Chapter 5 #2
Croy cupped my jaw looking over my face with concern before he continued. “The Blue Phoenix is the female heir to the throne. The queen could have several daughters, but none could replace the one that they lost. The queen can only produce one Blue Phoenix to be the heir to her throne.”
“What happens when she decides to leave the throne?”
“Technically, she and her mates never have to.
Normal dragons can be killed, but upon mating with the Blue Phoenix, they gain immortality from even the worst deaths like herself.
The regenerative quality of rebirth transfers to them as well.
This only happens when Blue Phoenixes mate. It is considered a perk among royalty.
However, if they choose to, they can bring someone onto the throne. Although, that would no doubt be very highly debated.”
I took a sip of my coffee trying to ignore the odd pain in my chest. “That’s a lot to think about.”
“I know.” He nodded softly. “It’s important you know everything you can, Maya, because if your father's persistence tells me anything, the hunt for a phoenix is very much alive.”
“I am still confused about why,” I growled slightly, “why the killing?”
“Humans,” he shook his head, “have always been obsessed with the idea of living forever. A constant fear of death, paired with the unknown. The idea of not existing bothers them. So when they found that the blood of a phoenix could heal someone, they thought that maybe drinking it would be akin to the fountain of youth. It had started with Hitler in World War II as they searched and raided religious institutions for artifacts. My guess? Radicals who still believe in the asshole’s message still exist it seems, in Louisiana at least.”
“Pastor Malcolm talked about Hitler a lot.” I stated softly in thought. “You’ve been around for two hundred years, right? Or something like that. Were you part of the war?”
Croy hummed. “Two-hundred and twenty-four as of this December. I have been through every single war since the Civil War in 1861.” He seemed to let me soak that in before he began again.
“My mother and father had come from England before I was born. Unfortunately, around the age of eighteen on a hunting expedition, I’d run into a shifter that had clearly lost his mind.
I shifted the very next full moon for the first time and left my family, realizing that I was only putting them in danger.
Since then, I have moved throughout the states, settling in the south only around 1983 for a business venture I was seeking out…
Sorry, you probably didn’t need to know all of this, sugar. ”
“No, I love it!” I encouraged, listening attentively. I didn’t think Croy purposefully kept details of himself hidden but he didn’t advertise them, so I would take anything I could get. He had a life I couldn’t imagine, it was absolutely fascinating.
He searched my face and continued with a nod, “I was on the first wave of silicon valley when I moved from the south to California and since then I’ve stayed put. But my accent is somewhat stuck which makes it easier when I have to provide the humans with a backstory.”
I searched his face, “So this entire time, you’ve been alone?”
His green eyes filled with something that looked really sad and he kissed the top of my hand, “I hadn’t found my mate yet, so it didn’t make sense to keep anyone around very long. I didn’t know where I would have to go.”
I smiled and leaned closer to him, “Well now you aren’t alone, now you have me.”
Croy flashed a brilliant grin, “Yes. Yes I do, sugar. Now, do you have any other questions about the basics?”
“That was the basics?” I asked, alarmed.
“I know, it’s a bit overwhelming,” his eyes darkened slightly with concern, “do you want to take a bit of a break?”
“No,” I shook my head, “can you tell me more about phoenixes, oh, and shifters? Mostly dragons and wolves, it seems like that would be good to know about.”
I got exactly what I asked for. The next hour was spent learning more than I had in the past week and a half in school.
Croy explained a numerous amount of different topics, answering any questions I had easily.
I was in awe of how smart he was. The two questions and answers I found most interesting were regarding the different types of dragons and the powers that they, wolves, and phoenixes all have.
Dragons, I was finding, were far more complicated than I ever realized. There were apparently a ton of different dragon types. Those specifically from the Dreki realm had six ‘power categories’ that they were separated into.
The first was a shadow dragon, usually a smoky gray or black in color, according to the massive book that Croy offered me.
They had the ability to move silently and through the shadows in their human form.
In their dragon form, they could go completely unnoticed and invisible in the sky if they chose.
The concept made a bit more sense to me because come on, my mates were huge, and some of them moved super quietly.
The blood dragon was usually a sapphire blue in coloring, with these massive dark barbs on their tail.
Apparently, they were the most bloodthirsty.
They loved violence and as dragons, they were not only usually those that led war efforts but were also fantastic hunters.
In their human form, they were able to manipulate others' blood and often drank it to fuel their own magic. I swallowed nervously thinking about how that would feel. Oddly, it didn’t freak me out, but I was intrigued by the concept.
The third and fourth were the oddest to me in some ways because they felt as though they should have been opposites.
The third was a deep crimson color that I instantly recognized as Sai’s type of dragon.
The others I hadn’t asked about but it was clear as day that Sai was the type of dragon that had control over both fire and water.
What an odd pairing. Croy explained that the balance allowed them to be extremely powerful.
The same went for the fourth type, which had control over both air and earth. The dragon was a stunning emerald green with large dark eyes that seemed almost metallic in coloring. They were stunning creatures.
