Stolen Fates - Anna

Geminae

Nivara expanded her wings to slow her descent as she neared the snowy peaks of the mountain range. Her talons clung to the rocky ridges of the mountain and she stretched out her wings, releasing a roar from her lungs. She heard the roar of reply mere seconds before she saw his outline against the bright face of the moon. His scales were black, where hers were white. His talons were silver, where hers were gold. They were opposites...in every sense.

He bared his sharp fangs at her as he landed, spreading his dark wings wide in a display of dominance. She was larger, as all females were. That didn't stop the males from trying to appear larger and more threatening. But Nivara knew this dragon well and she was not impressed with the show he was putting on.

A faint plume of smoke rose from her nostrils as she huffed out a breath in annoyance. She didn't have time for displays and formalities. Her little one was sleeping peacefully but she was still weak. One transformation in a day was trying enough. Two could be dangerous but Nivara had no choice when she sensed the other nearby.

The black dragon lowered his wings and relaxed his fangs, tilting his head at Nivara. She, in turn, tilted her head at him and let her eyes scan his body, her mind reaching out to his. Something was wrong. Something was missing.

Why can I not sense your sodalis (companion), Aeolus, Nivara asked with her mind and if dragons could do such a thing, she could swear he smirked at her question.

Gone, he replied and she heard the growl in his chest as clearly as she heard the single syllable in her mind.

What did you do, Aeolus, she asked, the accusation clear in her tone and with the baring of her fangs.

Our sodales...need us to survive, Nivara. We...do not need them. I rid myself of that...parasite, some time ago, Aeolus answered her question and she could hear the pride he felt in his voice.

Aeolus...she began but could not find the words to describe the pain she felt. Her heart clenched in her chest and she felt the tears forming in the inner corner of her eyes.

Do not fret, soror mea (my sister). He did not suffer but merely...went to sleep. The longer he slept, the more he faded until he was, at last, gone, he spoke softly through their link. He inched closer to her and pressed his head to the side of hers, his silver horns scratching against her golden ones.

Nivara growled low in her chest and snapped fangs at Aeolus. He just barely avoided being caught in her jaws by jerking away from her quickly. She crept toward him, baring her fangs and growling loudly. Her blue flames glowed at the back of her throat, threatening to be released.

You cannot begin to understand what you've done, Aeolus. Just as you are my frater (brother), my geminae (twin)...He was my little one's. The bond they were meant to have shared...the bond of their wolves...our bond...You've destroyed centuries of careful planning and preparations with your selfishness and...I will never forgive you...if I cannot reverse the damage you've done, she spoke into his mind, her words measured and dripping with seriousness.

She didn't let him reply as she spread her snowy white wings and pushed away from the rocky face of the mountain. She blinked away the tears that still threatened and let a loud, pained roar fill the night sky as she flew away from the mountain and back toward the pack lands. Her blue flames illuminated the treetops as the fire released from her throat. She flew through the fire in the sky, the flames clinging to her scales as the clearing came into view. She spread her wings and let the breeze carry through them, gliding down slowly to the ground below. No sooner than her golden talons had dug deep into the ground, the blue flames engulfed her completely.

The flames grew bright for few seconds and then died away to nothingness. In the center of the scorched earth, Anna's body was curled into the fetal position, naked but sleeping peacefully.