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“He… he wants me to be his mate. He said he wants me to be by his side and bear his children. He…” I trailed away, unable to finish as father was already rising to his feet. He had a look of awe upon his face as he gripped my shoulders.
“Kadie, this is wonderful news! You have won the attention of our leader. Do you know what this means for us? Do you know what an honor this is?” he asked, his words imbued with enthusiasm. I averted my gaze. I hated to disappoint him. Maybe there was something wrong with me.
“I’m sure it is father, but it’s just that I… it’s a lot to take in.”
“Of course, it is. You are young after all, and I have perhaps shielded you from the realities of the world for too long. A father has to be protective after all, but if Ilvar has asked this of you that means he will come and speak to me soon. I must be ready for him,” father said, already thinking about what he was going to say. I was still mired in confusion.
“Father, Ilvar said something strange about the future. He said that he was going to take us back to Drakon, and that he was going to use the heat of this world to do it. Surely, he could not be speaking the truth? Would he really forsake this world?”
Father looked confused, but then I saw a zealous gleam in his eyes. He was not willing to doubt Ilvar as I was doubting him.
“I’m sure Ilvar must have a good reason. If he thinks this is possible, then it means we might finally be able to go home.”
“But this is my home,” I said. I was one of the few dragons to have been hatched here.
Father just smiled and put his hand on my cheek. “Kadie, you know that your home has been and always will be Drakon. I am sorry that you have not been able to walk across the plains or fly through the skies of Drakon, but that is where we belong. This place was never meant to be where we settled. If Ilvar has finally found a way to take us home, then he will be fulfilling the promise of our ancestors. It was always said that he was made for greatness, and when we return it means that you shall be the Queen of Drakon. You are going to have a place in the history of our people, and I could not be prouder of you. I only wish your mother could be here with us today,” he said. Tears ringed his eyes.
I wished mother could have been there as well, but only because she might have understood my concerns.
“But what about this planet? What about the humans?”
Father looked at me with bemusement, as though it was strange for me to think about such things. “They are nothing compared to dragons Kadie,” he said, and in that moment, I wondered whether I had ever known my father at all. I nodded, swallowing my concerns, but already I was thinking of an escape plan. Father was speaking about the wedding as though it was a foregone conclusion, but I was not ready for marriage, and not with Ilvar. There were some things in this world that were just wrong, no matter what reasons were given, and I could not stand by and allow this world to be destroyed, even if it would take us home.
I told father that I needed to rest and think about things. He shooed me away, telling me that I needed to be at my best for Ilvar. I rushed upstairs and closed the door to my room, sinking to the floor and holding my head in my hands. I knew what I had to do, but it would not come easily to me. I had to find someone and warn them of what was coming. I had to get away and escape this fate before its tendrils wrapped around me like a netand ensnared me. I felt sick as I climbed to the window, hating myself for running like this, feeling like a traitor and a failure of a daughter. I almost fell back when I thought of how lonely father would be, but then I remembered the way Ilvar had looked at me and touched me. I shuddered as I thought of what was required to be the mother of his children, and I knew I did not wish to be in his grasp because I would crack too.
So, with tears in my eyes, I spread my wings and soared away, gliding across the ground as I disappeared into the forest. I had no idea where I was going to go or what was going to happen to me, but I knew I needed to get away. If Ilvar had his way then this world would come to an end, and the entire human race relied on me to find a way to save them.
Chapter Six
Buck
I had flown up to a mountain, far from the city. I curled my wings flat against my body and gazed out at the darkness. My breaths were long and heavy, my body was flattened against the ground. I might as well have been made of stone. The fun of the night had been ruined by those stupid bastards. Right now, I could have been lost in a sea of warmth with a girl who would have shown me heaven, and instead I was out here, alone.
I guess I could have gone to another bar. There were a million just like them, and a million girls like her as well, but my heart wasn’t in it any longer. My heart was stung by the way they had reacted to me, seeing nothing but a monster, feeling nothing but fear. It was always the same. I could hear my father’s words echoing around my head, telling me that it would never change because it was in their blood to fear us. That’s why we had to keep ourselves a secret. It never seemed fair though.
In the distance, I could see the city gleaming and bright, glittering with all the promise a paradise could offer. It was enticing and inviting, but I would never find a home there. I would always have to hide in the shadows and wear a mask, for humans would never accept us. But then, I couldn’t find a place at home either. My people were devout and so happy to accept their place in the world. There was no fight, no ambition to make things better. Instead of trying to make inroads with humans, they were happy to just stay hidden in the woodlands and the ruins, acting as little more than memories, becoming nothing more than ghosts. Still, it was better than those fools who deluded themselves there was still a home for us up in the stars, in that mythical world called Drakon. I believed that it wasjust a story the elders told us to give us something to cling to, to try and make our fate more palatable. If we didn’t have anything to believe in, then most of us would go mad from an existential crisis.
