Four Paths- Liberation Series- Book One

Chapter Thirty- Four

They stood on the ships entering Hemra's territory. War was mixed in with the salty taste of the wind. It would be their moment of peace together.

"Orchid." called Violet, she looked at her through one eye.

"Thank you for everything. You protected all of us your whole life. You became the solution of today so that we can live and protect tomorrow. I'm sorry that it's the path that you were put on," Violet continued to eye the sunrise.

"No one makes me do anything that I don't want to. Not even myself," Orchid grinned.

"Thank you for being my sister and my friend. I'll love you forever," Violet said softly.

"Don't try to make me sappy and change my mind. None of you are going to change my mind."

"I won't try, I'm just happy that you fell in love with someone, even if he's a deranged sociopath."

"I don't love him. But, I don't blame him for who he is. Others made him so. Though I managed to care for his awareness of that fact," Orchid smiled at the memories they had.

"You never told me why you decided to sacrifice so much for us," said Violet.

"Out of Darkness, comes Light. I guess part of me always knew what I would turn out to be. I decided to be 'today' because you were meant for 'tomorrow'."

"For someone who lived in someone's head for years you sure sound lonely," Violet chuckled trying to ease the tension.

"There's a difference between lonely and alone, what matters to me is if who I care about knows they aren't alone. It doesn't matter if I'm lonely," Orchid stretched her limbs awake.

"Come on, I have a husband to kill and you have a home to save."

The attack on Hemra began. The shorelines of Hemra became flooded. Blue flames ran rampant with the breaths of dragons. The skies clouded with Hades' power. Violet and her crew made their way to the castle under the guise of the battle. Them and their small faction of soldiers broke through the hunters and their human forces. Through the chaos, signs of the purification of the land by Allyssa and Fera showed. Flowers bloomed and died in the fires. Greens, splattered red in the blood of their enemies.

"Fera and Allyssa work fast," shouted Orchid to Violet as they continue to fight their way through their forces. "I swear they're like flies they don't stop coming," cursed Violet.

"Then let's leave them here. Gris, Jackal, Cain. Take the front," Orchid called her familiars to push forward.

"Daunte we're bailing this shit and heading forward tell Phoenix to get his ass here now."

"You got it," he replied.

"Violet you know how to ride a dragon?" asked Orchid.

"No," she replied with an arched eyebrow.

"You're gonna have to learn today. Yria, Yeros!"

Orchid called her two of her dragon familiars.

"Daunte, Amaryllis. With Yeros. Violet, Damian. With Yria." Violet hopped on to the dragon's back with Damian, Allyssa's human husband.

"How do I work this thing?" Violet cursed.

"Pray," Orchid shouted back. The dragons took off into the castle.

Daunte and Amaryllis landed on the castle's training grounds. They quietly entered through the window of the west wing.

"I smell her, she's three doors down the next hall," said Daunte.