“Rose,” he choked, still looking at me as though I might be an illusion. He held me in a bear hug as I wept tears of joy and relief onto his shoulder. I kissed his cheeks as he cradled the back of my head in his hand.
“Dad! Oh, God. I was so worried about you.”
“Worried about me? Do you have any idea of the agony your mother and I have been in?”
“The black witches didn’t come for you?”
“No. At least, not yet. But… What the hell happened to you, my darling?”
“I can’t explain now. I—”
I stopped short as I caught sight of my mother over my father’s shoulder. She had the same stunned look on her face.
“Rose?” she croaked.
“Mom!”
My father let me down as my mother approached and threw herself at me. I almost tripped from the force of her embrace. “Rose! My baby!” She began to sob hysterically against my shoulder. My own tears fell afresh as we showered each other’s faces with kisses. She cupped my face in her hands, then ran her fingers through my hair as she looked me over, as if looking for any part of me that might be broken or injured. “What happened to you?”
My parents’ eyes fixed on Caleb.
I stepped away from them and grabbed Caleb’s hand as I stood next to him.
“Mom, Dad… Everything you thought you knew about this man, you were wrong about. I don’t have time to explain everything now—it would take hours—but you just need to trust me when I say you both owe Caleb your very lives, as well as my life, several times over.” They both began to speak at once but I cut them off. “You need to listen to me. This island is in serious danger. I’ve brought home a dragon.”
That stunned them both into silence.
“What?” my father spat.
“A dragon is waiting at the Port. He thinks he owns me, and won’t leave without me. If I want to stay on this island, we’re going to have to kill him.”
“How—” my mom gasped.
“Again, no time. We have less than fifteen minutes before the beast starts going on a rampage and burns this whole island down. I need you to take me to Mona.”
A silence followed.
“Mona isn’t here,” my dad said.
“What?” Caleb and I exclaimed at once.
“That’s also a long story,” my mom said, her face growing paler by the moment. “But she left.”
“Oh, Lord.” I clutched my forehead. The spell of night was still upon the island, as I assumed was some kind of protective spell. “So the other witches are keeping up security? We still have them, right?”
“Protection of sorts,” my father said grimly. “Not nearly as strong as Mona’s. And we’re missing Patricia, Ibrahim and Corrine. Otherwise, the others remain with us.”
We’re without all of our most powerful witches.
Although I was burning to know what had happened to those three witches too, again, there was no time. I gulped.
My father took the lead from here. “We’ll gather all the witches we have, as well as all vampires and werewolves brave enough to attempt to fight off a dragon,” he said as he helped me onto his back.
I cast my eyes back at Caleb and beckoned him to follow us as we all went racing into the woods.
“Do you know anything about dragons?” I asked as we ran.
My mother shook her head. “I didn’t even know they existed,” she said.
“I’ve never been sure if they were fact or myth,” my father said, his eyes focused straight ahead of us.
“Caleb?” I looked over my father’s shoulder toward him.
“I’ve never encountered one before face to face,” Caleb said, looking at me seriously. “But I’ve heard a thing or two about them. Their hide is virtually impenetrable even by a witch’s curse. The only vulnerable parts of their body are their nostrils and eyes. But the former are hard to get to—their nostrils close when in combat. Really, their eyes are the way to injure them. To end one, the penetration into the eye socket would have to be forceful enough to enter their brain.”
My mouth went dry. The dragons’ eyes were tiny compared to the rest of their bodies. How does one even reach their eyeballs without first being burned alive by their fire?
“So we’ll keep instructions simple,” my father grunted. “Focus on the eyes.”
We passed the next five minutes hurtling around the island and shouting for as many witches, vampires and werewolves who were around. Familiar faces stared at me in a similar fashion as my parents had, as though they couldn’t believe their eyes, but then relief washed over them. Aiden in particular insisted on running up to me and hugging me before passing me back to my father. By the time ten minutes had passed, among the other vampires we’d gathered were Claudia, Yuri, Zinnia, Gavin, Eli, Matteo, Helina, Landis, Ashley… We also had a dozen witches and a generous crowd of werewolves—although, since it was daytime outside The Shade, they weren’t in their wolf form.
I wondered where Kiev, Xavier and Vivienne were—why they weren’t among the crowd. I also wondered how my brother had been keeping all this time, but I didn’t want to distract my parents at this moment. We all needed to focus on the task at hand.
Most of our army still had no idea why we were gathering them, until my father and mother began shouting instructions as we raced through the trees. We made one last stop before arriving at the Port—The Shade’s armory. Everyone gathered weapons—mostly long spears and guns. My forehead was dripping sweat by the time the last of the crowd grabbed their weapons and we headed straight for the Port. I was sure that we were already pushing the time limit.
A deafening roar piercing through the air confirmed that for me.
“We need to hurry!” I urged, tugging on my father’s cloak.
“Sofia,” my father called, lowering me to the ground as The Shade’s warriors began hurrying away toward the Port. “Stay here with Rose. We don’t want her anywhere near the beast.”
My mother gripped my arms as my father ran into the woods after the army.
