50. Alaric
Chapter fifty
I thought I was actually going to die. The combination of my exhaustion, the worry for Kait, and the dragon created the perfect storm from which I didn’t think I would escape. Though the storm within me is still raging, I did make it—so did Kait.
“You saved her life, you know?” I look up at my sister as she comes to stand at my side, and I shift so there is room to sit on the boulder I chose to rest on. She gives a small smile before sitting, and I wrap my arm around her shoulders, as I have so many times when we were younger. So much has changed since it was just the two of us clinging to the possibility of more in the forest near the farm.
The regime is working hard to prepare to move camp again. We rested for the night, but it’s time we got moving toward the wastelands—our queen’s orders before she left. With the amount of Fae we have with us, it will take at least another full day.
“What do you think will happen when all of this is over?” I ask, my gaze lost on the expanse of trees in front of us. I can’t help but wonder what my role has been exactly. Did I cause more harm than good? Will I ever find my true meaning? Ambriel lays her head on me with a heavy sigh.
“We live, ” she says easily, wrapping her arms around my middle and squeezes tight. “I think too often we worry about what happens next.” She laces her fingers through mine, just like my mother has so many times as a child. She is so much like her. Although now I am seeing more of the warrior in both of them.
“We can’t let fear of failure stop us from continuing down the path we were meant to take. I think it’s when we’re on the cusp of indecision that we are oftentimes the hardest on ourselves. It’s not as easy to see the journey we have already taken. Especially when it seems nearly impossible to break through the clouds at the top of the mountain.” She smiles, shaking her head at her own words.
“But when you have patience and the winds change to reveal the view on the other side? What a sight to see. I’ve learned with my magic that sometimes fate makes the future blurry because we don’t need to focus on what’s to come, but spend time with what we have now.” She lifts from my side, and I turn to face her. My little sister has grown into such a smart woman. Wise beyond her years and stronger than I ever gave her credit for.
“Thank you. For being there for Ma and Pa when I couldn’t be. Thank you for remembering me when you thought I was dead. And thank you for trusting me even when I didn’t think I deserved it.” She doesn’t say anything for a long moment. Both of us are lost in thought as we stare out into the forest.
“I didn’t doubt you then, and I don’t doubt you now. We all have our place in this world, Alaric. Whether you see that or not, you have found yours. Embrace it.” Her lips roll into a soft smile as she looks at me, and I knock her knee with mine.
“Ditto sis,” I say quietly as the sound of chatter grows louder and she looks up. The moment of reflection and silence passing and the true tumult of our reality breaking into our peace.
“It’s time to go. You guys ready?” Trent says as he puts his hand out, and my sister takes it right away. He folds around her in a protective embrace, and the proud brother in me surfaces with a quirk of my lips.
“Yea, brother, let’s go.”
It seems like hardly any time has passed since the last time we stopped, but as I fly above and see the glittering black form of a dragon come into view, I can’t help but smile.
I never thought that the sight of a dragon would cause such happiness in me, but here we are…
As I approach, the dragon flattens her wings out into a glide. The man on her back, who I now know must be Osiris, motions for me to come closer, and the dragon drops lower, allowing me to easily land on her back.
“I’m glad to see that you have all made it.” He says as we drop lower from the clouds. I can nearly hear the people on the ground releasing their awe at seeing the dragon in person. “Your queen was right to believe in you.”
“She tends to make good choices. Choices that are not always the easiest or most convenient to accept, but I guess that is what makes her a ruler worth serving.” I lift my chin. “I’m Alaric.”
“The shield and teacher. I know. I’ve heard a lot about you.” Osiris leans into the dragon’s spiked neck, whispering as though she can hear past the wind whipping around us in the clouds. “Hold on.”
The roar that is released in response to his command echoes through my bones, and I nearly lose both my seat and any contents of my stomach as the beast nose dives toward the face of the mountain.
“Shit!” I curse as my wings snap out on instinct, and the updraft caused by the dragon’s wing beats sends me spiraling. Grinding my teeth, I fight the pressure of the air and right myself just in time to come into a slide landing, where bellowing laughter greets me.
“You should have seen your face!” Trent laughs, and I glower at him. “You looked like you were going to shit yourself!” He laughs more, and Ambriel covers her mouth to hide her amusement.
“Be glad you are mated to my sister; I wouldn’t give anyone else a second chance to keep breathing,” I grunt, dusting snow from my sleeves and rolling my neck out.
