Chapter 52
Monday 21st September, 2020 (Continued)
Jessie’s POV
Wait, so we’ll have to return here? I asked my little witch.
Yes, I’m afraid so! We can’t move Georgianna’s body from here and bring her to Alto. I believe she wants him brought to her. This was their getaway. These enchantments are all hers. She made this place for them. She won’t want to rest in a cold Alpha’s tomb with him on his pack lands especially not after what his brother did! Explained Jamie.
I sighed. I understand Georgianna. She was not the villain I had been expecting. She was a hurt, scared, heartbroken woman. She was supposed to have been a blushing blissful bride but Oleander took that all away from her when he framed her for Alto’s poisoning. The poison had been meant for Georgianna herself so either way, Oleander was an unforgivable enemy in her eyes and his lineage had produced the Quadruplets. The curse made sense. Why should Oleander and his predecessors fall in love and live in marital bliss when she had been denied it? She deserved to have Alto brought to her.
What about Nina and her students? There’s something off about them. When we return with Alto’s body won’t they be in the way? I pointed it.
Jamie considered it. She tilted her head to one side, thinking. She looked at me and opened her mouth to speak. Just as she did that, she vanished!
“JAMIE!!!” I bellowed grabbing at the empty space where she had been.
Dalton’s POV
The Coven Mother and the old hags were performing a summoning spell according to Fox. They had drawn a large chalk circle on the dining table and lined it with salt and candles. Zack and I waited to pounce when necessary.
The hags chanted, their croaky voices echoing throughout the manor. There was something materialising in the midst of the circle. I watched it take form. My eyes widened.
“Luna Jamie!” Exclaimed Zack.
He attempted to rush forwards.
“Wait!” Said Fox. “Wait for them to summon Jessie too! Then we’ll get rid of them!”
Zack nodded reluctantly.
As soon as Jamie had appeared within the circle, magical restraints held her in place, tied to the table. She struggled against them but could not move. There was a light around her that seemed to be her aura.
“Summon the Alpha now?” Asked one of the hags.
“No!” Said the Coven Mother sharply. “We’ll need sufficient strength to deal with him! We’ll drain his mate first! That way he’ll be weakened and devastated and we’ll have her energy! That’ll be just enough to best him! Sisters, imagine how powerful we’ll be once we drain them both!”
Zack growled lowly. I snarled.
“On second thought, we’ll figure out how to get Jessie from the woods on our own. Do your worst Dalton and Zack!” Said Fox.
Zack and I shifted in seconds. Just as the old witches began siphoning Jamie’s energy, breathing it in, leeching from her, we pounced. We were still invisible and they could not hear us either. I had never witnessed such terror as this. The reactions of the old wicked witches when Zack chomped the head off of one them was priceless as to them there was no assailant in sight. Nina looked on in horror. We were not cruel. It was clean and quick and over in a minute for the main twelve. We saved the Coven Mother for last. She was crouched in the corner, staring wildly at the empty air, casting random spells in random directions hoping to hit us, unsure of who or what we were.
“Wait!” Said Fox as he released Jamie from her restraints and helped her down off the table.
We’d regrettably splattered our Luna in b***d. We should have probably helped her down first. She didn’t seem too disturbed. She was an Alpha’s mate after all so she had to be tough.
“A concealment charm,” she said softly.
“Yeah,” said Fox, sprinkling Jamie with something so she could see and hear us whilst the spell was still in effect. Jamie looked at the Coven Mother.
“Summon Jessie!” She instructed.
“Only if you’ll spare me!” Said the Coven Mother.
Jamie thought about it for a few seconds.
“Sure. Zack and Dalton stand down,” said Jamie.
We had to listen to her. She was the Luna and our Alpha was not present, making her first in command and unchallenged. I hoped Jessie would let us kill the Coven Mother when he arrived.
“Summon Jessie!” Said Jamie again.
“Vow,” said the Coven Mother.
“What?” Asked Jamie.
“Magically vow that no harm will come to me if I summon Jessie and then I will!” Said the Coven Mother simply.
Jamie’s eyes widened. She looked a bit worried. Fox did too. Nothing worried those two usually. Zack and I exchanged a nervous glance. Maybe we should find Jessie the old fashioned way. Tie one end of a string to a tree and the other end to our waists while we search the woods or something. Could that work?
Star’s POV
Haven stretched his magnificent wings out to their full span. The crowd gasped in amazement. I glanced at the area where the nobles sat. Harper was cheering and jumping up and down. My Dad and Asriel were cheering too. The Queen actually smiled. She stood to watch me as my dragon took flight. A rush of cold air whipped my curls about as we soared upwards and out of the arena. I let out a joyous cry. I felt so alive. This was reminiscent of the night I had shifted. I felt wild and free and like my true self no matter how fleeting the moment. Nothing could touch me in this moment. The world was a wilderness but I was a wild creature myself and thus I belonged. I squealed. Somehow steering Haven was as easy as breathing. He moved based on how I leant my body weight and he seemed to guess my thoughts. I called out to him.
“Look!” I shrieked.
There were moving dots in the snow. There were people down there at the outskirts of the castle moving as quickly as possible towards the castle itself. A breach? Well, I had been a part of a breach just earlier this very day. Haven roared. He swooped down towards the dots. I sensed them before I smelled them. My mates!
“Heel!” I bellowed.
Haven reared a bit. He landed causing a cloud of frost and snow to rise up as his gigantic claws hit the white blanket beneath us. I slid off his back and landed lightly on my feet in the snow, mere yards from my four awe-struck mates, the Quadruplets.
Jonah’s POV
We arrived in the Ice Moon Pack lands. These lands were even wilder and colder than the Winter Moon Pack lands. The castle sparkled in the distance. We had done it! Noah’s crazy plan had worked! We had snow globe hopped all the way to Star’s pack lands.
