Why are you acting like this?

  Thor soon landed on the ground and tucked in his wings before curling up. Selena, Kiba, and Tiamat jumped out of the saddle to walk around a bit before building a campfire.

  “If you don’t mind, I’m going to go hunting. It’s been a while since I’ve eaten anything.” Kiba transformed into a wolf and ran out of sight.

  I’m supposed to be the only one you care for. Thor grumbled after Kiba left.

  But what’s going to happen when I get married? I’m going to have to care for Silver too. I don’t think you’re as ready for this as you said you were.

  Thor bared his fangs and flickered his tail.

  I don’t know anymore. I thought I was, but I honestly can’t stand the thought of you being with anyone else. You’re supposed to be my handler, my rider. Why do I have to share you with anyone else?

  That’s not going to change.

  Yes it will! You will soon forget about me, won’t you?

  No… Please –

  Yes you will! I’ve seen how happy he makes you. You will leave me all alone.

  I could never leave you alone! Thor hissed and turned away. I wish I could help you understand. I’m certain if you had a lady dragon companion, you would see the difference. I love you, you’re my brother. But…

  I know, it’s different compared to you loving Silver.

  And yet, you’re still not satisfied?

  No. I don’t know if I ever will be. I love you too, my sister. I just don’t like the idea of seeing you care for anything or anyone else.

  The whelpling started running around, spewing blotches of acid all over the ground before Selena called it over to her.

  I need to figure out how to help you, because mine and Silver’s future isn’t going to change. I want you to be happy too.

  Thor puffed out black smoke from his nostrils.

  Maybe you’re right. I’m sorry. I’m so used to you always being there for me, and I for you. It’s always been about us and no one else. It’s so hard to imagine someone else in that picture for all eternity.

  What do you mean by eternity?

  Don’t you know? Dragons live forever because we are sustained through magic. You are too. Isn’t marriage until death do you part? You and Silver will be together forever, and I with you.

  She and Thor locked gazes. She placed a hand on his head.

  All the more reason to help you feel better. I don’t want this to continue to be an issue. Whatever I go through, you will be there for me and I will be there for you too. I need to make sure both of you will be happy. I need to still be a friend to you, and to be a wife to Silver.

  Thor hung his head low in shame.

  I know I haven’t made this easy for you. I’m sorry. Please forgive me for my outburst earlier.

  I could never stay mad at you. The only thing that I ask is to please give me a chance to show you that I won’t forget you. I pray that Silver be understanding as well. He has never shown to be jealous of us, but I’m sure he feels it deep down.

  Then… if he does, then I’m sure you’ll talk to him, just as you’ve spoken with me.

  She sat down beside Thor and allowed Tiamat to crawl on her lap. It curled up and went to sleep.

  Selena dozed off for a few hours with both Thor and the whelpling, while waiting for Azrael, Rahim, and Doragon to return from Nuvak. She woke to the soft flail of wings; Doragon returned with Azrael. Rahim, however, was not with them.

  Just as Doragon landed, Azrael explained: “He found Chaliss and wanted to stay for the rest of the night just so he and his mother can catch up on lost time. Otherwise, we helped clear the rest of the city’s poison.”

  Selena’s eyes lit up, but she then looked off to the side. “Did Chaliss want to see me too?”

  “I’m pretty sure she did, but I didn’t get a chance to speak to her.” Selena could not help but feel a little sad. It almost seemed unfair; Chaliss was the only mother-figure she had ever known. She felt like Thor, wanting parental affection. Was that wrong? “What are you going to do what that thing?” Azrael asked, interrupting her train of thought.

  Selena put her hand on the twitching whelpling that still lay on her lap.

  “I don’t know. I want to bring Tiamat with us and see if I can at least care for it until it’s old enough to survive on its own. It didn’t deserve to be abandoned.”

  “Those monsters only bring chaos and death. I don’t like it.” Azrael shivered.

  “But… aren’t you the god of chaos and death?”

