Chapter 5 Preparation
Alex felt the tightness around her heart release its grip. Her dragon eased back. Still agitated, but in control. The muffled sound of David and the Archon’s voices cleared the sounds of the chicken's clucking underneath. The cat rubbed against her ankles, weaving between her feet, tail trailing along her calf.
The Archon’s voice was direct and emotionless. “You’re her guardian. You were assigned to her to be her guardian. To keep her safe.”
“I can’t control the Blood Race. We’re not even in the same class.” David spread his hands in frustration.
The Archon looked at Alex again. Considering. Probing what she could only assume were the layers of her magical abilities.
“Her dragon lineage has had…an unexpected effect on her Elemental lineage.” He said after a long pause. “It will not be a problem.”
David crossed his arms, inclining his head slightly. “And if she dies?”
The Archon turned his head, slow and deliberate, his hollow gaze landing on David. “Do your job and that won't happen.”
David's jaw clenched, tension rolling off him in waves. Tall order, Alex knew. She was more than a little rebellious. Keeping her safe and hidden were often problematic. The Archon may as well have told him to keep the sun from setting.
“Why are you here?” Alex asked into the heavy silence.
The Archon looked at her. His face blank, patient. Giving nothing away.
“I mean, really. Why do you care so much if I survive? If I escape the Hierarchy? You guys are supposed to be above all the drama. Just observers. But you seem to be constantly interfering with our family.”
He hesitated. A slight tightening of his lips. His dark eyes seemed to darken with conflict. “There are things I can not tell you.”
“Great.” Alex rolled her eyes. Slipping her hand back into Davids, she angled away from the Archon. Like she could shut out his announcement with the angle of her body.
“I am sorry.” The Archon said, bowing his head slightly. The air around him thinned, as he turned stepping away. The shadows bent and in the blink of an eye he vanished. Leaving the porch boards groaning and the lavender bushes trembling as though something enormous had just passed through them.
Alex huffed, her shoulders dropping. She stared at the empty space he’d left behind. “Next time can you bring a puppy home? Because that guys a fucking dick.”
David lifted a brow. “He can probably still hear you,” he warned.
“Good.” Alex jabbed a finger at the spot where he’d disappeared. “Every time we see that guy it’s something bad. Do we know if he’s even really an Archon? What if he’s like, I don’t know, the Bringer of Bad News. The Cosmic Messenger of Doom. The Harbinger of Ruining My Day.”
David tilted his head, a smile pulling at the corner of his mouth. “That’s not a thing.”
“It should be,” Alex muttered. Coles deep full-bodied chuckle filtered through the screen door. Alex groaned, dropping her forehead onto David's arm. “What are we supposed to do?”
David wrapped his arms around her, his breath ruffling her hair. “What do you want to do?”
“Do I have a choice?” Alex asked, her voice muffled against his chest.
“Not really.”
The penthouse was pristine. So clean and put together it didn’t even look like anyone lived there. Neutral colors. Sharp lines. Cold. Empty. The kind of space designed to impress, not be comfortable for the woman imprisoned inside.
Queen Cassandra stood on the patio, overlooking the Gilded City. Surrounded by concrete and sparkly glass her connection to the elements, to the forest beyond the city limits, felt distant. Like a memory whispered from across the room. A ghost of what she used to be.
Her torc felt heavy today. The rigid neck ring cold against her collarbone. An artifact of minerals and stones from the Earth, that used to be a symbol of collaboration and balance. Now it was her leash. Siphoning off her powers for the betterment of the King and the Hierarchy.
She closed her eyes and inhaled. The air tasted like metal and exhaust. With the barest sense of excitement and unease layered underneath. The emptiness couldn’t bury the forests anticipation for the impending Blood Race. One-hundred years and she was ready. Ready for the blood and death. Ready for the sacrifice.
Cassandra felt the shimmer in the air, an electric current making the little hairs on her arm stand on end. The shadow made by the side of the building over the patio tile deepened. Bending in a disorienting shift moments before he stepped through it like it were a doorway.
Tall, uncomfortably long limbs, his hair slicked into place. His eyes were a shade of blue so light they looked almost clear. His expression blank he bowed his head once.
The Archon.
“Did you see her?” Cassandra asked, glancing toward the open patio door. No one was there. No one was ever there.
The Archon tipped his head in acknowledgement. “Yes.”
The single word landed heavy, like a stone in her chest. The one thing Cassandra had wanted for twenty-five years was to see her daughter. It was painful to know she was so close and there was absolutely no way she could see her.
“How was she?” Cassandra whispered.
The Archon blinked. “Fine. She will register.”
Cassandra’s fingers tightened around the railing. “Are you sure this is the only way?”
The Archon didn’t react. He never did. She’d asked before. More than once. His answer was always the same. The only way to free the Elemental bloodline was for the Princess to win their freedom. She was the first of her kind. Half Dragon, half Elemental. A forbidden combination. She had a better chance than any generation that came before her.
“What if she doesn’t register? What if she runs?” She asked swallowing hard.
“She will not run.” The Archon answered, his tone even. “She has a child.”
Cassandra’s stomach dropped to the floor. Shock and fear battling for precedence. “She what?” Her voice barely audible. For a moment she couldn’t breathe. The city below blurred. The patio railing dug into her palm. The torc felt suddenly too tight around her throat.
“A boy.”
Cassandra’s head snapped up. “What? That’s impossible.”
It was impossible. In thousands of years there hadn’t been a boy born to an Elemental Princess or Queen. Never. It was physically impossible. Their bodies simply rejected the possibility before cells even started dividing.
Her pulse hammered in her ears. “You’re certain?”
The Archon didn’t blink. “Yes.”
“How?” Cassandra stared at him, swallowing hard. “How is that possible?”
The Archon didn’t answer. He stood silent. Emotionless. Still.
Cassandra’s jaw tightened. “Thank you, Archon.” The Archon tipped his head, before stepping back into the shadow. Disappearing as quickly as he had appeared.
Her daughter had a child. A hand tightened around Cassandra’s heart. Not just a child. A boy. Unprecedented. Dangerous. The Earth was right. Something was shifting.
