Dragon Guide

Chapter 20: Unexpected

I had to clear my throat to get Julius back to the moment. I feel like his soul had left his body for a moment there, figuratively speaking of course. I saw the moment he snapped back; he cleared his throat too, in a feeble attempt to dissuade the awkward atmosphere.

"You don't have to tell me anymore if you don't want to. I understand that it is painful for you to remember and talk about this. Had I known that it was such a hard topic for you I would not have asked you to tell me," I quietly apologized.

"No, you did not ask", I offered. "Please rest assured I would not be telling this to anyone unless it was my own choice. I want you to know about her, about Sabina. There is a lot more to tell but we don't have much time so I will just say the parts that need saying. Will you continue to listen? I won't keep you much longer, I assure you," Julius pleaded gently.

I want to know the truth honestly; I am already invested, but is it right for me to listen to this? I nodded my consent and I heard Julius sigh a breath of relief. Did he really want to tell me this or is it that he simply wanted to tell anyone about this but could not? I have the feeling that he may have kept a lot of this to himself for a long time. It must be such a relief to lift this weight and share it. Yes, share, because I have made up my mind to carry this burden with him. I have no proof that I am related to a dragon or anything, but the more I hear the more I want to be a relative to Julius, I want to have a valid reason to share his burden. He calls my attention and continues to tell me his story.

"There was a relative to Akane, a great-grandchild of hers so to speak. Her name was Homura, Sabina had guided her through her change and was her personal guide. Of course, Akane was not a favourite in this situation, but she could do nothing about it because her flock was in danger too and needed this knowledge more than she cared to admit. She never hid her dislike for Sabina and I somewhat understood her reasoning at the time, so I overlooked a lot of the things she did, as long as she brought no harm to my mate, I was fine."

"Homura saw the way she behaved and, of course, took the side of Akane, but she did so silently. No one ever knew her thoughts. Later, she grew close to Riven. We figured, since he was born this way, that he would not actually have a mate like Sabina and I have or like any full dragon had. We were happy that Riven and Homura had chosen each other. We were concerned for Riven because he had been alone for so many years. He now had someone and we were relieved, our bloodline would go on and we would be able to pass down our life's work to those who came after us. We would be able to keep our race alive. Throughout the short years that followed, Homura had three children by Riven. They seemed very happy together. "

Julius heaves a deep sigh and goes on to say," Somehow Nahla found out about Homura's dislike for Sabina. Neither Riven nor I saw it but she did. She told her lies that Sabina stole me from Akane who was my true mate first, and that Sabina also killed her own mother. These lies only made her dislike turn to clear hatred and before anyone realized it, she had made a plan to kill Sabina. What happened next? Well, none of us saw it coming. Late one night in late winter, I received news that my mother was ill and seemed to be at the end of her lifespan. I was so torn about what to do, Homura came to me then and told me that I should go. She would look after Riven and Sabina in my stead. I told Sabina of the idea and she quickly agreed. She told me to stay as long as I wanted and that they would be fine."

"I left that very night but, something was nagging in my chest saying not to go, not to leave her side. I should have listened to my instincts but, I did not. When I got to my parent's flock, I was surprised to see that my mother was fine. Immediately I knew something was wrong! My mother sent a few others from the flock to accompany me. We caught Homura just before she could shred Riven apart with her claws. He didn't even fight her, poor thing was in so much shock by that point, I later learned it was because he was forced to watch Sabina's torture. The camp was chaotic with humans destroying everything in their path. The dragons my mother sent killed them all. I did not even try to save them, I wanted them dead. When I found her, I could not even think clearly myself as I tried shifting to human form. I was stuck in a state between human and dragon for a few seconds before I finally managed to complete the shift. She was there hanging by her feet, tied to a tall tree."

"Her skin was flayed and I could see where dragon fire burned the raw muscles of her body. I could barely recognize her face, it was so badly beaten. Her breathing was quick and shallow like the fluttering wings of a bird frantically trying to escape its capture. She was still alive. I thought that as long as she was alive, I could save her and bring her back to health. I gently took her down from the tree and undid the ropes that bound her. She did not even scream as I held her in my arms, her fleshless body was dripping with blood and as I held her closer, I saw needles pressed in under her nails, and patches of her hair and scalp were torn out."

"Through it all, she still fought and said to me, 'Riven! Please save Riven!', her voice was so hoarse I could barely make out the words. I told her that he was safe and that we had taken him somewhere safe. I wanted to ask her more questions so badly but I would save them for later. Now was not the time I had thought. It was then that she said her name,' Nahla'. I understood her. Even though it was just one word, I knew what she wanted to say. Nahla was behind this. Nahla did this to her! I would take care of her later, I thought to myself. Then it happened, I felt my chest being torn open, I felt the single snap of a thread through my heart. All I could do was scream. I screamed and cried and then some more. I sat there cradling Sabina's lifeless body in my hand. I rocked her back and forth until the sun came up the next morning."

"Riven joined me then and plopped down in the snow beside me. I was beyond myself with grief, rage, pain and so many more emotions that I nearly attacked him. His eyes are what brought me to the realization that I was about to harm my own son. He had the same purple eyes as Sabina, the same purple eyes like you, Rivia. Those eyes were passed down from the first dragon that took hold of the Southern part of the world, Sabina's grandfather. Riven's eyes brought me back to reality and he told me what happened while I was away."