Chapter 72-Dark Vengeance
Narssia was asleep when Geer first arrived, her tail protectively wrapped around Arxa's egg as the two she had from her mating with Windra quivered. Upon hearing one of the eggs start to crack, Geer approached the black dragoness and woke her by pressing the tip of his snout against her own. A low hiss from her told him she was waking up and he glanced over at her tail to see the grey egg that she guarded so fiercely. He hadn't mated with her for several reasons since she started using his quarters as her own but the appearance of the egg worried him.
"The eggs are hatching," he remarked as he backed away and curled up on the floor, tired from having been up so early to deal with Nethial and Tamli.
"I can see that." The venom in her tone surprised him and Geer glanced up at her to see she was tending to the new egg rather than observing the hatching of the other two.
"Narssia, talk to me, please. I can see that you are exhausted so just listen to me then. Why are you so fiercely guarding the egg in your grasp when you are about to have two newly hatched offspring to instruct and teach?" Geer asked as Narssia growled at him and pulled Arxa's egg closer to her side.
Narssia sighed, closing her eyes as she loosened her grip on the egg just enough to have it rest beside her. "I . . . I can't tell you. Just trust my word, Geer. When all of this is over, I will tell you everything you need to know."
Slapping his tail on the ground in anger, Geer snarled as he stood and approached her. "Why can't you tell me now then? Does it have something to do with Arxa? I suspect Tamli was right when he made the comment he could sense that dark presence inside your-"
Unaware of her own actions, Narssia roared and spat a fireball directly at Geer's chest. As the dragon stumbled backwards in shock, she got to her feet and sprang at him, pining him to the ground with a taloned foreleg on his exposed throat. Staring down into his eyes, she snarled and opened her maw but hesitated and seemed to regain her senses. Backing away from him, she lowered her head and averted her gaze as he rolled onto his side and watched the timidness of her years as a hatchling return.
"I'm sorry. I just reacted on instinct and-"
"And I pushed you to that extreme," Geer growled softly as he forced himself onto his feet and approached her, unfolding a wing and draping it over her in comfort. "I forced myself past boundaries I should not have crossed and I suppose I am the one that should be asking forgiveness. All I want is to help you, Nar . . . you know that deep down."
A low mournful growl rose from her throat as Narssia glanced to her eggs to see one lined with cracks and the other quivering heavily. With a sharp crack, the black egg violently shattered to reveal a pitch-dark dragonet with green eyes as it blinked and stumbled forward on unsteady legs. Geer hummed warmly as the little hatchling made its way over to them and watched as Narssia lifted a foretaloned leg and lightly ran her claws over the stubby four nubs on the top of its head that would eventually become long horns as it grew.
Suddenly the second egg cracked open to reveal a tiny gray dragoness as the just hatched youngling lay sprawled out on its back. Taking a moment to draw its first breath, the little dragonet blinked to show that its irises were a glistening yellow. Although smaller than her sibling, the new she-dragon bore a similar trait to Windra by having two nubs along the back of her head which would become beautiful ivory horns later on during its life.
"We now have two little ones to join the Compound," Geer growled as he lifted his wing and folded it back against his side, stepping back to allow Narssia time with her new offspring. "A brother and sister born out of the ashes of tragedy . . ."
"What tragedy?" Narssia asked, glancing at him from the corner of her eye as her daughter rolled over onto its stomach and shoved itself onto its feet to join the black hatchling.
A soft sigh from Geer seemed to attract the gray hatchling as she slowly made her way over to him. "I was meaning to tell you this later but Tamli is dead. He sacrificed his life to help ensure Nethial delivered her child without complication . . ."
Glancing at the silent dark gray egg that lay in the corner where she had been resting when Geer had first entered, Narssia hesitated before whispering softly, "Arxa isn't dead, Geer. The egg I was guarding when you entered - that's her now. She told me that she could separate from me and give me back my life and I trusted her enough to allow it."
"That's why you wouldn't talk about it when I first asked," Geer snorted quietly as Narssia twitched the end of her tail and focused her attention on her new descendants. "You were afraid she'd find out and come after you when the time was right."
