Shattered Legacy: Icefire (Book 1)

Chapter Seven: Maximum Ryder

I watch Azzy’s entire composure crumple as she picked up the glowing feather.
“Hey,” I murmur, crouching down to look into her beautiful blue eyes. “It’ll be ok. Phoebe would have wanted you to carry on.”
She wiped her nose and looked up at me. “Why does everyone I care about keep dying?” she whispered. “What have I done to anger the Fates? Why couldn’t I have been born into a normal life? Why did it have to be me?”
I feel a stab of sympathy for her. She was barely over eighteen and was already enduring so much in just a span of days. Her mentors were killed, she was being hunted and now her phoenix was gone. I carefully push a strand of her now soaked hair behind her ear.
“It was her time,” I replied gently. “Now come on, she wouldn’t want you to be sad like this. We’ll get Daci in here and wait out the rain in here.”
She crumpled into my chest. “I don’t want to do this anymore,” she replied, her voice cracking. I run my fingers through her hair in attempts to calm her.
“It’ll be ok,” I repeated softly.
She hummed doubtfully before wiping her eyes. She looked up at me for a long moment, the glowing feather in her hand casting her face in golden light and shadows.
“I want to believe that,” she said at last. “But nothing is ever really ok, is it? We just pretend it is because we don’t want to deal with the problems that haunt us.”
I blink down at her. She seemed to be having a very dark and realistic epiphany.
“True,” I replied after a moment. “But you just need to hang on a little longer, dear. I’ll bring you to a better place where you won’t be hunted or facing death everyday. I promise.”
She hummed before sitting on the ground against the wall, twirling the feather between her fingers. Daci strode down the tunnel before sliding down to sit next to her. The pair sat together for a moment before Azzy leaned into her. I felt a pang of envy but silently sat beside her as well. After a few hours, the rain finally stopped.
“The rain stopped,” I whisper. Daci glanced at me, then down at Azzy before looking back at me. Azzy’s chest rose and fell slowly. She was asleep. “Don’t worry, I’ll carry her.”
She nodded and slid the sleeping dragon princess into my arms. I stood up, mildly surprised at how light Azzy was. I carry her to the entrance, careful not to jostle her around too much. I glance around the entrance of the cave. The mushrooms glowed faintly, reflecting on the water droplets coating the ground. I walk out to the path, Daci at my side, carrying the ropes of aura iron. 
“Are we going to go back to the will-o’-wisps path?” Daci muttered.
“Hell no,” I replied. “We’re going to find the Mystery River, ride it out to the Gulf, and find someone who can take us to Stonewall.”
“Sounds good to me.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

