Dragon Born: Book I of the Tendaaren Chronicles
Chapter 41: You Cannot Have Everything

“The greatest test of courage on earth is to bear defeat without losing heart.“--Robert Green Ingersoll

Celeste grabbed Emily. Her hands gently clasped each side of her face. Gentle lightning danced between her fingers and the two of them began to glow. Allbandar’s eyes never left her face. He felt his heart being torn in two. He desperately wanted to take her place. Emily screamed. Her voice was a demonic confliction between humanity and malevolence. The words that escaped her sent chills down his spine, it was Scelestra’s voice and her final words destroyed him. These words confirmed his deepest fears. “She never loved you.”

“Please end this.” I cannot take this anymore.

Celeste nodded. No one knew the consequences of those final words. The glow surrounding Emily and her was blinding. Light filled the room and cascaded from the windows. Turning night into the brilliance of day for the briefest of moments. The stained glass windows exploded with the force of the potent magic. Scelestra’s scream slowly faded into that of a more humble human voice.

Only Emily’s voice remained. It was gentle and kind. “Where am I?” she asked confusion shaking her voice. Allabandar ran to her and held her close. “Your grace I hardly think this is appropriate.” He pulled away from her and studied her with his eyes. The expression that stared back was not that of love or adoration, it was only confusion. Her eyes widened and drifted down to her swollen stomach, and she screamed.

Sceletra’s Castle

Alyenna looked at Baellnar through ice encased eyes. She felt the bitter chill of death seeping in through her bones. Her heart slowed each fluttering beat was weaker than the last. Her world was vicious and cold. All she saw was raging ice-encrusted wind and a pair of eyes. The eyes were the blood red of betrayal. There was no love in those eyes. The gentle soul of her beloved was buried deep within completely out of sight. Only hatred remained in his eyes and watched with pleasure as her body failed.

Alyenna could have stood against anything except that. She could not handle the hatred in the eyes of her friend. A voice within her called to her. Reminded her that those were not his eyes.

She closed her eyes picturing the night she met him. The night that her world had finally changed. The night that had given her hope. A night that had been the briefest glimpse into the world of happiness she would feel in the coming journey. The only joy the only love she had felt since her parents had been murdered.

It had all been for nothing. Alyenna felt her legs collapse beneath her. Her heart’s steady rhythm fading. The icy blood in her veins could not support her and she felt the tremors of hypothermia consume her. Baellnar’s voice laughed at her pain.

She heard Scelestra’s voice, “kill the imposter!”

She watched through the icy wind as the cheap imitation of herself was wrapped around Baellnar. Her trembling and blue lips cried tried to call out his name. Yet nothing came. Her voice was frozen in her throat. She tried, again and again, only silence escaped her lips.

The wind picked up vicious and glee contorted his face. Alyenna finally truly understood Eleanor’s pain. She was horrified watching history repeat itself.

Scelestra’s voice rose through the wind again. “End her!” and Baellnar charged Alyenna, a silver elven dagger in hand. It all happened in painful slow motion. She could see the creased anger on his face. The vicious glee he felt in the oncoming attack. She did not even hold up her hands. What was the point? Even if she did survive could she ever forgive him? This horrible distortion of who he was would forever be emblazoned on her memory. So she forced herself to look at the real villain. She had to forgive. Scelestra’s power was in fear. She had to forgive even in a death caused by his hand.

At that moment the door to the room slammed open a thunderous roar shook the room. Aagi immediately charged Scelestra a glowing orange sword was gripped tightly in his hand. He moved with incredible speed. He roared drawing her attention to him. Unfortunately, it did not slow Baellnar’s attack.

stabbed her just as Baellnar’s dagger struck Alyenna. The red-hot embers of his weapon cut deep into the side of her ebony lace dress. Scelestra screamed in pain and looked at the weapon deeply embedded in her side. Without hesitation, she thrust her hand in the air. The force of her magic dragged Aagi through the air and slammed him into a stone wall. His body slid down the wall his eyes closed and his head was slumped limply to its side. Aagi, though not gifted with height, had never seemed so diminutive before. His unconscious form was so feeble. Blood poured from his nose and skull.

