39. Kadia

Kaida found herself being drawn outdoors after the guys ran upstairs to shower. She stopped at the door and peeked her head outside to examine the color of the sky. It was the same bright blue as it had been when she was outside earlier, and clouds covered enough to hide the sun for a few seconds before it peaked back out.

She straightened her back and held her chin up to give the illusion that she was braver than she felt. At any moment, the Dark Dimension could try to encourage her dragon to claw its way out. The sun touched her skin again, giving her the warmth she bathed in, and welcomed her to lay below it. She waited for a few minutes while standing at the top of the porch stairs. She only noticed the gentle breeze making the trees sway and hearing the people down below in town. There was no black mist, and the sky maintained its bright blue hue.

Okay. No sign of me being attacked by an invisible force again.

We could always fly around the island.

Why should we do that?

Just in case. Our magic can close the small portals of the Dark Dimension. If one has opened up, we should close it before it infects anyone else.

Kaida agreed with her dragon but wasn’t sure it was best to go alone. She would feel safer if she waited for one of the guys to go with her.

But they would be susceptible to the Dimension more than we are. Even during my rampage, I could focus on closing that portal for good.

It would still be better if we waited.

They would tell us to stay put while they searched for it. We are not some delicate flower.

I know they would, but they do it to protect us.

We are not delicate! We can take on anything that is thrown our way. They are our backups. Not the other way around.

Are you just trying to leave without them because you don’t want to hear them argue with us?

I don’t think I could have said it any plainer than I already have.

Kaida could hear the showers going inside the house. If she wanted to leave, now was the time. It was not like she needed someone to babysit her. Kaida was powerful in her own right and had done well at defending herself so far. With all four of the bonds that opened up to her being completed, Kaida felt stronger than ever.

Fine. We can fly around. But do not try to attack anyone who doesn’t need to be stopped, and we only use our magic to close the portal if we see one.

Fine.

While walking toward the front lawn, Kaida stretched her arms and neck. She fidgeted with her hands as thoughts of the guys not being happy with her going alone flooded into her mind. She pushed them away and stood underneath a beam of the sun’s light that peeked through the clouds. Kaida took a deep breath as she allowed the shift to take over. Within seconds, her dragon’s form emerged.

Ahhh, now this feels better. Nothing better than stretching my wings.

Remember what you promised.

Yeah, yeah. You’re the boss. I can agree with that. I’m over having to deal with others right now. I hope we are the only ones in the sky, so we don’t have to deal with anyone.

Good. We will only grow stronger if we are on the same page. If Enzo’s father brings his army here, we must work together.

Kaida stretched her wings as far as she could go. Couldn’t agree more. Now let’s go!

Kaida leaped into the air and flapped her wings. It didn’t take long before she felt the mist of water spraying across her scales as she flew through the clouds. Soaring above them gave Kaida the freedom she needed right now.

Her head became clear as Kaida glided through the sky. At first, she stayed on the outer ring of the island. There was no evidence of a portal and no sign of any mist. Kaida found herself going around a second time to be sure before she flew inward to scan the inner land. Yet again, there were no signs of anything other than the people.

Kaida flew lower to see the people walking and observed their behavior as she glided above. No one was screaming at one another, no one was trying to destroy a building, and there was no shouting. The island was quiet for the first time in over a week, and the people seemed to be thriving.

That is such a relief.

After her scanning, Kaida found herself flying over the water. She turned sideways to run the tip of her wing through the water and let it spray against her. The sun was hot, so the water felt cool against her scales. Before she knew it, Kaida found herself at the barrier that held them all inside and away from the mainland. Kaida found herself growling while she flew next to it.

The feeling of magic spread across her body. This particularly made her skin crawl as it felt like critters running against every inch of her. As far as she knew, magic did not normally feel this way. Any time she had been in it, it normally brushed across her skin and felt like the element it belonged to.

This was different.

She had always been told that the barrier was a way to keep people who should not be mixing with their people away. The island was full of Elemental Dragons that would kill her as soon as they knew who she was and that she was from Dragaal. Much to her dismay, that part was accurate since the princes did not like the fact she was here. If it weren’t for the fact she uncovered it was because of the bonds making them crazy, she would still believe that Elementals were villains.

No. Elementals are just like any other person in our kingdom. They just want to live a good life.

This barrier was a way to keep those that generations of Storm Dragons deemed unworthy from living in Dragaal. It did not matter; the Elementals were just like everyone else. The Storm Dragons did not see them as worthy because they thought the powers of the storm were stronger than the power over the elements. After seeing what Elementals could do with their magic, Kaida knew that the generations of hate needed to end.

A growl escaped her throat again as she continued to fly beside the barrier. A shock radiated through her body if she got too close, and she dropped in altitude. She did her best to keep her distance after the second time. There were no weak spots that she could see.

I wonder if our magic can bring this down.

If you do not want the king to notice you, I would say that isn’t a promising idea.

I beg to differ. Maybe he needs to know what he is dealing with, so he stays on the mainland instead.

It would be interesting to see how the mainland would react to the barrier coming down.

Panic, mostly.

Kaida thought about it some more, and her heart seemed set on seeing if she could break the barrier. With Adrien saying she needed to return home to find the artifact that could close the Dark Dimension, and there was no chance of her mate returning so she could do so, this could be their only option. It was a no-brainer that the artifact was exactly what was needed to stop the Dark Dimension from spreading to the other kingdoms. It was contained here, for now. If it was here at all anymore.

I am so conflicted. What is the best thing to do here?

We could ask the guys.

They would just say no.

Let’s ask the girls.

I think they would just say no, too.

The pros of this decision were that Kaida could allow Adrien to reclaim her position and find the artifact. It would also allow them to watch the mainland better to be better prepared for an attack. It could also give her friends the ability to tell their people about the Dark Dimension and prepare themselves for anything to go wrong because they saw what it did to the people on the island.

The cons were that everyone she knew could be really mad at her and that it could notify the king and queen that she was more powerful than they knew and speed up their planned attack.

Do the pros outweigh the cons here?

Kaida felt they did. Her friends needed to return home and prepare their people, and Adrien needed to find that artifact.

Without any further questioning, Kaida landed on the ground near the house. She opened her jaws and allowed her power to amass. She felt the crackling energy of her plasma and could see its ultra-vibrant purple arcs shooting outward. Within seconds, it accumulated into a ball that was bigger than her head.

Time for this barrier to come down.

Kaida opened her mouth a little more and lifted her head to shoot her plasma beam upward. She watched it sail through the air and connect with the barrier. There was a loud CRACK, and gold shimmers of magic sprayed in every direction as her purple magic flattened against the barrier. Her men’s voices came out of the house, but Kaida kept her eyes on where her magic connected with the barrier. Soon enough, her question was answered.

The barrier was falling away and dissipating from existence.

Look at that. The barrier is gone.