Juniper Santiago - Book 2 of The Santiago Series

There was a commotion in the castle, and Tristan couldn’t understand it. He also couldn’t understand the clear bewilderment and desperation he could see on his subject’s faces. Eventually he managed to stop one of them.

“What is going on?”

“Your Majesty, it’s the prince,” the mermaid replied.

At the response, dread filled the king. “What has happened?”

The mermaid gasped. “You mean you don’t know?”

“Know what?” he growled lowly.

“Your Majesty, Draxlon was in a fight. He also shifted,” she informed.

Tristan was perplexed. “Shifted? That’s impossible! He’s way too young.”

“It happened Your Majesty. He also killed Ginora. He fought her and killed her just after his shift. It was glorious, but we’re all wondering how he did it.”

And rightfully so.

Ginora was one of the five krakens of the sea. One kraken normally required an army of mersoldiers to take it down, and yet Tristan was being told otherwise. He was being told that not only had his son done the impossible, but that he’d gone through the impossible.

Realizing just how out of touch he is with his son, he took off to find him. He could sense him in the castle, and terror filled him once more when he realized that he was headed towards the infirmary.

Laying there, his son groaned in pain as the medics worked on him. He had a long wound running down his tail, something that most would consider him imperfect for. As a royal, he could be outcast just for that, and Tristan knew that he would need to seek help to have something done about the scar he was sure would form.

“Draxlon,” the name left the king’s mouth before he could stop it.

Surprised, Draxlon turned to his father. “What are you doing here?”

Tristan was taken aback by the baritone in his son’s voice. The boy was certainly bigger too, and he no longer looked his age. Tristan couldn’t understand what was going on, and how things had come to be this way.

He just knew in that moment that he wished his mate was there.

Isis always had a way not only with their people, but most importantly with their son. She understood him better than Tristan did, and try as he may, the man could never truly meet his son halfway on an emotional level.

Watching him laying on the bed, he couldn’t understand the feelings coursing through him. Something was nagging at him, and he didn’t have the slightest clue what it was. He also wasn’t sure if it was good or evil.

Draxlon watched his father, wondering what it was that had the man so deep in thought. He’d asked him a question, but the man merely stood there, not saying anything to him. If he wasn’t in so much pain, he’d swim away.

But he could barely feel his tail from the amount of pain blinding him.

“What happened?” Tristan finally whispered.

“They took her,” Draxlon said lowly, the anger resurfacing as he stared at the ceiling.

It was taking everything in him to not breakdown in front of everyone in the room.

Everything had happened so quickly. One minute he was asleep, and the next he heard his best friend call out for help. He shot up, except she wasn’t in the room. He frantically searched for her everywhere, but he couldn’t find her.

Until he saw them.

The krakens had dared to not only come to the castle, but they had Rose with them. She was passed out, so he knew that she wouldn’t know that she’d been taken to begin with – except he couldn’t let that happen; at least not without a fight.

He knew all about the krakens and the evil they stood for. They’d long ago been banished from the kingdom, cast away into the darkest parts of the ocean. They were some of the strongest creatures around, needing armies to fight just one of them.

Something that didn’t matter to Draxlon as he went after them.

He could still see the look of disbelief on Ginora’s face when he’d charged after her. Her sister Minora is the one who had Rose with her, and even she was curious about what the young prince had hoped to achieve by following after them.

None of them anticipated that he’d come to fight in any kind of way.

He wouldn’t dare, or at least that’s what they thought until he demanded that they return his best friend or he would kill them. They’d mocked him as spectators watched on from afar, until he started glowing.

Everyone was mystified as they watched on. Not only was he too young for his transformation, but he was glowing – something they’d never seen from a mermaid, much less a merman before.

He’d warned the sisters one last time to return his best friend, and they continued to mock him, until he silenced them with a single attack that left Minora with one less tentacle. That sent both sisters into a rage as they moved to attack the prince.

None could believe it when they realized that not only had the young prince transformed, but he was holding his own against the two sisters; a feat none had ever been able to achieve. Any creature that went up against a kraken was guaranteed death.

But Draxlon only had Rose in mind as he fought on.

