Page 9 of Draekora

Alex very much doubted he would. The reason she had to learn how to fight with the Meyarins was so she could hold her own against Aven. Therefore, she needed to know what she was up against. Being babied, as much as she liked the idea, wouldn’t help her—or anyone else.

“You said you’re taking us to Meya,” D.C. said to Zain. “Is there a reason we’re not going straight back to Woodhaven?”

“Prince Roka planned on collecting Alex tomorrow for us to begin working with her,” Zain answered, causing Alex’s eyebrows to shoot up, “but then Hunter contacted us and said you could use… some assistance…”—his lips twitched at that, but he continued—“so I was sent to retrieve you all today instead. Now Alex will simply be able to begin her training earlier than anticipated.”

Oh, goodie, Alex thought.And I thought this day couldn’t get any better.

Four

Before Alex could ask Zain exactly whather training would entail, theValispathbegan to slow. She hadn’t even noticed them gliding through the Silverwood. The snow-dusted forest was now darkening into hues of bright gold as they moved towards their destination. And sure enough, within seconds, they breached the tree line and soared over the Golden Cliffs, with the Eternal Path spiralling them down through the spray of waterfalls and into the valley below.

The silvery spires of the palace at the centre of the city lit up like a beacon, shining with the light of the setting sun that bounced off the snowy surrounds with an iridescent radiance. Alex could hear Bear and D.C.’s outspoken awe, and she knew that whether seventeen or seventy, there was nothing any of them would see in the rest of their lives that would rival the beauty of the Lost City.

It took hardly any time at all before the Path led them directly into the palace, stopping only when they reached a long corridor intricately decorated with swirls of Myrox and gold. Ordinarily it would have seemed gaudy and ostentatious, but given the rest of the opulence surrounding them, the décor was almost bland in comparison to the city.

“Prince Roka is expecting us,” Zain said, moving off the invisible transportation and towards the nearest door. Bear and D.C. followed directly behind him, both somewhat wobbly from their experience on theValispath.

Trailing after them, Alex wondered why Zain kept referring to Roka as ‘Prince’ when she knew the Meyarin royal preferred to be casual with his title, but then she realised it must be because of D.C. and Bear. The Meyarins trusted Alex, but she knew they didn’t have the same confidence in her friends. In fact, not so long ago Roka had pleaded with Alex to remain quiet about the Meyarin qualities she’d inherited from Aven’s attempted Claiming, making her promise to keep it a secret from her friends—and anyone else—to lessen the risk of Aven finding out. But after her recent experience with the banished prince, Aven had to now realise something was different about Alex, and since her friends had been caught up in that mess with her, she’d decided they deserved to know the truth. True to form, they’d been nothing but encouraging, with D.C. offering compassion and Bear thinking it was the coolest thing ever. They were also firmly in favour of Alex training with the Meyarins, despite knowing her reluctance. But the fact was, they all knew she would likely come face to face with Aven again, and when that time came, Alex would need to embrace her Meyarin abilities should she have any hope to survive the confrontation.

“Any day now, little human.”

Alex glanced up to see Zain waiting for her to follow Bear and D.C. through the very same doorway she had once used on her midnight visit to Meya after crossing paths—and swords— with Aven at Sir Oswald’s dinner party. That felt like years ago to Alex, given everything that had happened since.

“Sorry,” she said. “I spaced out for a moment. This headache is killing me.”

Sliding past him to enter the room beyond, Alex was surprised to see him continue on down the corridor rather than join them. Shrugging mentally, she turned back to the room and found Roka and his betrothed, Kyia, waiting for her. Alex easily returned their smiles, but the expression slid from her face when their eyes widened at her appearance and they burst into laughter.

“And I thought your friends looked bad,” Roka said, walking over and placing a welcoming hand on her shoulder. “It’s good to see you, Alex, even if it looks like you found a swamp and missed the ‘watch your step’ sign.”

“Ha, ha, you’re hilarious,” Alex grumbled, crossing her arms. Unfortunately she was too happy to see the Meyarins to feel any real annoyance at their reactions. That, and she was fully aware of how ridiculous she and her friends looked. Bear’s hair was still standing on end from their earlier encounter with the lightning, his face streaked with charcoal. D.C. also looked particularly wild, with her red hair frizzing exponentially by the second as it aired out naturally. Dried mud covered both their legs, but even that couldn’t compete with Alex’s state of crustiness, her body coated from head to toe.

She couldn’t blame Roka and Kyia for their laughter—in fact, she was surprised Zain had held back from commenting earlier. Furrowing her brow, Alex looked around, but their bulky escort was still nowhere to be seen. Then, as if on cue, Zain strode back into the room.

“Here,” he said, handing a golden chalice to Alex and passing two others to her friends. “Drink.”

Alex watched the steam rising out of the goblet and looked down at the silvery liquid with suspicion. “Is it supposed to be glowing like that?”

Zain huffed with impatience. “Just drink it, Alex.”

She felt the need to quote from a responsible-drinking advertisement, but she figured it would go straight over their otherworldly heads, so instead of making a fuss, she did as commanded, taking a small sip of the pleasantly sweet liquid.

“Mmm.” She smacked her lips together and took another sip, larger this time. “Tastes like vanilla.”

And indeed it did taste like vanilla, or perhaps caramel. She couldn’t quite decide, almost like it was a mixture of the two rich flavours. Either way, it was delicious, and she made a note to never doubt Zain’s drink offerings again, regardless of how psychedelic they looked.

“What’s in it?” Alex asked, entranced by the glowing liquid.

“You said you had a headache,” Zain answered just as she took another large mouthful. “Meyarin blood is known for its healing properties. Enjoy, little human.”

Alex violently spat out her mouthful. The silver liquid sprayed everywhere as she bent at the waist and tried to repress her urge to vomit all over the floor. She was only able to gain control of her gag reflex when she heard the uproarious laughter and realised she’d been played.

Alex stood straight again and scowled at Zain who was laughing the hardest.

“The—look—on—your—face—” he managed to get out between guffaws. “Priceless!”

It took every fibre of her being to resist throwing the remaining contents of her goblet at the hulking Meyarin. Instead, she grit her teeth and waited for them all—D.C. and Bear included—to settle down again.

“That was unkind of us, Alex,” Roka said, looking apologetic even if his golden eyes still gleamed with humour. “Of course Zain didn’t give you blood to drink. Your chalice contains an infusion of what we calllaendra. It’s a plant native to the Silverwood and has fast-acting healing properties. You should already be feeling its effects.”

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