  Azrael made an uncomfortable noise. “Yes, but this is different. What I do is natural, and needed. But… these creatures are violent, unnatural, and they just make things worse. Just looking at that monster is making me nauseous.”

  “I don’t think it’s a monster. I think it can be tamed to be good.”

  “Okay, fine! If it gets out of line, then I will kill it.” Azrael looked around. “Where is Kiba?”

  “She went hunting after we got here. She should be back soon.”

  “All right. We’ll leave tomorrow morning for Snowhaven, after you meet with Chaliss. There’s no other reason to stick around here any more than we have to.”

  “Agreed, but will you tell me what happened to King Camulus?”

  “I told you. The plague.”

  Selena squinted her eyes at him. She had a feeling he was lying. “I pray the Council doesn’t find out.”

  “Find out what? That the king died of a plague? That’s not our fault.” Azrael turned away. “I’m pretty sure that someone else will be crowned the next king soon anyway. Maybe we’ll get to meet another madman.”

  “After the last two kings we’ve met, I’m sure that King Boreas will be the same way.”

  Azrael kept to himself on the matter. The whelpling soon woke up and started randomly hissing again. Selena panicked as it attempted to bite her and quickly stood up to get away. Thor got on all fours and started growling back while spreading out his wings.

  Wait, stop! I think we startled it! Selena ran in between Tiamat and Thor to try to deescalate the situation.

  That thing keeps trying to attack you!

  But it doesn’t know any better!

  “Hey, it’s okay!” Selena knelt before it and held out her hand again. It slowly stopped hissing and sniffed her hand. “That’s it, there we go. See, nothing to be afraid of.” Selena gave a slight chuckle. She reached into her pack and pulled out another piece of jerky to feed the whelpling.

  Azrael bit his lower lip. “I think you have your work cut out for you.”

  *****

  Chapter 24

  “I will say, the new recruits are excelling thanks to you, Captain Altessa.” General Araneus was looking out his office’s window with his hands clasped behind his back. “With any hope, they’ll all be assigned to their dragons within a month. I don’t know how you’ve managed to pull it off without Captain Bel, but you are well on your way in being a seasoned Captain yourself.”

  “You’re too kind, General.” Silver smiled. “Of course, I only want to see the success of the riders and what’s best for the Empire.”

  “Yes, although there is something I needed to talk to you about in private. Please, close the door and take a seat.” Araneus ordered before taking his seat behind his mahogany desk. Silver bowed and did as he asked. “Now then. The first matter is in regards to Selena and Azrael, and of course their dragons. I recently got word of their exploits in Nuvak and they should be on their way to Snowhaven as we speak. Although they are a little behind schedule, I reckon they should be back in Alfheim in a few weeks. When they return, I’ve already approved time off for them.”

  Silver’s heart raced in his chest as he attempted to hide his excitement in knowing that he and his beloved would have time together. “Of course, General.”

  “Very good. I’m sure that you of all people would appreciate it.”

  “I’m sorry?” Silver was afraid to offer more to the conversation.

  “I’m sure you know what I mean. Need I say more?”

  Silver swallowed hard. The General knew, so why wasn’t he in trouble? “I don’t understand. Mine and Liongod’s courtship is against the law.”

  “It is if I say it is. Right now, I think that this matter stays between us. As far as I’m concerned, this conversation never happened.” The General winked. Silver let out a sigh of relief. “There is, however, an urgent matter that we needed to address. I will warn you, it is a little distressing.” General Araneus opened his desk drawer and pulled out large book that listed all the transactions that the Council had approved for over the last year. “As my Captain, my order to you is that whatever is discussed within my office stays in my office. Do I make myself clear?”

  “Affirmative.”

  “Good. Now, I want you to look over these documents that are dated from within the last couple of months and tell me if you see anything unusual.”

  Slightly confused by the General’s request, Silver agreed and grabbed the book. After a few moments of shuffling through the pages, his eyes widened when he realized what the General was talking about.

  “Didn’t Vidar say that the dragon eggs were purchased from Snowhaven?” Silver asked.

