Heart of Darkness Book Two: Goddess of Dragons

Chapter Four: Prophecies

Dagon was restless, he got up and goes for a walk on the shore, as he walks, he sees a figure sitting in the sand. As he gets closer, he can hear the figure crying, when he gets close enough, he realizes it's Astra. He approaches her and sits down; she looks at him her eyes full of tears. “Hi Dagon,” she says softly. “Is everything okay?” He asks gently.

She shakes her head, “I don't know how I feel right now. I just found out I have an older brother who my mother wanted my grandfather to kill.” Dagon is quiet for a moment.

“Well, if I know anything about your mother she had to have a good reason for it.” Astra looks at him. “I want to meet my brother; he has been living with my grandfather this entire time.”

Dagon nods, “Are you going to go?”

Astra nods, “Will you go with me to meet him?” Dagon doesn't speak for a moment and then he smiles at her. “I will go with you, so you aren't alone. We should probably take Thorn and Ralane to, that way we are more protected.”

Astra smiles through her tears and nods in agreement. “Will you meet me at the portal in ten minutes?” Astra asks him as she stands up.

“Of course, I'll be there with Thorn.”

Astra starts to walk away, she stops for a moment and says, “Come armed, I don't know how this meeting is going to go.”

Dagon nods and goes to get ready. Astra quietly heads into the Night Castle trying not to be seen, she goes to her room and wakes up Ralane, she tells her what she is going to do. After getting dressed and arming herself she wakes up Snowfire and Frost and carries them on her shoulder as Ralane follows her out of the bedroom. Astra and Ralane sneak out of the Night Castle and end up getting to the portal just as Dagon and Thorn does.

“Ready?” She asks them.

Dagon nods, “Yes we are ready to go.”

Astra takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly, then walks through the portal with the others following her. They walk through the earth and end up at her grandfather's palace. They enter into the palace and walk through the halls; Astra can hear someone playing the piano. She heads to the music room with the others following her. As they reach the music room Astra peeks into the open doors of the room.

A man is sitting at the piano, gently playing the keys. Astra walks into the room. The man looks up from the piano and turns to look at her. He has a lot of her mother's features, and she knows this is her brother.

“Hello, you must be Andradin,” Astra says, taking another couple steps into the room while the others wait for her.

He looks her up and down, “Who are you?”

“My name is Astra, I'm your sister,” Astra says her eyes never leaving his.

“I figured I would be meeting you one day, not that it matters, you guys don't want me anyways,” Andradin says roughly.

Astra looks down for a moment then back at him, “Actually, I never knew you existed until today. I overheard a conversation I wasn't supposed to.”

“Wait, so you didn't know?” He asks, his face softening a bit.

Astra shakes her head, “No. So when I found out, I wanted to meet you. I came here right away.”

“So, you just found out about me?” Astra nods again.

“Look, I don't know why I was never told about you, and honestly I'm pissed about it, I want to get to the bottom of this,” Astra says to him.

“Okay, and how do you plan on getting to the bottom of this?” He asks her his face filling with curiosity.

Astra walks over to him and sits next to him on the piano, they look at each other and she says, “I want you to come with me to Noir Lune, so we can confront our mother and find out why she did what she did and why I was never told.”

Andradin looks at her, “It would be nice to know why she gave me to grandfather.” He says thoughtfully.

Astra smiles, “You deserve to know the truth, we both do. It isn't right that we have had to go our entire lives not knowing one another. No matter what happens, I'm your sister.” Astra says hugging him, he hesitates for a moment unsure and then hugs her back gently.

“So, what now?” He asks pulling away from her.

“That's an easy question, now we go and see our mother.,” Astra says getting up from the piano bench.

“Come on, I'll wait for you at the front door,” Astra says smiling. She leaves the room and heads to the entrance with the others.

Andradin takes a deep breath and meets her there, his heart is racing, and his hands are shaking in nervousness.

Astra introduces him to the others, and they go on their way to Noir Lune.

As they get to the portal Astra takes Andradin's hand and walks through the portal with him. They smile at each other and as they reach the other side, Andradin looks around and realizes he feels like he is finally home.

“Welcome home brother,” Astra says with a smile, “Come on the Night Castle is this way.” She lets go of his hand and they all follow her to the Night Castle, she stops at the doors and looks at Dagon.

“Thank you for going with me, I appreciate it!” She says smiling at him.

“You have it from here,” he asks her. She nods and kisses his cheek, then, Andradin, Ralane, and Astra all go into the Night Castle doors.

