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To my surprise, Mom smiled. “You’re a perceptive woman. That will do you well in trials to come.”
What does she mean by that?
“Yes, the loss of magic is related.” She crossed her legs and pulled her shoulders back. “When the world was young, it birthed many great and powerful creatures. My sisters and I, several phoenixes, the fates, the fae, and so much more. We cared for it, protected it, and, as thanks, we were blessed with immortality. My sisters and I, and the phoenixes, specifically, were elected to be the primary guardians.”
She shifted. “As time went on, more life came into the world, including humans, and all was well. Life got along and humans, of all creatures, learned how to harness the powers of magic in the world. They did not abuse this power, and instead built great civilizations.”
My brow furrowed. This didn’t make any sense. How could they have made civilizations with magic and it not be so well-known in history?
A bittersweet smile pulled at my mom’s lips. “My sisters and I were fascinated by the other creatures of the world—humans, especially. For such fragile and short-lived beings, they could do so much. And they loved our stories, or what we once thought were stories from dreams we had, which we later learned were prophecies. It was this fascination that led us to take them as mates, and the resulting children changed everything.”
Mom turned her attention to me. “We would have children who matched the beings that our mates were, and then some, like you and Dahlia, were dragons.”
Air left my lungs.I have siblings?
“They weren’t the only change to come to the world. Humans began to change as well. Their souls took on unique qualities. Some became shifters, others became what we know now as gods. And many of those humans and ordinary humans suddenly became immortal.”
“Just like that?” Astrid said. “Just out of nowhere?”
My mother worked her jaw. “We thought so at the time. We assumed it was just another change that was intended. It was still peaceful, so we never worried. That was our mistake.”
Her face grew grave. “We should have seen the early warnings, but we ignored them, lulled into a false sense of security. We enjoyed what we could make and indulged too much. My sisters and I all received visions of what we now call Ragnarök. It wasn’t long after that the peace we’d come to love ended.”
My mother leaned onto her elbows. I felt the gravity of what she witnessed with this movement. She never hunched. She even got on my case so much as a kid, because it was “unbecoming.”
“It was a bloodbath. Friends, family, they all turned on each other. Chaos reigned, and it twisted everyone unlucky enough to be touched. We guardians tried many things to stop it, but nothing seemed to work. We feared we wouldn’t succeed, and the world would end—until a great sacrifice was offered.”
Her eyes clamped shut, her face twisting. “Our children and the phoenixes, who had taken up guardian positions, sacrificed themselves to push back Ragnarök.”
Astrid and Aya gasped. My lungs seized.
“The sacrifice wasn’t enough to stop it completely, but it bought us time. But the sacrifice wasn’t just in life. It also came in the form of memories and magic.” She lifted her gaze to meet Tyr’s. “Those who assisted, including gods and fae, lost memories and had their magic stunted. Humans lost most of their access to magic and forgot what they had built.”
“That’s why the older gods remember coming into existence, but not how,” Astrid murmured.
“And it explains why gods like Odin forgot how to make Valkyries,” Aya said.
Mom nodded. “That is correct, for both.”
“But, why didn’t anyone remember, with so much evidence around them?” I asked. “They may have lost everything, but shouldn’t there have been an entire civilization and written records explaining what they forgot?”
My mom shook her head. “Because of the severity of the loss, and our fear that Ragnarök would return faster if the knowledge was discovered too soon, we used our magic to erase any evidence we could. Only the oldest of us remembered in the end, and we’ve held it close to our chests ever since.”
So, our history as we knew it, was the restart. It explained a bit more about some discrepancies that conspiracy theorists and even some historians poked at. “How many dragons survived this event?”
Mom frowned. “Just my sisters and me.”
Muscles in my neck tightened.All their children died?
Of course. That explained why the world only thought there were three dragons.
“And after that, there were no more,” she said. “No matter how many children we had after, they were never dragons. It was why I never expected you to have a dragon soul. When Dahlia’s dragon soul came to be, it was after Skuld’s death. Artura and I assumed this was the world’s way of replacing our sister. But when Zeke came into his nature more recently, I grew concerned, and then Freya came to me with her news.”
Zeke…I had a friend with that name. It wasn’t all that unique of a name, but it still pinged something in my mind.Why?
“Who is Zeke?” Astrid asked.
“One of Skuld’s other living children,” my mom said. “He is Dahlia’s half-brother.”
