Page 13 of Trial By Fire

We all stop when the staircase comes into view. Three men approach Twyla and Cordelia before we do, and I instantly go on high alert. “Who are they?” I tap Torin’s shoulder, but he bares his teeth at me in return.

“Let me assess the situation, Gale. I am not a fucking seer. I can’t just pull the answer out of my ass, either. Give me a minute,” Torin bites out, and Adrian turns to me and laughs. Even Dravyn clears his throat as he tries not to crack a smile.

“I didn’t think we would see them while we were here. I guess King Maddox is pulling out all the allies he can muster,” Adrian leans in and says to Torin.

“Well, the bond never breaks. It was the same for us. They must have felt her the minute she returned, but Maddox must have held them back,” Torin says as he watches the scene unfold in front of us.

“Who are they?” I ask again.

“Pay attention, Gale. Get out of your head for a minute and look at them,” Adrian throws back at me. I almost sigh in relief and let his angry tone wash over me. Just like old times. Glancing back at the staircase, the men have approached Twyla, the big guy in the red suit pushes the other guys out of the way and kneels before her. Twyla reaches her shaky hand out to him, and as soon as they touch, a shockwave of energy shoots across the room, hitting us all with a torrent of power. Oh shit. Mages. Twyla’s mates.

“Are those Twyla’s mates?” Dravyn asks beside me as he rubs at his own chest. I raise my eyebrow, silently communicating if he was okay. He shrugs it off, tugging at the collar of his all-black tuxedo that we were all wearing variations of. I guess he can feel their magic more than we can, or he’s not comfortable being this out in the open.

“Three of the most powerful Mages in Celestia,” I say softly. Of course, Adrian scoffs and shrugs at my fanboy behavior. I can’t help it. I’ve always loved Celestian history.

“She left them to take care of Cordelia. I think I love Twyla even more for her sacrifice. That took a lot of strength. I don’t know if I could have been able to do the same,” Torin says as he begins to walk toward them. I almost start jumping up and down, but I remember that I’m a Dragon, and as exciting as all this is, I have a reputation to maintain.

“Someone is full of nervous energy, and it is making me sick,” Dravyn says as he blows out a breath to steady himself. I can only suspect that being this close to us, he is bombarded by the full force of our bond. I wouldn’t say I am nervous, excited, maybe. I glance over at him again and notice he is paler than he was before. Sweat lines his brow as he takes out his black silk pocket square and dabs it away.

“Hey, Dravyn, are you okay?” I ask genuinely concerned because he doesn’t seem right all of a sudden. I grab his arm to steady him again as he blinks slowly at my question.

“I guess that power pulse affected me more than I thought.” He shakes his head as if to clear it, we stand there a moment just in case he feels whatever it was again. When nothing else happens, he nods his head in thanks, and we both hurry to catch up.

“Gale, we don’t have time for you to go all puppy in front of the Mages. The ball is starting soon, so we need to focus on Cordelia,” Torin growls. I really hate it when he is right all the damn time. As much as I want to be excited about the prospect of a conversation with Twyla’s mates, my girl is looking like a gift that needs to be unwrapped. The chandelier’s light reflects off the red of her dress, making her sparkle like she does in Dragon form. The tight-fitting dress fans out around her, the train’s so long it’s draped up the steps where a patiently waiting Silva is holding on to it as if it’s made of gold.

“There are my men now.” Cordelia smiles from the steps as she starts to descend. One of Twyla’s mates holds out his hand to help, but Adrian is there beside him in a flash.

“Well, Cordelia, you have more than enough to take care of you. Twyla, you must be pleased to see she has such attentive mates,” the redhead who I know is Pax says as he steps away with a wink and turns his attention back to Twyla.

“Cordelia is special, and a special woman deserves the world,” Torin says as he takes her other hand in his and gives it a gentle kiss.

“Torin, you’re making a girl swoon.” Cordelia fans her face, a teasing smile following as she looks down at him. The music from inside of the ballroom picks up, and the doors swing open wider. An announcement is made, and King Maddox makes his way through the doors followed by his attendants.

