Page 15 of Emerald Waves (Primordial Protectors #2)

Chapter Ten

Emerson

Must save my mate.

Must save our mate.

Yes, yes, of course. Our mate.

Our mate who lay writhing in pain on Ionus’ couch, unable to communicate or let us help. This feeling of helplessness didn’t sit well with me. Especially when it was tied to someone I loved.

Think Emerson, think.

I ran my hand over the scanner outside the horde. “Wait here,” I told Odem.

“Not on your life. You heard Ionus. What if something is going on with that statue and it attacks you? There’s no way I can help from out here.”

“If it attacked me as it did Caro, there’s nothing you could do to help.” A physical being was far easier to combat than one that fucked with your head.

“As a protector, it’s engrained in me to do all I can. If I didn’t at least try, Ionus would have my scales.”

Ionus scared the hell out of me on the best of days, more so than this artifact did, though I’m sure that fear was backwards. “Not a hint of teasing my mate for his choice of horde.”

“I promise.” Not sure how well Odem kept his promises, but his words were all I had to go off of for now.

Odem glanced around, his eyes widened in surprise.

“Why would I tease him for this? His horde is seriously cool.” One by one he inspected the tanks, a youthful smile upon his face.

“Here fishy, fishy.” And his inner child had risen to the surface, not that it was ever far for him.

But as soon as my eyes landed on the statue, my heart stopped.

“Um, Odem?”

He came around the corner and to an abrupt stop. “Do. Not. Touch. It.” He quieted, mentally communicating with his brothers. “Fuck,” he muttered. “Do you have any idea what it is?”

“Not a clue. There hasn’t been much time for research.” With the mating and moving, but I left that part out.

Think, think, Emerson. Something about this is familiar.

“Huh, this statue is kinda cool.” Odem got as close as he dared without touching it. “It’s like if a dragon mated with a sea creature. Looks old too.”

“That’s it!” I exclaimed, running toward the boxes we’d not yet unpacked.

“The Mer-dragon’s. For so long I’d believed it was nothing more than dragon lore, fairytales told to the young.

” Fuck, it wasn’t in this box. I ripped open another, careful not to damage the ancient scrolls.

“Aha!” No sooner had I slid it from the box than Odem appeared by my side as I unrolled it with the utmost delicacy. “My Draconian is a bit rusty.”

“Well, mine’s not.” Odem’s solemn declaration gave me pause.

“The Merdragons, water dragons, were said to have been extinguished during the dragon wars. When alive and faced with grave peril out of fear they turned themselves to stone for protection. All of the stones are believed to have been destroyed.”

“That’s-that’s…” words failed me.

“That’s a Merdragon. Quite possibly the last remaining one.”

“It’s not,” Caro’s voice scared us both. How had we not heard him enter the horde? “I’ve been in their den, that’s where I found it.”

Every Denarius brother filed in. “Brother, you better start explaining before we’re at war with a distant relative over this.” Ionus wasn’t in the mood for bullshit. “They obviously know you have it, or they wouldn’t have attacked you as they just did.”

“Fuck.” Caro sat with a huff on the floor, clearly too weakened to remain standing for long.

“I located their cave recently buried deep beneath the sea and that’s where I found the statue.

The same mental assault happened there, reducing me to my human form and rendering me powerless as their elders appeared before me then vanished.

I didn’t know what the stone was, just thought it was an artifact worth preserving in my horde. ”

“We must return it at once,” Ionus demanded. “Peace must be made. We leave at dawn.”

“Your dragons will never make it that many leagues beneath the sea. This is a journey I must make on my own.”

Mate?

Emerson, my love. Your dragon isn’t strong enough to accompany me. I’m sorry, but there’s no way. Our brothers will follow as far as they can. I-I, I can’t risk losing you.

I don’t like this.

Nor do I. But it’s my mistake and I must atone for it and make peace as Ionus said.

