Chapter 4
Maya is in a deep sleep and she had a dream, the late queen Millie appeared to her in her dream.“ Queen Millie! Is good to see you again” she said.“ Yes, it’s good to see you again Maya” queen Millie said and she wanted to go closer to queen Millie to hug and Queen Millie stop her not coke closer to her.“ I am dead you can’t come closer to me, you have to stay away from me” queen Millie said and Maya was in tears.“ I own you my life my queen” she said.“ I don’t regret dying for you Maya. You have to go to the dragon land and free the last dragon, the dragon was chain many years ago by the late dragon lord and now only your magic can frère the last dragon and that is how the dragon can help you get to the land of the vampire and that is the only way you can defeat your enemies” the late queen said.“ Your journey start now” the late said and she went back to her grave and Maya had told her to stay, Maya woke up from her dream seeing Marc staring at her already.“ Thank goodness, you are awake. Remember why I chose to help you because you begged for it and not here to sleep like a puppet” he said, Maya stood up.“ It’s time, we need to leave now, our journey start now” he says and Maya remembered her dream and what the late queen said to her.“ Where are we going to?” She asked.“ You asked for help and now you are asking me where we are headed to off course we are heading to the dragon land” he said and Maya smiled and was happy.“ The last dragon was chain with magic” she said.“ I already know about that, we have a problem here” he said.“ Which is?” She asked.“ No one knows where in the dragon land the last dragon was kept” he said.“ We will search for where he was kept when we get to the dragon land” she said.“ You need to get ready now” he said and Maya was happy that Alpha Marc was ready to help her.Amber met Marc beside the car where he was getting ready to and she wonders where he was headed to.“ Marc” she said and Marc stare at her.“ Amber!” He said and he smiled.“ What are you getting ready for?” She asked and he walked closer to Amber.“ I have promise to help the girl” he said and Amber was upset and she turn back at him.“ So you are going to leave me alone for that girl”she said and Marc hold her hand and he looked at her in the eyes.“ I am not leaving you for her. I can’t. I love you and I love only you and I promise no one will never take me away from you” he said.“ Don’t go with her. I don’t trust her. Remember, she is a witch” she said.“ I know that she is a witch but she is it bad” he said, Maya walked out from the house to meet Marc, Amber saw Maya and she trying to think how to convince Maya not to go with Marc.“ You should go to the car, I will be right back” he said and he went back into the house, Amber work closer when Maya was about to walked closer to the car and she stop her.“ Hi Maya!” Amber said and Maya stare at her and smiled.“ Hi Amber” she said.“ Are you sure, you want do this with Marc? He is a wolf and going with him alone might be dangerous. What if he hunt you?” Amber said.“Marc is a good wolf and I believe, he can’t hurt me” Maya said and Marc walked out of the house and they both entered the car.“ We will drop at the restaurant to eat before starting our journey” he said and he drove off and Amber to Theo to give him the news.“ i have a bad news for you” Amber said to him.“ How do you mean?” He asked.“ Marc and that girl Maya are going to the dragon land” she said and Theo was angry.“ What! You couldn’t stop them” he said.“ I tried but I could not seems that girl has cast a spell on him” she said.“ Where are they right now?” Theo asked.“ On their way to the restaurant before heading to the land of dragon” she replied.“ You will go after them do everything in your power to stop them and if it does not work then we will follow them and kidnap the girl” he said and they both entered the car, they drove to the restaurant.Aurora was seated on the throne when her servant Lucie brought her letter sent from the vampire land, Aurora read the letter and it’s written in the letter that it’s time for Maya to come to the Vampire the word because she has vampire blood is running in her vain after Aurora read the letter she was angry and she never wanted the letter ti get to Maya.“ I will never let this happened, they must bring her to me alive and she have to bowl before me” Aurora said.“ How come we never know the true story about Maya’s parents?” Lucie asked.“ That is because only Millie knew the true story and she kept it to herself, she decided to betray us by keeping the secret that one of us got married to a vampire, that is a curse for us” Aurora said.“ You mean her father was a vampire and her mother a witch?” Lucie asked.“ Yes, you are right” Aurora said.“ How did she become the dragon queen?” Lucie asked.“ Her father and her mother left the witch land, they went to the dragon land and when war happened the last dragon lord was killed before he died, he cast a spell on her and transferred all his powers to her and that what made her the dragon queen, but I never knew the girl Millie brought her back to the witch world secretly, she is dangerous and she need to be dead but before then I will have her blood” Aurora said and Lucie stare at her.Chapter 5Marc parked his car beside the restaurant and he took Maya to the restaurant so they can eat, after some minutes later they finished and they went out of the restaurant, they met Amber.Amber pretend to be upset and jealous, Marc was surprised to see her.“ Amber! What are you doing here?” He asked and Amber went to meet Maya.“ I can’t let this girl go with you” Amber said.“ How do you mean?” He asked.“ I feel like she is lying and only want to steal you from me” Amber said.“ Amber! What are you saying, I can’t steal him from you. I was not raised that way, I only need his help” she said.“ Why can’t you go meet others for help? Why my Marc in particular?” She asked.“ The rest of the wolf have refuse to help me and only Marc has chose to help me. Please did not try to ruined this” she said and Amber yelled at her.“ Amber there is no need for this, you can coke with us if you have refuse to trust me” he said and Amber looked back and Theo had signaled her to go with the
