A huge brick of nausea slides into my stomach and I tell myself to think about this reasonably. Even Lenin and Jetli aren’t saying anything, they just stare at my aunt with their jaws wide open.
Moments later she continues with her story.
“The doctor told us they didn’t understand how you were still alive. Your injuries were critical and half of your body was badly burned. You needed multiple surgeries, and they needed us to make a decision.”
My aunt and uncle covered hospital bills eleven years ago, and they reminded me about it every other day since I started living with them. Someone must have found me after my magic turned against me. The mage vanished, convinced I was dead.
“What else did this shifter say? I don’t know, I just find this whole thing too convenient. You must know something about my other family?” I ask, shaking my head.
My throat’s dry and I can really do with a strong drink right about now.
“You had to be in the hospital for several weeks, Richard thought that you weren’t going to make it,” my aunt states, like she’s wishing that I’d died back then “And then you came home and all the neighbours started talking. We were forced to make up this story about the accident. That man who called must have been watching the house. We were afraid for our lives and Richard insisted we follow his orders.”
I get up abruptly and my aunt flinches. I suddenly need some air, dragging my hand through my hair. My aunt watches me as I pace around her living room, trying to put all the pieces from the past together. It looks like they were forced to take care of me, they didn’t do it from the kindness of their heart.
“I need to find out where my parents used to live. I know they moved to Rivenna just before they were killed,” I say, pushing away the pain and confusion. There’s no point hating my aunt right now; I need to move forward.
“I don’t know why I’m even telling you this after you barged in here and threatened me. After everything your uncle and I have done for you,” my aunt adds. Lenin hisses at her and Jetli sprinkles her Pixie dust. Then my aunt continues. “Recently, I’ve been doing some cleaning in the attic and found an old letter my mother sent me from Samara. She gave me the address of your parents and told me to pay them a visit. Obviously I never did, because Richard started this new job and he had a reputation to maintain.”
“Just give her the address. You’ve said enough,” Emilia snaps, probably irritated it’s taking my aunt so long to tell me the truth.
“Fine,” my aunt snaps back, rising from her chair, leaving the room. Her heavy footsteps can be heard in the corridor and all the way up the stairs. I exhale sharply, feeling confused and angry with myself.
Emilia gets up too.
“You should’ve never been grateful to this woman, Astri. She’s a bitter and sad human being. If she would’ve been given a choice back then, she would’ve never taken you in,” Emilia says. “It looks like your family history is very much complicated. Someone saved you that day–someone who might be a Wyvern too.”
“Yes, he forced her to take care of me and make up lies about my parents death for a reason. He must be a member of my clan or family,” I agree with her, suddenly remembering every time I cried in this house, and every nightmare that woke me up in the middle of the night. Living without knowing what really happened to my parents–with relatives who treated me like dirt wasn’t easy, but I managed to survive.
Those experiences turned me into a better person.
“A member of your family must have realised you were still alive He must have known whoever was targeting you would come back to kill you, and he placed you with your human aunt and uncle in order to hide and protect you,” Emilia says, sounding emotional. She truly cares about me and she’s most likely in shock to learn someone was so determined to protect me.
“Astri’s dragon is strong and fierce. Other mages might be afraid of her,” Lenin points out, helping himself to some chocolate my aunt left on the table. In some ways, what Lenin says is true. My abilities are advanced and my dragon scares others–mages have always felt intimidated by Wyverns.
Then my aunt comes back holding an old, stained envelope with the same dark look on her face. It seems like she lost at least a few pounds when she went upstairs–she looks haggard.
“I’ll give you this, but I don’t want to see you in this house ever again. We’ve done enough in our lifetime to help you,” she snaps and I grab the paper. Emilia gives her one of her brightest smiles and puts her red coat on when my aunt adds. “You should be grateful to us you’re still alive. We’ve done a lot for you.”
