Nodran and Erikson walked back to the castle. “Nodran, I suggest you go to your room and get dressed. I will meet you in the main hall.” Erikson bowed and took his leave.
He was almost to his bedroom when Mori saw him, “Prince Nodran!”
The young girl of fourteen came running up to him. Her long curly brown hair bobbed as she ran. She wore a gold headband with purple flowers. Her lush eyebrows intensified the expression behind her emerald eyes.
“Princess Mori, please excuse me. I need to get dressed,” Nodran eyed her.
Mori smiled, “Hello, my Prince,” she curtsied, “I—I hope to be the one to find your favor.”
He narrowed his eyes at her, “Not likely.”
A wicked smile crossed her lips. She walked up to him and whispered in his ear. “Do you know about the kiss of death? Because I will gladly tell you what I know in exchange for a dance.”
He paused, “You drive a hard bargain, Princess. Fine. I will grant you a dance, but it better be worth it.”
“Oh, it will be,” she took out something from her purse. “I stole this from father’s vault.”
The glittering stone caught Nodran’s attention, “May I see that closer? What is it?”
“Not so fast, my Prince. After our dance, I shall show you,” Mori let a sly smile cross her lips.
His expression hardened when his brother came around the corner. “I will keep my promise, Princess,” his tone became uncaring and cold. His shoulder knocked into her causing her to almost drop the shard as he moved down the hall.
She looked put off when he pushed past her. Duval came up and smiled, “Don’t mind him, he’s a monster.”
She sighed, “Is he always so mean to girls?”
“Mostly, I have not seen him be nice to any girls beside Mother. He just is not interested. Maybe he is into boys instead.”
“I wish he was not,” Mori sighed.
“Meh, I do not really care either way. If he is, I will be King,” Duval snickered.
She laughed. The two of them walked back toward the main hall. They ran into Mori’s father.
“Duval, what are you doing with Mori? She is promised to your brother.”
“King Dallen, I was just leading her to the main hall,” Duval flashed a charming grin.
“Where is your brother?” Dallen eyed him with suspicion.
“I do not know, sir.” Duval answered.
“Father? Would it be possible to not be promised to Nodran? He is so rude to me,” Mori pleaded. “I am not even sure he likes girls at all! Even now, he ignores me.”
“Ha! No child, it has been decided. Prince Nodran will be your mate.”
The three of them walked to the main hall where all the other dignitaries were.
King Galendor was looking for Nodran. He growled when he could not find him. “Erikson, go find that infernal boy.”
“Yes, Sire.” Erikson nodded.
“King Dallen. Nice to see you again. I hope your trip was good?” Galendor extended his hand. King Dallen took it, and they shook hands with each other.
“It was, until I heard news of your boy rejecting my Mori,” the visiting dignitary had long black hair, orange draconian armor with elaborate spikes upon his shoulders.
“What? I do not understand,” Galendor growled.
Erikson found the Prince sitting in his room reading a book. “Nodran, what are you doing? You should be getting dressed.”
Nodran looked up at his guard, “I do not think the spell I cast was the Kiss of Death.”
“Why do you think that?” Erikson asked with curiosity.
“It says here that the tell-tale sign of the Kiss of Death is the scorched ground,” he closed his book and went to his bed. His attire was all laid out.
Erikson helped the Prince get dressed, “Sire, why do you play with the commoner from the Solhain farm? He is not your equal.”
Nodran looked sharp. He looked at Erikson, “What do I rule over if I have no loyalty from those I am supposed to lead? I am no better than them. I just have been given a gift to lead them and a responsibility to defend and protect them. I would fail as a King if I did not know my people.”
Erikson stared at the young Prince in awe, “I actually believe that you feel that way.”
“Let us go,” Nodran smiled.
“Wait, Sire,” Erikson paused. “Do you know who Narmacil is?”
“No,” Nodran looked Erikson in the eye. “Who is that?”
“He is the God of Magic. He can create new magic. He cares little for mortals. But I am curious if he helped you. Your dragon is too young to help you with magic. Did you say a prayer before casting that spell?”
Nodran hid his surprise, “I did. But why would he help me?”
“That is a very good question,” Erikson absent-mindedly fiddled with the pendant around his neck.
The heralds announced Prince Nodran. He was in his ceremonial attire. His sapphire blue armor sparkled in the lighting of the main hall. It accented his ocean blue eyes and black hair.
