73. Alaric
CHAPTER 73
Alaric
February -
I wander the hallways heading back to the suites, grabbing my bond mates along the way. We make it into the shared living quarters and there’s Aurora, standing on a pedestal in all her celestial glory. Her gown makes it look like she has wings hanging down her back. She’s currently wearing a crown I’ve never seen before. The crown is rather ornate; it appears to be made of Elven mithril and adorned with thousands of diamonds. It’s as if Aurora is wearing all the stars in the sky upon her head.
In front of her stands a man with long, black hair and pointed ears. I’ve never seen him before, but apparently, Nicodeamus knows him and Aurora is comfortable with him being in her nest. Aurora’s head turns slowly and she smiles. “Hey, guys! I’d like you to meet Oberon, King of the High Elves,” Aurora says as she motions to the man before her. “He’s come to bless the children and me. I, apparently am a beast of legend.” She smiles and looks back down to Oberon.
“Yes, Young Queen, you most certainly are a beast of legend, but the question is, which path will you choose once your mission is complete?” Oberon states in that musical voice of his.
He slowly turns to look at the rest of us; he moves forward to greet each of us in turn. High Elves themselves are beings of legend, and to attract the attention of the king himself is a huge deal. “You have gathered the strongest bloodlines from each of the species of old.” Oberon moves and stops before Dimitri and lightly grips his jaw.
“Great Bear, you are not alone. Your original tribe is still alive in the mountains where you were born. My people and I maintain a barrier around their territory to protect them.” Oberon hands Dimitri an amulet and smiles. “This will help you find your people when you are ready to go home.” Oberon moves away from Dimitri then back over to Aurora.
Oberon offers her his hand, and he assists her down off the pedestal. “You are ready, Young Queen. Remember, hide your true potential until your final battle. You don’t want anyone preparing for what you can accomplish.” Oberon leans forward and kisses Aurora’s forehead, then vanishes into a shimmering mist.
Aurora looks serene. It’s quite scary to see her like this. She seems at peace, settled. I’m happy but concerned at the same time. “Aurora, you seem a bit different. Is everything alright?” I tilt my head to the side and look at her, waiting for her to answer me.
With a fluid grace I haven’t seen before, Aurora seems to glide over to me. Gently, she lays her hands in mine and looks up at me, her steel-grey eyes focused on me. “Oberon helped settle my dual nature. Unfortunately, unlike the rest of you, I technically shouldn’t exist. Well, what I mean is I shouldn’t exist as I am, being an almost equal split of both species.” She tilts her head to the side smiling softly.
“Oberon said my dragon side is the most dominant. He used some old elvish magic to help my animal sides be more at peace and work together. I know we’re not separate beings, but the dual natures and instincts sometimes confuses the hell out of me. Oberon said that’s why my temper has such a short fuse. It’s because I couldn’t handle the mixed signals.” Aurora shrugs her shoulders and just smiles up at me like it’s that simple. To be honest, it really is. If her dual nature was causing her homicide-switch to flip, and he just fixed it, well, that’s the best news ever.
“What did Oberon mean by which path you’ll choose?” I lean forward and gently kiss Aurora’s full, blood-red lips. Nicodeamus takes Aurora’s hand and leads her over to the tall stool for her to sit on.
Aurora draws in a deep breath, then looks back to me. “I’m not the first of my kind; I’m actually the second one to be born like this. The first was a Black Dragon and Lycan hybrid. He went insane from the power of the two bloodlines. It took an entire army of elves and other dragons to take him down.” Aurora looks down, then at her own hands, shifting them to her beast’s gauntlets.
“Oberon says I’m more deadly than that male was because my beast literally took on the most dangerous traits from each mated species. I have Jayce’s venom and can release it in either form. I have Dominik’s agility and his night vision. From Klaus, I have his added speed and ability to jump to great heights. Dimitri, oh gods he was a deadly addition. I gained the mass and strength of his bear and its height. Alaric, my love, I gained your immunity to both types of fire. You’ve also given me the ability to breathe fire, which is unheard of.”
Aurora slowly shifts her hands back, looks back up, and smiles. “I gained a lot of good traits as well from Jayce: his soft heart and compassion. Dominik gave me the ability to assess a situation quickly and pick the best course of action. I gained an almost extrasensory perception—Oberon said the older species of Lycans just know things. I got that gift from Klaus.”
She smiles then turns slightly to look at Dimitri. “From Dimitri, I gained his infinite patience, and now that my beast is settled, I can use it. From you, Alaric, I gained a stronger will than I had before and a higher value on life.” She reaches out and grips my hand and gives it a squeeze.” All of these extra gifts were hidden by how unsettled my beast was. Oberon blessed our babies and me so that we all can be at peace.” She glances down for a moment before looking up again making eye contact with each of us.
