Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

Page Seventeen—I found an old fae who claimed

that the first living person on this world was half fae and half dragon.

What a strange thought…

L una is nearly as clumsy as I was when I first started training, but she doesn't give up easily, and I admire her strength. I watch her train with Calix, who seems to have taken over personal responsibility of making sure Luna can defend herself. He's ruthless, as Ziven still is with my training. I'm proud of myself when I don't keel over and heave like I've inhaled a barrel of smoke. Luna is nothing but a sweaty mess, shivering on the mat after Calix has just flipped her over his shoulder. I internally wince and pick up a glass bottle of water, taking it over and offering her a drink.

"Thank you!" She gasps with a smile, taking a deep sip. Ziven stops close at my side, crossing his thick arms as his body presses into mine, and his scent wraps around my senses, luring me to him. He's not wearing a shirt and I've been drooling since the second he got in here. We've been training all morning, after a late night of discussing with Mazzis what we should do with the books. Putting them near each other is a bad idea when the barrier could be the only thing holding the Silkvir back when they get here.

The idea of Emyr riding a beast and coming after me sends a cold sweat down my spine. I woke up four times last night, nightmares of the past smacking into me, and each time, Ziven held me, reminding me that I'm safe with him. That Emyr is never going to touch me. I focus on Ziven now and try not to drool over the display of tight, thick muscles. I can barely look at him right now, but I'm itching to drag him away.

"Her training is more painful to watch than yours," Ziven comments, and poor Luna nearly chokes on her drink. She is scared of him, and I don't blame her. He scared me too at the start. Ziven leans into me. "I really fucking enjoyed seeing you all sweaty and breathless under me. I was rock hard all fucking day after training you. Every fucking day, Storm."

I shiver and meet his eyes, batting mine innocently. "Want to do some more training?"

He loudly laughs, the sound amazing to my ears. Calix shakes his head at us both, but there is a huge grin on his face. "I've never heard Ziv laugh like that unless he was drunk."

"I'm happy," Ziven claims, the two words warming my heart. He is unapologetically proud of how I make him feel. He shouts it for the world to hear, and he doesn't give a shit what that might make him look like.

"So am—" I pause as I see Etena run through the training room doors, her eyes wide. I don't think I've ever seen her scared.

Ziven moves like a gust of wind, straight in front of me, and Etena comes to a halt. "There are creatures hacking the barriers, and we need you. Daegan needs you." We all tense. They can't be here already, it's too soon. It's only been a week since Luna arrived. Luna steps to our side with Calix, and Etena looks right at him. "Please listen to me. Daegan is going to fly his dragon straight to them to fight because that fucking book has his mind warped into thinking he is indestructible. He isn't. Thousands of our riders are going with him." She looks to Ziven and bows her head. "We haven't always gotten along, but we need a leader who isn't being used by the book."

"Ask her," Ziven replies to Etena, looking right at me. "If you tell me to save him, I will. If you tell me to fly our people out of here with you, then we will do that. The barrier is coming down. We can get out."

He will leave for me. There's a bang in the distance, and the entire mansion shakes. I want to leave Daegan to it to let him have his war and see what the real consequences are, but I can't condemn them all to death. Maybe a small part of me doesn't want to see Daegan dead because of this bond between us. Ziven doesn't need my answer. "Fuck, okay." He looks at Etena. "Go and get your dragon. Fly near us."

Etena looks once at me. "I want him alive. I don't care about the rest." There is some vulnerability in her voice that shocks me more than her asking for help in the first place.

Calix goes deathly still, like her words are daggers to his chest because he hates Deagan because of Ziven. She is so loyal to him and in a way, choosing her cousin over her mate. He doesn't say anything as Etena meets his eyes just once before she runs away, where Foster is waiting by the door. He smiles at me and I smile back. We're both running out of the door not long after, into the crowds of fae who look confused and lost. We didn't have time to inform everyone of the new threat and make an evacuation plan for them.

Ziven climbs onto the broken banister that hasn't been fixed yet. "Everyone listen up!" His sharp shout stops the crowds, and every single fae turns to look at him. Many bow. "Beasts with wings, flown by vampyres, are taking the barrier down and attacking. The dragon riders will fly to fight them and buy everyone time. Get into the forest behind the mansion and run. Keep going until we find you."

Shouts and whispers burst out in the crowd, but Ziven is done warning them. He jumps off and takes my hand, leading me over to a quieter corner near the new bridge. Calix and Luna catch up seconds later, crowding around us. "Get on your dragons, all three of you. We thought we'd have some time before they got here, but we were wrong. They must have flown immediately after she left and not stopped."

"Hopefully, that means the Silkvir are tired," Calix points out, crossing his thick arms. "And they will be untrained in combat with dragons. We might have the advantage yet."

