Author's Note: Hello! Thank you for the reviews! It means a lot to me. I'm still adjusting to exactly how small the Fablehaven fandom is- the books are so under appreciated.
If it's not clear, the past two chapters did a lot of jumping around, time-wise. Most of the action took placed during the events of Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary and Keys to the Demon Prison and in the months after. This chapter takes place about 11 months after the battle on Shoreless Isle.
Hope you enjoy!
"Kendra!" Seth called. "Bracken says he's coming later!"
Kendra immediately perked up. "Really? When?"
"Uh, about an hour or so," her little brother replied. She cursed underneath her breath and ran to her room to freshen up.
Seth's laughter didn't go unheard.
She rolled her eyes. As annoying as he was, she couldn't help but be proud of him. In the past few months, he had grown taller than her and his voice had lowered an octave. Since the events of last May, he had also grown somewhat more emotionally mature. Sure, he still played the occasional harmless prank, but something dark, mournful seemed to weigh him down. Kendra assumed he was still mourning the death of Coulter, the old man who had been his teacher. Some days, she thought he might be mourning something else, perhaps the loss of any hope of a normal life. Or maybe he couldn't shake his anxiety over his imminent second encounter with the Singing Sisters.
Anyway, a visit from Bracken would be sure to raise his spirits. He greatly looked up to the unicorn, and gained amusement from his flirting with Kendra.
An hour later, Seth and Kendra stood at the pond, waiting for Bracken's arrival.
"Did he say why he's coming?" Kendra asked.
Seth shrugged. "Not really. He probably just wants some Kendra quality time."
He yelped as Kendra elbowed him. However, the quarrel was interrupted by a bright flash of light on the island.
Bracken waved to them, grinning ear-from-ear. Behind him stood Raxtus, and at his side was an unfamiliar girl. He lept over the pond surrounding the island, landing with a THUD on the boardwalk. Kendra ran to him, and the two embraced. Seth pretended to retch.
He watched as Raxtus took a simple step across the water. The girl, however, jumped as Bracken had. She seemed to move as if disregarding gravity, cutting through the air with ease.
When Bracken and Kendra finally parted, the unicorn addressed Seth. "How's it going? Hanging in there?"
Seth nodded stiffly, unable to take his eyes off of the girl. He had spent enough time in the magical world to know that there was something inhuman about her. His first thought was that she was another unicorn, perhaps one of Bracken's siblings. However, unicorns were generally fair; the girl had pale ivory skin, but hair so dark that the undertones seemed almost purple. Her eyes were an unnatural shade of violet. She was pretty, he supposed, but not in the way fairy creatures were. Her beauty was sharper, colder.
Kendra went to greet Raxtus. She placed her hand on his forelimb, and he glowed in response. Seth didn't miss the alarm that crossed the girl's face.
"Kendra, Seth," Bracken said, "I'd like you to meet Natalia."
"It's a pleasure to meet you," she said without sounding like it was much of a pleasure at all. Her voice was rich, but almost as sharp as the rest of her.
"Let's go back to the house," Kendra suggested, glancing at Seth.
"I'm going to visit Shiara," Raxtus said. "I'll be back for dinner."
"Ok," said Kendra. "Everyone's staying for dinner. We'll order pizza." She didn't feel like she could ask either of her Grandmas to cook for three extra, especially when one of said extra was a dragon with a nearly insatiable appetite.
Kendra and Bracken were inseparable on the walk back to the house. Seth was left walking next to Natalia in awkward silence.
"So," he said, "See any good movies lately? Uh, if you watch movies, that is."
He thought she might have smiled, just a little. "Yes, actually. I saw a movie called Snowpiercer in Seoul with Raxtus several months ago. I'd highly recommend it."
"So you know Raxtus, then?"
She narrowed her eyes. "Know him? He practically raised me. He and Agad, that is."
Seth frowned. "Does that mean you grew up at Wyrmroost?"
Natalia nodded, but said no more.
They were approaching the yard. Kendra and Bracken made a beeline for the garden. Seth decided he'd rather stay out of their way and directed Natalia towards the tree house. He quickly climbed the rope ladder and popped open a window to let in some light. He figured she might not appreciate darkness as much as he did.
"I was there last year," he continued once they were comfortably situated, trying to encourage her to keep talking.
"I recall the group. I saw your sister, but not you," she scowled.
'"Yeah, I stowed away in a magical knapsack," he said. "Did you live in the Keep?"
