54. AURELIA

Chapter fifty-four

AURELIA

" C urses, does she ever think about anyone besides herself?" Angie's voice carried through the dense foliage, reaching us clearly as Clemmy and I made our way back from our journey among the trees.

"What are you talking about? She just showed up," Loker said, his voice quick to respond to Angie's.

"She just shows up unannounced and then expects everyone to bow down to her royal majesty."

"It's not like that, and you know it," Damian said in a deep voice, standing up for me. I smiled, reassured by his refusal to tolerate any form of mockery directed at me.

My stomach dropped at her comment. Was I just a burden to them? Angie's comments made my stomach irk in a way that made me nauseous.

As we presented ourselves in the area, with Clemmy by my side, everyone went silent, knowing that they were talking about me, but didn't have the guts to say it to my face. The unfamiliarity and misunderstanding of Angie made me bite my tongue, waiting to thrash my words.

We reached the center, and everyone picked up their firewood at their sides, combining it in a large pile for us to use.

Abner's gaze lifted to the sky, his focus drawing the branches together overhead, shrouding us from prying eyes. With a determined grip on his fists, he shattered the uncomfortable silence. "We need to find the nest. We need to see what we are up against."

"Agreed," Loker said, stepping forward, about ready to call in his dragon.

"Wait, we all can't go. We will get caught. We also need some of you here for backup. Stay here and get food ready as we go check it out. If we don't make it back, then the duty is still on you to go to the kingdom, find the connection, and stop the Deathlies," Abner stated.

My heart skipped a beat. "You would still do this for my kingdom?" I asked, thinking of the possibility of us not returning and of the others still carrying out my quest.

"Not for your kingdom, Lia," Clemmy clarified. "But for you." My heart became overwhelmed, a smile threatening my face. I had never felt so loved in my entire life. I had found my people–my family.

"Who will go?" Luella asked, her golden eyes flickering from side to side. "Me, Aurelia, and Clemmy. This is happening in Aurelia's kingdom, and it is her quest. Clemmy knows more about magic from the Old Religion than most of us," Abner answered. No one could argue with that.

"There's no way in Haxnau 1 that Aurelia is going without me," Damian revolted, moving closer to me, glaring at Abner.

"You can't come. You're needed here," I pressed.

"The more we have with us, the more dangerous it will be. For all of us," Abner said, tilting his head to the side, his eyebrows raised, looking toward Damian."Over my dead body, am I letting you go without me right next to your side? I will kill any living thing that crosses your path, I swear to Haxnau . You are not going without me," Damian whispered. His words took me aback with their abruptness. I didn't know what else to think. "I will NOT lose you again, my Queen," he said with fierceness in his eyes, quiet enough for only me to hear.

I was so stunned by his words that I stood silently, a lump forming in my throat. He cared about me.

"Well, let's do this, then," Abner protested. The sun in the sky was dropping, flooding the bottom of it, the darkness of the night creeping into the air above us. It would be perfect to go at night. We were less likely to be spotted. "Damian and Aurelia on Belle, and Clemmy, you will come with me and Waimanimet 2 ."

Abner opened up a small portion of the intertwined blackened trees, allowing our dragons to enter. We chose a large field so that they would easily be able to make their way down and still stay hidden.

The wind fluttered, blowing a breeze through our hair, the material on the tents rippling as our dragons flew down through the hole provided by Abner's abilities.

Belle's wings flapped viciously, her pink and golden scales prominently showing as the sky and atmosphere got darker. Waimanimet came down as well. His scales were so dark that he almost blended in with the sky. His horns were razor sharp and could slice through my skin with hardly any effort. He was at least four times the size of Belle, being a full-grown dragon. His teeth flared and flashed a pearly white.

Despite my nerves around the enormous dragon, it brought me comfort knowing that he was on our side. He would be able to protect us if all else fails, with his mastery of shadow elements. His skills could make it easier and more secure for us to hide in the shadows.

Our dragons landed with exactness and precision. Gusts of dirt flurried into the air with their landing. Their wings, strong and powerful, coming to a stop. There was a giddiness in Belle's step that made me realize she was excited about something. Tilting my head, I turned, looking at her. "What are you thinking about, my Uanai 3 ?"

