Juniper Santiago - Book 2 of The Santiago Series

Domitius, Leona, Paolo and Crystal arrived at the castle to chaos all around. There were injured vampires with the uninjured trying to get them all assistance. No one could understand what had happened or where the attack came from.

Domitius stopped one of the castle staff. “What happened?”

“Your Highness, it was brutal and it was quick. Most people don’t even understand what went wrong. One minute we were all enjoying our evening, and the next we were being attacked from all sides. There was so much fire and it blinded us to all the other attacks on us,” she rambled.

“Fire? Where did the fire come from?” Paolo asked.

“You wouldn’t believe me my King,” she said nervously.

“Speak!” Leona commanded.

“My Queen, the fire came from a dragon, a huge red dragon,” the young woman replied before running off.

“Did she just say a dragon caused all this damage?” Crystal asked.

“I haven’t seen or heard of dragons roaming around in ages,” Paolo commented.

“Neither have I. I thought the ones who are still alive were all in hiding from the slayers,” Leona added.

“Well, whatever the situation may be, we clearly have a dragon that’s working with someone to antagonize us. We need a better unfolding of the events here,” Domitius suggested.

The four of them split up and tried to gather as much information as they could. Domitius and Crystal found some peace in knowing that their daughter was safe in Rome with their friends while they tried to piece together what had happened to their home.

“Nothing about this makes sense. From what I’ve picked up, different creatures attacked us, but the aim wasn’t to kill either,” Paolo said once they’d reconvened.

“The quickness of the attack has also been confirmed for me. I’ve been told that it lasted all of five minutes, but that it was long enough to cause real damage,” Crystal added.

“I don’t understand. Who would want to attack the kingdom like this? We’ve done nothing to the creatures mentioned in the attack,” Domitius pointed out.

“There’s something we’re missing here, and we need to figure it out before anything else happens,” Leona said.

They all agreed and tried to piece together more of everything they’d gathered from everyone, but none of it was making sense, so they agreed that Domitius and Crystal would return to Rome for help, while Paolo and Leona stayed behind to do their bit to protect their home.

Everyone, including the birthday boy, was over the celebratory mood as they anxiously awaited news on the Vampire Kingdom attack. The royals had left unexpectedly after making it clear that no-one, especially Balthazar and Merlin, were to follow them until they knew what was going on for sure.

“I have never seen them like that before. It’s almost as though they could feel every one of their people’s fear,” Balthazar commented.

“Maybe not feeling their fear, but rather being linked by many people at once?” Gail offered.

“I’m with Balthazar on this one, simply because of how they all clutched their chests also. This wasn’t a link sort of reaction. They probably did feel their people’s fear,” Boris argued.

“I’ve never heard of anything like that with anyone else but June and our pack,” Orion commented.

“If the fear is great enough, we’d also be able to feel our people’s fear,” Rixon informed.

It was something that he’d been told by his grandfather.

“Am I the only one thinking that whatever this is, is connected to us in some way?” Mark questioned.

“Nope! I’m pretty sure we all know that it’s connected to us and whatever we’re dealing with in some way,” Maya confirmed.

“I get that, but why attack the vampires?” Orion asked.

“We’ll only find out once we know what happened. Until then, it would be futile for us to try and guess. There are too many loopholes to everything,” Dante pointed out.

“Does anyone know what creature Mateo’s supposed brother is?” Aerie asked.

“What do you mean?” Mark asked her.

“I mean, I know you guys said that he has no scent, but did anyone pick up on anything else like his abilities or something?” she elaborated.

“No. Aside from looking exactly like Mateo, there was really nothing else to pick up,” Boris said.

“Why? What are you thinking?” Mark asked her.

“We don’t know what he is. From what I’ve heard about this whole imposter situation, the dude has gone around killing in Mateo’s name and what not, but no one has actually seen him shift into anything,” Aerie explained.

“I see where you’re going with this, and we’ll come back to it because I just realized something else that’s important. The imposter was killing in Teo’s name, and now we’re supposed to believe that they’re brothers? Why would you do that to your own brother? Why would Mateo trust the situation so easily?” Maya asked.

“Unless if they’re not really brothers, which would prove our theory on the imposter having something over Mateo right. We don’t even know what he is, so for all we know, he’s a shapeshifter,” Jacob commented.

“That’s the strongest possibility right now, and if that’s the case, then we need to help Mateo and fast,” Merlin said grimly.

“How do we help him when we he’s so convinced that the man is his brother?” Gail asked.

