5. Gage Bronzeheart

Chapter 5

Gage Bronzeheart

I pulled Bexley into my arms the moment I emerged from the portal, finding her completely and perfectly fine. When she'd been sucked in without us, I worried that she had somehow been injured, or that I'd find she'd disappeared once I reached the other side. Until this threat was handled, I was constantly fearful that my mate would be taken from me—that she'd just disappear without a word.

But here she was, tilting her head back and staring up at me with wide, beautiful eyes that danced with soft amusement. Letting out a slow exhale, I tugged her under some tree cover as the other two exited the portal behind me. As soon as they were through, our magic recoiled, summoning a dramatic response within Carmina.

There was a stormy atmosphere that was innate to this realm, but the reaction we caused was something else entirely.

After traveling so much recently we should have been used to it, but I could see the surprise on Bexley's face at the explosion of storm energy that sounded through the air. I looked skyward through the trees, watching the already charcoal skies turn black as lightning crackled through the sky. Wind washed over us in a hurricane-like effect and cold rain pelted our skin, hitting hard enough that it felt like hail, causing me to pull Bexley further into me.

When it finally settled, I let out a frustrated noise, finding that Bexley's hair was soaked and she was shivering slightly. I shrugged off my jacket and wrapped it around her, her lips pressing into a thankful smile that made me want to kiss her. I knew it wasn't the time, but my reason and rationality didn't always work well when it came to my cupcake.

"That felt amazing." Bexley tilted her chin up as I watched her eyes bleed black, her dragon feeding off the intensity of storm power around us. My mate then spun from my arms and walked through the crowded brush, returning to the path, skipping right over several puddles while humming happily. I could see just how much the environment was affecting her mood, and I found that I loved it. After a few minutes of walking, we crested a hill and found ourselves looking out on a forested landscape that dipped into a valley.

The countryside looked like something out of a novel, marred only by the inky spot of the gothic city to the south.

"I can see why it would be dangerous for us to be here too often," Bexley called out as thunder rumbled in the distance.

"Why is that?" Jagger asked curiously, Bexley bouncing on her toes as she looked around the foreign land.

"They're a bit stormy here," she said with a cute smile. I swear, this woman was going to kill me. My fingers twitched to pull her back into my arms, but I managed to restrain myself, not liking how out in the open we currently were. I needed to stay on alert.

"In all senses of the word," Breaker agreed.

I sighed. Unfortunately, he was right. And because of the conflict brewing there, the last thing I wanted to do was go to the city. Which left me with one option—I chose to make a phone call that I knew would come with a price to pay. Eventually. In the short-term, though, it would be worth it and make our time here a hell of a lot easier than having to try to track down someone from the Nyx family.

I pulled my phone out, thankful that it even worked—Carmina wasn't known for its technological prowess. No, the territory seemed to be stuck in a state of perpetual decay, where the poor only grew poorer, suffering while the rich lifted themselves so far above everyone else that they were untouchable. Oddly enough, the revolutionary action going on here wasn't about that—no, that was about something much more complicated.

Pulling up a phone number I'd grabbed from my father before leaving, I let the device ring as I watched my mate pointing out things to the other two, fascinated with what Carmina had to offer. Not for the first time, I felt guilty that my cupcake hadn't had more experiences traveling. After we handled this Clanguard bullshit, that would change. In some ways, I suppose it was better that we hadn't traveled a lot, since now she'd be able to share those experiences with all three of us instead of just my family. That concept made me feel moderately better.

"Hello?" A lighthearted voice chimed through the other end, and I felt a surge of relief that the bastard had actually picked up.

"Leandor, this is Gage?—"

"Bronzeheart," he filled in, sounding amused. "Yes your father sent word that you would most likely be calling." Of course he had—I don't know why I would've expected anything different. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

I was distracted by voices on the other end of the phone in the background, and I considered that this may have been a bad idea. A favor was never free, especially in a place like this. And while Leandor was a friend of the family, I had no idea who he'd aligned himself with outside of the Nyx family.

"If I'm interrupting something…"

"Nonsense." The background noises went silent as the soft thunk of a door shutting sounded through the line. "My son and his friends have been causing chaos in the territory, which is nothing new. Unfortunately, because of that I am surrounded by lots of people—all the time."