Ginora had tried to sneak an attack on him, only for him to turn the attack back onto her. Minora watched in disbelief as her sister’s eyes widened, her blood surrounding them before she began to sink.

Draxlon had done the impossible and single-handedly slain a kraken.

Minora let out a shrill cry that not even Draxlon’s new form could handle as he covered his ears. By the time he’d recovered from the sound, Minora was gone with Rose, and he was bleeding from the tail.

He had killed her sister, and Minora turned around and killed his chance at being respected.

An untainted tail, expressly where royalty is concerned, earned you the highest respects – something Draxlon never understood. It seemed incredibly superficial to him for it to even be a thing, but it was a part of the long list of things he didn’t understand about his kingdom.

But none of them mattered anymore.

Not without Rose.

His best friend had been taken by some of the vilest creatures in existence, and he knew that they’d been sent by someone. What he couldn’t quite pinpoint, was who it could possibly be.

With Rose being so powerful, the news about her reaching the wrong ears would put her in instant danger. Given who her parents are, Draxlon just knew that danger in her life was inevitable. Mateo and Juniper Santiago would always attract danger just from being as powerful as they are.

Power and enemies go together like honey and bees.

He just never imagined that the danger brought to her would be his fault in any way.

He’s the one who’d told her that they needed to come to Atlantis for safety. At the time, he’d been overwhelmed by a dark feeling that was suffocating him, but he didn’t know that he was only bringing her to more danger.

Tristan observed his son, observed how the emotions were eating at him. He didn’t even look like he could feel the pain in his tail anymore. When a single tear escaped his eye, the king closed the distance between them and put his arms around his son.

Being in his father’s arms was the last straw for young Draxlon. Not only had he lost his best friend, but he was going through changes that he couldn’t understand. He didn’t feel like he could talk to anyone, especially with the only three people he’d want to, gone from him.

His mother had left him with an emotionally devoid father.

The only other woman he’d bonded with was stuck in her own body, trapped by a part of herself.

His best friend had been kidnapped.

He was all alone.

“It’s alright son. We will find her.”

He wanted to believe the words, but he wasn’t sure. There was too much he couldn’t explain, and he feared for Rose – not because she’d been taken, but because of what it would do to her. She was still getting used to her powers, and therefore didn’t know just how powerful she is.

Or how much damage she could cause.

Still in his father’s arms as the medics stitched him up, Draxlon could only hope to the universe that his best friend would at least be able to hold her own against whatever was coming for her next.

“I’m sorry I failed you Rose.”

***

Because of where they were inflicted, it would take a while for her wounds to heal. She lay in the bathtub, having complete control over the water remaining hot during her stay in it. The water was soothing to her, specifically after the torture she’d endured.

Releasing a deep sigh, she sunk further into the water. She knew that she was the most misunderstood person, with everyone having their own ideas of who she is. There was only one man who understood her, or rather one man that she’d let in close enough.

With her husband and son having turned against her, she didn’t expect the sudden friendship.

*FLASHBACK*

She groaned, sitting up. She looked around her and the fighting had ceased. Her followers were waiting on her, and they had the Alpha captive, but her sister was nowhere in sight. She huffed, standing to dust herself off.

“Let him go,” she commanded.

The man was bewildered. “You’re letting me go?”

“The intention was never to hurt you, despite what my sister thinks. Odezzia already thinks the worst of me, and even though some of what she blames me for was my fault, I’d never want to harm her. I’d never want to harm her son, and neither do I want to harm you,” she told him.

“You just fought with her,” he reminded.

“We’ve done that for years now, but I was barely using any power. My sister’s mistake is thinking that she knows me, when she’s never bothered to get to know me at all. All our lives, it’s always been her and Oden against me. I’ve always been the outcast, which is why it’s so easy for her to not only blame me for everything, but to believe the absolute worst of me. I’m not saying that I don’t deserve it, but I certainly don’t deserve it in its entirety,” she argued.

The man cocked his head to the side, taking her in, before he stretched out his hand. “Ramsey Charleston, Odezzia’s mate, and you must be Odessa.”