A spear in his hand and some kind of sharp hook resting over his shoulder, Caleb cast one last, lingering glance at me. “Remember what I told you earlier,” he said softly before racing after my father.
I choked up as I stared at two of the most important people in my life, disappearing into the darkness.
I motioned to run after them, but my mom gripped my midriff and held me back. “You heard what your father said,” she said sternly.
“Mom,” I said, clutching her shoulders, “it’s all my fault that the dragon is here and our people are risking their lives for it. I want to at least be there to witness what happens.”
She ran a palm over my forehead, then sighed. “Okay. We’ll watch from a distance.” Her lack of resistance showed that her stomach was also in knots about what was about to happen.
I climbed onto her back and she ran into the forest. She stopped once we reached the borders of the clearing just in front of the Port and we ducked down in the bushes. She shuddered as we both laid eyes on the dragon.
“If that thing comes within a hundred feet of us,” she murmured, “I’m dragging you away from here.”
“Okay… Charis is his name, by the way.”
She shot me a bemused look before fixing her eyes back on the beast.
Our army hadn’t entered the clearing yet, but I noticed their shadows moving around in the bushes surrounding the Port as they observed Charis. Several harrowing moments passed before my father darted out from the trees, a spear in one hand, a gun in the other, and the rest of the army followed closely after him.
The dragon let out a deafening roar, and the minutes that followed next were sheer chaos.
A blaze of fire shot from his mouth and would have burned the warriors leading the attack to ashes had the witches not manifested a wall of water to extinguish it. As the dragon continued to spit fire, it soon became clear that this would likely be the most useful thing the witches could do
—focus on dispelling the flames while the others attempted to get within shooting distance of his eyes.
By now, I could barely see what was going on with all the smoke choking the area.
“They’ve got to end him before he launches into the sky,” I said, coughing.
No sooner had I said the words than there was another roar and I could make out the outline of Charis’s wings spreading. With three mighty beats, he launched into the sky.
“Give up the girl now,” he boomed down from above, “and I might still spare your island.”
My mom began to clutch me so hard it hurt.
We both stared up at the sky through the gaps in the trees. I was expecting to be met with a terrifying sight, but what I saw nearly gave me a heart attack.
Hanging beneath the belly of the dragon was Caleb. He was holding onto a hook wedged into Charis’ hide, which was so thick the dragon hadn’t even noticed.
“Oh, my.” My mother covered her mouth with her hands.
I watched in horror as Caleb swung himself up the side of the dragon and, gripping his scales, climbed up onto his back. It wasn’t until Caleb reached the back of his neck and attempted to spear the beast in the eye that Charis noticed. I screamed as Caleb missed his mark by what looked like a fraction. The dragon lurched downward and jerked around wildly in the sky, trying to fling Caleb from his back.
Caleb’s spear fell to the ground. Now the only weapon he had against the monster was his claws.
Charis twisted his head back over his shoulder and heaved a blaze of fire. If Caleb hadn’t quickly leapt on top of the creature’s head, he would have been scorched. But as Charis began shaking his head violently, it was clear that it was only a matter of seconds before Caleb lost his grip and hurtled down to the ground.
Taking advantage of my mother’s shock, I burst out from the bushes and bellowed up at the dragon.
“Hey, you brute. Down here!”
All eyes shot toward me. My father yelled and my mother screamed.
Yes, it was a stupid, reckless thing to do—but they didn’t realize that I was the only thing that would call Charis back to the ground, which was what we needed if we were to have any chance of ending it.
As Charis dove toward me, a dozen vampires and werewolves hurtled toward him at once, their weapons raised. Still perched on the dragon’s head, Caleb inched closer to his eyes. Now that the dragon’s entire focus was on me, he seemed to have momentarily forgotten about the vampire hanging from his head.
My mother’s arms closed around me, dragging me back into the bushes as my father yelled, “Caleb!”
He tossed another spear toward Caleb, which Caleb caught at the last moment. Driving the spear downward, this time, Caleb hit his mark. The sharp tip pierced through Charis’ small eye, causing him to let out a piercing shriek as he fell onto his back and began writhing on the ground.
My eyes shot toward Caleb, who landed several feet away on the ground.
As the army closed in around the dragon to end him once and for all, Charis spread his wings and launched into the sky again. I half expected him to lunge toward my direction again, but instead, his flight unsteady in the sky, he flew toward the sea.
“No,” Caleb shouted, running after it.
But it was too late. The staggering dragon had reached the beach and was fast traveling toward the boundary. We all stared after him as he was soon just a speck in the sky. He could have been mistaken for a large bird in the distance.
Now that the danger had passed, my mother allowed me to run out from the bushes again. I leapt into Caleb’s arms, wrapping my legs around his waist and holding him in a tight embrace.
“You did it!”
I was expecting him to look at least somewhat triumphant, but instead he was just scowling. “I didn’t. It got away. I should have killed it, but clearly I didn’t apply enough pressure.”
“I doubt Charis will come back with that injury,” I said.
“Maybe not Charis… but if he makes it back to his realm, this island could have just made another whole horde of unwanted enemies.”
Chapter 37: Rose
Although Caleb’s words worried me, I was too exhausted to think about them much. I was just relieved to be back here on the island with him and my family.
