Guard POV
Drakon Bay
The winds around us played the same song as usual. Always so cheerful, and full of promise for tomorrow. This secluded part of Drakon Bay remains as it is, empty, except for the 10's of guards doing their jobs and getting ready for the next shift change which is in; I glance down slightly at my watch to check the time, forty-five minutes and 24 seconds, 23, 22,-
"Hey!" A fellow guard shout whispered as he turned over to me. "Stay focused." He grunted out and retook his post.
"Why?" I ask back, letting out a small, tired yawn. "Nothing ever happens around here." I fixed my posture and stood my ground, suddenly finding myself wanting to check the time again. I gave the guard who reprimanded me an arching side glance, careful not to draw much attention from him.
When the coast looked clear enough, I slowly removed my hand from my back again and looked down. Forty-two minutes and 17 seconds, 16, 15,-
"Oh for fucks sake," he started up again, "If you don't knock it off I'll make sure you work triple-" his words haltered drastically as a forceful wave of wind filled the air around us, probably spreading for miles in its wake, causing the ground below us began to quake at our feet.
An earthquake? I ask myself. Impossible. The guards in the area as well as I moved toward the building we were protecting, hoping it wouldn't collapse. I scanned the stone walls for any cracks, and surely there they were, forming new lines and patterns as they spread unevenly throughout the structure.
"This building's gonna come down," I shout to the other guards.
"Quickly!" another one yells out. "We must protect him!"
In all of the chaos, we run inside the brittle building hoping to save him from the falling ceiling. But what we saw was something none of us were prepared for.
The rumbling came from the center of the fragile structure, making me think the ground would fall deep into the crust if it continued. This isn't an earthquake.
"This isn't an earthquake!" I repeated, only aloud this time. It seems the other guards caught wind of the situation as well. We stood frozen in place, unsure of what to do next. No one in the westerlie kingdom knew what to do next. He doesn't know us. Only her and she's not here.
"Quick!" I howled to them, my shaking voice bouncing off the walls. "Alert the king! Tell him that-" my words paused as the reverberating did, making the room fall silent altogether. We looked around at each other, the temperature increasing with every second.
Our eyes soon were trained at the stone in front of us, which strangely started to fade away, leaving something else in its wake. The silence grew as the dust cleared, giving us a clearer view of him.
For a moment, I thought nothing would happen. But as the air became dryer, it was evident that this is only a build-up of what was to come next, and I was right. I couldn't take my eyes off of him, and maybe he sensed our frightened stares because he opened his eyes and stared back.
Xander's POV
Ryker you son of a bitch, hiding from the battle as your men deal with us. You've always been a coward, even as a kid as I was forced to save you multiple times from wolves stronger than you. There was a time I would've given my life for you and your sister, but now...now your life will be taken from me.
Poetic I suppose.
But this mess that you've created, there's nothing poetic about it. The only thing coming from this fight is chaos, one no kingdom needs right now. And bringing my mate into this crossfire cross more lines than you could ever draw up.
If I had known Robbin wouldn't be safe in the sky, I would've locked her away against her will, not caring for her struggles to get free. Our time together has always been limited. If I had known, if I had only known we'd have a small window of time with each other, I would've tried harder. I wouldn't have caused her pain, but I wouldn't let her leave either.
Now as I watch her fall from the sky, all I can think about is going back. Maybe not to the beginning, but to any point where she smiled, which of course wasn't that often, but still she did it. Maybe if I went back, I could've made her happier. Maybe.
But all hopes of doing that vanished from my mind as her body smashed into the water. I shifted out of my wolf form and ran to the shore, dodging rogues as they tried to end my life. The water brushed against my feet in a rush as they rippled over and over and over again from her fall.
I looked for any sign of her body, and when there wasn't one, I hurried into the prickling water to search for her. She's not dead. She can't be. We needed more time for...for everything. I want to see her smile again. I want to hold her, be inside her, watch over her, protect her. I just want her.
My body wasn't fully submerged when a strong wind pushed my back onto the shore and then some, making me land on the black sand. I felt the winds change around me, shift into something entirely different, something powerful. More than me, but not more than...
I get up from the ground and search the water once more, hoping for something. Anything. I can still feel her, more than ever actually. Our connection was still there, still thriving inside of me.
The water stilled abruptly; waves crashing for the last time before an explosion erupted about a mile away from the shore.