Mori smiled. She approached him and curtsied, “Prince Nodran, would you like to be the first slot on my dance card?”
“No,” he scowled, “but I will dance with you before the night is out.”
Duval walked up and offered to dance with her. And she went to the dance floor with him.
“Nodran, you should not be so rude. You are betrothed to her,” Galendor scolded his son.
“No father, I will not be with her. She irritates my dragon, and I cannot put my finger on why,” Nodran glared at his father.
Galendor raised his brow, “Son, it has already been decided.”
Nodran gave his father a hard glare, then turned and walked through the dance hall.
Other girls asked him for dances, and he completely ignored them. He walked out to the balcony and stared off in the direction of the Solhain trees.
Erikson came up behind him, “It is really bothering you, is it not?”
“I feel that there is so much more I should know than I do, but part of me wants to just be a kid and run off into the woods to play. I feel normal with him.”
“Prince Nodran, I will not tolerate your disrespect of my daughter,” King Dallen stated with frustration.
Nodran turned to Dallen, “I believe the marble you stand on belongs to me. If you do not like my choices, you are more than welcome to leave my land, Dallen.”
The young boy stared down this ancient dragon without any sign of fear.
Electricity crackled in his ocean blue eyes.
“Spoken like a true King. But you are young and need to obey your father,” Dallen added with a snide grin.
Nodran growled. He began to respond. But he was cut off by his father. “Enough you two. Dallen, Duval seems interested.”
“Ha! You know as well as I, that he will not be the one crowned.”
“You cannot force a dragon to take a mate. You would know best of all, would you not?”
Dallen grit his teeth. And walked away. Nodran turned back to the forest.
“Son, I do not know what is in that head of yours, but you need to consider your responsibilities. You need King Dallen as an ally, not an enemy,” Galendor turned and left.
Nodran thought about something his mother once said, “The key to healing the world was hidden in the caves of the Mystic Falls.” He shook his head not sure why he thought of this now.
Mori approached him timidly. “Prince Nodran? A word in private, please?”
Nodran nodded his head and led her to a secret passageway. He looked around before entering. They walked in silence until they came to a small room hidden inside the walls of the castle.
“This is cute.” She looked around at all the pillows and books about someone named ‘Little Red.’ She raised a brow, “You like the tales of Little Red? My father said she is fake.”
“Your father is an idiot. What did you want to speak to me about?” Nodran crossed his arms.
She eyed him with caution, “I,” she closed her eyes tight and drew in a breath, before blurting out, “I need your help Nodran. My people’s farmlands are being overrun by the wasteland. Your lands are far more fertile than mine.”
“How is that my problem?” Nodran scoffed.
“Because if we do not find a way to stop it, it will consume yours next. The world is dying.”
Nodran thought for a moment, “What is your proposal?”
Mori smirked, “Help me find Narmacil. He is the God of Magic.”
He raised a brow, “Have you tried praying to him?”
She scowled, “Every day for the past three years! He is not concerned with my people!”
Nodran looked at her carefully, “I am not sure that he is ‘not concerned.’ I think he just has bigger things he is worried about.”
Nodran looked at her carefully, “I am not sure that he is ‘not concerned.’ I think he just has bigger things he is worried about.”
“My sources tell me that there is a place you can go and see him in person. Rumors are that it is in your land or near it. I want you to help me find it,” Princess Mori crossed her arms.
“Interesting, and how do you propose I do this?” Nodran sat in one of the chairs.
She sat across from him, “Relana has the coordinates. But she refused to give them to me. Maybe if you asked her, she might give them to you?”
“And why would she give them to me?” Nodran asked.
“Well, I do not know. That is why I am asking for help,” she played with the bow on her dress.
“Hmm, I am not sure. But I do know I do not like how either of our fathers run these kingdoms,” he added with extreme distaste.
“Me, either,” she laced her fingers together. Then she squealed. “Oh, I almost forgot!” Her eyes sparkled, “Do you know what a starshard is?”
“No, I do not,” Nodran watched her with curiosity as she pulled the stone out of her pocket.
“Here, look at this!” She handed him the stone.
He took it in his palm. He felt a hum of power course through his body. He stared deeply into the stone. His eyes began to glow with cosmic power. He shut his eyes and shook his head. “Here, take this back,” He handed it back to her.
“What is wrong?” She looked confused.
“I do not know, it… makes me feel funny. I do not like it,” Nodran let the stone drop into her hand.
