Chapter 16

16

ARIA

T he day following the incident with Marcus was eventful in ways I'd not expected. To my relief, the vampires seemed to be keeping their distance, though I couldn't shake the feeling of being watched.

I had noticed Zephyr in deep conversation with Elowen before our training session. Whatever he had said must have made an impact because our exercises took on a new dimension. Elowen introduced techniques that she said were inspired by fae magic, designed to help us connect more deeply with our elemental abilities.

To my surprise and delight, these new methods seemed to be working today. For the first time since we began our elemental training, I felt a flicker of something within me. Energy formed in the palms of my hands, a strange white mist unlike anything I'd seen from my companions. Though it dissipated before I could truly wield it, the mere fact that I had produced anything at all felt like a monumental victory.

"Did you see that?" I gasped, still disbelieving I'd actually conjured up anything.

Zephyr, who had been nearby, grinned broadly. "I knew you had it in you, Aria. Keep at it!" His eyes had twinkled, and I couldn't stop grinning as I continued working at it.

Despite this small breakthrough, I couldn't shake the nagging worry that we were running out of time. The Trial of the Stone Sentinels loomed ever closer, and I still felt woefully unprepared. So I spent the entire day working on my magic, and by the time night fell, I was too exhausted to spend time with anyone, despite Chris wanting to have some time together.

The following days were much the same, honing the magic I'd finally awakened, although it fizzled out often before I could do anything with it, but my wispy white magic had drawn attention, and Zephyr speculated if it was like air, while Elowen found it truly fascinating. They wondered on which element I was wielding, since no one else had anything like it. Cloud magic? A mix of water and air? Air and fire? Mixed elements wasn't something any of the others had gotten, but my group and even Eirian were perplexed by it.

I spent so much time working on my magic, that I was too tired for anything else by the time the day was done. We were all training to our full efforts, and many of us were exhausted. One of the nights, Chris had come back to my room with me after showering at his, wanting to chat with me more, but had proceeded to fall asleep as he lay sprawled on my bed. We'd barely even kissed before he'd succumbed to exhaustion, and I didn't mind too much as I'd curled up beside him and followed suit.

I had been avoiding the communal area since the night of Marcus's attack, which meant I hadn't seen much of Ossian. Part of me missed our late-night conversations, the way he could make history come alive with his stories. But another part was relieved to have some distance. My feelings were complicated enough without adding a centuries-old vampire to the mix.

After a particularly tiring training session one afternoon, Lydia invited us all back to her room for tea. As we settled into her cozy space, the sweet aroma of various herbal blends filling the air, I was struck by a sudden pang of homesickness. My mother had always enjoyed burning incense as I'd grown up, the house always smelling of some sweet fragrance.

Lydia had said she'd requested some teas, and the Dracarians hadn't disappointed with providing her with a selection, all of which she was having fun trying. It was her way of relaxing and unwinding.

Zephyr sat on the edge of her bed, while Chris had taken the armchair in the corner, and I stood closer to Lydia by the small kitchenette, offering help however I could.

"This one is so nice, it's a sweet one, unlike anything I've ever had at home. Maybe a little like honey, but that's the best I can relate it to," Lydia said as she began pouring the teas.

I wondered if the Dracarians would provide me with a cute little teapot and cups if I asked, but I knew it was pointless. I wasn't a huge tea drinker.

"I wish we could leave the Keep, explore Dracaria a little. It's a whole new world, and we're confined to this one place. The most outside time we get is on our balconies," Chris said with a sigh. "I need to shift. All us shifters do."

"That's true. They're getting restless at being confined. Caging animals is never a great idea," Lydia agreed, but I noticed her hands trembling slightly. When she turned to hand out the cups, my stomach knotted at the tears glistening in her eyes.

"Lydia?" I said softly as I touched her arm. "Are you okay?"

She tried to smile, but it crumbled almost instantly. "I... I miss them so much," she whispered, her voice breaking. "My family, my children. They must be so worried, so confused…I'm trying to stay distracted, but…"

The dam broke then, and Lydia's composure crumbled completely. She sank onto the bed, sobs wracking her body. Without hesitation, I moved to her side, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"I'm sorry," she gasped between sobs. "I know we all feel like this."

"Hey, no," Chris said gently as he moved quickly to kneel in front of her. "You don't have to apologize for missing your family. Besides, you have kids, a mate."

Zephyr nodded, his usually mischievous expression replaced with one of sincere compassion. "We all have people we left behind. It's okay to miss them."

As Lydia's sobs gradually subsided, we found ourselves sharing stories of home. Chris spoke of his estranged pack, the pain of rejection still evident in his voice, but also the underlying love he still held despite it all. Zephyr regaled us with tales of fae mischief that had us all laughing despite the weight of it all. He told us of his parents and his sister, who had married into royalty amongst their people. He wasn't close with her anymore.

I told them about my dad, how exasperating he could be with his constant attempts to set me up, but how I knew it came from a place of love. And I spoke of Dana, my best friend, imagining her frantic worry at my sudden disappearance.

