A Siren's Crown (Book Two in the APK Trilogy)

Epilogue

Epilogue

Time had passed atop the great mountain named Oroden Anar but the eerie stillness that had fallen around the mountain had not ceased since the day of the sacrifice. The King looked from the safety of his castle and knew in his heart that something was not right with the spirits. His mind grew cowardly and paranoid for he had tried to ignore the Princesses threat but her words followed him wherever he went and her eyes stared back at him whenever he tried to sleep.

He knew that the Water Sprite had not ceased to look for her and he knew that the Queen had been notified of the Princesses disappearance. He knew that he was guilty and although he tried to let go, the lack of response from the spirits was doing nothing to help his fears.

Cobalt had returned with the others to his ship, unable to stay in the place that his brother had met his end any longer. He too searched for Circe although he was unsuccessful so far, he held out hope that he would one day spot a flash of golden hair below the water. His grief for his lost brother was strong but he fueled what anger he felt into looking for Circe.  Amaryllis was there to comfort him when he felt that he was alone and gradually their bond grew into something much more.

Aranel had also disappeared, although Zalas did not know why, something told him not to follow her this time and it was just as well for her plans had no space for her brother. Instead Zalas returned to the Air Kingdom where a deep shame for what he had done wriggled its way into his heart where it grew like a choking vine. He could not go looking for Circe for he knew now that he had been blind to scorn at her love as it had been real and pure and she would never forgive him for what he had done to her.

But there was one thing that had not changed and that was the lonely pile of ash that sat in the center of the sacrificial circle, high up on Oroden Anar. The still air that surrounded the mountain had not moved the pile from where it had fallen on that day and the spirits of the mountain waited with baited breath for what was to come. Because they knew that to sacrifice one who has committed no crime, in the place of one who committed such a horrible crime was not sacrifice at all. It was murder.

And when the moon rose, full and bloated in the night sky and somewhere in the ocean a broken-hearted girl rose to the surface and spoke out into the nights abyss, the word came floating back down with the faintest of breezes to brush across the black pile of ash that sat atop Oroden Anar.

There was a shift in the night and the King sat up straight in his bed, his hands tight around his throat veins popping out from his forehead, gasping for a breath. His guards rushed to come to his aid but they were too late and as hard as they tried they could not pry his hands away from his neck. As the life faded from his eyes, the King slumped back against his pillows, dead by his own hand.

Cobalt woke from his slumber and, leaving Amaryllis sleeping in his bed, wandered out onto the deck of the ship to gaze at the full moon. He felt someone whisper his name but he turned to find the deck empty of anyone else but himself.

Ambrose paused his searching for the moment to look back in the direction of the Elven Kingdom, he could sense that there was a great disturbance between the world of the living and the world of the spirits and he changed his direction to fly across the water towards the Water Kingdom to warn his Queen.

High up in the Air Kingdom Unabonan flew into the dragon hold on silent wings to find Zalas awake and staring out of his window, his face disturbed. "Impossible." He whispered his face paler than usual in the cold moonlight.

The ash shifted gently although there was no breeze and something in it glinted slightly. It was almost lazy, the way that the wing tip stretched up into the sky, rising out of the soft pile as though summoned forth by the night. Another joined it, extending into the night sky and bending at the joint.

The rest of the scene was more violent, but the moon was the only witness as a black clawed hand rose up and pulled the rest of the body out of the ash. Golden eyes flashed as, chest heaving with the exertion of his resurrection, he climbed to his feet with revenge in his heart for those who had made her suffer. He would hunt them and he would kill them. He threw back his head, opened his mouth and poured a column of flame into the sky.

The spirits that guarded Oroden Anar nodded in satisfaction. Appropriate sacrifice had been made for they knew as Zarska had known, that in rare cases, a bonded Dragon who chose to burn by her own flame, in the place of her bonded partner would resurrect them from the ashes like a phoenix rising. And just as the old, old magic had said, that was what happened, but now they were truly one.

Obsidian Bones stood on the edge of the mountain his black reptilian wings rising out on either side of him as he surveyed the land below like a dark guardian angel. He brought a hand up in front of his face and watched with pleasure as it morphed from a man's hand into a dragon's claw. He rolled his shoulders and stretched his neck feeling it change him into the beast that he always knew himself to be. He would burn them all to the ground.

But first ...

Transformation complete he lifted himself into the air with powerful back legs, crushing the stone beneath his feet with the shift of weight. His wings lifted him into the sky and he roared, every tree below him shuddering in response to the ear splitting sound. A golden column of flame spewed from his deadly jaws and his eyes flashed in delight.

Revenge would come later. First, he had to find her.