Chapter 9 Evira
~Evira~
It had been jarring coming back to Loxley Academy.
Even after just being away for a couple of days.
It had certainly felt longer with the weight of it all.
The Ruxnoth nightmare.
Winter’s stance on it.
Vaxan risking not just his standing in the Basilisk Kingdom, but also his very title as High Lord Heir of the Excetra Crown.
And then me temporarily abdicating as Crown Heir myself.
Temporarily was exactly the way I’d described it to Winter.
But that part had seemed to fly right on by him. All he’d heard was me having something stripped from me because of him.
At least at first. Until I’d managed to get through to him.
I’d had to liken his response—him taking the weight of my own decision onto him—to what Torvek had done when he’d attacked Winter in a misguided act of chivalry and protection.
I knew it wasn’t the same for Winter—there was a whole lot behind him reacting like that.
Honestly, it was an open, pouring wound when it came to the self-flagellation of it all with him.
It had taken two days of him sitting with that to accept that I considered stepping down to be the best thing for me right now.
Not just because it had been asked of me.
I wouldn’t be living in the Dracoryn Realm for the next four years, for goodness sake.
I’d wanted the freedom to explore, to find out who I was and what I could possibly be beyond all of that.
I stared down at the text I’d sent Vaxan two minutes ago.
Evira: Need to talk before our date night. My suite, mighty lord. Come quietly.
Vaxan: At your service, dragon princess.
I smiled to myself.
Of course he was still calling me that, referring to me as though I still held the title.
It was because as he’d stated before, he saw me as that person already, as holding very real potential to become that caliber of leader.
“Draconic instincts lean predominantly toward might and enforcing that through challenge and aggression. But draconic leaders do what you are able to do—walk that line between the need for might and diplomacy. You see the bigger picture, you see a great deal more.”
More than that, he saw more in me.
The mindset that he valued and lived by himself.
A new age of rule that he planned to bring about.
“Yet we have the means to transcend that. When we take power we can affect change. Even before if we’re smart about it.”
A knock at the door to my dorm suite sounded.
That invigorating minty scent infused me and I drew it to me, relishing it washing over me.
Two minutes and he’d already come to my door.
He was really something else.
I pocketed my phone in my jeans, then flicked my glacial magic at the door, unlocking it and dropping the ward.
The door opened and he stepped across the threshold, shutting it behind him and beaming at me. He looked unbelievably alluring in his black leather pants and a long-sleeve tee, his black hair all upwardly styled with his black metal crown on top.
And the primal intensity coming off him was calling to me in a deeply undeniable way.
Given what the four of us had planned tonight, it absolutely took some concerted effort to push past it and get a fucking grip.
The corner of his mouth turned up as he scented the air. “Mmm, your alluring coconut mixed with so much more.”
I slapped his arm as he reached me. “Shut up.”
“And here I was intending to treat us both to a kiss. I suppose I’ll make do with that blunt force tap.”
“Blunt force, huh?”
He nodded while flashing that sexy grin. “I scaled-up a little when I clocked your hand moving in.”
I stepped up close, pressing my hands to his chest, delighting in the hiss of need that escaped him, his serpentine eyes flaring forth and his forked tongue even darting out.
“Meaning really that you got all hot and hard for me?”
He brushed his lips over my throat. “Mmm, you’ve learned me well, beauty.”
I sucked in a ragged breath as his tongue flicked over my skin.
Our eyes locked and I could feel mine flaming back at his.
We both blinked, then burst back from each other, putting a two-foot distance between us.
“Date night can’t come soon enough, it seems,” he commented with a playful smirk.
“Understatement,” I breathed.
He shifted his weight and clasped his hands behind his back, forcing a business-like tone, “First, however, you wished to discuss something potentially volatile with me? Something you would like my advice on, concerning either Winter or Zayn, hence you asking me to come here alone?”
“Yeah.” I gestured to my seating area, and as he settled onto the edge of my couch, I took a seat opposite on one of the pastel-blue chairs, the coffee table unfortunately needing to be between us right now.
“With how painfully tense things were at Winter’s family home, I didn’t want to risk mentioning this there.
Also because of the source being high-level, closely guarded Dracoryn Realm intel.
And because of what Winter’s going through.
