Page 31

Chapter 31

The Starlight Dagger

Blake

The Carpenter had me pinned down. I pushed up with all my strength, but somehow, the man was more powerful than me, even in his human form. He drove a knee into my gut. I snapped up at him with my jaws, but he grabbed my maw in a tight elbow and slammed it shut. I bit down hard on my tongue. The copper sting of blood filled my mouth, slipping down my throat. The sounds of battle and chaos surrounded me like the world’s worst orchestra.

Everyone was preoccupied. In the last seconds before my death, I thought of Xavier. Of how I let him down. How I should have stayed home. This wasn’t a place for me, no matter how much confidence I had built up over these last months. It was all false. I was that same scared, awkward kid Xavier had met in the White House.

Simon’s face twisted. His jaw extended, developing canine teeth that put mine to shame. His eyes still gleamed a venomous red. The color of death .

He reared back. I tried to fight, but he wasn’t fazed by my struggle.

It was over.

I’m sorry, X. I wish we had more time.

Then, out of nowhere, a blast of sand slammed into Simon’s side. He hadn’t been expecting the hit. It launched him off me and sent him slamming into a boulder. I sucked in a deep breath, shocked. Xavier came running to my side. I quickly shifted back into my human form. He helped me up onto my feet.

“You good?” he asked, his hand cupping the side of my face. He looked more frightened than I felt.

“Yeah, I am. Thank you.”

He gave me a quick kiss. It was like the eye in a hurricane. A brief moment of respite where the world stops spinning and roaring and trying to tear you down.

Brief being the key word. Simon got back to his feet and ran toward me. He was stopped by a thick tree branch that slammed into him like a mace. Warrick was behind him. He ran over to Simon and placed a green-taloned foot on the man’s back. He gave a triumphant roar, the vines hanging off his head shaking.

“No! No!”

The shout had come from behind us. Joshua stood, eyes wide, staring down at the dagger in his hand. The glowing stars that had once adorned its blade were gone, the light snuffed out like a candle in the wind. His expression twisted in disbelief, then panic.

“The stars… they’re gone,” he muttered, almost to himself. Hi s grip on the hilt tightened, knuckles white against the dark metal. The power he had wielded, the force that had driven him to betray everything he once held dear, had been drained. Used.

“What have you done?” Simon hissed, his voice laced with fury. He struggled beneath Warrick’s foot, thrashing like a cornered animal. But it was too late. The dagger’s power had been spent, and with it, whatever plan they had harbored was crumbling into dust.

Around us, the battle began to shift. The enemies who had been so powerful moments before were now on the defensive, driven back by the sheer force of our will to survive. The Time Turners had fallen. The last of the Shade Dragons was frozen by a blast from Maddox, falling down to the earth and shattering into a thousand different pieces.

The battlefield was silent, save for the ragged breathing of those who had fought with everything they had.

Joshua stood frozen, staring down at the useless dagger in his hand. He looked as if he were a man lost, adrift in a sea of confusion and regret. The red tint in his eyes began to fade, leaving behind the dull, lifeless gaze of someone who had been emptied of all hope. The Chaos King must have realized his plan had failed. The soldiers he recruited were defeated.

I could hardly believe it. I braced myself against Xavier, my legs feeling like they were close to giving out.

“You’ve lost,” Xavier said. “It’s over. I used the dagger. I turned back time to save Blake.”

My eyes darted to him. To save me? What had happened?

Joshua looked up at us, his expression unreadable. The other siblings shifted out of their dragon forms and came to flank us. “I thought… I thought I could fix everything,” he whispered, his voice cracking. “I thought I could bring her back.”

“You were being used,” Damien said, stepping forward, his eyes filled with something almost like pity. “The Chaos King preyed on your grief, twisted it into something dark and ugly. This isn’t who you are.”

Joshua’s grip on the dagger loosened, and it clattered to the ground, the once-powerful weapon now nothing more than a piece of cold metal. He looked around at the carnage, at the bodies of the Time Turners and the remnants of the Shade Dragons.

Something appeared to break inside him.

“I… I’m sorry,” he whispered, but the words felt hollow, too little, too late.

Cassius, who had been standing in stunned silence, finally stepped forward. He had taken shelter behind a rock during the battle but no longer had anything to fear. His eyes were filled with pain. “You can’t undo what you’ve done, Dad. But you can start making amends.”

