Torin
Two centuries later.
Swollen lips caress my blushed cheek. Erevan’s warm breath stirs a purring in my body, but it can’t erase all my tension. We made love all night, both of us filled with a deep anxiety and emotion over what the new day would bring.
I still think about what Erevan told me.
He pressed a palm to my stomach and vowed that one day he’d find a way to give me a child of my own.
A creature made of his magic and mine. I told him the book was that, for it was made of both our magic and love for one another.
He promised to give me flesh and blood, not pages.
It’s a lover's dream that can never be born into reality, but I will cherish the idea.
Dream.
Am I still your dream, Lucian? Are you able to dream where you are now?
I keep my eyes closed as the sunrise warms them, coaxing them out of hiding. My trembling hands grasp the balcony.
From this height, the world appears to be at our fingertips. A home above the clouds in a castle so high only our insight could have provided the creatures here the knowledge to build such a wonder.
Now, they build castles like this all over their lands. Eventually, all the wooden homes will be replaced with monuments that mimic our world.
They have come so far; I’m so proud of them.
Yet, just beyond these clouds, everything is about to change again. The castle we built here is surrounded.
By our army.
It’s finally happening; we are returning home. Centuries later, our hope has come to fruition. We will return with an army of dragons, a few dozen demigods, and thousands of our other new creatures.
We didn’t force them. Eventually, we revealed ourselves and gained devoted followers. At first, they called us gods. We refused to accept that title, asking only to be called by our names. They loved us even more. Respected us, unlike the elves.
When the elves called us gods, we smiled because it made us feel elevated and powerful.
We’re trying so hard to learn from the past.
Slowly, I allow my eyes to open, like a child ready to explore a new world. I wonder how our lands have changed since we were forced out.
Flap! A leathery stretch pierces the silence. A gust of wind blows through the window. The dragon that sits perched on our stone roof is readying to fly soon. Its waking inhale sounds like wind rushing down a sunbaked dune.
“Do you think we have enough?” I whisper to Erevan as he moves my braided hair to the side so he can kiss my neck.
Once we leave this world, the balance will be offset again. This world and the creatures within it have been our children, but it’s time for those who wish to remain to survive without us.
He nods. “Yes, and we have the act of surprise. The elves will have planned for our return, but not with an army like we have,” Erevan replies as his arms snake around me, sending a warm shudder down my spine.
“A part of me wants to demand you stay here.” He runs his nose along my neck, the cold metal of his armor pressing into mine.
“I want to put you in a crystal cage and make sure you are safe.”
He nips at my skin, just above the armor that covers my shoulders.
Our armor was gifted by a dragon rider smith. The scales covering my armor are feminine and delicate, resembling lace, yet they are so numerous the lace looks more like a web that would ensnare you. It’s a gift of such beauty it rivals even the book Erevan gave me, but I’d never tell him that.
Erevan’s armor is equally stunning, cast in gold that has been forged under dragon fire, giving it swirls of red and burnish orange hues. It resembles the sun, with layers of fiery scales melting into one another.
I silently imagine Lucian here, standing on my other side, kissing my untouched cheek. His armor would be of pure white like he always wore it into battle. Untouched scales that blend in with the clouds.
My Lucian, you broke your promise. I never felt that final kiss. Perhaps if we fail, I will find him in the next life, as he vowed.
Erevan slides his hand along my back as he slowly comes to stand in front of me, blocking out the rising sun. “Stay behind until it is safe.” He makes a lover’s plea that falls on deaf ears.
I raise my chin. “You think we will lose?”
He cradles my jaw, tracing my lower lip with his thumb, as if he were the artist who made it. “No. I fear we will win,” he admits, standing with such a glowing authority that he outshines that massive dying star.
“Fear has no invitation to dine with victory,” I reply carefully. “What are you not telling me?” I step back.
Erevan licks his lips, weighing his next words carefully.
“It’s a worry I have had since the moment we first stepped through the portal and entered this land.
The other gods hold a deep thirst for vengeance against you.
They never acted on it because they needed me to create our army; they were forced to cooperate and accept you because I love you. ”
I was just a bow with no string or arrows. Useless in this new world.
