The Lost King of Dragons

Chapter 8

The party went well and long. It ran until late into the evening. An alpha’s heir turning 18 is always a grand event. When war plagued the world, it was progressively harder for a male heir to survive to adult hood to receive their title. Many times, families have to choose the next succession. Therefore, the line would change constantly.

Axon enjoyed his party. He was barely through meeting all of those in attendance. His mate was the Head Warrior from the Shadow Silver Pack. Her name was Annexa. She was going to be the perfect Luna. She was understanding, kind, compassionate, but also a fighter and protector.

We were all happy for him. She will be keeping him on his toes, that’s for sure.

She was with him the entire time Axon was going around and meeting people.

It was interesting to see there were several witches in attendance as well. One of them made me uneasy as she kept a very close eye on Ember. It made me stay closer to her. Ember picked up on the woman as well. Having lived life, we did; we were hyper aware of possible threats. We didn’t know what this woman wanted, but her staring was making us uneasy.

I went up to Alpha Damascus and asked him as to whom the woman was and he stated she actually came with the Kings and Queen. I thought that was odd. However, I couldn’t ask them as that would have been rude and they might take offense to the questioning.

I decided it was time for Ember to go up to bed. She has an early morning with Queen Rayne and the witches’ stares were continuing to worry me. She gave me no resistance.

The remainder of the evening was uneventful. The witch didn’t continue to watch me, which was both a relief and a concern. I was going to have to do some digging to get to the bottom of her.

Once things had quieted down, we were all able to switch out shifts and get some shut-eyes.

The following morning wasn’t anything exciting. Ember had breakfast with the Queen, followed by long conversations.

I made myself useful and helped clean up the party.

Axon, surprisingly enough, chose not to mate and mark Annexa last night. This is quite unusual for a werewolf. When they meet their mate, their animal instincts kick in and all reason goes out the window. He wanted to get to know her and give her the opportunity to feel comfortable at first. Annexa was very impressed with his self-control. She was appreciative of his thoughtfulness.

As I was walking through the pack house to find Alpha Damascus, I came upon Queen Rayne and Ember walking through, headed towards the sun room.

“My dear, I would like you to meet my witch, she can help us understand your situation more.”

This had me stopping in my tracks. If it was the same witch from last night, then I would feel uneasy and uncomfortable at the thought.

“Your Highness, may I accompany you?”

“Why, yes, you may Dante.”

I followed close behind as they entered the sunroom. Sure enough, sitting there was the witch from last night. She had an evil-looking smile on her face.

“Ah my Queen, I am honored to have you ask me for assistance. Please come sit. I shall read you little one.”

Ember hesitantly sat in the chair across from the witch. Queen Rayne sat beside her and I stood behind them in the middle.

“Now sit still, my dear, and clear your mind. You may fill a slight pinch as I enter your mind.”

Ember nodded and sat with her eyes closed. I watched as the witch sat staring at her.

She sat and chanted with words I couldn’t recognize. The room around me felt eerie. I felt a threat of danger in the room. As I walked forward to stop this, the witch spoke.

“You, child, you’re in danger at every turn. I can feel eyes on you. Someone is looking for you. No, not someone, but many. Oh my…” she paused. Her face squished together as if she was trying to see something. “You are a very rare little one. In fact, I cannot sense any others like you.” She then smiles a big smile, showing all of her teeth. “Hestia has great plans for you.” She looks over to the Queen, “and for your highness. Your futures are intwined together. First, though, young one, you must complete your mission. You are to unite the dragons and bring about a new world.”

Ember spoke, “What am I supposed to do?”

The witch thought for a moment. “I cannot tell you as Hestia has forbidden it. This is a journey you must walk and discover for yourself. Keep your friends close because they are your strength, but be watchful. There are those with grasp that do not have good intentions. They will seek to bring you down. Trust your gut. It won’t lead you astray.”

The witch snapped her frail fingers and the heaviness left the room.

“Well, that wasn’t as foretelling as I had hoped it would be.” Ember huffs.

“Little one, if I gave you all the answers it would doom this world.”

With that, the witch asked to be excused by the Queen. She motioned for her to leave.

“Dante, who is after me?” My heart thudded against my chest. We didn’t know enough yet to have the full answer. I knew they were hunters at this point, but I didn’t understand why her specifically.

“I don’t know who they are specifically, nor why they have targeted you specifically.”

“If you will allow me, I will take the other species to see if they have any knowledge.”

Ember’s eyes got big. “Other species?”

“Why yes, little one. There are the kingdoms of vampires, fairies, and mermaids. There are also sirens, goblins, and djinn, but those are evil beings and may very well be in league with humans. If not being their authority.”

Queen Rayne called for the witch, who immediately appeared. “Would you please send invitations to the kings and queens of the vampires, fairies, and the mermaids? We need to know more about these men.”

She nodded and disappeared.

With that, she invited us out for tea in the sunroom. That was my cue to leave.

I took the information we gained and reported it to the team. They were as confused as I was about some of the things the witch had said. The Kings had recommended Ember go to live with them since the witch foretold of her future being intwined with the Queens. This had both of them very concerned. Did this mean if something happened to Ember it would also happen to the Queen?

No one knew. With how cryptic the witch was, there were even more questions now.

Two days later, the Queen received responses from both of the vampire kingdoms, the 7 kingdoms of the sea, and the empire of the fairies. They would be meeting with the King and Queen individually throughout the next few weeks.

With this, the Kings and Queen had to depart for their kingdom. They tried talking Ember into going. I have to admit I felt relief when she said she needed more information before leaving the pack.