Cassarah
Hunched low on Vasin’s back, we flew as fast as his wings could carry us while Jade had us hidden from sight.
The world of gray just added to the tone of those around me.
It was time for this to end. I would destroy the heart and then if Henry managed to survive that, I’d free him from the life he hated so much.
The ground below us sped by, but I trusted Vasin to follow the pull of the cursed object, taking us in the right direction.
I could feel it tugging at me, but my magic cloaked me in a shield of power, fending it off the best it could.
Everyone was asleep, the town only visible from the few flickering lantern lights outside a tavern where a man stumbled out of, heading home.
No one would know what was about to happen, but the fate of our world as we know it hung in the balance.
“Cass, trust in the fates. They knew this day would come and gave you everything you need to be able to right things. Trust your heart, not your head. The Lost King can’t manipulate that part of you.”
“He has no heart. He tore it out alongside his dragon’s. A man can’t live like that, so I will set him free.”
“We will set the world free.”
“That is my hope. With all this manipulation and lies, no one knows who to trust anymore. Soon, we will show them there is a different way. I just hope they will accept it.”
“One battle at a time, dear Cass.”
“Wise advice as always, my dearest friend.”
Breaking away from the town, we found the church and the graveyard not far off.
Headstones in orderly rows represented the lives that have been lost over the years.
Further in the back were small stone huts—the mausoleums we were searching for.
It wasn’t hard to guess which one it might be, with an army of men surrounding it and a handful of dragons circling above.
It seemed the Lost King hadn’t lost his whole mind yet, but it didn’t matter what fight he put up, I wasn’t going to let him win.
“Fly directly over it, and I’m going to drop in. Jade still has us hidden, so when he drops the shadows, they will be more focused on what’s happening out here than what I’m doing.”
“You know they will hate that plan.”
“Then I will beg their forgiveness when this is over.”
Vasin let out an irritated growl, but he did as I asked, dropping low and slowing enough for me to drop with ease. My wings flared, letting me float safely down, landing right in front of the mausoleum’s doorway. Then the world was once more filled with color, just as I let my wings disperse.
“They’re here,” someone cried out.
Glancing over my shoulder, I spotted the horde of dragons appear out of thin air, flames bursting from their mouths, taking out the front lines.
The enemy dragons dove into the fight from above, but my people were skilled fighters, having spent their entire life training for this moment—the moment the mercenaries leave their mark on the world.
The mausoleum door was made of thick, heavy stone, and I wasn’t sure how to get through it.
Then I remembered the time when I freed Vasin from the roost so long ago.
This time, instead of using an arrow, I manifested a dagger and poured power into the tip of it before slamming it into the stone.
It exploded, sending me flying back into the fray of the battle.
“One got inside. Keep your eyes open… they blasted through the door.”
A man reached down and helped me up, clearly thinking I was on his side. Before he could yell as he noticed my arm glowing the mark of my Birthright bright in the darkness, I slipped the knife between his ribs.
“May your mind and spirit be set free,” I whispered in his ear before guiding him to the ground where he died.
The chaos of bodies around me tossed me in all directions as I tried to get back to the mausoleum.
Dragon riders dropped out of the sky, leaving their dragons to fight while they handled things on the ground.
One landed in front of me, and I realized it was Dayson, his ax flashing in the moonlight as he cleared the space around me.
“Cassy-bear, I don’t know what you’re up to, but you’re not doing it alone,” he snapped, using the handle of his ax to shove people back.
“I need to get to the mausoleum,” I shouted as I drew my sword, fending off an attacker. “I blew the door open, but it sent me flying, and I got swept up in the fighting.”
With another powerful stroke of his double-bladed ax, people fell away. “Then let’s get going.”
I grabbed onto his belt, using him as a shield while he cleared us a path.
The sound of swords clashing had me spinning around to find Izel with his dual blades blocking a huge man with a double-handed broadsword.
With a swift move, Izel kicked the giant man in the balls and dropped him to his knees, where his head was quickly lopped from his neck.
“I’ve got your back. Keep going, Day!” Izel shouted.