I'd heard that Cage, his son, had left campus. Considering he was friends with Grimshaw Nyx, whose family essentially ruled the realm…well, it wasn't surprising to confirm that they were part of whatever was going on in Carmina.

"So, how can I help you, Gage?" Leandor finished.

"Right. Well…my mate, myself, and the other two heirs just arrived in Carmina through the main portal?—"

"Ah, that was you all! Well, that solves that. Idra—" His voice was a sing-song tone before a long pause, clearly waiting for someone to join him. "Apparently the magical surge was the storm dragon heirs arriving, no need to call anyone," he explained to whoever this ‘Idra' was—I was going to assume his wife. "Sorry, go on."

Breaker arched a brow in question, probably at my pinched expression, but I shrugged it off. If it'd been anyone else I would've felt like the constant conversational tangents were disrespectful, but I knew that wasn't the case when it came to Leandor. Their entire family was a bit eccentric, to say the least. While Breaker's family had been in contact with the Nyx's more, Leandor had been my father's point of contact within Carmina for years.

"We need help," I said, keeping it simple. "Two of the storm dragon clan rulers have been imprisoned, and their cell has a lock that's strong enough to keep them contained. We need help figuring out how to break it."

I could practically hear the surprise from the silence on the other end of the line.

"Well, of course. We can't have clan leaders imprisoned," he finally murmured. "And you're at the portal? You haven't traveled toward the city yet?"

"Correct. We're hoping to avoid the city, and we haven't moved far from the portal."

"Perfect. Follow the path three miles north, and when you hit the first town, go to the largest house at the end of the lane—it's one of our country homes. One of my sons should be there right now; he'll be able to help you if you explain the lock. Most likely, hopefully at least, it's not as complicated as it appears."

"Thank you, Leandor. I appreciate it."

"No problem. If we weren't in the city, we'd join you. But I'm only a call away, so let me know if you need anything else."

After saying goodbye, I hung up and slipped my phone into my jacket, walking towards the others. "We have a direction. Leandor said one of his sons should be able to help. We need to head about three miles north."

"I haven't looked in that direction yet," Bexley hummed as she waltzed past me. Grabbing her around the waist, I tilted her chin up and kissed her in the briefest touch before letting her loose to lead us down the path. Now that we'd announced our presence, I wasn't as concerned about Bexley's safety here, especially since we didn't have to travel into the city.

The thickly forested path stretched on forever, and while Bexley would randomly point out different things, I found myself trapped in thought. Until a question she asked pulled my full attention.

"So what's the deal with Carmina? Who rules it?"

"That's a bit of a complicated question," I said. My family had always ensured the two of us received an extensive education growing up, but we hadn't put much focus on the other territories outside of Trabea. Something that was probably a reflection of my own clan's self-importance in how we regarded shifters compared to others in our realm, if we were being honest. "Carmina, which is both the name of the territory and the city center, is ruled and protected by the Nyx family."

"One of whom is Deva's mate," Bexley summarized. "Got it. That's sort of crazy. Talk about power." Her surprise at Grimshaw's importance had me smirking as the other two offered her amused looks. Bexley often forgot what a similar position she herself was in as the Flash clan heir. "So are they the governing body or…"

"Not officially, and not elected—just the wealthiest and most powerful," I explained. "However, there is a purist group that's attempted to call their power into question. They live in the northern part of the territory, is my understanding, and they've been trying to rid Carmina of unblessed witches and lay claim to the city. I don't know much more about the politics, but the revolutionary activity going on has to do with that particular conflict."

"Wow," she murmured. "The purist group, are they dangerous?"

I knew she wasn't thinking about the danger to herself as we traveled through the territory—she was worried about Deva. My mate was always worrying about everyone but herself, a quality I both loved and one that concerned me greatly.

"Yes," Breaker answered, "although their leader lost his prized assassin years ago, so I'm not sure if that's changed anything."

Bexley's eyes darkened with concern, and I found myself grasping at a way to change topics. "Do you know about the different witch types?"

"You said there are unblessed witches." Bexley frowned. "I feel like I should know what the other types are, but I can't recall if I ever learned them."

