The mages of the Lady of light stood on one side while the army of Dycation stood on the other. They had been fighting but an unknown force had entered the fray.
Where had that power appeared?
A voice sounded above them, "Sorry, what did I miss?"
A girl with flame red hair in a green dress stood on the edge of the roof looking down. Her hair was slightly mussed and she yawned, "The night air was so nice that I decided to take a stroll. Then I fell asleep."
"On the roof?" Jacen muttered, he was shocked.
Cybelline looked down at Killian and gave him a smile "Hey."
Killian quickly looked down, not wishing that she see his eyes.
A shadow flitted from the roof and she stood in front of him, two long, graceful fingers slid underneath his chin, "Don't hide those pretty eyes from me."
Startled he looked directly into her face, there was no look of disgust he had be preparing since he had known his eyes were back to red. She looked deeply into his eyes, "You know, this is the first time I've seen red eyes. They're pretty."
Suddenly, before he had time to react, she kissed his lips. A quick, feather light touch from her warmth that brought him back to life.
She didn't care the color of his eyes. Didn't care that he was a monster. She smiled at him and he felt as if that breathe he hadn't been able to get out of his chest, seemed to finally clear.
He stared at him as if a blind man seeing light for the first time. Light that cut through the thunderclouds and darkness. Light that he did not deserve.
"Ahem" Lord Evans coughed. There was still the matter of a war going on.
"We still exist." Jacen muttered. Lord Evans resisted the urge to put his head in his head in such an urgent situation. For the infinite time he wished he could dropkick Jacen into the sun.
Above them, Leonmithas looked down in alarm. Those eyes were cursed eyes, he had heard about them since he was a child. Eyes that spell death and Chaos for the fae.
"Who are you?" Kyria asked, a look of deep suspicion on her face as she looked at the girl who now stood side by side of Killian.
Cybelline smiled, "The new Queen of the fae. The Dark Queen."
Her body began to glow golden as she suddenly unleashed her true power upon the world. Power that was equal to the Lady of Light, perhaps even greater. Two massive and beautiful black wings rose from her back, their gold and iridescent markings glowing with a rainbow of powers.
On her wrist, a bracelet of glowing stones, appeared, marking her mastery over the powers. Kyria's eyes narrowed when she saw the bracelet.
Those who survived would remember this moment as the time that they had seen not just any fae, but the most powerful fae in existence. She was the most magnificent creature in the world, commanding their attention with just her eyes. She was warrior that her enemies would come to shake with fear upon hearing her name.
Kyria's eyes glinted with viciousness. She raised her hand, and hundred mages came towards her, "You may have power, but I have an army of mages." She looked at Killian, "You may have most of my mages, but I kept the strongest ones by me. Even if my numbers are small, I will still be able to squash you like a bug."
She looked at Cybelline, "Little dark fae, I'm so surprised you survived the civil war. And I have to say, after the light fae killed the dark fae, I am surprised that Titania allowed one of you to survive. But no matter, you are alone and I will kill you."
"What makes you think I am alone?" Cybelline raised a hand, a sardonic smile on her lips.
She raised her hand, and behind her, hundreds of dwarves, elves, fire fae, and dryads appeared. In front of them, stood Leonmithas and Jinon. In their hands gripped weapons of every kind. They looked ready for battle.
"I came here today to let you know that the Fae are no longer under the jurisdiction of the humans." Cybelline's voice rang out, her magic rushing towards every corner of the earth, "Today the Fae are free. And we will fight to prove it."
Kyria stared at the Fae army behind the girl, "How..."
Even Killian looked stunned at this, Cybelline turned back to him, "I should have told you earlier. But I wasn't ready."
Killian looked at the girl who held no hatred, no expectation, no ill will towards him and smiled, "I understand."
Cybelline turned around to look at a stunned Leonmithas. And he finally realized what she meant. This was not just an ultimatum to the humans but a ultimatum to her people as well.
She had saved them, healed them, and took care of them at the expense of her own body. She had already proven that she was worthy to be their Queen. But she did not need a nation of cowards, people that could only hide behind her as she fought their battles. Suddenly he felt ashamed at his request earlier.
They had been so tired and beaten into fear that when someone finally stood up for them, they had shrank back in fear. He knew that moments ago, she had made a call to her people. And now he saw that those who were able to fight all stood behind her. She was there for them, she would protect them, but they needed to know that they could protect themselves. That they were worthy of being protected.
She wanted the fae to stand on their own two feet.
Kyria saw Jinon standing in front of the Fae army and smiled, "So, my love. You stand against me once more."
