Chapter 12 Bechora
Zypher was the last to arrive. I couldn’t help noticing the lines of tension on his face, or the way his entire body seemed stiff as he strolled into the dorm I shared with Shadrie.
Without a word, he settled into the empty space on the couch beside me, relaxing just a fraction when I slipped my hand into his.
Gabriel sat on my other side, and Archer was on the floor, leaning against my legs.
Miles was in the recliner near the couch with Shadrie perched on the arm.
“So, I think I found a pattern,” Miles said without preamble as he pushed his glasses up his nose.
“Beyond the obvious lack of familial connection to the realm, everyone who’s gone missing seems to share similar abilities: shielding, conjuring, ability-enhancement magic.
Entire clans of shifters… particularly dragon shifters, though beyond their fire, dragons tend to keep their abilities secret, so I can’t say why they’ve been targeted.
There were a handful of seers on the list as well, but the thing that stuck out most to me as odd was the illusionist.”
“Illusionist?” Shadrie asked. “That does seem odd based on the rest.”
“That’s what I thought at first, too,” Miles said. “But then I got to thinking about the broadcast at the end of last term.”
I leaned forward in my seat, my mind conjuring the memory of the king’s broadcast, claiming the human realm had breached the Veil and the supernatural realm was under attack.
Not only had there not been any more news on the matter, but the magical broadcast itself had a strange shimmering quality to it that only Miles and I seemed to notice.
“Do you mean when he announced to the entire realm that we were under attack?” Archer asked, and Miles nodded in response.
“You think it was an illusion?” I asked.
“I do,” Miles confirmed with a sharp nod.
“I found a handful of accounts in the reading I did while you three were away, between terms, from mages with the ability to see through even the strongest illusions. All of them said the same thing. That there was an odd shimmer to it that gave it away, and only they were able to see it.”
“But, I’m not actually a mage and all of my gifts as a Starcaller are either borrowed or copied from my bonded mates. Seeing through illusions sounds like an ability I wouldn’t have access to,” I frowned.
“Not on your own, obviously,” Miles agreed. “But the end of last term was chaos; it’s entirely possible that I do have that ability, and you copied it from me temporarily without realizing it.”
“But you’re not sure,” Gabriel said. “You haven’t confirmed you have the ability to see through illusions; this is all just conjecture at this point.”
Archer pressed against my legs and stayed quiet, absorbing everything that was being said.
“Correct,” Miles replied. “But we can test the theory. If I’m not mistaken, Zypher, one of your primary abilities is illusions.
I was thinking you could cast one while we’re all here, so we could verify if it has the same shimmering quality as the broadcast. It could confirm my suspicions, and we could also have B borrow the ability to confirm that’s how she saw the strangeness, too. ”
“There’s only one problem I see with this plan. I don’t control what ability I copy,” I said. “What if I inadvertently copy your electricity magic instead?”
“That won’t be a problem, Dilectus,” Zypher answered.
“Before we bonded, you copied my shielding ability every time we touched. I believe that you will always copy the same ability from a person, rather than it being random.” He paused before looking at Miles.
“What would you like me to cast as the illusion?”
“Uh… anything is fine. Whatever you want to cast,” Miles squeaked, seemingly startled by Zypher’s attention.
Zypher nodded in response and raised his hands.
The air seemed to grow thick and heavy with magic before Caulder suddenly appeared in the center of our communal living room.
Wearing a dress, of all things. A laugh tore out of me at the sight of my grumpy dragon wearing a floral print sundress, as the illusion began to do a silly jig.
Zypher’s mouth curved into a grin at the sound, and the dancing became more outlandishly ridiculous.
“It’s definitely got the shimmer,” Miles said, drawing my attention to him. I caught sight of Shadrie behind him, hands pressed to her mouth as her face grew red with the strain of holding in her own laughter. “Do… Do you mind if I touch Bechora and see if she can see it, too?”
I reached across Zypher, holding my hand out toward Miles so he could lean forward and touch his hand to mine.
There was a surge of power, like a river being guided through my fingertips and arm, as it worked its way into my inner well.
In my time working with Caulder, I’d come to recognize the sensation and knew I was copying something from my friend.
After a moment, he pulled his hand away and looked at me expectantly.
I let my gaze slide back to the illusion of Caulder, which was now standing still and dressed in his usual attire.
There was a strange shimmer to him that hadn't been there before. The same strange shimmer I’d noticed in the king’s broadcast last term.
“Well… I think we can call it confirmed. Miles can see illusions, and that broadcast was faked,” I said.
“You sure you’re not adding a shimmer for her benefit?” Gabriel asked Zypher, skepticism written across his face.
“If I were, you would see it as well,” Zypher shrugged just before the illusion vanished. “Did you see a shimmer?”
“No,” Gabriel answered.
“I didn’t, either,” Shadrie added. “I think that means it’s safe to say Miles can tell when something is an illusion, and B is able to borrow that from him. The real question is why the king would fake an attack on the realm. It doesn’t make any sense.”
“I hate to say it, but it just validates the supposed prophecy about me,” I sighed.
“According to that, he wants to rip the Veil away and rule all the realms. Starting a war for power with false information is something straight out of the human realm playbook. Miles can back me up on this; there’s plenty of examples of it throughout our history. It’s like the bad guy go-to.”
“She’s not wrong,” Miles shrugged. “We learn about enough of it in our human schools’ history classes. And it’s why the Veils were created in the first place, in a roundabout way. Which does make me wonder if the king is taking notes from Elfish history.”
“How would that even be possible? The Elves were almost entirely wiped from our history. It took so long to figure out what B is because of it,” Shadrie spoke.