I remember Luna's drawing of the beasts. Vampyres don't tire like fae; could Silkvir not tire either? Ziven curls his hand around the back of my neck and tugs me to him, his other hand plastering to my back. For a second, just a second, everything fades away until it's us. It's us against the world. "Go and get Hettie. Get the book too. Daegan's probably got the other one and flew with it when he heard they were here, so that doesn't matter." I breathe in his scent to calm myself, even when the thought of him flying to Daegan and a war with the vampyres makes me want to be sick. "Take Hettie through the barrier where it's clear of Silkvir and vampyres. Please."

My heart cracks. "She's safe with me."

"I love you, Storm," he breathes, leaning down so our lips touch. "And don't you dare come back if we fall. I vowed to the deities you would know about love and freedom. Even if we can't be together, you will find it."

My heart races with anger and desperation. I've never felt more desperate to see him again. I need to. "That's not going to happen, Ziven. You fucking fight your way back to me. Do you understand?"

He smirks, so softly too. "I'll fight death to hold you forever, Storm." His lips take mine, a passionate kiss, and he pours his emotions into the kiss, into every stroke of his lips, until they stain my heart. He stains my soul. I can't see how death could ever take away a stain so deep. We are forever. "And when this is over and I have you again, I want you to join the Moon Dynasty and swear in as my queen."

"It would be my honour." I touch his cheek. I mean every word. I've never wanted to serve anyone, to be loyal to any throne or man, until I met him. He is the love of my life, my entwined mate, and I don't want a future without Ziven at my side. "My king."

He groans, kissing me once more, his hands tightening on my back and my neck until it feels like no one could ever part us. The ground shakes again and I taste magic in the air when he breaks away from me. Hettie. I have to get to her because she will be scared. Catherine runs over and nearly knocks into me. I catch her arm. "I ignored the call from Daegan to find you, Story. I'll fly with you or no one. What do you need?"

Her loyalty makes tears brim in my eyes, and I quickly hug her. "We have to get to Princess Hettie and protect her."

"With our lives and our dragons," Catherine firmly replies. She loves Hettie as much as I do, even if she has only met her a few times around the mansion with me recently. She knows Hettie is the princess of her dynasty too.

Ziven steps away from me, and I miss his touch immediately. It feels wrong to be away from him. Luna looks scared. "I will find the fae and go with them?—"

"You're riding with me. You're a target for the king, and it's not safe for you," Calix cuts her off with a protective snarl. I blink at him and the way he near enough steps right up into her space. "You will be safe. Come with me."

I expect her to say no or just plain faint from how worried she looks, but instead, she takes his offered hand, to my shock. They've known each other for just a week, and she will get on his dragon and ride with him. I'm surprised his dragon will allow her to ride. They run together towards the crowds, heading to the door of the mansion.

"Stay safe?—"

"Kyrell!" I grab Ziven's hand. "You need to get him out before you get on the dragon and fly out there to Daegan. I can't get close to him, but please just let him out. Tell him to run and we will find each other when this is over. If you leave him locked up and we lose the mansion, he will be killed. I can't?—"

"I know what he means to you." Ziven locks his eyes with mine. "I'll go and you get to Hettie. Ruelle took her outside to the river. They will still be there, I'd bet, or Ruelle would have taken her to the dragons. Either way, you'll find her on that path." He kisses me like it's the last moment we're going to kiss each other, and it feels so wrong. I watch him leave me, and I run straight towards the Moon Dynasty apartments.

Catherine takes my hand, and she pulls me with her. Even though it feels like my heart is running in another direction to my body. There is a door to the river at the side of the mansion, and it's crammed with people flocking out, carrying children and supplies. Hopefully, it's clear when we need to go through it. First, I have to get the book. Catherine must know the plan, because she doesn't question me as I turn to head over the bridge, hiding in it as the ground shakes under my feet. I feel Maeve in my mind, not her words, but her warning to hurry. She wants me with her, and I feel the same.

I rush down the tunnel to the library, my favourite place in the world. I wish I had more time here before I have to leave. The library looks like nothing is happening outside; the librarians are still pushing carts around and Mazzis is sitting on a chair, waiting with the box next to him. "You need to evacuate," I tell him as I come to a stop, a little breathless.

He looks out at the library behind him. "I will never leave here, and all here have chosen the same fate. I will never leave the books." He lifts his chin. "I am no rider, but I am a reader. Both are powerful. I will stay here and protect the library. Even if it's the last thing that the Dawn Dynasty king does."

Tears fill my eyes as I look at the books. There isn't time to get the books out of here, and he knows it, too. "Maz, please…you can't stay here."

"Dear girl." He rises to his feet and takes my hands. "We both know, apart from the dragons and your mates, these books are the biggest threat to the vampyres. They are information on who we are, what the fae are meant to be, and each book is a page of hope." He knows, and I'm not sure how. Mazzis might be the smartest fae I've ever met. "Go. The Moon Dynasty needs a queen, and someone to remember me by. Get out of here and on that magnificent dragon of yours."

A sob echoes in my throat as I throw my arms around his shoulders and hold him tight. "Thank you."