Telling him this now, I’m worried it will make things seem like even more of an uphill battle, like another trial and—”
“Stakes noted. I’m with you, Evira.”
I sat forward and told him, “When I was in the Dracoryn Realm before we knew Winter had been abducted or any of this about Ruxnoth, I was told by my dad and grandmother that House Athyras—the Wind Dragons—had sensed a coming destabilization rooted in death magic. And that it was a threat that Winter would need to see to alongside Sylas.” I screwed up my face.
“To spread the risk, they’re seeing Winter as a shield for Sylas, almost cannon fodder, which is disgusting on so many levels.
That being said, the reason my abdication is being referred to as temporary is because my family believes that Winter stepping up will change how he’s seen by the Dracoryn Realm.
They think he will then be seen as an asset, as essential, thereby transcending the fear and distaste of him being death incarnate. ”
“I see.”
I grimaced. “I should have mentioned it during that discussion with everyone in the living room, shouldn’t I? Or even right when we got there? Or even when Zayn and I were with Remnant being benched while you and Sylas and company tracked Winter down?”
He held up his hand. “First, you didn’t need to mention it to them at all.
Cassius has been monitoring the Dracoryn Realm closely ever since Torvek attacked Winter.
He knew about your abdication less than an hour after it occurred.
That means he has someone on the inside.
I believe it’s the Inter-Realm Ambassador, Cornelius Martel.
Not only Ariana’s grandfather, but him and his husband, Warlow Boyd, being surrogate fathers to Velra herself.
They will know of this already. Also, the threat aspect was vague, and we’ve since learned a great deal more from other sources.
So Winter and his family are not lacking information.
Only the political situation regarding Winter’s status-of-acceptance in the Dracoryn Realm is likely still unknown intel. ”
He smiled, then went on, “Second, mentioning it to anyone else when tempers and emotions were high would have been received negatively in all likelihood—especially to Winter.”
“You… I don’t… how do you know all of this?”
He lifted a shoulder. “Observer extraordinaire, if you recall.”
“Even inside their home?”
“When emotions are high, mistakes are more likely to be made. We both know this won’t be seen as a positive thing by Winter at this juncture.
On the surface, the idea of the Dracoryn Realm accepting him sounds wonderful.
But the conditionality of it is the poison to him.
Conditional legitimacy. He’s already burdened by that. ”
“Not telling him, though, is it too similar to his family keeping the existence of Temperance from him? I mean, even with that, I can see both sides of it.”
“Because there was no correct way forward in that scenario. At least not at the time. Sylas claimed he intended to tell him once he’d completed Winter’s necromantic training to its fullest. At that point, not doing so would have been keeping vital information from a fully empowered individual for the mere reason of not wishing to hurt his feelings. ”
“Yeah, and this serves no purpose at all other than to emphasize what already causes Winter so much heartache. At least until it can be reframed for him.”
He reached out and took my hand. “Do you remember what I told you? About where we all hail from?”
I nodded. “From poison.”
“Yes. Products of what used to be—persecution, injustice, violence, and terror. The tide is close to turning in that direction once more, this situation with Winter being worrying living proof. Things are at a tipping point. Pushing that tide back, overcoming it, needs to start at the top—with those in command. They must set the example, one that will then radiate down with legitimacy from those in power who are already trusted and believed in.”
He stroked the back of my hand with his thumb.
“What you did is already a step forward, a stand, Evira. From those in command. Abdicating and the reason for doing so, not accepting the stance against Winter and refusing to bow to pressure and break from him was a political statement—whether you’ve allowed yourself to recognize the weight of that or not.
You are not just anyone. You are the dragon princess—title or not at present. ”
I smiled out at him. “Vaxan.”
“Well, you deserve to see the importance and courage of what you truly did, beauty.”
Something occurred to me with the way he was talking. “You’ve already done the same thing, haven’t you? You took a political stance for Winter as Basilisk High Lord Heir of the Excetra Crown. You knew they’d feel it, knew the statement you’d be making—and without permission too?”
He winked. “I told you, even as heirs, you and I have the power to affect change without actually being in the seat of power.”
“And the consequences?”
He lifted a shoulder. “I’m sure they’ll be forthcoming.”
I shook my head in dismay.
“I have no regrets.”