She surprised her followers by shaking the man’s hand back. “Right you are. I know my reputation precedes me, so I won’t bother defending it.”

“Will you at least tell me the truth?” he questioned.

She was blindsided, and she formed a bubble around them, keeping them from being heard or touched by anyone around them. “What do you mean?”

“Dezz told me all about your life and the things you’ve done. She speaks from a place of hate, and while we’ve only been together for two years, I’ve often found myself having to be the voice of reason. I know for a fact that Merlin was that for you, and only because you have the same fire in your eyes that your sister does, which means you have the same passion she does. One thing my mate has never been able to do is find fault in herself, and it’s twice the work to make her see where she’s gone wrong because she often defends her actions, even when she’s wrong. I love her with my entire being, but I know what she can be like. I can only imagine what years with her can drive you to be,” he explained.

She was stunned by all he’d said simply because she’d spent so long trying to make others see things from her perspective. She’d been the bad guy for the longest time and didn’t expect anyone else to take her side.

Her mate had tried to understand her, but his approach was what kept her closed off to him.

“I do not hate my sister, and neither did I hate my brother. Despite what she told you, I killed Oden by mistake. I was going through something I didn’t understand – something I’m trying to fight,” she said.

“And? Do you understand it now?” he questioned.

She was taken aback by the question. “Not entirely, but I am working on it. I am not evil Ramsey. I am a lot of things that aren’t understood, and I’ve made mistakes, but I’m not evil. That is the one thing that everyone gets wrong about me.”

“Do you need a hand with anything?” he asked.

“What?” she whispered.

“I can only imagine that you’re not a very trusting person given how everyone treats you, but I also can’t imagine that trying to fight evil on your own is working out great for you,” he argued.

She released a heavy sigh. “It’s, taxing, if I had to give it a name.”

He nodded slightly. “I can imagine. So, I’m right about you trying to fight evil?”

She too nodded. “I’m everyone’s epitome of evil, but they don’t know what I know – what I’ve spent years fighting and running away from. If they knew, they’d be grateful for all my efforts. I don’t always do things by the book, but sometimes you have to break the rules and hurt some people for a greater good.”

“I believe you, and if you let me, I’d like to help,” he offered.

“Why? Aren’t you afraid of losing Dezz? She will never forgive you for this,” she pointed out.

“You are not the enemy Odessa, and I’m willing to risk everything to help you simply because helping you means that my mate and my son are safe in the future, even if my mate won’t see it that way now,” he stated.

She didn’t say anything, and instead took his hand in hers. She chanted for seconds before his mind was pulled into her memories. She showed him some of the things that she’d gone through. She wanted to make sure he understood what he was offering to do.

“Do you see now why I cannot let you do this?” she whispered, a tear rolling down her eye as she let go of him.

“No, I don’t. All I saw was a reason for me to do it. My mate and my son deserve to live in a world that is free from danger, from such evil. My helping you won’t be accepted by many, but in this moment, you and I know why I am helping you. There’s pain in your eyes Odessa, and after what you’ve shown me, I can see why. Everyone deserves to be happy, even you,” he said.

She looked away from him. “Not me – not after everything.”

“Like you said, not all of it is your fault. He will understand,” he said softly.

She turned back to him, a scarlet tear betraying her as it rolled down her cheek. “Who will?”

“Merlin – he will understand once you open up and let him in. Balthazar may take a lot longer to come around, but you need to trust your husband Odessa. In the end, only he will be able to truly help you defeat the darkness.”

***

Over the years, Ramsey became her best friend and confidant, and over the years, they continued to fight over her finding Merlin and telling him the truth. Instead, she helped him keep tabs on his son, while they had no idea where Odezzia was.

The last thing she’d expected was for Ramsey’s son to be the one to banish her to the Land of Lost Souls.

She wasn’t angered by it. She knew that she’d deserved the torture she’d endured there before her husband came to get her. If anything, she was hurt that she’d once more had to go through something because people didn’t understand her or her reasons for doing things.

She’d always been a big picture person; something only Merlin understood and appreciated about her. Even Ramsey with his friendship, often thought her too impulsive, but her husband had always known better where she’s involved.

