Masuk[Orion] The sound of breaking glass is the first thing I hear when the preservation fluid drains from my ears as my body thrashes on the box that has been my prison for longer than I can remember. The lopsided shards pierce my flesh, slicing me open as it easily pierces my rot-marked skin. “He’s hurting himself,” my wife scrambles, trying to lift me herself. “Please…” Strong hands grasp me by the waist, lifting me off the surface as other hands hold my arms to my sides and my legs together. Tears as warm and salty as the sea kiss my face, and as I turn my head up to look at the source, I can barely make out my mate’s silhouette. “Kora,” I rasp, my lips burning as they tear. “My…” “Shh… My love,” she cries, her words shaky. “I’m here, and you’re safe. You’ll be well again soon. Hang in there, okay. Just a bit longer.” As I’m lowered onto a hard stone cot, its surface is surprisingly warm, soothing away my aches as the heat eases into my muscles. Sinking into it, my body sl
[Primus] “Carnelia!” I scream repeatedly, my soul aching for her, as I fall. And then land with a crash, hard, firmly set within my body. “Car…arn…” I choke as I vomit half the sea onto a smooth, warm, wooden deck as a firm, but gentle hand pats my back, encouraging the rest of the water, kelp, and other foul things to release from my lungs. “Is he going to recover?” Ona’s familiar snarl demands. Slowly, my eyes open, and I find her standing between me and someone else, her silhouette casting a protective shadow over me. “You promised that…contraption would bring him back.” “It takes time,” My betrayer explains with his slippery words. “The technicians designed this device to resuscitate, not to repair. His body will still need to heal on its own.” “If you tell me to trust the process, I’ll flay you,” Ona curses, glaring at the two of them. “This is not what we agreed to, Atremi. Daughter, you and your mate need to show me results, real results, or so help me…” “Ona,” Daa
[Primus] The air feels heavy as the Grand Magus’ words fall around us. My wife, my mate, Carnelia, has been lost to the void so completely that even her father, the greatest void walker in several generations, cannot reach her. “Then I’ll just have to go find her.” I declare firmly, determined to find a way even though it feels impossible. “I’m not going to let her stay out there. I’m bringing her home–no matter what I have to sacrifice.” And I mean it. I’d gladly give my life just to bring her home to her family. Our children need her. Our world needs her. I need her. Even if it cost me my soul, it would be worth it to hold her one more time. “How, Son?” Deklaan asks, open concern written across his face. “You can’t step into the void without support–you have neither the training nor innate skill. The only reason you can dream walk is the residual crystals I can sense in your blood,” the shadow drake informs me. “That’s why it’s so easy for your soul to leave your body. I
[Primus]My heart is breaking. Carnelia. Every time I close my eyes, I try to touch her, try to reach her, but she’s too far away. I can hear her voice, calling out to me in her dreams but no matter how I stretch my heart across the void, I can’t reach her. She is lost to me. Roaring to life, my body bursts from within, spilling out, spreading, becoming something else. Boards snap in two, sending splinters in all directions as my body presses against it, my scales expanding, growing to like the cracks in my heart. What is the point of a world without her in it. I am lost without her. How can I go on without her scent, her taste, the warmth of her skin against mine…? Maybe it is time for me to give in and let go. No. I can’t do that. Not until everyone who has hurt her has paid for her pain. Facing the mainland, I target my anger at the entrance to the Moon Dragon’s underground lair in the far east where the mist obscures the eyes and minds of lesser dragons. Thalan is to blame
His words feel like a test, one final trial to determine the fate of everything. “Of course,” I respond resolutely, my back straight and my voice clear. “And as soon as they’ve hatched, you can do a proper shell test. I’m sure it will be very soon. Sometimes Air Dragon eggs can take a bit longer.” “Interesting,” Thalan paces, balancing my precious little one precariously from his long fingertips. “Just to be clear,” he paused, “These eggs should be hatching within the next few days?” Swallowing, I nod. “Yes, King Thalan.” I need them to believe me. I need to buy a bit more time. “And when that happens, this council will be the first to know. But I need to nest now, so they can…” “Good.” A thin, tight-lipped grin stretches across his face, chilling my blood. Turning his back to me, the king faced the gathered group of elders and asked, “Elder Council, shall we put this matter to a vote?” “That won’t be necessary,” someone responds as from the shadows nine figures step out of darkn
[Eleanora] I was sleeping in the ashes of my husband’s keep, my body protectively wrapped around my clutch when the Elder Guard arrived. Athony, my closest protector, who had been standing guard over us while I slept, screamed in terror as cold steel chains pulled his bestial form to the ground, his body prone under their spears tipped in glowing, blue stones. “Shift back to your bipedal form, Queen Eleanora, or we kill your mate.” Roaring, I snapped at them, holding my eggs even closer. “He isn’t my mate,” I insisted. “My mate was Segundus Majere. And he is dead. That drake is one of my guards.” The drakes surrounding us smirked, a few laughed outright as they began carving Athony’s flesh. My guard didn’t flinch nor shout. The only part of him that moved were his gray-blue eyes. “Save our clutch,” they seemed to beg. “Protect our babies.” “They aren’t yours, remember,” I didn’t say with words but communicated with every ounce of feeling I could through our bond as queen and
[Ona] Atremi, who is trailing behind me by a few careful steps, raised his hand as soon as we arrived on the deck, and in a raspy voice, carried on the wind, calls out to one of his rescued men. “Canys, did you bring my box?” “Aye, Captain Remi,” the large human responds swiftly. “Evain and I loa
[Daax] Hearing my wife speak about her loss of trust in our daughter makes my shoulders slump as a sudden weight descends. There is so little of my family left. So few descendants of the Solarian Royal Family are still breathing. Carnelia and I are most of what is left, and our children are the onl
[Primus] “Primus!” my mate’s voice calls out to me across a vast expanse. She is standing high above me, on a platform made of clouds. “Primus! Come find me!” I can feel her fear, taste her need for me even as the distance grows between us. She is mine again, I can sense her. And as much as I ha
[Carnelia] What happened next was quick, efficient, and emotionless, so rapid and unexpected that I didn’t see it coming until it was already too late. It was my mistake, assuming that just because Nyxt, who looked and sounded so much like Primus, was being kind to me, meant that he would honor my







