Page 84 of Draekora

Somehow he must have known she was beyond words, so she did as he asked and sent him her memory with Roka, still in disbelief over her carelessness. For ten days she had managed to avoid sparring with him so she could keep him from accidentally spilling her blood—and just like that, it was all over. She couldn’t believe that of all things to have given away her mortality, a miniscule paper cut was to blame.

I’m such a fool, Alex woefully said to Xiraxus.I can’t believe I did that.

You’ll be okay, he told her.I promise, everything will be okay.

She didn’t believe him, but she allowed herself to become lost in the sensations of the flight as his powerful wings carried her safely through the sky. Higher and higher they rose until they broke through a cluster of clouds into the clear air above. Alex marvelled at the expanse of stars stretching out across the horizon and released a deep sigh of relief at seeing the floating islands of Draekora again, this time bathed in the light of the moon.

I didn’t realise you were so close to Meya, Alex said, trying to keep her mind off Roka and what he was probably doing right now; who he was probably talking to.

We’re almost directly above the city, Xiraxus confirmed.But our lands are too high for even immortal eyes to see from the ground.

Veering in an arc, the draekon headed straight towards one of the smaller islands positioned to the side. From far away, Alex could see that one half of the land was bordered with a semi-circled ring of snow-dusted mountains, at the base of which the remaining land stretched into what looked to be a multi-coloured glowing valley. When they touched down in the centre of the island, she was delighted to find herself surrounded by rolling pastures full of colourful, bioluminescent wildflowers.

“How beautiful,” she exclaimed, sliding off Xiraxus and into the phosphorescent blossoms. Some of them came to her ankles, others rose on stems higher than her hips, but all of them were unimaginably magical.

“I thought you might like it here,” Xiraxus said, curling his haunches underneath him and resting his torso on the valley floor, squashing flowers beneath his heavy weight. The kaleidoscopic radiance bounced off his dark hide, creating shards of light that sparkled like glitter.

Inhaling the sweet aroma of the flowers, Alex willed her body to relax as she cast her wandering gaze around the fairytale-like meadow and sat cross-legged in front of her rainbow-lit draekon.

“Everything that could have gone wrong today, went wrong,” she admitted quietly, needing to get it all off her chest. “First, I think I inadvertently gave Aven the idea to start Claiming humans—and believe me, Xira, that’s not something I want on my conscience—and then I went and gave away that I’m mortal to Roka who’s on the edge of deciding whether or not he agrees with his brother’s views regarding humans. This isnotgood. It’s whatever comes after bad because ‘bad’ is nowhere near potent enough to describe the severity of the situation.”

Xiraxus allowed her a moment to vent, not interrupting, but when she was done he said, “You can’t change what happened, Alex. All you can do is decide how you’ll react to it.”

Alex plucked the nearest flower from the ground and began pulling off its glowing petals. “How am I supposed to react, Xira? What can I possibly do to fix any of this?”

He moved his head closer, his eyes holding hers. “What makes you think anything needs fixing?”

Alex made a spluttering noise. “Did you not see what happened with Roka? Or hear what I said about Aven?”

“Didn’t Aes Daega tell you that nothing you do here will change what happens in the future?”

Alex opened her mouth but then snapped it shut again, knowing he was right. Then she said, “Let’s not forget I’m still stuck here for who knows how long. What am I supposed to do? Hide in Draekora until we leave?”

“The night before last you told me you made a deliberate decision to remain here when you could have returned to your time,” Xiraxus said. “You made that decision not knowing what you’d face in the time you have left here, but confident that this is where you needed to be. Am I right?”

Alex offered a reluctant hum of agreement.

“You can’t change what happened with Roka and Aven today,” Xiraxus repeated, “but you might want to consider the possibility that the events played out exactly as they were supposed to.”

Shaking her head, Alex said, “It sounds like you’re suggesting that what’s happening here is predetermined, like all I’m doing is following a destiny already laid out for me, blindly walking a path without any say in the matter. But I can’t accept that.”

“Why ever not?”

“Because it implies I have no authority over my life.”

The draekon rumbled with laughter.

Frowning, she asked, “How is that funny?”

“Alex,” he said, “you’re stuck in the past where your actionsaffectthe future but don’tchangeit. That means whatever you do here hasalreadybeen done here—byyou.” He laughed again. “I’m sorry to be the one to tell you, but right now, right here, youdon’thave any power to choose what happens. Or rather, youdo, but the power of choice you have will still lead to the future you know. Nothing you can do will change that, so you might as well embrace your lack of control and try to find some comfort in it.”

His words, though frustrating, made sense. That, and his reasoning matched Lady Mystique’s as well. But Alex hated the idea that she might be responsible for so much of the pain that Aven would bring upon the future. She’d already provided him with a name for his notoriously murderous group, and given him cause to think about the Claiming ritual; what else was she going to do? And how would he respond if Roka spilled the beans about her being mortal?

“This is such a nightmare,” Alex groaned, collapsing back onto the flowers and looking up into the star-strewn sky. Goose bumps covered her flesh from the crisp air but she hardly felt the cold, mostly because her insides were still just as chilled after everything that had happened.

“Nightmare or not, you know what you have to do,” Xiraxus said, nudging her foot lightly with his muzzle.

“I have to go back,” Alex said in a bland tone. “I know that. I know I have to face Roka and explain. It’s just…” She broke off into a heavy sigh before finishing, “Can we just stay here a few more minutes?”

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