“YES!” Screamed Noah.
“WE DID IT!” Bellowed Zaya.
Eli cheered.
My three idiotic little brothers jumped up and down, dancing around like mad men. They looked like they were playing ring around the roses in the snow.
“All right!” I said though I was grinning at their antics. I was elated too but we were far from finished.
“Now, onto the actual point of all this madness…locating Star!” I said.
They nodded eagerly. A high-pitched screech made us look up, startled. A massive dragon flew overhead. My jaw dropped. I had not been expecting that. Would we have to fight that thing to get to Star? I was prepared to do whatever I had to. I took a deep breath. Zaya was peering at the dragon, his eyes narrowed. Noah gasped. A huge smile spread on Eli’s face.
“What is it?” I asked them, yelling over the sound of the dragon’s roaring and the rushing of air caused by him circling low to the ground.
“STAR!” Yelled Eli. “STAR IS RIDING THAT DRAGON!”
WHAT?! My heart dropped into my stomach. The dragon landed a few yards away, displacing an awful lot of snow in a cloud of white. The dragon itself looked as though he were made of frost and ice, all his scales either icy blue and snow white. He camouflaged easily once on the snow. I wouldn’t want to step on him by accident. I spotted Star. Her ears were pointy! She looked different but it was unmistakably Star. She slid off the dragon’s back and walked towards us smiling. Where was the shy scared girl who had cried when we told her to leave Angie’s party? She was a dragon-riding babe all of a sudden. Her Fae heritage showed now. It had probably been suppressed earlier somehow. She had always been very pretty whether she realised or not but the small changes suited her well. She was even more stunning somehow. She seemed somewhat more aware of herself. She smirked at us, a tiny bit smug, waiting for us to say something.
Noah’s POV
My snow globe hopping plan had actually worked! I was a real strategist now! Like Maze and Alex. And Jessie! I was so elated. I could practically smell Star. I gasped. I could smell Star. She was here. I was certain of it. A huge ice dragon drew my attention upwards with its battle cry. I gulped. How had I missed that? It did blend in well with the landscape. The magnificent creature landed nearby and Star slid off of its back. She had ridden it here. My mouth was agape. We all stared at her in astonishment as she walked towards us. The dragon roared behind her sending a blast of cold air our way whipping our hair back. Star seemed unperturbed by it. As she came closer, I noticed her ears and her cheekbones were like that of the Fae now. I smiled. She seemed more herself somehow, more at ease. She was even more beautiful this way. I felt a bit lost for words. I wanted to say we had come to rescue her and tell her about my snow globe hopping plan and how it had worked but she had just pulled up on a dragon so she did not seem to be a damsel in distress in need of rescue right now. I grinned sheepishly at her. I couldn’t wait to tell her about all the Alphas I had met! I had the last snow globe in my hand. Star needed to be there when I gave this back to Chasity’s alphas. Chasity would be the perfect friend for Star! They could definitely relate to each other. I didn’t know where to start so I just marvelled at Star in silence.
Eli’s POV
I felt like a kid at Christmas and this landscape certainly resembled the North Pole. We had done it. Noah’s crazy plan had worked. Thank goodness for my nerdy a*s elder brother. I clapped him on the back. Zaya was staring at something. Noah gasped. I looked up. Oh my…
“STAR!” I yelled, spotting Star atop a colossal dragon, an ice dragon!Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.
“STAR IS RIDING THAT DRAGON!” I bellowed.
My Princess did not seem to need rescuing. I grinned as she landed her dragon. Her own rarity and magnificence outshone even the rarest of dragons. She was stunning as always but now she had her Fae ears. Some of her features were slightly sharper. Her curly hair had grown longer and shinier. She looked the picture of health. She walked towards us. Words failed me. She seemed proud of herself for once as she should be.
Zaya’s POV
Noah’s nerdy a*s had saved the day with his crazy snow globe hopping idea. Thank goodness we had listened to him. We usually didn’t but we’d been so desperate today so…
I heard a whoosh above me. I smelled a beautiful floral scent. It was coming from above me. How strange. I peered upwards. There was a dragon flying towards us. I knew about ice dragons but I had never seen one. They were quite rare. Dragons were rare and ice dragons were rare among dragons so you could imagine my surprise. I was anxious to get to my Star but it seemed my Star had come to me. She was on the dragon’s back. She landed her dragon a few yards away. Since when was my baby such a badass babe. I let her out of my sight for half a day and she changed her whole look and adopted a pet dragon. I grinned at her as she approached us. My dorky elder brothers were quite. Even Eli, the only other cool one, was acting shy.
“Come here, Baby! Don’t think cause you ride dragons now that you can just run off whenever you want! I’m not afraid to spank dragon-riding Fae princess!” I told her.
She burst into laughter.
“I wanted to tell you but…” she began.
“No excuses!” I said, still a little angry with her but so relieved to see her in one piece.
The dragon heard the aggression in my tone and roared at me.
“Pipe down! I saw her first!” I told it. Dragons were jealous and possessive pets.
The dragon growled at me. Ugh. I would bribe it with meat. I would walk with some steaks or something the next time I came here. I didn’t want this huge thing cramping my style when I was wooing my Baby.
Star ran to me. She ended up with eight arms encircling her as we all hugged her tightly. She sighed happily. The dragon noticed Star’s liking for us and sniffed us. It made a face as if we smelled gross. I was not surprised. I expected a Fae dragon to be just as snotty as the Fae were. I would win it over.
“Come on,” said Star. “I want you to meet my Dad!”
I grimaced. It seemed as though the dragon was not the only one I had to impress when it came to Star’s new life.