I’d had so many arguments with dad over the years. I kind of missed them. I kind of missed them all, even Mason with his efforts to try and keep people together, or Brett and his unflinching view of the world. We had been as close as brothers once, but the place had suffocated me, and I hadn’t had any choice but to leave. I would have died if I stayed, although I wasn’t sure I had much of a life out here either. I really thought things would have been different, that I would have found someone or something to give me a purpose, but instead I was just drifting.
I guess Dad was right. Another reason why I never went back was because I didn’t want to admit that he was correct. He wasn’t even the type to lord it over me, but I was too prideful, too stubborn. I was a lost dragon in a world that wasn’t made for us, so where did I fit in?
I’d probably end up in some other town, drinking my sorrows away and losing myself with another willing girl. Hopefully, the next one’s boyfriend wouldn’t have an army backing him up. Dad would have killed me if he knew I had shown myself to them. I closed my eyes and tried to push the thoughts of shame away. I tried to forget about the last time I had seen him and the conversation that had erupted into an argument, and all the things I said that I wish I could have taken back, but were now etched into history as though they were made of stone.
Fuck, sometimes I think it would have been easier if I had never been born.
I wasn’t sure how long I had been there when I noticed movement flickering nearby. At first, I thought it was a bird,but no bird was this big. I raised my head slightly and peered curiously at the dark shape gliding through the sky. It was another dragon. She was sleek and smooth, graceful and elegant. Her skull was lean, melting into her long neck. She looked liquid in the air, and my lips parted in awe. It was so rare to see another dragon out in the wild. We usually kept to our thunders, even the other group. What was she doing out here? Was she another daredevil risking the ire of her thunder by venturing close to the human world? I was seized by the thought that she might be a kindred spirit, and I knew I had to meet her, to see if she felt the same way I did.
I rose and shook off the dull ache in my muscles and then I fell from the cliff. I found the wind currents and stretched out my wide wings, being buffeted against the air. I looked down, seeing her below me, and angled my body towards her. I swept through the night, sleek and stealthy. I wasn’t stupid enough to roar towards her so close to human civilization. The more I gazed at her the more I became intrigued. I flapped my wings to increase my speed and closed the distance between us. It was then that she noticed me, angling her head back. I caught sight of her gleaming eyes, eyes that were as wide as the world. I raised my wing to signal a greeting, but she was already off.
She must have assumed I had hostile intent as she increased her speed dramatically, heading towards the mountains. I grit my teeth, hating that she had assumed the worst. She disappeared amid the rising peaks of the cliffs, slaloming through the narrow gaps. I grazed my wings against rocks and had to tilt my body to follow her. I traced her scent and caught her in front of me, darting around another cliff. I veered around, stretching the sinews of my body as I did so. While I could keep pace with her, I wasn’t managing to eat up the distance between us. However, she seemed to think I was. She became reckless, twisting and hurtling forward even thoughthe terrain was rocky and dangerous. I winced as rubble fell from where she had impacted the cliffs, and then I grew concerned as I could see her heading up a steep incline. The mountain rushed towards her as she looked back towards me. My eyes widened in fear, and I opened my jaw to cry out a warning, but it was already too late.
She crashed into the cliff. There was a puff of dust and a sickening crack as the cliff bore the impact. Her wings crumpled and her body curled in on itself. Her head was limp, and she lost all uplift. Gravity had a hold of her now, and it was dragging her back down to earth. I doubted the impact of the cliff had killed her, but careening to earth was another matter entirely. I flattened my wings against my body and darted down, angling towards her. The wind blasted my face and grit got in my eyes. As we reached the trees, branches whipped my body. There were crunches and cracks as our weight broke through the trees. The ground was rushing up to meet us swiftly and I wasn’t sure whether I would make it in time. I watched her in vain hope that she would regain consciousness and save herself, but the longer she took, the more I knew it was impossible.
I went as hard and as fast as I could, bracing myself against the whipping pain, trying to reach the ground before she did. My legs buckled under the impact and I crashed more than I landed, but I managed to stretch out my wings and catch her on me, softening the blow before she broke every bone in her body. I groaned, as I lay there among the wreckage we had caused with her laying atop me. I allowed my head to loll back, and took a moment to compose myself before the pain careened through my body.
Chapter Seven
Kadie
