A Ballad of the Sun and the Moon

Epilogue

Her feet hurt, swollen and shoved into the confines of a damask slipper with jabbing Louis heel. Her legs and pelvis ached, every muscle attached to them stretched to their limit. Breathing had become tremendously difficult, all her organs compressed upward by the little dragon in her womb. It wouldn't be long now, the midwife had said. Still, she was bound and determined to be present.

"You really shouldn't be on your feet my love," said Rhys.

Zoe gripped his arm tighter letting his strength take as much weight from her as she could. If she asked him he'd carry her to Chasen, but she'd be damned if the others saw her like that.

"Lady Langford missed not a single meeting when she was with child. I intend to be just as responsible."

Rhys looked his mate over once more, dressed like the refined lady she was, his eyes ending at her protruding belly.

"I don't think anyone would fault you for missing a council meeting so near the end."

Zoe shot him a look of disapproval. "I'd say it's been a long time since you sat at council. You forget how some of those coots are."

"You sadly may be right. So what is on the agenda for the day?"

"The same discussion that's been going on for the past week. And the week before. And long before that."

"Ah. Has my brother made any headway?"

"Hard to say. The traditionalists are not so easily convinced. Their talons are dug deep in the ground here."

"More like they've grown roots."

"Yes. But we are drákon and are meant to fly."

"Do they know that? Perhaps they need reminding."

"Leave it to Sunniva. She has a knack for getting through their thick skulls."

Rhys took the steps leading up to the vestibule of the manor with ease. Zoe sucked air in through her teeth and her nostrils flared with each exhale. She was bound and determined not to open her mouth and pant like a dog, but the urge was there as she carried her great weight upward into the home of the Alphas.

They passed under the newly built Adams dome shining wonderous light down below. It was a reminder to Zoe of the beginning of a new future for their kind. Rhys led her through the gallery with marble busts, polished and pale, of past Alphas. At the end were the current ones, unfinished blocks of richly golden travertine and a smooth onyx. The stone had been specially ordered from quarries in greater Europe and it was said two different artists had been hired to chisel the Alphas' faces into the rock. For now, they remained vague clumps of stone, lacking anything resembling a face.

Zoe gave Rhys a kiss as they came to a stop in front of the closed double-leaf doors of the council chamber.

"I'll expect we'll have tea after?"

"Unlikely. The meetings have grown longer and longer considering. Might wish to assume we'll stay for supper at any rate."

"Fine, fine. Until then my love," he said and bent to kiss her once more.

Zoe pushed open the doors to the council chambers and closed them slowly behind her. She caught a look of remembrance on Rhys face, still peaking through the last cracks of his past.

The council had been reformed as an effort to keep the peace. Blood relatives, for example, were no longer de facto members of the council, leaving Rhys without a seat and say. In exchange the Alpha's mate would always have a seat, seeing as she too was Alpha and both were given a single seat each to doll out at their discretion. Kimber had foregone his brother and chosen Jakob who'd fought by their side faithfully that fateful night. He considered it a political move, his brother actually having more swaying power as a silver tongue amongst the tribe rather than one making direct decisions. Many in the Tribe now saw him as one of them, rather than a high and mighty Langford.

Sunniva had chosen Zoe. A few of the men had grumbled at her decision but she paid them little mind. When Zoe had asked her why she had been chosen, Niva told her that she saw things that most of them never could.

Everyone was already seated, some with tea, others with tumblers of port or smooth whiskey. Zoe walked around a singular, massive table, it's top polished to a gleam. It too was a new feature of the council chambers. The old four tables and chairs along with the Alpha's sequestered seat had been destroyed nearly a year ago in the great battle. They had all been replaced by a large, circular table with capacity for exactly thirteen occupants. The 'head' - though no such thing truly exists in a circle - was marked by two slightly grander chairs upon which Kimber and Sunniva sat. They both faced the direction of the sash windows, now kept wide open at every meeting. Some of the councilmen had tried to parce some deep symbolism as to the positioning of it all, but Zoe knew it was simply because their queen liked the raw sun in her face whenever it did chance to shine in this smoky sliver of Northern England.

And there she sat, prim and proper in canary yellow silk with a diamond-shaped yolk and hair tied up in curls apart from a single twisted strand falling down her back. She held a bundle to her shoulder and every so often applied a soothing hand to it. Zoe squinted her eyes and made a silent personal bet at whether Niva had actually dolled herself up in the latest lady's fashions or simply applied one of her illusions. She sat down to the right of her Alpha with a involuntary sigh.

"It won't be long," whispered Niva with a smirk.

