Kayda, the Mother Dragon smiles as she watches Lilliana and Drake sleeping soundly, finally enjoying a brief moment of peace after such struggles. For a time, she was worried for them but now she stands proudly, watching as the world around them continues to come alive with magic once more.
However, she can sense a building darkness, hidden from her sight and an unease begins to spread within her. She wonders what this will mean for the young leaders as they learn how to manage their people while also learning to control their ability.
As this feeling builds within her Kayda decides to break her silence and she reaches out to Lilliana through her dreams.
“Congratulations daughter of dragons, may you be happy your life long and rule with a fair and just hand. Beware, for you have enemies waiting to strike and take advantage of your weaknesses. Be strong and follow your convictions. I will be watching, always.”
“Kayda?”
She turns to the sound of her name and sees Aethon the Great Fire Horse walking towards her, his flaming mane and tail flowing behind him.
“What are you doing? I thought we weren’t to interfere with the humans before the time limit was up?”
“Aethon, since when do you address me so informally? Or indeed question my decisions.”
Her glare has him slowing his steps to approach her cautiously. He stands beside her and looks down upon the humans living their lives, blissfully unaware of the deeper truths of the world.
“My apologies great Mother, but is it not true that we made that agreement after we chose to step away and leave them to make their own choices and mistakes?”
She scowls and he cowers for just a moment before regaining his composure once more.
“You are right of course that we agreed not to interfere with their decisions. But what I did just now was simply congratulate my young successor on making the right choices so far.”
“But still, you have now revealed your presence to her. Do you not think that this will affect how she makes her decisions going forward? And also, that warning you gave her, it borders on revealing the future which is in breach of the agreement.”
“All I did was advise her to be aware of potential threats. I told her nothing of the future. Can you honestly stand there and tell me that I have broken my vow to remain neutral?”
He hangs his head in supplication in response to her rising anger.
“No great Mother, I apologise that my words may have suggested such a thing.”
“Hmpf.”
She huffs and turns away to watch her charges once more, but then another thought occurs to her.
“Tell me Aethon, do you truly believe that boy deserves the gift that lays dormant within him?”
She points with her claw and draws Aethon’s gaze to the young man below who is struggling with this pain and anger. Concern mars the gods features as he takes note that she is not pleased with the boy for his actions up to this point.
“Please great Mother, I know he has not acted as calmly or justly as a good leader should, so far. But I do trust that he will surprise you when he can access his true self. He is simply lost and needing to find his way, but I believe he can do it.”
“Is that so? Well, we best hope you are right, because now that Lilliana has unlocked her Dragon, she has triggered the awakening of all her people and the rest of Zodia is quickly following. The time will soon come when your champion will be tested and if he fails then it could mean the disruption of the balance forever.”
“I understand. He won’t fail, I’m sure of it.”
She nods and looks away, ending the conversation as she thinks about what has been before and what will be coming now.
900 years ago, they gave the people the means to access the power within. They also left them with the guidance they needed to keep that power strong within them.
‘Respice in oculis tuis, optatum unum. Si videbis in eadem anima, anhelanti, amorem te supplex, te, inveni vestri soulmate habebo, qui complet te. Si non, tunc ambulare in aeternum.’
The translation is.
‘Look into the eyes of your desired one. If you will see the same soul yearning for the love you yourself crave, you have found your soulmate who completes you. If not, then walk away forever.’
Better known as the Soulmate Principle, meaning that soon, as the magic grows stronger around them, the people who already live by this principle will access their ability to shift. Whereas others who live according to greed and avarice will never access it and remain human.
Such is the price of living without love.
But they will require guidance and only the Royal bloodlines that carry the power and strength of the Gods to be able to lead their people successfully. As such the Heirs must exhibit the correct behaviors and decision-making skills befitting a leader.
“What if he is not the right choice Aethon? What makes you so sure, after seeing how he treated my little Lilliana, that he is the right person to lead his people?”
Aethon looks down once more and sadness fills his features for a moment before he looks to Kayda once more.
“I know him better than he knows himself. He can do it.”
“Let’s hope you are right.”