She had learned about the types of witches, but the lesson had been on a day when her memory spell had been triggered by information regarding our own realm and a minor conflict between Carmina and Trabea—causing her agonizing pain. She'd probably blocked the entire day from her memory. Never fucking again would I allow anyone or anything to hurt her so badly.

"Are there blessed witches?"

"Yes," Jagger answered. "There are three types of blessed witches: lunar, blood, and shadow. Although ‘blessed' and ‘unblessed' are absolutely ridiculous distinctions. Especially considering that both have magic and the latter simply deals with more natural elements of the world rather than darkness, death, and bloodshed."

"Deva is a lunar witch for sure," Bexley murmured, more to herself than to us.

"How do you know?" I asked.

Bexley looked at me in surprise before tilting her head in thought. "I guess you haven't really seen her outside of the school gathering that Estrid called." And even then I had been wholly focused on monitoring threats and looking at my mate. "I mean, she practically has silver skin, and her hair is literally navy. She has to be lunar. If she isn't, I'd be shocked."

"She is," Breaker confirmed. "After we ran into them, I did a background check on their group, including her. I couldn't find much, but she's listed as a lunar witch in her academic records."

Luckily, Bexley didn't seem to view the infringement of privacy as a problem, nodding contentedly.

"So four types of witches, and there's a group that doesn't want the unblessed witches around," Bexley summarized. "So who's Leandor?"

"Cage's father. His son is one of Deva's mates as well, and his family is an allied family with the Nyx's cause."

"So they're going to help us figure out how to break the lock?"

"That's the plan. He said one of his sons would help, but I'm not sure which it'll be—I believe they have nine in total."

Bexley came to a full stop, her brows shooting up. "Nine boys?! Nine children?!"

"It is a lot," I agreed. "Although female storm dragons have litters, so that could be us one day."

Bexley's eyes grew comically large. "I…I knew that, but somehow the reality is ten times more insane to consider. I mean, how many are we talking, exactly? Surely not more than like three at a time, right?" Her voice squeaked at the end, and I reached over to run a hand on her back in a comforting motion.

"If it helps, I think the last recorded was five at once?" Jagger offered, making Breaker wince. Because let's be honest—there was no way to make that sound appealing. Bexley didn't look scared, though, just shocked.

"Five?" she whispered. "Oh man…that's a lot. I mean, obviously it would be worth it, but I can't imagine that would be a very fun pregnancy."

"Don't worry, mo chuisle , we'll figure out a way to ensure you're comfortable no matter what the future brings."

"Deal." Bexley flashed us a wry smile. "But if I do that, I get all the cupcakes I want, even if it means not having real food."

I couldn't help but laugh, not bothering to even pretend to balk at her request because I was absolutely willing to give the woman whatever she wanted. I couldn't imagine denying her cupcakes on a normal day, let alone when she was pregnant.

Before we could continue our discussion about the future, we reached the outskirts of a village that I could tell was our destination. A row of houses sat to either side of the road that led to a large gothic estate at the end of the literal road. Each property had at least an acre of land behind it before hitting the forest line, and I wondered briefly if the entire town was owned by their family.

My suspicion was confirmed as people left their houses, all sporting a very similar set of crimson eyes. Kids gave us curious looks, and some of the women were waving to us. I noted a distinct lack of men in the village, and I wondered who was watching over it. Then again, Leandor did say one of his sons would be here, and more importantly…I knew that mindset was more than a bit archaic. These women and even children could probably protect themselves against us, let alone other witches.

"They seem friendly," Bexley said. It was probably because they all belonged to one of the most powerful families of blood witches in Carmina, meaning they had nothing to fear from us. As much as I hated to admit it, we'd probably be at a disadvantage in a fight. While we fought with brutal force, blood witches barely had to lift a finger to inflict damage on a large scale. It was what made them terrifying.

"Blood witches at the top of their game can remove every ounce of liquid from your body with a singular snap of their fingers, so I have a feeling they don't view us as threats."

"Seriously?" Bexley asked, her eyes wide with intrigue and a bit of disgust pinching her face. "I'm…I don't think I like the idea of having that type of magic around me, let alone being able to do something like that."

"Yes, they are an…interesting group," I admitted. I had a lot more words I wanted to use to describe blood witches, but now was not the time for that. Especially if we wanted help from anyone in this village—I had a feeling they could hear everything we were saying.