She takes them into the throne room, Serena sits on her throne her head in her hands looking off into space.

“Mother,” Astra says entering the room with Andradin.

Serena looks up, she sees Astra coming into the room with the man from her dreams. She looks at them both and keeps her composure.

“Astra, you had your father and I worried, the next time you decide to run off you better tell us where you are going,” Serena says a serious look on her face.

Serena looks at Andradin, his lips are tight, his brow is furrowed, and she can tell he is nervous. Serena looks at him, her eyes filling with tears, she turns away for a moment to keep herself together and then looks at the both.

“Mother, you have some explaining to do, we want the truth, all of it,” Astra says her voice quivering.

Serena closes her eyes for a moment and puts her hand on her forehead for a moment, she takes a deep breath and then nods, opening her eyes and looking at them.

“Fine, it's the time you both know the truth. Come sit down both of you.” She waves her hand and two chairs appear in front of her. Astra and Andradin sit in the chairs and look at her. Andradin with uncertainty on his face and Astra with curiosity on hers.

 Serena lets out a sigh, “I guess I should start at the beginning, many years ago, I went to earth and lived there, my guardians changed me into an infant and for 18 almost 19 years I lived on earth. I knew nothing of Noir Lune, or who I was. While on earth I met a man and I fell in love.”

She looks away from them and looks into the distance, “We were married, I became pregnant with you Andradin. Shortly after your birth my guardians came and restored my memories to me. When my memories returned, I realized that your father was someone I already knew. He had deceived me and so I left him there.”

She looks at Andradin and then continues, “I came home and brought you with me, the war was coming, and after a lot of work, the war was finally won. On the way home from telling the northern king about his son's death, I had a terrible vision.”

She looks away and closes her eyes. When she opens them, they are full of tears, “In my vision, you were grown, there was destruction all around you. For some reason unknown to me, you were consumed by darkness, you destroyed our home, you destroyed the earth, you even destroyed Sole Luminoso, until all the worlds were nothing but devastation.”

She lets out a breath and continues, “It filled me with fear, Gods, Goddesses we don't have dreams, we have visions, you were destined to destroy the worlds. When I came to from the dream, I went to my father, your grandfather.”

Serena stands up and goes to the window, she looks out for a moment and then looks back at them.

“After telling my father, and the last remaining God what I had seen, we decided that you could not be allowed to live. If we would have done otherwise it would have destroyed us. I left you with my father, thinking that I would never see you again.”

She walks back to her throne and sits down, burying her head in her hands, “It broke me to leave you there, I was devastated, I felt like my heart was being ripped in two. I have spent all these years thinking you were dead. You don't know how happy I am to see that you are still alive.”

Andradin looks at her and says quietly, “So because I am supposedly destined to destroy the worlds you were going to let me die.”

Serena nods, “Yes, I went against my better judgment, I wanted to keep you and raise you myself. I thought that if I kept you than I could change your fate, but your grandfather pushed the issue. He said he would handle it. So, I trusted him.”

Andradin is quiet for a bit and Astra has yet to speak. Many minutes pass and it feels like a lifetime.

Astra looks at her mother, “Why did you never tell me about him?”

Serena looks at her, “Astra do you honestly think that I would want you knowing the greatest mistake I have ever made? I was wrong, but by the time I wanted to make it right I thought it was too late.”

“Andradin, there is nothing I can say that will make what I did any easier, but I have always loved you, always. Not a single day has passed when you aren't on my mind.”

Andradin has tears streaming down his face, “I thought I wasn't wanted, that no one cared. I didn't know it was because of a prophecy.”

“That is the only reason, I never would have handed you over if not for that,” Serena says. She stands up and walks to Andradin, she places her hand on his cheek and wipes away his tears gently, “You are my son, I am so sorry, and I will spend the rest of eternity making it up to you. If you want me to.”

Andradin cries harder as Serena reaches down and hugs him tightly, he hugs her back.

She soothes him and lets him know everything will be okay.

“I know that fate is strong, but I want your help to change it,” Andradin says when he finally composes himself enough to speak again.

“Of course, my son, this is what we should have done in the first place, I am glad your grandfather decided to give you a chance after all,” Serena says crying.

Astra, Andradin, and Serena all end up hugging one another. Andradin is left with his heart feeling better, knowing that he is cared for by his family.

Astra is happier knowing the truth and does her best to keep Andradin smiling that night.

