Alni Page 19

  While all the chaos slowed and the Kingdom fought to reorganize itself after the devastating attack, Alni stared ahead at the wall in the back meeting room. It would take months…if not years for things to start again for the Kingdom, but for now, time moved in slow motion, and he was trapped until he received further instructions or information.

  Every once in a while his emerald eyes would dart over to Silthia, who he had yet to address and had yet to speak to since the event, but he was finally realizing it was all real and not a dream, nor was it all in his mind. He knew he had to address things soon enough.

  “Are you…okay?”

  “I am trying to understand,” came her soft response, the familiar voice nothing like the Mystic Dragon, and all her own.

  Her eyes were still different, focused on anything but Alni as he spoke to her, not yet prepared to speak further on any subject with him.

  “I guess me too,” Alni sighed, one hand reaching out and resting on Silthia’s tail on the floor near his legs.

  It was an unsaid way of forgiving her, knowing that he did not understand fully what her intentions had been or how the plan had taken place. Still, there was quite a bit he didn’t know about Dora, and yet he trusted things. A great many things he had not shared with the others, including the man that had died at his own hands… Alni should be the last person to pass judgment and speak on trust when the King was dead and they had won. Even if Silthia was not the same as she had once been, soon they would know what that meant for her. Above all, she was alive. It was all he would have wanted for someone who had helped them in the end.

  The door to the large meeting hall they had been hidden away in opened abruptly. Two elven guards entered and Alni jumped to his feet and away from the table. He reached for the stone shard in his pocket, but quickly remembered it would never be there again.

  “The Princess has requested your audience,” one spoke, eyes nervously darting towards Silthia.

  Alni glanced over to her and she nodded her scaled head in his direction.

  “Go on, Alni. I’ll wait here.”

  Without a word, Alni cautiously followed the guards out of the meeting hall and further into the castle. Massive hallways blended into each other, growing narrower and narrower until only the trio could continue. An area not permissible to dragons.

  They stopped in front of a large door at the end of the long hallway, the edges of the frame were solid gold, an old tree etched into the wood. It reached upward and filled the wood of the door, the intricate and dark designs both beautiful and yet somehow ominous. It was a room that Alni should not have been at, a place he did not belong.

  The door swung outward and Alni was ushered in before it closed promptly behind him. He was surrounded by the soft scent of spices the moment he walked inside, and peered around. The room was lavish and heavily furnished, a large bed in the middle, surrounded by soft and bright chairs. There were no windows, but large paintings adorned the walls and made the large room seem cozy, despite the size.

  Dora’s arms were around Alni before he had a chance to process her approach. His own wrapped around her and pulled her close, breathing in the smoky scent of the Glade fire lingering in her short dark hair. Lowering his head, he rested it in the crook of her neck and closed his eyes.

  They remained there for several minutes, not speaking, but holding onto each other tightly as the world was forgotten around them. It was the first time that Alni truly felt safe since the nightmares from Mallor had begun, truly realizing that they had won, and nothing could touch them there. It had been a scenario he never believed he’d see, always certain that he’d finally die at the hands of King Mallor before they reached this point.

  He never imagined he’d be wondering what was next for them all.

  Dora slowly pulled away from the embrace and looked up at him. Her eyes were not scared, not hesitant as they had been a great many times before. They were exhausted, drained of all energy and emotion.

  Alni’s hand rose, moving a strand of her dark hair behind one of her long, pinned ears. The ear twitched and lifted as she looked up at him.

  “I don’t know what to do next. I mean…I do. I’ve been waiting for this moment my entire life. But now the lands have to be set right, the elves have to accept that we coexist with the humans and…” She groaned, lifting a hand to her head as she pressed her palm against her forehead.

  “Dora, listen. We’re alive…the humans and elves harmed are being cared for and you are recognized as the ruler. You know what you’re going to do, you know that you’re going to rule and ensure faith is restored with the dragons. Just like your father did.”

  Dora laughed, the sound lyrical and pure, a sound of immense relief.

  “How you seem to always know what to do or say, half-breed, I’ll never know.”

  “So, that means you aren’t banishing me from the lands or something after driving you nuts for so long?” Alni joked, trying his hardest to laugh as well, but the ability had temporarily escaped him.

  “Oh, I wouldn’t take that off the table, but for now I suppose you can stay,” she was looking at him with an unreadable expression and Alni found himself mesmerized.

  Doting, it was almost as if she were doting on him, admiration as clear as day as she took a deep breath and moved away from his body.

  Walking to the center of the room, she grabbed for a glass of water on the center table near the large bed. Pointing to an empty glass, Dora put hers down.

  “Have some. They won’t let me anywhere near Glade or my friends. Bethinium said…it’s for the best. They’re going to expect me to speak to them once things are settled and the dead are accounted for,” her voice cracked and she cleared her throat, shaking her head, “I have to take action. I spoke to the people fighting for me many times over the years and they trusted that I would lead them to safety. Somehow…I think it might have been you who did so.”

