Chapter 49
Forty - Nine
Shaye
"Seraxes!"
My dragon lands with a tremendous thud that shakes the ground, knocking some of the Naziris down.
Tears well in my eyes as she puts herself between me and the Naziris.
Her fangs glisten in the sunlight and when General Naziri slowly rises to his feet, his eyes wide in wonder, Seraxes roars for good measure.
The crowd, though familiar with dragons, seem rattled when four more dragons perch alongside the arena.
I spy one sand dragon but the other three are familiar and my heart nearly cleaves in two.
"Atlas," I whisper in relief as tears stream down my face. "Amma."
Corvex and Drexel growl and dive to join Seraxes, Vidarr hot on their heels. They form a small wall in front of us, and I fall to the ground in exhaustion.
"Fuck yes!" Nyx pumps his fists into the air and darts to Drexel. He wraps his arms around Drexel's snout. Despite the Frost Dragon being on high alert, his eyes soften when Nyx touches him.
"Alem, don't do this!" My mother slides from Corvex and rushes to my side, draping her arm over me.
General Naziri's eyes widen, as if he's seen a ghost. "Sylvane?"
"Whatever is happening, we can resolve it without anyone getting hurt," she insists, holding me tight. I drop my head against her neck. I never knew how much her motherly love and protection would affect me. She came for me.
As if realization sparks in the General's eyes to the rage he was hypnotized by, he waves his hands to signal his bowmen to stand down.
My mother kisses my forehead and that's when I spy Atlas rounding the dragons.
Vidarr was furthest to land and gave Atlas the most distance to travel.
When he sees me, he stops, tears in his eyes, rage in his taut shoulders.
His eyes rove my body but his smile falters when he notices the burns still healing.
His gaze slides to examine Nyx and spies his scars.
A wounded Bastian groans as he attempts to sit up behind me and Atlas loses control.
"You!" Atlas hisses, shadow swords drawn. He marches for Bastian, determination to slaughter him written across his face.
"Atlas, don't!" I cry out, but my words fall on deaf ears.
Shit. He's going to kill him. After everything I just went through to keep Bastian alive.
"Atlas!" I scream as he whips his swords above his head, intent on striking him down.
"No!" I lunge between them and throw up a shield as his shadow swords strike. He bounces backward from the impact.
Atlas pushes up onto his elbows, eyes wide and confused. But his confusion quickly turns into anger and pain. "He hurt you!" he bellows. "He hurt Nyx!"
I keep the gold force field up. "This isn't you, Atlas. You can't murder him in cold blood."
He flinches, as if my words were a cold slap to his face. "I would do anything for you," he whispers. "Even if that means bloodying my hands when you can't."
"Can't or won't?"
"Does it even matter?" He furrows his brow, standing to his feet. His shadow swords are noticeably absent, so I breathe easier. "He's wicked and vile. He deserves to die."
My bottom lip quivers. I know he doesn't understand any of this and he's in his full right to want to strike Bastian down, but I can't let that happen.
Maybe I can make him understand once he's calmed down.
Emotions are high. I need to diffuse all the rage.
"I love you, Atlas, but I won't let you kill him. "
Nyx joins his brother and clamps his hand on Atlas' shoulder. "Give her a chance to explain."
"You're ok with this?" Atlas seethes, like a wounded animal being cornered. He shrugs Nyx's hand from his body. "What the hell is going on?"
"Of course I'm not ok with Bastian being alive," Nyx barks. "But Kitarni and I almost died protecting his ass before you showed up. At least give her a chance to explain what's happened before you fuck things up."
My mother approaches Atlas with care, taking his hand in hers, drawing his cloudy gaze.
"My son," she says so softly, I nearly miss it.
But the unexpected affection surprises Atlas, softens him.
"There are things at play here we do not understand.
Trust Aurelia." She pats his cheek like an adoring mother would her angry son.
"Your rage is valid. But war is full of surprises. Has Aurelia led you astray before?"
Atlas bows his head and breathes in and out rhythmically. His shoulders slump. When he lifts his head to meet my gaze through the shield, his eyes are green and understanding. The fear he'll do something rash in his warranted anger subsides, so I lower the barrier and run to him.
He scoops me in his arms and holds me tight. Tighter than ever before. He breathes me in and I melt into his chest.
"Atlas," I rasp his name, nuzzling my face into the crook of his neck.
"I thought…" his voice is broken. "I thought I would never see you again."
"You almost didn't," I admit and his body stiffens. "It's a long story."
He pulls back and tucks a finger beneath my chin. His eyes rove over my face as if he's trying to remember each and every detail. "Tell me."
General Naziri and my mother pick up exactly where they left off two decades ago.