"Death," Belle said, snaring her fangs. Her teeth became larger, filling more of her mouth, growing sharper. I even noticed her legs becoming slightly thicker, as well. Her scales were once delicate, but had become strong like armor. Nearing closer, I raised my arm to stroke her snout.

I smirked at her remarks. "You're becoming the little Haxnau, aren't you?" She snared her sharp teeth again in response. "What did I do to you?" I giggled.

"Rasandrea 4 ?" Abner asked, wondering if we were ready. I missed it, but Abner and Clemmy had already climbed up on Waimanimet .

Damian got up on Belle and held his hand out to help me up her body. After rolling my eyes, I accepted his help. His strong hands gripped mine with a force that made my palm tingle. He let me sit up front, and he put his hands wrapped over my thighs, digging into them.

A sensation of tingling swarmed my body from his touch.

But I was supposed to hate him.

I couldn't live on his touch.

Thrive on his touch.

Want more of his body.

My heart stopped instantly until Luella cried out, peering up at us. Her small face and hands were waving to each of us. "Be safe!" she called out, tears glistening in her full eyes.

"We're gonna be fine," Clemmy shouted, her smile strained. My muscles coiled, anticipation and readiness coursing through my frame. We were going straight to the Deathlies. Why in the world would anyone willingly approach their enemy? We had to. We needed to understand what we were facing.

A thought crossed my mind that I had to erase. What if Clemmy just lied?

No.

We were going to be okay.

Our dragons lifted off the ground. Their wings flapped, dirt scraping against my face and filling my eyes, making them water.

Damian's hands dug again into my thighs, showing that he was there–reminding me he was going to keep his promise.

He was going to be with me always.

He was going to protect me.

The Scalebound disappeared beneath the gap in the trees as we crossed it; the space filled up with more branches and leaves as if they were never beneath it in the first place.

A sharp inhale filled my lungs as the gravity of what we were doing sank in. We were seeking the Deathlies, a realization that hung heavy in the air, the possibility of death dancing in front of my eyes.

We had an idea of where they were. The land became ombre with color, starting to turn gray in the direction of the nest, where it blackened to a deep onyx, the color of death itself.

The nest had to be close to the castle, if that was where the connection originated. We knew it had to be around here somewhere.

The sky turned the same color as the charred earth with plague beneath us. Celestials sprinkled some light throughout it, companions to the somber moon above.

"Remember not to touch anything. The plague is easily transferable," Clemmy said through the Scaleborne connection. I repeated it back to Damian so that he understood as well. Anything, even as small as a touch, could kill us.

The trees beneath us grew darker, blistered with the sickness of the Deathlies. The flowers and plants were parched and wrinkled into roots of nothingness. Their leaves disappeared in the wind, contracted, and fell into themselves, making them sadder and smaller than their worth.

The smokiness in the air, blurring the objects, made me think we were getting closer. I had never been outside my tower, so I was unsure what area we were in compared to the kingdom.

I knew Clemmy was a part of the Clandike Kingdom, but I didn't know her story. "Clemmy, what part of the Clandike Kingdom were you born in?" I asked, only to her.

"I was a part of the Shamla community." I recognized the name.

"Is that the community tucked into the mountains?"

"Yes. It is." I knew they were taught all about the Old Religion and everything ancient. They were the one community in the kingdom I knew that did this without being burned at the stake. I remembered my father talking about it with my mother one day. That would make sense as to why Clemmy knew so much about everything to do with dragons and the Old Religion. "Do you, by chance, know what city we are in right now? Or the name of this area?" she asked.

Taking in the surroundings, I tried to recollect the names of the cities. Noticing the large farmlands that we passed, I knew that it must be—

"Leveland," I breathed out, remembering why the familiarity of the name had struck me hard. "Our winner is… Tobias Maxwell from Leveland!" I could hear my father's voice on the day that Laneux 5 was killed. It couldn't be a coincidence that the Deathlies' nest was right next to the castle that Tobias was living in and was only minutes from his original hometown. Something didn't feel right.

Clemmy interrupted my thoughts by saying, "He's not so bad, ya know?"

"Who?"

"Abner."

"What about him?" I asked.

"I know that he is hard on you and that Damian doesn't like him," she nudged her head to Damian sitting behind me, "but he's not that bad. He protects us really well. We wouldn't be alive if it weren't for him."

"What's his story?" I asked, curious about his background.

