Flames of Fury

Incandis

I teleport back to the room where we left Mags in the arms of Illian but I make sure to hide behind the pillars out of sight.

In the distance I can hear the sounds of knives and teeth sinking into flesh, of rock and stone crumbling from the force of bodies crashing into it. The sounds that are alarmingly absent are Mags’ and Illian’s voices.

Slowly I make my way around the archway making sure my presence goes unnoticed in case Illian and Mags are still here, but as I get further into the open dining room the scene before me now is vastly different than the one from a few minutes ago.

Illian is lying on the floor unmoving with no obvious injury while Mags hovers above the edge of the room overlooking the cavern throwing her blades like a boomerang at any enemy in her field of vision.

“Mags?” I ask softly, approaching her cautiously.

She turns her head to the side enough for me to see the blood red center of her eyes and her lip curling up into a tight, vicious snarl.

She shifts mid-flight into her dragon and perches on the rock wall beneath the dining room ledge. The roar she releases shakes the walls of the Hollow and echoes deeply throughout the cavern.

One by one our warriors and allies flock to where we are in the north eastern corner, answering her call. They gather tightly together in droves on every available surface and present themselves to her – dragons kneeling and wolves baring their necks. When the last of our army settles in she roars again and breathes red flames high up towards the cavern ceiling.

Dragons and wolves alike erupt in thundering applause, cheering and celebrating our victory. She flies up just above the ledge, shifts in mid air again back to human form, and leaps next to me leaving an impact crater where she lands.

Our dad and uncle Dex teleport Raine and Runidar over to us but the wolves stop my father and uncle from going over to Mags, recognizing what the red of her eyes means.

“Where are the Alphas?” Runidar asks our small crowd.

I shake my head and gesture to Runidar with my hands to not bring it up, especially in front of my sister, but the words are already out.

“Dead.” Mags spits, her voice is animalistic and unrecognizable.

She’s only half right, but somehow I don’t think that will make her feel much better at this moment. I make sure to shake my head “no” to Runidar and Raine so at least they know that it’s not the whole truth.

My dad nods to Illian lying lifelessly on the floor. “What about Illian here?”

“Not dead,” Mags huffs smoke out of her nose, “yet.”

“What would you have us do now, Luna?” Runidar speaks softly to her.

“Home.” She barks, then walks over to Illian’s body, puts a foot on his chest, and holds her hand out to me. “Cells.”

“Go on and take her, I’ll round up the rest and meet you back home.” My father says to me when I look back at him.

I grab onto my sister’s hand, which feels hot even to me, and teleport the three of us to the cells. This particular cell has no door, it can only be entered and exited through by teleporters from Twilight Grove.

We leave him in the cell with two dedicated guards, then I teleport us to the other side of the bars where I watch my dear sister, my Queen, stare at him with blood and fire in her eyes.

“What are you going to do with him, Mags?” I ask her gently.

She considers my question for a moment, eyes still fixated on the unmoving monster now in our captivity.

“Pain,” the word drips from her mouth like desire from a salivating dog.

I can’t stand her monosyllabism much longer. She’s angry and heated because she thinks her mates are dead, but they’re not. Varian is okay. If anyone can pull her out of this it would be him, so the sooner I get them back together the better.

“Before you do that Mags, we need to go to the infirmary. Varian is okay, you saved him. But he thinks you’ve left him. You should go see him before you do anything else.”

She turns to me sharply, burning me with her red, flaming eyes. “Mate?”

I hold my hand out to her for the taking, “yes, mate.”

She takes my hand and I teleport us to the room Varian and I had been in when Ember healed us, but the room is empty. I rush to the nurses station and ask the first staff member I find, “where are Varian and Ember?”

“My Queen, Incandis, Sir,” she bends her knee, dipping down in a bow, “I’m sorry I don’t know where Alpha Varian is, but Dr. Ember is in the lounge. Would you like me to page her and locate the Alpha for you?”

“No that’s okay, I’m sure we’ll find him soon enough, thank you.” When I turn to my sister to continue our search she’s nowhere to be found, she’s vanished from my sight and I have no idea where she could have gone.

— — —

Ember

It takes them several minutes but Queen Ianthe, Accalia, and Kat all arrive together bursting through the lounge doors with Mags’ babies in their arms. Accalia and Kat share a frantic look of bewilderment when they don’t find the bodies of the Alphas in the room with me.

“Where are they? Where are my sons?” Accalia cries out.

Ianthe, on the other hand, recognizes the Elder and allows her fury to etch itself into her features.

“Queen Ianthe, I’m sorry, I couldn’t —“ I try to explain myself, explain to them that it was like I was forced to make that call. I had no choice. I would never lie to them or deceive them under my own free will. But I don’t get the chance to elaborate as Elder Illana interrupts me.

“That’s enough Ember, do not speak another word.” She commands and any words I was trying to say dry up and evaporate before they can even reach my tongue.

“How dare you show up in my home unannounced and unwelcome after you and your council members ignored our requests and petitions for months. What business could you possibly have to discuss with me now?” Ianthe’s tone is as cold as Illana’s eyes. Mags might be fighting a war in Drow Hollow but I get the distinct sense that a battle has begun here as well.

“What petitions? The council never received anything.” Illana replies coolly.

“The ones stating our intentions to declare war on Drow Hollow for holding our next Queen captive.” Ianthe fumes.