A crowd gathered around Caleb and me, my parents at the forefront. I looked my father straight in the eye as Caleb lowered me to the ground.
“I think my boyfriend has earned his place on this island now, wouldn’t you agree?”
I ignored the way my father’s eyes widened as I referred to him as my boyfriend. I was too proud of Caleb to feel shy.
My father still looked uncertain as he eyed Caleb, but I was relieved when he said, “I’ve been wrong about people in the past. I look forward to a full explanation.”
I squeezed Caleb’s hand and was about to suggest that we return to the apartment and give him just that when a voice called out from behind us.
“Hey! We could use some help!”
The crowd parted as everyone turned around to see who it was.
Standing by the Port was Mona, an arm wrapped around Kiev’s waist, with Erik on the other side supporting him. Two figures lay on the ground—Corrine and Ibrahim—while Abby was standing nearby, calling and waving us over. We all hurried toward them and as we drew nearer, I was shocked to see that Kiev was missing an arm.
Helina reached them first and threw her arms around Kiev’s neck. “What happened to you?”
He looked so sick and pale, as though he might collapse at any moment.
“Corrine and Ibrahim…” my mother said, as she bent down to their unconscious forms. “How?”
Mona shook her head wearily. “Later. My man needs to lie down.”
“Your house is a wreck,” Helina said, still looking distraught at the state of her brother. “We should take him to one of the spare mountain cabins.”
Without another word, Mona vanished from the spot with Kiev, Helina and Erik.
My mother picked up Corrine, while my father lifted Ibrahim, and they hurried toward the direction of the Sanctuary. Caleb and I followed them, along with Abby and most of the crowd.
“Where’s Patricia?” my father asked Abby as we ran.
“She didn’t make it,” Abby croaked.
A mournful silence fell among us—a silence that lasted until we reached the witches’ temple. My parents laid Corrine and Ibrahim down in their bed. I still had no idea where Mona, Kiev and the others had even gone, so to hear that Patricia had passed away left me shocked and doubly bewildered.
A handful of witches gathered around the bed and began treating the couple. After five minutes, they turned to everyone present in the room and requested us to leave and give them some space.
I looped my arm through Caleb’s as we walked out the room, following closely behind my parents.
I supposed it was just as well Mona had arrived when she had. They’d obviously been through the mill. I doubted they would have appreciated Charis as a welcome-home surprise.
My parents pulled us aside as we entered the courtyard. My father’s intense blue eyes travelled from my face to Caleb’s.
“Let’s go home,” he said softly. “I’d like to learn more about your boyfriend.”
Chapter 38: Vivienne
I stared down at the two vertical lines, barely daring to believe my eyes. I ran out of the bathroom and into the bedroom next door. Xavier was relaxing in bed, leaning against the headboard and reading a book. He looked up at me.
“C-can you… take a look at this?”
He leapt from the bed and closed the distance between us.
“That’s… two lines, right?” I stammered, handing him the test stick.
A broad smile split his face and his eyes lit up. “Yes, baby. Two lines.”
“I should do another test to be sure,” I said quickly, afraid to raise my hopes after just one test.
He lowered to his knees before me. Raisin
g my blouse, he pressed his lips against my navel.
“You’ve had bad cramps the last few days,” he murmured.
“Yes, but—”
“Your period is late.”
“Well, it could just be—”
“It could just be that you’re pregnant.” He stood up, a huge grin still on his face as he looked down at me.
I was still afraid to accept the idea. Afraid of the disappointment that would follow if the signs turned out to be misleading. Xavier was always the optimist of the two of us though. I couldn’t have expected him to respond any differently.
He caught my hands and pulled me back on the mattress on top of him. He cupped my face in his hands and whispered, “God knows, we’ve been trying enough.” I giggled as he raised a brow.
I rolled off him onto my side and leaned on my elbow. He ran his fingers through my hair, brushing strands of it away from my face.
“I’ve got my hands full if we have a girl,” he muttered.
“Why?” I asked, smiling.
He reached for my hand and kissed the back of it. “If she’s half as beautiful as you, I’ll be scared to let her out of my sight.”
My cheeks flushed as though Xavier was my teenage crush.
“And if it’s a boy?” I began to muse, narrowing my eyes on my husband.
“He’ll replace Ben Novak as The Shade’s teenage heartthrob,” Xavier finished for me, throwing me a wink.
I laughed, poking him in the shoulder. “Don’t let my brother hear you say that.”
There was a pause as we both gazed into each other’s eyes. Despite my attempts to quiet my hopes, Xavier’s enthusiasm was contagious and it was slowly infecting me.
“Of course,” I said, “there’s always a small chance we could be blessed with twins, like Derek and Sofia were…”
He shifted on the bed and, raising himself on all fours, positioned himself over me. He dipped down and kissed my lips. “All the better,” he said.
As I eased into my husband’s embrace, my head jerked back against the bed as though I’d just been electrocuted.
I’d managed to pass our honeymoon without even the slightest of visions, but now one took hold of me. My blood pounded in my ears as a disquieting scene unfolded before my mind’s eye.