The others would’ve abandoned me long ago.
Erevan gave me purpose. His magic became the arrow that kept the other gods away, his voice was the string. Because of his love for me, I was protected from their revenge.
“What will happen once we reclaim our lands, once we settle?” he whispers.
My armor conceals the tremble in my bones. Suddenly, everything feels too tight: my clothing, the braids in my hair. “You think they will come for me?”
His lips press into a thin line as his hand rests on his weapon.
“It’s a risk I must take.” I clear my throat. “I’m no coward. I will not stay behind. I will go back and fight for our lands. I will fix what I have done.” I look at him through hooded eyes. “If you try to cage me, my love for you will melt like ice thrown onto fire.”
His eyes skim over my face, but his hands swing behind his back as he grasps them. “Water and heat make steam, Amariel; the love is not lost but reborn into something else.”
I touch my sword. “Do not test me, Erevan.”
His chest rises and falls with a deep, steady breath. “I will not cage you here, my love.” His shoulders roll back. “But I will kill anyone who tries to harm you.”
I rub the hilt of my sword before I drop my hand. “No more talk of future wars, Erevan. We’re still trying to end this one.”
He steps to the side, causing the rising sun to illuminate half his face in a fiery glow. “Everything I do is out of my love for you,” he declares, then nudges his head toward the door.
My feet remain firm, and a bead of sweat slowly rolls down my spine. For the first time, I don’t turn my back on him. I stand still and wait, my eyes looking down at his arms, where he hides his hands behind his back.
“It is time,” he urges as he takes the first step. “You need to open the portal. The army is waiting.” His hands swing out, revealing nothing as he walks through the door.
When a god opens a portal to a new world, it subdues their magic for a few months, trapping the god in the world until their magic is recharged and they can open a portal again.
Erevan opened the original portal to this world.
During that time, we all worked to understand these lands and their people; then, when his magic was back, he started to create.
However, the others decided that I would open the portal ushering us back home. Putting me in a state with no magic to forge is a small price to pay. After all, it was my fault we had to flee in the first place.
Now I see the other side of the coin. I’ll be defenseless against them… and Erevan.
I square my shoulders to the door. Was Erevan okay with this plan because I would have no magic, solely relying on him to defend me? I can fight, and I plan to, but I will be lesser until my power appears.
I shake the thought from my mind, steeling myself. Above all, I trust Erevan with my life.
I make my way outside, and Erevan holds his hand out for mine. His smile is warm and welcoming but also strained, like a pretty jacket that is slightly too tight.
“I’ll be fine,” I promise him as I take his hand.
“I know,” he replies in a deeper tone.
Lord Thalis leaps down from the roof where his dragon is perched.
Thalis is a fortress, tall and intimidating.
Even I take caution and study him. His body bears scars equal in number to his dragon's scales.
He refuses to use magic to remove them, as each is a memory of surviving death.
His dark skin conceals his paleness about our leaving.
A quick glance reveals the grief he hides.
He bows, greeting us, “Erevan and Amariel. Silas wishes to see you both before you leave.”
My spine goes taut. Silas should be with the army of demigods; he is commanding them. Erevan and I are overseeing the dragons while the others command the rest.
“He is waiting for you in your office.”
“Our office?” Erevan clarifies.
Thalis nods with a stiff glare. “I found it out of place. Evangeline wishes to stay close to you.” He looks up at his dragon, who flares her wings.
Erevan waves his hand. “No, it’s okay. I don’t want him to see this as a threat. Silas always lets his suspicions control him. Amariel and I will speak with him. Make sure the dragons are ready. They will need to be fast.”
Thalis nods and jumps up to the roof with ease. Riders can jump massive heights in order to reach their dragons’ saddles.
I flex my fingers, pumping blood into the joints.
It will drain me dry to keep the portal open long enough for an entire army to pass through.
I will need to hold it open longer than any god has.
We’re sending the dragons first since they’re the largest; over time, my portal will grow smaller and smaller until it closes.
“What do you think Silas wishes to discuss?” I ask Erevan as we make our way down the stone stairs to our office.
As we descend, the clouds begin to clear. Erevan and I pause, finally glimpsing the armies below.