“Hold on, Cass, Tahir is coming to aid you.”
“Stop,” I yelled, pulling on Dayson’s belt. “Tahir is coming.”
The red dragon let out a roar announcing his presence before a stream of fire burst from his mouth. The heat of the dragon fire was intense, but it wasn’t close enough to burn us, just enough to clear a path straight to our goal.
“Run,” I ordered, shoving Dayson into movement.
“Goddammit, woman. You’re lucky I love you bossing me around like that in the middle of a battle,” Dayson hollered over his shoulder as he grabbed me and tucked me under one arm before charging ahead.
Abbott appeared, fending off those who noticed what we were trying to do.
“Stop them.” someone bellowed.
Arrows zinged through the air, but more dragons darted in and out of the fray, tossing the archers into trees or stomping on them, crushing them to death. Everything was utter chaos, nothing made sense, and no matter where you looked, people fought tooth and nail.
“Cassy-bear, can you sprout those wings of yours when you need to?” Dayson asked.
I didn’t understand why he was asking, but I answered all the same. “Yes. Yes, I can.”
“Fuck, they’re going to be so pissed at me for doing this,” Dayson muttered. “Hold on, you’re going to be faster without us holding you back.”
The next thing I knew, Dayson spun in a circle before launching me into the air.
I let out a short scream before clenching my jaw shut so I didn’t draw attention.
My wings burst forth, carrying me higher above the fray.
All of the Lost King’s army was doing everything they could to keep the entrance blocked with their massive numbers, but they were going to need more than that to stop me.
Darting forward, I created a shield that I held out front as I hit the wave of people, tossing them to the wayside as I used my wings to propel me forward.
I could tell I was getting close as the magic kept trying to repel me like it knew if I made it inside, everything would come to an end.
Sweat poured down my face as I used everything I had to keep pushing forward.
Then I was through.
It was as if the bubble burst, and I landed inside with a thud.
Scrambling to my feet, I wiped my face off with my sleeve, giving my eyes a moment to adjust. The platform where a body would be placed in its coffin was empty, but the ground under it was dug up with a ladder peeking out.
Carefully, I ventured forward and peered down the hole.
An eerie glow emanated from within, and I knew it was the object I was looking for.
The shaft was too narrow to use my wings, meaning I had to climb down like anyone else would.
As silently as I could, I made my way until I was about halfway and could see the bottom.
Letting my feet rest on the outside of the ladder, I dropped.
Just before I hit the ground, I twisted and rolled, setting me in the perfect motion to pop up to my feet.
Bow in hand, I crouched, taking in what was around me.
Under this mausoleum was a tunnel that fed into the church’s tunnels.
It would seem, at one point, someone must have practiced dark magic in this place.
An altar sat in the middle of this open room with a metal box etched with symbols I didn’t recognize resting on top of it.
That is what I’d come for—the heart of a dragon tainted by dark magic, rotting with evil.
“So, you managed to break the curse’s hold on you,” Henry said as he slowly clapped his hands, entering the altar room.
“Foolish girl, did you really think coming in here was the smart thing to do? The power is stronger the closer you are to it. Now it will rip everything it can from you, leaving a husk for your loved ones to find.”
I watched him for a moment, wondering how those women thought he was handsome.
The dark magic he was using took from him as much as he thought he was getting.
His skin clung to his bones, his eyes still that same blue color as his father’s stood out hauntingly.
They were bloodshot and wild with madness, and whatever part of him that had been human was gone.
“Look how lost you are,” I said, shaking my head. “How can you not see that this curse is doing the same thing to you? It’s killing you, stripping you of every ounce of humanity.”
“Who needs humanity? Hmm? What good has it done us? Humanity is what threw me away and left me to live a lie! I was to be a king, but he tossed me out like the trash he thought I was,” Henry raged, spit flying from his mouth as he snarled his words.
“No, I will be a god. Once my humanity has been obliterated, I. Will. Be. A. God! Nothing will stop me, not even you!”
