Chapter Twenty-Three
Two years later…
I never wanted to abandon them. I promised I never would. So… here I was, walking up to the dark, cold, castle walls. But I was not returning as the same dragon. No, I was going to put on a smile and give them as much love as she would have.
Marek was gone. To where… I couldn’t care less. The man wasn’t intelligent enough to leave a regent… until I walked into the throne room to see a discouraging sight.
Seated on Marek’s throne, with Aurora’s long gone, was thirteen-year-old Elek. He had grown in the two years of my absence. So young and yet his aura exuded in waves of a person with lived experience. I should have never left.
“What’s with the pink hair?” He asked from across the room. It wasn’t a question of amusement, more of accusation.
Pulling out a grin, I stepped closer to him while he sat and looked down into his eyes. Too much of Marek was in them, yet those golden crowns were just enough of Aurora to give me hope.
“Do you not approve of your auncle’s new hair?” Keeping my tone light, I looked around the empty room. “Why are you in your father’s chair, and with no audience?”
“Can you not tell that I’m the regent?” He was annoyed… interesting.
“Oh, how grown up of you,” I continued to tease. Someone had to balance out his sour persona.
Speaking of which…
“Where’s your sister?”
I didn’t have to look too far when a door from the back of the throne room burst open and quickened footsteps came to stand beside her brother.
If either of them were to strike my heart it would be sweet Celina. She was every bit the beauty her mother was. I was reminded of why I had been gone for so long. And just like her mother when she gave birth, Celina couldn’t fly or heal. And… she would likely die long before I or her brother would.
Her golden eyes shone brightly as she launched herself into my arms and grasped me tightly.
“Auncle Huri! You’re back!”
And I wouldn’t be leaving again.
When she pulled back and looked at my hair, her reception was much warmer than Elek’s.
“Oh! I love that color! It’s almost like the shimmer to mom’s wings.”
Without even knowing it, she hit the mark. There was one portrait that hung in Aurora’s room that I commissioned when she was married. It was to always remind her of where she came from.
She and I stood together in hybrid forms. Our wings, mine gold and hers with that slight pinkish shimmer that sparkled in the rays of the sun when she flew, poised outwards as we faced the viewer head on with soft expressions. Of course, it was the only way for Celina to know what her mother’s wings looked like. She never got to witness them in person and mine just didn’t hold the same coloration of Aurora’s.
A sharp clearing of a throat brought my attention back to Elek.
“Why are you here?”
“To come and see my dear niece and nephew of course!”
A dubious eyebrow reached for the top of his forehead.
Such a suspicious child…
Hands on my hips, I walked up to his little perch, leaned down, and grasped a bit of his cheek with my thumb and forefinger. He didn’t so much as flinch.
I’m not going to let him turn into a little asshole… over my dead body…
When he swatted at my arm and attempted to move away I only gripped tighter with a smile on my lips.
“As I said, I have come to visit my dear niece and nephew. That’s the part where you say, ‘how wonderful for you to come, Auncle Huri. Did you bring us any gifts?’ Like a normal child, I will then cheekily pretend I didn’t when in fact I have them hidden away on my person and waiting for the right time to bestow them upon you.”
Giving a slight shake with my pinched fingers, I released his reddened cheek and stepped back to Celina. At least one of them was happy to see me, even more so when her eyes grew bright at the small pink box I pulled from my pocket, the bow still neatly made.
When I motioned it towards her, she was quick to kiss my cheek and thank me before even opening it.
Lifting the lid, I was given a genuine smile as she peered at the handcrafted hairpin I had made in Kai. Iridescent shells circled a small mound of lapis, like a water flower, as thinly beaded green tendrils cascaded from the ends of the bottom shells.
“It’s stunning!” She said with excitement and looked up at me, hinting to help her put it on.
Tucking a piece from the front towards the back of her head, I clipped the pin in place. Admittedly, Celina was more partial to pastels and powdered colors. I was a bit worried that the lapis would be too bold, but seeing it on her set that worry adrift.
Looking back at Elek, I pulled out a rectangular box. He eyed me with curiosity, but would have never given me the smile or gratitude he sister had.
“I didn’t make your gift, but I think you will appreciate it all the same,” I said, handing him the deep purple box.
Inside was a freshly sharpened obsidian dagger beside an ornate sheath embedded with rubies. The blade was so black that not even the Sun’s rays seemed to reflect off it. Though, it was sleek, balanced, and was more of the return of a belonging than a gift.
“This dagger belonged to Alexius, the Black Dragon…” I paused, reminding myself to not push too much. He showed no signs of recalling his past life… not yet at least, and I couldn’t be the one to force him to remember. That would be her job. “I just figured it would suit you…”
“Thank you.” It came out more as a dismissal as he sheathed the blade and rested it on the arm of the chair, not looking up at me. Did he think that was all I came here to do? Say ‘hi’ and give gifts?
“And another thing,” because he was not going to be without my guidance any longer, “I will be moving in as of today.”
His face of disgust and annoyance was enough to cement my decision.
One day he was going to become something far more valuable to the world than just some hot-tempered king. He was to ring in a new era for the world at the Goddess’ side. Because of his birth, I may have lost my little Sun, but the triggering of Belinha’s return could save countless dragons.
And I would be there, every step of the way, to make sure he didn’t fuck it up.
