Their Rising Sun, page 11
Blake raised her brows at Jericho, and he motioned his head for her to go with them. When she made her way back to her guys, Jericho snaked an arm around her waist and pulled her flush against his body. “Only my mate could be so bold to Fera. I think you earned her respect.”
Mace brushed her hair aside and kissed her neck. “The mention of the rogites scared my cousin. Let’s find out why.”
Blake also noticed the fear in Fera’s eyes, and she hoped the Prime Leader would be able to tell her how to stop the rogites once and for all.
She walked side by side with Jericho while Mace followed behind them. They entered what looked like a temple made for worship. High ceilings angled into a point so far up, she couldn’t see the top. The floors looked like black glass. The walls were a mix of wood and some kind of metal the color of coal. There was an altar at the front of the room, on a stage-like platform. But nothing else was in the room. No pews, no furniture of any kind.
They walked through the sanctuary to a door behind the altar and exited into a large dining room. The table was at least seven feet long and was set for a meal.
Fera motioned to the table. “Please have a seat.”
Blake noticed Fera was being polite and showed a little more emotion than she had on the dock. Whatever. Blake wasn’t there to make friends. She needed answers to fill in the blanks Osad wasn’t telling her.
Once they were seated, the kitchen staff brought out the first course. It looked like soup. Blake smelled it. Mace leaned over. “The Graxecon don’t eat meat.”
Blake nodded. At least she was safe from eating mystery meat and wouldn’t embarrass herself by spitting something out she didn’t like. Vegetables, she could handle. She loved almost every kind she’d tried in the short time she’d been on Daeria. She brought the spoon to her lips and tasted it. A burst of creamy, rich, herbs, and a hint of floral coated her tongue. “This is good.”
Fera straightened and Blake swore she saw a smile on the female. “Thank you. It’s one of my favorites.”
Mace didn’t waste time bringing the conversation to why they were there. “Fera, why are you afraid of the rogites?”
She flicked her gaze to him. “We are all afraid of them, as should you be. They are vile, unnatural corpses that kill without reason.”
“I thought the rogites were created by the gods,” Jericho asked.
Fera shook her head. “They were created by the blood of the gods, not by the gods themselves.” She frowned and swirled her spoon into her soup. “One moon cycle after we imprisoned the beasts, one of our soothsayers foretold a prophecy. When the gods return, evil reawakens.” Fera lifted her gaze to Blake’s. Cold fear clouded her depths. “The gods have returned.”
Mace took Blake’s hand under the table. “What does that mean?”
Fera closed her eyes briefly. “It’s been hundreds of years. There was a Prime Leader by the name of Xaxhin. He went mad and started experimenting with creating life. He used the blood of the different gods that we kept for rituals and created the six beasts.”
“Six?” Blake asked.
Fera nodded. “Yes. The rogites, it sounds like you have met them already. The pryebites are large birds with fire magic. Like what Earthlings call a phoenix but bigger and evil. Shadowlings can only come at night or during storms. They can take any shape. Psybines are ruled by the moon. Hytirians are sea beasts. Creatarians are all things chaotic and are the most dangerous. Each one can be controlled by the god or, in your case, the goddess they were created from.”
Blake frowned. “Rogites were created from the sun god’s blood. That explains my power to give life. What about the earth magic?”
Fera gave her a soft smile. “Xalo was the creature of all things. You can control the elements, but the earth magic, as you call it, is his strongest beside giving and taking life.”
Taking life? Blake was glad she hadn’t killed anyone with her power. A power she didn’t know she had. She shuddered and Jericho pressed his leg into hers. Instantly she calmed.
Fera continued with the monster history lesson. “Xaxhin wanted to build an army. He predicted a great war with the shifters who’d come to settle on our planet. Yet, he had no proof of this. Merely his vision. The rogites were the first of the creatures he created. Xaxhin didn’t count on the beasts to crave the gods’ blood. They used up our reserves that were gifted to us before the gods left this plane.”
Blake ate her soup as she thought about what Fera had told them. Something was missing. “The prophecy says evil will reawaken. Does that mean you put the monsters to sleep? Why not kill them?”
Fera glanced down at her bowl. “I’m not sure. It could be because my ancestors didn’t know how to kill them. The creatures were created by the blood of the gods which made them immortal. Only the gods could destroy them. Since they used up the reserves, they started to grow weaker. Only then were my ancestors able to overturn Xaxhin and place him and the creatures into an eternal sleep.”
“Until the gods returned.” Blake frowned. When she arrived on Daeria, she felt the power growing inside her, even though she didn’t understand it at first. Now she did, and in a way, she knew. “The last village we stopped at was attacked. I thought it was because the rogites were looking for me, because I used my magic to heal Mace. However, they didn’t attack the crawler. Could it be that they can’t track me?”
Fera met Blake’s gaze. A storm of emotions the Prime Leader kept a tight lid on rolled in her depths like dark clouds. “Or Xaxhin has risen with them and is controlling the beasts. If that is the case, we could all be in danger.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
After finishing several courses of dinner, Fera had given them all the facts she knew about their history. Then she "suggested" they leave and not linger on the island. Blake was fine with that. After all the food and information overload, she was ready to crash for a long sleep.