“I choose the path of the benevolent leader, not the bloodthirsty tyrant. Well, that is, I will. After I kill Elena and Vladimir, then take back my family’s castle.” Aurora takes the offered drink from Jayce and looks at all of us.
I’m honestly floored by all that Aurora has said. To think, all this time, she’s been struggling with an internal war, and none of us knew about it. I feel horrible that our mate was possibly in her own private hell and never told any of us. Our servant comes in and alerts us to the fact that the guests are starting to arrive. Aurora rises up ever so gracefully and walks over to where the twins are curled up, sleeping as their dragons.
Aurora shocks me by making dragon sounds at the twins to wake them. I look to the guys, and yup, we’re all surprised to watch and listen to what she can do now.
Tiamat and Ladon have almost doubled in size over the last few weeks. We attribute their rapid growth to the fact that they spend more time as their dragons than as babies. Aurora believes they are safer as their dragons, and I hate to admit it but she’s right. Aurora bends down and picks up Tiamat, passing her to me. She then reaches down and picks up Ladon holding him close to her breasts. Slowly, he climbs up and wraps himself around her shoulders, preferring to sit up there so he can see better.
Tiamat, having seen what her brother did, also climbs up on my shoulders and lies down. I guess this is how we’re presenting the babies to the world: as their animals. Through the bond, Aurora reaches out to all of us. I want our babies to have a happy childhood. People cannot abduct children whose faces they have never seen. They are the first children born of me; those seeking to snuff out my bloodline will go for the children first, not me. I hate to say it but Aurora’s logic completely makes sense. We each take a turn kissing Aurora, then line up to head out.
Dimitri and Klaus take point, Jayce and Dominik following behind us. Aurora has her hand resting on my forearm as our children happily chatter with each other. We enter the grand ballroom to find Nicodeamus already standing on the platform near all of the thrones.
Not only did Aurora make sure each mate has a crown upon his head, but she also made sure they have a throne. We walk in time with the music that Nicodeamus has chosen for this momentous event. I feel Aurora’s hand tighten on my forearm, and she begins to look around the room slowly. Something isn’t right and she’s on high alert. I look up to see Nicodeamus with his eyes shifted, looking around. Aurora’s breathing has slowed as she uses her father’s vantage point to look around. At the very last second, she shoves me out of the way and catches a knife in her now-shifted hand.
I feel the room shift, along with Aurora’s temper. She’s commanding the dragons under her rule to seal the room. Carefully, she hands Ladon off to Dimitri and turns to walk through the crowd. Aurora stops before a female Red Dragon. She is one of the females my father tried to force me to take as a mate. “You threaten my mate? Your king?” Aurora’s voice is a mix of her beast, with hints of her human tone. You can see Aurora’s canines descend, as well as hear her talons clicking together in agitation.
“Abomination! You do not deserve a dragon like Alaric. He is to be mine!” The female screams at Aurora and shifts her forearms to her gauntlets. I compare the two quickly, trying to assess the situation. The red female has nothing on Aurora in the weapons department. “I challenge you to the pit. Beast on beast for the king’s hand.”
Aurora just starts to laugh hysterically at the female before her. “You? Wish to fight me? I killed Nexus by myself. Besides, if I die...” Aurora moves her hair aside to reveal my scale upon her chest. “Alaric will follow me into the great beyond, to the land of our ancestors. However, you will be left alone here, in the land of the living, having killed a monarch and sentenced to death. Your soul will never go to Elysium. Oh no, a far worse fate awaits you, my dear.” Aurora bows her head lightly to her father. “Prepare the pit! Tonight, I get to stretch my talons and add another head to my throne.” Aurora’s words have struck fear into Camile, and she comes running over to me, dropping to her knees.
“Please. Spare me! Forgive my trespass!” Camile grovels at my feet, kissing the tops of my shoes. Before I have a chance to answer, Nicodeamus comes up to my side and rests a hand on my shoulder.
“At the stroke of midnight, on the Ides of March, your wish to battle the new Blood Queen shall be granted. Be happy she didn’t call for the horde to descend upon you.” Nicodeamus speaks like the King of old, like the man he used to be before losing his mate. Tiamat moves and climbs onto her grandfather’s shoulder, then breathes fire at Camile, sending her scurrying backward away from us. In typical Nicodeamus fashion, he tells Tiamat how proud he is and she’s such a good girl.
All I can do is shake my head at him, then look up at Aurora sitting upon her throne. She’s switched crowns to her great-grandmother’s, and she’s owning the title her father has bestowed upon her. I approach Aurora, and she smiles at me like nothing has happened. Dimitri sits to her left and me to her right; Ladon now sits upon his mother’s lap watching the celebration. We have fifteen days until the battle. Camile will sit in a cell waiting for death during that time. Tonight, we celebrate our children and the successful birth of a princess and a prince.