XVI
Acid History

"Where's the library?" I ask my two siblings who are sharpening their blades on the floor in my room. Nova looks up at me, arching an eyebrow at me as if to ask why I am not creating more arrows.

"Why? History didn't change, Pluto." Orion snickers at me and I roll my eyes at him.

"You guys remember when I passed out from getting all those memories, you guys found out I can do full body flames, and you got mad, blah, blah?" I ask my brother and my sister, and my brother nods. "Well, I kind of dreamt about mom."

"We all did, bubs. Her flying with us for the first time-" Nova starts but I cut her off.

"Did she do this?" I grab Orion and Nova's hand, using my magic and showing them the memory from that day. Her breaking script from the memory and telling me to find the Acid History book, to save the families, and that it's my destiny. When the memory is done, I pull my hands away and Nova just stares. Orion is throwing his sword and sharpener on the ground, getting up, grabbing my hand to hoist me up along with my sister.

"Library now." Orion angrily mutters, we walk out of what guest bedroom I'm still in. I haven't had the strength or the mental capacity to redecorate my toddler room. My father doesn't push me though, I think he likes to sit in there and think of the times before his Mate was ripped away from him. I act like I don't see him sit in the chair in the corner of the room, or the way he turns his head to look at the room when we walk down the hallway. It's an unspoken agreement that we both would just like to keep it, untouched, and undisturbed. Nova and Orion live in their old rooms, already had remodeled the rooms and didn't look back. They got their memories and then the next day, they kept the sentimental items but everything else went. I think my father misses the three little children's rooms. As we walk down the hallway of the West Wing of the Castle, away from the bedrooms and the Council room, we find the library doors waiting for us at the end of the hall. They are double doors, and Orion pushes them open. We walk inside and then he closes the door softly behind us. The smell was of old texts and old paper with fresh ink in the air. It reminds me of when I got my history degree and of the old library in the Black Soul Kingdom, how it drastically is different from this library in House of Flames. In Black Soul, the library is made of mahogany wood, a dark brown that was fitting with the black marble that decorated the rest of the castle, and it was fitting to be the Acid Castle. Here, in Red Blaze, the library is made up of dark oak wood, a dark color that fits perfectly with desert marble walls. The marble that is made of cream, tan, and taupe. I was too busy taking in the library with wonder, looking up at the beautiful architectural masterpiece of this castle. What I don't prepare myself for is when Nova punches me in the shoulder, with all her freaking might. I groan loudly in pain and hold my shoulder.

"What the hell was that for!" I snap at her and she glares at me, squinting her hazel eyes at me.

"You didn't think that Orion and I didn't need to know that?" She snapped at me, "High General of his future Army, Pluto! Heir to the throne!" She points to herself and then to him.

"Listen! A lot of shit happened! I just forgot, it slipped my mind till now. Give me a break." I tell her exasperated. I ran a hurried hand through my now growing hair, gods I needed a haircut. I hadn't even had the time to get a haircut.

"Well this is something you can't just afford to forget, Pluto!" My brother said and then he was getting up on the ladder, reading through the draconic titles that were in this section of the library. He pulled the dark green title with the dark green spine and brought it down to the dark oak wooden table in the middle of the library. We all crowded around the thick book and watched Orion open up the first pages. First it was the family tree of all 10 families, and it looked like the Kardos family line had been written in for when we were born, our official titles right next to our little bubbles, it read: Crown Prince Orion Ambrus Kardos II, Princess Nova Astra Kardos, and Prince Pluto Zorán Kardos III. We skipped the family trees, and found the said history of Flames and Acid in draconei writing, clear as day on coffee stained pages. It was loosely rumored that Endellion Kardos and Taejong Cha during the Revolution of the Dragons were a fling before they found their Mates. That was clearly written in the book and I couldn't really hide my surprise when my hand flew to my mouth.

"You're telling me that Badass Grandma Delli was getting some Cha loving on the side?" My sister blurted out and I smacked her in the shoulder. "Continue on, Orion." My sister told him and he did. He flipped through pages of the book and stopped when the title of Acid Fire Prophecy came up.