  “Yes.”

  Silver looked back at the book again. “I don’t see anything about this exchange, but these numbers don’t add up. That means...”

  “The Council hasn’t received any form of payment from Snowhaven. Not only that, but if you go back further in the records, you will see that a large sum of money was sent to an unknown organization for weapons and other supplies for war, after the battle in Alfheim. Something isn’t right. I need to follow up with this and find out more if I can. In the meantime, you will say nothing. Let me deal with this.”

  “Sir, yes sir.”

  “Good. Please get back to your duties. I will let you know if I found out more.”

  *****

  Kiba returned from her hunt with a leather pouch filled with meat. Selena and Azrael had already started a campfire and were relaxing with their dragons. Tiamat was sound asleep, curled in a ball on Selena’s lap.

  “That thing almost acts like a cat.” Azrael observed. Kiba jumped up and landed in front of him to growl in his face. “Oh I see. You don’t like cats then.”

  When satisfied that she made her point clear, Kiba dropped the pack in front of the fire, morphed back into her human form, and said, “I’ve had my share. I’ve saved the scraps for you guys.”

  “Uh, thanks.” Selena didn’t want to move, so as to not disturb the whelpling. Azrael lazily reached out to open it. Although they were leftovers, Kiba saved them a good portion of meat that was enough to easily feed them and Rahim. Azrael then arranged a few small sticks over a large, flat stone to lay the meat on to cook. He picked off a few pieces to give to Doragon, Thor, and then to Selena for her new pet. “Its wounds still look nasty. Azrael, can you show me how to heal them?”

  He froze. “Um… sure.” He knelt beside her and grabbed her hand without warning. Selena immediately withdrew it back, but he quickly explained: “I was going to show you how to do it!”

  “But I’ve never done anything like that before.”

  Azrael shook his head. “I know you can do it. You’re talented. You always figure this stuff out.”

  After a moment, Selena gave him a firm nod and looked at the whelp. Azrael moved her hand to touch the creature’s wounds. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She felt a burn erupt from her palm. The pain intensified, but then she felt relief. She opened her eyes in surprise and saw that her hand was glowing white over the wounds. When the light disappeared, the injuries were gone. She looked at her hands in amazement.

  “I can’t believe it,” she said.

  “See? I told you that you could do it!” Azrael cheered for her.

  Tiamat stirred and awoke from the smell of food. Selena quickly picked up the chunks of meat given to her earlier and fed them to it.

  When Azrael left, Thor nuzzled Selena’s shoulder.

  That was impressive, but don’t tell Silver. I think he’ll get jealous if he knew you had another magic teacher aside from him.

  That would be ridiculous. She didn’t want to admit that she knew he was right. The baby creature sniffed her hand when it finished eating and rubbed his head against her. I honestly never imagined Azrael being a teacher. I know he offered before we left Alfheim, but he has definitely changed.

  I agree. Didn’t you say before that the two best teachers are time and death? Sometimes Azrael doesn’t give himself enough credit.

  When the whelp began to grow antsy, Selena stood up and, with more scraps of meat, walked a ways from the campsite.

  “Okay, come over here! Come on! I know you can do it!” she called out to the whelpling. However, Tiamat just looked around. Selena tore off a piece of meat and whistled at it. “Come on! What’s this? Yeah?”

  The whelpling sniffed the air and started walking in her direction. When it reached her, it rubbed its head against her leg. She gave it the scraps as a reward.

  Incredible.

  Tiamat is doing great! Are you and Doragon able to communicate with it?

  Thor shook his head. No. I don’t know how, but its mind is so twisted. Believe me, we tried to before when you announced you wanted to keep it.