  When Alni shook his head and opened his mouth to respond, she shook her head once more.

  “Whatever the case. I couldn’t have done this without you. The Mystic Dragon…the magic of our world brought our paths together and now Desin reaches a new point of change. So many things are happening and I’m really scared. I’m ready, but I’m scared.”

  Alni approached the middle of the room and poured himself some water, lifting it to his lips as he took a long drink. The liquid was icy cold and he could feel it fall down his throat and into the pit of his stomach inch-by-inch. Taking another drink, he allowed the water to nourish him while he collected his thoughts.

  “Dora. This is what you have been waiting for. You’ve got this and…I’ll be around for anything you need help with. I mean, I do have Silthia with me now. I’m not sure how welcome dragons are here at the present time, but if I can help at all…magic or no magic,” the absence of the stone was a loss he had not anticipated.

  At first, Alni had not been certain if the feeling was because he missed the promise of power; power that his mother could never harness and the elves had no longer known. It was a way for him to protect himself and grow, connect with the world and magic around him, but now he realized the loss was something else.

  It had given him purpose and without the magic he was no longer on a journey.

  He was just himself. Sure, he had Silthia at his back, but the adventure was over. Alni had been convinced he would die, that he would have one final quest before he became a small part in a big world once again.

  Still, seeing Dora in power and alive, the freckles high on her face as she beamed in his direction…it was better than having a purpose or magic. In that moment it made everything around him okay.

  “Bethinium says there’s a way to train you, a way that you can still harness the magic that was blessed to you without the stone. He didn’t speak much on it…had other things to worry about, but if you want to embrace it again, there’s a way. Here’s the thing,” Dora moved over to Alni, hand moving out and resting on his arm.

/>   “I think you would have found a way to figure things out, magic or no magic. You are resourceful and don’t quite know when to give up. For that I’m thankful and I really do hope that you decide to stay here with us. With me. Listen, Alni…things are going to be overwhelming and I need to focus on setting the lands straight, on my living family and what must be done with the dragons to keep peace,” she cleared her throat, a soft red on her cheeks.

  Alni finally laughed, shaking his head as his hand moved to cover hers, “I will stay for as long as you’ll have me.”

  He meant it, every word that left his lips.

  Still, the mere idea that Bethinium could help him and teach him the magic once again, it wasn’t something he could turn down. More than that, Bethinium could tell him more about his parents.

  It had not been a primary concern while the mortality of Desin was being threatened, but now that the immediate threat had been eliminated, he yearned to know. He wanted to know more about the two that had raised him until their untimely passing, and what they had been like before moving away from Glade.

  Now there was something else to focus on, emotions rising to the surface with their safety. Alni wanted to kiss Dora, wanted to feel her lips against his, and know that even out of the throngs of danger, the moments they had shared meant something more. Something more than a last escape from the situation at hand before all hell was released.

  He stopped himself, keeping the thoughts away and focusing on what she needed him for most. The Kingdom. She had done everything for her birthright and succeeded, now she needed not to be distracted while she became the ruler Desin needed after so long in the dark. Despite the need to say things to Dora, to tell her just how he felt about her…

  A new era was beginning and some things didn’t need to be said just yet.

  Chapter Thirty

  Three Weeks Later

  As Bethinium looked back at the shadow of the castle and surrounding lands, he knew it could very well be the last time he did so. Dread had settled firmly in his chest from the moment he decided to leave those lands, but it was also matched with hope. Hope he had not felt in a great many years.

  After the attack, Dora had taken her place on the throne, and with the help of the elders and group leaders that had risen to assist her, the lands were slowly being put back into order. Glade was being rebuilt, and those days it was almost as if the attack had never happened.

  During the settling of the lands, Bethinium had received a message he had not been prepared for. The message came while he slept one night, a magical reach from an energy familiar to him…one that he remembered well. How could he ever miss the distinct magical energy of his only son?

  It was just as it had been when Taber was just a little boy and did not yet know how to control his power. The same as it had been the day he swore off his father and disappeared, lost somewhere in Desin. Lost with no intention on ever being found, no matter his father’s tireless magical attempts to find him.

  The dream had started off as a great many others had. Bethinium was in his childhood home, gardening where his mother used to in the back fields. The sun was shining brightly down upon him but he did not feel overheated, only content with the energy the orb provided. Surrounded by the smells of wildflowers and farmlands; it was peaceful and beautiful, a solace for his mind.

  But in this dream, he saw Taber standing across the field from him instead of one of the neighboring farmers. He wore a long dark coat, his hands stuffed in the pockets as he shuffled from one foot to the next as if he was uneasy. Although it had been a great many years, and Taber had grown into a strong young man, Bethinium could still see the child he had raised alone hidden in the harsh lines of his son’s face.

