Chapter Nineteen

Nothing feels the same anymore, my entire body aching, my head spinning, and joints feeling aged sixty years. As I rise to my feet, shivers run down my back as I can feel my heartbeat, but it is slower than every before, as if nonexistent as it barely beats. I blink my eyes rapidity, my vision trying to focus as if I have gained a new prescription, my vision still blurry as my eyes undergo strain to adjust. My joints pop as I roll my shoulder back, trying to regain the strength I had before Lucretia had thrown me against a wall and I found myself consuming the soul of a dragon. As my body is weak, there is a stir within me, one with a strength I have never felt before, as if I feel light on my feet, able to move swiftly, and my back, my back feels muscles flexing that it never had felt before.

Someone calls my name, their voice loud as my ears ring, my hands shooting up to over my ears as the noises around me are beyond loud. I can hear heartbeats other than my own, ones that beat fast, I can even hear the light steps they take upon the ground, their lungs taking in air, and their scent, I can smell every fiber on their body. My eyes begin to adjust to the light as a warm ray of sunlight shines upon my figure, the sunset coming to an end as the sky begins to darken outside. Trying to open my eyes wider, it burns my eyes as they look to the figures beginning to focus, the familiar face of Kyril looking as if under a microscope. I always had good vision, but now, it is as if I see every piece of him, the hairs that are raised on the back of his neck, the light freckles dashed across his cheeks and nose, every detail of his eyes, and every small hole in the fabric of his clothes. Nothing feels normal anymore, nothing feels the same.

"Candice," the voice calls out again, this time my ears adjusting to the volume of the voice as I try and calm myself down. "Candice, can you hear me, are you okay?" I look to the young King, eyes watering as the sun still burns my eyes, as if I am seeing light for the first time. "Tell me you are okay."

I nod, rubbing my temples as I try and calm myself down more, try and make the pain go away. "I think I am okay," I reply, my voice cracking as I look around to see the remaining elves and King's men staring at me, fear in their eyes. Looking to my feet, the body of Lucretia lays limp at my feet, white dress stained in her crimson blood, her eyes lifeless, and she looks weak, as if she never held any power. Killed by a human, by a human who swore to a goddess she would never kill anyone, yet here I am, having killed my first enemy. It was in self-defense, yet a piece of me knows that it was not just self-defense, but something that had to be done.

"Heka is still here, your majesty," Duke Gravon interrupts, calling Kyril's attention as I stumble back against the wall, feeling a sudden rush of energy spread across my body. "We must find him and complete the task at hand."

Kyril nods, agreeing with Duke Gravon as he turns to me. "Do not leave this room, Candice, for we will be back soon." I shake my head, knowing that Kyril made that bet with me just an hour ago, that agreement that whoever found him first would get their way with Heka.

"No," I croak, "you said whoever finds him keeps him, that we leave the other alone with Heka, I am going to find him and without your aid. This is where we split on this battlefield, we agree that separating is for our own good now to find our common goal."

Before Kyril can even retort, I leave, moving faster than I ever have before as one second I am in the dining room and the next I find myself down one of the halls. Taking in a deep breath, I try and find any unfamiliar scent, knowing that my father will smell neither werewolf nor elf. He will have a distinct smell that I now will be able to pinpoint. I raise my head high, taking in another deep breath as I close my eyes, focusing on the gust of wind that flows past me, feeling the ground beneath me, the walls around me, the warmth within my soul, and the prescience of someone I felt only minutes ago. My eyes snap open, head turning to the balcony where Lucretia had me hours ago, telling me about both my father and great ancestor who motivated her to consume a soul.

Moving towards the balcony, I spot a figure not draped in black, but a navy cloak, their face hidden by the hood, presence haunting, and their back turned towards me. I walk softly, my nerves picking up as I reach the balcony, the cold winter breezes sending chills down my spine as a warmth from within me replaces the cold. My chest rises and falls with every deep breath I take, my eyes widening as I reach out to the figure, fingers barely brushing the shoulders of the male before he pulls away, spinning around for those piercing blue eyes to meet mine.

"You are not your mother," he says, those words feeling like swords to my heart, his tone harsh, eyes scanning me over. "It was never part of the plan for you to come into this world. Why have you not left it?"