Neither was sure the other had survived, but seeing as they're the last two of their core group – my father and my mother's brother no longer with us – they are leaning into rekindling their friendship.
We are all welcomed to stay in the General's home as we strategize the next step in the war effort, and our dragons are given places in Marshu.
Although Bastian is no longer kept in a cell, he is not permitted to walk amongst us freely. He is in a guest room with guards watching his every move.
With a grand dinner planned in a couple hours, it gives me and Nyx enough time to give account of what transpired once we were captured.
My mother and Atlas sit quietly as we detail our harrowing experience and even though I want to completely skip what torture I endured, I confess it.
I won't permit it to fester in my soul unchecked.
The more secrecy I give it, the more shame and guilt I carry.
I won't permit it to break me. I won't let Drogon be right.
He will pay for what he did to me, but until then, I won't be slave to the torture he inflicted.
Nyx and I also spare no detail in how Bastian saved us from Malvolio and how Hagar and Helios Naziri found us.
No one says a word. Anger and sorrow fill the room until I feel stifled and take up residence by the window for some fresh air.
Nyx graciously changes the subject and asks about everyone back in Tronovia. When we hear of Finn's life-threatening injuries, Eris' capture, and Queen Esme's death, it's as if tears won't stop flowing. So much sorrow. So much pain. But it's then I remember we forgot an important part of the story.
"Vesper's dead," I chime in when everyone is quiet. Atlas' eyes flick up, a mix of emotions clouding his vision.
"W-what?" he stammers. "How is that possible?"
"Drogon consumed her," I say, her charred neck and bugged eyes flashing in my mind. "She's gone."
Atlas is processing everything and I can tell he's one piece of information away from completely snapping.
My mother is the first to move. She embraces me and holds me tightly.
There are no words spoken but I feel everything.
Her brokenness, her relief, her fuel for revenge.
She pulls back and smiles, wiping strands of my hair behind my ear.
"You are strong and courageous. A true warrior.
" She kisses both of my cheeks and whispers, "Give him time to process. I will see you at dinner."
As my mother makes her way to the door, Nyx takes that as his cue to leave and promptly hops up, tapping his brother on the back before slipping out.
The door closes and Atlas and I stare at one another in complete silence. My mind is whirling. What's going through his head? He's barely spoken and he's only looked at me a handful of times since I told him what Drogon did to me.
My skin prickles as my conversation with Hani replays in my head. What if he doesn't want me anymore? What if this is too much for him to handle?
"I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect you." His gravelly voice breaks through my spiraling. His elbows are rooted to his knees, and his face is buried in his hands.
"It's not your fault," I say softly. Atlas flicks his eyes up to meet mine. I lean against the wall, the distance between us feeling cavernous.
"If this is too much to ask, please feel free to say no." His jaw ticks. "Can I see?"
"The burns?"
The ones on my neck, arms, and stomach are visible through pockets of my clothing. But he's asking to see the hidden parts. The intimate places only he sees.
"I understand if you don't want me to see you naked," he adds. "I will never pressure or force your hand. I just…" he exhales, his lips twisting to stifle the emotions threatening to burst through. "I just wanted to see for myself what you endured."
Atlas' scars on his chest immediately flash in my head.
He'd been so cautious when we first met about them.
Now I know there are thirty-two of them.
Even without physically running the pads of my fingers over them, I know what they feel like.
The bumps and ridges forever imprinted on him.
He opened himself up to me. Allowed me to touch him.
To see him. He's safe with me. And I know I'm safe with him.
I push up from the wall and let my overlay fall to the floor.
I wince when I lift my top over my head, careful not to rub against the worst burns.
His keen eyes don't leave mine until my pants drop to the floor and I'm standing before him completely bare.
At first, I thought I would feel uncomfortable with him seeing me like this – vulnerable, marred.
But I feel safer now than I ever did before.
Atlas rises and approaches me slowly. His eyes examine my burnt skin and tears well in his eyes. As quickly as the sorrow hits him, inexplicable rage forces its way to the forefront.
"Atlas," I whisper, garnering his violet eyes. Shadowy tendrils fill the room. I press my hands to his cheeks. "If you see me differently. If you no longer wish to marry – "
"Don't finish that sentence," he says, pain contorting his face. "You are mine. Forever." More shadows billow through the room, more than I've ever seen him produce at one time. "He touched you. Hurt you. He will pay."
He kisses me and I melt into his power and passion. Before I want him to, he pulls back and marches for the door.
"Where are you going?" I call after him.
He tosses me a look over his shoulder. "You are mine. No one touches what's mine."
Before I can protest, he slips out the door and vanishes.