“Only because you were scared of losing everything. Don’t pat yourself on the back,” I snap and head to the door after Emilia. A second later I turn around. “Goodbye aunt. I regret I had to come here. It wasn’t a pleasant experience.”
My inner dragon fire spreads deep into my bones and I tell myself to calm down. Beatrice is bitter and she’s never going to change. I guess I should be lucky to be alive. For eleven years, no one in the entire Eastern World knew there was another Wyvern living in the city of Rivenna, but I’m not thanking them for anything.
We step outside the house and my aunt slams the door behind us. The clouds are letting the sun out and I take a few deep breaths, trying to ease my pounding heart. I glance at the address, clearly written on the front of the envelope.
“It’s on the other side of the city,” I tell Emilia.
“Everything she told you makes sense. When you took part in the contest, word spread that a Wyvern creature had indeed been living in Rivenna. Someone must have panicked and that’s why the young, shifter girl was murdered,” Emilia contemplates and then hugs me. Maybe I’m truly the only dragon left in my clan and I’m sure I made a terrible mistake blaming Jorgen for the scar and my parents’ death. I don’t know how I’m going to look him in the eye and explain I had a chance to prevent Bratlav from ripping his dragon away. He’s only ever been kind to me…
Tears force their way to my eyes when Emilia pulls away from me. She smiles at me and I say:
“I need to find out if there’s anything at that address. Maybe some of their old neighbours remember them.”
The mage who killed Anna at the station’s not going to stop until I’m dead. I try to put all those pieces together in my head, but there’s too many inconsistencies–too many loose ends.
I don’t believe I’m that important, but the Wyvern line’s been dying slowly over the past one hundred years. Emilia brings her arm around me, silently telling me she’s here for me. I want to remember how I used to spend time with my mother and father, but my mind’s empty of those specific memories. I hate not knowing how it was to be loved by them. The mage took that significant piece of time from me. How? I have no idea.
Even when I try really hard to remember what happened all those years ago, I only remember the pain. And when I dream it’s never about the past before I was scarred, it’s as if my subconscious is only able to hold on to the bad memories–unable to retain any good memories I have of the years before. There’s no point in feeling sorry for myself. I’m strong and I’ll keep going until I get to the truth. I need to find the real mage who hurt me and killed my parents–then destroy him for trying to hunt me down and killing innocents.
Emilia suggests we should take a taxi, as the address on the envelope appears to be on the other side of the city. It’s too far to walk. She knows the city of Rivenna better than I do.
The taxis in the city are mostly driven by humans and a few drivers blatantly ignore us when we try to stop them. It’s Emilia’s colourful tunic; most of the humans can sense Emilia isn’t one of them.
Eventually we manage to slip inside one and give the driver the address. He’s a middle-aged human who keeps glancing nervously at Emilia from his front mirror, like he regrets he stopped to pick us up.
Twenty minutes later, I settle the bill with rekkish notes, the currency of Rivenna, and we get out at an unfamiliar location.
>
I hope my aunt didn’t lie about the envelope. In the taxi, I briefly read the letter her mother sent to her. Aunt Paloma wasn’t a huge fan of my mother either, but at least she wasn’t bashing her in any way.
I look around, shocked my parents chose a human populated neighbourhood. There are humble terrace houses running along the road and I feel terrible I don’t remember anything from the time when I used to live here. It’s a spell that put some kind of barrier in my mind–I was ten. I should recall at least some memories from when my parents were still alive.
“Are you sure this is the right place?” I ask Emilia, as panic settles inside my stomach. Maybe my aunt lied about the fire too, and their things are in storage somewhere in the city.
“It is Astri. I’m surprised your parents relocated here. Shifters and mages tend not to live around here. Mostly humans,” Emilia says, and I nod while Lenin and Jetli fly around.
“It’s number fifty-five,” I inform her and we continue to walk, passing houses while cars speed down the road.
I don’t recognise the road or the people, but something inside tells me this used to be my home. I can’t believe I used to live half an hour away from here. This whole secret still baffles me.
