The Dragon Prince

Destruction

The world was spinning. 

I felt drained, as if every drop of energy had been purged from my body, only unending emptiness left behind. 

I sat up from the ground slowly, my head pounding. Dark shadows swirled around me, encasing me in an opaque bubble. A familiar voice echoed from somewhere outside, their voice sounding strained.

“I think she’s awake.” 

A reply sounded a bit further away, another familiar voice who’s tone resembled the others. 

“Tifa, send the magic into the sky. We can’t risk releasing it into the field.” 

A loud whoosh filled my ears as the bubble around me lifted, leaving me sitting in the middle of the field. It rose high up into the ever present night, past the branches until it mingled with the stars far above. 

Three sets of footsteps approached me, but I was unable to look up at who they belonged to. My mind was reeling, overwhelming nausea coursing through me. A gentle hand was placed on my shoulder, sending ripples of radiating warmth through my shocked and aching body. 

After a moment, I was able to raise my head, my eyes meeting a set of steely grey. 

“Well hello again, Arya. Long time no see.” Erriams tone held a touch of sarcasm, his gaze shifting to the destruction around me. 

“Ash, I told you something like this may happen.” He looked to the two people beside him. I followed his gaze to see Tifa and Ash both looking down at me worriedly. Tifa gave me a wary smile, almost a grimace. While Ash just stood staring at something in the distance, his brows furrowed in concentration. 

“I-... I didn’t think… I didn’t know she could…” Ash trailed off, his voice barely more than a whisper. 

“What happened?” I mustered the strength to ask, the exhaustion weighing on me. 

Erriam’s eyes drifted back down to me, his mouth drawing into a half smile as he sat down in front of me. 

“We’ll explain in a moment, give me your hands.” He reached out his own, giving me an encouraging look. I placed my hands in his and as I did, a surge of heat blasted through my body, wiping out the pain and exhaustion that had clouded my mind. 

I let out a loud gasp as the last of the horrid feelings left me, feeling infinitely better. 

Erriam dropped my hands, the sudden loss of his magic leaving me chilled. He stood once again, looking off into the distance. Ash trudged over to me and held out a hand to help me up, his face a mix of unreadable emotions. 

“Well, I guess she found her magic.” Erriam scoffed, running a hand through his short grey hair. 

I followed their gazes to the destruction before us. An entire wall of the field had been reduced to rubble, the charred grass around it soaking wet. Some of the large boulders were melted, while others were coated in a thick sheet of ice. 

I looked down at my feet to find that where the orb I’d been confined in had been, the ground was now solid black. The earth had hardened into obsidian beneath me, obliterating the plush grass I’d been sitting on. 

“I… did this?” Three pairs of eyes turned to look at me, matching expressions of concern on each one. 

“You did…” Erriam started, placing a finger to his lips in thought. “Tifa, you were with her, why don’t you explain what happened before I arrived.” 

Tifa nodded, the expression on her face still wary. 

“Ash paired me with Arya, he wanted me to help her access her magic. She was having a hard time reaching it, so I told her to go through her thoughts and push them to the side so she could focus.” She shook her head slowly, her confused expression causing her face to tighten. “She seemed to be doing fine after that, but then her eyes opened. They were glowing white.” She paused, her gaze shifted to the ground. “I tried to stop her, but she was out of control. She started screaming at something I couldn’t see, and sent a blast of magic at the wall behind me. I was lucky I didn’t get hit.” She turned to look at the wall, fear glazed over her features.

 A pang of dizziness hit me as I took in her words, my mind reeling. Ash snapped out of his stupor, noticing my unease. He stepped over, placing a hand around my waist to steady me. 

Erriam nodded at Tifa, a calculating look on his face as he studied the wreckage. 

“Tifa… I’m so-... I don’t know what happened. I didn’t mean to-...” I started, unable to find the words to express how upset I was with my own actions. Tifa shook her head at me.

“It’s not your fault. None of us could’ve known what was going to happen.” She stepped in to give me a hug, wrapping her arms around me in comfort. 

“We need to talk to Queen Desdemona.” Ash said with a huff, grazing his hand down my back. Erriam nodded his agreement and our ragtag group headed towards the exit of the now desolated field.