"There it is, what does it say?" I ask my brother and he looks at it puzzled.

"Do you want old Embery or do you want draconei?" He asks me and I look down at the pages, my lip curling in disgust.

"Draconei."

"He who breathes Fire, He who wields Acid, the Gods have spoken, and they are of thee God's decision to make their love written in the stars, Soulmates who will defy all odds against them. The House of Acid Fire is meant to be and is written in the cosmos of Fate. Listen to your Gods." Orion tells us in Draconei and my knees are ready to buckle underneath me. If this wasn't clear as day.. Motherfu-

"When was the prophecy dated?" I ask hoarsely, I'm afraid of this lump in my throat. I'm not sure if it's because I want to cry or if it's because that means Jaejin definitely is my mate as if that cord between us wasn't proof enough that JJ is the other half of my soul. I could still smell that leather scent of him, the way he breathes, and the way his mouth lifts in the left before it breaks out into a smile.

"4890. A month before you were born. Dad and ma know about the prophecy." Orion speaks up and I nod in agreement.

"When did the Fire and Ice prophecy come out?"

"4633, a month before mom was born but we didn't know what it meant till the Silver Air Kingdom got burnt to ashes and when our parents dragons did it again." Nova tells me and I curse under my breath. It was lining up. The timelines, they were all adding up and I had to sit down before my head started spinning.

"You gotta get ahold of him, Pluto," My brother speaks up, "If his father sees this, if he hasn't seen it already, he could hold Jaejin against-"

"He loves his son, he wouldn't do that." I snap harshly at my brother, looking up at him with fire in my eyes. "You guys know the villain of the story, the evil Acid King who took our mother. I know the father who loves his son, I know the husband who dotes on his Mate like no other man, and I know him as my father-in-law who was there for my mother and I when my dad moved us into the Castle. He won't hurt his only damn son." I told my brother and my sister. I wasn't backing down from this one because I knew Minjun Cha as a father, a family friend, and as a husband. I knew the politics of having to pay for your father's dues, and his mistakes. I knew the history of Kings and Queens fighting their parents' war, I knew of memories that war had plagued.

"King Minjun or not, Jaejin deserves to know that you are his other half, his Mate, his light at the end of his damn tunnel." Nova tells me, placing a reassuring hand on top of my trembling one. It's blasting cold air to calm down the fire that is threatening to break free from my fingertips but that calms down when the air hits me, when the thought of Jaejin comes back to mind.

"How am I supposed to say that I am in love with him and that I am worthy enough being his King, his Mate, if I can barely take down a warrior here in Red Blaze?" I ask my siblings, knowing damn well that I am right at this moment, that I do not deserve Jaejin Cha.

"Pluto-"

"I'm right. You guys don't understand, okay? You grew up on a Warrior peak for fuck's sake, Nova! Orion here burnt shit down to the ground and has a thick skin to back him up. I grew up sheltered at the enemy's castle behind marble doors. I don't deserve a Prince heir to the throne, I don't deserve to have him because I am a damn sheltered kid who was thrown into this." I pour my heart out, my insecurities, I lay out all my cards on the table because I know they are my family, that this month has really made me realize how much I have opened up my heart for my family.

"I met Kiara Naidu." Nova blurts out and both of us look at her.

"When? Did Krizta get jealous?" I ask and Orion looks at me.

"You notice the way they eye fuck each other too?" My brother speaks up while my sister looks at us with her mouth hanging low and open.

"No, Krizta knows what type of relationship we have. When we went to the standoff at the Bely Glacier Kingdom," She started off, playing with her blonde hair, twirling it around her finger, "She gave me a warning, said I needed to be ready to fight."

"Oh for fuck's sake." Orion throws his hand up in the air, "Nothing else? That was it?"

"That's it." Then there's a long pause before Orion speaks again.

"Did you both forget the memo it's 1 in 3 kids that are gay? Not 1 in 3 kids are straight?" I tilt my head at my brother with the biggest smile on my face.

"What makes you so sure you are totally straight, Orion Kardos?"