Alyssa
Vincent held Alexandria in his arms, and my heart sank when I saw how pale she looked. She lost so much blood. âVincent! We cannot return to the Citadel in time to administer the cure,â I said.
âNo, I will not lose my sister! Youâre healing power, you can save her,â Vincent said.
âMe?â I said with shock.
âYou have healing magic. You healed my wounds; you healed your broken hand. You can use that power on Alex,â Vincent begged.
âI donât know how my powers work. Vincent, I could kill her!â I said. Looking down on Alexandria, I knew she could die anyway.
âPlease, you have to try,â Vincent started to form tears in his eyes.
Alexandriaâs eyes opened slightly, and she gave me a slight nod. Vincent took a step back as I kneeled to Alex, her breath barely noticeable. She wouldnât last much longer if I didnât do something. I lifted her shirt to expose the wound. It was deep, and from it, black veins spread, poisoning her body. I placed my hand on the wound and thought back to the moment I healed my hand. I felt the magic leave my hand as golden light covered Alexandriaâs injury. I hoped it was the right kind of magic because if it werenât, Alex would be dead.
The Golden Light shined brighter. I looked back at Alex to see if I was causing her pain, but she looked at me and smiled. My heart slowed down, and I looked back at the stab wound; I saw the black veins starting to vanish. âBy the goddess, itâs working!â Vincent smiled.
Vincent kneeled next to me, holding Alexâs hand. I kept focusing on the light in my hands. The feeling differed from when I shot energy balls and beams of light. Black gooey liquid came from the wound, which is undoubtedly the poison. The Dragonbane poison was leaving Alexandriaâs body, the color started returning to her face, and her breathing became more regular. It was getting harder to focus as this was draining my energy. I had never used so much power at once.
âAlyssa, donât strain yourself,â Vincent looked at me with worry.
I felt something on my face; it was around my nose, leaking down my chin.
âAlyssa, your nose! Youâre bleeding,â Vincent said.
âIâm fine,â I protested. I then focused on the wound; the black veins were almost gone, just a bit more.
âAlyssa, you have to stop,â Vincent touched my shoulder.
âJust a bit more,â I rasped.
âAlyssa, STOP!â Vincent yelled.
âIf I stop before the poison is out of Alexandriaâs system, this wonât work!â I screamed at him. After a few pulses, the black vein vanished.
âAlyssa, you did it; you can stop now,â Vincent said.
The light faded from my hands; I looked at Vincent and gave him a weak smile. âSheâs safe,â My eyes closed, and I collapsed into Vincentâs arms.
Vincent
âALYSSA!â I yelled as I held her in my arms. Her breathing was slow, her face white as snow. âGoddess, what have I done?â
I looked back at Alex and noticed her moving. âUgh, what happened? Vincent?â Alex groaned.
Alex looked at Alyssa in my arms, horror spreading over her face. She managed to get up. She was still a little pale, but she looked okay. âWhat the hell happened?â Alex asked me.
âAlyssa healed you with her magic. But she overexerted herself and used too much of her power.
âWhy would you let your mate do that!? Of all the irresponsible shit youâve one, Vince, this takes the fucking cake!â Alex growled.
âI wasnât thinking! All I could think about you lying on the ground. Alyssa, baby, wake up,â I begged.
âWe need to get back to the Citadel,â Alex said, then looked at the bodies of Rory and Tristan. âHow could I been so blind?â Then, a large explosion echoed through the Island.
âWhat the fuck!â I said.
Alex looked around the forest, looking for the source. âOh no! The watchtowers!â Alex and I looked in horror as we watched a tower crumble down the mountainside. Then, five more explosions boomed through the air. âMoon Goddess, please help us,â Alex said softly. âThe towers protecting Bermuda are gone, theyâre all gone!â
In the distance, Alex and I saw the magical barrier disintegrate, and behind it, a swarm of dragons approached.