"You aren't her." Jinon answered, "My mistakes were mine alone, and you have made the fae pay in blood. But no more."
"Yes, sister. No more."
Another figure stood beside Jinon. Cybelline turned to look at Ithos as a gasp rose from the people.
Ithos stood beside Jinon, his eyes were bright with tears. It had been years since they had seen each other. Ever since he chose to abandon her and their ways, to stop killing the fae and protecting them. He had chosen to love Myrai and turned against his own sister, thinking that they would never meet again. Now, it was time to end this relationship.
He looked at Cybelline and nodded. She understood and nodded back. He had sent Myrai away with the rest of the fae, Jinon had told them how to get to where the hidden fae lived.. The Land in the ring was empty.
Ithos looked at Kyria's shocked face, "Hello. Sister."
"Older brother. Time has not been kind to you." Kyria said after a moment, her face unreadable, "I see that I did not kill you. Myrai is still alive too? Well, I will remedy that after I kill you all."
"I see that you came from a loving family." Cybelline noted to Ithos, who only smiled bitterly, "We were once, child. A very happy family."
Kyria looked at Cybelline, "Do you really think that this is going to stop me?"
"I was hoping that we could do this in a civil manner." Cybelline said as she rolled up her sleeves, "But I don't mind the exercise."
"Neither do we." Kima said, her magic covering her fists, "It's time we give them a taste of their own medicine."
"Don't kill them, if you can." Cybelline responded, "Dead people can't pay restitution."
Kyria laughed, "Oh child, I can kill you without lifting a finger."
She pointed to the bracelet, "Do you know how Titania died? She could not control the Source so she sought powerful stones to help her control the power. Well, I helped her find those stones, to this day she did not know that while they controlled her power, they also controlled her. That was the true culprit in killing her."
The stones began to turn grey and glow with a threatening power.
Killian's face paled as he watched the bracelet pull Cybelline's body towards the sky. A grey ball of power enveloped her. He looked down at Kyria, and pointed his sword at this aunt, "Let her go." And rushed at her.
Kyria raised her hand, "Attack." Her mages began to mutter spells.
Leonmithas watched in alarm, but his place as her general was to fight for his queen. She had asked him to have faith in her. And Faith he will have. He looked at Jinon and Kima
Kima nodde, "Divid and conquer. We have to reach Kyria to break the spell."
Below the men, fae, and mages battled, the blood of the magical and non magical soon soaked the ground. Killian was covered head to toe in blood and cuts, red that matched his eyes, but he did not care. He fought his way to the center, where Kyria stood, panting as she maintained the magic before her.
She threw mages at them as she backed away, her eyes wary on the forces that approached.
She was trapped.
Killian raised his sword, "Let her go."
"She's already dead." Kyria replied.
Jinon, Lenomithas, Ithos, and Kima all arrived to encircled the Lady of Light. She thew back her head and laughed, "She's dead and there's nothing you can do!"
Kima raised her sword and struck the Lady of Light's Barrier, "Lies!"
Kyria spoke a spell and suddenly her barrier exploded. Before anyone realized what had happened, she shot out like and arrow, aiming straight for Killian
Killian's eyes narrowed and he thrust his sword at the same time Kyria's sword bit into his shoulder.
-------
In the grey bubble, the stones circled and trapped Cybelline, spinning faster and faster. Eating away at her power from the source.
At first Cybelline fought, but saw that no matter what she did, her power bled from her body faster and faster.
Cybelline studied the stones, a look of utter calm and concentration on her face. They were devouring the source. All the powers except one.
"I see why Titantia were so afraid of the dark fae. Why you all were." Cybelline muttered and closed her eyes. She drew on the dark vein of her power and cut through the grey power. It was powerless as she cut the connections to each stone.
As she did, the source in her body became the thick, vast rivers of burning power once more. But Cybelline had been prepared for this. Using her dark fae powers she wrapped each river in a layer of her dark power, keep them in the forms of rivers in her body. It was not a long term solution but she would have time to deal with later.
Solara, Jinon, and Leonmithas had all been wrong as to why she had been so weak. It was hard to maintain the source, but she had been practicing using her dark magic to control the source.
Suddenly Cybelline opened her eyes and raised her hand. Gently she snapped her fingers and the grey cocoon shattered into a thousand pieces.
An explosion like fireworks sounded in the sky. People turned to look up.
Cybelline stood in the air and looked down at the stunned crowd, "What, you guys started without me?"