I am shocked that my father, after years of not seeing his only child, would rather greet me with harsh words than ones of welcoming and warmth. "No, I am not my mother, but you should try and at least act like the father you are to me, your daughter, the one you left alone years ago."

"Why did you come here?" he asks, his hands pulling down his hood as the face of my father greets me. What I was used to seeing in old family photos and the tabloids, the face is now before me, the dark locks of hair grown down to his shoulders, more of an aged face, strong jaw, and a scar running along the left side of his face, it all seems so unfamiliar.

"I came to find the man who never once returned home to his family though he had every chance," I respond, taking his words as insults and the message that he does not want me here. "Eleven years, have you no idea the stress and loneliness that put on mom?"

My father shakes his head. "She knew what my mission meant for her, and she accepted my calling. She accepted the fact that I would not return home until my mission was finished."

"Your mission to murder innocent children," I add, voice sharp as my father tilts his head to the side.

"You do not understand, Candice, but those children, those things, are not pure, are not normal, and must die. For centuries our family has sworn to hunt down the gods and their children, to keep the world of the supernatural more mortal that immortal. Those gods and their children, they are nearly threats to our reality back home."

I step back, understanding why I now wanted to find my father. "You have no right to call the human realm your home, for you have lost that privilege," I spit, feeling a darkness stirring within me. I know why I still wanted to find my father after I accepted the fact that he would never come back home. I was so foolish, so blind. "You are not deserving of mom either."

"Then why did you come here, Candice, to Iduna, to me?" Heka shouts, raising his hands in the air as my eyebrows knit together.

"Because I thought having you back not just in my life, but mom's as well, that we could be a family again, that our lives could be happy once more," I snap, shaking my head as my eyes water, "but now I do not know who you are, and I am too deep into this game of Dregh's now to back down."

"Dregh?" he asks, concerned. "You met Dregh?"

There is a noise down the hall, the scent of Kyril growing closer. "We have no idea, Kyril and his men are coming for you and I need you alive so I can get out of here."

"What did Dregh want from you?" Heka asks again, making sure I get the message that he will not move unless I tell him.

Looking over my shoulder, I spot Kyril, his eyes locked with mine as he sees I have beaten him to Heka. My arm is grabbed, pulling me back to the focus of my father as he asks his question again. "Because she wants me for a sick game of hers, to take down the gods because you are not strong enough to. Now, we must leave." Heka looks past me and to Kyril, his eyes turning back as he whispers words to himself, a dark energy circling his hands as he pushes past me. "No, come back."

Heka walks into the hallway, ignoring my calls. I rush after my father, seeing him raising his fists to Kyril who instructs his men to ready their weapons. "We had a deal, Kyril, do not harm him," I shout at the King, his golden eyes focused on my father. "You made me a deal, you said you would never do anything to harm your mate and by doing this, you will have harmed me."

My father stops, lowering his hands as his magic dissipates. All eyes are on me, even Kyril's golden eyes that remind me of a summer sunset. "This monster is your mate?" Heka asks me, voice sharp as I know what my words mean to him, how to be mates with someone he has sword to kill must betray him. "You, a descendent of Heka of the Nile and my daughter, mated to the very creature our family has sword to destroy?"

"Leave him alone, father, and come with me, leave this one be, have mercy on this one demi-god because your daughter pleads with you to."

Silence, the tension of the air growing in power as Kyril looks at me now not with any emotion of attraction or admiration, but with despair and disbelief. Just as I think my father is to agree to my terms, he places his focus on Kyril, landing a blow right at the King, only for Kyril to block it with a forcefield of bright red flames. "You bastard," Heka shouts at Kyril, grabbing a dagger form his belt as he lunges it at Kyril, only, as I think of nothing else that can be done, I thrust myself into the battle, blocking the hit from my father with my arms crossed on each other. As the dagger meets my locked wrists, the blade shatters against my flesh, a set of gray scales covering my wrists to protect the blow. The force of my shield thrusts my father back a few yards, giving me time to look back to Kyril, despair reflected in his eyes.

"You were the daughter of the man I swore to kill this whole time," Kyril whispers in disbelief. "My mate the daughter of my sworn enemy, what dark humor must the gods have to craft such a curse."

I shake my head. "Respect the treaty we made, that I am to go off with Heka on my own terms because I have found him first. Respect me because we are equals like you said, because you could never do harm to me."