âWeâre in trouble, Vince! We have to get to the others!â Alex said.
I lifted Alyssa in bridal style while using my shoulder to support her head as he walked to the Citadel. A little color was returning to her face. Alex was still a little weak since she had lost a lot of blood, but she tried to act all right.
âWhy are we stopping?â I asked. âWe need to get back to the Citadel as soon as possible.
âQuick, hide!â Alex whispered as she gently pushed me to the bushes. In the distance, I could hear voices getting closer. Astarot growled in my mind. âLena, Lois, and Emerald!â Astarot growled. âThose are the girlsâ names, donât ask me how I know. I just know,â
âAre you sure we are going the right way?â Lois asked
âRory sent a text giving us the location in the woods. We must be getting close to them. Emerald shrugged.
âYou sure you arenât getting us lost like last time?â Lena groaned.
âThat was months ago!â Emerald yelled.
âBoth of you take a chill pill. Did Rory say anything about Alyssa?â Lois said.
Hearing those girls talk about my mate made my blood run cold, and I hugged her closer to me. If they would stop us, we might not be able to defeat them with Alyssa knocked out and Alex wounded.
âRory didnât mention her in her report other than that sheâs the fated mate to Vincent. What a shame; Vincent is a hunk, and heâs stuck with an ugly bitch like her,â Emerald said, and then the girls left.
âThose ladies were definintly not local,â Alex said.
âAs much as I want to tear out their throats for calling my mate ugly, we have more pressing matters to deal with. We need to get to the Citadel and with the watchtowers gone we donât know many more are coming,â I said.
We returned to the grand hall where everyone was, but didnât see any kingdom leaders.
âOh thank the goddess you two are okay!â Isabella said as she hugged Alex. âAlyssa!?â Izzy then noticed Alyssa in my arms.
âSheâs alive; I can still feel our bond,â I said.
I was exhausted and about to fall on my knees, but Jacob swiftly took Alyssa from my arms. âThank you, Jacob,â
âAlex, are you alright?â Megan said. I heard all the kids gasp as they noticed the blood on her shirt.
âIâm fine, Megan,â Alex smiled to reassure everyone.
âThat doesnât look fine!â Izzy pointed at the blood. âWhat the hell happened to you guys?â
âRory is a traitor. Sheâs the one who killed my father!â Alex said.
âWHAT!?â Izzy screamed. âIâm going to kill that whore!â
âRelax, sheâs gone. I tore apart her soul; she will never know peace,â I said.
âTristan is also a traitor,â Scott said; he was wearing a cast on his left arm. âBastard broke my arm. He spared me out of respect for our past friendship,â
âScott! Oh my god!â Alex said, looking at his broken arm. âI already know about Tristan, and he got what was coming to him,â
âAt least there is some good news,â Scott laughed.
âBut what about you?â Megan said.
âI said Iâm fine,â Alex growled. âRory manged to stab me with a dagger dipped in dragonbane,â
âHow are you alive? Dragonbane had a 100% mortality rate if the cure is not administered!â Izzy said.
âWe didnât have the cure with us, so Alyssa healed me,â Alex said.
âShe did what?â Ashley gasped.
âMy mate used her magic to heal Alexandria, but she used too much and fainted,â I said.
âUsed too much? Alyssa looks like a fucking corpse,â Izzy yelled.
âYou were outside? Iâve looked everwhere for my father, have you seen him?â Kita asked.
âIâm so sorry Kita, youâre father is dead,â I said, shaking my head.
Kita burst into tears. âNo, daddy!â
âWhat the hell happened when we were outside?â Alex said.
Everyone was silent, and I knew that this wasnât good. âGuys, tell us what happened here,â I crossed my arms.
âAll the dragon kingdom leaders are dead,â Megan said.
âWHAT!â Alex yelled.
âExcept for Nathan. Nathan, and Amanda were traitors, they killed our parents,â Izzy cried.