She nodded again, casting her gaze downward."Agad ordered me to stay hidden while your group spent the night."
"Why?"
She lifted her head to meet Seth's eyes. This time, she actually was smiling. "You've already caught onto the fact that I'm not human."
Suddenly, he felt redness spread across his cheeks. "Uh, yeah. For a second, I thought you might be a unicorn."
A low chuckle escaped her. "I'm hardly a unicorn, Seth."
"Dragon?" He tried. "In a human avatar, obviously."
"Closer." She took a deep breath in. "Have you ever heard of a Dragonling?"
He shook his head.
"Generally, a Dragonling is the offspring of a dragon father and human mother. Hypothetically, a female dragon could be impregnated by a human male while in her avatar form, but very few, if any dragons would wish to undergo the mammalian birth process."
"So your father's a dragon?" His eyes widened. "That's sick!"
She managed a feeble smile. "Um, thanks."
Then, the exact implication of her words hit him. "Er, how exactly… uh, does that work?"
"The male dragon has to take on an avatar as well," she clarified. "Sometimes, they rape the human woman, or more infrequently, the two actually form an attachment. Of course, it's a rare occurrence, since the vast majority of dragons will generally just kill a human."
Seth nodded, feeling slightly disturbed. "Ok." He paused. "So who's your dad?"
Ice crossed her demeanor again. "It doesn't matter."
"You don't know, or it doesn't matter?" he pressed.
She sighed. "I don't know, but it doesn't matter. I am what I am, and it doesn't matter how I became that way."
"Have you ever tried to find out? I mean, if I had a secret dragon father, I'd definitely want to know."
"I asked Agad," she said, "Once."
"And?"
"All he said was, 'it doesn't matter'."
"Do you think he knows?"
She let out an exasperated breath. "Are you always this annoying?"
"Usually more," he shrugged.
"He may know." She glanced back at the Main House. "Wizards have a way of gathering information. Or he may not. Some dragons can be terribly reclusive or secretive. Or perhaps my father has taken measures to restrict the spread of such information."
"Sheesh," said Seth. "Sorry, dude. That sorta sucks."
"It's fine," she said dryly. "Again, it doesn't matter."
"What about your mother?" He leaned forward. By far, Natalia was the most interesting person he had talked to in months.
"Her name was Anya Semyonova, and she was a great dragon tamer." She shifted her weight. "Agad has spoken about her. Camarat allowed her entry to study the sanctuary, at her own peril. She spent a night at the Keep, then disappeared into the preserve. Agad presumed her dead until she showed up at his doorstep nearly a year later, carrying an infant: me."
"So what happened to her?" Seth asked. "You said Agad and Raxtus raised you."
"She left me with Agad, knowing there was no way she could bring up a Dragonling. The Evening Star got her a couple months after that." Her tone was matter-of-fact.
"Why couldn't she raise you herself?"
Natalia cupped her hands, and a purple flame rose from her palms. Seth jumped back, and she laughed. "It's ok, I won't burn your tree house down."
"Can you spit fire from your mouth?"
"...No."
"Oh," he said, crestfallen.
"Imagine trying to control a flame throwing toddler with superhuman strength, speed, and reflexes," she went on. "It's not an enviable task. You may have noticed some parts of Blackwell Keep looked newer than others. That's because I accidentally burnt down several flammable portions as a young child, before I learned to control my abilities."
"Wow. All I did was draw on the walls with Sharpie."
She cracked a smile at this. Behind them, Kendra and Bracken burst out in laughter.
"Gross," Seth muttered.
"When Raxtus told me Bracken had a thing for a human girl, I didn't believe him," she snorted.
"Yeah, she's pretty into him, too."
Another bout of laughter.
"The other day," Seth began, making a face, "she said she wanted to become an Eternal. You know, one less barrier between them."
"That's a large sacrifice to make," Natalia remarked.
"Right? And she's not even making it for the right reasons." He huffed.
"Did she just confide in you, or to others as well? Your grandparents run this preserve, correct?"
Seth nodded. "Yep. And no, she casually announced it at dinner. And of course, everyone thought it was a great idea. Just brilliant Kendra and her fairy magic saving the world once again. And when I-" he broke off.
"What?"
He drew in a shaky breath. "When I said I wanted to do it too, they laughed. My parents, grandparents, everyone."
She cocked her head to the side. "Why do you think that is?"
"I don't know. I've always been considered the baby, the irresponsible one, I guess. I'm two years younger, but in the scheme of eternity, that's practically nothing!"