ChThe FightMaya was losing.Blood dripped into her eye from a gash at her brow. Her feet danced back and forth on the hard stone floor, light and eager with her hands protecting her face—little good it had done.Her form was in complete contrast to the bruiser before her. He was nearly seven feet tall and built like the haunches of a dragon—massive and muscular. Though he was all power and no finesse.“You going to dance on your twinkle toes all day, or are we going to fight?” Bruiser grunted.“I was considering it,” she bit back.He laughed gruffly. “Fine. Make it easy for me, Red.”Bruiser stepped forward, using his limited elemental magic to give him an edge as he rushed toward her. The earth rattled beneath her feet, and she shuffled side to side in an attempt to stay upright. But then he was in front of her, his eyes keen on victory before his fist even shot for her face.She blocked him with her forearm, taking a bone-crunching amount of pressure. Then she dodged the second bl
“Do you have my winnings?” Maya asked.“I do indeed.”Amber slid his hand into the inside of his tailored black suit. The cut accentuated his muscular build. He wore the white shirt with a black vest and jacket, complete with a Wastes red cravat at his neck. His hand was nimble, producing a red velvet bag heavy with gold marks, just like the ruthless pickpocket who had taken over the underground.“Here you are.” He set the bag in her hand. It held way more than what she should have earned. His almost-golden eyes glittered with defiance, as if waiting for her to suggest that it was too much money.She did no such thing. She pocketed the bag and ignored the way he ran a hand back through burnished hair that showed more red than brown in the light. Not at all like hers. Not that she would ever admit to paying attention.“You should consider working bigger fights,” Amber said. “Use more than one element.”Using only one element in the Dragon Ring kept her safe. She did it to keep a target
Maya pulled out a few marks from the purse and dropped them on the bar for Theo. “Meet me tomorrow. I’ll get you a seat to watch.”“Dragons up,” Theo said with a wink.Maya left her at the bar with her loch and watered-down ale. She headed up another level and out the back way onto the streets of Kinkadia. She breathed in the clean air from the valley and turned her head skyward to take in the twinkling night stars overhead. A dragon passed across the moon, briefly shadowing it. She missed flying. Gods, she seriously missed flying.She trudged across the cobblestones through the Dregs of the city of Kinkadia. The old familiar walkways were notoriously the worst part of the city. Primarily humans and half-Fae lived in squalor on the north side of the valley where the city was located, bracketed on three sides by an impressively large mountain range and a winding river running diagonally along the southern border.She should have headed straight for her home in Draco Mountain, but her h
“Aurora,” Witch whispered.The House of Dragons, first and foremost, helped raise the young dragons. Every Dragon Blessed knew each dragon by name. Over the years, they had all grown close to certain dragons. The hardest part about leaving the House of Dragons was going to be leaving the dragons.Maya would recognize Aurora anywhere for his bright seafoam green scales. He was the largest dragon of the five who were part of the tournament this year, but he made up for his scary demeanor by always being in perpetual good spirits.After Aurora left, a bright red jewel soared into the arena. Vampire was a nimble flyer. One of the reasons Maya loved her so. They had long been friends, as they shared the same mischievous nature.“Oh!” Theo gasped when Wolves burst into the arena next.He was the most beautiful of them all. His scales were midnight blue and glistened in the light. Though he was one of the smallest dragons, he was completely adept at every maneuver. Unfortunately, he was also
Maya and Marc had taken much pleasure in finding ways to add to that over the years. As Mistress constantly reminded them.Maya grinned as they entered the mountain that was her home. She could weave her way through the maze of corridors and climb her way up into all the dragon eaves. So few were accepting of a half-Fae girl here, but it still felt more like home than anywhere else.Mistress Moran dragged them both into her office. “You were both out of your beds last night. Explain yourself.”Maya kept her mouth shut. No explanation would be satisfactory for Moran. Fighting in the Dragon Ring in the Wastes? She might as well tell her that she’d completely lost her mind. Moran might believe her more.“It’s my fault,” Lyam piped up.Maya raised her eyebrows. Since when did Marc take the fall?“Explain, Marc.”“I snuck out last night to go to a tournament party,” he said solemnly. “Maya tried to stop me because we had to be here so early. Eventually, she came with me to keep an eye on m