"Not sure if you knew, but he was the bastard child of the Sardanian King. His mother had to prove herself to be one of the king's mistresses and had to kill a dragon. The curse she obtained was her first and only child being one of us. Obviously, however, there's a reason that we're the result of the curse. We create havoc wherever we go, unable to fit in anywhere. She had to run away into the Forbidden Forest to be safe. Everyone was looking for him and wanted his golden blood. His mother died soon after. I am not sure how. After that, he's been raised with dragons. Waimanimet has been his companion ever since he was a child."

Thinking of her words, I found some empathy for Abner. I couldn't imagine having to live out in the Forbidden Forest by myself, losing my grandmother and everything I had in my life. The thought of his story made me feel a little more grateful for my situation. I hated being in my tower, but at least I had been safe, and no one ever knew about me to kill or hunt me. Maybe my parents did have a reason to keep me in my tower for all of those years.

I immediately knew we reached the nest when I saw the black, lifeless creatures circling the air, watching over their home.

"Down!" Abner's voice broke the silence. We followed his call, and Belle swooped down with Waimanimet.

We hovered over the cindery trees, not touching them, but not being high enough in the air to be seen.

The Deathlies were up in the sky, their holey battered wings flapping with struggle and tension as they shrieked, the sound vibrating in my eardrums.

Waimanimet made his way toward the nest, pestering closer and closer to the Deathlies. I started to feel less and less comfortable. The darkness and umbrage presented in the atmosphere as we inched closer to what felt like our doom.

As we reached closer, Belle and Waimanimet continued to beat up and down, unceasing to contact the thicket. "Is that a…" Damian stuttered.

"A gaping hole," I finished his sentence. In the heart of the forest stood a vast expanse of darkness, a gaping void amidst the towering trees, swallowing the light and seemingly leading to oblivion. "What does it lead to?" I whispered.

Abner and Clemmy were right next to us as well, listening to our conversation. "It looks like it's growing inside of the Earth," Clemmy answered.

"How is it growing?" Damian asked.

"The magic being used must be very strong to create some sort of hole in the Earth. I think the Deathlies are eating the Earth alive."

Eating the Earth alive.

How could Tobias have this much magic? How could he be this powerful? He must be working with someone. But who? The only people I could even think of who were connected to the magic from the Old Religion were Tybalt, the sorcerer who worked with Damian… And my grandmother.

Could this be my grandmother's work? Was Tobias forcing my grandmother to do this?

"Damian, could the sorcerer you worked with do something this intense?" I asked, wondering what his capabilities were. It stung a little bit to talk about the sorcerer and the betrayal.

"From what I know, yes." I wanted this to be the answer. I wanted it to be him, not my grandmother or Tobias.

The shadows of the Deathlies would rise high above the trees and the forest and then plummet into the caving hole in the ground, finding home however deep it went. The black figures screeched, fought, and rounded the area, their slate bodies revolving. Some would leave in different directions, and others would return. They would never carry anything as they did, so it didn't seem they were collecting anything or anyone .

What was their purpose? Why would anyone create these things? "If he had started this, do you know why he would've?" I asked Damian.

"That's the hard part. He is always creating deals with others. Someone would have created a deal with him to do this for something in return. That's the only answer that would make sense."

"Well, I do not see the connection tethered to the magic here. It's too dark. If the effects of it were translucent, we wouldn't be able to see, anyway." Clemmy was right. I didn't see the connection, either. It would either be lit up with purple, translucent, low energy, or a different color than it originally was. Even then, nothing here was alive, making it hard to know what could be the medium. The object would have to have life to fuel this.

"At least we know what we are up against now. Ready?" Abner asked, suggesting that we should leave. The Deathlies had such a brooding presence that brought goosebumps to my skin and made my arms tingle unnaturally. My body became enveloped in a shroud of icy tendrils, and my insides burned up with fear. One mistake and we could be found or heard. I ached to get out of here. To feel warmth again and to not feel the thickness of ice in the air.

The feeling of death was so dense that I could taste it.

Turning to look at Damian and the others, I said, "Let's get out of here."

1. Haxnau (Hah-nah-woo): Hell

2. Waimanimet (Way-mawn-imet): Abner's dragon

3. Uanai (Wah-nay): Everything

4. Rasandrea (Rah-sawn-dreh-aw): Ready

5. Laneux (Law-neh-ooh)