He’d always trusted her judgement.

She knew she didn’t deserve him, and even more so, she knew he was right about how much he loved her. It pained her knowing that he loved her through everything, even when there were times he wished he didn’t.

She knew because there were plenty of times when she didn’t love herself either.

Still, after all the years that had passed, having Merlin still be on her side was the greatest sign to her, that at least fate still believed in her – that fate still believed that she could change the world and herself for good.

And she would finally grab the chance and fight the way she’d always wanted to.

Merlin was in the kitchen, cooking up a meal for his wife. His thoughts were many, and they were drowning him, but he also welcomed them. He didn’t think that he’d appreciate the silence without them.

And it was comforting to know that he was aware of the madness of what he’d done.

Nonetheless, when he heard her soft footsteps coming down the stairs, his heart still beat as quickly as it did when he first laid eyes on her. When she walked into the kitchen, face bare and hair in wild curls upon her head, he was still as entranced as he was on that day all those years ago.

“You’re staring,” she said softly.

“Do you blame me? You take my breath away every time,” he admitted unashamedly.

She blushed crimson, looking behind him. “Are you attempting to kill me again?”

He chuckled – a sound she hadn’t heard in much too long. “My cooking has improved greatly over the years, thank you very much.”

“All thanks to Deondrameda I’m sure,” she jabbed.

“We’re not doing this,” he warned.

She shrugged, taking a seat. “We never truly have.”

“She was there for me while my wife was gallivanting the world, wiping out species,” he attacked.

She raised an eyebrow, her expression cool. “I thought you didn’t believe the rumours about me.”

“Rumours are one thing when they are fleeting, but yours have followed you endlessly, and they’ve only grown worse over time,” he debated.

“That may be true, but it doesn’t make them true. There’s a lot that people claim I’ve done, and most times I wasn’t even there. I am many things dearest husband, but dishonourable isn’t one of them,” she attacked.

He sighed. “I told you I don’t want to fight you Dessa. We’ve done enough fighting. I just want to know what the truth is so that we move forward from that point onwards.”

“Do you love her?” she asked bitterly.

“I could never love another but you,” he replied.

“You say that, but you can’t tell me that it’s the truth,” she denied.

He went over to her side and stood before her. “Deondrameda and I have been friends for a long time, and she has been there for me as a companion, nothing more. There was a time when we were closest, but that’s also the time when I learnt that there is no other woman for me but you.”

“I don’t understand,” she whispered.

He caressed her cheek. “Love, and especially our love, wasn’t made to be understood. The only thing to understand about it is that it is unbreakable. Nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing Dessa, will ever take me away from you. I have met countless women, but none of them steal my breath away like you do. None of them challenge me like you do. None of them intrigue me like you do, and none of them certainly love me like you do. Deondrameda cares greatly for me, as do I for her, but in the same way I believe that no one loves you like I do, I believe that no one loves me like you do. We can fight for the next millennium my love, but we will always make our way back to each other.”

He was wiping away her tears, well aware that in that moment, his wife was bare to him. She may have not yet revealed the truth to him, but he needed her to understand that he wasn’t going anywhere.

It’s the one thing he’d accepted long ago.

He loved her too much to let her go. Some would argue that something like that is somewhat toxic, but he knew better – believed better. He believed that despite everything that had been said about her, and that she’d done, she deserved him, and she deserved for him to be the peace amongst the craziness.

Her head was resting on his chest as he’d pulled her in. “Have you made up your mind once and for all Merlin?”

He pulled back to look her in the eyes. “I’m never leaving you again Dessa. I should’ve never left you in the first place. You’re the love of my life. Despite everything, I should’ve never left you. All you’ve ever asked of me is to trust you, and I’m choosing to trust you now.”

“Even if I chose not to tell you the truth?” she tested.

He nodded. “Even then.”

And that’s when it hit her.

It was time.

She’d always told Ramsey that she couldn’t tell Merlin the truth because she knew that he wouldn’t be as understanding. She was convinced that he’d leave her for sure, and the one thing Ramsey was right about, was that she needed her husband if she would truly defeat the evil once and for all.