"She threatened to harm the eggs, Geer. I couldn't place innocent lives at risk so I did what I could to make it seem like she was gone . . ." Narssia muttered softly, noticing that her new daughter had crawled up in front of Geer's forepaws and sat down.
"So those words you said when you awoke after fighting her . . . they weren't from you?" Geer asked as Narssia felt resentment ripple out from the formerly blind dragon and she shrunk back. "You knew even before you regained consciousness that she still existed! Why betray all that your sons worked so hard for? When I brought you to Aurelia, your unconscious form on my back, I pleaded with our ancestors to let you finally escape the darkness that had held you captive for years . . . Now you tell me you had decided your course of action nearly as soon as I killed Jormundur to save your life."
Roaring in anger, Geer stepped over the resting dragonet at his feet and walked over to where Arxa's egg lay unprotected. Narssia retreated a step as the words cut deeply into her recovering persona, unable to stop herself from quivering in fright. She wanted him to understand but, with his position so close to Arxa, revealing anything might further put the dark egg at risk of being shattered. Unwilling to accept that outcome, she slid her newly hatched son aside so he wouldn't be hurt before closing her eyes and lowering the tip of her snout to her chest in submission.
"Don't harm her. You can inflict your anger on me but leave her out of it. It was my decision to have this happen, Geer. I knew there would be certain risks when I told her to do what she must and separate from me. My decision wasn't made until I fought with Arxa in the dreamscape. I had every intension to kill her and finally be able to live my own life. Everything changed the moment she pinned me down and told me that I wouldn't have to live with the guilt of knowing I had killed an innocent soul . . ."
Shaking his head, Geer snapped, "An innocent soul is the farthest thing from Arxa! She is a poison, crafted by Corruption to make you weak and easy to manipulate. Why can't you see that? She used your inward compassion to avoid her own death, Narssia."
"You don't understand . . ." Narssia whispered, opening her eyes and glancing up at him. "Arxa isn't a monster . . ."
"Narssia," Geer scoffed, briefly unfolding his wings to stretch the agitated muscles. "You do realize she lead your son astray and left Ladetis unable to fly. She is a creature of darkness, a vengeful entity formed from . . ." Hesitating, Geer couldn't admit to her that he knew the darkness for Arxa's creation had come directly from Narssia through her years of being bonded to the one that had caused the destruction of their beloved ancient home.
Taking a step back, Narssia seemed to retreat into herself even as her eyes flickered to the dark egg that contained Arxa's now free spirit. Geer narrowed his eyes, unsure how she would try to act next. Shifting his left foreleg closer to the defenseless eggshell, he watched as her eyes widened and a soft snarl rose from deep in her throat.
"Back away from the egg," she rasped as she bared her teeth and raised her head back to normal height, her tone reflecting the darker persona she had co-existed with for years.
Refusing to budge from his position, Geer glanced at the object next to him for a moment before returning his gaze to Narssia. "Or what? You know your current condition leaves you unable to compete with me as far as strength. Arxa was always the fighter between you two . . ."
"That doesn't mean I am unable to defend myself," Narssia spat back, taking a step forward to protect her former dark half from being killed.
Snorting in amusement, Geer raised his head as a tiny spark of electricity flickered from his nostrils. "I immobilized you once and I can do it again . . . This egg that rests besides me needs to be destroyed before Arxa rises up and enslaves all of us to do her bidding. Face that facts, Narssia! She was and always will be pure evil!"
"You're wrong. Arxa is-"
A loud squeak from her new daughter abruptly cut off Narssia and she glanced to make sure the tiny gray dragoness wasn't injured. During their conversation, the dragonet had crawled over to Arxa's egg and had pawed at it with a scaled forepaw, only to receive a shock in retaliation. Now on its back, both adult scale-fliers watched as glowing blue lines began to appear on the youngling's right flank.
"What is that?" Narssia asked in shock as her eyes flickered from Arxa's egg to her daughter and back again, trying to understand just what happened.