Robbin's POV
Nothing. That's all I feel as I sink further into the water, only it's not the same one I fell into. This one gleamed of red with no surface to see or a bottom to lay on. My body is rigid and won't move even if I wanted it to. No thoughts race my mind and I struggle to find out how and why I'm here. Have I always been here?
My body falls further into the bliss of ignorance as the water pulls me deeper into itself. I close my eyes and let it take over my body, but a painful headache jolts me awake and provides me my first taste of sense.
I look around only to see nothing but the red sea engulfing my existence. Suddenly, an image flashes through my mind. A small beautiful dragon appears in front of me, its piercing blue eyes enchanting me as its gaze dwells deep into mine.
The sight of it feels familiar in a way I can't explain, but a connection is certainly there. The urge to reach out to it becomes the only thing I want to do, but my body fights against it. Please, I beg myself. Just one touch. I need to touch it.
My heart beats rapidly against my chest as I struggle for freedom. I can see the dragon as clear as day, living in its own world. That's when it hit me.
It's not here. This is only...a vision. A beautiful one. Our gazes never leave each other, that is until I spotted something even smaller than the creature. It was a child, and she saw me too. Her matching blue eyes watched me curiously, bringing one of her two braids over her shoulder and held onto it tightly.
My voice found itself as I finally had some control over myself. "Who are you?" I ask them, hoping for so form of resolve in all of this.
"Who are you?" she asked back, the curiosity in her eyes doubling over. Something about the both of them is...striking, like I've lived this moment before, but on the other side of it.
"I don't know." I finally answered her, but I felt as if I did. I looked over to the dragon who never took its eyes off of me, trapping me once again in its captivating look. Those eyes, they buried deep inside of me, reading my soul and emotions, strangely keeping me safe, all with one look. I felt it sense my confusion as the feeling came back to me. The dragon moved toward me quickly and for a moment, I thought it was crossing our barrier.
Standing right in front of the edge of our worlds, I felt a shift in me. "What are you?" I ask it. I needed to know. My limbs still fought to gain control of my body. "Are you real?" nothing.
"Yes." a voice echoes in my mind.
"You can speak?"
"Yes," it said again.
"Can you help me?" I ask. "I don't know who I am or why I'm here." a silence brewed between us as I waited for it to speak again. When it didn't, I began to beg. "Please. I don't think I belong here."
I started to worry that it wouldn't speak back to me, that he and the small child would abandon me here forever, but the dragon's vibrant blue eyes suddenly began to glow brighter, making mine widen as images started to flash in my mind. First, it was one, then hundreds all at once.
They were, of him. The dragon that stood a world away from me, but this one was far larger and was accompanied by an older looking version of the girl with him.
Shock ran through me as I took it all in. the visions, they were accompanied by feelings, familiar ones as I felt what they did. Their bliss as they flew together high in the sky, the sadness as a body was buried into the ground, the emptiness as the two were separated and one was turned to stone.
It all felt so real, so part of me. The visions ended and I found myself feeling incredibly broken. I look up at the dragon and feel even more damaged inside. "What was that? I ask him.
"Memories for you. The future for us."
"I don't understand."
"You will." without notice, the dragon spewed its fire through the portal, encasing me in it. For a second, I thought it was going to kill me, but instead, it brought me back to life. My arms moved freely without any restraint and the water heated up quickly as the fire formed a sphere around me, charging up my skin.
I tried looking through the fireball to find the dragon, but nothing but blue flames were seen. The fire grew closer to me, every inch it covered brought me more control, more energy. I reached out to touch it and it entered my body with ease, igniting a flame within myself.
Suddenly, all of the fire entered me making me close my eyes from its force. When I opened them again, the water around me was dark blue and I became self-aware of where I was, and what I am.
The energy around me was intense and took a moment to realize where it was coming from. I lit up the water with my eyes and searched for Phoebion. She must've hit the ocean floor by now. I enhanced my speed and swam down in search of her.
Surely, there was her lifeless body. I placed my hands on the nose of her head and pushed as much life back into her as I could. Her eyes instantly jolted open and I knew the window to get her some air was closing. Using my newfound strength, I grabbed her spikes and pulled us both to the surface. We reached it in a matter of seconds, making the water around us erupt from her massive presence and my ever emitting power.
