Legends of Marithia: Book 3 - Talonsphere (24 page)

“Wha... is this who I think it is? So you finally found her,” the young woman said, backing away from Kassina.

Kassina smirked. “Nice to meet you too, whoever you are.”

“My name is Adela, and you must be Kassina.”

Kassina narrowed her eyes and snarled, “
Queen
Kassina.”

Niesha landed near them both, and Kassina ran to the dragon’s neck, drawing a sword and holding the blade against her scales. She saw her window of escape and had to take it.

I have to know if this was all true.

“The thought of my blood being of my sworn enemy’s is something I can hardly believe. How do I know that it is really
you?” Kassina said.

Niesha roared and blew jets of fire.

“You
dare
put a sword at my throat? I could slice your own off your shoulders where you stand! I created you, Kassina, and if you are truly too far gone, then I can destroy you all the same. The day before I was executed, along with your father, it was your birthday. Danton, your father, had brought you a special gift. It was a doll with the rarest of horse hair that was as smooth as silk. You named her Snow, as she had such pale skin.”

Kassina’s face contorted for a moment and she shook her head, her face hardening. “Anyone could have found my doll, and many in the castle knew her name. You’ll need to try harder than that to convince me.”

Niesha frowned at her daughter. “You really have turned into a vicious creature, haven’t you?”

“Shut it! If the next words are not...” Kassina said.

Niesha began to sing. “As I lay you down to sleep, the angels watching gently weep. A wolf’s howl welcomes you into dream, where nothing is as they seem. When your age is of a bride, a charming prince wakes by your side.”

Memories flashed in her mind. Her mother’s warm breath blowing over her as she cradled her in her arms, singing her the lullaby to put her to sleep in their private chambers. Nobody that remained alive after the day of her parents’ execution had ever heard that song.

Kassina dropped her sword through shaking hands and fell to her knees. Her bottom lip quivered. “Forgive me.”

She rocked back and forth, feeling her doubt clawing away at the comfort of the reality before her.

“My darling daughter, although you do not see it now, you have been used as nothing but a pawn for Shindar’s needs. If the prophecy of the Blood Red Moon is realised, and everything is his, then he will have no use for you.”

“No, it can’t be true,” Kassina said, “he
loves
me, mother, and where have you been all this time? Why did you not come for me?”

“You simply do not know. After I was reborn and strong enough to leave Trahoterra, I spent every waking moment searching for you. I could not accept that you had died. I sought an audience with Mother Dragon, who confirmed that you still lived. I kept searching. Back then, you would have been easily redeemed. You still can be, even with all you have done. I have to believe that.”

“I do not regret anything I have done since that day,” Kassina said.

“And that is part of the problem. You have forgotten that you are not only vampire, but there is also human and dragon blood in you. But let me finish. I reached an island which they call Grenlees, where the pirates that you so foolishly attempted to ally with, managed to capture and enslave me as a guard for all of their treasure.”

“How can pirates capture a dragon?” Adela said.

Kassina hated this girl for interrupting them. “You stay out of this! Who
are
you anyway, and why am I tolerating your presence?”

“Leave the girl alone, Kassina. Neither of you realise this, so I had better make this clear. It is time you know that Danton was not my first and only love. There was a man. As charming as he was, he was far too kind a soul for the likes of Grueber and his tyranny. I was young, and in the eyes of many, I was not ready to bear a child. I was in the midst of my studies of magic when I fell pregnant. I carried the child to term and left Praethorne to raise my son until he was of an age that he did not need me to be around.”

“You abandoned my brother?” Kassina said, knowing her face painted a clear picture of disdain and judgement.

“I did what had to be done! You don’t know how things were back then. This was many generations ago. Children born to girls at my age were forbidden. His father would have been executed, and the child... far worse. It was something that happened in the heat of the moment, and he took responsibility for our son.”

Adela stepped forward and stood beside Kassina, who had risen to her feet and stared at her mother in dragon form.

“Adela is family,
our
family, and a long descendant of our blood,” Niesha said.

Adela’s eyes widened and she took steps backward, swiftly paling. “What? Are you telling me that I am related to the queen of the underworld?”

“Don’t sound so pleased. You should be honoured, and I... I should be ashamed. I do not need sorry excuses for family who are useless to me,” Kassina said.

“Adela is anything but useless, Kassina, and if you can’t see that, then you are far more blinded than I realised. How do you think I reached out to her in the first place? I sensed her presence.”

“Mother, let us be done with this. You could use your powers to help the King of the Underworld accomplish his dream for Marithia. Shindar will rejoice at the news of you being alive and with your strength, you can help us win this war. The dragons would never see you coming,” Kassina said, smiling and revealing her fangs.

“Oh how I wish it did not come to this, but I see that there truly is no other way or a path to talking you out of whom you have become,” Niesha said, lowering her head.

The dragon took a deep breath, exhaling over both Kassina and Adela. Her eyes glowed red as she mouthed the words. “
Vitae vestrae sanguine coniunctis. Mortis enim et sanguis post tertium
.”

