Chapter Eight: Revealed
Claudia couldn't believe it. She was right there, helpless, alone, her hands around her neck. Why had her father snatched her away before that vile thing could even go unconscious?
"It wasn't the right time." Aaravos said, glancing at Claudia as the three made their way down the mountain. They had passed the remains of the ice blast a mile or so ago, the ice melting and broken and the elves gone; they must have broken loose when the summer night melted the ice. No matter, it was an easy fix if they sought to cause trouble. "I would like to study that mage a bit more. Maybe even get him to see the truth about the dragons and elves, join our cause. I suspect you favor this idea."
Claudia, stunned, only nodded. Aaravos continued. "That Moonshadow elf is important to him. She stays alive, it will be easier to…influence him."
"You…" Claudia paused nervously. "You can't read minds, can you?"
"I didn't need to." Aaravos said. "You seem to hold quite the grudge against the elf and are equally as fond of the boy, yes?" Claudia could feel her face heat up. No, she just wanted to get Callum away from that elf. She'd realized it months ago that everything had been fine until she showed up; they were all happy in Katolis, than the elf arrived with her ilk to kill the king. Then they found that egg and she convinced the princes to take it back to the dragons. Nothing was the same after that. "We'll wait until the plan is complete, then we won't need either of them anymore. Only then may you bring that troublesome little thing to her knees, and not before."
Claudia looked down in shame. It had been her idea, her insistence that they come here. She knew that elf was coming here, and she wanted to watch the light leave her eyes. And if what Aaravos said was true, she had nearly cost them a potential ally with her anger. It appeared she would now have to wait until whatever her father and this elf were planning had seen results of some kind. Viren was silent, needing to focus on breathing. It might have been his imagination, but the trip down the mountain felt more draining then the trip up.
Lujanne didn't like leaving the Moon Nexus unguarded the morning after it had been trespassed on, but Callum and Rayla had refused to leave her there alone for the same reason. She supposed their hearts were in the right place and it warmed her own heart to know they cared so much, even if Rayla tried to hide it behind rolling eyes and dismissive scoffs. Lujanne didn't care what the rest of their people said about Rayla, she was every bit the private and secretive Moonshadow elf as any of them. So now she was on the back of the young moon dragon, Phoe-phoe cradled in one of her arms, quickly approaching the Storm Spire.
The fact that a sun dragon was already waiting at the spire was the first tip that something was off. When the moon dragon landed beside him, the two began to converse in a series of passive growls and purring noises. As the human and elves got off of him, the moon dragon's eyes widened in astonishment at something his fellow dragon told him. If the sun dragon had been a hint of something being wrong, the fact that the place seemed deserted was alarming. The trio ran into the royal chambers where the Queen Zubeia, the Dragonguard, Queen Janai and General Amaya were gathered. The queen was staring down a mirror, her wings unfurled, while the rest were keeping their distance, but ready to leap forward at a moment's notice.
"Aunt Amaya?" Callum questioned, having not expected to see her here. Gren, seeing them, tapped on her shoulder, getting her attention, and turning it to the entrance were Callum and his companions stood. She beamed as Callum quickly walked over to hug her while the two elves walked at a slower pace to join the others. The Dragon Queen spared them a glance of acknowledgement before turning her attention back to the mirror. "What's happening?"
"The mirror of Aaravos." Janai told them, leading the trio's eyes to widen in surprise. "Amaya and her men found it in a dungeon of your palace. We had to bring it back here as quickly as possible. The Dragon Queen has tried to summon Aaravos to the mirror; he is bound to appear at her words by the magic that holds him regardless of his will. He hasn't. The only way he wouldn't appear in the mirror would be if he has somehow escaped."
"He did." Callum saw no point in beating around the bush. All eyes turned toward him, wide and wary. "We met him at the Moon Nexus, and that's not all; Viren's back. They're working together, with Claudia."
Apart from Amaya and Janai, who were determined and livid respectively, Gren and the elves were shocked. Queen Zubeia was looking at them with interest. She had only heard of Viren as the egg-napper who had also somehow done away with her husband's entire guard to do it and had later come back to lead an army against Xadia. She knew the man by his past misdeeds, but having never met him, she couldn't consider him as big a threat as Aaravos.