She dragged him all the way to the lounge and had them sit on the floor. He was confused when she took his hand and placed it on her chest, before closing her eyes and whispering something. He was about to speak when his eyes were forced shut and he felt himself get pulled into a vision.

When he opened his eyes, he was standing at a waterfall. He looked beside him and his wife was there. She reached out to hold his hand, before pointing out at the waterfall. At first, he didn’t know what he was looking out for.

Until he saw her.

She looked like she was in her teenage years, but he knew without a doubt that the young girl in the water was his wife. She rose from the water and he curious about why she was crying, especially when one could easily tell her tears apart from the water.

She stepped out of the water, and headed onto a huge rock. She lay on it, facing the sky, which started to turn cloudy. He watched a small smile grace her face the darker it got, and she lifted her hand, an ice shard forming from her palm.

“That’s it, embrace the darkness.”

She sat up, looking for the voice as Merlin too looked around for the source of the voice. “Who’s there?”

“You and I are a lot alike Odessa, and you don’t even know it,” the voice spoke.

“I don’t know who you are,” she pointed out.

There was silence for a while, until the wind started blowing a little stronger around the teenage girl. When Merlin felt his wife squeeze his hand a little tighter, he knew he had to pay attention to whatever was about to appear.

And he couldn’t have been more right.

A huge shadow passed over her – a shadow of a dragon. She watched on in fear as the red dragon flapped its wings above her. Merlin himself had seen his fair share of dragons before, but none as huge as the one he was witnessing.

Suddenly, the dragon flapped its wings hard and then its shadow disappeared. In its place, a red cloud of smoke descended, and once it had touched the ground, a man was revealed – a man with long red hair and onyx eyes.

Merlin himself could feel the fear that she felt in that moment as the man walked towards her. It was only as he analysed the situation further that he realized that even he felt a little fear from what he was witnessing.

“Who are you?” young Odessa whispered in question.

The man walked around her, inspecting her before he finally spoke. “I go by many names little one.”

She tried a different tactic. “What do you want from me?”

“It is not what I want from you, but what I can do for you. You’re special Odessa, something only a handful of people will ever realize is true about you. I want to liberate you.”

Merlin was pulled from that memory and instead dragged through his wife’s life from that day on. She’d shown Ramsey certain parts of her life, but with her husband, she dragged him through all of it right up until the moment they were in.

When they’d come out of it, it was dark outside, and she was crying. He, himself couldn’t hold back his own tears and emotions. He didn’t even know how long they’d been gone for. All he knew was that his wife had gone through more torture and misfortune at the hands of evil than anyone he’d ever known.

And he’d abandoned her.

As he pulled her into his embrace, guilt consumed every part of him. He thought back to everything he’d heard about her. He thought back to every fight they’d ever had. He thought back to the times he’d followed her on her escapades.

And most importantly, he thought back to all the times he hadn’t listened.

She’d tried to tell him, to show him signs. Even after she’d killed her brother and gone to hide in the cave, she’d tried to tell him. There, she hadn’t opened up to him fully, and he’d always known that, but only in this moment had he understood why.

Before this moment, he was never truly ready to listen.

Before this moment, he had treated her like the rest of the world did.

“I don’t know where to begin,” he said lowly, moments later when her breathing was stable.

“I tried to tell you, to show you, but I never truly believed that you would stand by me. I don’t know what’s different this time, but this time I believe you. I believe that you want me, flaws and all,” she replied.

“You didn’t believe it when I followed you around everywhere for thirty years?” he questioned.

“Then, you proved your love for me, but my entire life has taught me that love, trust, and loyalty are not synonymous. All three are needed for a relationship between two people to survive, and we had love, some trust, but no loyalty. Your love for me kept you attached to me, but it was never about loyalty for you. Only now do I believe that it is.”

He sat there taking in her words, and he understood what she meant. His eyes were even opened to the fact that he’d been selfish over the years. He never truly wanted to help his wife in the past. He just wanted to know her truth for his own selfish reasons.

But everything was definitely different now. She’d bared her soul to him, and it was time for him to live up to his wedding vows to her. He’d promised her the world, and in the end, he’d failed her and given her up to the evil.