Scelestra growled and grabbed her own wound. Her eyes flashing with ferocity and examined her blood-soaked hand. Her anger gave Alyenna hope. Alyenna smiled as she gripped her own frozen and massacred side, and laughed at the wounded witch who stood alone. “That is what happens when you have friends.” She heard a metal clatter next to her ear. The scarlet in Baellnar’s eyes was fading. She smiled at him. “Welcome home my love.”

Baellnar screamed and held her. “No, no, no. I did not do this please tell me I did not do this.”

Alyenna held up a gentle hand to his face, “you did not.” She glared at Scelestra’s hunched and angry form. Her eyes were wild with rage. “She did, but we learned something today.” Her eyes looked back at Baellnar. “The witch bleeds.”

Alyenna collapsed to the ground and darkness surrounded her. She felt his cold and gentle arms around her calling her name. Then darkness took her.

Baellnar held Alyenna’s frozen body in his arms. Her lips were tinged with purple and her skin was the color of ash. Her rainbow eyes had faded into a deathly grey. Scelestra was laughing. “I may bleed, but it means nothing when I have succeeded in killing your hero for the second time.”

He gathered his own power in his hand forming a blade of wind and ice, and he sent it flying toward the witch who had destroyed him twice. Never again could she claim him. For you could only be claimed once. It was his turn to kill her. Alyenna would not die in vain. Not this time. He could not wait another century to be destroyed again.

Before the blade could touch Scelestra he felt a searing blade cut through him. Agony coursed through his veins as he looked down at a scarlet trail that led down from his stomach. Scelestra had stabbed him with her own blade. “When will you learn.”

He held Alyenna protectively ignoring the blood that poured down his side. He remembered her words. That they had hope in this together and while they had gotten further than ever before they still failed. He held her close and cried into her silken chocolate hair. He covered her frozen body with his own. He held her close wishing for his own warmth to bring her back. “Come back to me,” Scelestra’s laugh cut through his soul, but he would not release her. Then a sound that no one could hear but him began to tick in his ears. The sound came from her heart. Alyenna was still in there. There was still hope. That was the one thing that was different, Alyenna would never give up. Not even in death.

A vicious smile tucked at his lips. “You have no one, not me not her, not anyone. You are alone. We will never stop. We will never let go of hope. You may have destroyed her but like Eleanor, there will always be a fire. There will always be someone coming for you.” He had to protect her. He had to save that gentle beat in her heart and the only thing that could bring it back was warmth. He had to get Scelestra away. “I will destroy you myself if I have to.” He weakly rose to his feet. Blood still pouring from his side and he tore his sword of music and ice from the air and charged her.

“We will see about that.” Scelestra held him aloft with her magic and then threw him out the window. “You are mine now, you work for me.” He fell and landed on a dark scaled dragon. Another body followed him and he felt Scelestra’s magic bind him.

He hummed nearly silently as they flew away into the dark night. Strands of light disappeared into the windows of Scelestra’s Castle and wove a protective spell around Alyenna and sent a message to Aagi. The one person who could save her now.

Aagi opened his eyes and saw Alyenna’ body on the floor encased in ice. The room was silent and pools of blood were everywhere. He ran to her side. He placed his hands on her and felt the heat of the earth run through his fingertips.

Color returned to Alyenna’s cheeks, then her eyes, then her lips. Her lids fluttered for a brief moment and she smiled at him. “Hello, old friend.” Then she looked around for someone he knew she would not replace.

“He is not ’ere.” Aagi was barely able to speak the words. His eyes never left the pool of blood next to Alyenna. Blood that was clearly not hers. Neither of them had any way of knowing if Baellnar was still alive.

Alyenna eyed the glowing magic surrounding them, “She stole him from me.” Aagi nodded. Alyenna smiled at him. “Then I guess our journey is just beginning. We will destroy her together.” Then she collapsed weakly back into his arms. He watched as the dragon magic mended the deep wound on her side.

“Ya we gotsta go get ourselves a damsel in distress!” He winked at her but the pain in his voice remained. He was not sure they could get there in time, or if his friend was even still in there.

She chuckled and then her eyes fluttered closed and she heaved a heavy sigh.“Indeed.”

The End