The tournament!” she gasped.“Yes! You didn’t come home last night. We’re were all worried. I drew the short straw to come here and collect you.”“Can you keep it down?” Theo grumbled from the pallet next to Maya.“Theo, get up! It’s the day of the tournament.”“Scales,” Theo gasped, rolling over with wide eyes. “Are we late?”“Late?” Aurora asked with a stilted laugh. “We’ll be lucky if we make the trek back to the mountain before it starts. Now, get up. Let’s go.”With this new information, both girls moved at lightning speed, throwing on fresh clothes, and scrambling out of the room.Gods, how had this happened? She wasn’t particularly punctual, but she had never wanted to miss something this important. Then the night before came back to her—the fight, the winnings, Basem Nix.She winced. She’d fought Basem Nix. Scales. That wasn’t good. She had never seen Basem in person before, but she sure as hell knew his name. And the echo of it still rang in her ears. He was full-blooded Fae,
His black hair was swept back off his face. But it was the gray eyes, which caught and held her gaze, that made her shiver. There was something… wrong with him. Something terribly twisted inside.His gaze swept over her and then dismissed her just as quickly. Then, he turned and stormed down the hallway. Without a backward glance or a question of his direction, he just left.Scales.Maya jumped from her place against the wall, cursing her right leg for falling asleep underneath her. She shook it out, but that only made it worse. Pins and needles trailed down her leg. She winced with every step.“Excuse me,” she croaked, finally getting her voice back.He didn’t slow down or stop or even look back at her.She gritted her teeth against her dead leg and pushed herself into a half-hobble, half-jog. “Excuse me, Prince Fordham.”That got his attention. He pivoted with strict military precision and looked at her with those ever-changing eyes.“Hi,” she said a little breathlessly. “I’m here t
Regain your place?” she asked in confusion. “Is this about your curse?”“No,” he said forlornly. “I’m not who you think I am, Maya”“You’re exactly who I think you are, Ford. I’ve spent the last month with you. I know precisely who you are.”“About what? You cannot lie with actions.” She forced him to look at her. “I know who you are.”“I was exiled,” Fordham bit out. “That’s why I came to get a dragon and join the Society. I’m no longer welcome in the House of Shadows, and I should never have brought you into this with me.”Exiled. Gods!“Why? Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked, the hurt seeping into her voice despite everything.His face went dark. “Why should I have told you?”She took a step back at the viciousness in his voice. “Ford…”“It was a mistake to invite you to join the House of Shadows, and if you come home with me… I can’t guarantee your safety.”“Guarantee my safety? Since when have you ever been able to do that?” she snapped back. “I’m the one who has been running st
Corinna put her hand on her shoulder. “Bravo.”Fordham stepped up to her side and then Aurora, surprisingly followed by Roake and Noda. They might have argued against her in the cave, but they were one now. She could feel Tieran’s presence heavy behind her. And she no longer felt alone.“We still need to convene a council meeting to discuss this,” Lorian grumbled.“I believe we have a majority present,” Helly said with a coy smile.“That is not decorum.”“Neither are the circumstances,” Bastian said, striding to Helly’s side. “I call for a vote on the matter of Maya’s entrance into the Society.”“All in favor?” Helly said.Maya’s heart caught in her throat as she counted the hands raised in the air. Half. It was at least half. She kept counting—nine, ten, eleven, twelve. Oh gods! Almost everyone.“Those opposed?” Helly called out.Lorian shot his hand up, and four others slowly raised their hands as well. Maya memorized their faces. The council members—Masters Roldan and Dowde and Mis
A council meeting will be held to decide that,” Lorian said. “She doesn’t qualify. She has no tribe, and we have never had a half-Fae.”“You never had a human before either, and you let two compete last time,” Aurora shot back.“And look at how that turned out,” Lorian snapped.“Just because there are a few loud bigots doesn’t mean that we should go backward! We must stay the course or else people will think that all they have to do is cause enough fuss and we’ll take away other people’s rights. That is not the Kinkadia that I know and love. And I won’t stand by and let you use your prejudiceMaya wanted to duck out of sight. She’d never had someone like Aurora , who was so full of privilege, so very Bryonican royalty, stand up for her… to completely defend her. She barely even knew her.Lorian opened his mouth to object again, but Aurora barreled forward.“And on the second account, my mother and I have agreed to select Maya into Bryonica under the House of Drame.”Maya’s stomach flo