“Winter doesn’t know. He would have reacted similarly to how he did with my abdication.”
“No. And precisely. Winter will continue to react in ways similar to that now until we can pull him back.”
“After what Ruxnoth’s clearly done and said to him, you mean?”
“Yes. It was clear to me when I first met Winter that he has deep-rooted insecurities regarding being accepted. However, as he drew closer to us, he began to heal. He recognized that there were three people who adore him dearly because of who he is—not in spite of what he is. Even here at the Academy, that is predominantly the case. However, following his abduction, he is now intensely craving acceptance in the absolute from the supernatural world. He told Sylas that the world doesn’t want him. ”
“Ruxnoth’s indoctrination.”
“Indeed.”
I gritted my teeth. “He’d even become comfortable sharing his need for feeding with us. That was how far along he’d come.”
“And he will again. With our efforts.”
“Our date night is a great time to step this up, now we’ve settled back into things.
” I sank back against the chair. “But, Vaxan, about the rest, the Ruxnoth threat… that’s not gonna be able to be kept quiet for long.
And with Cornelius likely knowing about the warning from House Athyras, the moment it’s linked to Ruxnoth…
I know Cornelius sees Velra as family, but his blood family is directly impacted by the whole True Celestial thing.
Especially Ariana Martel. And then one of her boyfriends being Kai who is Sylas’ best friend.
Then Vorzyr being Torvek’s brother. Vorzyr’s Primal Celestial Resonance abilities being a means to possibly take down Ruxnoth’s True Celestial power—”
“And Torvek’s same abilities.”
I jolted. “What?”
He gave me a withering look. “It’s always been suspected that Vorzyr’s special abilities that are beyond just dragon had been passed down to his younger brother.
But it was never able to be proven, buried beneath shields and falsities that your father and grandmother erected to protect him from being banished like Vorzyr for being an ‘impure dragon’. ”
“Then why do you even suspect that it’s more than just rumor and possibility?”
“He had the hubris to attack Winter. To believe he could stand against him, it pointed to a supreme confidence rooted in something… more. I gauge patterns, remember?” His expression softened.
“I know he is a brother to you and I would never speak of this beyond us or those who are already aware. You have my solemn vow.”
“Fuck,” I breathed, shoving a hand through my hair.
“As for this situation being on borrowed time, that will only be the case if using the likes of Ariana, Vorzyr, or Torvek are required to defeat Ruxnoth.”
“True Celestial power against a True Celestial seems like a surefire necessity, right?”
“Perhaps not. Sylas and Kai Hunter have both harmed True Celestial beings with other magics.”
“Shit, you think that’s what Sylas is gonna try to do?”
“He has a vial of that infection Ruxnoth afflicted Winter with in his lab that he’s testing. We already know that Ambrose and Ketheron are the ones charged with trying to locate Sanctus, so he’s not using it for that purpose.”
“He thinks he can destroy the threat before any of this gets out?”
“I believe so.”
My phone buzzed, jarring me.
Vaxan’s followed a moment later.
We both pulled them free to find some texts had come into the Group Chat.
Zayn: You’re running late, sex pots. And just to be clear, I’m standing at the garage right now and I still have the keys to your sweet-ass Lambo, hot fucking snake prince.
Winter: Approaching garage. Did you know Z still has your keys, Vax?
Winter: Ah, just read his text before mine. Guess you do now.
Zayn: Win!
Winter: You just told him and Evira yourself.
Zayn: Yeah, but you didn’t know that at the time.
Winter: You know why I had to. Preemptive necessity.
Zayn: I could treat that Lambo to the drive of its life and you know it.
Vaxan grinned at me, then typed rapidly.
Vaxan: It’s a boy. Lucius.
Zayn: You named your car? Love it!
Winter: He calls his bike Vulcan.
I chuckled.
Evira: Makes so much sense.
Zayn: You like, icicle?
Evira: Love.
Zayn: Damn. Told you, Win. Should’ve named yours too. Evira, wanna ride Vulcan while I drive Lucius and blow his mind?
I shot from my seat. “Crap, you need to get down there. Now,” I told Vaxan.
He chuckled, then came to me and grasped my hand.
And then we were teleporting out.
For our too long awaited date night.
It was finally here.