Chapter 40 #2
I need you to know me, Sky, the way I now understand you.
Demir sent images to my mind of his entire life.
In a matter of seconds, I experienced every joy, pain and shred of anger he had lived through.
We stood still as I held his hands and closed my eyes, sinking deeper into the memories.
I lingered on the ones with me, tapping into the emotions he had felt.
All those taunts at the Academy; there wasn’t anger behind them—it was frustration, obsession and confusion.
He had been drawn to me even then but didn’t understand why; however, once he found me at the ball, it all began to click into place for him.
He never thought I would ever feel anything for him, and even now he knew I didn’t feel the same.
So, he had pushed me away with cold words and inconsistent actions when he first came here, but he had wanted me this entire time.
He was scared of me. Not because of who I was, but because of what I could do to him.
I had the power to hurt him more than anyone else.
If I ever betrayed him, he would not live another day on this earth.
He would end it all. Shivers rattled my body as a glow radiated across my skin.
I did the only thing I could, and showed Demir my life through my eyes.
The few good memories that were consumed by wave after wave of pain, hurt, betrayal and grief.
It went deeper than the Awakening with Sienna ever did.
I needed him to see all of me, how there was no end to the darkness.
I was a bottomless pit of broken pieces, but somehow, against my will, he had turned into a spark of light for me. Hope.
Demir succumbed to the emotional weight of my pain and dropped to his knees, tears flowing down his face.
I brushed them away with my thumb and knelt in front of him, pressing my forehead to his.
I showed him how scared I was that I could not love, even though it was the one thing I craved in this life.
How I didn’t think I was capable of something so pure.
My version of love was chaotic, messy and confusing.
I would disappoint him, hurt him and myself in the process but I would try.
I wanted to love him the way he deserved because I already did, in my own fucked up way.
The white light around us turned blue, and as I opened my eyes, Demir opened his but gone were his honey-coloured eyes. Instead, blue eyes met mine. Our souls had merged, and so had the eternal flame.
More gasps rang out across the hall as the flames around us grew, engulfing us but not harming us.
They lifted us into the air until we floated inches from the ceiling.
Shouts came from the ground below, but all I knew in that moment was Demir, this feeling of bliss and the captivating smile that matched my own.
I wanted this moment to last forever. Nothing else mattered—politics, war, the threat of the Mrak; none of it existed for a brief moment.
The flame turned fierce as thunder cracked overhead.
The foundations of the hall shook, and the chandeliers clattered to the ground, smashing into pieces as I kissed him like I had never kissed anyone before.
Fierce and assertive, wholly open to what was happening between us.
Terrified, but willing to fall into its depths.
Kissing him, I consumed him—his every want and need—and I could sense the moment he felt my love through the bond, because that’s exactly what this was.
This man had somehow buried himself deep inside my soul and laid claim to it, along with all the pieces of me.
We broke apart, panting, as a voice boomed through the hall—one my soul recognised immediately. The voice of the first dragon, it called to me like it was home.
‘I have been waiting for you.
The time has come.
Meet me where this story began.
For now, it ends.’
Demir had heard it too, and as we descended back to the ground, the flame receding, we realised everyone else had as well.
Panic covered every face in the hall, but Demir and I felt like the eye of a hurricane—calm and steady, holding each other’s hands.
Viv stepped forward first, uncertainty on her features. Acheron stepped partially in front of her, trying to shield her from me, an unknown.
‘What the fuck was that—’ she stammered out. I cocked a brow until she finished, ‘—my Queen.’
‘The soul bonding snapping into place,’ I explained as I sent Demir a mental image of his new blue eyes. He was shocked but also amused and sent a joke down the link about how he had been jealous of my new eye colour after seeing me at the ball. I couldn’t help the smile that graced my features.
‘Are they talking to each other?’ Acheron whispered to Viv, loud enough for everyone to hear.
‘Yes,’ Demir said matter-of-factly as he wrapped himself around me, inhaling my scent at the crook of my neck. I want nothing more than to send these people home and fuck you until the Mrak comes for us all.
As my thighs clutched and body melted into his at his devious thoughts, the people around us took a step back, fearing what we now were. Stories of soul bondings never mentioned this. This was new, and change was always scary for people who had never experienced stability.
King Emory of Nereteva and his wife, Queen Celeste of Suncela, stepped forward. ‘Who spoke to you? We all heard it.’ Emory asked.
Celeste continued, ‘What does it even mean?’
‘It was the first Dragon God, the one that created the power of the eternal flame. It means we have less time than we thought. It’s time to move our armies and prevent the end of life as we know it.
Morgad is going to be unleashing the Mrak—it’s a black sickness that infects the land, pure evil.
It is a dark magic that cannot be controlled.
Of course, King Sebastian believes he can, but nothing can.
We can’t even rid our lands of it for good, but we may be able to trap it for another thousand years. ’
‘How?’ Jade asked as Cain stepped forwards, now in his human form, almost guarding her. His eyes sung with the things he wanted to say.
‘A sacrifice,’ I said, meeting Demir’s gaze as his eyes shuttered and anguish flooded into me.
‘That’s convenient. And I suppose that is the real agenda of this meeting? Finding a pig for slaughter?’ Lejla remarked.
King Tiberias shot her a scathing look as she slunk back into herself. She was royalty, but she had no place in this discussion as she was not a leader of her people.
Cain stepped towards me in that moment, dropping a note into my hand. I gave him a sad smile as I flipped it over and read the words.
Let me. Don’t do this Sky.
