Beasts of Flames

Chapter Eleven

I was shaken awake by my dreams in the early morning hours. I say dreams, but they were more like nightmares. There I was again, trapped in the cell, feeling the pain of my body falling apart from the inside. When I looked up, it was Maximus standing beside Thaela, calling me beast and pointing his crossbow at my heart. Then he shot me, and I dragged my mind from sleep, sweat coating my entire body.

I shifted my body on the rugs and heard footsteps rushing down the stairs. I turned and saw Gavin rushing towards me, eye wide with worry and sweat on his brow from running. He clutched arm, ducking under my wings, trying to shake me roughly.

"Lyda, are you alright? What happened?"

"It's alright, Gavin. It was just a nightmare. How did you know I was awake?"

"I didn't know, but I felt you. I could feel your fear, your suffering. I thought someone had come to har you," he said, sighing in relief when he noticed I was unharmed.

"I can defend myself, Gavin. I am a draki after all. What I don't understand though is how you felt my nightmare," I said, standing up to pace about the room. It was now that I realized the hearth had gone cold, and I felt the coolness slink beneath my scales.

"It was like a flaming chord, pulling me to where you were. I don't really have an explanation for it," Gavin said, running his fingers through his hair. He sat down on a chaise facing the hearth while I continued my pacing, willingly my mind to calm after the dream.

"You are an ignatis, Lyda," a voice called from the stairs. At the top step, Queen Isolde stood, clad in a white fur robe, hair tied up in interlacing braids. She gracefully descended the stairs, her face looked upon us seriously. Gavin looked back at the queen as he asked,

"What's an ignatis?"

"They're rare, rarer than even a draki. It's a gift of a fire mind. You can reach into others minds and draw them to you. Your flames mesmerize the minds you seek until they are fully yours to command."

I looked intently at Isolde, and in her cold eyes, I thought I could see fear trembling in the ice. She froze in her tracks, keeping a great distance between my resting spot by the hearth.

"You're saying my mind called to him and told him to come to me?" I asked half-jokingly.

"Yes, and this is no joke, Lyda. Your ability means you will be sought after by powerful people who wish to bend you to their will," Isolde said, shakily pointing her finger at me, "You must not tell another soul about this gift. Do you understand me?"

"No, I don't understand," I yelled out, growling in frustration, "I had just gotten used to being this beast, and now, I have another strange ability to conquer. Yet, I can't tell anyone about this ability or I'll be caged and used ad abused once again by people of power. Tell me, Queen Isolde, is it your plan to use me for this gift I have?"

The guards heard my growls and came running to defend their queen, swords at the ready to draw my blood. Queen Isolde took a step toward me, ready to refute my statement, but I cut her off,

"Sending in your soldiers to tame and cage me already? Maybe I should burn down your castle as a thank you. Maybe I'll enter your soldiers minds and turn them against you," I angrily shouted.

"Do not turn your anger and strife on me, Lyda. I do not want your gift. In fact, I advise you never to develop or use it again. As your power grows, you'll only be hunted more, and I do not wish to see you dead," Isolde said, standing tall above the wall of soldiers surrounding her.

"The gift is a curse. Another curse I am forced to bear. When will I get peace? When can I rest at night not worrying about being hunted in my sleep? Tell me, your majesty, what would you have me do? Maybe if I had died on that cliff, it would have been a mercy," I cried out. I felt the flames in my throat sputter out as tears poured from my eyes. I threw open my wings, stomping across the room toward the door. I had to get out of here. I needed to clear my head. As I pushed open the doors, I heard Gavin called out to me,