"And do you think she's more qualified than you are?"
"No!" She could hear the conviction in his voice. "I'm the one who pulled the nail out of a revenant and survived digestion by a demon."
"That's not something to brag about," she pointed out. "The whole idea's to avoid digestion altogether."
He ignored her. "I stole a unicorn's horn from the centaurs' maze. I'm the only reason my group survived negotiations with Thronis at Wyrmroost."
Her amused expression dropped off of her face, and she listened intently.
"I bargained with the Singing Sisters. I retrieved Vasilis, which Kendra used to slay Gorgrog. Hell, I killed two demons! She only killed one."
She opened her mouth, perhaps to reassure him, but he rattled on.
"And killing Siletta was my idea, not hers."
Suddenly, she was on top of him, hands clenched around his neck, slowly choking him. He struggled for breath as she bared her teeth- her canines were slightly pointed. "Never. Confess. To. Killing. A. Dragon," she snarled. "It's nothing to boast of. Doing so renders you an enemy to the entire species. That includes me. I may look nice and human, but don't you ever forget, I'm anything but."
Releasing him, she added, "I'd suggest you refrain from mentioning that to Raxtus as well. He may know, but it's best he doesn't, or at least pretends he doesn't."
Gasping for breath, he rubbed the side of his neck. "Got it. Then, Kendra killed the dragon, not me."
A smirk spread over Natalia's lips. "You are boasting."
"Nah, just giving you a resume. You asked if Kendra was more qualified. She's not. She saved Fablehaven once. Once! And killed the Demon King. The other stuff has all been people protecting her, or fairies. At least I try to fight my own fights."
A more serious expression crossed her face. "Consider this," she said. "Fairies and related creatures are known for powers of persuasion, no?"
Seth shrugged. "I guess so."
"Of course, such abilities don't begin to scratch the power of dragon persuasion. If I wished to, I could convince you to jump from the tree house."
"Really?" he asked, more interested than she thought was probably healthy.
"Eh." She shrugged. "On a good day. I once got Camarat to give me some tips. They didn't work on Agad. I assume your mind is much weaker."
"Thanks."
"But anyways, the difference is that fairies generally don't persuade mortals to do anything too bad. Sure, they can be mischievous, but Naiads withstanding, fairies are more or less benevolent. Vapid, but benevolent."
"Your point is?"
"Humans trust fairies," she stated. "Whether it's wise or not. I think Kendra exudes a similar aura. People trust her. They assume she'll act in their interests. They may even assume she's more suited to a task than she actually is."
"Sounds accurate," Seth acknowledged.
"But you-" she gave him a pitying look. "Humans are far less eager to consort with those marked by demons. You probably do not feel this about yourself, but there's an air about you. It's weak, but it's there. Intimidation. Mistrust. If anything, you're unconsciously encouraging your family to avoid you."
"Great," he grumbled.
"No, you can use this to your advantage. I'd much rather exude your aura than Kendra's," she said.
"But you don't respond that way to me," Seth frowned. "Or Kendra. Why?"
"I grew up surrounded by magic," Natalia said. "I know to question everything I encounter. But mostly, dragons are the perfect grey. They can acquire an affiliation over the course of a lifespan, but most dragons are neither good nor bad. I believe there's no such thing, actually. What do terms like 'light' and 'dark' really mean? A demon's a demon, but good is relative. I'm apprehensive of those who claim otherwise."
Seth's mother called for dinner, and he quickly climbed down the ladder. Natalia jumped out the tree house window.
Given that it was a warm April night, they ate outside. Natalia had only eaten pizza on several prior occasions. Apparently, Fablehaven housed many people. Seth's parents and grandparents sat at one table. At another, several younger men and women drank beers and joked with each other. Seth had introduced them all to her, but she had been more distracted by the way they looked at her and failed to remember their names.
Raxtus had arrived just in time for the pizza, of course. Now, Seth and Natalia ate beside him. Kendra had always been closer to the dragon than Seth, but now that they had gotten the chance to speak, Seth thought they had much more in common.
Seth noticed there were few fairies out tonight. Normally, with both Raxtus and Bracken in the vicinity, they would be flocking around. He looked over at Kendra and the unicorn. They were obliviously chatting, seemingly unconcerned.
So he tried to go back to enjoying the meal, forgetting about whatever unsettled him.
He became much more concerned when the dark cloud rolled in.
