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“Yes, the mating bond is a gift from the gods, and even if it should be rejected completely, those destined for each other cannot physically harm one another. And once the bond is completed, it’s impossible because any harm done to our mates is felt through the bond.” Mother nods as she explains, handing Pike a plate full of food and patting his cheek with a warm smile. He smiles back and thanks her before looking around, unsure where to go. Almost as if on instinct, his eyes fall to the bed where Serena is before he seems to remember her yelling at him, and he moves toward the table Blair had occupied earlier.
“Pike,” Serena calls before he can sit. He turns around so fast he has to catch his fruit before it rolls off the plate and hits the floor. The hope on his face is adorable, and I do a double take when I see his tail has sprouted and wags happily behind him.
Serena pats the bed without a word, and Pike doesn’t need to be told twice. He runs off toward the bed, almost trampling Sol in his haste. He scoots up close to Serena and almost timidly offers her a piece of fruit, his whole face lighting up when she leans forward and eats it from his fingers.
Lucky bastard.
“Many, many years ago, kingdoms littered this realm. Each was in honor of a god with whom we had magical ties, and each kingdom had an element they were gifted. Over the years, many fell because of sickness, war, lack of population, or many other things. In the end, only Anolas of the light and Salona of the shadows remained.”
My Mother is the queen because of her ability, but she’s a good queen. The people love and respect her, and she’s worked her whole life to ensure they have good lives. The guys might have just met her, but even they listen as she talks, she has that effect on people.
“For some time, they got along, and our realm prospered. Many feared the fall of the other kingdoms would lead to a loss of their respective elements, but it never happened. Instead, people from both Anolas and Salona had access to all the elements. Still, only those of direct bloodline of the two remaining kingdoms hold the ability to either light or shadows.”
But I can see the toll that the past has on her. Anytime she talks about it, it’s like she’s a different person. She is no longer the confident and caring queen she usually is. Instead, she’s stuck in the past and what she might have done to change it.
“My father was king before I took the throne. In our realm, the only requirement to hold the throne is to possess the power to do so. Either male or female can succeed the previous ruler.”
“Mother…” I’m unsure what to say, but I know the past is hard for her. She carries a lot of guilt, and I hate the idea that she’s reliving the memory when I can easily explain this for her.
“It’s fine, Garrett. They need to know, and it was a long time ago,” she tries to assure me, but her face says otherwise.
“My father was the king for nearly twenty centuries. He was a wonderful man who loved my mother and this kingdom more than anything else in the world…” She trails off, her gaze going far away as if lost in a memory.
“My magic developed at a very young age. Not only could I use light like my father and the rest of the elements as everyone else could, but I had more. My control over the four main elements was higher in all areas instead of just one or two, and my gift with light gave me abilities nobody had ever seen before in person. Not only can I heal well and see auras, but I often get glimpses of the future. When I was younger, they came to me as dreams. For a while, I thought that was all they were. Nobody had ever heard of light granting visions before.” She shakes her head as if the thought alone is crazy, and it sounds crazy.
But it’s no more crazy than us becoming giant beasts, mate bonds, and traveling through realms. Or your mate washing up on the shore when, by all rights, she shouldn’t have survived.
“It wasn’t until a few years had passed, and I’d witnessed dozens of my dreams play out, that I even brought it up to my parents. At first, they were as skeptical as I was, but after a few of my dreams became reality, they had no choice but to believe.”
“It started simply enough. I would see attacks on livestock, storms, or even potential new areas that we could use to build out the villages…” She busies herself, dividing up the food that Lyle brought. Nobody moves to help or talk, and for all the issues we might have had in the beginning, I think it’s safe to say they like my mother or, at the very least, respect her.
“It wasn’t until I was a little older that my visions took a dark turn, literally. I couldn’t see what started it, but something shifted between the two kingdoms. Where we were once neighbors and allies, we fought mercilessly in my visions. Many died, and in the end, the gods abandoned us.”
I watch as she stacks the plates, shaking my head at Lyle when he moves to help her, and while he looks confused, he listens. I know he wants to help; believe me, I want to as well, but I know it’s best not to right now. I’m a lot like my mother, unable to sit still. My father used to laugh and call me her twin. It’s ironic considering the fact that I look just like him, but no less true. I’ve learned over the years that she needs to stay busy, moving, and working toward something. It’s how she copes by building a better future, as she always tells me.
“I’m unsure if my vision led to the outcome or if we would have always come to it one way or another, but something changed in my father. He became obsessed with stopping this terrible vision from coming true. But there was no stopping it. In trying to do so, my father created the very future he wanted to avoid,” she says, her words shaky with the mess of emotions I know this brings back for her.
“Anolas waged war on Salona, and ultimately, we both lost. Salona fell. My father had started his ‘journey for peace,’ as he called it, in hopes of simply ruling the kingdoms as one king of the realm, but in the end, we did not gain more to our kingdom as he hoped but lost Salona completely. In doing so, he lost himself and the things he taught me. He was no longer the man I looked up to. War changed him and the rest of the realm. We might still have access to our elements, but it’s not the same as it once was. Hundreds of years ago, many could dig deeper and achieve more. Now, that gift is becoming exceedingly rarer, and with it, the beasts of old were lost as well. Garrett is our first wyvern shifter in a very, very long time.”
“So, the beasts of old were once common?” Blair asks.
“Yes, and no. While the beasts of old were never common, they weren’t unheard of. We also lost the spirits. Nobody has seen one since I was a child.”
“Spirits?” Sol asks, the disbelief clear in his voice. He’s been quiet until this point, even more so than seems normal, and I can’t help but feel as though something is wrong. Serena turns to look his way, and I can see the concern in her eyes even from here.
“Yes, dryads, sylphs, naiads, and salamanders once roamed free with us. Sometimes, they even taught those who were extremely gifted or helped someone on their journey should destiny need to intervene, or so the legends say. Unfortunately, I never had the chance to train or meet them before the war. After the war, my father was distraught, almost to the point of insanity. He burned or destroyed all traces of Salona from the records, libraries, anywhere he could. I’m unsure if it was out of rage or shame, but he was never the same.”
“That’s why you won’t tell anyone about their potential bonds?” Sol’s question catches me off guard, but my mother doesn’t seem surprised.
“Yes, I’m careful with my gifts now.” The sadness in her voice is heartbreaking. She never outright said it, but I know she holds herself responsible for Salona's fall. It’s ridiculous. How could she have known what her father would do? She was only a child who turned to the people who were supposed to protect her.
Serena is off the bed so fast that she hops over Pike instead of going around him. She lands on the floor with a bit of a wobble, but quickly rights herself before running across the room and all but plowing into my mother. She staggers back a step, but they stay upright as Serena wraps her in a tight hug. I watch my mother's eyes fill with tears before a smile pulls at her lips, and she returns the hug just as fiercely.
“Serena, dear,” she says, pulling back and running a hand over her hair in a motherly way. She might not be her mother, but they have always had a close relationship. Serena looked up to her, and I know my mother is very fond of her.
“I’m so sorry.” Her voice cracks with emotion, making Serena pull back to look at her.
“Stop it!” Serena’s voice rings out around the room, and I can see the confusion on my mother's face. I feel it, too. Serena is usually kind and understanding, so her outburst seems somewhat out of character.