Joshua didn’t respond. He simply nodded. I wasn’t expecting any kind of apology or remorse, not so soon. But at least there was a chance for that in the future. After much soul-searching and amends. Cassius didn’t have to completely lose his father. Especially not with the understanding that the Chaos King had a large part to play in all of this.

Claire swirled a hand and sent ruby-red threads of mana flying through the air, snapping around Joshua’s ankles and wrists. She did the same for Simon. With the two biggest threats bound, we were able to reconvene and check each other for any wounds.

It wasn’t much longer until the Enforcers showed up in their clean and crisp white robes. Always a little late but at least present. They wrangled up Joshua and Simon, along with the two Time Turners who’d survived the attack, and they took them to the Ivory Tower, where they’d be locked up and interrogated. Cassius had a difficult time seeing his father dragged away, but he also appeared to be slightly more at peace now that he knew the full picture.

The scars from tonight were definitely deep and would remain for the foreseeable future, but at least the world hadn’t ended, and we were all still here.

That was a win in my book.

We were back inside the house, Xavier sitting next to me on the couch, a steaming cup of coffee in my hands. I had changed into a pair of gray cotton shorts and a tank top. Damien and Robby were with us while the others had all gone to bed. Conversations came in short bursts, about anything and everything.

Until it turned to the battle.

“What happened?” I ventured to ask. “When you turned back time?”

Xavier pursed his lips. He dropped his head back. “A lot happened.” There was a slightly haunted look in his gaze. It startled me.

I sat up and set my coffee to the side. “Did I… was I dead?”

He sucked in a breath. Damien and Robby both went still. The air turned into heavy cement in my lungs. “Yes,” he answered. The single word carried with it a world of meaning.

Holy shit. I had died. Someone had killed me. My heart stopped beating, and my soul had evacuated the premises, only to be dragged right back in.

“How?” I asked. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to know the details, but something about being unaware of my own ending didn’t sit well with me. “Was it Simon who did it?”

“It was. He had the advantage in the fight, and he went for your throat. I was too late. I couldn’t protect you.”

“I’m sorry…”

“Why are you apologizing?”

“For even putting myself in that situation. I should have listened to you.”

“It wasn’t your fault. Not at all. And it happened the way it was meant to. I was able to grab the dagger, and with it, I ended up stabbing myself. It worked. The entire history of time unraveled in front of me, but all I needed was the last few minutes. I went back for you. And when I did, the dagger was done. They couldn’t use it for their twisted goals. It was over, and you were safe.”

“Thank you,” I said, leaning in for a kiss. It felt like this moment deserved so much more than a simple “thanks,” but it was all I really had to offer.

“You did good, X,” Damien said.

“You had all of time at your fingertips, and you chose to turn it back just to save me.” I felt an irrational stab of guilt. He had saved my life. But how much more could he have done? Gone back in time and stopped wars from happening, stopped people from suffering? Hell, he could have gone back to win the lotto—not that his family needed any money. But still, the option had been there.

And he chose me.

“I wouldn’t do it any differently,” Xavier said with a genuine smile. “You know my theory about messing with one’s own timeline. I could have done a lot of different things with that power, but I couldn’t imagine a world that didn’t have us together in it. I couldn’t risk it. I couldn’t change one thing to then ruin another. I had to make sure I minimized the ripple effects while also keeping you here, next to me. It was an easy choice.”

“And a good one,” Robby said. He leaned his head on Damien’s shoulder. “I get it. Totally. Love is something that’s more powerful than gravity itself. It’s worth doing anything you can to hold on to it.”

Love… He’s right. He’s so right.

“I would have done the same,” Damien said. He held Robby’s hand in his. He kissed the top of his head. Warmth radiated from them. “And if the world were ending, I know I’d want to be right next to Robby. It’s the same for you two. It’s as clear as day. This is the timeline you two deserve, and it’s the one you did everything in your power to keep. Plus, you stopped the Time Turners from completing their goal. You saved us all in the process of saving Blake.” Damien smiled wide, his expression filled with pride as he looked at his younger brother. “I love you, X. I love both of you.”

“Thanks, big bro. I love you too.”