"Oh? But why must it feel like a bloody eternity?" replied Zoe.

Before Niva could retort with something witty, Lord Kimber Langford began the the day's session.

"Now that all are present, the council session on this DATE may begin. The first order of business is a continuation of last meeting's issue from DATE, which was a continuation of the long running issue initiated originally by Alpha, Sunniva Langford on DATE. Would anyone wish to begin?"

The men at the round table looked at each other then at the two Alphas as if uncertain they truly had permission.

"Sir Thompson, you look like something is on your mind," said Niva with a subtle smirk on her face.

Charles Thompson cleared his throat. "My Lady, it seems to me that it makes no sense in preparing for this endeavor or even further discussing it when the scouts have yet to return."

Thompson was a staunch traditionalist. Zoe wasn't sure if he and a few others had been legitimately elected to the council or if Kimber and Niva had fudged his appointment onto it. Niva hated the man, but her mate had convinced her that if certain members of the tribe felt unrepresented there was likely to be another uprising like the one instigated by Claude Grady.

"You're too presumptuous, Sir Thompson," accused Sunniva. "You seem far too convinced that they will find nothing suitable in America. Makes one wonder."

Zoe caught a quick glint of violet in her eyes, a purposeful flash of warning to those paying attention.

"Presumption has nothing to do with this," Thompson retorted, trying to cover a curious anxiousness. "It is merely a matter of caution. You are talking about moving thousands of our kind to a wild and unknown place without proper intel. It's dangerous and you are not the only one with loved ones to protect. We must not act precipitously."

"Fair enough," replied Niva. "But I am certain someone is going to find the perfect place for our kind to settle."

"Someone? We sent three men..."

"Three men that many of us did not find suitable."

"What would not have been suitable about those three? They are some of the most cautious men in our retinue. They would die before revealing what we are. They've travelled extensively in Europe and are well versed in Spanish, French, German and Italian. They are the perfect trio to blend in with civilized..."

"But we aren't civilized now are we? And neither is this new land. It's a nice facade, but at our core we are wild beasts, free and deadly. Besides, those men are looking for another Darkfrith. As lovely as it is, we need some place greater and grander. Less tame and less likely to be populated by humans. We need space and range and skies and mountains. We need room to fly."

Zoe, moved by the thought of such a vast wilderness, shot Niva a quick side glance.

"We? We've less drákon than ever in the skies. We've less danger of being seen by humans than we've ever had before."

The faces of many present cast their eyes downward - most of whom had lost someone dear in the skirmish a year ago - their expressions now sad shadows of remembrance.

"That is where you are wrong," said Niva. "The humans grow and expand. Besides that, there are many..."

And then Niva was interrupted by the only being she tolerated interrupting her. The bundle at her shoulder began to squirm and mew then let out sharp cry. Niva's illusion dropped leaving shoulder length paled hair and bare breasts. She pulled back the blanket wrapped around her child and, with a crossed leg, began to position him in her lap. Zoe noted that she did at least and in fact have a real skirt on.

The female Alpha insisted on being present at every meeting even if it meant bringing her child. It annoyed some of the members, but it reminded them that Sunniva was fulfilling her duty to their people, so any grievances were kept as hushed whispers behind pints of ale at the tavern and made it no further.

"Well, I think we can shelve this until..." Charles Thompson had the audacity to say.

"As the issue pertains to our kind's future, Sir," snapped Niva. Zoe noted the double meaning in her use of the word "future". "-you will give me the courtesy of waiting!"

Thompson looked to the other men for support, but they all kept their eyes politely averted. When he finally saught out Lord Langford he was met with a dooming gaze and his eyes fell to his lap. It was a convention - sometimes even expected - that women of Niva's aristocratic stature let their infants be cared for by wet nurses. Even her Lord husband had encouraged her to take one for convenience, the offer which she vehemently refused. It certainly irked many of the men that she insisted on her babe being present, but she didn't care. Niva grabbed her engorged breast, slipped a dripping nipple over her infant's nose and into his mouth. He latched instantly and settled into his mother's arms. She cooed a few loving sounds into his ear, stroked his soft hair, and continued.

"Other women have begun Turning. It won't be long before the drákon in the sky becomes too thick to be blamed on a shooting star. We need more space."

The chamber was silent, then erupted into a bustling squall. Theories on just who these females could be and which men of the tribe most deserved them were spouted and argued.

"Why weren't we informed immediately?"

"Someone fetch the family trees!"

"Arrangements must be made. Pairings planned. This is wondorous news!" rejoiced Thompson.