"I know that some dragons before they hatched could tap into their elemental powers at random but . . . Could it be to give another a second ability?" Geer muttered softly as Narssia quickly glanced at her black-scaled son to see he was still where she had pushed him.
Humming quietly at realizing one of her children knew what was good for them, she noticed him yawn and then curl up on the cold stone of the room's floor. Sighing, Narssia knew she was as equally tired but couldn't afford to give Geer anything more to use as a weapon against her. They were already on opposing sides concerning Arxa and how she had handled the time leading up to the delivery of the egg of the malicious essence.
Glancing closer at the strange symbols on her daughter's hide, Narssia blinked before hissing in anger. "Geer, do you understand what the symbols mean? I can read them just fine but I want to know if your knowledge of the ancient tongue of paradise also allows you to understand their odd way of writing."
Shaking his head to admit he was unfamiliar with the old language used by their ancestors, Narssia sighed as she scanned over the fragmented words laying out before her. "Fine, then. I suppose I'll just have to translate them," she growled in muted anger. "Let's see here . . . 'My promise is broken. Darkness is all I-'" Narssia stopped, staring in horror at the words as she realized Arxa was using her daughter like a canvas to communicate.
"It seems those words are meant only for you," Geer commented as he realized she wasn't going to tell him the rest of the message. "Pity the dark spirit can't even speak up to defend her own actions . . ."
A shrill shriek rose from the gray dragonet as she suddenly twisted and turned before becoming still. Worried, Narssia took a step forward just as a dark mist, the same she had seen back in the dreamscape, seemed to rise up from the ground and envelope the tiny hatchling. Geer lifted his forepaw closest to the egg, hovering it over the defenseless protection for the black spirit with the intent to crush it. As he began to lower his risen limb, shadowy vines erupted from underneath him and wrapped completely around him so he couldn't even move any part of his body.
"Arxa," Narssia whispered as she recognized the way the dark energy acted as it pulsed around both her daughter and Geer's captive form.
'I am more than capable of speaking for myself, runt.' Arxa spat as she used the gray dragoness as her mouthpiece, her egg shimmering with a dark aura. Turning her attention to her former host, the dark spirit continued, 'And I have not ignored the fact that you told Geer directly what happened between us. What I told you in the dreamscape was to be kept secret, Narssia!'
"Forgive me, dark one," Narssia muttered softly as she lowered her head out of submission. "I knew I had to confide in someone after you took too much-"
The pained shriek of her daughter told Narssia more than what Arxa's dark growl did seconds later. Her new family was paying the price for her mistake and the torment would not cease until she asked her former mind-partner for forgiveness towards her actions. Even with knowing what she had to do, there was still a part of her that wanted to rebel against the malicious presence but she could not afford to have the death of her own offspring on her conscious because her stubborn will refused to submit to the essence of Corruption.
'You dare to defy my commands!' Arxa hissed as Narssia watched her daughter writhe in agony as the dark energy around it grew heavier and more oppressive. 'Has our brief time separated given you the brash idea that you can compete against me? I am what made you, weakling!'
"Arxa, listen, please. I have done nothing but defend you when Geer went after me upon knowing you were still alive. I pleaded with him to understand my reasons for not killing you and to accept that I had made the right decision at a time when I easily could have removed you from my life forever," Narssia softly growled as the gray dragonet held in the grasp of her darker half's powers whimpered in pain.
A quietness seemed to come over Arxa as Narssia quickly glanced to see her son yawn and curl up, his actions bringing a softly tender growl from her before she returned her attention to her daughter to see the shadows had faded slightly. Taking a risk by reaching out and touching the mind of her captive offspring, she tried to comfort her frightened and scared child but was met with too much fear to even help coax the little dragonet into believing everything was going to work out without her getting hurt. Feeling uncertain over how she was supposed to convince the dark essence to let its mouthpiece go, Narssia sighed as her eyes flickered over to the egg that contained Arxa.
Lifting her head back up, she stared at the egg with disgust and snarled softly, taking a step towards where Arxa's essence resided. A muffled whimper from her daughter caused her to momentarily pause but Narssia realized what she had to do and continued over to where the egg was. Exchanging a look with Geer, his eyes narrowed in fury and attention focused on the object he had been trying to smash, she lifted her tail and turned slightly before bringing down the muscular part of the appendage on the eggshell.