He hugs me back once, just for a moment, before pushing me away. It's time to go. I pick up the box that he had waiting for me all along, the one we entrusted him to keep safe. I know I won't be able to get him out of here, and Catherine is sobbing as she hugs him. I let them talk quietly, and whatever he says leaves her shocked.

"I'll pray to the deities for you. For the library," I whisper. I pause to look back. "Did you finish that book, the one on the Twilight Dynasty?"

"Yes, and it's yours, Story. Read it when you can. It's in the box." My eyes widen. "I opened it, yes, but I've been lost to the magic of books for a long time. I'm not as weak as I seem. I am the king of the Dawn Dynasty, Story Dehana, and we royals can even challenge the deities for power."

I hope he is right. Ziven needs all the luck of the deities to survive tonight. I know I can't live without him because he is mine. I belong to him too, and I should have completed the mate bond when I had the chance. I don't know what I was waiting for, what final step I needed to be able to fully trust him, but I do.

I leave Mazzis to run out with Catherine, and the side door is finally clear enough for us to get outside of the mansion. The door might have been empty, but outside is not. It's madness, with crowds of fae running in every direction like no one has a clue where to go. Horses are loose, running amuck, and dragons are swooping across the skies, casting dark shadows along the earth, even in the middle of the day.

Catherine takes my hand and we link our fingers before we dive straight into the crowd and painstakingly make a path towards the river. On the way, I hand her the box with the book and I know without a doubt, she will protect it if I can't. I hope Ziven is right about Hettie and she stayed there or Ruelle took her to the dragons. In this chaos, I'm not sure how I'd find her. It feels like forever before we clear out of the crowd and see the river sparkling in the distance, with only a few shadows of people around it. We run the final part, and thankfully she's there. I spot her blonde head as she stands with Ruelle by a tree, looking up at the sky. Her eyes drop and she breaks away from Ruelle to crash into my open arms.

"What's happening?" she blurts out. "Where is my uncle? I'm scared. Why are the dragons?—"

"You're safe." I hold her shaky body to mine.

Ruelle gets to us, her stick clicking on the ground. "Tell me everything."

Catherine does as I kneel and try to calm Hettie down, to no avail. Catherine looks at me. "Walk with them and I'll go ahead to the dragons. Meet you there."

I nod and she is fast, disappearing down the path towards the dragons, while I lean down and pat my shoulder. "Climb on."

She shakily nods and jumps onto my back for a piggyback. Ruelle and I begin down the path, and she tells me, "I'll go and ride at his side. He will not die while I'm there." I almost forgot she is a rider. She touches my arm. "I'm assuming he sent you here to look after Hettie."

"Yes, she…" I pause, lost for words to explain what Hettie is to me. "She's the future. I love her, and Ziven didn't need to ask. I would have always come for her."

"I know." She pats my arm. "Hettie refused to leave the river until you came. Almost like she knew."

It takes us longer than I'd like to get to the entrance to the dragons' home, but I don't regret carrying Hettie. She is shaking like a leaf, and I know she would have just frozen up. I would have done the same at her age, faced with war.

Catherine is waiting by the entrance, and she nods at me. "They're coming up."

Ruelle leans on her walking stick. "Sun Dynasty doesn't suit you. Change sides when this is over. You belong with us, girl. You're protecting the future of the Moon Dynasty right now, and I'll find you if you fail."

Catherine once would have paled and ran, or she might have cried. She doesn't now. Becoming a dragon rider has changed her for the better. "Hettie is the heir to the Sun Dynasty too. By staying here, I'm protecting them both. I don't want to be pulled between them like…" She stops. Like me, she means. "I belong to the Sun, even if my best friend is destined for the Moon."

I hear Maeve in the distance, her roar and heavy stomps as she comes out. Her red scales seem to move like living flames in the sunlight as she looks up, arching her neck to the sky. Catherine and Ruelle leave to find their dragons inside. Hettie falls down my back, and she looks tiny as Maeve comes up to us. So tiny in the face of a dragon. "I haven't been on a dragon before, and I'm scared."

"I won't let anything happen to you. We're family, Hettie." I stroke her back. "You said you wanted to be a dragon rider when you're older. Here's some practice."

That seems to calm her a little, but I doubt anything could truly make her feel safe at this point. I look up into Maeve's purple eyes. "Are you okay with Hettie riding, Maeve? I need to keep her safe."

"Henrietta is a child of the dragons" is her answer, and I swear it's sarcastic, like I'm meant to know that fact.

I frown at her as she crouches down. Dust flies in a huff around my legs. "What does that mean?"

"Maybe it's not the time for us to discuss the child." I roll my eyes at her cryptic answer, damn well knowing she will ignore me when I bring it up in the future. I still can't figure out what is different about Henrietta, how she managed to even be born when no one else was. I push Hettie up so she can start climbing the scales, and climb after her, looking up at the skies that are slowly filling with dragons but none of the beasts. I don't want to see one because that means they got past Daegan or Ziven.

It means we are losing, and a deep part of my soul knows I don't want either of them dead.