Page 37 of Vengeance and Fire

I know it will present a few problems going forwards. I am sure there are still Maurelle sympathizers out there, but that can wait for another day. What is most important right now is that we are safe. We had a few people injured, but Cordelia lost no soldiers during the fight. Unfortunately, Maddox was our only casualty.

Cordelia stands next to Twyla, her mate, Pax, is on her other side and has his arms wrapped around her as the Druid priest gives the last rites. The field is full of mourners, and it is testament to how beloved the Druid King was, despite him saying otherwise. His people loved him and now they look to his daughter to step into his shoes. I have no doubt Twyla will be exceptional. She raised our queen, and Cordelia has already gone above and beyond for Arcadia and Celestia.

“When this is over, can you tell me what happened to them?”Cordelia’s voice is like a whisper inside my head. She is still learning to talk with us individually. I know exactly what she is asking of me, and although I still find it hard to talk about my mother and sister, I owe this to her.

“I want to take you toPanlongiaand show you myself. I promise,” I reply and leave it at that. She doesn’t question me further, yet I can feel her acceptance of my answer. Sometimes my words fail me. Showing her how I honor them both would mean more to me than my fumbling words can. I’ve come a long way in such a short time. All because of my love for her and the love for a life I didn’t think I deserved. Change is good.

We all stand in silence honoring the fallen king and the sacrifice he made for the sake of his daughter, his granddaughter, and his Realm. As the last of the wood turns to ash, we all turn to the rising sun and the promise of a new day.

“Let’s go home.” Cordelia leans into me. Gale takes her offered hand as we walk towards the ruins of the manor. It is going to take a bit of work, but Twyla will have this place back to rights in no time.

“Cordelia, Arcadia’s calling,” Torin says from the other side of me. Cordelia looks up at him in surprise, her mouth drops open, her head tilts to the side, as if she’s remembering something. She goes to speak but shakes her head and stays silent.

“What is it sweetheart?” Dravyn asks.

“Nothing, just a bit of déjà vu,” she says with a smile.

CHAPTERTWENTY-SIX

CORDELIA

6 months later

“Are we ready for this?”Dravyn and I fly close to each other, our Dragons are flying in circles around Torin, Gale, and Adrian. It is now or never. From the moment we left Celestia six months ago, life has been a bit of a blur. I have so many responsibilities that I can’t tell you what day it is sometimes. Delegation is the nature of my game though, between travelling back and forth between Earth, Incantatia, and Celestia I am a tired woman.

Torin took on the Shifters alongside Falyn as they visited as many communities as possible on Earth, giving them the option to return with them to Arcadia. It wasn’t easy, but with a promise of their returned powers and a chance to repopulate their species, a lot of them were on board.

Being pregnant, as exciting as it is, is not ideal when handling the day-to-day tasks of not only running one Realm but two. Once my mother found out I was pregnant I was constantly reminded to slow down and not run myself into the ground. There is always something that needs to be done, or questions to answer; this shit is hard.

Gale, Adrian, and Dravyn are managing the regions within Arcadia itself, because despite the change of rule, there are still female Dragons who are afraid to leave their homes. There are still males who try to adhere to the way Thaddeus ran things. I know it will take time to heal the wounds left behind from years of inequality and subjugation. Time is what we need, and time is what we now have.

My father, of course, became my Regent for both the Night and Light courts until the time that my two daughters are ready to take up the mantle. Yes, daughters. Although all four of my mates groaned in unison at the news. This is definitely going to make life interesting. The girls are going to have them wrapped around their tiny fingers. I can’t wait.

“You’ve been practicing with your magic for months now. We got this,”I reassure him as our Dragons bank left towards theBarren Lands. The tell-tale signs of sulfur in the air makes me nauseous. The sooner we do this the better. We have a lot of new inhabitants very eager to stake their claim in this new territory.

“You weave our magic together, Dravyn. Think of yourself a big ass sewing needle.”Gale’s Dragon twists playfully in front of us. My head is full of the laughter of my mates, and it puts me at ease. I can feel their confidence and their belief in not only me, but Dravyn. Considering that we have only been Dragons for a few months, we are both anxious about playing catch up to the rest of them.

“We’re here,”Adrian says, breaking up the laughter as his Dragon begins to climb higher over the tall craggy ridges. We all follow him, the land opening up underneath us is more volatile than I remember. The settlement that was once there is now melted away as the lava flows freely now. The atmosphere has a red hue to it, the clouds are black, the smell is more pungent. In a matter of months this place has taken a turn for the worse.

“With all the work we’ve been doing on the other regions, you’d think this place couldn’t get any worse,”Torin says as we all begin to survey the area below us. Honestly, I don’t want to fly any lower in fear of how it might affect us.

“It’s been neglected for far too long, let’s fix it,”I tell them as a small opening begins to erupt beneath us. Despite my fear, I let my Dragon take over, and I take a back seat as the seers instructed, letting them do the flying while we weave our magic together.

My Dragon dips low and begins to fly in a wide circular formation. Dravyn’s Dragon flies into the middle, directly upon the volcano opening. Adrian, Gale, and Torin follow my lead as we circle the entire place, as if our Dragons are mapping out the land below, taking detailed geographic notes. We fly like this for what feels like hours, but it must have been a matter of minutes. Suddenly, I can feel the pulse of my magic in my chest, a heat blooming inside of me.

“Do you feel that?”Gale asks. I can only assume that his magic is responding in the same way as mine. My magic feels infinite, like a continuous well of power ready to spill over and out of me.

“I feel all of you,”Dravyn says as we all stop. My wings flap hard as we hover in place, our bodies turn vertical, chests pointing inward towards Dravyn as each pulse of our magic hits him all at once. Red, blue, bronze, and green vibrating threads pour out of our chests, feeding Dravyn, whose Dragon begins to glow on impact. His golden scales are as bright as the sun and growing brighter as he intertwines each thread of magic with one intention. Creation.

The magic flows from Dravyn in waves, spreading wider and wider to the far reaches of theBarren Lands. At first, nothing happens as more and more of our magic is being soaked up like the land had been starved. It eats hungrily until things begin to happen.

It starts with what looks like an earthquake. The ground shakes violently beneath us as volcanic activity stops abruptly. Hurricane force like winds whip up around us, torrential rain begins to fall so fast that the lava instantly cools and hardens. Large cracks begin to form, causing the land to crumble inward, as if Torin was tilling the land like he would inCresceria. The land is changing, and new mountain ranges begin to form where there was once lava, lakes and rivers are created. The smell of sulfur is replaced with a clean refreshing breeze blowing off the newly formed landscape. Trees, plant life of every kind sprouts up and out of the ground, tall grasses and wildflowers. It is beautiful.

“I’ve never seen anything like this in my life. We did this,”I say to my mates. The pulse of magic within us begins to fade as we all look out upon the wonderful paradise we have created. It makes me excited for the future and the wonderful things we can achieve together; the possibilities, like the seers said, are limitless.

“What shall we call it?”Torin asks in awe. I am so transfixed by the crystal-clear lakes and varied landscapes that the question doesn’t register at first, and then it comes to me.

“New Bestia.”I knew it the moment it comes to me. It seems fitting considering that this is the Shifters’ new home.

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