Page 6 of Battle of Evyndral (Rebel Moon Shifters)

Thrandyr

As he approached the castle steps, Thran searched out Elledan once more and grinned when she met his gaze. When he first noticed his younger sister on the hill, he didn’t recognize her with dark hair, but then she winked at him. Instead of aiding the dark fae, she was helping the D?nthúlú by missing on purpose. She had been an expert archer ten sun cycles ago, never missing whatever she aimed at. That hadn’t changed.

Just as he approached the massive wooden door, a war cry rent the air, and Thran turned at the sound. Queen Zarina flew overhead on her zamphyr, but she wasn’t alone. A portal closed behind Melisandra as she met her sister atop her own winged animal. Fighting below ceased momentarily as all eyes were on the sisters. Thran never imagined seeing both Queens together, much less in battle. Zarina, with her white hair braided down her back, held a sword aloft. Melisandra, with her dark hair flowing wildly about her shoulders, carried a spear.

An arrow narrowly missed Thran’s head, returning his focus to the dark fae standing close to Elle. Instead of risking the male not missing again, he ran up the steps, entering the castle. As much as he would like to watch the queens in battle, his promise to protect Rhoan’s parents spurred him on. More light and dark fae faced off in the great hall just inside the door. Thran fought his way through the melee until he reached the passage leading to the dining hall. He had an advantage over the Und?nthú in that the castle had been his home for the past ten sun cycles. He knew every corridor. Every secret passage. Everywhere the royal family could hide in case of attack. Where they should be if King Titus had followed protocol.

If Thran were king, he would be hard pressed to hide while others fought the battle in his stead, but in his bipedal form, Titus was at risk to Und?nthú weapons. The dining hall was another war zone with fae, both light and dark, using the tables to launch themselves at their opponents. Chairs were upended. Tapestries were torn from the walls. Wounded hobbled while side-stepping the dead. Thran didn’t stop to count how many were his comrades. He would do that later if he made it through alive.

Thran didn’t have the ability to call on shadows the way Elle did, but he did have an affinity with air, so he yelled, “Shields,” giving the other guardians time to brace. Thran then called the air to him through the open windows, bringing dirt and rock with it. During the battle, he hadn’t encountered a dark who held elemental magic, and there were only a few light fae he knew of who could use the elements to their advantage. What magic they did have was enough to shield them from an onslaught if warned quickly enough. With the whirlwind doing its job, Thran escaped unnoticed from the hall and into a corridor where a secret passage was located. Thran drew a sigil on the wall with his fingertip, and the hidden door opened. Thran made certain no one was around before pushing through to the other side. It was dark with no lanterns, but Thran didn’t need them. He and Rhoan had utilized that corridor hundreds of times.

When he reached the end, there was a door to the right and steps to the left. He took the stone stairs, which led to another two passageways. He continued taking stairways up until he reached the top of the castle. The plan was for the king and queen to sequester themselves in the highest point of the keep where they could shift and fly off as a last concession. When he reached the secret door, Thran pressed his ear to the wood. King Titus was giving an account of the battle to someone whom Thran assumed was the queen. The only ones who knew of the passageways were the royals’ personal guardians, both past and present. Thran rapped on the door three times, waited two heartbeats, then rapped four times before pushing the lever that released the lock.

When he stepped through the opening, the king’s guards blocked Titus from view with their swords ready to strike the enemy even though Thran had given the agreed upon knock.

“Thrandyr?” Titus looked past Thran’s shoulder, expecting his son.

“Prince Rhoan sent me to watch over you. He, the princess, and Yari were sent by Queen Zarina to a different realm until it is safe to return.” The guards lowered their weapons and returned to their posts around the room.

Titus frowned. “And you didn’t go with them?”

“Your son ordered me back to Evyndral.”

“Please tell me Queen Zarina has a plan, because from what I can see, the Und?nthú are too numerous.”

“She and Melisandra are currently engaged in battle astride their zamphyrs at the front of the castle. Last I spoke to her, she swore she would kill her sister.”

“I doubt the goddess will allow that to happen,” the queen muttered. “She didn’t neutralize Melisandra the last time she engaged in battle against the dragons. Nor did the goddess sequester her daughter to a far realm.”

Thran had no argument since her words were truth. He took a stance in front of the secret passageway door. “If my queen does kill her sister, who would take the dark throne? Is there another sister we are unaware of, or would Queen Zarina inherit the dark?”

Titus returned to the window, looking at the fight below. “There is no other sister, but there is a brother. No male in the history of fae has sat upon the throne.”

“Where is the brother now?”

