of her wings, but she couldn’t see where her attacker was.Erebos, with a quiver of silver tipped arrows on his back, darted through the crowd so fast that his body blurred. All I could make out was a streak of silver as he rushed to the pavilion being terrorized by the other smaller dragons.
I stumbled out of the way, my skin still warm and humming from whatever it was I had done. I couldn’t tell if I had become fireproof, or if some sort of invisible barrier had formed between myself and the flame. I had definitely felt it against my hands and face, but my clothes remained unsinged.Dain’s eyes were glued onto my face until the last minute, when the battle once again begged for his attention. Instead of feeling drunk off of adrenaline, I felt tired and just a tad cold.I was swallowed by the crowd so quickly that I hadn’t noticed the man with white splashed across his eyes staring at me. Like someone had swiped a paintbrush across his face, it coated his eyes and eyelids, until two black holes ringed with blue, stared at me.It happened so quickly that what scream I could produce was swallowed by the crowd. Calloused hands grabbed my arms as something hard and invisible slammed into my mouth, smashing my lips together until even t
“She stabbed you. No, she wouldn’t do that…” Adley shook her head, using her trembling fingers to comb through the knots in her hair. The blonde strands were coated with so much dirt they looked ash brown. Her brightest feature were her eyes, which flitted around the great hall of Dain’s castle with unrepressed curiosity. She no longer sounded sure of herself, “…not without telling me, at least.”I knew without asking, both Dain and I were convinced his block to the moon’s energy had everything to do with Ally’s kidnapping and the men with white slashed across their eyes. Just minutes after I found them, Dain was able to transport all of us to the castle. Not a spec of exhaustion crossed his face, even as he sent Adley, Cain, Helios, and me liquifying into shadow and night.“You know it’s not always that simple.” The last person I would’ve expected to have any sort of soft si
It was too late to take back what I said, but now there were more pressing things to worry about than snooping through one of Dain’s old journals. With how long he’s been alive, there had to be hundreds. I knew what made this one special, even though it failed to answer the question I desperately wanted to know.I’d made a huge mistake, I realized as Dain’s shoulders tensed and he turned my way.“You saw those memories during Iridian because of your progression in the game and how close you were to unraveling the curse…but I made sure no one would ever uncover that particular memory. How do you know of it?”The stars in his eyes blinked out, taking with them his sanity. I could hear his voice in my head. The voice of the man who had scribbled relentlessly in that leather-bound journal until the tip of the pen broke through the page. Ranting about the slippery voice in his head, like the sharp edge of a razor. S
I wandered the halls for a solid fifteen minutes before giving in and calling for Leslie. The onyx gems dangling from my bracelet reminded me my bedroom was one door away, but I needed the time to pull myself together.There was something about arguing with Dain that made my heart race and hands tremble. Not only did I hate the taste it left in my mouth, but how my feet kept leading me back to his study. Everything about him affected me in some way, even the bad parts. I wished I could turn it off the way he could, shove my emotions so far down that their nagging voices could never again be heard.“You’re sure I can stay here until we get Ally back?” Adley asked just seconds after I came into the room. She was curled up on my bed with one of the fuzzy blankets wrapped around her shoulders. I replied over my shoulder as I ventured into the walk-in closet, hearing her muffled sigh of relief. “Thank the goddess. I don’t know what I’d do
I was still amped up from last night when I went to train with Helios the next day. Being knocked onto my ass was a taste of payback I could have lived without, and it hurt a lot more than I thought.Helios mistook my ferocity for enthusiasm and continued to spar with me, stopping every couple of seconds to show me a new offensive move. Even though I doubted I’d develop hardcore warrior skills, it was becoming easier to keep up with him.He swung his beefy arm out much faster than he had the last four times. My curls blurred into ringlets of flame as I ducked and jabbed a fist into his ribcage. I didn’t use all the strength coursing through me, both from Rayna and my magic. Helios hadn’t hurt me yet, though he’d come close a time or two swinging his fists like a madman.Twenty minutes into sparring, when my lungs began to ache and my muscles burned, I felt a pair of eyes latch onto me. They turned the sweat coating my body ice cold until