182: Miracles

182: Miracles
\[Kora\]

\[ONE WEEK EARLIER\]

The shadow that walks has torn its way through the palace. We lost three servants and the false prince. All that remains is a shriveled husk where their bodies once stood.

I will mourn those who fell. None of them should have died. Even my brother's misguided steward left this world confused and very much alone. How will he find his family in the great deep beyond if he doesn't even remember his name?

Orion is guarding the door while I continue to work on Ona. She is exhausted body and soul, and having just come back from the dream state, she is weaker than she should have been. This is likely why she was unable to shift to save herself.

Thalan and Xane took Queen Carnelia and her mate, Prince Primus, to Elfholm, leaving Ona, Orion, Daax, and myself in the aftermath of the disaster. Many of my servants have fled in terror, no longer willing to stay in the way of such great danger.

My mate, a drake finer than any I deserved in this life or the next, quickly came to my defense when his father tried to rush this room and kill me for the mess left of Ona's body.

"You are my father, but she is my mate. I will kill you where you stand if you touch her."

It was a test of wills, but eventually, Daax backed down, defeated. "How can you still love her?" he demanded. "She is a monster, a demon spawned from the darkness itself. There is nothing redeemable about her line she..."

I didn't hear the rest because Orion made sure his father never finished.

We haven't heard from him since, but Orion has stayed by my door while I try my best to save his mother.

What is the use of having all the knowledge that I possess if I can't save those I love?

"I will raise your young as my own, Mother," I promise her almost lifeless body. I have worked my best using the skills that I bring, but it isn't enough. Not nearly enough. "Your eggs will rest next to mine and I will protect them with my warmth and body as if they were my own."

As I do my best to make her as comfortable as I can I feel the faintest flutter under my fingertips as I check her pulse.

Can it be?

"Please, Mother, stay with us! Your babies need you. Your son needs you. Daax needs you!"

At the mention of her family, her heartbeat grows stronger. I send a gentle wave of energy through her, urging her body to heal, to take control, to let her shift if only a little.

She moans softly and a small cascade of fresh scales bloom across her abdomen as she sprouts a tail and talons, healing most of the damage.

"Thank the gods!" I weep for joy. "Orion! ORION!!"

He rushes into the room, "Kora, are you okay?"

Orion stops in his tracks, looking in wonder as his mother's body continues to heal. "You did it!" he pulls me into his arms. "By the gods, Kora, you are a miracle!"

I don't deserve his praise or his love. In that, I agree with his father. The only fate I deserve for the evil I have brought on this family is condemnation and death.

"Orion, can you...can you let your father know?"

He searches my face, sensing something in my tone. I give him a gentle smile hoping he doesn't see the truth of my intentions in my eyes.

As he leaves, he gives me one last look. "I love you, Kora Majere."

I quickly write a letter.

_________________________

Dear Orion,

Please forgive me for what I am about to do.

I know that my debt to your family can never be repaid.

The evils I have committed are too great.

Please place our remaining eggs in the incubator next to your mother's.

You will need to cut me open to remove me, but they should still be viable hours after I'm gone.

If you could, please feed my body to the void.

If I am fortunate, the gods of the Deep will let me see my mother again.

In this life and the next, I will always be yours.

With all my love,

Your Kora.

___________________________

Leaving the note next to me, I pull open my shirt revealing my chest. Extending the nail of my pointer finger into a sharp, dangerous spike, I make sure there is enough toxin in the nail so that only a single stab between my ribs to my heart will be enough to kill me in seconds.

As footsteps race towards the room, I lift my finger. I want to apologize to Daax before I take my life. He deserves to hear my regret from my lips before I leave.

The door opens. Taking a deep breath, I pull my arm back.

"Princess Juliana!" One of my guards falls into the room gasping. His eyes go wide at the sight of me prostrating myself but has enough decorum not to mention anything is amiss.

I retract my nail and stand, the toxin dripping from my finger onto the ground, sizzling as it lands by my feet, marring the polished shell. "What is it, Torc?"

"Queen Eleanora's forces are gathered outside on the surface. They are demanding we hand over the Technician."

I start laughing. He looks confused so I tell him that it would be impossible. "The Technician is dead," I assure him. "There is no way to grant that request."

"The troops are also demanding the return of Prince Primus."

Primus. "Another request I cannot meet. Is there anything else?"

"One other thing," he gulps. "They want you to submit to the power and might of the Terran throne and have brought the Kraken Council. They are looking for your brother, Your Grace, the Kraken Prince."

"Prepare the castle for evacuation. Get everyone to the pods. If we are fast enough, you'll be long gone before they notice." Turning to my mate and his father, I point towards Ona. Daax lets out a yelp somewhere between joy and disbelief.

"You two need to take Queen Ona out of here. Take her to the Celestial Kingdom. Take her to Elfholm. Escape in one of the pods."

"She survived," Daax is staring at me in disbelief. "You saved her. Why?"

I glare at him. That he thinks so low of me is my fault, but to assume I wouldn't want to save a patient in my care goes beyond any hate that he might harbor for my crimes against him. "Despite what you may believe of me, Your Grace, I am not a monster. She was in my care, and now she is in yours. She is fragile, so treat her with care. She will need several weeks to recover. She will never be able to carry another clutch, but she will live,"

I turn to tell Orion to go and find him holding the letter I meant for him to find after I took my life at his father's feet. His eyes are filled with angry tears as he crumples the paper, leaving it at my feet. "How dare you."

I bow my head. "You don't have much time. You both need to go before Eleanora's troops start their assault."

Orion grasps my arms and shakes me. "You were going to leave without me. You were going to leave me to care for our children alone because of your misguided, selfish feelings of guilt."

"Orion," his grip is hurting me, but I deserve it. If the universe were just, I'd already be dead. "You should have so much better than me. I am not worthy of..."

"YOU DO NOT DECIDE THAT FOR ME!" He screams his rage. "You do not decide what I should or should not have. You are my mate, damn it, but you are not my god."

"Orion I was only trying to spare you pain and repay your family for every evil I've ever done."

"Then live!" he demands. "If you mean your words, you will stay by my side and you will fight for us. You will prove that you are a part of this family by doing what you must to keep us together."

Stunned, my words of rebuttal choke me as I try to prove my point.

But he is right. The best penance I could serve would be to live with the daily torture of knowing the harm I have caused others and repenting every day for the rest of my life.

"Your mother isn't safe here," I insist. "You need to take her to safety."

"Agreed," Daax stands behind his son. His eyes still smolder with hate when he looks at me, but they no longer seem laced with malice. "Where will the pods take us."

"Middle Sea," I announce, "Just below the Western Gate."

He nods. "Can you contact Ursa and let her know to expect us?"

"Already done," I explain that the call went out as soon as the evacuation was called, as part of our protocol. I give him instructions on the location of the pods and he nods, grateful. "Thank you," he stumbles on his words as he leaves me behind with his son. A servant is redirected to gather Ona's eggs, and they depart, leaving only Orion and me in the room.

"You're coming with us," he insists. "We aren't leaving you."

"You must," I insist. "I need to face the Kraken Council and the Queen's soldiers. They need to be distracted so that all of the rest of you can escape."

"No." He stands firm. "If you're staying, so am I. What kind of mate would I be if I left you to die? It is my honor to protect you and our children. I will stand with you." He cocks his head to the side. "I'm assuming you have a plan."

"Follow me," I pull him along, laughing, grateful to have a partner in this madness.