“In a realm known only to the god—” Titus stumbled away from the window, and Thran along with all the other guards rushed to his side. Melisandra and her zamphyr hovered just outside. He didn’t know if it would work, but Thran thrust his hand against the king’s neck and invoked D?nthú’s name before dragging him to the other side of the chamber.

“What did you do?” Titus roared.

“Queen Zarina marked my hand with her sigil to protect the guardians against the dark fae. She never said it would work on you and Queen Penelope, but she also didn’t say it wouldn’t.” Penelope pulled her long braid to the side, and Thran marked her as well once Titus gave the go-ahead. Thran had branded as many D?nthúlú as possible, but there were too many dark to get close to all the guardians before he had to fight too. If they survived this battle, he planned to speak to his Queen about branding all light fae against the dark. If she had done that previously, the battle would have been won already. “We need to get you out of here.” The other guardians stood shoulder to shoulder at the window, knowing the dark queen could overpower them. Still, it was their duty to stand between her and the king.

“Mother goddess,” Branwyn, Titus’s personal guard, cried. Thran turned, expecting Melisandra to have gotten past the window. Instead, all the guards were gathered, looking out. “It’s Queen Zarina, and she is livid.”

Titus took a step their direction, but Thran halted him with a hand to the chest. “Your Highness, Prince Rhoan entrusted your safety to me. Please don’t make it easier on Melisandra. I’d hate for your son to take my head because I couldn’t fulfill my promise to protect you.”

“Fine, but Branwyn, describe in detail what is happening, if you please.” Titus returned to the queen’s side and crossed his arms over his chest. Thran understood. Titus was a dragon. A powerful creature, yet he was sidelined.

“I don’t know how Melisandra’s zamphyr is still in the air. One wing appears broken. Queen Zarina’s has multiple cuts on his flank and side. Melisandra conjured a green fireball and tossed it at Zarina, but our queen dispelled it with a blue fireball of her own. Both queens’ clothes are scorched, and Zarina’s hair has been singed. Holy goddess, Zarina just conjured a blade from thin air, and she threw it at Melisandra’s heart. Yes! Direct hit.” All the guards ducked away from the window when a green fireball was thrown their way. It missed them, but it caught one of the tapestries on the far wall. Thran dragged it down and began stomping on it. King Titus helped while cursing the dark queen.

“I think Queen Zarina was toying with her sister. I’ve never seen so many daggers tossed in such quick succession. I do feel sorry for the zamphyr though. One of the knives pierced his chest and… Oh no.” An eerie bellow sounded like a wounded animal.

“What?” Titus yelled.

“The zamphyr is falling to the ground, and Melisandra tried to jump off but…” All the guards except Branwyn let out an oomph , shut their eyes, and turned away from the window. “Queen Zarina has now landed beside her sister and appears to be ensuring the other queen is dead. Like I said, she was livid.”

Titus and Thran joined them, and the guardians moved back so that the king could look for himself. Thran peered over his shoulder. Queen Zarina was covered in blood. She turned her gaze to their window, her eyes blazing with fury as she hoisted her sister’s decapitated head in the air. She saluted with the tip of a crimson-coated sword, then somehow mounted her animal holding both and took off to the front of the castle.

“Is it over?” Queen Penelope asked.

“If not, it will be soon when—”

“It’s over,” Titus interjected, giving Thran a sharp look. “Thrandyr, go assist your Queen. My guardians can take over from here.”

“Yes, Your Highness.” Thran returned to the bottom floor of the castle using the hidden passageways. When he entered the dining hall, it was void of living bodies. He continued outside where Queen Zarina was holding Melisandra’s head aloft.

“Your queen is dead. If you do not wish to join her, throw down your weapons and surrender.”

“You are not our queen!” a stupid dark yelled.

Zarina, who had sheathed her sword on her back, produced a dagger out of thin air and sent it tip over hilt into the male’s eye. He fell to his side where he lay, unmoving. The dark who remained tossed down their weapons and dropped to their knees. Thran searched the hill for Elle, but it was empty. He took off running that direction in case some of the Und?nthú were trying to escape. As he ran, he called out to several of the guards to join him, then explained where they were going. When they reached an open area outside of the trees, they encountered several wagons and a bunch of horses. Unopened crates were scattered nearby, most of them empty. Some still held arrows, and Thran recognized them as those of the Und?nthú which could incapacitate dragons.

“Help me with these crates,” Thran instructed.

“What about the horses?” Josan asked.

“Leave them for now. We need to secure the weapons.”