‘I can’t accept that, my friend. The sacrifice is my burden to bear.
Those with the sight have shown us that the only path forward is for me to sacrifice that which I love and to be the vessel to trap it.
There is no other outcome; my bloodline is the key and no one else can take my place.
Now, who is going to answer the call and stop what is to come?
Or will you hide like cowards, because if you do, then you deserve to die, and I hope your people are merciless as they rip you limb from limb for abandoning them and their futures. ’
Demir couldn’t stifle the chuckle that escaped his lips, digging his nails into the palm of my hand as the bond filtered through just how attractive he found me in this moment, speaking down to a room full of powerful rulers, some of whom had been in charge longer than I had been alive.
Jade stepped forward, the first to speak in favour.
‘It’s what Raleigh would have done. I will send a message now and mobilise my armies.
Where do you want them?’ Cain’s fingers brushed her back reassuringly.
It was intimate—too intimate for a moment like this, surrounded by these people.
Something truly had happened between them in Voldina.
Viv stepped forward, and I nodded that it was okay for her to relay the information. ‘We need every able body at the Ancient Forest along the border with Morgad. We need to hold them off for as long as possible while Queen Skylar Azdaja of Maureia puts this darkness to bed—’
King Tiberias interrupted. ‘You have not shown us a shred of evidence that what you’re saying is true. How can we lead our people to slaughter on your whim?’
‘Did you not just hear the warning of the first dragon?’ Demir responded.
Queen Celeste looked away from both Emory and me. ‘It could have been a well-crafted trick. We all know she has a Wiccan in her council,’ she said.
Sienna snorted at the accusation. King Emory slunk away from his wife with a face that resembled disgust, and in a show of defiance, stood before me.
‘Skylar has never been one for parlour tricks and she wouldn’t start now.
You have my fighters, and you have me. I will not send them to a battlefield I do not deign to grace myself.
We can arrive in three days. If you weren’t aware, my water party tricks can come in handy from time to time, too,’ he said with a wink.
Celeste looked panicked but still did not answer the call.
Speaking to Celeste and Tiberias, I rounded on them.
‘What proof do you need? You won’t get it until you step foot on that battlefield and see for yourself.
I cannot call on the darkness. What I can do is tell you what’s at stake.
This darkness is a consumer of worlds. Everything we know, everyone we love, will be gone.
This will be a cataclysmic event. The land will die, all the trees, food and animals.
It will become barren, and only the darkness will remain until it moves on to the next world; all that will be left are rocks and dust. If you do not have the integrity to stand for what is right, then let your fear drive you. ’
Celeste looked at her husband as they had engaged in a silent conversation with their eyes. Emory saw something I didn’t as his face cracked into a smile. ‘We will be there alongside the fighters of Neretva. We do this together,’ she finished, still looking at Emory.
King Tiberias shook his head. ‘I will not march into war with Morgad over a scary story. We have long been allies. I will not cross King Sebastian. I was already uncomfortable coming here knowing he would not be privy.’
Prince Acheron moved forward, drawing his sword and pointing it at his father’s throat.
The guards in the room, tasked with protecting each ruler while in foreign lands, pulled their swords simultaneously.
But instead of directing their blades towards the prince, who was currently committing treason, they stood behind him.
Viv’s gaze heated; she was unsurprised by the turn of events, instead turned on by the rebellion and display of power.
‘Son, what are you doing?’ his father demanded.
‘Sorry, Father, but you are no longer in charge here. As we speak, my men have claimed my position as the leader of our people back home. We are tired of your poor judgement, and we will no longer suffer because of it. Skylar, you wouldn’t happen to have a spare dungeon for my father, would you?’
Nodding, my guards walked over to chain him.
‘Why, son?’ Tiberias pleaded, looking shocked. Acheron pulled off his wooden ring, raising his hand to show the mark of the vow he had made.
‘Because my loyalty lies elsewhere now, with someone who earnt it,’ he said as he knelt before me.
‘Rise, King Acheron Khalil of Cazina. Kings do not kneel before anyone.’ Lejla chose this moment to scream and come barrelling towards us, but Viv pulled her back and threw her into the guards.
‘Don’t forget this one too.’ I couldn’t stop the smile that spread on my face as Viv met my eyes.
‘Guinevere,’ I called on Sienna’s mother. ‘The remaining Elder Wiccans have been working with King Sebastian to release whatever dark magic they can upon the lands. Do you stand with them in this war?’ Sienna took a step towards her mother but held herself back.
‘No, tell me what you need. I will do it; let me make this right,’ Guinevere said.
‘Emory and Celeste will bring their people by water. In three days, they will reach the top of the border where Morgad and our lands meet at the edge of the Ancient Forest. Most of my people are already at the border; only we remain, along with a few of our Forest Fae battalion. Jasper will lead the rest there tonight and they should be able to make it in two days—many are already there as scouts. Guinevere, I need you to open portals in Cazina and Voldina to get both Jade’s and Acheron’s armies to the battleground within three days.
Sienna will join you, and so will Everett; they have been experimenting with some new magic. ’
Portals were difficult magic and required immense power, but I knew it would be possible with Sienna, a high Elder Wiccan and a Nomadie.
‘I know this is coming over two weeks sooner than we anticipated, but this is it. There is no turning back and what we do here shapes history. Any questions?’ I asked the group, taking in their confident and determined faces.
Everyone in this room was familiar with the practice of war.
They knew their roles. We were bred for these positions.
‘I will meet you all in three days,’ I said, dismissing everyone and leaving with my council members closely behind.