  After eating, Azrael stood up and stretched. “Since Thor kind of figured out how to use air, I wanted to show you as well. This should be much easier for you.” Selena turned around and sat down cross-legged. Azrael bent over and picked up a stick to use to draw in the sand. “Breathe in deeply.” Selena took in a deep breath and felt rejuvenated from the fresh air. “Feel the energy of the air, and reflect that you have this energy within yourself as well. It's the power of the mind and intellect. It is considered a vital spirit that passes through all living things and giving life. It’s free and peaceful. It binds all things together.” When he stopped, Selena saw that he drew curvy lines that depicted a wind storm. “Before starting anything, you should meditate first. You need to let your mind be free.”

  Tiamat worked its way to crawl back in Selena’s lap once more, but Azrael reached down to pick it up. She did her best to not let it distract her. “Be free, got it.”

  Azrael turned to both Thor and Kiba with his fingers pressed to his lips and whispered, “Shh…”

  Selena closed her eyes and drew in a lung full of the fresh air. The night was calm and cool. She let the sound of the breeze fill her ears. Her body began to relax. Her arms and shoulders fell loose and her head gently tilted forward. At first, her thoughts drifted over to Thor, but she did her best to resist the temptation to talk to him. Instead, she didn’t think at all.

  Hours passed by in silence and in its endless way. Her mind and spirit were brought into a sweet surrender to be free of all the worries and cares of the world.

  She finally opened her eyes as if from a deep sleep. Her gaze was steady to the horizon, and her face lambent with faint starlight.

  “I think I got it.” Selena smiled. Her eyes narrowed and she punched forward. However, a blast of air sent her backward. She slammed into Thor’s side and fell face first into the ground.

  Both Kiba and Azrael laughed. “Well… at least on the bright side, you used air.” Azrael pointed out. Feeling agitated, Selena stood up and dusted herself off. She inhaled deeply before trying again. This time, when she punched forward, her summoned gusts followed. “There you go! You got it!”

  “Yay!” Kiba clapped excitedly.

  “It’s almost like fire.” Selena observed as she made another air blast aimed toward the sky.

  “Air and fire mix together in harmony. For instance, fire needs air to burn. Then, of course, there are the opposites, like fire and water, and air and earth.”

  “That’s amazing, but what about the beam of light that Thor used in the ruin? You’ve only been teaching me about the four basic elements,” Selena said.

  “Light is one of the two other elements that aren’t really talked about because only a few others truly know about them.” Azrael clapped his hands together. “As you know, the four main ones are air, water, earth, and fire. Any other magic that you’ve seen that involves other elements all usually come from the main four. For instance, you can freeze the water to make ice. The other two, light and dark, are different and not considered part of the main four. They are opposites on the spectrum of Aether magic.

  “Channeling dark energy you already know as black magic. It usually involves the manipulation of free will and necromancy. However, this can be deadly if it backfires, hence it’s outlawed in Armageddon. It’s opposite, light, is more difficult. It is the energy which permeates the natural world. It is commonly seen as either lightning or a beam of light.”

  “Case in point, what you did in the dwarven ruin, Thor.” Selena pointed out. He shifted in his spot and looked smug with himself.

  “That was impressive, I'll give you that. Since light usually takes on one of these forms, I think that light is in tune with the world around it. That’s why it’s so important to know the basic four elements. Once you know that, then you can fully understand light Aether. The same applies to dark Aether. This is what allows me to summon my energy pistols. That is light magic. What you’ve seen the Lich do was, without a doubt, dark magic.”

  Thor chirped.

  Incredible.

  “I’m not saying that you should do this, but if you could master both light and dark Aether, think of all that you could do. You could do things like stop time, prevent natural disasters, create a new world, just… anything! It’s only limited by what you’re capable of and how much of a strain that your body can take. I know you know this, but you have to keep in mind that you’re channeling so much energy through your body. You’re just a conduit. You’re guiding the energy to where it needs to go, so be careful not to mess it up.”

  “That would be amazing. I’m assuming the Lich knows both.”

  “To be honest, I don’t think anyone knows how to use both light and dark Aether. Maybe Silver? I don’t know how to use it, and I don’t even think the other two Divines know. I’ve never seen Xyaxon and Ulrich use dark Aether.”

 

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