"My daughter had a crush that she was struggling with, we were working through it, along with cyber drama. It's tough, doing all that whilst helping her with her first shift. It's never easy, it's painful. Just another thing a poor young teen needs to worry about with puberty. I hope my husband, Paulo, is doing okay. I hope he's reached out to my mom for help if he needs it while I'm not there," Lydia said with a shake of her head. "I hate not knowing if they're doing okay, that I can't tell them I'm fine."

"Same here. It's the not knowing that's the hardest," I admitted.

"Makes me think of the old days, when people went to war and all they had were letters. People must have been beyond anxious back then," Chris said.

"You've all become too reliant on phones and the internet in all honesty," Zephyr said. "I'm glad the fae aren't too keen on such things even now. Some of us, those who spend more time in the human plane, have adjusted and use it more, but the rest of us don't care for it."

"Sounds nice, in a way," I murmured as I finally sipped my tea. Lydia was right, they were sweet but not overbearing, and the flavor was unlike anything I'd ever had before.

We continued sharing stories and our pasts, making sure not to let any one of us get too down. Zephyr was the main one trying to keep us elevated, but as the night wore on, our laughter gave way to a somber silence despite our best efforts. The weight of our situation, the enormity of what we were preparing to do, settled over us like a heavy blanket.

Lydia had given us a few refills of tea, offering other flavors, but now, there was nothing that could lift the shadows clutching at us.

"Do you really think we can do this?" I asked, voicing the fear we'd all been dancing around. "Awaken ancient dragons and then save two worlds? How does this elemental magic even fit in to it all? What's our part? They're so vague about it all."

"We have to," Lydia said, her voice stronger now. "For our families, for everyone we left behind. We have to try."

"As for our magic, who knows, maybe we need to wield it against the shadow creatures," Chris offered. "Fight alongside the dragons and Dracarians."

"The Dracarians have strong magic, they'll be able to battle well," Zephyr agreed. "I think perhaps the dragons are the ones who will handle the majority of it all, we're just the ground troops alongside the Dracarians. Our job is mainly to get the dragons on the field. Perhaps our elements will work with the dragons?"

"I just wish the Dracarians weren't so vague," I repeated my frustrations.

"Honestly, they said it's been a long time since the dragons were around, and I asked Eirian once, he said the Dracarians don't have super long lifespans like one might expect. A few hundred years at most," Chris shared. "So maybe they honestly don't know. They're going off what their Seer told them."

"Didn't realize you and Eirian were buddies," Zephyr said with a wry smile.

"We're not, I just asked him once, like how Zephyr found out about the Seer," Chris said with a shrug.

"Yes, because a few hundred years isn't long," I muttered. "Whereas shifters and witches are the ones most similar to humans, right?" I clarified, and both Lydia and Chris nodded.

"They can live an extra few decades, although some witches use magic to appear younger, they still normally only live a little longer, unless they perform black magic, which is forbidden. Most covens will stop their own if they discover that, or the Council itself," Lydia explained, and I nodded. It was still incredible that there had been a whole other race, other species, living amongst humans that I hadn't known about.

"The Trial is nearly here, how are we all feeling?" Chris asked, his voice low as he focused on the grand picture.

"Terrified. My magic is barely useable, we don't even know what it is," I said in exasperation. I'd tried not to dwell too much on it, hoping answers would come with awakening the dragons, but it was overwhelming and gut-wrenching.

"I'm sure we'll figure it out before the big battle. Honestly, I'm hoping we're not even ground troops, that our job is just to awaken the dragons and then we get sent on home," Zephyr said hopefully, and Chris scoffed.

"As if we'd be that lucky," Chris said.

"We can always hope," I said as I pursed my lips.

"Whatever happens, we need to stick together. We've got a good group here, and I'm more than thankful I wound up with you guys," Lydia said as she rested her hand on my leg and nodded at us all. "Because this whole thing would've been hell if we didn't have one another to lean on."

"Yeah, imagine if we'd only come on our own, or they'd kept us all separate." Chris frowned at the thought, and I shook my head.

"We stick together," I said firmly, echoing Lydia. "We've got this."

The next morning, Elowen gathered us all in the training area. Her expression was grave as she addressed us, and whatever tiredness I had was gone. We'd stayed up chatting about home far longer than we should have before we'd said our goodnights and gone to our own rooms.

"The time has come for final preparations," she announced. "In three days, you will face the Trial of the Stone Sentinels. You will attempt to awaken the ancient dragons, as foretold by our Seer. You will train hard and focus, and be ready, so today, take some time to gather your thoughts, spend time together, and prepare, mentally."

A ripple of nervous energy passed through the group. This was it - what we'd been training for all these weeks. The reality of it hit me hard as a chill swept over me, leaving me breathless with fear and anticipation.

Time for the moment of truth. Our grand purpose.

"So it's right around the corner," Lydia breathed beside me, while Chris squeezed my hand. I swallowed, my heart pounding as the reality set in.

Crap. It was actually going to happen.