Page 37 of Fire and Fate
"We have much to discuss," Zara says, her voice cutting through the moment with gentle firmness. She hasn't moved from the lounge, still watching us with that careful intensity. "Especially when it comes to your kingdom sending people to kill ours."
I sit back slightly in Alessia's arms, confusion furrowing my brow. "What do you mean? The challenge was to slay dragons for my hand, but I thought..." I trail off, really looking at Alessia for the first time. Looking past her beauty to the small details I missed before. The way her skin seems to shimmer slightly in the light, like there's something just beneath the surface. The warmth that radiates from her, more than any human should produce. The inhuman grace in how she moved to catch me.
Then I see it. The faint pattern of scales visible at her collarbone where her dress dips low, iridescent and beautiful. Orange and red and white.
"They're you," I breathe, my eyes wide. "The dragons. You..." I look at Zara, seeing it now in her too. The way her eyes seem to glow slightly, the barely visible shimmer of black and green scales at her wrists where her sleeves are pushed up. "You're the dragons we were supposed to slay."
Zara holds out her hand, and fire blooms in her palm. Small flames dance across her skin, illuminating the black scales that ripple across the back of her hand and up her forearm. They're beautiful and terrifying all at once, proof of power I can't even comprehend.
Solace starts forward immediately, a low growl building in her chest. Her protective instincts override everything else, moving to put herself between me and the perceived threat. I can feel her wolf rising to the surface and sense how close she is to shifting.
Zara extinguishes the flames with a thought, holding up both hands in a placating gesture. "We mean no harm, but your kingdom and every single one like it does. We're not monsters and we aren't brainless souls burning everything to a crisp. You'll get nothing but pain if you take our heads, an entire army of angry dragons after you for killing one of our own. Whoever started these silly rumors has only led to unnecessary death."
All those suitors who went to challenge the dragons. All those Alphas who never returned. They weren't failing some noble quest. They were attacking people, trying to murder them in their homes, and getting killed in self-defense.
"How could they all be so wrong?" I whisper, my voice breaking. "How could my father send all those people to die for a lie?"
Alessia's arms tighten around me, offering comfort I don't deserve. "Fear," she says softly. "Fear and greed make people believe terrible things. Your kingdom wanted our wealth, our power. It's easier to justify taking those things if you believe we're monsters who don't deserve them."
My mind is racing, trying to reconcile everything I was taught with this new reality. The dragons are people. Shifters like us, just a different kind. They have homes and families and a kingdom to protect. And we've been attacking them for years, sending warrior after warrior to try to kill them and steal what's theirs. My father promised my hand as a reward for murder, and I didn't even question it because I was so focused on my own freedom.
"I'm so sorry," I manage, tears pricking at my eyes. "I didn't know. I should have questioned it, should have thought about what it meant, but I was so focused on escaping my father's control that I didn't think about the lives being destroyed in the process."
"You're not responsible for your father's choices," Zara says, echoing what Solace told me last night. "But you are here now, and what you choose to do with this knowledge matters."
I start to feel overwhelmed, the weight of everything crashing down on me all at once. The lies I was raised on. The deaths my father caused. The fact that I'm standing in the arms of one of the supposed monsters, and all I want is to stay there. The prophecy and the bond and the impossible choice between the life I knew and this strange new future.
I pull away from Alessia gently, and she lets me go even though I can see the reluctance in her eyes. I crawl back onto the bed where Solace waits with open arms, burrowing into her familiar embrace like I can hide from all of this. She wraps around me immediately and I press my face against her shoulder, needing just a moment before I can focus on everything else.
Zara
It’s been a few hours since Kaia and Solace arrived, the magic in the castle swirling with their new signatures, whispers demanding to know who these newcomers are. However, I’m not ready to announce that just yet. I know our time is running out and that Elara said tonight was the cut off but we need more time.
I stand near the window, watching the pair on the bed with a feeling of immense pride swelling in my chest. This is what we've been waiting for. Not just the Omega, though Kaia is everything the prophecy promised and more. But seeing that fierce warrior curled protectively around her, seeing the way Solace holds her like she's the most precious thing in existence, it means everything.
I thought it would just be our Omega arriving alone, vulnerable and in need of protection. I never imagined she'd come with her own guardian, someone who loves her enough to follow her into the Shadowlands despite every instinct screaming that it's suicide.
However, bringing Kaia through the Shadowlands was reckless beyond measure. The fact that they survived at all speaks to either incredible luck or the magic working overtime to ensure they arrived safely. Most who enter those lands don't come out, and those who do are forever changed by what they've seen. Yet here these two are, battered and exhausted but whole.
Alessia has all but crawled up onto the other side of Kaia, and I can see the joy radiating from every line of her body. She's grinning like she's been given the greatest gift imaginable as she plays with Kaia's dark curls, running her fingers through them with obvious delight.
Then she leans down to press gentle kisses along Kaia's shoulders and I can't help but laugh when she looks up at me. Her cheeks are pink with pleasure and excitement, her eyes bright with happiness I haven't seen in decades.
"Let her sleep, Alessia," I say, keeping my voice gentle despite the amusement coloring it. "Let them both sleep. I can't imagine that kind of journey was easy on either of them."
Solace sits up slightly at my words, carefully extracting herself from where she's been holding Kaia. She looks at me with those guarded eyes, still not entirely trusting but willing to listen. There's intelligence there and I find myself once again intrigued by this Beta who managed to guide an Omega in pre-heat through the most dangerous territory in the region.
"I'd like to speak with you," I say, keeping my tone neutral. "If you're willing."
Solace nods slowly, then leans down to kiss Kaia. The gesture is tender and intimate, full of unspoken emotion. Kaia wakesslowly at the touch, her eyes fluttering open with a sleepy smile that transforms her entire face. For a moment, her expression is unguarded, free of whatever burdens she's been carrying.
"I can feel that we're safe here," Solace murmurs against Kaia's hair. "And these are your Alphas. I can feel that in my bones, princess."
"Why do you say that like you're leaving?" Kaia's voice sharpens with sudden fear, her hand grasping at Solace's arm.
"I'm just going to speak with the queen," Solace says soothingly, stroking Kaia's cheek. "Let Alessia hold you, okay? I'll be right outside."
Kaia frowns, clearly unhappy with this arrangement. "Sol—"