It ends up being a long night, Andradin tells Serena all the things he has been doing while living with his grandfather and she tells him about Astra and his childhood.

They stay up all night talking and when the moon reaches its highest point in the sky, Serena shows him to his new room, and they all go to sleep.

When Noir Lune's version of morning comes, Andradin wakes up forgetting where he is at, he thinks it is still night when he looks at his watch, it shows 8 A.M. He shakes his head, gets up and walks out onto his balcony, he looks at the dark sky, the moon high above.

He goes back inside and gets dressed, then leaves his room and starts exploring.

He wanders around until he smells food coming from a room, he enters the room and his mother and sister are there eating and drinking. Serena looks up at him, “Come in son, pull up a chair and get some breakfast.”

Andradin sits in a chair across from his sister and gets a plate, he starts putting food on it, then begins to eat. As the three of them are eating, they start hearing yelling coming closer to them.

Serena sighs, “Not again.” She shakes her head as Whipper comes in following Radin, “Stop calling me Kitty, I'm not your f*****g pet, handbag.” Radin says through clenched teeth.

Whipper pulls out a small whip and cracks it in Radin's direction, “Then get out of my way, so I can see my lady.” Whipper says.

“Hit me with that thing, and I swear I'll bite your head off,” Radin says growling at Whipper.

“Stop it, both of you. I am tired of you arguing, Whipper what is it?” Serena asks annoyed.

Whipper bows after putting his whip back, “My lady, the master says that he needs a word with you, he will be arriving in a few hours, when he finishes his work.”

Serena nods, “Fine, Whipper now head home.”

Whipper nods and is gone in a flash of fire.

Serena looks at Radin, “You two need to learn to get along, the arguments are getting annoying.”

Radin rolls his eyes and ignores her. As they are finishing eating a guard comes in and whispers in Serena's ear.

“Tell him to wait for me in the throne room, I'll be there shortly,” she replies.

Serena looks at Andradin and Astra, “Come, my children, it's time you get to see your mother in action.” She gives a wicked smile that Andradin is not sure what to make of.

Astra and Andradin follow their mother into the throne room, she gestures for them to sit near the window as she sits on her throne. As soon as she sits, the visitor arrives, a man that Astra has never seen before. “Do you know who he is?” Andradin whispers to her.

“No, I've never seen him before.” She whispers back.

The man approaches Serena and stands before her, he refuses to bow to her as was mandatory, “Well Rayon what are you doing here?” Their mother asks him, clearly annoyed that he is not following protocol.

“You know why I am here Serena,” He responds to her rudely.

“If I knew why you are here Rayon, I wouldn't have asked. What do you want,” She asks her voice starting to get angry.

“I know you killed Teyaldin during the war.”

Serena gives an exasperated sigh, “Rayon, the war was over eighteen years ago, are we going back to this.”

“I know it was you, he was too good a fighter to be killed like he was,” Rayon says taking a step towards her.

Serena's eyes light with a burning fire, “What if I did, what would you do about it?”

Rayon looks at her with pure hate, “I will turn the Northern Kingdom against you, and wage my war.”

Serena smiles, a sickeningly sweet smile, she looks at him and raises her hand, she sends a bolt of pain at him, he falls to his knees screaming in agony, she slowly closes her hand and increases the pain he is feeling.

“You dare threaten me, Rayon, you are a fool, for years I have allowed you to rule and care for the northern kingdom and you come here and threaten me.”

She closes her hand more, making his body feel as if it's on fire, he screams and shakes, “You are no longer going to rule the Northern Kingdom, it's time I took it back over, and before you die, there is something I want you to know.”

She forces his face up making him look at her.

“I did not kill your son, but I did the order for it to be done, that fool thought he was worthy of me, the Goddess of Darkness, no mortal man will ever be worth my time. He thought he could marry me and take over as king, Noir Lune is mine.”

She stares at him her eyes filling with darkness, “I enjoyed seeing him on the bed, filled with stab wounds, his head torn from his body, it gave me great pleasure, and this is giving me even greater pleasure.”

She raises her other hand and lifts him off the ground, she opens her clenched fist and long tendrils of darkness come from her palm, they wrap around Rayon's throat and she smiles as she chokes him, his eyes bulging, his gasps for air filling the room, she laughs when he takes his last breath and she uses the dark tendrils to toss his corpse to the side. She looks at her children then back to his body and sends a blast of fire to it, she watches it burn and smiles while his body disintegrates.

