10 - Rare tribrid
1538 Words
Elenor
“Wait,” Edmund runs his hand through his hair and lets out a long breath. “You’re leaving me?”
I stand beside my brother, both of us leaning against a tree.
Edmund was waiting for me when I arrived. I knew he’d be here without him having to tell me. This is our special place.
My brother said that he hadn’t initially answered me because he was busy arguing with a guard outside the dungeon. Edmund wanted to see me after being tipped off that I had been arrested. He was naturally worried about me.
However, the guard had just come on duty and hadn’t even had a chance to clock in yet. So, he wasn’t aware that I had been released. Perhaps if Edmund had let the guard speak, he would have checked if I was still there. But when my brother is het-up, no one can get a word in edgeways.
It finally registered that I was calling him, which is why Edmund yelled at me to answer him. He waited for me here, and I ran to him. My brother held me as I tried not to cry. This whole day has been ridiculous!
This is also the longest I have ever been away from Sylva since I began taking care of her. She must be so scared and wondering where I am.
“I’m not leaving you, Edmund. But Sylva needs me. Just because her father suddenly woke up and decided he wanted her with him, it doesn’t mean he has a clue how to raise a little girl alone. Michael will need help learning how to be a dad. Sure, most of it comes naturally, but Sylva is almost three. She knows her own mind, and Michael…”
“I get it.” Edmund cuts me off and sighs. “I would never guilt you into not going or even expect you to stay. I’m just going to miss you, that’s all.”
“You can visit me any time, Edmund. Michael already said that he’s happy for you to visit me anytime you want. We’ll also be coming here often, so I’ll see you then.”
“It’s not the same,” Edmund mumbles like a petulant child, making me smile.
Edmund and I have always been together. Even when we were in the institution, we were together. We may live in different houses here, but Edmund would come by and check on me, and we have dinner once a week. We won’t be able to do that anymore, which makes me sad.
“You could always come with us.”
Edmund looks at me and smiles. “I have nothing against Lycans, but I don’t think I could live amongst them. I like being here with other Dragons.”
I envy my brother. He has a Dragon and can transform whenever he likes. Athrion, Edmund’s Dragon, is massive. He looks like a warrior and flies like a jet plane, but his eyes are red. That can be frightening for some people, which is why Edmund only transforms when no one is around.
I used to have a Dragon. Meinir was everything to me. She was big with emerald-green scales, and she was a fierce fighter. Meinir was incredible, and her speed and stealth were unmatched. But she was taken from me by the monsters who experimented on me at the institution.
It has been hard for me without my Dragon. I have felt lost without her for far too long. I still haven’t gotten over losing her, and the only thing that kept me sane was Sylva.
Before King Xale allowed Edmund and I to stay, he asked us to show him our Dragons. Edmund transformed, and Xale was curious about the red eyes. No other Dragon has ever been recorded to have such eyes. I lied and said they matched the scales of his Merman tail. The King seemed to buy it because he didn’t question us further.
But he asked if my Dragons eyes would match the scales of my Siren tail. They would never match because Edmund and I are neither Siren nor Merman, and we never were.
I was, at least, honest enough to tell the King I didn’t have a Dragon, but not why. He was shocked, and I was terrified he would ask me to show him my Siren form.
How would I explain that I couldn’t?
However, the King didn’t ask that of us, and I was grateful.
“I understand.” I lay my head on my brother’s shoulder. “I don’t want to leave you, but Sylva needs me, Edmund. I can’t leave that baby girl until I know her father will take care of her properly and put no one before her.”
“I know.” He lays his cheek on my head. “It’s not like we’ll never see each other again.”
“We’ll see each other all the time. You’re the most important person in my life, Edmund. I could never be without you.”
“Ditto.” He whispers. “What about Decker? Are you allowed to take him? Or do you want me to look after him?”
Ah, that.
I sigh while lifting my head. I look at my brother. “Decker isn’t who we thought he was.”
Edmund furrows his brow. “What do you mean?”
Edmund listens as I explain what happened inside my house. His eyes widened so much that they looked like they would burst when I told him Decker wasn’t really a dog. He was a man parading as a dog all this time. The hurt and betrayal are real, but I feel numb right now.
“But I told that damn dog things!” Edmund’s eyes widen again. “Things I never told anyone else!”
“You and me both.” I huff while folding my arms over my chest.
I still can’t get my head around any of this. No matter how many times I try to sort through my thoughts, I can’t seem to compartmentalize.
“So,” Edmund runs his hand through his hair. “Decker is not a dog. He’s a man who has the ability to be one and also snap his fingers to clean and dress himself. What is he?”
What is he, indeed?
I know I have to tell my brother about Von, but he’s not going to take it well. If I could have avoided all of this, I would. I wouldn’t tell Edmund anything if I thought Von would disappear again, never to be seen. As terrible as that sounds. I would do anything to protect my brother. As it is, I cannot keep this from Edmund because Von is not going to leave until he’s seen Edmund. I know that without a doubt.
Fuc.k it all to hell and back!
I sigh. “He’s a Vampire, Demon, Dragon mix.”
Edmund huffs. “You don’t see that every day. What are the odds?”
“Astronomical, Edmund.”
My brother has never been the brightest spark, but I cannot believe it hasn’t clicked in his mind who I’m talking about.
There aren’t many Vampire, Demon, Dragon mixes in the world. I could probably count on two hands how many there are. Perhaps there are more now, I wouldn’t know, especially if they had children. But it’s rare for such a tribrid to have children. Most are unable, and there are, to my knowledge, just two females in existence, and none have children.
The rest are male, and most of them are same-se.x orientated. I wouldn’t know if any of the males have children, I haven’t kept up with things since I came here.
But the point is, Vampire, Demon, Dragon tribrids do not come along very often.
“So, where is this man? What does he look like? How old do you think he is?”
Seriously?
“I’d say the man is around three thousand years old.”
“Wow,” Edmund mumbles.
“He’s in my house with Michael, and he looks like…” I swallow hard as emotion tries to overtake me. I’ve been trying to push it back since I left the house, but I’m struggling to contain it now.
“Hey,” Edmund lays his hand on my face. “What’s all this?” He wipes a fallen tear from my cheek with his thumb.
“It’s all too much, Edmund. All these years of hoping, wishing, praying, and he’s been with us all this time. How could he hide from us like that?”
Edmund narrows his eyes. “Elenor, is that man…?” He swallows hard. “Von?”
I burst into tears, sobbing as Edmund pulls me into his arms. I can feel the anger welling up inside him.
The snapping of a twig underfoot has us pulling apart in time to see Von staring at us. I told him not to follow me!
“You!” Edmund yells.
“Hello, little brother.” Von smiles.
Edmund growls and charges toward Von, and they collide like a clap of thunder.
“No!”
- Writer