“We have to find a way because if this man is a shapeshifter, then Mateo may be in the gravest danger of us all,” Mama Deo added to Merlin’s statement.

Auriela scowled. “How so?”

“Shapeshifters were eliminated a long time ago because they were considered to be the most powerful, as well as the most dangerous creatures of all time. They not only had the ability to shapeshift, but one of them found a way to shapeshift and take on the powers of whatever he shifted into, thus making him the most powerful being of all time. He has no name, and he is yet to be seen even though there are rumours that he lives in the shadows. If he has indeed resurfaced and is playing tricks with Mateo, then one of our own is in trouble,” Merlin explained.

“How will we even get to him? We don’t know where Mateo is and he’s shut us out. If he’s with someone that powerful, I can imagine that no magic in the world will help us find him,” Anastasia panicked.

“That much may be true, but we cannot lose our heads here. We also cannot afford to wind ourselves up with stories that may or may not be true. We all understand that there are dangers, but I believe that we also need to remain level headed here. We’re going to make stupid and premature decisions if we’re not careful,” Gail warned.

Before they could truly take in her words, Domitius and Crystal reappeared before them. “What happened?”

“We’re not quite sure really, but the kingdom was attacked by different creatures, including a dragon,” Domitius informed.

“A dragon?” everyone asked.

Crystal nodded. “It’s apparently huge and red.”

“Huge and red? Do you have any more details on that?” Merlin asked.

“Uh, it apparently has a spiky tail and horns,” Domitius added.

“What’s going on dad?” Balthazar asked his father.

“Red dragons of that specie are amongst the most dangerous, but they were also rumoured to be wiped out long ago. Whoever is behind this, if not the dragon itself, has been hiding this dragon and that can’t be a good thing,” Merlin explained.

“Why not?” Aerie asked.

“Because keeping this dragon fugitive is a punishable by death crime to all species. It’s the one thing all the creatures came together and agreed on,” Merlin educated.

Auriela frowned. “All the species came together and just decided that one other specie doesn’t get to live? That seems hardly fair.”

“When all the species agree on anything, it’s a miracle enough on its own, and it’s also a time when you realize just how grave the danger is,” Tristan said knowingly.

“I don’t think I’d blame the dragon though. Like sure, maybe the vampires aren’t entirely to blame for its isolation or the wipe-out of their kind, but I’d go after everyone if I was still alive. I’d want to make them all feel some kind of pain for leaving me alone,” Aerie argued.

“Are you suggesting that this dragon may attack other species too?” Mark questioned, to which she shrugged.

“I wouldn’t completely write off the idea, but the dragon attacked with other different species, which is the confusing part,” Crystal pointed out.

“So, what’s going on now?” Balthazar asked Domitius.

“We have no idea what’s what really, so my parents stayed there and are helping to put things back together, and Crys and I have been sent to get help from everyone here,” Domitius informed.

“Except we ourselves don’t even know where we’re going to start exactly,” Boris reminded.

They all shared a knowing look; they had to figure out what their next move is, and fast.

***

Draxlon was fast asleep, experiencing dreams that made no sense to him, while Rose sat by the window in his room, looking out at the ocean. She could never get over just how beautiful it looked in Atlantis.

Draxlon had spent the day not only showing her around, but educating her on the place as well. It was the first time since she’d known him that she understood that he doesn’t hate his home; quite the contrary.

He just hates the situation that he’s in.

She smiled remembering how much fire she’d seen in his eyes as he told her everything. She’d asked about his excitement, and he’d blushed and admitted that his mother had taught him everything he knew.

He really missed her.

It bothered Rose that he didn’t know what happened to his mother. It bothered her even more just how Akola went around the castle like she owned the place. Whenever they’d hear her coming, they’d hide until she’d passed before continuing on their journey.

She looked back at her sleeping friend. He was scowling in his sleep, and she knew that he was having one of the dreams he’d told her about earlier. However, that’s not where her attention was.

Instead, her eyes were stuck on his magnificent tail. She’d seen the other mermaids and mermen around, but none of their tails looked like Draxlon’s. His tail was a metallic silver with hues of black and purple. Whenever it moved, you could see it changing colours.

She’d asked him to show it to her when she realized that he was touching his legs a lot. She figured that he was uncomfortable, something he confirmed when she’d asked. She learnt that being in the water brought on a stronger urge for him to be in his true form.

Something she wasn’t complaining about.

