Black Magic

Ties That Bind

Chapter 22: Ties That Bind

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Excerpt from Chapter 9 of Dragons: A History of Mixed Blood and Magic, Written in the year 611 A.C.

Dark Magic is tricky. Or perhaps it is better to say that Light Magic is tricky, as Dark Magic is nothing more than a twisted version of its counterpart. Dark Magic does not simply come into creation. It is Light Magic gone bad.

Dark Magic is amorphous, slippery, and all-consuming. It is infectious, and can spread like a disease, a silent harbinger of madness and death. Rumors would have one believe that a live sacrifice is required to incite the change between Light Magic and Dark Magic (and this would make sense, considering the circumstances surrounding the Earth Heartstone). Once the transformation is complete, Dark Magic tends to take on a life of its own.

It goes without saying that the practice of Dark Magic is expressly forbidden in every Dragon Faction, as well as the city of Exolin. It is not something to be trifled with.

Perhaps the most dangerous aspect of Dark Magic is its permanence.

Once you go Dark, there is no coming back...and as of now, year 611 A.C., there is no known way to reverse such a transformation.

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It wasn't until after their fourth round that Kai could feel the Need beginning to recede, like a high tide that had dealt its damage and was now slowly pulling back to sea.

He always felt wrecked afterward. As though he'd been tumulted in a rough surf for hours and now he was lying on a quiet beach, trying to catch his breath.

The Need did that to a dragon.

Not that Kai was complaining. Especially in this case. He had been itching to sink his claws into Kyungsoo for quite a while now.

But things were slowing down, the lust not as sharp or forceful as before, and Kai could feel the events of the night catching up to him.

He had no idea what time it was, or how long it'd been since he disappeared from the battle at the Lower Ring. He hoped things had turned out well, that Sehun hadn't been caught off guard, that nobody had been injured.

Kai exhaled and turned to stare at the body slumped next to him. Kyungsoo was lying facedown, breaths deepening to an even tempo, ribs expanding with each heavy inhale. Kai watched in silence, could sense the wild new power that ran beneath Kyungsoo's skin.

The Air Dragon blinked slowly, eyes heavy with sleep, even though his mind was still racing.

Kai reached out and wove his fingers through Kyungsoo's sweat-damp hair, and the Earth Dragon's only protest was a faint moan. Kai usually never stayed with his partner once the lust burned off. There was no point.

But for some inexplicable reason, when it came to Kyungsoo, Kai seemed to lose himself. His train of thought went haywire, his rationale went out the door, he did things he would never otherwise even consider.

Kai slowly turned his gaze away from the Earth Dragon, moved so that his hands were no longer in Kyungsoo's hair, and his body was no longer pressed so closely.

There was a strange warning bell going off in his head, a scary thought on the edge of his mind.

"I have a question," Kyungsoo muttered.

Kai pushed the incomplete thought away, unwilling to to gather all the pieces and force them into sense. "Yeah?"

"Do you have a family?"