“The memory at the waterfall…” he trailed off.

“When you said you were seeing a red dragon, I knew that you could only be talking about him. What I don’t know is how you got the signal, but I’m grateful,” she replied.

“I can’t say I have answer for you either. Back at the waterfall, was it the first time you were seeing him?” he asked.

She nodded. “That’s the first time when I met him. He strongly believes that he and I are the same, and back then it didn’t take much for him to convince me. Perhaps at that point we were one in the same when he’d told me his story, but the older I grew, the more I realized that he was wrong. Parts of me had already been destroyed by him, but the greater part of me knew that I had to fight him. He obviously didn’t like that, so he’d do things to keep me under his thumb, and I’d retaliate. Like I said before, I haven’t always made the best decisions, but I’ve always tried to do the greater good over the bad. It’s funny, all these years you trusted my judgement, but you just didn’t trust me.”

He sighed. “I knew that something was making you the way that you are. I know the woman that I love Dessa, and I’ve seen her other side too. I didn’t trust that side, and only because I felt that the other side was a bigger part of you – the part I just couldn’t bring myself to believe in.”

“And all along I knew that this was the way out for both of us, but before today, I didn’t think you’d stay if I fully let you in. You wouldn’t have been as understanding as you are right now. It was better to have you think the worst of me without knowing the truth. I couldn’t stand to lose you,” she said sadly.

He hugged her a little tighter. “I’m sorry.”

“I know that you are, and so am I. I’m not perfect Merlin, and I will always own up to everything that I did, but I believe in my reasons for doing everything that I did. I am not evil. Tell me you believe that much,” she pleaded, ending with a whisper.

He spelled the lights to come on before he looked into her electrifying blue eyes, once again captivated by the beauty in them. He’d always found it fascinating that she cried scarlet tears. The combination gave her temporary purple eyes, and while her tears made his heart ache, the sight wasn’t one that was all too bad.

Her nerves came alive when his mouth descended over hers. It had been so long that she’d been held by her husband, much less kissed by him, that she was sure that everything would fade away if she pulled away.

So, she pulled him closer.

A fire ignited in Merlin, one that had died long ago, never again to be awoken by anyone else. He’d tried over the years, but when he realized that it was impossible, he knew that only one woman would ever have the power to ignite such feelings in him.

The hours passed with the lovers reuniting, lost to time and each other. They weren’t even aware that they’d not only strengthened their bond, but their powers too. They’d unknowingly lost some of their powers over the years from their distance from one another.

And fate had brought them back together to make things right.

***

With the doubt in their minds concerning everyone around them, Boris and Auriela had disappeared from Rome without telling anyone. He used his powers to shield them from being tracked, hoping that even the stronger beings wouldn’t be able to find them.

“Babe, where are we?” she asked him.

They were standing outside the house that Boris had grown up in for the first twenty years of his life. His new powers were bothering him, and with everything happening around them, he knew that Auriela wasn’t wrong in that he mattered too.

He needed to find out what was going on with him and home seemed like the first place to start.

“I need you to do me a favour,” he told her.

“Anything,” she agreed.

“I know that for the most part, you use your powers for time related things, particularly looking into the future, but I need you to look into my past,” he requested.

She was a little confused. “You mean you want me to take you back in time?”

He nodded. “Not only that, but I want you to go with me.”

“I haven’t done something like that since the first and last time,” she argued.

“I know, and I know that it was difficult for you, but I’m begging you. You know I wouldn’t be asking this of you if it wasn’t important,” he pleaded.

She sighed. “I know, but what are you looking for exactly?”

“I’m not sure. My thoughts are everywhere, but I’m kind of hoping it will come to me when your magic is in the mix,” he admitted.

“This is extremely dangerous Boris, and it might not work, or it might leave us with consequences we can’t handle,” she warned.

He grinned. “I have you by my side Ela. I can face anything.”

She smacked his arm as he released a laugh. “I’m serious! I’ve only ever done this once and the first time wasn’t the smoothest. We could get lost in time.”

