HERA’S POV
“Daciana? Oh My God! What happened to her?” I gasped, seeing her still form lying on the bed. Rushing over, I pressed my fingers to her wrist. Her pulse seemed normal.
Letting out a sigh of relief, I sat down beside her and held her hands.
“She is fine,” Adrian’s nonchalant voice sounded. “She is just a bit shocked after being carried by a dragon.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Why is she here in the first place?”
“She is on your list, right?” Desmond said, walking in through the door. “Now that the king is dead, the Lycan kingdom is not safe for her. So, I asked my men to bring her here.”
My breath hitched, and I jumped to my feet. “The Lycan King is dead?” My eyes narrowed and glared at Desmond. “If I find that you have something to do with his death….”
“He was also on your list, too, right? I have already commanded my people to not harm the ones mentioned on the list.” His eyes flashed with something and he continued in a hurt voice, “We were at Stella’s place when he was killed.”
I chewed my lower lip, realizing that my accusation was baseless. Killing The Lycan King was in no way useful to our plan.
Drawing in a deep breath, I took a step towards Desmond. “I… I am sorry… I didn’t mean to accuse you. It is just that….” My voice trailed off. My mind blanked out, making me forget what I wanted to say.
He walked over and squeezed my shoulders. “I understand, Hera.”
“What about Justin?” I snapped with a sharp intake of breath. “If the Lycan King is dead, won’t they target him?”
“Not if they don’t know about his identity.” He patted my shoulder. “Rumor has is that Boris Lowel will take over the throne.”
“That is good, then.” I let out the breath I was holding. “For a moment, I felt like I had sent him away to his death instead of protecting him.”
“I can’t promise not to attack the Moonmist Pack or The Lycan Kingdom. Attacking these packs and eliminating power points is vital to our plan.” His fierce gaze bore through mine. “But, I can promise that I will keep Justin alive and safe. So, don’t worry too much.” He pulled me into a half hug and held me for a moment before walking away.
“What was that?” I muttered. “Why did he hug me all of a sudden?”
“How do I know?” Adrian snapped. “Nobody can say what he is thinking.” He shrugged. “You shouldn’t think too much about it.”
“You are right. It must just have been a reflex.” Turning my gaze to Daciana, I continued. “How long until she wakes up?”
“We have given her stabilisers. She will wake up by tomorrow morning.”
“Can I make a request?”
“Hmm…”
“Will you look after her while we are away? Today is the full moon night and we need to meet Stella for the ritual.”
His lips pressed into a thin line and his gaze shifted from me to Daciana. “Fine, but you owe me one.”
“Deal.” I held out my hand, and he shook it a bit too eagerly. The glint in his eyes hadn’t escaped my notice, either. I was probably going to regret this, but I had no other choice.
My gaze lingered on Daciana for a moment before I walked out of the room. My mind drifted to Justin as I walked along the corridor. He must be shattered knowing that his father died before he could even meet him once.
A long, suffering sigh left my lips. As far as he was safe, he would find a way to deal with everything.
***
“Just so you know, I am doing this only to save Dreki’s life.” Stella said in a crude tone. “I am not going to revive him unless you agree to set him free.”
She twirled the ring between her fingers. “Once you free him, you won’t be able to use magic until you have found another familiar. The choice is yours; Dreki’s life or magic.”
Drawing in a deep breath, I nodded. “I understand, Stella. Please proceed with the ritual.”
“Are you sure?” Desmond said, holding my hand. “It is not too late to step back. If you set Dreki free, you can’t use magic. You will lose the edge you have over other creatures.”
“I know Desmond, and I am willing to bear the consequences.”
His lips parted as if he were about to say something, but then he just nodded and stepped back. Stella led me to the center of the circle, illuminated by candles.
Placing the ring on a raised structure, she slit her palm, bathing the ring with a few drops of her blood. She grabbed my palm and made a long gash across my skin. My palms healed before blood could drip. So, she had to make a deeper gash the second time.
Once my bond with Dreki was broken, I wouldn’t be able to heal so quickly. Desmond was right. I would lose my edge over others if I lost the ability to do magic, but I had to revive Dreki. It was my fault that he lost his human form in the first place.
Stella held the moonstone over the ring and started chanting a spell in some language that I didn’t understand. The moon light got focused on the right through the stone.
The ring started glowing with a yellow light. At first it was a soft sheen, but as Stella continued chanting the spell, the glow brightened. There came a time when the glow became so blinding that I had to close my eyes.
I could sense the strain in Stella’s voice as she continued with the incantations. I sat there holding my breath, waiting in apprehension.
Sweat trickled down my neck as the surrounding region started getting heated. There was a sudden flare, and I was thrown back by the impact.
I crashed against something hard and I was plunged into a sea of deep silence. Drawing in a deep breath, I cracked open my eyes slowly. Through my hazy vision, I caught a glimpse of a silhouette.
It was only when my vision cleared that I realised it was Dreki. The spell had worked. With a soft gasp, I got to my feet. But, before I could take even a step towards Dreki, I was dragged to the ground by a force.
“Where do you think you are going?” Stella’s sharp voice sounded. “Did you forget your promise already?”
“I didn’t, I just wanted to….”
“You can meet him only after you have set him free.” Stella interrupted in a dead tone before I could complete my sentence.