When his body is not even as she sits back in her throne and looks at her children trying to read their faces.

Astra was not surprised, she had seen her mother do worse, she remained calm, Andradin, on the other hand, was sitting there quietly, he looks at Serena and says, “That was amazing!”

“I heard you were evil, but that's a whole new level of evil!” He says smiling.

Serena smiles, “We all have darkness in us my son, some of us more than others, it's one thing to be evil by choice, it is another thing to have your darkness control you.”

Andradin nods, “I understand completely mother,” she smiles at him.

They all sit there quiet for a moment and then Andradin jumps up, “Oh no! Adessa! I forgot about her!” Serena tilts her head as Andradin runs out of the room.

She looks at Astra, “Who the hell is Adessa?” Astra shrugs, “I don't know mother.”

“Hmm, well I guess we will find out,” Serena says with a laugh. Astra looks at her with a serious face.

“Astra, I know that look, what's on your mind my little stargazer?”

“I still can't believe you didn't tell me about my brother.”

Serena sighs, “I know, I should have and I'm sorry that I didn't but, I did what I had to do. He is destined to destroy everything, maybe we can keep him from that path.”

“We can try mother,” Astra says with a soft smile.

An hour passes before they hear Andradin's voice coming from down the hallway, there is another voice with him a soft feminine voice.

Serena looks at Astra, “Sit here with me, it looks like we are going to meet Adessa.”

Astra gets up and sits with her mother, “I guess we are.”

Andradin comes into the room with a woman, she looks about eighteen, her hair light blonde, her eyes a dark brown color. She is pretty but Serena feels something off about her.

“Mother, Astra, this is Adessa, my girlfriend.” Andradin introduces them with a smile.

Adessa smiles, “Hello it's nice to meet you all Miss and Astra.”

Serena gives her a quick smile her vibe getting stronger. “It's nice to meet you Adessa, I am Serena, Queen of Noir Lune and Goddess of Darkness, this is Princess Astra and the Goddess of Dragons.”

Adessa lets out a laugh, “Goddess? Is this a joke? That's cute.”

She rolls her eyes not believing what Serena says.

Serena looks at her with a twisted smile “Do you not believe in the Gods and Goddesses Adessa?”

“They don't exist,” Adessa says sarcasm dripping from her voice.

Serena lets out a quiet laugh, she stands up and spreads her wings, Adessa steps back a few steps the smile leaving her face.

Serena puts her wings away and looks at Adessa, her eyes glowing with fire, she raises her hand and creates a ball of pure darkness, as she turns it flames start to slowly crawl from it.

Adessa's face is full of fear. Serena smiles and closes her hand the ball of darkness disappearing she sits back on her throne.

“Believe in the gods now dear?” Serena says not hiding her arrogant tone.

Adessa, nods, her face going from fear to curiosity, and then to something else, Serena knows that look, the look of someone hungry for power, and Adessa has it all over her face.

Adessa finally regains her composure and smiles, “Well I guess you proved me wrong.” Her voice has become too sweet and Serena knows now the bad vibe she was getting.

Adessa puts her arm on Andradin, “How come you never told me, you come from a Goddess, hehe, royalty and a god so interesting.”

Astra has remained quiet this entire time, she has been watching Adessa since she came into the room. Her stomach begins churning, and she gets a sick feeling.

For a few moments she spaces out hearing someone else's thoughts, 'A god, I want power like that, at first, I wanted him to become royalty but now, now I can use him to get power.'

Astra looks at Adessa hearing everything she is thinking, and she has to fought herself to not get up and kill her where she stands. This woman was using her brother to become someone important.

Astra hears her name and says, “Sorry mother, I spaced out there for a moment,” she looks at her mother and she can tell that Serena already knows what she does.

“Well, Andradin are you going to have your girlfriend stay here with us or is she just visiting for a few hours?” Serena asks carefully not to give anything away about what she is feeling.

“No, she just came for a short visit I wanted her to meet you and Astra, I have to take her back to earth in a bit.” He responds smiling at her.

“Well, I could stay here,” Adessa says quickly, a bit too quickly for Serena.

“But Adessa don't you have to handle that family problem you were having,” Andradin asks.

“It can wait it isn't that important,” She says batting her eyes at him.

It's at this moment that both Serena and Astra realize something, Andradin is being manipulated by Adessa because he loves her and thinks she is in love with him.

He quickly agrees that she can stay, and they go off on their own for a bit.

Serena and Astra look at each other, worry in their eyes...

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