“I could definitely say something cheesy to that, but I won’t risk it. Instead, I will point out that the first time you did it, I was not the concerned party, and I have complete faith in you and your abilities. I’d like to think that our mate bond will add an element here,” he contended.

“I agree completely – it could be a positive or a negative element, and I have no way of finding out which one it would be,” she countered.

He put his hands on her shoulders, looking her in the eyes. “Auriela Eloise Luminas, you’ve got this!”

“Well, now that you’ve full named me, how can I not?” she mocked.

He chuckled before kissing her. “I trust you completely Ela. We don’t have a lot of time.”

She nodded, despite the nerves, before taking his hands in hers and focusing on the time threads. With her mate not knowing which time he wanted to return to, it was hard for her to catch his vibe and a time thread, until one glowed brighter than the rest.

Which is the one she chose to focus on.

Before she knew it, she’d done it. Around her, they were covered by tall grass that reached up to her waist. She had no clue where they were, but recognition passed on her mate’s face as he looked into the distance.

She followed his line of vision to a small house. Boris started to lead her there, and it was only when they got closer that she realized that they were headed to the very house that their present bodies were standing outside of.

She could only guess that this was before it was revamped.

It was definitely a lot bigger now.

Boris didn’t know what he was looking for still, but something was pulling him towards the house. With Auriela’s hand in his, they entered the house. It was eerily quiet, until they heard it – a baby’s giggle.

They followed the sound and found a woman hunched over a baby cot. They moved until they had a full view, and Boris immediately recognized his mother. He may have been young when she died, but she was old enough that he’d remember her.

His baby self giggled once more, the couple watching on in shock as the woman created an ice shard from her one palm, and a fireball from her other. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. The woman didn’t say anything, but she looked like she was mind linking.

A few seconds later, the couple was further bowled over as they watched the last person they expected, walk in. She didn’t look nearly as threatening as they were used to, and they were even more shocked to see her genuinely smile.

“Ona, he’s beautiful,” she cooed, picking the baby up.

“And he’s alive because of you. I could never thank you enough Dessa,” Ona Vladislav said emotionally.

Odessa waved her off. “It’s nothing. We all make mistakes Ona. The good thing here is that my magic got to him first, so he should be protected for at least two centuries before anything can happen.”

Ona looked worried. “And? Do you think my son will make it to two hundred?”

“It definitely won’t be an easy journey getting there, and I will play a huge part in his misery, but he will make it. The oracles have not only told me so, but I will make sure that he does. No one will ever have to know,” Odessa assured her.

Ona believed the witch, but she was still concerned. “He will come for him Dessa. I made a mistake and now my son will forever pay for it.”

“Even if he does come for him, I’ll be around. I will not let him get his clutches into Boris. I will give up my life before I let that happen,” Odessa stressed, to which Ona gasped.

“You’d give up your life? What about Balthazar?” Ona questioned.

Odessa’s heart ached at the mention of her son. “My son despises me Ona, but I still watch over him from afar. I keep the evil away from him, even if he’ll never believe me. However, Boris isn’t only important to me, but to my family too. The oracles tell me different things, but the common thing is that Boris will play an important role where the Beinvenido’s are concerned. Also, you are my best friend, and he is my godson. I swear to you on my life that I will protect him.”

A tear left Ona’s right eye as she smiled at her friend. “I believe you. Please let him know how much I love him and that whatever he grows up to be, he must always remember that he is nothing like his father.”

“I promi-”

Odessa’s promise was interrupted by a change of scenery as the skies turned grey. The couple once again found themselves in the field; except this time there was absolutely nothing around them.

Until the creature swooped above them.

They managed to duck in time as the red dragon flew past them. They watched it turn before making its way to them at a speed that had them wanting to run – except their feet were glued to the spot.

Just before crashing into them, the dragon transformed into a man. Gone were the scales and wings, and what instead faced them, they had no words for as the man approached them.

Looking at the man, a lot started to make sense to them with regards to everything else that was happening around them. They couldn’t read the look on his face, but the fury in his eyes was as clear as the evil aura around him.

“After all these years, I have finally found you.”

“Me?” Boris asked before he could stop himself.

The man smirked. “Yes, you – my son, Prince of the Dragons.”