Chapter 21 The plan, or is it?
AIDAS
I curled my finger to hide the slight tremor in it. I was drained. Well, almost. I had used a significant amount of my magic to heal the werewolf, something I've never done before. I've never had to.
I didn't know how it happened, but somewhere between healing her and using my magic to sense her emotions, I had used more than I should have.
I slumped on the chair and tried to regain the magic I lost. It was close to noon so I couldn't recharge as fast as I would have in early morning. But still, I breathed.
The message I had sent to the other Heirs reappeared on the desk before me. Groaning, I leaned forward and grabbed the paper.
‘Meet us at The Nest’ it read. The paper vanished immediately after, the magic in it destroying the content.
I allowed myself a few more seconds of rest before grabbing the orb imbued with our joint powers. I pulled the thread of power that was Byron's and shadowshifted to our hideout. It took more magic than required before I could release the wards surrounding the place.
Carden and Byron were already inside, both sitting with solemn expressions on their faces. I tried to hide my fatigue by walking in a straight line but ended up staggering in.
“By the Hearth, you don't look alright.” Carden spoke, his voice holding a hint of worry.
“Drained.” I choked out.
The concern evident on his face multiplied and he immediately reached out to me. I slumped into his embrace and felt the heat of his magic, caressing my body, seeking an invite.
Shadows trickled in the room, each carrying water in varying containers. I didn't get the chance to stop Byron before I felt their contents dumped on me, cooling me instantly. I let out a string of coughs as some of the water got up my nose.
“Seriously?” I said when I finally got a grip of myself.
“You need to recharge.” was Byron's only explanation.
I glared at him. “There are plenty of ways to help me regain my magic than dumping water on me.”
Byron stared at me blankly but I didn't miss the hint of worry in his eyes. The emotion was mirrored in Carden's eyes.
I understood why he did it, especially considering the alternative. The Burn was always at its strongest when our elemental magic was drained. It was when our dragons itched to emerge the most.
The stronger your magic was, the stronger the urge to shift.
But that piece of information was contained among the three of us and the High Lords. The public believed otherwise. That the Heirs could resist the urge to shift because we were stronger. Our fathers had made it that way because it was a weakness that could be used against us. And weaknesses weren't tolerated in the Dragon Keep.
So we tried our best to not reveal the truth and keep up the pretense that we had it under control. But the burn marks marring each of our bodies says otherwise.
“Are you okay?” Carden asked, his face soft.
A smile pulled at the corner of my lips. Most dragons didn't know this but Carden was the softest of the three of us. My magic might be attributed to kindness while his was attributed to rage, but through everything that has happened, he was the only one who hadn't lost himself entirely.
He was unapologetically loud when he wanted to, he hid his scars behind smiles and jokes, unlike the two of us.
“I don't know why you're smiling so eerily, but I swear to Hearth, if you're possessed, I will lock you up with a Hollowborn for a whole week without food or water.” Carden said sternly.
“I don't think that's the proper way to deal with a possessed Heir. If the Hollowborn drains his magic, we're all dead. Hearth forbid we have a Hollowborn with the power of a Heir.” Byron shook his head and Carden chuckled.
Their imagination was clearly morbid but amusing. If I wasn't so consumed with my thoughts, I would have laughed with them. They immediately noticed by silence and stopped their laughter.
I pushed myself off Carden and winced as I saw his drenched clothes but his entire focus was on me.
“What happened?” Byron asked immediately.
I sat upright, pushing the wet strands of my hair back. I felt a bit better than when I first came in.
“The werewolf.” I hesitated. I didn't have enough evidence to test my theories yet but I knew they would listen to me. “I think we should send her back to Thornwood.”
The two of them exchanged looks of surprise.
“Why would we do that when she's training to heal whoever fell under The Burn?” Carden asked.
“That's the point. I don't think her power is healing. We all saw what happened at The Descent.” I stared at their faces to make sure they understood the specific event I was referring to. They nodded that they understood.
