Chapter Twenty-One

It was a who’s who kind of party. Monarchs from every nation, legendary elites of various notarities lined up to greet Jovan and his children.

Normally, I didn’t care for such parties, but the intrigue of Elek’s first encounter with Serafina had me itching to see what could unfold if they remained close to one another for an extended period of time.

Would their memories return? Could Serafina’s power fully awaken? I would be a fool to miss out on the ball due to an inherent aversion to them. My discomfort could be locked away for this event.

Walking the room, newly modified spectacles on while in my best lavender suit, I attempted to make myself relatively unseen. One learned more from what they heard and quietly witnessed rather than striking up conversations. Though, I never turned down a friendly introduction or becoming reacquainted with familiar faces. Some faces garnered more of my attention than others.

The first face I was eager to see again was gliding across the room, as if gracefully swimming through the sea. Queen Latvia of Kai waltzed, as if flying, around the dance floor with an elementary dancing partner in Zander. Though, her kind heart wasn’t going to correct his posture or scold him for a missed step, as was the nature I had always seen her to possess.

The seafoam gown hugged her in all the ways that complimented her slender, athletic, form. With off-the-shoulder straps, showing the world her flawless darkened skin, she could have had her pick of eligible dancers.

When the orchestra dimmed to silence, she was swift to approach Jovan as he held Serafina proudly in his arms. Hardly a moment passed before the queen had the unknowing goddess in her arms with a warm embrace and began to prance with her for the next number. The bewildered child was quick to adjust, however, and managed to fall in step with the tall queen.

My circling ended when I noticed little Elek hiding away in a dispersed corner of the room.

Intriguing, I thought, stopping beside him as he fidgeted on his feet. The shuffling of his weight from one foot to the next and the occasional fist forming at his side was something I had never seen him do.

It was not in his nature to be so restless, even seeming to come undone mentally. But I assumed it was all because of the young girl still in Latvia’s arms. His soul was reaching out to the goddess that made his soul and yet he couldn’t figure out why he was feeling this way.

His amethyst eyes didn’t break away from the dark haired girl as his hand rose up to clench his white, button-down shirt where the buttons met his chest.

“You know,” I hummed, nudging his shoulder with my arm, “you could ask her to dance.”

I knew he heard me when his head gave the slightest shake in decline, but he didn’t budge any further.

“I’m sure she isn’t some feral beast who will bite you. Go ask before the next dance begins. No one else but Latvia and her brother have asked her. I’m sure she would like to make a new friend,” I continued to encourage, only to have him look up at me with a defiant fire in his eyes.

“No.” His tone was so affirmative and certain that it acted as a weight on a scale that just toppled over in the back of my mind.

Placing a hand to my hip I stared down at him and put on the biggest smile I could muster.

“You know, dear nephew, that weird feeling might go away if you just go up to her.”

For a few moments his expression shifted from annoyance to intrigue to defeat and then back to annoyance. Without a word, he left my side, straightened his small shoulders, and walked with confidence over to the little girl. Her eyes went wide at first but then lit up with her bright smile as she accepted his extended hand.

Oh, to be young again…

Opportunity arose as the island queen went without a dance partner as I cut my way through the crowd and tapped her delicately on the shoulder.

Sweeping into a respectful bow with my palm coming to my heart, I extended the other hand for her acceptance. Tilting my head slightly to peer at her through my fringe, I watched her eye me with vague recognition before I gave her my most inviting smile.

“Huri of Thanatos,” she began in a light tone and accepted my hand as I rose from my bow. “My, what has it been… ten years?”

“And yet you are still as lovely as the day we met… well… we’ll just say some many years before that.” I attempted to charm her, teasing that I was one of only a few in the room that could guess her true age with accuracy. Though, she was still quite a bit younger than myself. “Might I have this next waltz?”

“For a dragon such as you, I would be a fool to deny your request.”

Gliding her to the center of the ballroom, I adjusted my height to take the male position. She was quite tall for a woman… well… mostly woman. Female regardless - full human not so much.

“I hear you have five daughters now,” I eased in, swirling us around as her ocean waved dress swam along with us.

“I do, the youngest just turned six, my rambunctious Jelena.”

“Ah, yes, that age can be fun to watch. Will you bring her to Regnum to meet Jovan’s daughter, since they are close in age?”