When we reached the estate at the end of the road, the door opened to reveal a man in his mid-thirties, his red gaze running over all four of us with a look that somehow managed to be both curious and disinterested. It certainly wasn't a friendly look…but it also wasn't not friendly. It felt like we'd interrupted his day, which considering the short notice was likely true.

"You must be the dragons," the person said. "My father called to tell me you'd be coming by. Please come in."

"The dragons," Breaker chuckled under his breath. "That's a new one."

Keeping Bexley between us, we entered the shadow-filled home, the wards passing over us like a veil slipping over our skin. I looked around as we made our way past a formal sitting area with luxurious furniture, appreciating the intricate woodwork and candlelit surfaces. We followed the man down the hall into an office, and I was surprised to find a woman there with two one-year-old tots sitting on the floor.

"I'm not sure if my father mentioned who would be helping you, but the name is Moloch, and this is my wife Calliope—along with our two daughters, Belinda and Mara." His wife stood as the babies continued to play on the floor.

"Welcome to our home. Have you eaten yet? I can make something." She kept her gaze directly on Bexley, and I could tell it was something my mate appreciated. Her dragon could be possessive when it came to other women. Something I fucking loved, if we were being honest.

"I will never say no to food, but only if it isn't a hassle," Bexley said, emphasizing the last part.

"No problem at all," Calliope insisted happily and slipped from the room.

Almost immediately my mate was on the floor with the babies, smiling as they played with little toys—wooden moons and suns.

"So how can we help you?" Moloch asked, leaning against the desk. Despite looking at us, I could tell he was focused on his children. I didn't think he viewed Bexley as a threat, but there were also four strangers in his house, so I didn't blame him for his caution.

"We need to release two storm dragon clan leaders being held captive. The pack that put them there used magic either on the lock or to create the lock—we've seen it," I explained.

"You have a distinct memory of this lock?" he asked as he went to a glass cabinet, taking out what appeared to be a smoky dark orb.

"In a dreamscape, yes," Jagger agreed.

"And who experienced it firsthand? Whose dream was it?"

"Me." Bexley stood as he set the orb down on the desk, and Moloch motioned for her to join him.

"This orb can take an imprint of your dream. Once that's done, I can start the process of trying to figure out what type of magic we need to counter this lock of yours."

"It's that easy?" Breaker mused.

"Far from it, but my father is eager to have a stronger alliance with the storm dragon clans, so we will do what we can." As Bexley placed her delicate hands on the orb, we kept our distance but stayed close enough to grab her if needed. "Now," he said to Bex, "find the place in your memory where the dream is stored. Play it through your mind. The orb will do the rest."

Bex closed her eyes, and I could sense the magic in the air as the orb tugged at the memory. My mate's frame swayed as the orb began to flash with bright colors, displaying snippets of the dream we'd experienced. After only a few seconds, the orb darkened as Bexley dropped her hands and blinked, looking slightly dazed. I took a step toward her, but Bex was gone before I could get to her. One of the little girls had started to cry, and Bexley immediately darted over to soothe her.

Clearly having decided he could trust Bexley and content that his daughter was in good hands, Moloch placed the orb in front of himself, his fingers tracing over it before he closed his eyes, getting a read on the dream himself. Bexley let out a soft hum and rocked the little girl in her arms as the other continued to stack her blocks. It was such a domestic scene that I'd nearly forgotten what we were doing when Moloch broke the silence.

"It's a powerful lock—a power drain. So it's not the lock itself that's keeping these two individuals imprisoned, but rather the spell that's making them so weak they can't leave. Good news is that I have a way to break it."

Thank fuck.

Bexley sighed in relief as a visible weight was lifted from her shoulders. I was thrilled with the news, but I also knew there was no way that it was that simple—it never was.

"It's going to take me about twelve hours to prepare, though. I assume that's okay?"

I nodded in resignation. "Not ideal, but we can make it work."

"Good. Now let me show you to our guest house while dinner is being made," Calliope said from the door. Bexley turned and smiled, the little girl in her arms reaching out for her mother. I had a feeling that despite everything going on, Bexley was absolutely okay with staying an extra night.

It was probably needed before the chaos that would erupt when we arrived back in Trabea—to the war that awaited us.