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She didn’t need to be. I would give her all the time she needed, until I got under her skin so deeply that she could be her true self with me. Without restraint. Without any walls or secrets between us. Just us.
I wanted Evie for who she was, not who I wanted her to be.
After pressing our foreheads together for a heartbeat, to give her some reassurance, I brushed my lips over hers and brought her back into my embrace, laying under the blanket with her. Her head rested on my chest, our bodies enjoying the feel of us so close.
“My parents planned for months,” she continued. “They recruited anyone else who would listen, giving others the hope that maybe, just maybe, they would make it out of there. Women began eating only one meal a day, and giving anything else the guards brought to their husbands, brothers, fathers, and sons, to make the men strong for battle. But they were many who were so scared of losing those they loved—the only thing they had left—that they didn’t want anything to do with that plan. They wanted to keep their heads down, and just keep going.”
Dread spread through my chest as her gaze dropped from mine, and I got the feeling she was trying to avoid telling me something.
“My dad was one of those, wasn’t he?” I couldn’t even imagine what I would have done in that situation, but the question still burned my tongue.
Evie blinked, not expecting me to guess that.
“Not for long…” she added, turning my trepidation into curiosity. “My parents told me that one day they were being guided out of the yard they were building, and one of the guards went after an old man who was so exhausted he could barely walk. Their exchange ended in the old man being killed while his son watched, restrained by their oppressors and helpless to do anything to stop it. My parents, as well as many others, began to fight against the atrocity they were witnessing, and then, everything changed.”
“What happened?” My heart lodged in my throat, picturing their horrible struggle.
“The Dragons intervened. It is said that the collective pain and despair the slaves felt in that moment, awoke them from the truth they had become numb to, and they turned on Raithian’s men. Somehow, amidst the chaos, your father broke out of his shackles and climbed on one of the Dragons, taking to the skies. He was the first man to ever ride one of those creatures.”
“My father?” I whispered, flabbergasted, and unable to reconcile the soft spoken and quiet man I grew up with, with the warrior he had apparently been.
“Yes. To everyone’s shock, the Dragon followed his every order, unleashing fire on the guards and burning the giant coil of chains used to imprison his people. The fire burned not only the spool, but its heat spread through the links, melting the shackles along the way. Seeing him fight back, the rest of our people found the courage to break from their chains. Joining my parents, they all fought against their oppression.”
“My father helped them?”
A small smile curved Evie’s lips as she nodded, and both sincerity and appreciation for what my father had done shone brightly in her kind eyes. “If it hadn’t been for him, my parents’ rebellion could have never happened.”
“But your parents had already formed an army, and they were ready to fight when mine didn’t want to take the risk—”
“But they didn’t have the support of the Dragons, and without them, they would have never gotten out of there alive.”
A heavy breath made its way down her lungs, and Evie cradled my cheek as though willing me to understand.
“That Dragon bonded to Khayden so fiercely in that instant, that the others followed his lead. They began to lower their wings for all the slaves to climb on them like he had, and they flew as many people as they could out of the Hollow. That was the moment the Soulris evolved as a race, because until that point, those beautiful creatures had only formed connections with the Devenish family. They had only ever chosen Wizard royalty. Thanks to your father, we discovered that the Dragons’ bond could reach any of us if they chose it, and thesky riderswere born… Your dad became our hero that day.”
“Dad was a hero.” The whisper wasn’t born out of shock, but out of the confirmation of what I already knew. The man who gave his life so my mother and I could survive, had also risked his life for them that day. He might have been weary at first, afraid—who wouldn’t have—but he did the right thing in the end. I was proud of that.
Emotion reached my eyes and Evie pulled me to her, kissing the aching in my chest away. “He was a great man back then, Braxton. Never doubt that.”
I nodded. “What happened afterwards? What did Raithian’s army do?” I asked, needing to know more.
“His men, although they followed him, were also slaves. But witnessing such a tragic death and the uprising of men and Dragons that followed, did something to them. Half of them turned on their kin, and began to fight for what was right, giving more people a chance to escape. When the Warlock King realized what was happening, he tried to stop them with his magic, and many died. Yet, without the Dragons, he could do nothing but watch them leave—vowing to kill us all one day. The guards who betrayed him met with our people a few days later, and together, they built their first safe haven. The old guard began to train new warriors for our cause.”
Confusion coursed through me among the amazement the story had incited. “There is one thing I don’t understand. If your parents were slaves, how did they become the king and queen? How are you a princess?”
A new smile captured her expression, but it was accompanied by another emotion I recognized all too easily. The burden that came with duty and responsibility.
“Our people chose them. They named them their king and queen, trusting them to guide and protect them, because of what they had done for everyone long before the rebellion began. My parents gave them hope when they had none. They reminded everyone that they couldn’t just give up and accept their fate. They had to fight for what they wanted and what they believed they deserved. That it was better to die risking everything for freedom, than to live in chains.”
Overwhelmed by her story and the emotions churning in my chest, I was unable to do anything else but appreciate her and admire her parents. Theirs was a monarchy born from comradeship and the hope of a better life. One everyone believed in blindly, and she couldn’t allow herself to fail. Especially not after everything her parents had built out of nothing but faith, courage, and truth.
“Khayden Skystorm continued to help my parents along the years. Learning everything he could about the Dragons, he taught it to the warriors, and trained many assky riders. He led the legion in the sky on every single battle to stop the Warlock King from recapturing our people, and liberated more and more of our brothers and sisters as well as our lands. Your parents were admired and loved because of how much they did for everyone… until he left for the Mirror World.”
“Do you know why he and my mother left?”
Ache engulfed her eyes, and she shook her head. “I wish I knew, now more than ever, but I don’t.”
Sighing, I pressed my forehead to hers, seeking relief. “Thank you for telling me their story… I’m glad I finally know.”