“Hey, who made this flipper for the turtle?” Caro growled at Odem’s question. “It’s freaking cool.” I felt a shift inside my mate as the anger he’d initially harbored at Odem’s question was replaced by pride.

“I did. His other was shredded by a boat propeller.”

“I knew your link with water was strong, though I had no idea it ran this deep.” Even Ionus was surprised by this. My mate’s fear of his brothers tormenting him over his horde was all for naught. “There is much good you could do, maybe that’s the angle to take when we meet with them.”

“I may be able to help the rest of you accompany Caro.” Raven’s lithe body gracefully slid between the protectors as she entered the horde. “Though it’s an incantation I’ve not performed before and is derived from Mattias’ gift.”

“Wait, I can share my element with my brothers?” Mattias asked.

I grabbed my phone and hit the recording app, not wanting to miss a second of this to include in the historical diaries.

“Yes, as the protectors you each harness the ability to share your affinities with one another. Thankfully, up until now there hasn’t been a need to do so.

But there is no denying there’s been a shift in the magical realm, and we need to prepare for whatever may come.

The powers bestowed upon each of you run far deeper than you’ll hopefully ever need to know. ”

“How had we not known?” Ionus was at constant war with himself, his own disappointment in not having been privy to this was evident given his scowl.

“Ionus, we are all a work in progress, learning is eternal as are you. Just as none of you knew what that stone was before today and asked your archivist to find out, I too learn from our elders whenever I call upon them for guidance. There is no way anyone will ever know everything.”

“Raven, why have you not shared any of this before?” This was one of those times I wished to hide from Ionus’ wrath while Raven clearly had zero trepidation when dealing with him.

“Because I only just learned of it myself. The more stirrings such as this within our dimension, the more often spirit has visited me. Strength is in numbers, Ionus, this is constantly reiterated to me, and the strength is in the five of you staying together as we wade through these trying times. There isn’t a doubt in my mind that dark days lie ahead. ”

“Dragon Wars,” Mattias muttered.

“Yes, only this time there are five protectors leading the battle. Light will always overshadow the dark and what was lacking during the first Dragon Wars was a unified force. Goddess saw that and thus the protectors were born from it. Every clan was out for itself, each with its own leader and its own agenda. Didn’t any of you ever wonder how you came to be?

” The brothers shook their heads. “You were born of the light from the dark. Your mother knew of this, spirit visited her on many an occasion and she swore to protect you with her life until you were able to protect yourselves. You’ve trained in battle for centuries and now it’s time to learn to draw from your lifeforces. ”

“The Gems.”

“Yes, Ionus, the gems are your lifeforce and as long as they remain together your strength is limitless. Apart, it weakens each of you.”

There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that Raven had changed. She spoke with more authority, surer of herself than she had been before. There was strength in her words and an ethereal glow shrouding her.

“Your powers have intensified.”

“Yes, they have, Emerson,” she smiled. “The elders have bestowed upon me the greatest of gifts. Not only second sight but knowledge and magical abilities beyond my wildest dreams. I can now call upon the elements with the greatest of ease and without incantations.” Raven held her palm upward and a glowing orb appeared, hovering just above her hand. “Things are not always as they seem.”

“Who will teach us to harness these powers, High Priestess?”

Raven bowed her head. “Thank you for acknowledging my new role within the coven, Ionus.”

Caro rose then each brother bowed and recited their unwavering vow to protect as one:

Goddess, we thank thee for these gifts you have bestowed upon us. With them we accept the responsibility to protect human and dragon kind from the dark and bring with it the light.

Peace be to all.

I’d never heard them recite it before nor had I known any such credo existed. Thankfully, it was recorded so I could add it to the archives for future generations to read. It was truly an honor to have witnessed this firsthand.

“Let’s proceed to the gems. I don’t wish to damage this magnificent horde.” Caro’s cheeks reddened at Raven’s words. “The gift you share with your brother is amazing, Caro. Earth isn’t just of dirt nor flora and fauna. It’s all encompassing.”

Caro nodded. “Thank you, Priestess.”