Adela and Kassina both stepped back and looked around, seeing that nothing was happening around them. Kassina froze as her heart thumped against her rib cage.

They both placed a hand on their chests, and Kassina raised her widening eyes as she ran to Adela, putting her hand on the young woman’s chest. She couldn’t believe what she was feeling. This could not be real.

“What do you think you are doing?” Adela said, staring at the hand on her breast.

“Shh! Be quiet for a moment,” Kassina said, focusing. “Why are our hearts beating as one?”

Kassina’s smile wiped from her face as the truth of what this could mean hit her like an axe. “What have you done to me?”

“You are now soul bonded. It is something that can only be done with those who share the same bloodline. You share this life together, and die together, so I suggest you stay close to one another.”

Kassina’s world spun around her. She spat out the words as if they were poison. “You made me
mortal
?”

“But, why did you do this?” Adela said.

“You need each other, and Adela is the only one who can bring you back to the girl you once were. I just severed your ability to be seen by Shindar. If you step into the underworld again, then you will break the spell and will both die.”

Kassina’s mouth gaped wide as she struggled to speak. Words jumbled in her mind, and she couldn’t unravel them into a coherent sentence.

Niesha circled them both. “You will learn to care for one another, even with your unique needs, Kassina, and you will discover who you both truly are. Either you will both emerge changed for the better, or both continue down the path to darkness. Do not harm each other, as you will equally feel pain inflicted.”

Kassina’s eyes narrowed as she yelled at her mother. “I did not ask for this!”

“Before you do something you regret, you had better see what lies down your path of darkness, should you succeed,” Niesha said.

Kassina’s mind connected with her mother’s and the jolt made her collapse to the ground.

Kassina watched from the clouds as if she was a god in the stars. The once familiar landscape of Marithia was a ravaged carcass beneath her. Buildings were shattered. Trees were dead and the lands stripped of all life. Her vision descended on the ruins of Greenhaven, dropping through the sky to come to a gliding landing on the only standing turret.

This is what the world will look like, Kassina, when the Blood Red Moon prophecy is fully realised, and Shindar wins the war. Do you like what you see?

Through a dragon’s eyes, they watched as wretched and thin bodies crawled along the ground, starving to death. Skeleton warriors whipped them with chains, shrieking for them to continue on, and they descended toward a pit, where vampires awaited.

Among the wreckage, Kassina recognised herself as she walked beside Shindar. Their voices were too far away to be heard, but it was clear that she was pleading with the Demon of Darkness.

Shindar snapped toward Kassina, back handing her harshly, returning to march toward the pit. Niesha climbed down the turret walls, her body remaining hidden from the world, and Kassina heard their raised voices.

“You promised. You said we would rule Marithia together!” Kassina said.

Shindar growled, “Are we not?”

“There is nothing left to rule. We have turned them all and stripped the land of everything.”

“Yes, we have. Now the gods have nothing left of their creation. They suffer for what they have done and have no way to save this world they pretend to love.”

“As do we, Shindar. This has eased nothing, and for our victory, we do not rule. We simply exist in our misery.”

Shindar stopped marching and cocked his head. “You disappoint me, Kassina. I thought you understood.”

“I do, but I am bored of this life. There is nothing left for us here, and nowhere for us to go.”

Shindar said nothing for a moment, and opened his arms for her to embrace him. He held her close, before bringing her face to his.

“You want so badly to be free of this life?” Shindar said.

Her confused face twisted as in a swift swing of his sword, he decapitated the queen of the underworld. The vampires around him stopped in their tracks, staring at Kassina’s decomposing body as it turned to dust.

That fucking bastard!
Kassina thought.

And you still think he loves you?
Niesha said.

“You served me well, but your heart belonged to another. I always knew,” Shindar said.

He lifted his head to stare into the skies. “You took everything that mattered from me, and I have returned the favour! May you forever feel the pain of loss, like I endure mine.”

Chapter 14 : Cruel Hand Of Fate

“We like to think ourselves in control of our fates, and that our actions can change what is to be.

We can create ripples, but life has a way of surprising and making fools of us.

The question is, who are the true fools?”

(Kai’En - Seer)

T
he sunlight’s warmth and cool breeze provided a sense of normality in what become an unknown world. Drubb removed his elven helmet for a moment to scratch his head, before sinking his teeth into the cooling meat of a Lemonbird’s thigh. He was sick and tired of this war. Life was much simpler when he was younger, and he longed to return to Veldrenn.

He leaned against the cold wall of the abandoned home, from which Tusdar and Mestal had escaped. “Hmmph, so it’s true then. Lemonbirds taste sour.”

Nobody was close enough to answer. He noticed the strange glances from distant elves, nodding to the group of elven warriors marching past.

A few elves snickered and Drubb heard an elf mutter, “Simpleton.”

There wasn’t much he hated more than being called dumb. People assumed that he was stupid because of his size, or because he didn’t talk much. They just never took the time to know him.

Damn them and their judgements.

Throwing the bird’s carcass with full strength, it smashed into the helmet of the marching elf, who drew his sword and charged at Drubb. His heart raced at being given an opportunity to knock his tormentors around.