Hearing the protection around the dark spirit's new form crack, Narssia caught her daughter with a gentle cushion of air as Arxa's power fled from the little dragonet and felt Geer collapse to the floor as the shadowy vines retracted. Approaching the scared dragoness, she nuzzled her offspring as it turned its tear-filled yellow eyes to her.
"I promise I will never let anything harm you, dear one," Narssia hummed softly as she pulled her daughter close and wrapped her wings around the tiny dragonet.
Taking a glance back at Geer, Narssia noticed his gaze was still on Arxa's egg. Confused, she followed his gaze until she noticed that, while she had managed to smash a good size chunk into the top of the egg, a dark mist had rose up from underneath the floor and repaired the damage she had done. An angry growl rippled from her throat at seeing even she was unable to harm the spirit while it thrived in its new form.
"The dark one's power is beyond our own now," Geer remarked as Narssia watched him get to his feet and subconsciously tensed as he neared her. Upon realizing she was uneasy around him, the formerly blind dragon snorted softly before whispering, "You have every right to be afraid of me Nar, but I promise I was only acting in anger towards Arxa and not you. I felt a connection with you the moment I chose to save your life from Jormundur and that feeling has only strengthened with time."
"How can I trust you to keep your word? Geer, the creature that was once my dark half has more power than most of our race put together. In being born from Corruption's darkness, Arxa has an unlimited potential for magic . . . much like we witnessed. She is not even hatched yet and already she shows that I pale in comparison to the skills she has through instinct alone."
Ignoring the fact that Narssia flinched as he extended a wing and draped it over her protectively, Geer glanced at the little dragoness protectively shielded by its mother before humming in contentment. "I believe I may have a name for your daughter, if you wish to accept it. When I would speak with Tamli, he often mentioned how proud your mother would have been if she could see you now. In curiosity, I asked him what the name of your mother was and he told me after making me promise to not say anything until dark forces revealed themselves upon the land once more. Knowing that Tamli was becoming nearly as cryptic as Mirage prior to his recent death, I realize now that he was referring to Arxa making herself known to us. In saying that, I am free to tell you that the name of your mother was Ilena, Nar."
"Ilena . . . I never knew my mother but the name is perfect," Narssia admitted as she exchanged a look with Geer before lowering her snout to lick her daughter's hide where the glowing blue marks still resided. "As for the male, I was thinking something along the lines of Nurus, or Nuri for short."
Geer nodded, glancing at the sleeping dragonet as he growled softly, "I agree with the name choice. Ilena and Nurus will have both of us to instruct and raise them. I know you worry about how things turned out with the last dragon that became your mate but his death was caused solely by Arxa, Nar."
Lifting her head, Narssia closed her eyes as she sighed. "I know I shouldn't blame myself for Raxmon dying but I . . . I was the one that helped to create that monster in the first place, Geer. It's all my fault that innocent lives were slain just because my bitterness combined with the darkness in my heart left from my time with my rider . . ."
Moving his snout under her own, Geer gently eased her back from Ilena and noticed she seemed to obey his commands without any arguing. As she let her wings drag along the floor with their retreat backwards to give the dragonet some room to her own, he used the position of his maw to lift her head. Watery eyes met him as Narssia slowly blinked and gazed at him with a mix of confusion and complete exhaustion.
"You aren't the one to blame, Nar," Geer reassured her as he felt her tremble and pushed his snout up against her lower jaw. "Listen to me, Arxa did that because she is nothing but bitter and evil. Darkness is the only thing that parasite knows . . . I can sense that you agree with me in some aspects."
"How I can even bring myself to stand before Ilena and Nurus and tell them that I will keep them safe when I cannot even guarantee my own safety?" Narssia softly whispered, her voice barely loud enough for Geer to understand.