Robby gave a stretch and a yawn. It was clear that the exhaustion of the day’s events was catching up to all of us. Damien stood up and helped Robby off the couch. They left together, leaving just me and Xavier in the large living room. I looked out at the desert through the floor-to-ceiling windows. It looked so peaceful and calm, which was a shocking contrast to the intense fight that had occurred only a couple of feet away from us. I leaned back on the couch and rested my head against the cool stone of the rocks that made up the wall behind us. Bambi and Lily were cuddled up together on a fluffy pillow underneath a potted fig tree, completely oblivious to the chaos that had just occurred.

“How ya feeling?” I asked Xavier, cuddling up a little closer to him. It felt good. Being here, sitting with him on the couch, my feet under his leg. It wasn’t as if I had just died hours earlier, which was absolutely wild to me.

“I’m feeling great. Glad it’s all over. Happy you’re here with me.” He had an arm around my shoulders. The weight of him felt nice. Felt like home. “It was scary. Not going to lie.”

“I can’t even imagine. What you had to see… what you had to do.”

“I’d do it all over again if it meant saving you.”

“I never want you being put in that position. Let’s keep things chill from now on. Maybe we can open up a little coffee shop near the beach or something. Stay away from any big conspiracies and plots to end the world.”

“I think that sounds like a great idea. What would we name the shop?”

“The Dragon’s Roost. A play of roast, plus dragons. I think it’s a win.”

“That’s actually genius. Have you been thinking of this? ”

I shook my head and chuckled. “Literally just came up with it now.”

“You’re so smart. And kind. And funny. And so fucking perfect.” Xavier locked eyes with me. There was a loaded weight to his gaze. His full lips twitched upward. I moved a rogue curl of hair back into place, rubbing the back of his head, loving the soft texture threaded through my fingers. “And you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

My heart swelled at hearing that. Someone must have been dicing invisible onions near us because tears pricked at the corners of my eyes. “And you’re my everything.”

He leaned in. I thought he was going to kiss me, but he paused inches away, a hand rising to cup my face. His thumb gently rubbed my cheek. “I love you, Blake. With my entire being.”

His words swept me up and sent me soaring through the stars. I’d been feeling the same thing for a while now, but putting it into words made me nervous in ways I couldn’t quite explain.

Not now. Not anymore. The nerves disintegrated, leaving nothing but elation in its place.

“I love you too, X. You’ve helped me grow; you’ve helped me see that there’s always a light at the end of the tunnel. I never thought I’d open myself up like this to anyone. I thought that part of my soul had been hurt beyond repair. But you showed me it’s okay to trust again. To let someone in and to give that same emotion back. You’ve helped me heal—in so many different ways. I can’t imagine going through life without you. I love you so, so much.”

Xavier’s grin reached from ear to ear. His hand moved to the back of my neck as he leaned in for a kiss. If someone had told me the couch we were sitting on had grown wings and flown us up into the clouds, I would have believed them. I never wanted this kiss to stop. I moved closer to him, my fingers lost in his curls.

This was true love. This was a happy ending. This was everything I’d ever wanted and so much more.

“So what happens next?” I asked when the kiss came to an end.

“I carry you to bed, and we spend the rest of the night wrapped up together.”

“That sounds incredible,” I said, already feeling a flush of warmth course through me. “But I was more talking about the Chaos King. What’s going to happen there?”

“There’s still four locks left on his prison. I say we focus on keeping those protected. We’ll keep an eye out for anything else he might be trying, but I feel like we’ve thwarted his plans enough for him to lay low for a long time. I think we’re safe.”

I nodded, my hand resting on Xavier’s thigh, his golden scales soft under my palm. “I think so too,” I said. “But maybe that’s just because I’m sitting here next to my bodyguard.”

“About that. We’re going to have to tell your dad I’m taking on another position. I can’t be your bodyguard and your boyfriend.” Xavier leaned in for a smiling kiss.

“Why not? I think you can manage both jobs. We’ll pay you extra.”

“Can I ask for certain forms of payment?” he asked suggestively.

“We can do checks, cards, and cash.”

“What about another ‘C’ word? ”

“Hmmm… oh yeah, we can do that too.” I chuckled, kissing him again. He didn’t waste a second longer. He picked me up in his arms. I held on to his neck, kissing him all the way to the bedroom, where he laid me down gently on the bed and got the raise he requested from me.

THE END.