Beautiful Ocean Moon

We Need Help

After some time dinner was brought to us but Ares never came back and Asher and Jax were also gone before we got the food. “I don’t understand this.” Max said as we ate. “Why risk that attack?” He added. “We already asked that same thing, Max.” Jay answered with confusion. “No, I don’t mean why risk attacking her before dinner or why he didn’t wait until we were all asleep. I mean why risk attacking while she is inside the palace walls at all? It does not make any sense at all for him or whoever to have attacked her at that moment. Yes, we were all to see the king tonight but we weren’t going to talk about the investigation, not with it being that public. So why risk the chance of attacking her inside a heavily guarded castle? Why risk it when we all and the guards were in clear earshot and could arrive in time to save her?” Max’s words made me realize something. “I didn’t know.” “None of us know Mira don’t….” “No, Cameron I mean I didn’t know he was there at least not at first. I got the feeling I was being watched but I didn’t feel anything else. I never would have known someone was there had I not heard the slight growl. And then why risk digging claws into my back and shoving me to the floor when he had an axe with him?” Everyone had paused in eating though no one was eating a lot to begin with. “If he had an axe it would have made more sense for him to just have struck you from behind with it. I mean like you said you had no idea he was there until you had the growl and even then didn’t have enough time to react to it and were attacked and knocked to the ground. So why….” Max paused coming to a realization and I was hoping it wasn’t what I was thinking. “We are asking the question why and so far the answers we have come up with don’t fit every question.” Max added after a second and he looked right at me. But I wasn’t the next one to speak. “Because he wasn’t trying to kill her. He was trying to scare and threaten her.” Rayna’s words rang through the room. “I was his target but not for death. He risked the attack to do three things. The first to show how easily he could get to me and I would never know it unless he wanted me to. The second to scare me for whatever reason.” The conference room door swung open and Ares stood there along with Asher, and Jax. “The third was a warning that my home isn’t safe along with leaving behind a note.” Ares said as he walked into the room holding a crushed piece of paper in his fist. I stood and put my hand out for the note Ares at first didn’t move and I was surprised by that but then after a moment, he handed it to me. “Alabaster skin will be stained red with her blood just as her hair is tainted by the color. The eyes clear now clouded in their death. This we promise for me can not and will not let them walk this earth again so be ready dear king. On the full moon of the Summer Solstice, the Sapphire Queen will be burned to ash.” I read the note out loud. “Okay, I am confused I mean I get that the first line is Mira at least it seems like it but the rest makes no sense.” “Right it only talks about one person who for this we will assume is Mira at first and then their eyes imply that more than one person. And then talks about not letting them walk this earth again when Mira is already walking it so that line can’t be her so who is them and they say King but you are not yet the King.” Jay and Cameron spoke together. “And the last line, the Sapphire Queen. I have never heard of a Sapphire Queen let alone us having one in this kingdom so what is with that.” Lily said. “Sapphire is one of Mira’s house colors isn’t it?” Seth asked. “Yes, but no one in my family is a queen or is even related to any of the previous queens so that can’t refer to me.” I answered him. “And why attack me at all, why try to use me as a threat against the royal family when I only just met the crown prince a few days ago?” I asked the question though I wasn’t expecting an answer. Everyone paused in thought for a minute all thinking the same thing. “I think I might have an idea.” Ares suddenly said and he looked livid about it. “Okay?” Seth said questioningly. “Remember the story of the Dragons.” Ares asked and everyone nodded so he continued. “The smaller dragon the one that had been injured was a female Dragon that was known by the name Sapphire. The Dragons were called the King and Queen. So if I had to guess then the note refers to the Dragon Queen Sapphire.” “Apologies but I think you are only partially right.” I said suddenly interrupting but Ares only nodded. “You were right on the fact that the Dragons were refers to as the King and Queen but then why right the note to you calling you the King.” Everyone blinked at me and then looked around at each other registering my words. “The story goes that they are connected forever to the demon partners they choose but what if that meant their descendants, someone in their bloodline that the dragons would pick as their next partners. This means that whoever the next partner of the Dragon King is will also be considered a King so therefore with that logic the Sapphire Queen doesn’t just refer to the Dragon herself but also to her partner. And right now they are assuming that the two of us are the Dragon partners.” “Okay, but why say they will die, who are they?” Lily asked. “Okay let’s say for this conversation I am the Dragon Queen's partner and that Ares is the Dragon King's partner and the people responsible for the attack are the holy sect.” Everyone agreed. “The holy sect learned once that when the dragon is attacked nothing happened to the partner after they were already bonded.” Again nods. “If they think that they have found the Dragons partners then they will want to see what happens before a bond can be formed which means that they believe that if they kill me they will kill her two and the dragons mate for life so without his mate he will give up and die.” I paused to take a breath after the long statement. “But then why give a letter saying on the full moon of the Summer Solstice?” Asher asked. “In the story, the bond was supposedly created during the night of a full moon on the Summer Solstice but the when has been lost to time.” Ares answered. “So whoever is behind this believes it's the summer solstice. But in order for that to be the case they would have had to hear the story before.” I added in and I was beginning to get a sinking feeling. “We should inform his Majesty and the Archduke of all this.” Asher and Rayna said together. “No.” I said and they looked at me surprised well Asher was surprised Rayna’s look was angry. “Mira.” “I said no Rayna at the moment this is all speculation and the summit is in a few days' time we can not risk the King putting it on hold or my father whisking me away back home. That won’t solve anything and you know it. So no we need to figure out what is going on and we need to start researching the Legend of the Dark Flame Dragons and right now we only have two and a half months before the Solstices. So we don’t have a lot of time to try to get my father on board with the fact that he might not be able to keep me safe especially if we don’t know for sure that I am the partner. So our time and resources would be better used getting as much information as we can.” I looked at Rayna hard and even though I knew she only wanted me safe now was not the time for it. Thankfully Rayna nodded but I could tell she was worried. “We are going to need to split into teams for this and we are going to at least need two more people.” Jax was the one that said that and we all looked at me in surprise well all except Ares and Asher. “That’s a good idea but the question is who, who can we trust after this?” Jay asked wringing her hands together trying to calm her raging thoughts. “I think I know two people that would be willing to help and they can go by unnoticed for the most part.” I answered and then watched Rayna’s head snap to me and I tried not to smile. “Are you sure, don’t get me wrong I will be so happy to see them but well.” Lily looked nervously at Seth who gave her a questioning look. “It will be fine I promise she will behave.” I said reassuringly, and Lily saw my look and knew that I meant it so she nodded with a big smile and said “okay.” Rayna was still looking at me in surprise but I could tell she was also excited. “Who are they?” Ares asked and I told him that by tomorrow afternoon they would be here. He didn’t say more just nodded his head. After that, we all finished eating before finally retiring for the night.

“Mira.” Ares caught my arm just before I walked into my suite and I paused to look at him confused. “There will be guards on this floor starting tonight and wards have been placed on all the windows and balcony doors for the night so you will be safe but for any reason you don’t feel that way have a guard send for me.” I was left speechless by that but Ares only raised an eyebrow waiting for my answer. Still unable to find my voice I merely gave a small nod and with that Ares let me go and sweated down the hall to go to his floor. “Mira, are you alright?” Lily asked me as I closed the door slowly behind me. “I don’t know.” I told her and she didn’t press me further just nodded and followed me to my room where I climbed onto the bed. Rayna and Lily climbed in as well. However, what neither of us noticed was the absence of my two guardians.