"Yet you have harmed me more than anyone ever has," Kyril whispers, voice weak, "and you use that to get what you want, because you know how much you mean to me."

I do not reply, simple watching as the King's eyes water, trying to hold his strong and powerful character to prove to his men the masculinity they believe him to have. "Let me have my father, Kyril, let us keep our agreement with no betrayal," I plead, keeping my voice soft, my tone more nurturing than anything as I try and keep the king calm.

The world around us is tuned out, our eyes focused on the other, the dragon within me only beginning to awaken. "You are the slyest fox I have ever met, Candice, and do you know what pains me the most?" Kyril asks, hand reaching upon, his fingers brushing across my cheek, as if trying to memorize the feeling of my skin, his hands pulling my face close to his.

"That you must let me go?" I ask, guessing the answer to his question, watching as his eyes scan every feature of my face.

A finger brushes across my bottom lip, Kyril pulling away as he hesitates to et me go. "The fact that you are the first person in my life that makes me feel alive, like I have experienced the beauty of life, and that makes this miserable world so much better, yet I must let you go."

Kyril pulls away, taking a step back as he looks back to Heka. "Go, the two of you, just leave." Nodding my head, I back away, keeping my eyes fixed on the King who has sacrificed his sole mission all because of a human who wanted to find her father. A human who he had no control over falling for. "And Candice," he calls out, calling my attention back to him once again. "The next time we see one another, I fear you may not even recognize the person you have become."

A hand is placed upon my shoulder, my father pulling me away from the King. Both men have decided to put their goals aside all because of me, because of something they care for. My father will be here for me, to help me, to guide me through this new life of a dragon within me, and Kyril...he will wait till he can see me again. With every step I take, my body feels weaker rather than stronger like what I would have thought. As my father guides me out of the palace and we keep our words the bare minimum, my vision begins to blur once more, my feet beginning to drop over small bricks in the passage to the mountains. The cold air consumes my weak body, my father whispering spells to keep us warm.

I cough, covering it with my elbow as my body feels weaker instantly. Pulling my arm down, I look to where I coughed, my skin paling as I see the crimson substance staining my sleeve. "Father," I call out, my father stopping in his steps a few meters away. As he looks back to me, he sees the blood, but it is not the blood that scares him, but something else wrong with me.

"Candice, your...your hands," he whispers in disbelief as his eyes are focused on my flesh. My eyes quickly snap to my hands, to what used to be fair skin is now a set of hands, the veins running through almost glowing, the blue veins creating patterns within my skin as I fall to my knees. My fingertips are stained a midnight blue, my wrists covered in dark scales, and as I frantically pull my sleeves up to reveal my arms holding the same blue vein pattern, I look in horror to Heka.

"No," I mutter, shaking my head. "No." I look to my chest, pulling the top down to where I can get a clear view of where my heart pumps, dark blue scales running from my chest and fading away as they reach my collarbones. There, in my chest, where my heart is, beats my black heart, each pump visible just like on Dregh's own chest, the sight making me want to vomit. "Make it go away, make it go away, Heka, make it go away" I scream, tears running down my face I as frantically scrape at my chest, hoping the scales will peal away and be gone. As my fingernails begin to dig into my flesh and rather than the scales coming off, blood begins to trickle down my chest, I look up to my father, hopelessness flooding my entire existence as he looks at me with worry. "No."

Pain rises from within me, my screams filling the air as I fling my arms out, a power surge running through my body, and as my hands clench into fists and those beautiful eyes that hold every galaxy run through my mind, I lower my fists. As they hit the ground, a black smoke explodes around me, running out like a shockwave as Heka cowers from the magic I have just released into the world. His face is pale, eyes hollow as he looks at me like he does not even know who I am anymore.

"What am I?" I cry out, unable to accept the answer that awaits. I do not want to accept the answer that awaits, I do not want to hear it, but I know I must.

Heka shakes his head, looking at me with fear in his eyes. "You are no longer a human, Candice," he begins, my heart plummeting to the ground as I want to run away, "you are something more powerful than what I have ever seen."

"And what is that?" I ask, wanting to give up and fall asleep on the forest floor, to perhaps wake up back in my bed and greet my mother with a warm smile. "What am I, father?"

"I do not know."