Chapter 14 Heat & Heart
Chapter fourteen
Heat when your voice doesn’t matter, you spend a lot of time listening.
And I knew all too well how rocky my father’s relationship had been with my warmongering grandfather.
They had fought endlessly over what was right for the fleet’s future.
But even though I knew my father had once been firmly against any more fighting after he lost his wife, my mother, in a skirmish, now here we were, having the very same argument.
Except now the roles were reversed.
“How dare you,” he said just as softly.
“Have you forgotten how you once pleaded with grandfather to end this pointless cycle of violence?” I asked pointedly. “Because I haven’t.”
“That was...different,” he rebutted weakly. “That was before…”
I had never seen him look so uncertain. His shadow had once seemed to cover my entire world; but now, it seemed rather small and ordinary.
“Is it? For once in your life, either shut up and listen to me, or get out,” I growled. I heard the rustle of fabric and felt sparks of magic as many of the townsfolk stood from their seats.
Moroz glared at me, silently commanding me to lower my gaze and obey him.
“Either you discuss this with me and Mei like a civilized person, or you turn tail and forget you ever had a second son.” I glared right back, my words heavy with conviction and finality.
“Yuri! What are you saying?” Mei’s beautiful golden eyes went round with worry, and she squeezed my hand as if she wanted to convince me to take my words back. “This wasn’t part of the plan!”
“What I have to do.”
“But they’re your family! You can’t throw them away like this—not for Willowmere. Not for me,” she finished in a whisper.
“Some ties are better off broken.” I cupped her face in my free hand, stroking her cheek with my thumb. Then I kissed her in front of everyone, declaring without words where my heart now lay. “And some bonds are thicker than blood.”
A different kind of tension filled the air as everyone held their breaths. Everyone except for me. I was done. I was well and truly done with my fleet’s endless hatred and expectations.
I meant what I said. If he refused to bend even the smallest fraction, then I never wanted to see any of them again. Even though the thought of such permanent separation needled at me, I would follow through.
I wanted no part of this war.
I wanted peace. For me, and for Mei.
And if never seeing my family again was the price I paid for that peace, then so be it.
Finally, my father’s slitted pupils expanded—just a fraction. He gave a tight nod, to the whispered outrage of those behind him, and shifted into his humanoid form as he touched down and easily passed through the barrier—which meant he had meant what he said.
He shivered as one of the spells activated, encasing him in a layer of invisible magic. So long as it was active, he would be unable to harm those within the barrier.
Moroz was nearly as intimidating in humanoid form as he was in his serpentine form.
He stood tall at six foot six, and was corded with heavy muscle and plenty of scars.
Glacial eyes peered out from beneath bushy eyebrows, and his pale white hair was braided back in messy but intricate patterns.
His massive horns should have been heavy, but he stood ramrod-straight, as if they were as light as a feather.
And unlike the more modern residents of Willowmere, my father’s clothes were made entirely of animal pelts, with thick fur around his neck and shoulders, making him look even bigger and broader than he already was.
“Only those who intend us no harm may pass through the barrier to join us,” announced Clove, her voice amplified by magic.
A handful of the other ice dragons looked at each other before they slowly descended and shifted as well. They murmured amongst themselves, glancing nervously at the assembled crowd. Some shot glares at Mei, but she paid them no mind.
The rest remained hovering uncertainly, the downdrafts from their wings creating near-constant gusts of wind. Among them, of course, was Mikhail.
“This is absurd! I refuse to listen to that runt!” Mikhail roared, inhaling deeply before sending out a stream of ice shards.
To his surprise, not a single person moved from their seats. And to his shock, his breath weapon splattered harmlessly against the invisible barrier dome that surrounded Willowmere.
The vampires smirked, and Clove and her parents cackled as the weak attempt at an attack quickly melted away.
“Mikhail!” My father barked with a scowl. “Cease this at once!”
But Mikhail either didn’t hear him or didn’t care.
“The rest of you! Prepare your breath weapons for a joint attack!” Blue and white magic flared, the light seeping out between scales. “Our leader Moroz has betrayed the tenets of our fleet and must be brought to justice!”
I glanced nervously over at the family of witches. I knew the barrier could withstand one ice dragon, even one as strong as Glacius. But could it handle a dozen at once?
They looked worried, and even a couple of the vampires shifted in their seats uncomfortably.
Welp, so much for our fool-proof plan.