*******

We found the queen in the throne room, perched upon the sapphire encrusted throne deep in thought. Her gaze flew to us as we entered, her eyes centering on me. I shifted on my feet anxiously, overcome with a sudden sense of fear. The Queen looked furious. 

She turned her malevolent gaze to Ash, who shrank into himself at the force of it.

“So, I heard you all had quite an eventful time today.” Her mouth turned up in a scowl. 

“Yes, your majesty. Arya lost control of her powers.” He wrapped his arm back around my waist, the queen's eyes taking in every movement.

“She is no longer to use her powers in the field. I will make other arrangements.” Ash nodded at her demand, looking down at his feet ashamedly. 

“Tell me exactly what happened, Arya.” Her eyes pierced into my own as I took a large inhale. 

“Yes, your majesty.”

I described in detail the events leading up to the destruction of the wall, not leaving out a single thing. I mentioned the dream from the night before, which elicited an angry look from Ash. The queen listened as I pressed on, the cool expression on her regal face never shifting. 

 She glanced back and forth between Ash and I once I’d finished, her eyes narrowed. 

“Why wasn’t I informed that you were having visions?” 

“Visions…?” I yelped, suddenly aware of the four sets of eyes drilling into me. 

“Your majesty, I wasn’t aware either. If I’d known I would’ve informed you.” Ash sent another scathing glance in my direction. 

The Queen let out a long sigh, her delicate hand pinching the bridge of her nose. 

“I need to speak to Saoirse. There’s a lot we need to discuss.” She paused for a moment, looking me over once again. “For tomorrow, Arya, you will only attend physical training in the field. I’ll let Ash know what we decide to do for your magic training after I speak to Saoirse.” 

We all nodded at that and the queen raised her hand in dismissal. We wandered into the long stretch of hallways together, the group growing smaller as we went. Erriam mumbled something about needing to check on a wood nymph in the clinic and dashed off. Tifa gave me another hug and turned to head back to the training area, promising to see me in the morning. 

Now alone with Ash in the winding hallways, I could feel his anger rising. It was almost a being of its own, circling us as we traipsed towards my room. We paused outside my door and I braced myself for whatever was to come.

“Arya… why didn’t you tell me about the vision?” He asked quietly, not meeting my eyes.

“I didn’t know it was a vision… I’ve been having nightmares since before I arrived here.”  

Ash shook his head, his golden eyes finally coming to meet my own, a predatorial flash surging through their depths. I took a step backwards, my shoulders brushing against the cool stone wall. 

He moved towards me suddenly, placing a hand on the wall on each side of my slender frame. 

“Arya, if you’re in danger…” A pleading look crossed his face. “I don’t know what I would do if something happened to you. I almost lost you again today.” He reached up a hand to trace my jaw, his breath mingling with my own.

I stared at the handsome Fae in front of me, my heart pounding, my vision centered on only him.  

He leaned down, placing a heart-stopping kiss on my lips before pulling away abruptly. He backed away from me and made his way down the hall without another word. 

I stood transfixed on the spot he’d just stood, my heart beating an uneven rhythm in my chest. I turned and wandered into my room, my conflicting emotions threatening to overcome me. 

I flopped down in the center of my bed, the overwhelming stress from the short day threatening to pull me into a deep sleep.

Arya? 

A voice echoed through my head, causing me to launch myself out of the bed. I scanned the room but found that I was still alone. Puzzled, I sat back down on the edge of the mattress.

Arya, are you okay?

The voice chimed again. I rose and stepped over to the window, peering out to try and find the owner of the familiar voice. 

Look, I’m not there. I just need to know if you’re okay. Use the mind-link. 

I scrunched up my face in confusion, attempting to follow the voice's instructions.

How are you in my head? I asked, unsure if he’d be able to hear me. A chuckle came through in response, letting me know I’d been successful. 

I’ll take that as a yes, I felt a disturbance in the bond and was worried. I’ll see you in a few days. Aideon purred, my mind buzzing with the feeling as if he’d stroked it with a soft hand. 

I felt the link between us slacken, my thoughts becoming my own once again. 

“I’ll see you in a few days…?” I whispered to myself quietly before climbing back into bed.