"And you survived?" a Sunfire elf guard asked.
"They claimed to have somewhere to be." Lujanne said, speaking for the first time. She introduced herself when eyes went to her.
"A Startouch elf and two humans." Queen Zubeia pondered. "It's very likely that these groups are one in the same. Malin, return to the Silvergrove; gather five Moonshadow elves and send them to the Moon Nexus with Lujanne. Ibis, send this information to all elven cities you can think of and tell them to do the same. Our Nexus's are precious and must be protected at all costs, especially if they're going around stealing magic."
The dots connected to Janai; Verin, stealing magic, Aaravos. So, had they been going around doing the same to the other elves? Zym stirred in his nest and awoke. It only then occurred to Callum, Rayla and Lujanne how early it was. Outside, the two dragons must have been enjoying the first warmth of the day. Seeing Callum and Rayla, Zym immediately chirped and ran to tackle Rayla in the stomach. She couldn't help her pained shutter, which several others saw.
Amaya looked concerned for a moment before she began signing, taking on a fierce expression which Gren promptly translated. "What's wrong, Rayla? Did they attack any of you?"
"Claudia ambushed her." Callum told them. "And Viren hit her with his staff."
Looking at her, their audience could see it. There were bruises and visible scratches on her neck and her posture was lax in a way that just looked drained. She hadn't spoken yet today, but several of them could imagine it would hurt with how abused that neck looked. Zym, seeing her discomfort, lifted himself up by her shoulders and gave her cheek a few licks, earning a small smile from her. Amaya's fists clinched with anger. In the few days they spent in proximity in the days surrounding the Battle of the Storm Spire, she'd grown fond if this spirited little elf girl who almost reminded her of herself as a teenager, if perhaps a bit more reckless. Beyond that, Amaya almost felt compelled to protect Rayla not just for her smitten nephew's sake, but upon further study it became clear that this was a girl who had been without a mother for a very long time.
"Braise," Zubeia's voice was quiet, and the Sunfire elf who had asked if they'd survived an encounter with Aaravos stepped forward and bowed. "Take Rayla to the infirmary. Get her patched up."
"Yes, my queen." Braise said and walked up to Rayla. Braise was a young female elf, a bit scrawny but about as tall as Ibis. "Come along, you." She was gentle as she took her arm. Rayla was too tired to protest being pulled along and out of the room. She was just looking forward to the promise of rest now.
Callum walked with the two to the main room. When Blaise led Rayla into the infirmary, she held Callum back when he tried to follow her. "Whoa there, lover boy. You're not going in there, that shirt's going to need to come off, and you're not sneaking a peek. Now shoo." Callum's frown was softened by the hot blush on his cheeks as the door was close in his face. Amaya, Gren and Janai arrived in the main room and approached Callum, all looking worried. Amaya signed to Callum.
"We'll tell King Ezran and Soren the moment we get home." Gren translated. "Soren especially needs to know."
A scoff got their attention. The three humans and Janai turned toward the corridor leading to the sleeping chamber. It was Amer, looking disgusted at the four.
"Some king, I'm sure." He sneered. "The only question is what sort of elf is going to be corrupted by him? It does run in the family, right?"
Callum was quiet and Amaya had to be held back by Janai and Gren. Janai scowled at Amer. "Amer, stop!"
"I still don't know how you can hold your head high." Amer rounded on her. "Do you know how ashamed our family must be? Falling in love with a human? It's a joke, a sick joke!"
For the second time, Amer's taunts had earned him a punch in the jaw, in almost the exact same spot, even. Amaya had broken free of Gren and Janai's holds, and her fist was still balled. Her teeth were clenched, and she was looking at him with ferocity. Of course, she couldn't hear the insults themselves, but both Janai and her nephew were affected by what he was saying, so it simply had to stop.