She wasn’t in the maze where she met Osad. No, she was in an open field of nothing. The ground was reddish brown packed dirt with cracks in it. The few trees there had no leaves or flowers on them.
The sound of footsteps made her turn. Osad held her gaze as he advanced to her. She motioned to their surroundings. “Why are we here? Everything looks dead.”
He blinked and a small smile formed. “For your training.”
Oh, okay then. “I met the Graxecon Prime Leader today. I learned a great deal about the rogites and how they were created. And I discovered that you look a lot like the Graxecon.”
He stilled for a second, as if not expecting her to have visited with Fera. Then his face looked sad. His forehead creased and his mouth dipped into a frown. “I’ve not seen my people for a very long time. Who is Prime Leader now?”
“Fera.” Blake watched him as he scanned their surroundings. “Why haven’t you seen your people?”
“Because I’ve been banished to this place. The dream world.” He met her stare and sighed. “They falsely accused me of aiding in the shifters’ war. I tried to warn them that Cedric was unwell and had plans to destroy the planet. They didn’t listen. Then the Prime Leader blamed me for stealing the grimoire and giving it to Cedric.”
According to the classes she took, the shifters believed Cedric stole the grimoire from the Graxecon people. Fera confirmed that and never mentioned that one of her own had a hand in it. She could also not be willing to share that information. Especially if the shifter council didn’t know.
“So how long have you been trapped in this world?” Blake walked around, trying to find the smallest amount of life. There was none. What a lonely existence.
“I don’t know. The sun and moons don’t rise and fall here so there is no concept of time. I guess that means one cannot age here as well.” His tone was low, thoughtful.
She faced him and searched his features for telling signs of a lie. She didn’t sense any and figured she was being paranoid. After all, he was trying to help her learn to control her growing powers. “What is the first lesson?”
His smile reached his eyes. Streaks of crimson formed in his depths. He looked around as if looking for something. “Ah. Here.” He pointed to a small, wilted flower. Its leaves were brown and the flower itself was black and dried. “Give it life.”
She frowned. She’d only done that once, with the tiny bird, but she had no idea how she did it. “How?”
“Focus on what you want. Like when you healed your wolf. You may need to touch it but do be careful. It is fragile in its current state.” He moved in a few steps closer and watched her with interest.
She drew her brows together. No pressure. Taking a deep breath and exhaling it, she knelt and placed her hands on the ground on either side of the plant. The roots were what took life from the planet. And considering she was on a planet with a magical core, the roots would be the main source of getting the plant’s life energy.
Closing her eyes, she imagined the flower healthy and alive. Her power swirled inside her, building much stronger than she’d felt it when she healed Mace. Something was wrong. “What’s happening?”
Osad said, “Don’t fight your magic. It is part of you and can never harm you. But you mustn’t let it control you. Direct it where you want it. Pull it back into your heart when you want it to ease off.”
She refocused on the plant and pushed her magic into the ground. The soil glowed under her hands and then expanded outward. Her power still flowed, and she tried to pull it back like Osad said but it wasn’t easing. She was losing control.
“Focus, Blake. You are in control.”
She was. The magic was part of her. As soon as she started to believe that, she found it easier to manage and handle. Pulling back on the power, she gathered it inside her core, her heart. She slowly stood and closed her eyes, trying to ground herself.
Suddenly her concentration slipped and the power burst from her in an explosion of light so bright, she swore it was the sun.
Then the power was gone. She sank to her knees and buried her head in her hands. “I failed.”
“No, dear.” Osad knelt beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Look.”
Confused, she lifted her head, then gasped. She healed the entire land as far as she could see. Lush green and blue grass stretched for miles. Colorful wildflowers bloomed and sparkled under a new sun. The trees were full of green and yellow leaves and some had multicolored flowers on them.
“How?”
“Your powers are growing and will only become stronger.”
She knew that, yet hearing it said out loud put a whole new fear in her heart. What if she couldn’t contain the power when it reached full strength? She stood and stared into the field and beyond. “I barely have command over what I have. I lost myself just now. What happens when it gets stronger?”
Turning, she noted Osad was gone. Then the dream world started to fade into a black void.
* * *
Blake woke just as the crawler came to a stop. She sat up and peered out the window. The south mountain. Excitement shocked her system, and she scrambled off the bed in the back of the crawler. When she reached the side door, it flew open and Serge’s face greeted her.
With a squeal, she leaped into his arms. He hugged her tightly and buried his nose into her neck and inhaled. “I’ve missed you.”
She laughed and pulled back to frame his face. “Me too.”
“Me three,” Castien said as he pulled her from Serge’s embrace.
She heard Serge say something to Jericho softly, then louder he said, “We are taking her home. You can deal with your brother.”
“In the morning,” Jericho shot back over his shoulder as he walked toward a small hut-like house. “She’s been cooped up in the crawler the entire day.”
Blake gave Castien a quiet kiss, then got out of the vehicle and stretched. “He’s right. Plus, I’m so over traveling. I wish there was a faster way to get home.”