âIâm sorry, everyone, but it gets worse. All the watchtowers are gone. We saw a bunch of dragons flying toward the Citadel,â Alex said.
âWeâre under attack?â Bao said.
âUnderstatement of the century,â Ashley scoffed.
âVincent?â Alyssa said softly. Sheâs waking up.
âAlyssa! Talk to me baby girl,â I said as I took her from Jacobâs arms.
âMy head feels like itâs going to explode. But Iâll be okay after I get some aspirin,â I helped Alyssa get on her feet. âThanks,â
Izzy pushed me out of her way to embrace Alyssa. âYou scared me!â
Alyssa noticed something different about Izzy, and I knew she would not like the news. Alyssa saw that Izzyâs eyes were puffy and her makeup smudged. âIzzy, whatâs wrong? Whatâs going on?â
âAlyssa, all the kingdom leaders are dead. Everyone is dead!â Izzy said.
Alyssa shuddered at the news, and her eyes widened. âIsabella, Iâm so sorry,â
âWe can mourn later! What are we going to do?â Jacob said.
Then the front door slammed to reveal Skyler. She was helping Gloria stay standing. Gloria had a large cut on her side, and her Dress was all torn.
âCrown Dragon, what happened?â Alexandria said.
âWe were ambushed, mom manage to fight them off, but one of them cut her,â Skyler explained.
âLucky hit,â Gloria snarled, her purple eyes glowing. âWhere are the others?â
âEveryone else is dead your majesty,â Alex said.
âAll the leaders?!â Gloria shivered in fear.
âNathan is still alive, but heâs a traitor,â Alex said.
âNathan is a traitor!?â Skyler yelled.
âYes, and Jeffery took his fathers side,â Bao growled.
âThis is not good; this is bad. Please excuse me for a moment,â Gloria slowly walked to the front door, and when there, she pressed her palm to the stone next to the door. After a moment, the stone glowed a bright yellow. There was a soft rumbling in the air until everything fell silent. âThat should buy us some time; Iâve sealed the Citadel. No one can get in or out until itâs deactivated or until someone breaks through.â
That last option didnât sound reassuring. âA little trick. I had a wizard install it for me and hoped Iâd never have to use it,â Gloria explained.
âMom, please sit down; you are badly injured,â Skyler cried.
âDonât worry about me, honey,â Gloria kissed Skylerâs cheek.
âSo thatâs what we are going to do? Hide until someone breaks in and kills us all?â Alexandria said grimly.
âPatients. Iâve sent what remains of my guards to inspect the rest of the Citadel for intruders. But truthfully, we donât know who to trust,â Gloria said.
âReassuring,â Ashley rolled her eyes.
âNow, we donât have much time. Their plan is much more complex than you know,â Gloria said.
âWhat do you mean?â Daiyu asked.
âThe biggest secret of the Magical World is how the magic works, shielding us from the eyes of Humanity,â Gloria said. Still, Ashley grew restless and impatient before she could continue.
âWhat has that got anything to do with this?â Ashley said with frustration. âGet to the point!â
âWhat Iâm about to tell you all has everything to do with this! It was decided after the Great War with the High Elves centuries ago when humans were getting closer to discovering our existence, that it would be too risky to store the magic in some place or a thing. Things can be stolen or broken. So the leaders back then got the help of a powerful wizard, a war veteran. If I remember right, he served the first Dragon King of Europe, King Arther Pendragon; his name is Merlin. He created the magical shield and bound it to the life force of the leaders at the time. Since then, every new leader has been tied to the shield,â Gloria explained.
âAre you saying that our parents were keeping humans from discovering us?â Izzy said.
âThat is right, Isabella. You kill all the leaders, and you take the shield down,â Gloria said.
âBut the only one left is Nathan and my mother!â I said, and my breath hitched.
âThat is why you must return to Rosetta as fast as possible. Now, I suggest you all get ready because you must fight your way out of Burmuda,â Gloria said.