         A few hours later, we found ourselves at the edge of the Mystery River. Canoes lined an old moss covered dock. Dark water flowed silently past them. The Mystery River was much quieter than the river it flowed from, the Thunderton. This is why we called it the Mystery River I believe. It was quiet, dark and mysterious, even in daylight. Trees cast shadows over the water, a few small splotches of sunlight from the sunrise glittering on its surface. Azzy made a humming noise and I glanced down at her.
         She'd wrapped herself up in the cloak she'd gotten from Daci. She gave the water a distasteful look. I wrinkled my nose in amusement.
        “I take it you don't like water?” I asked wryly.
         “Nope,” Azzy replied bluntly. “It's cold, it feels weird, it's wrong, I do not like it.”
         I couldn't help but chuckle despite her scowl. “Don't worry, we'll be in a canoe.”
         She glowered at the canoes. “They don't look very stable…”
         “It'll be ok. Besides, we'll just head straight to the coast and get a more comfortable boat.”
           “I'd rather fly,” she sniffed.
            “Hey Max?” Daci cut in. “Do you think there's another reason it's called the Mystery River?”
            I shrug but Azzy replied, “That's because each time you go down it, it takes a completely different route. There's about fifteen different charted routes to end up on, each of them passing through the Elvengrad forest. You'll eventually end up going down through the Talivani Mountains but it's a maze before that.”
            My sister and I stare at her in surprise. She shrugged, shifting in my arms to stand.
         “My mentor, Ary, taught me a lot of things. The elves enchanted the river to be like that so they could catch any of the moving armies,” she explained.
           “Makes sense,” Daci replied. “The Folk have a tendency to go to war with anyone who pisses off Queen Mauve.”
          “I thought she was Fae?” Azzy inquired.
          “She is,” Daci said. “There's Fae, faeries, and elves. Faeries are the smallest, often mistaken for dragonflies, hummingbirds, or butterflies. Piss them off and you've got yourself a problem. Elves are smaller versions of Fae but get along with humans better. Fae are the alarmingly tall ones that can't stand humans. They're more commonly associated with dragons.”
         “You know a lot about that,” Azzy observed.
         “There's other species, but there's too many for me to keep track of,” Daci explained. “All of them are referred to as the Folk though.” Daci sat in one of the canoes. “Are you going with Max?”
          I look down at Azzy expectantly. She nodded. “I'll get in first,” I said. “That way you'll be more comfortable.”
        She pulled her cloak closer around herself. “Ok,” she murmured.
      I sat in one of the bigger canoes and beckoned to her. She looked down nervously before hopping in. I caught her, the canoe rocking. She trembled as she settled into the little boat between my legs. Daci paddled her boat beside ours and tossed a rope to us. Azzy caught it, giving her puzzled look.
        “So we stay together. If I didn't know any better, I'd guess that the river would separate us,” she explained.
         Azzy nodded. “Makes sense.” She tied the rope snugly around one of the rings on the canoe. She took one look at the water before leaning back into me. “I don't like how this thing rocks,” she grumbles.
            “Hey, at least we aren't on the Thunderton River. It's rapid enough to obliterate a boat like this,” I offer. Daci pulled out a long stick paddle and began to push us along the river.
             Azzy hummed thoughtfully. “I guess…” I glance around the river. It'd led us further into the woods. It grew darker. “I don't like this,” she muttered again. Small flickers of light darted in my peripheral. I could hear whispered words in the breeze.
        Princess of flame.
        Werewolves.
        Princess of flame…
       I'm going to be brutally honest. The magical beings’ obsession with Azzy made me uncomfortable. I could only imagine how she felt about it. I could sense her looking around, searching for the source for the voices. A bright pink ball of light shot towards us, causing both of us to flinch. A little rosy faerie regarded us.
        “Princess of flame,” she trilled. “You will be delivered to Queen Mauve.”
        Azzy tensed between my legs. I honestly had no clue how Mauve would respond to Azzy. She wasn't much better than Valerius, especially after he had allegedly killed her daughter, Aryana, who in reality had gone into hiding to raise Azzy alongside Dmitri. Dangling catkins of a willow brushed over us as the faerie darted ahead to report our presence. Azzy glanced around nervously as we passed through. Marble channels led throughout an entire village. The channel we were on happened to lead to the palace, of which seemed to look over the cities below it. From the sheer size of it, I'm surprised that it was impossible to see it from outside the forest. I then recall something about the Folk’s glamor. I shifted uncomfortably as hundreds of eyes landed on us. Daci’s eyes scanned the crowds, no doubt looking for her mate, Sorcha. As Sorcha was High Fae, our father legally couldn't say anything bad about their relationship even though we all knew he despised it. I'm grateful to Azzy once more, who was trying to shrink under the intense stares. Some are curious, others are wary, and others are just blatant fear. Azzy regarded the crowds nervously.
         Daci gave her a pitying look. “Don't worry, they'll be like that until they know who you are.” 
         Azzy grimaced. “I'm not used to seeing so many people stare at me like I spawned from their nightmares.”
         “For some of them you kinda did,” I murmured. “The elves are allied with the King.”
          “That's… comforting,” she muttered. “How do they not go at each other's throats?”
          “The absolute terrifying glory of Queen Mauve,” I replied quietly. More faeries spread through the crowd, no doubt spreading word of Azzy’s presence.
           “She sounds delightful,” she grumbled.
           “Careful what you say,” I whispered. “You would want these guys on your side if you go to war against Valerius and Orion.”
          She hummed nervously as the canoe drifted into a tunnel that led into the castle. Fae warriors approached us.
         “You are to be brought before her Majesty, Queen Mauve,” the commander said stiffly. Her ivory hair was pulled into intricate braids. I recognized her from our last visit – Adeline, one of Mauve’s daughters and Sorchas's older sister. Her eyes fell on Daci. “My lady, your wife is waiting for you in the palace.” She dipped her head respectfully. “Apologies for not recognizing you sooner.”
           “It's alright, Adeline,” Daci replied. Azzy gave her a bewildered look. Her hood hid most of her beautiful face but her piercing blue eyes were nearly impossible to miss. “How's Sorcha doing anyways?”
           “Dramatic as always,” Adeline replied with a sigh.                
Daci chuckled. “I figured.” Adeline helped her out of the boat before tugging Azzy and I over. Azzy squeaked as the canoe rocked.
“Apologies miss,” Adeline said, offering her hand. Azzy took it and we both helped her on to the dock. “There ya go.” Her gaze landed on Azzy’s sword before her eyes widened. “Where… where did you get that sword?” Her voice wavered slightly.
“One of the people who raised me, Princess Aryana. She ran away with former High Mage Dmitri Warwick.” Azzy replied as I clambered out of the boat to stand beside her.
“Where is she? Is she alright?” Desperation and hope seeped into Adeline’s voice as she held Azzy’s hands, looking down at the little dragon princess. Azzy hesitated nervously. Adeline was a bit taller than me and towered over her.
“She…died,” Azzy replied quietly. “Prince Orion killed her for ‘treason’.” She winced as Adeline’s grip on her hands tightened and she snarled.
“That bastard,” she seethed. “He committed the highest offense, killing a High Fae Princess. He should be put to death!” She took a few deep breaths before calming down into her typical stony demeanor.
“You’re free to take your cloak off. We already know who you are,” she offered.
“Ah… ok.” Azzy pulled off her hood. Her once short horns had grown a bit. It would be difficult to keep them hidden under the hood. Adeline seemed to be a bit surprised by the sheer beauty of Azzy’s ivory crown. Daci was practically rocking on her feet.
“Come on, there’s someone I want you to meet,” she said cheerfully.
“Sorcha?” Azzy guessed.
Daci grinned. “Yep. You’re going to love her.”
I couldn’t help but wrinkle my nose in amusement at my sister’s excitement as she pretty much dragged us into the castle gates, Adeline trailing behind us.