“Maybe one day. I don’t like to pull them from home often,” her tone then softened as her eyes seemed to lower. “I’m so sorry to hear about Aurora. If you think it would help, you both will always be welcomed in Kai and we have specialists to help ease pain…”

“Thank you, Latvia,” I interrupted before straying too far from the topic I wanted to get to. But she was so kind, and I hoped to one day repay her for past deeds of kindness. “But for now, the only thing that could potentially help her is some form of divine intervention.”

There it was - the merest hint of a shattered emotion. What I could only recognize as pity, or maybe empathy, rained down on her. The merfolk were not waiting with as much anticipation as the dragons, but I knew they were waiting just the same. And if there was anything that could rival her beauty, it was her intellect, as I knew my few words were enough to bring up the goddess.

We picked up pace, matching the tempo of the chaos running through the vibration of strings acting like coarse waves.

Shifting on her feet, Latvia brought her lips up to my ear, using her long dark brown tresses to cover her words.

“Minerva has been restless. When she would normally reside in the depths of her palace she now haunts the coasts of Kai. She’s waiting as well,” then she pulled back, as if the most confidential information was given. “Of course, the ones who would be the first to know of the return will be the dragons. But remember, just as I would do for you, old friend, I would hope you would share the shifts of the world with me.”

“Of course,” I responded with a measured pace. I did trust her and considered us friendly allies, but all information would have to be filtered carefully. It was just the way of the world.

She took a step into my space, her bright amber eyes full of playful curiosity. It was one of the aspects I admired most about her. Her charm, wit, and intelligence that rivaled my own, were what kept her nation out of strife and thriving with a robust economy. In trade negotiations she nearly always left with everything she wanted.

“Is there anything you would like to share with me now?”

Though only partially of the merfolk, her soft melodic tone was powerful. Persuasion was an art in politics, but aligned with a merfolk’s call and Latvia’s natural abilities, she could convince sailors to leap into the darkest depths of the seas.

Yet, to pull me in was an impossible feat, and she knew it. For one to fall for the Sea’s Voice they had to have weakness in their mental fortitude, as many in the world did… but I wasn’t one of them. However, for her, and only her, I could spare some information.

“Alexius died almost a decade ago and we believe both are either back or will be back in the very near future.” It was all she would get. Telling her that Alexius was still alive up until a short time ago was information reserved for only high ranking individuals in the dragon community. She had no right to it but… to maintain our companionable relationship striving, a loose lip could be afforded.

The queen’s stance went rigid in my arms, as if I just told her the sky was going to fall on our heads. Though, her eyes gave nothing of our conversation away.

I had theories that the charming and stunning Latvia could conquer entire nations with her fluid ability in negotiations and sly deceit - should she ever decide to use that skill. Yet, she kept to herself and her small island nation just because she could.

Her gaze lingered on mine, searching for something. Lies? Truth? And then a small glint flickered and her eyes fell on the stumbling children only a few feet away.

Elek, at this point, seemed to have the patience of the sea people. And gods bless him for it as I watched Serafina awkwardly step on his foot three times in the last five minutes of the waltz. Yet, he didn’t seem annoyed or angry. The young boy would just say a couple of words of reassurance - something I had never seen him extend to anyone else but his own mother, and continued to watch her with a mix of curiosity, intrigue, and analytic measure. He clearly didn’t know what to think of her.

“Them…”

Latvia’s one word lingered around us like water swirling around a colored dye until the entire pool turned in color. As always, she was as quick as ever with her sharp mind.

I didn’t speak. I didn’t need to. We both knew she came to the right answer. Just how, at the same time, we both knew that we could say nothing about it to others - for the safety of the children.

When the strings withered and music dimmed a sharp sound cracked through the air. Then came horrified screaming.

Whirling around, I saw the twins together, Celina’s face in shock with Elek’s set in disgust. Where did Serafina go?

Towards the front of the ballroom the crowd stepped back in astonishment at the scene. Regina, silver eyes ablaze, looking down in fury at the small child now lumped onto the floor.

Her cheek was stained a harsh pink as her side of her head dripped fresh blood onto the floor, pooling around her light blue dress. She didn’t cry or scream. She just looked up at the older woman with wide eyes in terror.

For a moment, my heart froze at the sight of Diana picking Serafina up and whisking her away.

Diana? No… Leena.

When I walked over to Elek to ask what had happened he shrugged his shoulders.

“That’s what happens when a bastard is treated like a princess.”

Harsh words from such a young child, and yet held nothing but truth.