She waved a hand and the fighting stopped. In her hand was a broadsword made of gold. Swirls of dark fae power danced in intricate patterns. She slashed the air and the earth cracked into two, breaking the masses of fighters apart. They watched in awe as the crack seemed to extend father than the eye could see.
Below the mages quaked in fear. They had never seen someone this powerful.
Leonmithas felt his knees nearly buckle with relief, as did almost all of the fae. They were nearly dead with relief.
Cybelline looked down at Kyria, "Give up. Your forces are almost all defeated. You are no longer a threat."
Her eyes were cold as she saw that Kyria and Killian both held a sword to each other's throat.
Jinon looked at his lover, "Kyria, please." He was a grand warrior and a leader, but he would give it all up to see her out of pain, "Please listen to her."
Kyria's eyes seemed to brighten for a moment, but then a shadow took over. Slowly she raised her hand and pulled off her necklace.
She smiled up at Cybelline, "I am not your threat."
She looked at Killian, "He is."
With that, she crushed the stone in her hand and a great deal of smoke came out of her mouth and eyes, rushing for him.
Cybelline's breath caught in her throat as she dove down, rushing to prevent whatever was about to happen.
Killian saw her fly towards him, but the smoke had already reached him. This was the ceremony that his aunt had talked about. If Cybelline interfered, if she touched it...if she would be harmed by it.
Killian made his choice
He gathered his power and threw it at Cybelline.
It hit her and she was thrown back, upwards in the sky. It tore at her wings and her skin but did not harm her. In that instant, Killian was covered by the grey-ish matter. It pulsed when it met the red of his eyes and he screamed in pain.
The battle stopped as the rush of grey covered Killian from head to toe. Cybelline dove again but Killian held up a hand.
"No!" He cried, "I will harm you. Cybelline. Don't rescue me. Don't save me." He begged as the pain pulsed through him. His skin was burning. His body was burning. His eyes were burning, but he dared not faint.
He did not want to die without see her reflected in his eyes. His love was his air, it inflated his lungs when the grey matter pushed itself in.
He would rather rot and suffer than see even an ounce of pain on her face. If he was to die then he would take danger away as well.
He smiled despite the pain and raised a barrier, keeping him and Kyria inside of it, "I'm alright. I'm alright." His skin cracked and bled, his bones crackled under pressure. Still he created a barrier, keeping her safe from him. He reassured her over and over again as the magic ate away at his flesh.
Cybelline came for him again, "Killian, don't do this. I can save you."
She didn't know when she had started crying, the world seemed to be hazy, but his smile was clear as she neared. This time she dared not use magic, he was already using his magic to fight the grey magic, she didn't want him to use it to fight her.
"No, Cybelline. Don't suffer because of me." He said, "Run. Don't let me hurt you. Please." A tear fell from his face as the grey magic enveloped and engulfed him.
"And Cybelline." He added softly, "I'm sorry that I can't keep my promise anymore. I can't be your wife anymore."
"NO!" She screamed and rushed forward, running as she hit the earth. She had just found him, just opened her heart to him. He could not die, he could not.
Jinon and Kima dragged Cybelline away as she rushed forward once more.
In that moment, a pulse of red shattered the barrier. Thick beams of red light shone through the grey as it broke through. The light shot into the sky as a roar shook the earth. People stared up in disbelief as a large shape broke through the grey matter and soared into the sky.
ROOOOOOAAARRRR
Cybelline looked up at the thing that was larger than a mountain in the sky. It's scales were red tinged with grey, there were wisps of smoke from its great maws as it screamed its ownership of the world. It's blood red eyes stared at the mere mortals below, enraged after its long slumber.
ROOOOAAAARRRRRR
"What in the gods name?" Jinon said after a moment, the blood had drained from his face as he looked at the giant creature in the sky.
In the sky, the man who was known as Killian was gone. In his place was a living, breathing, dragon ready to unleash its power on the world.
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Author's note:
Thank you all for reading. I can't believe we're at Chapter 87! The world is a bit crazy right now as the panic is setting in and everyone has someone they're worried about. Please stay safe. For anyone who is sick, I hope that you're on the way to recovery!
I had planned this portion of the book very, very early on, sprinkling a few hints here and there. Killian's eyes, the Londaros festival all the back in the early chapter when they first met, and so on and so forth.
Did anyone guess that Ithos was Torin (Kyria's brother)? I purposefully kept his story a little bit in the dark, but Myrai hints at it a few times.
What do you think of the reveals and twists?
As always, I am deeply appreciative of all the likes and your comments make my day. Thank you to my regulars. It's because of you that I'm doing this as a double update!