Breath of Fate

The novelty of meetings with the Council had long since worn off. Kris now trudged wearily beside Darius up the path to the peak and into the center of the pavilion at its summit, where he regularly communed with the six immortal dragons who had overseen the progress of their race from the beginning of their existence. The slight benefit of the visits was in the trickle of power that infused him in their presence. Unfortunately without the focus of an aroused partner it was too difficult to absorb enough power to sustain him for very long.

Outside the Monastery, only Kris’s sister, Racha and the Council knew of Issa’s pregnancy and had already given what little help they were capable of. The short trek up the mountain to the meeting place seemed unbearably steep this time, as weighed down as Kris was with the certainty that the Council would have no new alternatives to his dilemma. Yet he had to ask.

The Council itself resided half in this world, half in the ether where their magical aspects existed. They were as much a part of the flow of magic through the world as their beautiful, massive bodies were a part of the corporeal world. The six immortal dragons were slaves to their circumstances, tied to each other via bonds even closer than the bond between mates. Kris didn’t feel any more charitable toward them, however, after gaining a sense of the steps they were willing to take to get what they wanted. He just wished he knew what really motivated them.

When he and Darius took their spots in the center of the Pavilion, Kris closed his eyes and calmed himself. Once centered, he sent out the mental call to the Council. The communication always felt like tugging on a collection of threads bound to his core, each one with a distinctly different energy.

The six answered simultaneously, their calls converging in his mind with a vibration of the threads that resulted in a white heat low in his belly. This answering pull was one of the more pleasant parts of communing with them, the way it aroused and briefly invigorated him. He rarely bothered to dress for the meetings, but had conjured a short sarong around his waist for this visit, suddenly irrationally modest now that he was aware of his true relationship to Darius.

Thunder rumbled through the air around the pavilion, signaling their arrival. Kris had the impression the six dragons were flying from somewhere far away, yet they always simply appeared out of thin air between the six columns of the pavilion. They hovered with wings beating in the air, their variety of colored bodies casting glimmering shadows of matching colors on the ground around him. The shadows drew closer and where they met in the center, a white light shone on Kris and Darius like a spotlight where they knelt.

Darius let out a sigh that mirrored the sensation Kris felt deep in his belly, all the way down to his cock. Simply being in their presence was often as satisfying as making love to Issa, though by the end of his meetings the euphoria rarely lingered. He hoped this meeting would prove to be more productive.

“Greetings, Catalyst. Unbound.” The large green female was the first to speak when the six dragons settled onto the ground around the pavilion and walked forward to surround them.

“Numa,” Kris said, nodding his head toward the Green and glancing around at the others.

“What prompted this summons?” The black one, Ked, said in a deep, throaty tone.

“The lives of my children are in greater peril even now. They won’t survive much longer without aid.”

“They will survive if you and their mother give enough of yourselves. Are you giving enough?” The white dragon, Aodh, spoke. Kris glanced at him but immediately away from the blinding brightness of his scales.

“We have given all we can without jeopardizing our own lives. We will not leave them orphans.”

“There is only one way we can help.” Belah, the blue dragon answered in her delicate, gentle tone. “It is out of our control otherwise. We need the Verdanith assembled and reactivated to weave our magic together for to them to absorb. Be assured we value yours and Issa’s lives as much as the children.”

Kris looked beseechingly at Gavra and Aurum, the red and the gold. “But you can give to me in the traditional manner, can’t you? Surely one dose of Nirvana from one as powerful as you…”

Gavra’s eyes flashed red, his deep voice cutting in. “We cannot couple with you, Catalyst, as enticing a prospect as it is.” He let out a low, rumbling hum that signaled his appreciation. Aurum hummed back in agreement, her voice harmonizing with Gavra’s in a way that vibrated down to the base of Kris’s spine and made his already uncomfortable erection throb even harder. The sensation was compounded by the bright look the golden dragon gave him, as though she’d gladly couple with him, if it would do them any good.

“Can’t or won’t?” Kris said. “You forget I know where we came from. It’s been hundreds of thousands of years since the Mother created the six of you, and you found your first mates among the humans.” He looked pointedly at Gavra. “It’s time the rest of the Brood knew as well. You fathered our oldest ancestor more than a hundred generations ago. I’m not asking to mate with any of you. Only to help sustain my mate and children until the twins are safely born. Our race owes our existence to you already. Isn’t that enough?”

“They are right,” Numa said, her green eyes glowing. “The Mother was the first Prismatic, and her power only resurfaces once in each generation. As a Prismatic dragon, your power is the embodiment of the Mother in this world. The essence of her that you carry prevents you from absorbing the pure energy the six of us possess. It would be like shining a light at a mirror if we tried. The Verdanith is the only way we can effectively focus the appropriate combination of power to sustain you or any other dragon. Until it is assembled there is nothing we can do.”

Kris sensed a murmur of dissent. “Are you hiding something? Please tell me if there is any other way. I refuse to accept that we are out of options entirely.”

Numa settled her disconcerting gaze back on him. “There may be one other option. There are humans we call ‘Udara’ who possess an even greater capacity for absorbing magic and transferring it. But they are exceedingly rare and difficult to find. Even if you could find one, they would require being mated and marked before even being allowed on the mountain. It would be easier to find as many mated dragons as possible who are willing to offer their mates on a regular basis. Most dragons aren’t willing to share their mates so readily.”

“It’s the only option we have at the moment, except you have forbidden me from sharing Issa’s pregnancy with others,” Kris said.

“This close to the birth, we can make an exception if you promise to only invite those you trust the most.”

“Very well,” Kris said, relieved that he finally had more than vague guarantees. He would have to give in and call the others, and just hope those who weren’t actively trying to locate the lost fragment of the Verdanith would still be willing to help after he confessed the secret he and Issa had kept from them.

“What word from the Court on the missing fragment, Kris?” Numa said, moving on to other business.

“I only know they were close to locating it. I haven’t heard from them in several weeks.”

The Council didn’t respond for several moments. The hum of their private communion irritated Kris. Sometimes he was alert enough to break through and catch a few pieces of what they shared, but today he was too exhausted. While he waited, his mind was free of them, at least. He sent a quick thought to Issa letting her know things were progressing but not in which direction. He’d tell her the full details later, when the Council wasn’t around to overhear his thoughts.

The second he’d finished the thought, his mind split with blinding pain, a bombardment of nearly deafening voices clamoring for attention. He cried out, clutching his temples. “What do you want?!” he yelled silently back.

The voices ceased instantly and he sighed in relief. A moment later, a single familiar voice came back through, sure and deep.

“It’s Kol. We have the fragment. We’re all here and on our way to you now.”

“Hurry. And bring your mates, too.” Kris sent back, then immediately sent a message to the Unbound dragon guards that surrounded the pavilion to give Kol and his retinue full access, regardless of status.

He needed all of them.