She looked down with confusion, “Where did it go?”
“I do not know. I gave it to you,” he showed his open palm and there laid the stone.
“Umm, Nodran, I think it likes you,” she went to pick it up from his hand and it shocked her. “Ouch! It looks like it is yours now.”
“Weird. Fine, I suppose,” he opened his satchel and dropped it in.
“What are your feelings about our betrothal?”
Nodran sighed, “I do not like it. I believe we should have the freedom to choose our own paths. But I understand the political necessity of it.”
Mori nodded, “I feel the same. Maybe we can find a way to make it work for both of us.”
Nodran looked at her with a newfound respect, “Perhaps. Let us focus on finding Narmacil first. If we can solve the problem of the wasteland, it might give us more leverage with our fathers.”
Mori smiled, “Agreed. Let us start by talking to Relana.”
Renaldo frowned as he read the parchment in his hands. It was a letter from Galendor’s daughter.
Father, I have found the Hellfire’s sister. She is here with me. She will not fulfill the requirements you were looking for. Her soul cannot break Xanther’s hold on the western Elvarian King.
I fear that my dragon is gone forever. I have come to the realization that this is all your fault. I will no longer search for the Hellfire. We have bigger problems, though. I think I have figured out that Xanther has plans to use Eldritch magic to start a war.
Renaldo growled in extreme frustration. He crumpled the note. He held his palm out far enough from his cloak that it would not affect his clothing when he lit up the parchment with fire.
The flames danced in his eyes.
Landon grabbed his bag. “I will be back later mother! I am going to school!”
He ran down the old country lane until he came to the edge of the city. He slowed to a walk. He bowed to the very intimidating man that always stood outside one of the unmarked shops in town.
Landon always felt weird when he would walk past the man as he always seemed to watch him.
His dark hair, the strange tattoos that covered his neck. Just always gave Landon a dark vibe.
Today was slightly different. Landon felt courage and decided to walk up to him.
“Excuse me Sir. Why do you always stand here?”
“To wait for you of course. You are a curious thing.” His green eyes locked on Landon’s.
“But I am not anyone special.” Landon crossed his arms.
“Perhaps, but you will have your ass tanned by your teacher if you don’t pick up your step boy.”
Landon narrowed his eye at the man before took off running toward school.
Sampson smirked as he watched him go. He turned and entered the building.
“The boy is getting curious; He spoke to me today. Perhaps it is getting close to becoming time?” Sampson spoke to a hooded figure inside the building.
“Maybe, but before we can act, we have to be sure.”
“We could set a trap? For this evening when he gets out of school?” Sampson walked over to the table and leaned on it. “I would love to design something.”
“Alright, let us see what will happen? Go ahead and set something up for tonight after he gets out of school.”
Sampson let a wicked smirk cross his face. “Of course.”
Landon sighed. Alder was waiting for him again. “Look please just leave me alone today?”
“I unfortunately cannot do that today.” Alder just laughed.
Landon growled and took off running into the woods.
Alder and four other boys took off after him. They all laughed as they closed the gap.
Landon gasping for air came sliding to a halt. The forest had changed. His normal path was blocked by a thicket of thorns. He turned and growled in frustration.
“I am so sick and tired of you guys picking on me!” Landon screamed at them.
“Perhaps you should not be such a nobody. Then you would have magic and could stop us. Poor wittle Landon.”
Feeling very trapped and with little other choice, the young elf took a defensive stance. He did not want to hurt the boys, but he did want to scare them.
“Ohh looky he is going to pretend to use magic!” Alder taunted.
Landon just closed his eyes and without realizing what he was doing, he summoned an Azazel from the underworld.
The boys freaked the fuck out and scattered.
The Azazel uninterested in the boys turned to Landon. “We need you at home.” Magic began to grow around its hands as it prepared a spell.
Sampson growled under his breath and rushed out between the two of them. He used an arcane flash of light. A divinity spell and cast the Azazel away.
He turned to Landon who passed out. “Fuck” He rushed over and picked up the young boy.
“Well, that answers my question, but also only creates more questions than answers.” He carried the boy home to the Guyla farm.
Relana answered the door and frowned. “What are you doing with my boy.”
“Bringing you a warning, They are on to him. I will divert them, but I cannot if he can use the gift.”
She allows him to enter the cottage. Relana looked concerned. “The Azazel?”
Sampson just nodded.
“Fuck, I will summon Angelo.”