Glancing down at her trembling legs, Narssia saw a faint layer of shadows wrap around her talons. The sight immediately reminded her of what Arxa had said in the dreamscape and she quivered, reflectively jerking back as a worried growl from Geer caused her to remember his snout was under her lower jaw. Lifting her head away from him, she averted her gaze as she knew he was concerned for her and stared down at the floor, trying to force the darkness around her talons to retreat back where they had come from.
"I want you to lock me up," she finally admitted after several minutes, her eyes never straying from the stone floor under her. "Before you question me, let me explain. I have powers I have no idea how to use or control. The . . . shadows you see around my claws are but one example of this. I will not risk placing the lives of my offspring in danger just so I can remain with you, all the while fearing that I could lose control and harm them without even knowing that I did."
Geer was hesitant to reply, confusion coating his words as he struggled to make sense of what he had just heard from her. "Nar, why do you ask this of me? We can find someone to help you learn to control your-"
Without giving him a chance to finish trying to persuade her into staying by his side, Narssia growled and snapped at him, barely missing the tip of his snout by mere inches. "Lock me up," she repeated, snarling softly as an inner fury blazed behind her topaz irises.
"I can't bring myself to do it," Geer confessed as he retreated a step and slid his tail around to rest by his right hind leg. "I know this isn't what you want. Something is making you react like this and I don't know what it is but I wish you'd listen to me instead. I . . . have fallen for you, Narssia. Even with everything that Arxa did, I found my heart captured by you and now I can't leave. I am as entwined with you as is Ilena and Nurus. Don't make this hard for the both of us, please."
A soft sigh escaped Narssia as his words confirmed what she had suspected on several occasions during their time spent together. She had been worried this would happen but Arxa making herself known was not how she had expected to be made aware of the idea of a relationship with the formerly blind dragon. Briefly glancing over at Ilena, she forced herself to take a deep breath before returning her gaze to the scale-flier who had been a comfort to her so far.
"I can't take a chance, Geer. This is for the best, deep in your heart you know I'm right. Please do this for me." She could hear her voice crack and knew Geer had to make a decision. If he was unwilling to choose, she would have to encourage him to see that what she was saying was right.
Feeling the gentle caress of the shadows as they stretched up to lick at her legs, Narssia barely managed to hold back a shudder as something took hold for a split second. Upon regaining herself, she noticed Geer had been thrown back against the wall nearest Arxa's egg by a storm of electricity, judging by the burns on the scales covering his chest. Eyes widening at seeing the damage a brief loss of concentration resulted in, she hesitantly stepped forward towards the injured dragon as he struggled to get up.
"Geer, I don't know what happened. I never felt anything and yet-" The very thought of what had happened nearly chilled her to the bone as Narssia realized her own dark element had acted of its own accord and had taken control over her for just a second. Mind and heart racing, she tried to calm herself as she drew back and forced herself to move away from him.
A dimness flickered over her for a brief second and she snarled, shaking her head in defiance. Realizing she had to get her children away before they got hurt, she raspily hissed, "Get Ilena and Nurus out of here, Geer. I want them safe."
Geer, still recovering from the unexpected attack, paused as he found his footing and glanced at her with pity, only to get snarled at as he noticed a murky red vapor swirling around the base of her neck. He tried to tell her but Narssia only deepened her snarl and he hurriedly grabbed both dragonets and deposited them outside of the room before reentering. As he returned, the red vapor clinging to the base of her neck shimmered and solidified into a single crimson gem that buried itself into her neck. The shrieks of pain that came from her as the gem dug its way in and, he assumed, attached to the base of her spinal cord, nearly broke his heart to see her in such agony and knowing he could do nothing to help stop whatever it was that was afflicting her .
As the blood red stone gleamed with a dark aura, Geer noticed a change occur to Narssia as she stumbled and spread her wings to steady herself. The inside of her wings seemed to dilute in color into a dark gray with red veining as he watched her twitch and seem to struggle against the vile gem that would be impossible to remove without causing her severe damage. Shadows engulfed her entire body and a light shudder from her allowed him to see her eyes were murky white, a difference from the blankness of Arxa's control over her.