He moved with a grace she wasn’t expecting from him, and she’d wondered what it would be like for her to have a tail. She wouldn’t know how it would be possible for her, but she couldn’t help but wonder anyway.

When Draxlon mumbled something in his sleep, she looked back to his face, puzzled since he was speaking another language. Deep down, she knew that Draxlon would always have a special place in her heart, but there was also a nagging feeling in her heart where he’s concerned.

She felt like she wasn’t supposed to be there with him. It was as though being with him was against her nature, something she found strange since she also feels a natural pull to him. Ever since they’d returned to Atlantis, she’d been overcome by something she couldn’t place her finger on.

She looked back outside, sighing as she leaned on the windowsill. She may have the body of a nine-year-old, but she knew that her mind, and probably her soul, were far from it. No nine-year-old speaks and thinks the way she does, much less have the responsibilities that she does.

Her mind travelled back to Draxlon as she realized that the same could technically be said for him too. Draxlon didn’t behave or speak like a twelve-year-old, even though many would argue that he was the way he is because he was forced to grow up quickly.

Either way, he was too mature for his age.

Her new trail of thought took her to Draxlon’s mother. She’d noticed on their tour that everything related to the Queen was nowhere in sight. Draxlon had mentioned that Akola had ordered that everything be taken down, but she’d found it weird that King Tristan would even allow something so drastic to happen.

She found herself more and more curious about her friend’s mother. She’d been told that the woman had left after being accused of adultery, but what then confused her was what Akola had said to Draxlon earlier.

“Are you threatening me little one? It didn’t work out so well for your mother you know?”

Her words suggested that Draxlon was right all along, and that Akola did in fact frame Queen Isis in some way. She wouldn’t know how she’d begin to help Draxlon in finding out the truth, but she knew that she had to at least try.

She had to try because she knew that some of the pain she was feeling in her heart wasn’t hers.

With a new mission in mind, she decided to leave the room and test out her powers. Though volatile and unknown to her, she knew that she had to at least try. So far, she’d only been able to see visions and cast spells, but she knew that there was a lot more that she was capable of.

And she’d just have to take the risk to find out.

She left the room and headed down the passage. She hadn’t come into contact with anyone, and she was hoping that her memory of the place and some intuition would guide her.

She didn’t even know what she was looking for exactly.

She caught Akola’s voice somewhere, and that’s when she decided to follow it. She was discreet about the whole thing, having managed to hide her scent as she followed the Queen.

Akola turned down multiple passages, and when she was sure she was alone, she entered through a secret door. Rose managed to get in before the door could close and followed after the woman.

The dark passage was long, and Rose was surprised to learn that she could see just fine as she continued to follow Akola. Eventually, there was a light at the end of the tunnel and Rose could hear voices.

“Akola, what took you so long?” a deep voice asked.

“I needed to make sure that I was alone. Don’t rush me,” she snapped.

“Careful now. I’m not one of your servants,” he warned.

“I apologize My Liege,” she said softly.

“Did you kill the boy?” the man asked.

“I can’t do it. If the stupid boy dies now, they will all undoubtedly blame me for it. They still don’t trust me,” she informed.

Rose got close enough to view the situation and was confused to find that only Akola was in the room. She couldn’t see anyone else, which confused her since she was confident in that she’d heard voices before Akola walked in.

“You haven’t given them any reason to trust you,” the man said, prompting Rose to look around the room.

Nothing.

“What more could I possibly do?” Akola sighed.

“Emulate the very woman they love so much,” he suggested.

“You want me to be like Isis?” she questioned, disgust clear in her tone.

“What better way to earn their hearts?” he asked.

“I refuse to be anything like my sister. There has to be another way,” she refused.

At the word sister, Rose gasped, unfortunately getting herself caught. She hadn’t expected to find out that Akola is Isis’ sister, something she was confident Draxlon, nor the King knew anything about.

“My, my, my, aren’t you just a weasel? I can see why you and Draxlon are so close,” Akola said, looking straight at the little girl.

“How could you do that to your own sister? Your nephew?” Rose questioned.

Akola laughed coldly. “My dear, you’ll find that it’s easy to torture people you don’t care about, though it’s something you’re going to find out real soon.”

Rose sent out a message of help out into the universe, hoping that it would find someone as the Queen of the Sea closed in on her.

***

Boris didn’t know what he was looking for in the books he was reading, but he needed to feel like he was doing something. The thought hadn’t missed Auriela as she watched him from the door.