“Fifty-three, fifty-four and fifty-five,” Lenin counts as we stop in front of the terrace house that’s at least ten times smaller than the mansion where my aunt and uncle live. The house looks like it’s just been renovated and there’s no sign of fire damage anywhere. Tension riddles through my body as I try stay positive. A lot has happened over the past few days and I need to retain my sanity. It’s going to take some time to get to the bottom of everything that’s happened in the past.
“This is very anticlimactic, shall we knock or use magic to read the humans inside?” Emilia asks, taking her magic wand from her bag.
“No, I don’t want to hurt anyone. Let’s just knock and see what we can find out,” I suggest, but my stomach’s in knots. I’m so nervous and anxious. I squeeze my finger around my bow, trying really hard to remember something, anything, but the blackness in my mind remains–it’s a worthless effort.
I knock and we all wait. For a while, we think there’s no one in the house, but eventually a young human woman opens the door. She looks nothing like my mother, and I feel stupid such a silly thought even entered my mind. My mother’s been dead for eleven years.
“May I help you?” she asks.
“We’re very sorry to bother you, but we’re looking to find out how long you’ve lived here. I was told this was my parents’ home around eleven years ago,” I say, forcing myself to sound normal, but my voice vibrates with emotion.
She stares at Emilia for longer than she should and then smiles. It looks like she has no idea we aren’t human.
“I’ve lived here for around nine years. My husband I bought the house on auction. There was a fire that nearly destroyed the entire house and we renovated it.”
Chapter 16
Hans.
“Don’t worry Astri, now you know more than you knew yesterday. You shouldn’t be feeling down about it,” Emilia tells me when we’re in the taxi, heading back to her shop. “You’ll get to the truth in your own time.”
I nod, knowing Emilia’s trying to make me feel better. My aunt was right about the fire, but I still can’t believe everything that ever belonged to my parents has been destroyed. During one of the tasks, I had to trade my mother’s necklace for protective crystals. I, along with the other contestants entered the Shadow Cave occupied by trolls, hunting for special crystals. One of the trolls, Poppius brought me in front of his boss, who was ready to cut my limbs off. I gave up my mother’s precious necklace in order to live, but on my way back, Sebastian, one of the contestants, stole my red crystal while my foot was trapped between a pile of rocks.
My heart shattered that day, and I promised myself that at some point, I would get the necklace back. It was the only photograph I had of my mother–now it’s gone.
Lenin and Jetli are sitting in the front seat, messing with the radio annoying the taxi driver. He sets it on what seems to be his favourite station and Lenin keeps pressing all the buttons, switching up the stations over and over–he doesn’t know how to behave. I’d scold him if I could, but I’d look like I was talking to myself. I’m so glad humans aren’t able to see my Pixies, it mean less trouble for me.
“I know, I’ll be more positive. Thank you for coming with me. I don’t think I could’ve gone to see her alone,” I admit, yet again thinking about the mage or a Wyvern shifter who brought me to the hospital. There’s so many questions tangling within my mind; such as, why he vanished straight after rescuing me and why he never tried to contact me again? Was he running too?
Emilia interrupts my train of thought, telling me we’ve arrived in Conton. I settle the bill with the driver and Emilia offers to make me a strong cup of tea. As soon as we enter the shop, I know I can’t stay. Marianna’s swamped with customers, and there’s a long queue outside the shop.
“Do you want me to stay and help out. You guys are busy.” I ask.
“No, no. I’ll have it under control in a sec. Go back to the castle,” Emilia tells me, kissing me on the cheek.
There isn’t any point arguing with her, as a result I head over to the castle on foot with my Pixies. My thoughts wonder off to the poor maid who died earlier on. I can’t imagine what her daughter must be going through right now. She lost her mother, and in a way I feel responsible, because she was innocent–only trying to protect her family.