“That can be arranged.” Serge smiled and pointed at an aircraft.
The craft was slightly larger than the crawler but instead of looking like a mutated spider, the aircraft was a lopsided triangle. “Cool. Why didn’t we take the aircraft in the first place?”
Mace shook his head. “It’s not comfortable. That one is a four-seater and doesn’t have living quarters.”
“Plus,” Serge added, “it’s really not made for traveling.”
“It’s a war machine. The Gaxecon would have thought they were being attacked it they saw it approaching.” Castien linked their fingers and tugged her in the direction Jericho went. “But we can be home in a few hours and not days.”
“That sounds great.” She leaned into Castien. “When did you guys get here?”
Serge held the door to the hut open. “About a day ago.”
Blake stepped inside and gasped. It was so much bigger on the inside than it looked on the outside. The walls and flooring were a dark gray, the furniture a combo of black and silver.
Her gaze landed on Jericho talking with a man with long white-blond hair. The other man’s features were too close to Jericho’s to not be his brother.
Serge kissed her cheek, then said, “That’s Gavin.”
She nodded and advanced to Jericho. That was when Gavin lifted his gaze to hers. He studied her for a few seconds before looking at Serge then Castien. “So this is your mate? And you are sharing her with three others?”
Jericho smiled and held Blake’s stare, then clasped his brother on the shoulder. “Yes. There is much to catch you up on. First, tell me how you managed to save some of the females.”
Gavin frowned. “I didn’t save as many as I’d have liked to. There are about thirteen adult females here, about half as many adolescents, and a handful of pups and cubs.”
Moving to the center of the room, Gavin motioned for them to have a seat. “I went against your order to stay clear of Cedric and spied on him. It was when I overheard him plotting to kill the females that I flew out here to see if it was livable. The conditions aren’t perfect and are failing, but I had to try to get the females out.”
Serge nudged Blake to the door before she had a chance to sit. Curious to what he was up to, she went outside with him. Castien followed them. Serge pressed her against the outer wall of the hut. “I already heard the story about how Gavin saved the females here. I say we go home now.”
She studied both of them, torn about wanting to go home and not leaving Jericho behind. Mace stepped out of the hut and eyed them suspiciously. “What are you three planning?”
Blake giggled. “They are plotting to kidnap me.”
Serge didn’t even try to deny it, just shrugged. Castien grinned, which made Mace chuckle. “Go ahead. I’ll let Jericho know. We might be here for a day or two to help them move the people from this village to where they can be relocated.”
Mace stepped forward and pushed Serge out of the way so he could stand in front of her. “I’ll see you in a couple days.”
She frowned, but nodded before kissing him. “See you soon.”
He let out a soft growl and nipped at her nose. “Go before I change my mind.”
She made her escape and followed Serge and Castien to the aircraft, stopping when she heard Jericho call her name. Facing him, she waited for him to cross the distance to her. When he reached her, he cupped her cheek and kissed her, hard. Releasing a sigh, she melted into him.
“Behave.” Playfulness lit up his gaze. She could tell he was happy to have his brother.
She pressed her forehead to his chest. “Enjoy your reunion with your brother. See you soon.”
She climbed into the craft and instantly knew why the guys said it wasn’t fit for travel. She hadn’t got her seat belt on and she was already wanting out. Just a few hours and she’d be home.
And she’d enjoy her time with Serge and Castien.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Serge landed the aircraft a few yards outside Empyrea, figuring Blake would like to go straight to her own living quarters first. He knew after a long trip, he liked his own things first. It just felt like home.
He and Castien walked their mate to her apartment in the Pinnacle. When she entered her space, she let out a sigh. He bet she didn’t realize she did it. He hoped she would become just as comfortable in a new home. One she would share with her four mates.
Turning to face them, Blake said, “I’m going to shower. Make yourselves comfortable.”
Desire slammed into him and his cock hardened at the thought of water rolling down her beautiful, curvy body. He waggled his brows at her. “Do you need help?”
Her cheeks tinted and she laughed. “As tempting as that is, no, I can manage. I won’t take long. Afterward, we can figure out what we’re doing today.”
Then she darted off to the bedroom. Serge glanced at Castien just as the other male said, “I know what I want to do and it doesn’t involve going out or clothes.”
Serge chuckled and nodded. “I’m so on board with your train of thought. Should we join her anyway?”
Castien shook his head. “She may not admit it, but she needs a few minutes alone. But I have an idea.” He walked to the kitchen and started searching through her cabinets and cold box.
Serge leaned against the doorway. “What are you looking for?”
“Food.” Castien straightened and frowned. “Does she not cook? There’s nothing here but snacks and prepared meals.”
Serge shrugged. “She might order from the kitchens.”
“Ah!” Castien pulled his comm from his pocket and placed an order for them to pick up within the hour. “Food is taken care of. I was thinking that she might want to meet our other halves. We can go to the meadow and let our wolves out to play. Then we can go swimming in the lake.”
One of the reason’s Castien was his best friend was the way he thought. He was brilliant and knew how to have fun. Plus, their wolves have been begging to come out and play with Blake since they met her. “I think she will like that.”