As the brothers left, Caro wrapped his arms around me.

Safe . My dragon whispered.

Always with us, my love.

“Are you okay, Caro? I mean, really alright. No lying to your mate.” My stern tone was met with his devious laughter in return.

“As of right now, yes. But I fear if the statue isn’t soon returned that may come to an end. My only question is how they just realized it was gone and that it was in my possession.”

“Great question. Better brush up on my Draconian and continue deciphering the scrolls.”

Caro kissed me and headed toward the door, turning just before he reached it. “I love you, Emerson. Please don’t ever forget that.”

Was there a hidden meaning behind his words or was I overthinking it? “And I love you.”

He closed the door behind him, and the sudden realization that I was alone with the statue hit me. Could it sense my presence? If so, did it see me as a friend or foe?

Kinda wigged me out, like it stared right at me.

Maybe it was…

Enough, focus, Emerson.

The Merdragons are said to be the original descendants, the first dragons to cross through the portal when the earth was mostly water.

As the water subsided and land became more prevalent, many Draconian’s followed them and made Earth their new home.

Not long after, Draconia, their mother plane, was no longer, having succumbed to the sun’s rays as its rotation path shifted and came too close to the sun.

It burst into flames and those who’d not escaped to another realm perished along with it.

“I had no idea.” Not only had we all been raised believing dragons were the superior species, but there wasn’t a single mention in the archives of the Merdragons being the first to settle here.

Before this, that is. Everything in Draconian must be translated to modern day English or I’m afraid our history will be lost.

“He-he.”

Random giggles. There was no way Alex’s little ones got into the horde room. Emerson, you’re losing it. Note to self, get to bed at a decent hour tonight. But the more I read, the louder the giggles became.

A quick glance around the room confirmed what I already knew—that I was alone and quite possibly, losing my mind.

The dragons divided into clans and selected a leader within each. Tempers fueled over who was best to lead, and internal battles raged within. Merdragons sought shelter far deep beneath the seas and away from the fighting , not wishing to play a part of the turmoil.

“If they’re a peaceful species, why did they attack my mate?”

“Because of me.” More giggles came.

“Who’s there?” I grabbed the statue. Why? No clue. It wasn’t the lightest weapon of choice. “Show yourself!”

The statue vibrated in my hand and the eyes focused on me. “Boo!”

My screams were muffled as the earth shook, and the horde room became a distant vision. I landed with a thud on a hard, rocky surface. As my eyes focused, I scanned the cave I’d been transported to for my captors and a way out but saw none.

“Little one, why did you bring him here?” I heard in Draconian, though I saw no dragon.

“Papa, he’s nice. He knows our language.” Was that the giggling stone speaking?

My head was a mess and how I’d arrived here I hadn’t a clue. Had I suffered a concussion? Passed out? Was any of this real? With my stomach in my throat, finding words without vomiting was proving to be a challenge, but me being me, I had questions. A lot of them.

“He smells of the one who took you.”

“My mate.”

Heavy footsteps shook the cave as two sets of angry orange eyes appeared before me. “Who are you?”

“Em-Emerson. Mate of Caro, one of the protectors.”

“He kidnapped a youngling, that’s punishable by death.”

“I promise, he meant no harm. He thought the stone was an ancient artifact. When the scrolls told us otherwise, he and his brothers were preparing to return it. Please, let me go.”

Their laughter rang out, echoing through the cave. How many were here with me and why couldn’t I see them. “You’re free to go, Emerson. Though you’ll not reach the surface before you take your last breath.”

Desperately, I called out to my mate through our bond but only received silence in return.

“Don’t worry, if he was truly returning the youngling he’ll find you. Then it’s his problem how to get you home.”

Had they lived away from others for so long they didn’t know of the protectors? Or did they and had no use for them.

Either way, we were well and truly screwed. The brothers would come and fall straight into their trap. I reached out for my dragon and again and was met with complete silence.

“Please, help me.”

“Let your protectors help you. If they can.”