Lenin’s complaining he’s starving, and I shake my head and tell him we’ll head to the dining room once we get inside the castle. My own stomach’s rumbling too, but I’m too stressed out to eat anything right now.
I walk inside the gate, and through the main corridor, spotting Thayer. It looks like he’s been waiting for me.
“Astri. What’s wrong? You seem upset,” he asks and I wonder how he can read me so well. “The duke would like to see you in the conference room. I saw you approaching from the main tower.”
I give him a weak smile, knowing he can sense my magic is affected by everything that happened earlier. On top of that, I’m worried, knowing I hurt Jorgen, who’s innocent and for weeks he’s shown me how much he truly cares about me.
“Oh it’s nothing. Don’t worry I just have a lot going on right now. I better go. See you later,” I say, feeling bad I’m dismissing him in such a manner, but Thayer has no idea why I entered the duke’s contest in the first place.
I feel him watching me until I disappear up the stairs, and my Pixies wonder off to the kitchen as I head over to see Jorgen. It’s good to see him working behind his desk for a change after he hid in his chamber for weeks.
I guarantee Lucas already filled him in on everything that happened at the station.
“Please sit down, Astri. I heard about the maid. Are you all right?” he asks, staring at me with his intense gaze.
The heat’s back, but much softer than before and my heart’s beating steadily in my chest. These damn hormones are only reminding me how attracted I am to him. The fact Jorgen’s older and much more experienced in life doesn’t seem to stop me from developing feelings for him.
“I’m fine, just drained and discouraged I guess. What is it that you wanted to discuss with me?” I ask, sitting in front of his giant desk and folding my arms over my chest. Prickles of energy are wrapping around my legs, and I wish I could forget about the world dividing us.
“Yes, I’ve been thinking about your training. I appointed you as my assistant, but so far I haven’t supported you in any way. On the contrary, you’ve been helping me instead,” he says with a heavy voice.
Jorgen feels guilty and I see it in his eyes, and it just makes me feel worse about what I’ve done.
“I understand, it’s been tough after you know–”
A loud bang at the door interrupts me and I don’t finish what I want to say because Falcon walks into the room. His expression
darkens when he see me. His eyes glimmer under his thick lashes, and his indifference is suddenly replaced by a cold, calculated look filled with mistrust.
“Your father, my lord,” he simply says, then vanishes before Jorgen can respond. Jorgen stands up and a few minutes later to my utter disbelief, Hans walks inside the room. He looks extremely well, and there’s no signs of illness. Everyone in the castle believed he wasn’t going to make it. The dragon’s cup worked–his progression is remarkable.
“Father, what a splendid surprise. Derek mentioned you might be up and about today,” Jorgen says, moving around the desk. He’s the spitting image of his father. I’ve heard many unbelievable legends about Hans going around the Eastern World for many years.
“I wanted to meet the Wyvern shifter who saved my life with the dragon cup. You promised to bring her to my chamber, Jorgen,” Hans says smiling at me. I want to smile, but for some reason I can’t move–I’m stunned, finally meeting the man who’s done so much for Rivenna.
I manage to stand up and bow in front of him, my inner beast is drawing static energy from Hans. My cheeks sting slightly, and I tell myself it’s normal. There’s a powerful mage standing in front of me.
“My Lord, it’s such an honour to meet you,” I say, and he shakes my hand.
“No it’s an honour to finally see you, my dear. I couldn’t believe it, when Thayer mentioned my son’s assistant is a Wyvern, let alone a female. Where have you been hiding all these years? I spent many months trying to track your dragons without success. I sincerely apologise for interrupting your meeting, but we must make time to get to know one another,” Hans says and after the day I’ve had, his words inject me with hope. At the same time, damning guilt fills my heart. Hans wanted to protect the Wyvern line and he would never allow Jorgen to hurt my parents–further confirming his innocence and what I’ve known in my heart since the night of the celebration. How can I ever make amends–make everything right again and Jorgen whole? Oh Hommis, please forgive me.