She couldn’t pick up on what he was thinking or feeling because his thoughts and emotions were all over the place. She could only pick up on the most common feelings of confusion and dread.

She walked into the room and wrapped her arms around him, sighing. “I’m sorry that your party got ruined. I should’ve known that something would definitely go bad.”

“Hey, it’s not your fault. You were just trying to give us all some kind of break in the middle of all this madness,” he argued, turning to hold her.

“Yeah, but you warned me that it isn’t a good idea,” she countered.

“Babe, you can’t blame yourself for this ok? The reality is that we’re not going to have a moment of peace anytime soon, but I’m pretty sure everyone appreciated the moments of peace that we did have. Please don’t feel bad about this,” he pleaded.

“Alright fine, I won’t. What are you doing in here?” she asked.

“I honestly have no clue. I just feel a little useless right now,” he admitted.

“I think we all do, but it’s because we don’t know where to begin with helping. Hopefully the elders will come up with something soon,” she said.

He huffed. “I hope so too.”

“What about your new powers?” she asked.

He left her arms, walking away from her. “What about them?”

“You can’t keep them a secret Boris, and neither can you ignore them, especially if they’re coming with memories you don’t remember having,” she pointed out.

“I’d prefer to not have to face any more things I don’t understand, thank you very much,” he responded.

“Oh, my Goddess! Are you really choosing this moment to be stubborn?” she shouted.

“As opposed to what? Adding more mystery to the pile we already have?” he shouted back.

“You are important too Boris!” she snapped.

He scowled. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that it’s not fair that everyone’s lives in this situation are ranked by whose daughter or son you are. Your new powers are a big deal and you need to stop treating them like they aren’t just because you believe that you’re not a priority,” she replied.

“You think I view myself in that way?” he questioned.

“It’s obvious that you all do. Maybe this is just me speaking as someone who doesn’t know Juniper, or Mateo or anyone else who is deemed as more of a priority than anyone else around here,” she said angrily.

“Ela, where is all this anger coming from?” he asked lowly.

“Don’t patronize me Boris. I’m not being unreasonable here, and the day you realize that, you’ll remember this conversation,” she said before storming out.

Boris was left feeling confused as someone new joined him in the room. “That was rough.”

“How much of that did you hear?” he asked.

“All of it. I was coming to ask you something, but she’s right you know?” Domitius told him.

“She is?” Boris frowned.

“To an extent she is. You having new powers, especially after turning two hundred is a huge deal. By your age, your kind has long discovered all their powers, so if you’re getting new powers and memories, then it means something major is going on with you. And, who knows, it might be beneficial to us to know what’s going on with you,” Domitius argued.

“Who do I even begin telling about such?” Boris sighed.

“Well, I know I’m Mateo’s best friend and all, but I’d be willing to listen. You might find it easier to confide in me than in someone close to you,” Domitius offered.

“I guess that makes sense. Well, yesterday morning, I torched our bed and the whole incident is eerily similar to how June got her powers. I also got a memory of when I was younger and I met Merlin and Mama Deo way before I originally thought I had,” Boris informed.

“Hold on! What do you mean the incident is similar to how June got her powers? Do you have elemental abilities?” Domitius asked.

“I mean, I don’t know. I haven’t tested them out or anything. In fact, I haven’t really gotten used to the whole idea of what happened yesterday morning. Ela is the only one who saw the whole thing happen, so she would know what she saw since what I felt, I can’t exactly put into words,” Boris replied.

“That’s extremely strange. Before yesterday, were you exhibiting any other signs of change?” Domitius questioned.

“Nope! I was fine until yesterday morning,” Boris said.

Domitius was deep in thought. “And how do you feel now?”

“I feel fine. It’s like nothing happened,” Boris answered.

“Uh huh, interesting,” Domitius said before he got up to leave.

“Wait! That’s it?” Boris asked him.

“I’m coming back. I just need to check something with my grandfather,” Domitius said before leaving the room.

Boris was once more left puzzled before his mate walked back into the room. “I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry too babe. You were right. This is something that I should be taking seriously,” he said, opening his arms up for her.

“We’ll talk later. I came to tell you that Domitius and Crystal want to talk to you downstairs,” she informed.

“I just spoke to Domitius now. He left before you came in,” he said.

Her eyes scrunched together. “That’s impossible. I just left him downstairs with everyone.”

His eyes widened as dread filled him. “What’s wrong? Babe, talk to me!”