We'd all thought she died when the cave collapsed on her. We had watched as Aeron and a Fireborn girl tried to search for her by moving the stones. The Descent was concluded to be over. And then, she had risen from the rubbles of stones. It was unbelievable.
“I don't know what power she has and I wasn't able to find out. I had drained myself unknowingly while trying to mentally figure her out. But I don't think her power is healing. It's not like an ordinary werewolf's either.”
“Do you think her power is similar to Christopher's?” Carden and I turned to Byron, our eyebrows arched in surprise. Byron wore a thoughtful expression on his face.
The three of us knew who Christopher was, maybe more than other dragons did. Before The Burn, before the Hollowborns attack became worse, before his betrayal, he was a part of us. But he was now a part of our past we try not to remember. It was surprising that Byron had been the one to bring him up.
“Why would her power be similar to Christopher's?” Carden asked, recovering from his shock first.
Byron's gaze darted around and casted a sound shield. It was unnecessary because the wards keeping this place invisible had a sound shield around them. Byron was paranoid and that was never a good sign.
On cue, I tightened my mental shield and felt Carden do the same.
“I didn't say this before because I didn't have any evidence to prove it. The day after her initial trial, the High Lords sent me to the dungeons to question her. When I asked her why she was at the borders, she couldn't remember. The only thing she remembered was that her family were taking her to Christopher.” Byron paused, his eyes scanning our faces. The confusion swirling in me was mirrored on Carden's face.
"What's your point? Christopher is the most powerful Alpha in Thornwood. Lots of werewolves were taken to him for many reasons. Some wish to serve him, others wish to form a personal alliance, usually through marriage. That doesn't explain her powers.” Carden said.
I mulled over their words, trying to figure out the subtle hint Byron was throwing in there. The realization dawned on me and I gasped.
“Wait, you don't think…?” I trailed off, unable to bring myself to complete the sentence.
Byron simply nodded, a grim expression on his face.
“You confirmed she's extremely powerful, and we all know how obsessed Christopher was with being the most powerful werewolf in the whole of Thornwood. If he knew about her powers, which I'm assuming was the case since he already sent for her, he would want to keep her close to him either as a loyal servant or as his wife.”
Carden swallowed, his face had gone white with shock. “If it was the latter, that means we just took the potential wife of an Alpha captive.”
What Carden didn't add was that it meant war, and war was the last thing we needed. Especially since the Hollowborns attacks seem to have increased significantly these past days.
The dragons have not been on good terms with the werewolves for two decades now, but we've done everything to avoid a war breaking out. Without our ability to shift, we could only rely on our elemental magic. And even that wasn't enough guarantee as it triggers The Burn the minute it ran out. We were destined to lose if we engaged in a battle.
“But we didn't take her. She came to us that night. She walked straight to Byron and collapsed in his arms.” Carden said as he began to pace, his hand running through his golden hair.
“That isn't explanation enough, Carden. We were by their borders. It would inevitably lead to war. I'm certain the only reason Christopher hasn't come knocking on our doors with his army is because he didn't know yet. He probably never thought she'd end up on our side of the territory.” I sighed.
The silence between us was heavy with tension. This new discovery could put a lot of people on danger, a lot of lives at risk. We had lost so many soldiers these past days. If war broke out, we would have to extract some students from Drakmor, possibly the third years. That has never ended well.
“So what do we do?” Carden asked. “We can't tell our fathers.”
We couldn't. Chances are, they would kill the werewolf immediately, which wouldn't be good if Christopher finds out.
“Ask her everything she knows about Christopher and why they were taking her to him.” Byron responded.
“And if she doesn't know anything?” I asked.
Byron's face hardened, the room turning dark as his control on his shadows slipped. It only lasted the fraction of a second before he regained control.
“We kill her before she could cause more trouble.”
Before I could tell Byron how much of a bad idea that was, he stalked out of the cabin. Once he got past the wards, he shadowshifted immediately.