Chapter Fifteen
Eight years prior…
His wings were dark enough to block out the sun, with their crimson membranes appearing as if they swallowed the sun whole as it fought to be seen.
Everything he did, saw, and listened to were meticulously stored away for later use - which became clear when Elek’s scales came in and he began speaking months before his sister. Being the holder of Alexius’ soul, I should have expected nothing less from Elek.
Though he didn’t seem to have knowledge of his past life, with me questioning him occasionally to try and spark something, his aura proved his identity. Massive, ominous, and fierce.
Then there was my delicate Celina, whose scales never showed - though at the age of two it wasn’t too late. They could still come. Some less-than full dragons didn’t acquire scales until they were three or four. So, for now, there was no need to worry.
It was Aurora that I was most concerned with. Like with many other female dragons after childbirth, she was unable to take her full form - unable to pull the energy to release those golden scales. A few times she managed wings, only to have to retract them shortly after stretching them. I wondered if we could do some form of physical therapy to regain her flight.
Just be happy she’s alive, I scolded inwardly as I sat with Aurora, watching Elek fly over the castle.
“Elek, sweetie!” Aurora called from the intricate metal table and chairs of her balcony facing the city and the mountain range of Hyperion.
Before us was a spread of fresh fruits - that I personally flew in from Regnum, and high protein and calcium filled cheeses and meats. Anything I could get my hands on for her health was obtained, no matter the cost.
The toddler black dragon fell from the sky, transforming to his human form halfway down, and landed gracefully beside his mother. Celina sat beside me, in awe at her brother, and a stain of strawberry on her lips running down her pale chin. There didn’t seem to be any resentment for his talent, though I watched her regardless in hopes she would follow her brother’s growth soon.
“I don’t like fruit,” Elek definitively remarked as his mother attempted to feed him some grapes. He spoke almost like an adult, leaving me unnerved by him at times.
“You can’t just eat meat! You need the nutrition!” Aurora fought back, still trying to push the grape past the little boy’s lips. Still, he turned his head away in defiance.
It wasn’t until Aurora’s hand visibly faltered from the strain of holding him and the grape that Elek relented and ate the small fruit. He was quite observant for a toddler, as this was not the first time I had seen him relent to his mother’s requests when he pushed her too far. Of course, we kept quiet about their mother’s weakening condition when it came to the children, but that didn’t stop Elek from taking notice anyways.
A soft sigh escaped her as she rested back into her chair and watched, contentedly, as Elek joined his sister, picking at the variety of foods.
“Where’s Marek?” I asked after the twins went into the castle play. Well… Celina played. She played with the handcrafted dollhouse I made for her. Elek sat in the library paging through books no toddler should have the mind to read.
“In Durant, I believe? He said something before he left about securing a fort that is near the borders of Demarcus, Ignatia, and Durant.”
How convenient…
Him being physically unfaithful to my sister wasn’t my concern. It was the blatant neglect of her well-being, or that of his children. There was little reason for him to go to Durant anymore. Regina had been married to Jovan of Regnum for some time now. These days, it seemed as though he left for the intention of not seeing his family.
As if reading my mind, her small, near opaque hand reached over to overlap mine.
“It’s okay, really.”
How could it be? But I didn’t fight her, I didn’t want to make her feel worse. Even though she would tell me she didn’t mind, tell me that she was happy just being a mother, I knew that she wished more than anything for Marek to love her back. And, even though I knew better, some piece of her thought he might. For a world that already held so little in hope, I didn’t want to be the villain to take that dream from her as well.
Silence continued to linger between us with one wanting to keep up a facade of happiness and normalcy while the other tried to not break down the wall between realism and fantasy - for I knew that she was more aware of her situation than what she let on. There was no reason to be cruel.
“How about I take the twins to Hyperion for a few hours and get some ice cream? I’ll bring back your favorite,” I offered when the children came to check on us, attempting to soften my features. Celina was swift to clap her hands in excitement as soon as the words ‘ice cream’ left my lips but Elek remained reserved, watching me with mild suspicion.
Her thin shoulders seemed to lower with her sigh, in defeat or relief I was unsure, but she lifted her lips lightly into a weak smile before nodding.
Elek was gifted with speed and precision. At the same age, I could never trust Aurora to not crash at such high velocities. But his control was remarkable and kept up well as I carried his sister to the dragon city.