A third, deep voice enters the conversation causing both Kayda and Aethon to turn, upon which they see the owner of that voice.
Tiberius, the God of Tigers stalks along into their space, his golden fur glistening with his movements. His gaze is fixed on the dots below that show the twins that are growing stronger day by day. All of these young Royals across the breadth of Zodia, carry the hopes of the Gods on their tiny shoulders and they are not even aware of it.
It is not only the Tigers that are showing promise, at the time that Lilliana and Drake finally succumbed to their desire for one another, there was a mass spike in the magical forces in Zodia. This wave was witnessed by the Gods as all across the world a butterfly effect took place, enabling the rebirth of the connection to the old magic for so many others.
Jacob is one of many of his generation that will now be in line to drive forward the new world order. The Tigers, Wolves, Rabbits and Boars, will all be watched closely over the next few years to see if they can follow the Dragons footsteps.
For now, all eyes are trained on the Horse’s for they are the first to be affected by the Dragon’s. Lance has much to prove to himself and his people. His journey will not be easy, by far, but if he can manage to find the true path within himself, he may just manage to save both his people and his own soul.
Fenris, God of Wolves, stealthily approaches them and sits beside Aethon, his black fur shining with a blue hue as his gaze is drawn to his own people.
He watches his young heir below, as gradually more and more lights begin to appear, surrounding the young Alpha wolf. It is clear that the spirit of the pack lives once more, and a deep sense of pride rises within him as casually Fenris says to Aethon.
“If you are wrong, then the wolves will not hesitate to retaliate, to rectify the situation.”
Aethon bristles and his flames glow hotter in his anger.
“I am not wrong.”
With his final declaration made, silence surrounds the four Gods as they watch and wait to see what will happen.
Hello my Lovelies. I hope you enjoy this next installment. I am always curious and appreciative to know what you all think so please leave comments on the chapters and if you choose, then please leave a review so others looking, can see what you think and feel about the book. Much love, Ebony x
“Ouch! Will you be careful?! That Hurts!” The doctor is working on removing the arrow from my arm, but he is being especially rough about it. “Hold still, please your Highness. It is embedded quite deeply into your muscle. If you wish to retain the full use of your arm, I suggest you stop complaining and sit still.” “Argh!” He pulls on it again, the pain is excruciating, this is the second time she has put an arrow in me, and it was just as unpleasant the first time. “Just hurry up and take it out already! Are you a sadist?” The doctor frowns at my last comment but remains silent then gives the arrow one last yank, finally pulling it free. “Argh! Damnit!” I cradle my right arm in my left hand and put pressure on the wound to try and stop the pain. My anger hasn’t lessened any, but when I think about what happened I also feel a paralyzing fear take over me. A Dragon! She was really a Dragon, and she was going to seriously harm me! But he... My anger flares again as I think ove
I’m too shocked to answer, so I just stand and stare at Lilliana. She walks further into the room, allowing the door to close behind her. We are both thrown into darkness again momentarily before suddenly the lights flash on. I squint against the glare and when finally, my eyes adjust I see that she is standing in the middle of my room watching me with a frown as she looks around at the destroyed room. I’m wary of her intentions and a coldness enters my voice when I speak betraying my defensiveness. “What are you doing here?” “Always so cold and aggressive Lance. Did you ever consider that I was responding in kind?” “That is just your way of shifting all the blame to me, you are hardly blameless in any of this Lilliana.” Her eyes narrow at my response, and I can feel her power radiating off her in waves, I wonder what she intends to do, and I keep my guard up. She seems to sense this because suddenly the anger in her eyes fades and she looks at me strangely. “Yes Lance, it is tr
I rise with the dawn, the same as every morning and head to the stables to begin my chores for the day. I love my job, working on this ranch raising horses to one day serve the country on behalf of the Royal Family is extremely rewarding. We breed them to enter the Royal Cavalry, but many farms rely on horse labour as well, so we breed the larger ones for that too. The one other responsibility we have is capturing the wild mustangs for the Royal ‘coming of age’ ceremony when a Prince or Princess turns 18 or when an existing Royal horse dies, and they require a replacement. It is up to us to break in the replacement horse and make sure it is suitably trained to perform the required duties when delivered to the owner. It has been a few years since a mustang was last brought in to be broken, so for now, we just focus on our foals. There is a mare in the stables now who is close to giving birth, so I have been visiting her every spare moment I have, to check on her healt