Footsteps sounded behind her, and she didn’t have to turn her head to know that Fordham had followed her into the mayhem, as he had been doing for weeks. She didn’t slow. He would catch up to her. She kept moving forward, glad for those hours and hours of running so that by the time she reached the first line of Red Masks, she wasn’t winded.Maya used her wind magic to bowl through the first group, and they hastily fled. But she could see the leader up ahead. Their leader was holding up a large, swirling gray orb, much like the amber one Basem had used against her.This was her chance to get revenge for what those people had done to her. This was her chance to end it. No longer would Red Masks walk her streets. No longer would they terrorize humans and half-Fae. No longer would they try to take away their rights. It could end right here, right now.The crowd had cleared enough for Maya to slow as she approached the leader of the Red Masks. He turned to face her. He was a large man. Th
One of the goblets was offered to Maya. “Drink from this. You will pass into the spiritual realm, where you and Tieran will meet. When the binding is complete, you will be dragon and rider.” Tara touched Maya’s hand with a wide, genuine smile. “I’m so happy for you. Good luck.”“Thank you,” Maya whispered, staring down into the goblet. It just looked like water, as it did in the pool, but she knew it was part of the spell. She looked to Tieran. “Ready?”As I’ll ever be.Maya frowned and then downed the drink at the same time Tieran lapped from the pool. For the second time today, her vision went fuzzy, and then she blackedFor the last five years, Maya had thought constantly about what it would be like to go through the dragon-binding ceremony. Having witnessed it firsthand, she had seen each of the competitors drink from the goblet and then enter a state of sleep, coming to with excitement as the bond set in. She’d imagined every scenario for how the binding was actually accomplished
Maya came to, gasping for breath. She put her hands on her knees and tried to suck in enough life to leave that horrible nightmare behind. She knew that it was the faerie illusion that she had walked into. That it was designed to warp reality and pull out her deepest, darkest fear. She had just lived it—marrying Ashby March and living a life where no one ever saw her for who she truly was. She had come out on the other side of it, had risen above the adversity, but it had felt so very real.Her body trembled with exhaustion from the illusion, but she was no longer helpless. Her magic flared bright and bursting within her, and all of her injuries had been healed. She straightened to her full height and found herself before a gaping audience. The cave was large enough to hold the five dragons—Avirix, Netta, Tieran, Luxor, and Evien—as well as their five Dragon Blessed handlers. Standing before them were the four competitors who had made it this far. Aurora stood with wide eyes, farther
You got tested?” he asked in exasperation. “Why does that not even surprise me?”“It wasn’t purposeful. I wanted to know what testing was, but when I stepped inside, Gelryn said he’d been waiting for me.”“Ominous,” Fordham muttered.She laughed. “A little bit. But it ended up being fine. He actually left and went to the Holy Mountain to try to find information on my visions.” She shrugged. “I don’t know if he’ll find anything, but he seemed confident.”“That’s good at least. You need to get those under control.”“Hey, they’ve helped you!”“They have,” he admitted. “I just don’t want them to control you.”She nodded and fell silent. They did control her, and if she didn’t find a way to stop them, then they always would. It was why she’d gone to Gelryn in the first place.They continued trudging through the plane and watched as they crossed over the South River without ever getting wet. Then, the landscape turned rocky, and suddenly, they were in the mountains. The sun was low on the h
He came to his feet. “Well, that’s lucky.”She swallowed back the lump in her throat. Marc here to save us after all.”“We should probably set out at dawn,” Fordham said. “Together, we can get out of here.”“All right, princeling,” she said with a half-smile. “But first, we’re going to need some pinecones.”Fordham didn’t ask, just helped her cover a few pinecones in sap, and then she cracked the two biggest sticks she’d found on a sharp piece of rock, placing the sap-covered pinecones inside and dipping them in the flames.He looked at her, impressed. “Torches. How did you know how to do that?”“House of Dragons teaches us more than just etiquette,” she said with a grin. She brushed mud off his brow and laughed. “You look ridiculous.”“I ate poisonous berries,” he reminded her.And then they both laughed.The weight and fear of the night before had dissipated at dawn. They had gotten through a lot together this last month. This was one more adventure.Together, they tracked through t
With a determination set into her very marrow, Maya left for the portal room. It was not a long walk, and within minutes, she was at the end of the hallway. She waited patiently for the two guards standing in front of the room to turn and walk the other way. She didn’t know what kind of gods’ luck this was, but as soon as their backs were turned, she hustled down the hallway. With her heart in her throat, she turned the doorknob and entered the room, carefully closing the door behind her.The room itself was enormous. Big enough for multiple dragons to comfortably stand in. This was only the Fae entrance. There was a separate tunnel that the dragons could enter through that disappeared deep into the mountain. And standing as large as a house was a giant stone archway, magnificently carved and ornately built. The center of the archway shone a brilliant iridescent. Just as in her vision, there stood a goblet on a table next to the archway.Maya warily approached it. She looked into the