I let out a long, deep sigh and shrugged in defeat. “Let us get this over with first.”
I crawled over to Stella and held out my hand. Clasping it firmly, she chanted the spell to break the bond between us. A soft wave of dark energy seeped into my skin and spread to every pore in my body.
I felt like someone was sucking all the energy out of my body. Slowly, drop by drop, all the magic in my body was drained. A deep sense of void filled me and I was plunged into a sea of darkness.
I swooned and thud! Crashed into something solid. I became vaguely aware of someone carrying me in their arms. Then everything blanked out.
***
When I woke up, I found Dreki sitting by my side. Tears welled in his eyes and he spoke in a voice laced with pain. “Why did you do this, Hera? Why did you agree to break the bond between us just to revive me?” His voice became choked with emotions. “I was happy with being just an object the rest of my life.”
I smiled through the tears rolling down my cheeks. Ruffling his hair gently, I let out a deep sigh, “I made a promise to myself the day I turned you into my familiar; resolving to set you free the day I had killed Lord Andres and Alpha Azarel. It was my selfishness that kept me from freeing you. I am glad that Stella forced me to do this.”
“But…. You won’t be able to do magic now….”
I sat up straight on my bed and leaned against the headrest. “I don’t really mind that, Dreki. I am content as long as you are okay.”
His eyes lit up with a grim determination. “Don’t worry, Hera. Just give me some time. I will find a way to help you do magic again.”
I grasped his arms and looked into his eyes. “I have a request, Dreki. There is something that only you can do.”
His eyes glazed over with sincerity. “I… I will do everything you say, Hera. In my heart, you will always remain my master. Say the word and it will be done.”
“I will be away for a long time, Dreki. You are the only one who can keep her safe.” I held his hand and urged in a pleading voice, “Promise me that you will protect her.”
“You don’t need to tell me that, Hera. She will always be my priority. I will shatter the earth and burn the world to the ground if anyone so much as tries to harm a single hair of hers.”
“I will remain indebted to you ….”
“Hera?” Desmond’s voice sounded, interrupting our conversation. He walked inside, his gaze raking all over me. “Are you feeling better now?”
“I am fine….”
“Then we should leave. Things are getting pretty heated up out there.”
My gaze lingered on Dreki for a moment before we sauntered out of the room.
“Did you try it?” Desmond’s said in a worried tone as we walked to the open ledge.
“Huh?”
“Did you try using magic?” He reiterated, holding my hand to make me stop. “Have you really lost your ability to do magic?”
I raised my palm and tried to create a small flame. “There is nothing Desmond. I can’t feel that swirling pool of energy around me. It is like my connection to the source is severed.”
He grabbed me by my arms, forcing me to look dead into his eyes. “You have too many enemies, Hera. So, you have to make sure nobody else knows about this. You can still use magic, am I clear?”
My heart skipped a beat as the gravity of what he had said hit me. Once they figured out I couldn’t do magic, they would all start targeting me.
“Don’t worry. I will do my best to keep your secret.” Desmond’s voice rang with a promise. There was something about his expression that was undecipherable. Before I could ask him anything else, he shifted to his dragon form.
I climbed onto his back and we soared high into the sky. This time I couldn’t enjoy the thrill of lashing winds and the pleasant sights.
I had to hold on to his neck firmly as he swerved and glided through the sky. My heart jumped to my throat and my stomach clenched with a queasy sensation. I could now understand why Daciana was so traumatised after being carried by a dragon.
When we reached Mount Vitus, Adrian was pacing up and down the corridor. The moment his gaze landed on me, he spoke. “We found out the one who killed the Lycan King.”
“Who was it?”
“It is… umm… It is Justin’s father, Alpha Hades.”
“F***! That is way more twisted than I had thought.” Desmond commented as he turned to face me. “What should we do with Daciana now? Should we send her back to The Lycan Palace or?”
“I think we should let her stay here. Alpha Hades might try to kill her too… She is probably the safest here.” Massaging the back of my neck, I asked in a hesitant voice, “Do you have any news about Justin?”
There was a long pause. Adrian’s gaze drifted to Desmond, and they held their gazes as if engaged in a silent battle. In the end, Adrian sighed and spoke. “Justin is probably tired of everything. He didn’t even go to meet The Lycan King rather, he went to an old cottage where lonely women and orphans stay.”
“He must have gone to visit his mother.” Angling my body towards Desmond, I said in a pleading voice. “Is it possible for your men to keep a watch on that cottage and inform me if he leaves?”
“Sure, I will tell them to keep Justin and his mother safe.” Desmond said, as he wrapped his arm around me. It felt a bit awkward, but I didn’t shrug it off. It was probably just a friendly gesture.
“Thank you so much, Desmond.” I smiled at him gratefully. “I don’t know what I would have done without you.”
“You must be tired.” He patted my shoulder gently and stepped away. “Go and rest. I will take care of everything here.”
For the first time since I met Desmond, I felt like I could trust him. He knew such a huge secret of mine. If he wanted to harm me, all he had to do was tell everyone about it. But he didn’t. Instead, he told me to keep it a secret.
Justin was probably right. I had to take off my glasses of prejudice. I had to do what was best for the entire world rather than getting consumed in my petty revenge…