As we moved onto the last page, my eyes widened finding both dragons: black and a pale white, to be absolutely nearly hypnotizing.
Croy stated that these two were the rarest, as not all flights had them, thus highly valued.
The first being named after the hellfire that it spewed.
There was rumor that those with hellfire had ancestry from the Demonic realm and that was where it had come from.
Then there was the white that had telepathic powers.
The concept made me a bit nervous because I wasn’t positive that I wanted anyone in my head that much.
No, that’s not true. If I was going to let anyone into my head it would be one of my boys.
“So I know Sai is the red dragon, I’ve seen him shifted, what about the others?”
“You want to explain that?” Croy asked, looking over my shoulder as I jumped slightly, Henry’s spring rain scent wrapping around me as I relaxed back into him.
“What do you think each of us are?” Henry looked down at me as my toes curled, the feeling of being between the two of them making my cheeks heat. His eyes darkened as if he could…no way. Well, that explained a lot.
“You can read my thoughts?!” I demanded, feeling both super curious and also panicked.
Henry’s lips twisted up as his eyes sparkled. “I could if I wanted to. I usually try to stay out...plus, you are pretty good at keeping me out of your head. Unless of course you are turned on then your control is pretty much screwed."
“Henry!” I turned bright red as Croy chuckled and my eyes narrowed on him.
“Don’t be mad, sweetheart,” he chimed, “I really do try to keep out.”
“What is everyone else?” I asked, trying to move on from my embarrassment.
“Sai is, as you stated, able to control fire and water. I have telepathic abilities, who do you want to know about next?”
“Anani and Ledger,” I decided, absurdly curious.
“Ledger,” Henry grinned, “is a blood dragon.”
“And Anani?” I asked wide-eyed. Because I could not imagine Ledger as having a blood lust as described in the book.
“Earth and air.” He offered as I nodded, because that made sense. Hadn’t I said it felt like he had electricity surrounding him?
“Are any of you the same thing?”
“No,” he shook his head, “most flights are made to be diverse when we are put together in militant teams.”
“So that means Marco and Atlas…one is hellfire and one is shadow?” I asked curiously as Croy filled up my coffee mug.
I realized that Henry was still dressed in a pair of PJ pants and a comfortable shirt.
I knew I had to get ready for school soon but man I really didn’t want to go.
Maybe I could think about it loud enough that Henry would hear it and bring it up on his own. ..
“So who is what?” Croy asked curiously, his eyes filled with interest.
I frowned, “Atlas moves really quietly so I am going to go with shadow.”
“Correct,” the man in question chuckled as I jumped. Snapping my head around to see him sitting across the island, looking completely comfortable.
“So that means that Marco has hellfire?” I arched my brow. Okay, I had to admit that one and Ledger didn’t make much sense to me. Marco demonic? Ledger violent? No way…
“Marco’s so sweet and so is Ledger, I find this hard to believe,” I stated. Henry grinned like I’d just said something amazingly entertaining.
“Hey, Marco!” Henry called as the man in question rounded down the stairs as he arched a brow at all of us. “We are talking about dragon types and Maya said that she doesn’t believe you have hellfire because you are so sweet.”
I blushed as Marco’s eyes snapped to mine and he hummed with interest while pouring himself a cup of coffee. His vanilla scent surrounded me. “Well, that doesn’t surprise me. I am sweet towards Maya. So I am glad she thinks so.”
“See?” I offered to Henry as his lips curled.
“You just wait, sweetheart,” he nipped my ear before turning to go upstairs.
Croy groaned, rolling his shoulders. “Break time?”
“She has school soon,” Atlas mumbled.
“I am going to stay home and learn about this stuff instead, I think… I don’t find school all that interesting.” I mumbled, looking at my pink nail polish and hoping they would just go along with it. “Plus, he has to tell me more about phoenixes and wolves…and we were going to try to shift.”
Marco was there then, standing in front of me, looking down at me with an avid interest I didn’t understand, “You don’t like school?”
I shrugged, “I just think I could use my time better.”
“I love the idea of her not going to school.” Atlas offered, standing up as he followed Croy, showing him something on his laptop. I looked back up at Marco as my heart raced slightly.
“I will work from home today, if you are serious about not going to school, we can take you out of there.” Marco stated softly.
I nibbled my lip trying to contain my giddy reaction and teased, “That’s sweet of you.”
“You’re asking for it,” he let out a low rumble.
“Asking for what?” I asked with excitement as he chuckled, shaking his head.
“Come on,” Marco offered me a hand as I stood up, “come sit with me in my office while I make a few calls. I almost stole you from your bed last night.”
“Dragons do steal stuff,” I confirmed as Marco’s eyes sparkled. Bella, who woke up as I stood, easily jumped into my hand as Marco offered her a small pet right under her little chin.
He went to say something but his phone rang. I knew he had been about to say something funny too. I finished my coffee and followed him up. My plan was working. I was not going to waste all day in school, so I needed to make sure I made the most of today.