“I’m disappointed in you, Ianthe. My darling daughter-in-law was never a captive. My son assured me he was treating his bride like the Queen she is.” A sinister grin cuts across Illana’s face.

Ianthe’s eyes widen with understanding, her anger and fury growing by the second. “The apple doesn’t fall far, Illana. Your son is just as despicable and vile as you.”

Illana scoffs out a laugh, “you really thought I’d allow your little requests to reach the Council’s agenda? You thought I’d allow you to attack my son? I’m surprised it took you so long to break our laws, the Council will be very interested to hear of your unsanctioned attack against an innocent colony.”

“The fuck the are! They burned down our packlands!” Kat shrieks at Illana, unable to keep her anger to herself any longer.

“Oh, who do we have here?” Illana asks, and though no one says a word, she smiles victoriously after a moment. “Very interesting. Illian never mentioned Magnolia’s mutts. Bring them to me.” Her last sentence is spoken as a firm command and instantly Kat begins to walk towards Illana.

“Kataria, what do you think you’re doing?” Accalia scolds her daughter and attempts to pull her back towards her and Ianthe. Kat continues to walk towards Illana, undeterred by her mother’s grip, but with every step she takes more tears blaze down her face, hot and desperate to disobey. The twins begin to fuss and cry in Kat’s tight grip, letting out desperate, soul-wrenching cries for their mother and fathers to comfort them.

“She’s making things right. Magnolia killed my son. Now she will know the pain of losing her children.” Illana stretches her arms out to take the twins from Kat who is only a meter away from handing over her niece and nephew to Illian’s mother.

Just as Kat is about to close the gap between them, Illana’s face softens. Her brows lift to her hairline, eyes widen, and her mouth pops open like a trout. She looks down at her stomach and then begins to fall sideways – well, a part of her does. The top half of her body from her diaphragm up begins to separate and slide down towards the ground like a fridge magnet holding too much weight, followed by her midsection slipping down the other side, until at last her knees buckle and her legs, and what’s left of her abdomen, fall flat on the ground at Kat’s feet.

Kat screams at the sight and stumbles back towards her mother and Ianthe. I can’t stop myself from staring at the dismembered body before me, wondering what happened to cause such destruction and if any of the rest of us are in danger. It’s not until Varian and Ro nearly bulldoze over me in the doorway that I come to my senses.

“Mags,” Ro breathes in relief. I look at him in confusion but sure enough just beyond him at the far end of the room stands Magnolia with red, feral eyes and her twin blades in each hand dripping blood.

Mags stares unblinking at Kat who is still holding Mags’ crying children in her arms. A snarl begins to coil at her lips and a nasty growl emanates from Mags’ chest. This is not good – she thinks Kat is another threat, another obstacle standing in between her and her children.

Kat instinctively hugs the twins tighter to her chest which only serves to further incense Mags.

“Mags.” Ro growls out her name in a voice so deep I feel it more than I hear it. Kat bares her neck to him and whimpers, his dominance is that pervasive. “Look at me.” He demands.

Mags’ eyes snap to Ro’s. For a moment suspended in time the two of them simply hold each other’s gaze. The only indication of passing time is the blackness that begins to swirl and diffuse through the red in the center of her eyes like ink in water.

Ro stalks towards her, reaching her in three easy strides, then slides his hands behind her neck, fists her hair, and crashes his lips to hers. It feels wrong to watch such an intimate moment unfold in such a public space, but the two of them might as well be the only two people in the room the way they carry on kissing one another.

Varian consoles his mother and sister who are oscillating between shock and hysterical crying from seeing Ro and Varian alive and well after what I was forced to tell them. Soon they’ll learn that I was telling the truth – just the truth from an hour ago rather than right now.

“Do you all mind giving us the room?” Varian asks the four of us gently as he takes Cole and Calla from Kat’s trembling arms.

None of us respond with words, not coherent ones anyway. We’re too dazed by the rapid sequence of unbelievable events that just took place.

Ianthe leads the way, followed by Accalia and Kat, and then me. Accalia walks slowly behind Ianthe with her arms wrapped around her daughter doing her best to console and reassure Kat that she didn’t do anything wrong and that her brothers are okay.

I’m left alone in the hallway. Nurses and doctors pass by me completely oblivious to what I just saw in that room, completely unaware and unaffected by the emotional trauma we all probably suffered. I feel like I’m in free fall, untethered, and there’s no one to catch me.

“Ember?” His voice is warm like the sun. It cuts through the darkness closing in on me and grounds me.

“Xander,” I breathe. I’m not sure if it’s just the relief of seeing someone familiar, or my relief on Mags’ behalf that her guardian and Ro’s savior is okay, but deep down I know the safety and security I feel has nothing to do with either of those.

I turn to him and run into his arms but I might as well be running home. I throw myself at him, wrapping my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist and release all the tears from the bottled up anxiety and dread of the day.

He catches me easily and holds me tightly to him. He strokes my hair in an attempt to soothe me before asking, “what’s the matter? What’s wrong?”

I shake my head against his shoulder, wiping my tears on his shirt in a very un-ladylike fashion. I pull my face away from his now soaked shirt and shake my head softly, “nothing, I’m just… I’m just really glad to see you.”

Gently I drop my lips to his and I immediately melt into his comforting embrace and the security it offers.