CHAPTER 68

As the portal got nearer, Alex could feel its energy in his blood. Excitement, adrenaline, dread, anxiety… he was feeling it all at once and much more. Trapped in his own cycle of endless feelings; he didn’t notice that Tamara’s pace had slowed to a point that she was now several paces behind. It was Katherine who drew his attention towards Tamara. She was walking just behind him and had asked him to wait, so they both stopped and stood waiting for Tamara to catch up in her own time. She wasn't making eye contact, wasn't even raising her head. her hands were clenched tight around the hem of her dress, bunching it up. Her reluctance was understandable to Alex. Because even if she wanted with all her heart to be home once again; the fear of not being allowed back was crippling her. The fear of that fragile hope breaking was silently breaking her from inside.

When they reached the portal they paused - each for their own reasons. Long moments passed yet none of them moved. Even the forest was silent around them, as if holding its breath in honor of their anticipation. But in the end, Alex knew that he had to be the one taking the lead. He was the only one whose passage from the portal won't raise any alarms. Because if the guards sensed a witch entering the portal; they most definitely would shoot first and forgo asking any questions altogether. Taking a deep breath, he tried his best to pull himself together and took that last step into the awaiting shimmer of the portal.

Behind him Katherine and Tamara entered one after the other and then the portal spat them out to the other side. As he emerged on the other side of the portal, a sense of peace so profound descended upon his heart that he failed to understand how he’d been living without it for the past half century. The guards, upon their first look at their long presumed dead king, were stunned out of movement. They stood with their mouths agape and their hands still on their weapons.

Then a young guard who, by the looks of it, wasn’t even born fifty years ago, broke out of the line and bowed his head. Either he didn’t consider a man back from the dead any weird or he had much better control of his emotions than his much seasoned comrades.

“You’re alive?” he blurted, “m… my king” he hastened to add protocol. That made Alex crack a small smile and their small exchange helped the other guards out of their stupefied state.

“I am indeed. It’s a long story which I’d be happy to share, but later. I have traveled long and hard and I need to meet king D'evreux” he stated politely, “so if you’d be kind enough to be our escort, young man…” he addressed the young dragon and saw his eyes widen.

“Of… of course my king but…” he hesitated, his eyes on the two witches standing silently in the back. It was a small relief that no one knew what Katherine really looked like.

“Don’t worry about them, they’re under my charge. I’ll take care of them” Alex assured.

“Should I call for a carriage my king?” another inquired.

“No, no that won’t be necessary at all. It’ll take much time and I can’t wait another minute to finally go home” he smiled, “and please call me Alex, as I’m sure you’re well aware of the fact that Christian Dragomir is your king now”, he tried reassuring the guards who clearly had no idea how to act in this bizarre situation. They had to escort their back-from-the-dead king to their current one… their conundrum was understandable. To ease their circumstances, Alex shifted to his dragon form, turned his head to both witches and asked them to climb on top because he had a feeling that even though shots hadn't been fired yet, no one would feel comfortable giving witches a ride on their backs. Taking a hint, the young dragon guard shifted as well and both of them took off for the fortress.

Alex’s eyes misted over as they finally landed on the magnificence of his home. The fortress stood tall and proud atop the mountain like a guardian angel spreading its wings over his charges. How long he’d dreamed about the beautiful, shining black stone of his home. The sheer majesty and vastness of it... The magnificent waterfall behind the fortress, that he could just barely hear from this distance but that roared like a beast when the ice melt after the winters. The spring blossoms that filled the air with their alluring perfume. The yearly festivals held on the solstices and the revelry that lasted the whole week afterwards. He realised that he'd been feeling bone-weary this whole time that he'd spent away from his home. And now that he was seeing it again and he couldn’t believe his eyes… he couldn’t believe his luck… and he couldn’t wait to enter the fortress for the first time in a very long time.

He landed so hard in front of the entrance doors that the impact reverberated through his whole body; jarring his bones, but he didn’t care. As soon as Katherine and Tamara were off his back he shifted. He didn’t even acknowledge the presence of sentries outside the doors and bounded inside. He heard the young guard informing the sentries of the situation before hastening after him with the witches in tow. If he knew anything about his friend; he’d find him in the drawing room facing the waterfall. Chris hated the throne room and thought it to be pretentious. Tamara caught up to him and pulled at his arm, “Alex wait” she stopped him from going any further, “let me go in first” a smile lit her face at the prospect of seeing her husband in her home, “he gave me a very big surprise a while back. Let me return the favor to him” a mischievous glint entered her eyes and he smiled. Nodding at her he told her to go on ahead.

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