As they returned to the castle, Thran kept his eyes peeled for both Elle as well as any dark fae who might be hiding from Queen Zarina. They didn’t encounter either, and Thran prayed his little sister was safe. By the time they returned to the field in front of the castle, the dark fae who surrendered had been bound by Zarina’s magic and sat unmoving. That didn’t surprise him, though. Each one had broken the treaty, even if they’d done so on Melisandra’s orders.

King Titus stood at the top of the stairs, looking out over the crowd. The dragons who had been flying landed, then shifted and strode toward their king. “Can we torch them?” Queen Penelope’s brother asked.

“I’m afraid not,” Queen Zarina answered. “Goddess D?nthú has plans for them all.”

“And what is that?” the dragon king asked as he approached.

“She is transporting them to a realm where they will live the rest of their days. They will be watched over by my brother,” Zarina seethed. “Those dark fae who weren’t involved will fall under my rule going forward. You have my sincerest apologies, King Titus. I will ensure this never happens again. With the dark under my rule, I will recount what happened this day. They will understand that even threatening a dragon will be a death sentence. I will also ensure every dark weapon is removed from Winterhaven and Autumnvale, then destroyed.”

“You have my gratitude, Queen Zarina.”

Thran approached the queen and bowed his head.

“You did well today, Thrandyr of Summerland. Many of our fae are alive because of you.”

“Thank you, My Queen.” Thran raised his head, meeting her eyes. “My little sister, Elledan, she’s out there somewhere. I saw her on the hill with the archers, but she didn’t aid the Und?nthú. Instead, she helped us by aiming at the enemy and missing on purpose.”

“Find her and bring her to me.”

“Yes, My Queen.” Thran walked the rows of dark fae, searching each face, but none were Elle. He scanned the trees for Novus, wishing the raven would show itself. Thran continued looking all over Evyndral for both Elle and the bird. The sun sank, giving way to their twin moons, but he continued searching. None of the horses had been taken, and all the wagons were where he left them. Thran’s body was worn and his heart heavy when he returned to the castle grounds, praying Elle had escaped.

The bodies of the dark fae who fell in battle had been placed into a pile and were now burning. Queen Zarina was no longer a bloody mess, looking as regal as Queen Penelope. She and King Titus stood with Thran’s queen out on the field, and the dragons were flying.

“There you are. I take it by the frown you didn’t find your sister?”

“No, My Queen. It’s as though she disappeared.”

“What is her element to call on?”

Thran once again had a twinge of hope, when he admitted, “She doesn’t have an element, but she can use the shadows to hide. It is possible she escaped and headed toward Summerland.”

“You will find her. I have no doubt. For now, would seeing your other sister enhance your mood?”

“It would my Queen.”

“Then look behind you.”

Thran turned as a portal opened. Cassi and Yari came through first, followed by Rhoan. Just before it closed, a gray mass went through to the other side. He could have sworn he saw Elle, but that was probably wishful thinking. The portal snapped shut, and a dark fae landed on the ground without his head. “What in D?nthú’s name?” Everyone turned to see what he was looking at, and Rhoan pulled his sword. The prince strode to where the body lay, toeing it with his boot.

Queen Zarina approached, staring at the body. She stared at the space where the portal had been. “That’s not good,” she muttered. Then with the wave of her hand, the body disappeared.

Thran had a bad feeling about the shadow in the portal as well as the queen’s ominous words, but Yari snagged his attention. “I have so much to tell you.” She latched onto his arm, dragging him away from the crowd. “You are not going to believe the realm Queen Zarina sent us to.” A familiar croak trilled behind them, and the twins turned to see Novus pecking the ground where the dark fae’s body had fallen. The raven looked at them and croaked again. If Thran didn’t know better, the bird sounded sad.

“Yari, Elle was here. She aided the D?nthúlú, but now I can’t find her.”

“You know she can hide in the shadows. If anyone could escape unseen, it’s our little sister.”

“I do know that, but before the portal closed, something or someone went through. I have a feeling it was her, and that’s why Novus is pecking the ground.”

“If so, we’ll find her, Thran.”

Thran shook his head. “How?”

“That’s what I want to tell you about. Where Elle went? It’s this fantastical world with wagons called cars that aren’t pulled by horses. They use a mechanism called a motor. The buildings are tall, and there are beasts – Gargoyles – with wings.”

“Like the dragons?”

“Sort of. While our dragonfolk change forms, these beasts remain in their bipedal form but sprout wings from their backs and claws from their fingers. They saved Cassi from falling to her death.”

“What?”

“It’s a long story. I will tell you all about it after we honor our dead. And Thran? We will find Elle.”