I didn't stop though. I kept pulling her up, miles about the water until we were high enough to fly. When I stopped, Phoebion spread her wings and let us glide through the sky. My eyes still glowed as I searched the sky for Grey and the red dragon, but they were nowhere to be seen.
I changed targets and urged Phoebion to fly near the land in hopes of spotting Xander. And there he was, already watching him from the shore. I couldn't help but smile. Phoebion flew down to him, but a sense of fire-filled my mind.
I curved Phoebion to the side, having her avoid yet another attack from our enemy. We circle around and there it is, the red dragon. I mind-link Phoebion and tell her to go find Grey. and with that, I got up from her back and ran along with the spikes of her neck until dismounting off the top of her head, shooting myself straight at the red dragon.
Before they could react, I landed with a punch on the rider's face, knocking him off and sending us both back to the water. Only this time, I'm in control. My grip on him stood firm as I continued to hit him. I wrapped my legs around his waist to steady myself and ripped the mask covering his identity. I need to know what this traitor looks like.
The mask came flying off and underneath was a man I had never seen before. There was a strange smell of dragon blood coming from him, mixed with the scent of a werewolf. Ryker wouldn't let some rogue wolf take control of a dragon as powerful as his, which only meant one thing.
"Ryker." the name was said in an almost demonic voice as I spoke to him. My skin was heating up from anger, which made me want to cool down. I won't let that be the fuel to my fire.
The water was a few meters away when I grabbed Ryker by his shoulders and brought him straight up. I took one of my hands and hung it down, making my palm parallel to the water, releasing a powerful wind and stopping us from entering. I changed the position of my arm and brought it up, pushing us backward toward the shore.
I threw him onto the sand and gently landed after him, the winds around me finally seizing. Ryker stood up and faced me with an unexplainable emotion. "I didn't think you were coming out to play today, your highness," he said with sarcasm. "Are you sure you're up for a fight?"
"There will be no bloodshed between us. However, I do intend on delivering your punishment myself." I responded, my voice still distorted. When I pushed us back to the shore, it was a little ways from the battle that was already in place. And by a little, I mean a few miles.
"Are you sure?" he asked, inching toward me. "I promise you won't get hit with a spear this time." a wicked smile grew on his face as he seemed to be remembering something. So it was him, good to know.
It's hard for me to control my powers since I just got them back after a long time. My anger couldn't be controlled as I tried to stop the fire from growing in the palm of my hands. "Are you sure?" I ask him back. "You've never fought anything like me." I clenched my fists in an attempt to calm myself.
"You're weak Robbin. Even if you do have your dragon blood powers back, they'll eventually burn out. After all, you're still corrupted."
"How would you know that?"
He gave me another sly smile, obviously aware of something that I wasn't. "You're a fool to think that my rogues weren't anywhere in the capital. I know everything. Your sickness, that sham of a coronation, and that you knew where we were."
My anger continued to fight for freedom as Ryker spoke. We have a mole, probably more than one. "You will pay for the damage you've done to the four kingdoms, Ryker. As queen of the Northerner kingdom, I hold responsible for treason, and you will pay the ultimate price."
"Oh yeah, well what are you going to do, fire-breather?"
The last of my resolve slipped away as my hands were now engulfed in a blue and yellow fire. I don't want to kill him. But I don't want Xander to find him first and unfortunately, I don't have the luxury of time right now. But it doesn't matter. Punishment must be placed.
"Tell me, Ryker," I spoke in a voice that wasn't my own, although it did come from deep within me. "How do you like the smell of flames?"
He arched his eyebrow up at me and curved his mischievous lips. "Why don't you find out for me?" he asked as his gaze flew above me. I didn't need to turn around to know what was behind me. I didn't need to make a choice. I knew what my priorities were.
Feeling the heat creep up my neck, I shot my fire at Ryker with all the power I had and waited for myself to become flooded with someone else's flames. Its heat touched to bask of my body, sending shocks down my spine, and I knew it was going to leave a lot of damage. But before it could completely submerge me, a heat source from my right shot at the red dragon's fire, breaking it off and saving me from a world of pain.
I looked over and my heart nearly fell out of my chest. My face grew a lost look, one of a sad relief as I stared up at him. I could've been dreaming since I've had dreams like this far too often, but this was real, he was real. My Vision came back to me.