Over the next few days, nothing changes much. The Queen and the Prince eat their meals in the main hall, but when she has work to do, he hides in his room. I am disappointed because I really hoped to have a playmate, but I’m not the kind of girl who gives up, so I start playing my games below his window. After a week I begin to get bored sitting there, so I wander over to the paddock and climb up on the fence to watch the men with the horses. “Hello, Rayne. Everything okay little one?” Mr Tobias calls out to me, and I wave back, smiling. “Hello. I’m okay, I wanted to watch you work.” “Really? Say, how old are you now?” “I’m eight.” “Eight you say, would you like to help?” A huge bubble of excitement rises in me, and I grin like an idiot. “Yes please!” He laughs and then walks over to pick me up and carry me over to one of the horses, he is smaller than the others. “This is Spade, he likes t
My return home is not a pleasant affair. My father had been so proud when the betrothal was agreed upon, but now as I stand in front of his throne awaiting my fate, he cannot bear to look at me. My family are all sat surrounding me, silently judging as my father decides my punishment. Finally, he looks up to speak to me.“You are an utter disgrace! I am ashamed to admit that my blood runs through your veins! I hereby denounce you as my son, you are no longer a Prince of this country! You will have no rights to the throne and will live out your days reduced to ‘Duke’ status. I don’t care where you go, just stay out of my sight. I never want to see you in my presence from this day forth. Now, away with you!”He turns his face away and waves his hand in the air as though he was swatting an annoying fly out of the air dismissing me. I glance at my brothers and sisters; I can see a conflict of emotion on their faces. They are equal parts annoye
***Flashback***Lance age 15My littlest big sister is due to turn eighteen in a few weeks, so they are preparing for her ceremony. Rayne and I wander over to the paddock where the mustangs are usually kept as we are both curious about the new horse that was brought in.We are both excited and talking about all sorts, I’m looking at her and watching her red hair blowing in the breeze, instead of paying attention to the paddock ahead.Suddenly there is a shout followed by the sound of splintering wood. When I turn to look, I see that the stallion has gotten loose.The ranch hands panic when they notice us in his path, everyone is shouting for us to move out of the way as they fear that we will be trampled to death.Anyone else would probably try to run away or dodge him, but I just think about protecting Rayne. I wrap my arms around her before throwing us both down to the ground and using my own body as a shield. She sc
I see the moment he raises his arm and I know what is coming, but I prefer he uses that thing on me than on the horse. I am fully prepared to feel its sting, but then a black blur engulfs my vision and blocks Lord Roderick from my view. What just happened? I take a step back so I can see clearer, and I am faced with the slender muscular back of a tall man dressed in a black suit. They are blocking Lord Roderick from me, and I realise they just stopped him using his whip on me too. But who would be out here at this time of day to be able to do that in the first place? As I struggle with my confusion and shock, my hearing comes back, and I hear what is being said. “How dare you even think of using a whip on a person! Have you no shame?!” The man in front of me is yelling at Lord Roderick, but the firmness of his tone tells me he is used to talking to people like this. “Who are you to speak to me like that?! I am
I know that when they find out who he is they are going to be shocked but, first I need to make sure Misty is okay. I slowly enter the stall and attempt to calm her down. “Shhh, Misty. Easy girl, it’s me, Rayne.” As I try to calm her with my voice, I see Lance remove a pocketknife from his boot and slowly approach her with it held low by his leg. The last thing I want him to do is spook her, so I keep talking, hoping to keep her attention on me. Suddenly she sees how close he is and feeling threatened, she tries to fight her bonds to get away from us. “Shhh, easy girl. I’m not here to harm you.” I hear a softness in his voice as he speaks to her, and I find myself drawn in. He extends his free hand out to her palm up as he continues to slowly approach, always keeping his voice low and calm. She is still breathing hard and eventually he is close enough to touch her neck. Laying his hand gently on her skin he slowly strokes the tense muscles there hopin