“Where are Raelle and Dax?” I ask, watching as Osiris slides easily from Bracarva’s back.
“You don’t have much further to go; they required a bit of alone time, so I figured Bracarva and I would go scouting. The others are waiting in the next clearing.” He says, nodding ahead.
“The others?” My brow furrows.
“Your king insisted on saving both of the prisoners. Perhaps you wait to hear why from him.” Osiris leaves it at that as he rubs his hand across his dragon’s neck. A moment later, Bracarva launches into the sky, ruffling my feathers as a powerful wind beats down on us.
“Don’t look so upset,” Ambriel says, winding her arm through mine as we begin walking with the rest of the regime toward the clearing Osiris guides us to. “This is good. Dax and Raelle are finally together, and we are going to win this.” My head angles in her direction as I narrow my eyes.
“Do you know that? For a fact?” She rolls her eyes at my questions and squeezes my arm.
“I trust our King and Queen to lead us into securing the kingdom. I believe that fate can be more than cruel, and there is more beyond what is foreseen. As you should have learned by now too.” Now it’s my turn to roll my eyes.
“You sound like Ma.” I huff out a laugh.
“I suppose she has learned well then.” A voice sounds from behind us, and out of habit, I stiffen as my mother’s voice drifts closer. My time walking around as a dead man, hiding from those I loved, caused me to be cautious of the sound of their voices.
Her arm hooks through mine just as my sister holds me, and something tugs in the middle of my chest. It’s moments like this when I realize everything I missed while I was… dead . Looking between the two women I love more than any other woman, I can’t help but smile.
“I’m just glad to have such wise women on my side, though I do wish you guys would speak in less riddles. All of you empaths are the same. Even the seer back in Loema only spoke in rhymes.” I laugh, but when I look down at my Ma, her lips are parted and a deep wrinkle is forming in the middle of her eyes.
“You went to see a seer in Loema?” She whispers.
“I needed answers.” Her throat works on a swallow, and she begins nodding. Confused, I press on, “Do you know who—”
“You went to see Seriah?” My mother interrupts as we continue our walk, but she slows noticeably.
“I guess that’s her name. She spoke in more nonsense than you two.” I say, shaking my head, and I pull free of both of their arms. “She was just as cryptic when I first met her with Raelle. She was hardly helpful.” My mother stops walking altogether.
“The queen met with Seriah?” I see her eyes flickering through thoughts in her mind, and my thoughts now turn to concern.
“Yes? She met her through Dax, and then I went back to see her on my own. What does it matter?” I say with a sneer, my annoyance with my mother no longer easy to mask.
“What did she say? Alaric, what exactly did she say?” Shaking my head, I shrug her off and continue walking.
“She said what all of you say… Riddles and rhymes that may or may not have a ring of truth.”
“Alaric, stop.” I don’t stop to listen to my mother’s pleas. I’m unwilling to revisit the painful memories of my birth father. So many times I asked her questions, and she knew exactly who he was. The king and queen were long dead, and she could have easily given me the answers I wanted my whole life, but instead, she kept it from me. I grind my teeth and keep stomping forward. I feel her magic brush against the barriers in my mind and whirl around to face them.
“Are you only keen on keeping secrets when they are yours?” I growl, unable to keep my anger from the question any longer; my voice rises with each word. “Stay out of my head!”
“Ma? What is going on?” Ambriel asks, coming to a stop at my mother’s side.
“Maybe we need to give them a moment to speak alone?” Trent says, and I silently send my thanks with a slight nod of my head as he steers my sister away. There is no good that can come from her witnessing any of this.
“You made it out alive!” I hear Trent yell, and he and my sister hustle forward.
“Barely,” I hear Cano respond, and my mother’s gaze widens as it floats over my shoulder.
“Declan.” She whispers, and I roll my eyes.
“Oh, so now you’ll admit he has a name?”
“Alaric, no… you don’t understand.” Her lips part and her trembling hands wring in front of her. I follow her line of sight and my eyes train on the group of Fae embracing just beyond the trees.
“I—I don't believe it.” Her eyes fill with tears as they bounce between my face and the approaching Fae. “Declan is… alive ?” My eyebrows drop dramatically low as my eyes land on a face I would always remember—no matter only ever seeing it in a picture and in the memories from the fountain. Right before me, standing in front of Trent and my sister, is my birth father in the flesh and bone.