Power collected in his hand, the same sickly green color I’d seen around him in my nightmare. When it grew large enough, he hurled it at me. I lifted my hand palm facing forward and stopped it in its tracks. Enraged, Henry hurled bolt after bolt of power at me, only to be deflected.
“You are not more powerful than me! I gave up everything!” he screeched.
Using my power, I sent out a rope of it, twining it around his body, keeping him restrained.
He tried to fight it, but I knew my magic would hold.
Pulling my attention from him, I approached the box as it pulsed with power.
Tendrils of wild magic seeped out of it, trying to siphon off my magic, but I waved them aside.
“There is nothing you can do. If you touch it, then the curse will shift to you. It will take your dragon’s life and grant you the same thing it gave me.
This is what you wanted all along, isn’t it?
The power of eternal life, serving the dark magic as its slave so you can keep the magic all for yourself!
” Henry seethed as he started to claw at himself to get free.
Blocking him and his words out of my mind, I looked at the box.
Something in me told me what needed to be done.
I reached out to my bond with Vasin, pulling him so that he was with me, bolstering me as I sliced my hand, letting my life’s blood flow over the box.
It started to shiver and shake, the magic inside it going crazy as it drank up my offering.
“It’s all right, Cass. I’m right here.”
Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes, reaching out to the connection with my consorts, then adding in Becka and May.
The power that surged through my body almost made me buckle, but I stood strong.
Then, I felt two new bonds reaching out to me, sharing their essence with me.
Tears pooled in my eyes as I knew it was from the life growing inside me.
With the addition of their offering, I knew I had what I needed.
“I love you all,” I whispered as I slammed my hand to the box.
The evil crashed into me, clawing at the power I’d collected, desperate for it to fill the void it felt. So, I did exactly that. Everything that I was, that I am, and that I will be, I surrendered it all. Flashes of every happy moment in my life flit by as it was forced into this creature’s need.
At one point, whoever created this did so from their own pain and suffering.
They needed, like Henry, to have the power to make those who hurt them pay.
When that wasn’t enough, it needed to find others like them, forcing them to do what it couldn’t.
That’s where I was different—I’d healed my wounds with the love I received from others.
Instead of needing revenge, I chose to be better than them.
My children will have a mother who loves them endlessly and will tell them that every day.
The people in my life will share my burdens as we walk through life together.
Revenge is fleeting, but rising above to change a generation or even maybe a nation was far more satisfying.
As the fates said, I was chosen because I was nothing like the others.
Pure blue light exploded, filling the room, casting all shadows from the corners and exposing everything to the light.
The darkness couldn’t hide anymore—the light had driven it out, cleansing the space from the pain and agony that had been festering for so long.
The box under my hand started to glow red and then melted, coating the altar in a sheen of polished silver so brilliant you could see yourself in it.
The blue light started to fade, but wisps of it danced around the space as if the spirit that had been trapped was now free and happy for the first time.
When I turned to Henry, he’d vanished—nothing but soot on the ground gave any sign that he’d ever been there.
The angry soul had taken far too much from him to survive its final death.
My hands dropped to the altar, and tears rolled off my cheeks to splatter below.
My heart ached for those who’d lost themselves to this curse, the belief that the only way they could heal was to harm others.
I prayed the fates saw fit to release them from that bondage, to finally find peace and learn another way.
I crumpled to the ground, my legs no longer able to hold me up.
As I wiped the tears from my face, I spotted a flickering image I thought I recognized.
“Miranda?”
“Well-done, Dragon Queen,” she answered, giving me a bright smile.
Another person appeared next to her, wrapping her arms around Miranda’s waist. “See, Mom, I knew she could do it. The others might have doubted a noble woman could pull this off, but they forgot one thing. You were always born with the heart of a mercenary.”
They smiled and waved, dispersing into glowing blue dust as Jade burst through their image. “Little bird.”
“It’s over,” I croaked, my emotions thick in my throat. “It’s finally over.”
Jade crouched down, letting me wrap my arms around his neck as he lifted me from the ground. “You did it, little bird. You saved everyone.”
“No, it wasn’t just me,” I corrected, resting my head on his shoulder. “We all did it together because love and hope will always win out in the end.”