Embrace the Dark

4

As I waited and nothing happened, I started to wonder if we’d gotten the time wrong. Auric had unearthed an old book in the palace from back before the Black Dragon—my grandmother—had ruled, and it had laid out the basics for the Ascension. It would occur exactly twenty years after the moment of the Ascendant’s birth, which should be right now. And yet…nothing. Hurry up already, I told the Gods.

I crossed my arms and called out, “How long am I supposed to wait?”

“I’m sure it will be soon,” Mom said.

I huffed and raised my eyes to the sky, just as rain began to pour down on me, as if the Gods had heard my plea. Within seconds, I was soaked. I started to call out again, and that's when the lightning bolt shot down from the clouds and hit me.

The words in my throat turned to a silent scream as my whole body stiffened. Energy coursed through me, crackling with power, and I spread my arms wide as if it might shoot out of me and relieve the pressure—but that didn’t help. Wind swirled around me and lifted me into the air, embracing me with its magic, and then I dropped down hard into the mud. I was covered from head to toe in it, and all I could do was kneel as the magic overwhelmed me. Slowly it receded and the rain slowed to a light drizzle.

I lifted my head. As I did, I felt a strange unease in my stomach, and darkness spread out from me in a circle, turning the grass and plants brown. Leaves and petals fell and shriveled up into dust, leaving only hard branches behind. The circle of death stopped just before it hit my parents, and then the magic disappeared and the sun peeked through the clouds again.

“What was that?” I asked, as I rose to my feet. My limbs felt weak, like I’d just run for miles, and something wasn’t right. Mom had never mentioned a ring of death when she told me the story of her own Ascension.

“I don’t know,” Kira said, her face troubled. “Auric?”

He shook his head. “I’ve never read about anything like that happening before.”

Reven’s fists clenched. “It has to be the Death Goddess.”

“You think she’s making her presence known?” Jasin asked.

Slade growled. “Is she tries to harm Sora, we will defeat her again.”

Mom bent down and touched the ground, and the grass and plants all returned to life, as if it had never happened. “It’s probably nothing,” she said, as she brushed dirt off her hands. “However, we will send out extra patrols tonight in case more shades return, to be safe.”

I nodded, though I had a feeling she was only saying that to keep me calm. Something wasn’t right and we all knew it, but we weren’t sure exactly how bad it was yet. All I knew was that my family would be with me to face whatever the problem was…along with my new mates, who I should be meeting soon.

That night there was a banquet in my honor celebrating my twentieth birthday and my Ascension. The day marked the beginning of my parents’ retirement, and the start of the next dragon cycle. Important people from all four Realms, plus the elementals’ home Divine Isle, all came to give me gifts and wish me a happy birthday, either to size me up or try to earn my favor. It should have been a joyous occasion for me, but I found myself distracted all evening as I thought about what happened during my Ascension.

It didn’t help that Erroh was missing from the banquet either, along with Carth and Zain. I knew things would change between us after this day, but I still hoped we could all be friends. Perhaps knowing my mates had been chosen for me was too hard for them. I understood that, but I still felt like a part of me was missing all evening, and every time I glanced at their empty seats my chest ached. Whatever happened to Erroh getting me drunk tonight?

I made an excuse to head to bed as soon as I could without being rude. Mom gave me a knowing smile. “Ready to dream of your mates?” she asked, as she kissed me on the cheek.

I nodded. It was time to move on to the men who would be there for me. “I’m anxious to meet them.”

She smoothed a wayward piece of curly hair on my head. “Me too. I’m sure the Gods have chosen well.”

I could only hope she was right, even as I wondered what the Death Goddess could be planning. Whatever it was, it couldn’t be good.

It took me forever to fall asleep, but once I did, the dream came, just as Mom told me it would. She’d seen Jasin first, and since he was the first of her mates to arrive and the first she bonded with, I had to assume the man I dreamed of would be my first as well.

The man in my dream had straight black hair that hung past his shoulders and shone like ink, and a face that looked familiar, though I couldn’t place it. He wore no shirt, and I admired his impressive broad shoulders and muscular chest. Tattoos ran down both his arms, and though I couldn’t make them out too well in the dream, I spotted one with a skull.

A wicked grin spread across his handsome face, and I only saw cruelty in his pale eyes. He looked down at a man kneeling before him, and then grabbed him by the neck and lifted him up in the air. The poor man flailed and kicked, while my future mate laughed and held him with one hand—an impressive show of strength. All the life drained out of the man, and the black-haired fiend dropped the body to the floor with a smirk. He brushed off his hands, as if wiping off a bit of dust on them, and then turned away.

I woke with a start and a lump of dread in my stomach. How could that man—that murderer—be one of my mates?

Who had the Gods chosen for me?