“Just because they were erased from the realm at large doesn’t mean the king didn’t keep some record,” Gabriel said.
“There’s no telling what information Evarian has in his private library.
The only person who might know is Vallynn, and I doubt the crown prince is willing to help us act against his father. ”
“Not everything was destroyed,” Archer spoke up.
Gabriel startled as if he’d forgotten my wolf mate was at our feet.
“Don’t look so surprised, Pretty Boy. Wolves have long memories and keep thorough records.
I can ask my father when he arrives Saturday if there’s anything he can lend us from the pack library. ”
“Wouldn’t that just be his personal library?” Miles asked. “I thought wolf shifters only considered their bonded-mate group as their pack.”
Shadrie elbowed Miles in the side. “For someone so smart, you really are dumb sometimes,” she snorted. “With everything you’ve read from the Academy library, you didn’t take the time to read up on shifters? OR… I don’t know, pay attention in your Intro to Supes class?”
Archer chuckled. “Packs are both our family and mate group, and our community as a whole. My father is an alpha; he leads our entire community pack, and then he has his bonded pack, which includes my mother, her other mates, and my siblings until they come of age and find their own mate group. Occasionally, close friends of a bonded group are considered part of their pack as well.”
“Well, that’s just unnecessarily confusing,” Miles muttered, his face beet red.
“You get used to it,” Archer shrugged.
“I have a one-on-one session with Caulder tomorrow, I’ll fill him in,” I said, redirecting the conversation. “He’s the only one that can fill us in on what the king would want with dragons anyway, if they’re as secretive about their magic as you say.”
“Right. Well, that’s all I’ve been able to figure out so far.
Mrs. Fiodh promised to pull a few books for me, which aren’t normally accessible to students, that I’m hoping might shine some light on things,” Miles replied, standing from his seat.
“I should probably check in with her and see if she’s had a chance to pull them yet. ”
“I’ll come with you. I have an assignment for Advanced Spell Creation that I need to check out a few books for anyway,” Shadrie added, before smirking in my direction. “I plan to do something with sex magic, so don’t wait up.”
Zypher chuckled, and I shook my head as she and Miles filed out of our dorm. When it was just my mates and me left, Archer moved from the floor to the now-empty chair and cast a serious look between Zypher and Gabriel.
“I’ve been filled in, and both of you are being shitty mates,” he said, tone matter-of-fact.
Zypher stiffened beside me, and Gabriel hissed.
“Why aren’t either of you making sure she’s actively taking time to care for herself?
She’s running herself ragged trying not to think about the pressure, and you’re both just allowing it. ”
“I–” I started, causing Archer to cut me off with a glare.
“You told me yourself you haven’t stopped to think about any of this because you’re afraid you won’t be able to keep going.
You have two bonded mates, and neither of them seems to be helping carry that weight, so you can stop and take a beat.
One of which is a demon, and that comes with its own set of expectations.
The rest of the realm may not understand demon culture, but I do.
My father ensured we were highly educated about every race in the realm, including the demons. ”
“What does that mean? Expectations?” I asked, frowning.
Archer let out a derisive snort. “Do you want to tell her or should I?” he asked Zypher.
My demon mate shifted uncomfortably at my side before turning his attention to me. “I wasn’t keeping it from you intentionally.”
“Keeping what from me?” I demanded.
“I was hoping to not have to add to the pressure you’re under for now, Dilectus.”
“Zypher…”
He took a deep breath as if to steel himself.
“As my Dilectus, you are now considered my mother’s heir.
You know my father is simply a figurehead, and my mother truly rules my kind.
She allows the misconception that he rules because it benefits our people.
Demons are highly matriarchal, and since we are fully bonded, they will now look to you for guidance and support instead of me. ”
I wanted to be angry with him for not telling me sooner, but as the weight of what he was saying settled on my shoulders, I found myself wishing he’d kept it to himself a little longer.
“Fuck!” I breathed. “So, not only am I supposed to save the realm, I have to lead your people. This… It's too much.”
“I know,” Zypher replied, gritting his teeth. “I’ve done you a disservice by not telling you sooner. I understand if you are angry with me for it.”
My shoulders slumped forward, and I curved in on myself.
I felt Gabriel’s hand squeeze my thigh in support, and I shot him a grateful smile.
I wasn’t angry with him. I probably should have been, and it likely made me a hypocrite considering I’d been angry with Caulder for keeping our mate bond from me, but I was simply too overwhelmed to feel anything else.
“And this is exactly why the both of you should have been making sure she was taking time for herself,” Archer piped in.
“Shut it, furball,” Gabriel snapped.
“Make me, Pretty Boy,” Archer replied, snapping his teeth playfully in Gabriel’s direction.
“Enough, both of you,” I snapped. “I… I need to process this.”
“Whatever you need, Dilectus,” Zypher said softly.
I lifted my gaze to meet his. “I think I need to be alone tonight. I just… this is a lot . I need to think and process, and I don’t think I can do that with you both in my bed.”
“Don’t worry, Sunshine. I’ll take them for the night and whip them into shape,” Archer promised. “You rest and process.”
Gabriel muttered something I was certain was rude, under his breath, before leaning over to press a kiss to my temple. “I’ll be in my dorm if you need anything.”
“Come on, fuck-ups,” Archer said, standing up and motioning for Zypher and Gabriel to follow him. “Let's get you both up to speed on being good mates.”
I was vaguely aware of him and Gabriel bickering quietly as they made their way out of my dorm. Zypher hung back for just a moment, taking my hand in his and giving it a gentle squeeze.
“I am sorry, Dilectus. I should have told you before we bonded. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me for keeping something this big from you for as long as I have.”
“Just give me tonight,” I sighed.
“As you wish.”