"Narssia?" He whispered, taking a step forward as her head turned to face him and he knew instantly the dragoness he had fallen for as no longer controlling her body, something else had taken over.
Raspy hissing filled the air as she opened her maw and Geer noticed the electric stream she sent at him was tightly controlled and black in color instead of the usual yellow. The impact left him stunned and he slid into the opening to the room, fearing the noise would attract Ilena and Nurus as the dragon he had known as Narssia blankly stared at him. Putting the thought from his mind, he struggled to his feet and spat a few sparks before rushing towards her and jumping to the side to dodge a shadowy fireball at the last second. Wings extending as his feet landed on the stone under him, Geer force himself into the air and tried to use his tail as a weapon but the dark dragoness was faster and bit down on the appendage. Swinging him into another wall, he felt blood seep from his tail and knew she had broken through scales as he slid down to the floor and lay with one wing crumpled under him and another flattened against the wall he had been thrown into.
Folding his lifted wing against his side, Geer dug his talons into the hard surface beneath him and managed to stabilize himself and get back upright just as her claws, pulsating black with dark powers he would rather not know about, scored a deep gash to his right shoulder. Snarling in pain, he let loose a few flickers of electricity that managed to force her back just enough to give him some room. Flapping his still unfolded wing to make sure he hadn't damaged it, he was satisfied with the result and tucked it against his scaled side to protect it as Narssia came at him again and rammed his chest with her head as her horns grazed the underside of his jaw. Winded from the blow, he coughed and tried to scratch her with his claws but her time manipulation allowed her to avoid his weak attempts at a counterstrike.
Blocking one slash with his injured shoulder, he swung his tail into her side and backed away in worry as the strangest mixture of a shriek, yelp, and growl tore from her jaws. The sound was enough to signal to him that he had at least been successful in dealing back some of the damage she had given him but he was concerned by the odd noise she had made. As he tried to focus his mind back on the fight, Narssia retreated a few steps as her tail slid around and she lifted the end of it to rest against the small area between her belly and where her hind legs began. The formerly blind dragon hesitantly advanced after her, stretching out his neck to see if he could smell any blood on her. Geer realized too late that her actions had only left him open to attack and he barely managed to twist out of the grasp of her mighty bite as she lunged to snap at his exposed neck. Smacking her with his horns, he jumped back a few inches and collected himself as she snarled and a sudden strong breeze nearly blew him off his feet as she lowered her tail back to the floor.
Clinging to the ground with all his might, Geer spat a tiny jolt of electricity at her and turned his head away as he saw the blast head straight for the dark gem in her neck. The strong wind gust calmed as he heard her grunt and briefly sensed the dragoness he had feelings toward rise up from under the surface but then a fireball seared the scales on his neck and he knew she was lost once more. Eyes narrowing as he glared at the dark creature before him, a snarl rippled from his throat as he rushed forward and sharply bit her neck before being shoved away with a wing as blood gushed from the wound. Going for her wings, he tried to claw at the folded material but was distracted as the injury he just inflicted on her shimmered with black magic before mending itself and leaving only a small scratch in place of the damage he had tried to cause.
Aggravated at seeing his effort wasted, he dug his closest foreleg into her wing and used his back legs and tail to stabilize himself as he focused all his anger and frustration into shocking the crystal in her neck as his other forepaw batted away any attempts by her to try and bite him again. Being moved and shaken about as the creature struggled and tried to fight him off, Geer only increased the power of his elemental attacks and soon felt its movements slow as a soft whimper rose into the air. It took time for him to understand it was coming from her but even hearing her cries of pain did little to soften the power of his blows as the gem crackled with blue sparks every time he shocked it.
Narssia's steps eventually became unsteady and Geer nearly lost his balance as she collapsed to the ground, the abrupt motion jarring him as his claws ripped through her wing membrane. Realizing she wasn't going to be moving after what she had experienced for at least a few minutes, he relaxed his grip and lifted his bloody foreleg from her shredded wing. Her breathing was shallow and the red gem in the base of his neck was strangely inactive. Sniffing her side as he stepped back to allow all his legs to be on the ground,, he expanded his senses to find another dragon nearby that could help him and finally located where his tail had smacked her that had caused her unusual reaction. The insides of her thighs were wet with blood and he sighed, knowing he had no right to investigate the wound any farther than he had as he knew his counterattack had damaged her in more ways than just mere surface wounds.