“Gray, Pax, and Lorian. These are my Delia’s mates, Torin, Adrian, Gale, and Dravyn. I’m sure we will have plenty of time to talk tonight.” Twyla points to each of us as Gray picks her up and places her on the ground before him. Nothing else is exchanged as he holds out his arm for her and she takes it with the sweetest smile I’ve only seen her give to Cordelia. Pax and Lorian instantly take up positions to her right and back as if no time has passed between them at all.

“Well, let’s get this show on the road,” Cordelia says as we all form up around her. Everyone except Dravyn. Cordelia calls out his name, but it’s as if he can’t hear her. Dravyn sways on his feet again, and me being the closest to him, I reach out to grab him, but he vanishes out of sight.

“Where did he go?” Cordelia shouts, rushing over to the empty space where Dravyn was just standing. Twyla rushes over to help Cordelia. Lorian steps in front of the doors, and with a flick of his wrist the doors to the ballroom close on his command. Suddenly, Silva screams, and all our heads turn in her direction. Laying on the long train behind Cordelia is Dravyn. Blood pours from his nose, and his body shakes in an epileptic seizure as his body blinks in and out of the shadows. Cordelia collapses to the floor and quickly crawls toward him.

“We-we-need to help him,” Cordelia cries as she cradles his head between her hands. Twyla crawls on the floor beside her and immediately begins chanting. Pax and Lorian mention they will alert Maddox and run toward the side door of the ballroom to inform the king of what’s happening.

“He’s being attacked,” Gray says as he stands behind Twyla. He touches her shoulder, lending her his strength as she chants on. Their relationship falls back into place seamlessly as he shares his power freely to assist his mate. Adrian kneels behind Cordelia and gathers her in his arms as she begins to fall apart. One minute we were all happy, the next, our world explodes apart around us. I can’t watch Cordelia lose it. She’s lost so much, and her tears are like spikes stabbing me straight in the heart. All I want to do is take her away from this, but I know she will have none of it. I start to pace. Did we miss something?

“How is it possible? There should have been no way for someone to harm him here!” Torin shouts, mirroring my thoughts as he paces back and forth. I already know that my brother will blame himself yet again for not seeing this coming, but there was nothing we could have done to prevent this. I was the closest to Dravyn when he said something was wrong, maybe I should have pressed harder. Maybe this is my fault because I didn’t say anything. I don’t want my mate to think I intentionally held the information from her after we just agreed to speak up. Slowly, I watch the blood flow back into Dravyn’s body, and his seizure eases. Twyla slumps back on her heels, but Gray scoops her up in his arms before she could fall.

“I did what I could, Cordelia, but something is keeping him under,” Twyla whispers, her voice is weak from fatigue.

The sound of boots running down the adjoining hallways has us all looking up anxiously. Druid guards swarm around the atrium from every direction. The doors to the Grand ballroom open, and King Maddox steps through, and his eyes go immediately to Twyla in Gray’s arms and then to Cordelia. The room goes deathly silent as he takes everything in before him.

“Vivyn and her mates have escaped,” he says to us, then continues to talk to his guards. “Secure the guests. We have to find her! She cannot leave Celestia. Do not fail me. Go!” The guards all turn on their heels and leave as quickly as they came.

“Daughter, are you hurt?” he asks Twyla, but she answers with a question of her own.

“How? She was secure. Who could have possibly helped her?” Twyla attempts to hold her head up, but she has no strength left and passes out in Gray’s arms.

“Adrian, Torin, and Gale, do you mind assisting Lorian and Pax in the hunt for Vivyn? I will make sure Cordelia and Dravyn make it back to your room safely,” King Maddox says as he removes his robes and begins to roll up his sleeves. He runs his hands over Twyla’s face first then nods to Gray. Without another word, Gray disappears with Twyla in his arms.

“She just needs rest. She’s used a lot of power, it’s taken a lot out of her to stabilize him,” he reassures Cordelia as she wipes away her tears. Maddox holds out his hand to her, and she lets him lift her out of Adrian’s arms.

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