Page 120 of The Exiled Dragon

“Hold on there, I did no such thing.”

“Well, the way you just announced that, it seems like you will let them have the rest of the women down there!” Osirus shook his head frantically.

“No, that isn’t it at all. They have mates as well.” Creed pulled me back to his chest, not liking me getting so close to the King Fae. He pets my shoulder, trying to calm me. Lucky for Osirus, it did.

“Orcs have been behind these walls for centuries. They haven’t seen a female in all that time. They talked about a bonding that is like ours. Of course, it is probably the same thing, but it has been misconstrued. They want to find their mates, mates that a goddess said she would provide soon.”

“The Moon Goddess?” Ondi said as she came to her son, touching her forehead to his.

“I believe so. The Orcs said she glowed blue and had a crescent moon on her head. Can’t think of any other goddess that does that,” Osirus looked to the darkening sky.

“And do you think some of those women down there could be a mate of theirs?” Osirus bobbed his head back and forth.

“Maybe? But they want more chances to meet more supernaturals, and tear the wall down so they can travel to seek their mates, but that means the Ogres will get through the wall and cause danger. Princess Clara will have to be involved.” Osirus folded his arms against his breastplate. “If we can get them to agree to fight with us, knowing that they are immune to having spells cast on them, it could shift the odds of the war.”

Chapter Seventy

Creed

Campfiressurroundedthenearbywall, throwing shadows of our bodies dancing in the night as the flames flickered joyously. It was too late for us to travel, and Odessa had become weak using her newfound power. My fawn sat with me, curled up in my arms, while I sat next to the fire to keep her warm. No doubt she was exhausted from dealing with the Duke.

Mortus’ body parts had been separated and put in bundling bags, his head and his shaft still sticking out of his mouth were put in one, to make sure we did not hear him complain about his ailments. Growling as the bags went by to sit near the heavily guarded wall, the Fae warriors peered fearfully at my fangs.

They had seen my Dragon, and I wasn’t the most beautiful beast in their eyes, but I was a new race. Odessa and I will paint a new way for our future children and establish a new beauty for the world of Bergarain. Odessa stirred in my arms. My fingers trailed her darkened hair, tucking it behind her ear. Her body curled up closer to me, gripping hold of a borrowed tunic to keep out the cold.

“You did well today.”

My father patted me on the back, perching beside me. He was a few inches taller than I, his beard more robust, and the light in his eye had brightened. He wasn’t the depressed Griffon I had met for the first time just a few days before, but a new man. Clean, healthy, and full of life.

My father watches my mother, ensuring that the Dragons that followed us are fed. Her Alpha duties never left her in all these years. Wild beasts such as ‘painted cats,’ as the Orcs called them, roamed the area, which would be dangerous to the humans scattered around the camp.

There were few humans left in the bunker. We counted three women and one male that were in dreadful conditions. The male was not expected to live through the night.

The underground bunker was vast. The entrance to the opening was far from the wall. It would have taken hours to find Odessa if our bond were not strong. Down below was a series of tunnels, rooms filled with bunk beds, food, water, and most of all, bags, and bags of blood. Some rooms held items for Witches to meddle with magic, but many shelves were wiped clean in a hurry. Meaning they heard me storm the room and used what magic they could to save themselves.

Odessa’s heart broke. She said it was her fault, and she should never have left the other humans behind. If she had stayed, she could have saved them, but her depressed thinking would have only led her to be claimed by the Duke. Who knows what the bond would have done with the evil magic the Duke continued to put on himself? He could have turned my bright light into a pit of darkness.

“The po’er flows thru her ‘ell.” My father mentioned. I hummed, looking down at my mate. She was a gentle soul that didn’t deserve the life she ended up with. Maybe she would have been better somewhere else, somewhere far away from here.

“Remember what Hecate said? She wull be the key to the war,” father added. I didn’t acknowledge it; I just stroked my mate’s cheek. My fawn really didn’t deserve this, all this pressure.

“What if she doesn’t want to fight?” I growled in my chest. “What if she just wants to fly away and live peacefully?” Father’s gaze left me and glanced into the fire. His fists balled up, causing white to appear on his knuckles.

“There wull be no peace ‘ere or on Earth if we do not do sumethin.’ This black magic, this blud the Witches have, are now werking with the rogue Vampires. It wull be our undoing if we do not stop them now. If Hecate was tha’ hell-bent on bringin’ your muther back to ‘elp, wulling to brak rules, that means sumethin’.”

“What of the orcs?” My eyes traveled to them as they brought food and drink to the females. A blanket was now thrown over the male, covering his face. No heartbeat could be heard from his chest. The women sniffed as they watched them lift the body.

“What of ‘em? Hecate already planned for ‘em tae be a part of this war. Ah can feel it. The Goddess visited ‘em, promising ‘em mates. The only way to get mates is to go beyond the wall. They wull help us fight. Osirus and Clara will have no choice but tae agree and let them find them.”

“Are those women not their mates?” Father shook his head, throwing a stick into the fire.

“No,” he grunted. “All the more reason they are going to push for this wall to come down. The Ogres we will have to deal with is a different story. Ah’m glad ah’m not part of tha’ conversation.” Mother handed one more bowl of food to a Fae soldier, swaying her hips as she sat by father. He swiftly picked her up, putting his nose to her neck. She hummed happily, petting through his long tresses of hair.

“How is she?” she whispered. Her fingers went out to graze Odessa’s leg, patting it lovingly. “I feel the magic inside her. As it continues to grow, the magic will be instilled in the rest of the Dragons, and we will have a fighting chance.”

“How long will it take?” My forehead went to Odessa’s. Fluttering her eyes to look at me, she gave a soft smile, burying her face into my chest.

“I’m not sure. A tiny body like hers holding an enormous Dragon and having a heart of gold with so much power may take time. Time is something we don’t have,” mother hummed.

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