It didn't take long for Ryta and Reath to come and find him and Geer was uneasy as the dragoness glanced over her mother's dark form as shadows still cloaked the black she-dragon's body. Expecting either dragon to ask what had happened, the formerly blind scale-flier was relieved when neither inquired what had occurred and helped him move her into an isolated cell. Chaining her to the wall with the thickest links they could find, Geer was uncertain if even those would hold as he wrapped her body in them, pinning her wings to her side and her tail held in the same coil with her left hind leg to save resources. Her neck down to her tail was confined in thick black chains as additional chains connected with those on her body and attached to the corners of the room to hold her suspended in the air. Making sure the walls were reinforced with magic powerful enough to withstand even the harshest elements and elemental attacks, he finally called for Aurelia to come and examine her wounds.
As he waited for their healer to arrive, he turned to Reath and Ryta and asked them to go find Ilena and Nurus and protect them until he was certain it was safe enough for the two dragonets to explore the cave system on their own. The dragons agreed with his request and were about to leave when Geer halted the brown dragoness and mentioned he wanted to speak with her in private about Narssia. Even though it pained him to tell her what had happened since the fight against the clones, he knew she had a right to know and also realized that Sitedal would need to be told as well.
"I will speak with my brother and let him know what has befallen our mother, Geer. Thank you for bringing this to my attention," Ryta hummed as she followed after Reath and paused to let Aurelia enter the narrow doorway before leaving to fulfill Geer's request.
"How bad are her wounds?" Geer asked as Aurelia examined Narssia, the chains preventing her from doing as through an examination as she would have liked. "Is she-"
"Well, it's not completely destroyed. She'll never be able to conceive again but you did what you had in order to subdue her, Geer. Don't feel bad because of what the consequences were," Aurelia muttered as she stepped back to stand beside the blue dragon, her gaze getting captured by the gem buried in Narssia's neck. "What is that is her neck?"
Hissing in anger, Geer snarled, "Corruption's crystal. It just appeared out of nowhere and implanted itself into her neck before she . . . faded and I was left to fight against the darkness that had taken over her body. I suspect any attempt to remove it by force could cause irreversible damage to her."
"I see," Aurelia commented as she nodded, glancing at the scaled beast beside her. "And how are you holding up? I see you're bleeding-"
"I'm fine," he snapped back, stepping to the side to further distance himself from her. "Just flesh wounds that will heal. Nothing to be concerned over, unlike with her."
Turning around, Aurelia started to head for the entrance to the room before pausing midway and glancing back at him in worry. "I'll find something to give her to help numb the pain she'll feel when she wakes up. Those hatchlings need you by their side, Geer. Narssia will be kept under heavy surveillance and you will be alerted the moment we suspect something might be happening, I promise."
Continuing on to the entrance, she hesitated and looked back at him again. "Oh, Geer, before I forget. Next time something like this happens, don't shock the base of her neck until you almost faint from exhaustion. The damage that electricity did might be more than what her system can handle."
Flashing him a warm smile as she exited, Geer snorted and focused his attention on Narssia as her unconscious form seemed so fragile with all the chains around her. He had always thought she looked young for her age but her gaze was so world-weary . . . Sighing, he patted the ground under his right foreleg, wincing as the movement jostled his shoulder and he remembered she had slashed him during their fight. Turning so he could better see the wound, he noticed that Aurelia was right when she had mentioned he was bleeding before gently licking the injury to encourage healing.
Nurus and Ilena might be needing him as a comfort but they needed their mother more and right now she was in no condition to go to them. Until that time came, Geer would watch over her and do what he could to help her fight Corruption's final act of malice against her. Resigning himself to having to wait, he moved over to a corner of the room where he could see the crystal in her neck and curled up, eyes closing as exhaustion from the fight set in and he drifted off into a blissful state of unconsciousness.