“The shapeshifter is real and he’s among us.”

***

“Once we do this, there’s no turning back.”

“Thanks for the millionth reminder of the same thing,” I told my brother as I stretched.

“You’re about to piss off the people in your life Tero. I just want to make sure you understand that much and are ready to deal with it,” he argued.

“And I appreciate that, but this sappy side to you is starting to piss me off. I know what’s at stake, but I also know what we stand to truly lose if we don’t do this. We’re the only two who know the bigger picture, and until everyone else catches up, we can expect them to be pissed off and hurt and what not, but they’ll get over it, especially if June has anything to do with it,” I pointed out.

“You really think this will help in getting her back?” he asked.

“I know that through this plan we’ll succeed in not only getting her back, but she’ll be the first to see reason in our plan and convince everyone else to come on board,” I replied.

“Alright, as always, I trust you. Let’s do this!” he stated.

We left and headed down the corridor to where he was holding some of my enemies prisoner. Upon entering the room, Zeus growled lowly at the sight of Dayton, Saila and Royce, and the three of them must’ve felt the power surge coming from both Khal and I because their eyes widened.

“Impossible,” Dayton whispered.

I can’t stand the man, but even he’s smart enough to know when true power is in his midst.

“Isn’t this quite the sight! You’re working with your imposter?” Royce asked me.

“I always knew you were stupid, but this is just sad,” I mocked.

He growled. “I’m not stupid.”

“Strong matter of opinion,” Khal commented.

“What do you want with us?” Saila asked while Royce glared at us.

“The three of you are going on a mission. Should you fail this mission, I kill you,” I told them icily.

“We don’t work for you,” Royce dared to say.

“If I were you, I’d think twice about that answer. I am your King, so therefore, you do work for me,” I smirked.

He scoffed. “You are not a King.”

“I am thee King, but I have no patience to explain that to your simple mind. You will do as I say anyway,” I said, lacing my tone with an Alpha command.

You could see the command working with Dayton and Royce. “What is the mission?”

“The three of you are going to get my kids from the Underworld,” I told them.

Saila raised an eyebrow. “Now your command may have worked on them, but I’m pretty sure you’re smart enough to know that it didn’t work on me. I don’t have to do anything you say I should.”

“Maybe not, but if you want to live, you might want to reconsider your words. After all, we could very easily end your life here and now,” my brother pointed out.

“You won’t get far with any of this. My Queen will be back and she will make you all pay!” Saila spat.

“That’s all good and well, but until that day comes, you work for us and you will do as I say,” I told her.

“We heard word that the Underworld is impenetrable. What makes you think that we’ll be able to do it? Also, why trust us with your babies?” Dayton asked.

“How you get in and out of the Underworld isn’t my problem. I just want it done and I want my sons safely with me. I’m choosing to trust that you wouldn’t be stupid enough to test me by letting anything happen to them, so really, this is all on you,” I replied.

“So, what? You’re just going to let us free and hope for the best?” Royce asked me.

I looked to my brother and he shrugged. “Yeah.”

The three of them looked at us suspiciously as Khal’s men freed them. We turned to leave the room, showing them that we were serious about what we’d just said, but we also needed to leave. Our window was closing soon.

“Alright! According to my source, the royals are all still in Rome save for Leona and Paolo. The two of them have stayed back at the castle, while everyone else is looking for a starting point for tracking down the origin of the attack. The Werewolf Castle is clear for us to take but we have to strike now,” my brother informed.

“Then let’s move,” I responded.

He teleported us to the Werewolf Castle as more of his men started arriving before Fifi took off for the attack. She knew that she couldn’t hurt anyone, but she also had to strike strategically enough to make it look like an attack, much like with the Vampire Kingdom.

Khal has always been better at strategy than I have, which is what was so beautiful about his attack at the Vampire Kingdom. He teamed up with some allies from other species who have joined our cause, and they helped in making the vampires believe that they’d been hurt somehow.

Even though none of them can figure out how exactly.

Together with Fifi destroying some buildings and setting things alight, they genuinely think they were attacked and hurt, except mind tricks were played on them. It was all really just a distraction to get the Werewolf Royals out of the castle.

The real plans were only beginning now.

Much like we’d done with the Vampire Kingdom, we carried out the plan, except this time, we weren’t doing it to confuse anyone. We were doing it to take over. Once we knew we had full control of the castle, my brother pointed my beast in the direction of the throne and we trotted over before taking our rightful place.

Let the games begin.