Mixed Blood

Chapter 13

While the northern hemisphere was beginning to tip away from the sun and temperatures cooled into fall, the southern half of the world was in the middle of a vibrant spring. The skies were clear, the water was calm, and with the Australian coast in view, Nekros flattened his wings to his body, turned his snout down, and plummeted towards the earth.

The ocean north of the island continent still held onto the last of its winter chill, and the racing in his heart made him feel alive. Erupted back out of the ocean in a spray of water, he followed the air currents high, high up, before doing it again. The song emerged from his throat in his own unique melody that Lysander harmonized in his deeper, hoarser chords. Ares completed the magical sound with his deep resonance, and the three dragons allowed themselves this moment of freedom and joy.

Freedom!

What a concept! Nekros never realized how much he took this world for granted until it was taken away from him. He stretched his wings as far as he could, just to feel the muscles strain and the feel of the wind between every barb of his feathers. Though it technically slowed his flight, he extended his talons from their tucked position close to his body and cut his claws through the water just to feel it.

Freedom.

Closing his eyes to listen to the song he and his brothers sang and drank in the smell of the ocean air. Open fresh air that wasn't pumped underground and recycled until it was stale and lifeless. Salty ocean water teaming with life. Wild, untamed magic as old as the world answered his call and resonated with his own.

Through a unique bond between father and daughter, he could feel Rhia's presence in his heart. She wasn't wholly aware of the bond, and he didn't often take advantage of it to check in on her. But once and a while, he just needed to feel that she was alive. Her heart was heavy with fear and worry for Nolan, but she was alive.

This moment was almost perfect. The only thing that could make it better was if Rhiannon and Phoenix were flying with him. As close as he felt to her through the bond, it had nothing on being with her in person. And, while it might be a foolish dream, he hadn't yet entirely given up on the chance that Phoenix was still out there somewhere. Caught by the same monsters that held him for so long, or perhaps lost to her own fear and doubts. There were still nights that he dreamed of her beautiful smile. Her touch. Her voice. Those mornings after he woke up full of hope for the future. The future of his family.

Even the looming threat of their destination, another Organization facility, could not break his sprits now. He'd recovered from the shock and painful memories that came with going back into the facility he'd been trapped in for so many years a lot faster than he expected. They weren't even sure if they were going in the right direction for this new site. The list Rhia had found was far from specific.

Grouse Ridge was the most defined the list got, and it was recognizable to those who knew the Tahoe area. It had been Ares to figure out that Ich Obo was one of the mountains near the actual entrance of the facility Nekros had escaped from. Cerro Steffen was yet another mountain in South America, where Rhia, Bastian Wes, and Dáithí were headed towards now.

One of the remaining two was Telfer, which either referred to a university in Ontario or a remote location in the middle of the Australian Outback. There were many places in Canada's barren north that would be an appropriate place for a facility, but not right in the middle of the capital city.

So, the three dragons flew in the direction of Lysander's territory. Nekros was hopeful. He believed with every fiber of his heart that Nolan was out there. He would not allow his own daughter to spend one more second in the state of pain and misery he'd left her in. And he wouldn't leave her alone like that ever again, no matter what she said.