“Youhave seen what theGoldenKingdomhas become.Theirgreed has sucked this earth dry.KingObionstarted theWarofFlames, promising to restore fae to their former glory.Butevery action he took was for his own gain, and all it did was push us farther away.Magicdied as the dragons were killed.Heknew this, but he did not stop.Hepushed forward, seeking a way to consolidate power for himself.AndnowHadeoncarries on that legacy.Ambrosiagrows and strips the earth where once there were verdant lands full of food.Therivers flood and wash away more and more every year.Stormsrage in ways they never had before.Thisis all connected.Ourearth, she is already maimed; she is dying.”
Ifelt it every timeIreached for her power.Herpain lingered in every drop.Butevery time, there had also been hope.
“Itis not too late to correct this,”Ideclared.
“Youspeak beautiful words,PrincessTori.Youstand beside the last dragon and speak of the earth as if you know her, have spoken to her, and learned her truth.Youmay be a twin, but no twin can claim all these things.So, tell me, who are you?”QueenXareni’swords were strong, but underneath them,Iheard the plea.Theplea for an answer, a solution that she and her people could not find.
Ifelt a tug on my heart as mana flowed through me.Thegolden bond betweenAbraxasandIshimmered and pulsed with it; physical touch was no longer needed between us.
Heshifted; the whole plaza shadowed as his great wings ripped out of his back.Darkscales consumed his pale features, and his eyes turned that burning gold as he grew.Hismassive,scaled form shimmered under the setting sun, hues of deep blues and greens dancing across his hide like the sea under a stormy sky.Screamssounded from around us.Peopledropped to their knees as the dragonAbraxasformed before us.
“K’inichAjaw…”QueenXareniwhispered the prayer, fear etched into her face.Everyonecowered away from him.Everyonebut the small princeAapo, who stood and approached with awe on his face.Igently grabbed the prince’s hand in mine, but he didn’t shake asAbraxaslet out a deafening cry.
“Aapito, to me,” his mother cried, but he was entranced, soIturned him and gently led him back to them.Assoon as we were close, they snatched him into their arms.
Istood before them as they cowered. “WhoamI?IamPrincessToriKhato, the mate of the last dragon, the twin sister ofJunKhato, and theBreakerofWorlds.”
Theyblanched white, their hands wrapping tighter around the boy in their arms.
“Thefuture may be unknown,YourMajesties, but you can either join it or be left behind.Whatwill you do?”Abraxaslet out another roar behind me, and they shook, but they met my stare. “Whatsort of future do you want for him?”Igestured toPrinceAapo. “Onewhere he will be forced to obey the power that be, those who would destroy this world for their meager gains?Orwould you rather have one that is unknown, but he may be able to grow to heights you have never imagined?”
Tomy surprise,QueenItzayanastood and approached me.
“Yana…”Xareniwhispered behind her, but she did not turn.Shestood tall, taller than me even, her gaze fierce as she held mine.Shelooked up at the dragon behind me, andIsaw the shadows of his flames fall across her face.
Amoment more, she gazed into the eyes of a god, and then she pressed her two index fingers together and raised them to her forehead. “What’sours is yours.Tellus what we must do.”
Chapter 57
Pallas
TheroomIhad been given was lovely.Everythingwas a set that a fine lady would need.Bookslined the shelves, most in the common language, but many were in the ancient tongue of the region.Iflipped through a few, andIfelt the old spark light within me of a challenge.Ijust needed a few weeks and some alone time in the library to master it.Thelanguage was highly symbolic; it would be easy to memorize the first one thousand characters or so, andIwas sure thatIcould make my way through most of it then.
Istarted to pull the book on translation out, but my hand shook.Whygo through the effort when we would leave soon for what could easily be the end of us all?
Myhand shook again when a tan one landed on the book instead. “Newproject of yours?”Jun’swarm smile lightened my heart.
“Isyour sister teaching you how to sneak around?Ididn’t hear you come in.”
Helaughed. “We’vebeen sneaking together for over two hundred years.I’mquite proficient allon my own.”Hehanded the book to me, andIgrasped it in both hands, trying to calm their shaking.
Heeyed me curiously. “What’swrong?”
“I’mjust worried about finding the mana nodes here.Riverkingdom architecture is so different from whatI’vestudied before.”
“Pallas, come on, talk to me.”Junreached out and set a gentle hand on my cheek.
Ishook my head. “I’mjust scared.I’vealways been scared of him.Whatif he…?”Tearsstarted to flow again.Ifelt his warm arms wrap around me.Iwas so shocked by the contact that it stopped my sobs.
“It’salright,Pallas.I’mscared, too.”Junheld me tightly, and it felt so right and warm that, for a moment, all those doubts fled.
“Howcan you be so calm then?”Heheld me at arm's length so he could look into my eyes.
“Well, having a master glyph expert teaching me how to control my voice magic has helped.”Hesmiled at me, andIsmiled back.
Asoft knock on the door was followed byToripopping her head in. “MayIcome in?”
Inodded, wiping what remained of my tears away.
