Chapter 17 17
DRAVEN'S POV
“Fall back,” I ordered with my voice piercing through the mayhem. "Now."
It was the last thing I, as a fighter had instinct to do and yet one which tactics called for. We were unprepared, scattered, vulnerable. Lucien was hurt, the child's cage was breached, and I could feel the Fifth King getting stronger every second.
I didn't wait for arguments. I flew across the space to Aria, grabbing her up despite her surprised cry.
"Ronan, the coffin," I barked. "Kael, portal. Now."
Ronan’s wolf body sprang over it and seized the crystal casket gently in his jaws. Kael's hands were already moving, golden light swirling into complex shapes as he began the spell to create a portal.
"Where are we going?" Aria demanded.
"Somewhere safe. Stop fighting me."
Behind us, the hand of the Fifth King was breaking out all the way from where it held his staff into grasping to get closer to that coffin. The temple shuddered to a halt, the stone groaning as it split against the reality-wrack of his passing.
Kael's portal snapped open. "Go! I can't hold it long!"
First, I charged through, noting that familiar lurch as the space divided. Ronan emerged next, casket in place. Lucien swayed as Kael helped him to stagger through. Kael followed, allowing the portal to flicker close behind him.
The roar that come with it rattled our bones. The wrath of the Fifth King was so strong, that it could be felt even from layers away.
We were in a safe house I'd kept for hundreds of years, hidden underground of Noctra in tunnels holy before my kingdom rose. The space itself was a circle in the solid rock, layered with wards older than even I knew what did.
I eased Aria to the ground, and observed the curious glances of the others kings.
"A safe house you never told us about," Kael spat. "How convenient."
“I don’t need to reveal all my mysteries,” I answered, hubristically. For now, you should be thankful. The chapel-walls here are the most solid that exist.
Ronan turned human and placed the coffin down. The child’s eyes were closed again, inside. He ran quickly to see if Aria was safe.
"Are you hurt?" he insisted, his hands passing over her arms and shoulders.
"I'm fine," Aria assured him.
Lucien had dropped into a chair, his hand on his wound. The healing Aria had given him was enough to close the worst of it but shadow weapons left a residual mark.
“We need to strategize,” I clambered over to a table where maps of all four realms were spread out. "The Fifth King is loose. Weakened, yes, but free. That changes everything."
"No kidding," Lucien muttered. "What gave it away?"
I ignored his sarcasm. “Kael, it appears your court harbors a traitor. Possibly more than one. We must believe this of all of us.”
"Seraphine," Kael said bitterly. “I believed in her for three centuries.”
“That’s precisely why she was useful to him,” I said. “We can’t afford to put trust in others so easily.”
"So we trust no one?" Ronan asked.
“We believe in each other,” I said, looking into their eyes. “Love it or hate it, we’re the only ones who are completely uncompromised. The Fifth King desired Aria and the baby. He wouldn't dare to corrupt any one of us when he requires us in tact.”
I laid my hands on the maps, calling forth spells to make them shine. "Look at this. Now the Veil is ripping more rapidly. We have a few days, perhaps a week at most, until the veils between the worlds fall entirely.”
"And when that happens?" Aria asked quietly.
"Chaos," I said bluntly. "The life and storm realms were not supposed to occupy the same territory. It will tear everything apart."
It was silent for a moment as they took in the weight of that statement.
"So what do we do?" Ronan finally asked. "How do we stop him?"
I’d been pondering this ever since we escaped. "The legendary weapons. The four remnants from the Age of Void that served as anchor to seal away the Fifth King."
Kael straightened. "Those are myths."
"No," I said firmly. "They're real. There's one for each of us tucked away in our area. The weapons need trials, tests of merit. They are only for that person who is sincere in purpose."
"Not one of us is untainted," Lucien replied bitterly.
"Not like us," I added, glancing over at Aria. "Her."
All eyes turned to her. Beside the crystal coffin, with one hand resting protectively against its surface.
"Me?" she said. “But I don’t even know what these weapons are.”
"You created them," I explained. "Back in your past life as Celeste. A sword of pure light. A crown of shadow. A chalice of transformation. A shield of absolute protection. Together, they can undo even a force of nature.”
“And you suppose I simply drive over there and take them?”
“The trials are to prove the worth of the bearer,’ Kael said slowly. "Courage, wisdom, sacrifice, and strength. If you really are the new Celeste, just go through them."
"Should," Aria repeated. "That's not exactly inspiring confidence."
“Maybe we’ll find something better, but I do not believe we will,” I said flatly. "The Fifth King is getting stronger every moment. We need weapons that can damage him.”
“Then I’ll do it,” Aria said defiantly, tipping her chin up. “Whatever these trials may be, I shall endure them. All four of them."
"Aria," Ronan protested. “We don’t know what they will need.”
“Every element is dangerous in this experience,” she shot back. “At least that way I’m doing something rather than being cocooned and carted about.”
She gave me the side eye and a look of defiance. She was tired of being passive, tired of letting us make all the decisions. Something had changed in her.
I even turned out to respect her for it.
“The trials are beginning tomorrow,” I said. "Tonight, we rest and prepare."
The rest of them nodded, though Ronan appeared unhappy. We spent the next hour getting organized, setting up watch rotations and discussing what we knew about the trials.
Finally the others left me with just Aria in the library. She’d argued for studying, sifting through archives of dusty volumes, insistent on being ready.
I observed her across the room, eyes narrowing in concentration between her forehead. She was so young, so human, and yet she’d stared down demons without flinching.
“You’re staring,” she said without glancing up.
"I'm thinking."
"About?"
"About whether you hate me."
That got her attention. She looked up, surprised. "What?"
I moved closer. “For locking with the first lock. From making that choice on your behalf. For controlling you. Do you hate me for it?"
Aria was quiet for a long moment. “I was angry,” she admitted finally. “Furious, actually. You took away my choice.”
“I know.”
“But,” she continued, “I’m starting to understand why you did it. Control is how you show love, isn’t it? By keeping people safe, by making the hard decisions. It’s flawed and manipulative, but it comes from genuine care.” I stared at her, stunned. In all my centuries, no one had ever cut through my defenses so cleanly.
“You’re remarkably perceptive.”
“I pay attention,” she said simply. “Draven controls. Ronan protects. Kael manipulates. Lucien destroys. All different expressions of the same core need to keep me safe.”
For the first time in centuries, I found myself apologizing genuinely. “I’m sorry. For taking your choice. For binding you without permission. If I could do it over, I would ask first.”
“Would you really?” Aria asked with a slight smile. “Or would you still do exactly what you thought was necessary?” She had me there.
“Fair enough.” I found myself smiling, a genuine expression that felt foreign. Our moment was shattered by alarms blaring through the safe house. Ancient wards screaming warnings I’d never heard before. I was at the door in an instant, the others converging from their chambers. Ronan was half shifted, Kael’s hands crackling with magic, Lucien moving despite his injury.
“What is it?” Ronan demanded. I moved to a window. What I saw made my blood run cold. Thousands of vampires. An army of my own kind, surrounding the building. At their head stood a figure I’d thought dead for centuries.
Marcus Ashborne. My brother.
His voice was enhanced by magic. "Brother! You've hidden long enough. The Court has voted. You fail to meet the requirements for ruling, for you are too enamored with a human girl. Give her up with the child, or we will take them."
My hands clenched into fists. My own kingdom. My own people. My own brother.
All of them had betrayed me.
I felt Aria’s hand on my arm, trying to comfort me through the link. But there was no fire, just cold reckoning.
It was not just the Fifth King who had extended his power more than we realised. And now my own kingdom was his tool against us.