"Violent creatures!" Amer hissed, holding his bruised jaw and turning to look Janai in the eye for the first time. "Khessa would hate you if she saw this." Before any more blows could be thrown his way, he stormed off, slamming the door to one of the elf chambers. He needn't have bothered, because both Amaya and Janai had been stunned into stillness. The two conversed often about their beloved older sisters, Queens Sarai and Khessa. Amaya had told Janai that Sarai would have loved her, that she had always been the more sympathetic of the pair towards Xadian creatures. Janai had countered that their relationship would have changed nothing in Khessa's eyes and might have actually worsened things between their peoples, not unlike what was happening with Rayla's people at the moment. As infuriating as it was, Janai knew her brother's words to be true.
Callum watched as his aunt placed a comforting hand on the Sunfire Queen's shoulder. The queen's posture visibly relaxed and she took her hand. Suddenly feeling lonely, he turned back to the door to the infirmary. At that moment, said door opened and an irritated Braise appeared, making a point to shut the door behind her.
"What in the name of Garlath is going on out here?" she demanded.
"Just Amer acting like a spoiled child, refusing to accept what's well out of his control." Janai reported, still holding Amaya's hand. Personally, Braise stood on neutral ground when it came to these interspecies relationships, they simply had nothing to do with her. If there was one thing she definitely didn't like, though, it was the noise that people like Amer made about it, and against his own sister, no less.
"Is Rayla okay?" Callum asked.
"She'll be fine." Braise told him. "The arnica mixture should lessen the bruising on her throat and stomach, and she was jittery, so I gave her something to help her sleep. The scratches are too shallow to need treating, they'll probably heal on their own by the end of the day. She's resting now, which is why we need quiet."
The queen let out a sigh. "He can't be dealt with."
"You're telling me." Callum muttered, making Amaya raise her eyebrows.
Janai continued. "We've done what we came here for, Amaya, Gren. Let's get back to the Lux Aurea before Kazi has a panic attack."
"In a moment." Gren translated the general's signs. "Callum, has Amer given you trouble before?"
"He's been cornering both of us, Rayla and I, alone since he joined the guard. He's not even brave enough to face us together." Callum's voice held a bit of scorn. He was a coward on top of everything else, and Callum only avoided blasting him with lightening out of a respect for even his life. Amaya's eyes blazed with anger and she turned around and marched down the room and through the corridor leading to the Dragon Queen. Gren had to run to catch up with her. Janai, Callum and Braise watched in silence for a moment, unsure of what was happening. After a minute or two, they reemerged, Amaya joining Callum and the elves, while Gren moved to the door through which Amer had left.
Amer was in his heat-being mode when Gren told him that Queen Zubeia demanded to see him. Callum was reminded of Viren's lava monsters and felt himself shudder because of it. Hopefully the Dragon Queen would put a stop to this behavior, if only because this was the worst time to get lost in infighting. This train of thought led him back to the Battle of the Storm Spire all that time ago.
"Verin, Claudia and Aaravos." Callum said to himself. "If they're after us, we really can't stay here. We'd be putting everyone in danger."
"Where will you go?" Janai asked. Callum shrugged.
"Travel around, try to avoid them until I know enough magic." he said. "We were already planning on it for my training as an archmage, so it's really fine. But before that, Rayla needs to wake up and I want to connect to the moon arcanum before Lujanne goes home to the Nexus. Aunt Amaya, when you get home, let Ezran know that we'll visit as soon as possible."
Amaya nodded and began signing, which Gren translated. "Okay. We'll see you two in a few days."
Amer trailed behind the old moon mage and watched her walk up to the human. He lurked in the passageway, hoping not to be seen. It had been humiliating to be called out by the Dragon Queen herself as if he were a misbehaving child. He could feel his blood boiling. He waited until the pair had gone outside and were on their way to the pinnacle, before he moved to go outside himself, but began descending the spire. He knew who to go to, who would fix this. Maybe it was extreme and unauthorized, but it was for the greater good; this blasphemy couldn't be allowed to continue.
Author's Notes: What's Amer planning to do? Next stop, Callum connecting to the moon arcanum. Hope it's satisfactory. Review.