  “Taber…”

  He had dropped the weeds in his hands, rising to his feet.

  Taber had said nothing at first, pain expressed deep in his dark eyes. His hand rose to run through messy brown hair before moving to pinch the bridge of his nose in frustration.

  “I heard about the attack and knew you were still living there. Just needed to…”

  Bethinium knew, they both knew. Taber had wondered if his father was dead at the hands of the dragons during the final attack, had reached out to see if there was anything left of his remaining parent.

  All the old warlock wanted to do was break the distance and wrap his arms around Taber, pull the boy close and apologize for everything he had done, for the horrors that had led to his one son disowning and leaving him. He wanted to cry at how handsome and grown up Taber looked, how powerful he clearly was. How proud he was despite what had happened between the two of them.

  But he was frozen in place, unable to move.

  “I miss you so much, my son,” were the only words Bethinium uttered, and as they reached Taber’s ears he seemed to recoil as if they physically hurt him.

  The magic was fading around them, emotions getting the better of Taber as his spell started to collapse. Bethinium looked around him, noting the fields disappearing and warping into a different scene.

  One he had only seen once before.

  It was a snowy mountainside close to the Oceans of Yurel, a place he had gone with his wife and son once when Taber was a very young boy; when his wife and son’s mother had still been alive. Bethinium could see the familiar lights of a nearby town across the snowy lands below. He was soaking up every bit of the scene around him, confirming the location, his dark eyes returned to Taber.

  “Goodbye, Bethinium,” had been all Taber said as the magic fell and Bethinium had awoken in a cold sweat alone in the castle.

  His mind had reeled without end after the appearance of Taber in his dream, searching his maps for the exact mountainside that had appeared before him when his son’s magic faltered. The place he knew that Taber was staying…

  He had failed his family once, and now he knew where Taber remained…could he truly stay in the Elven lands while his son was on the other side of the Kingdom? It would be a long journey, but Bethinium would die of regret if he turned down the chance to see Taber in front of him in the flesh; a chance to say he was truly sorry to his son’s face, and beg him to return and become a family with him once more.

  Bethinium had tried to bury the intense emotions as he and Alni helped and did everything Dora needed. Homes were built and families were reunited. There was no opposition to the Princess’s return and Mallor’s fall. The majority of the population had been scared of death from the previous evil leader, following him blindly. Now they were filled with hope.

  Bethinium did everything in his power to bring back homes and help humans and elves rebuild their lives, but at the end of the day, he looked to the mountainside.

  He knew Dora would insist upon sending Bethinium with an entire army, always wanting to be as helpful as possible and assist for all he had done for her, but Bethinium needed nothing from the future Queen. He only desired to slip away in the night, returning only when he had found peace.

  Already the hatred he felt for himself over losing Taber had drained his life. It wasn’t much longer that the old man would remain on Desin, and now that he was not needed there for the attack…

  He had packed his things only a few weeks after the death of Mallor, enough things stored away for the long journey to the mountainside to find his son. Looking once more to the castle, he started back across the fields and on his journey; never knowing if he would ever return and see Dora as the true Queen of the lands, if he would ever see Glade rebuilt.

  There was a gust of wind from above that knocked Bethinium to his knees on the soft earth, hands lifting to cover his head to protect himself from the unknown being.

  The opal dragon landed before him in the field, her wise eyes humored as they scanned over Bethinium. He rose to his feet and took a deep breath as the dragon’s rider slid down one extended wing. But of course, he would recognize the dragon and red-haired master from anywhere.

  “Alni. I see you were privy to my disappearance,�
�� Bethinium said slowly, adjusting the large pack on his back with a shrug of his shoulders.

  “The Princess realized you must have forgotten something when you were on your way. She had a chance to read the note you left behind, and thank goodness she got it when she did…you were almost out of the Kingdom,” Alni swept low and gave Bethinium a wink, “Here’s the thing, you promised me that I’d get some training and I don’t really know anyone else who can do this for me. The Princess has sent me to ensure you get to your son and back safely, in exchange for some magic training and…an adventure. Just a trade straight across.”

  Alni was smiling, positively beaming as Silthia chuckled behind him.

  “I suppose we are going on an adventure then, Alni.”

  “She had one more message for all three of us,” Alni said, extending a hand to help Bethinium onto the back of Silthia.

  Grabbing onto the hand offered, Bethinium slowly climbed up and onto the makeshift leather seat and settled in, unable to stop beaming despite the change of events. Even knowing the boy before him was still a mystery and held a great many secrets he had not shared, Bethinium was prepared to teach him, ready to do anything if it meant he’d get his son back to him.

  “Oh? What might that be,” He inquired with a chuckle.

  “Hurry back.

  Read ahead for the first chapter in the continued adventures of Alni and Bethinium on their quest to find his son.

  Taber, coming Fall 2019.