Zoe couldn't tell to what extent Lord Langford had been privy to this information, his eyes scanning the overjoyed plotters at the council table. He reached out to his wife and gave her a soft squeeze on the shoulder.

"Most of the girls if not all don't see it that way," revealed Niva. Once a sea of calm overtook the raucous waves, Jakob was the first to speak.

"Who precisely has completed the Turn?" he asked, a reasonable question from an unmarried man.

Zoe glimpsed at Niva briefly who was carefully avoiding her eyes.

"Sir, those are not my secrets to divulge," replied Niva with a stiff lip.

Zoe sighed silentrelief.

"As Alpha it is your responsibility to ensure the future of our tribe," reminded Damon Hotel sitting at the direct opposite of the Alphas.

"Yes," agreed Niva. "And it is a terrible burden. If I'm shouldered with such a responsibility then it is my decision how I see best to carry it out."

"Perhaps she is bluffing," suggested Mason Fuller, an older, twice-married gentlemen with 4 daughters and no sons. Zoe found it ironic that his oldest two - twins - had recently come to Niva with their secret: dragons with scarlet bodies and black lines.

"You don't believe me?"

"Lady Langford, it would be quite convenient for your cause if the women actually began Turning. It is a Gift that is unfortunately diminishing so forgive us if we don't take you on your word."

"As you are perfectly aware, I can Turn."

"A fluke most likely."

A few mumbled in agreement.

"The daughters of Rue Langford can as well," added Niva.

"Only two out of the three. Besides, they come from an Alpha line."

"And what am I?"

"As I said, a fluke."

"My noble mother and wife," chimed in Kimber, "came from impure lines and yet they are the progenitors of the next great generation. If such women, which our kind so desperately need, can Turn, why is it impossible to believe that those of pure dragon blood cannot?"

"Forgive me my Lord, but do you have any knowledge of who your mate is claiming can Turn?"

"Out of respect, I've asked not to be made privy to such secrets."

Lord Langford knew that if any such women were discovered he'd be bound to support hasty marriages to men of higher status. He didn't want to inflict on them what he had been compelled to do with his own wife over a year ago. So, he let these women's identities remain with her.

"Perhaps, Lady Langford, if you could produce just one of these women we'd be more convinced."

"I'm sorry, Sirs. They are not my secrets to reveal."

Frustration, disappointment, and anger overtook the faces of the proud men sitting at the table.

"Well then we are at an impasse. Again," exclaimed Thompson. He huffed out a large breath and rubbed his brows with two fingers. "I motion then to postpone this subject until our scouts return from America. When we have more information we can further discuss..."

Zoe's thoughts drew inward, as he prattled on diplomatically about this topic being a waste of time. She wondered why she was scared of showing these men what she was. They knew she had Gifts and supported her marriage to the Alpha's brother - next in-line as Alpha unless Sunniva and Kimber's son proved worthy. Their union was one that coincided perfectly with their old laws and ancient customs. The strongest mate with the strongest. Whether she could Turn now would not - should not make a difference. Besides, she was carrying Rhys' child. But what if one of these dragons decided to challenge him for her hand? The fear of losing the man she had waited and fought for for years kept her skin on her back.

But then there was Niva, fire in her eyes and heart facing these men down with a babe at her breast. Facing them as she always had - without hesitance or reserve.

Bravery was not doing something valiant once and then it came easily forever. It was those constant acts of overcoming fear every day. And her Alpha did have fear even if well hidden, something it seemed only Zoe ever saw. But like Niva had said, she saw things that no one else did. She would be brave for her Alpha as her Alpha had always been brave for her - as she had been brave for all the women of the tribe.

She blinked once and let herself disolve into a shimmering mist, reveling in the weightlessness giving her respite from her pregnant condition. It was certainly tempting not to complete the Turn, like sitting down after walking for miles and miles with ill-fitting shoes and blisters on her feet, but Zoe was the proof that Niva needed. She took form near the fireplace, a *drákon* so delicate and slender apart from that patch of belly prominently discended holding her precious baby. Her scales were of silver pressed to glass like that of a fine mirror reflecting light. Her tail was smooth and sleek like a whip, no barbs at all to be found. Her mane was like her hair, the palest of the moon's reflection atop a calm sea on a cloudless night.

The men in the room dropped their jaws as they caught sight of her. It made her nervous and self-conscious being started at so intently. She wrapped her tail around her body, a fruitless attempt to conceal herself.

Lord Langford leaned over to his mate and mouthed in a whisper, "my brother is a very lucky man."

Niva shot him a smirk and squeezed his hand.

Zoe Turned to smoke again, drifting over the heads of the men still so in awe she could look down their gullets. She became human in her chair, her hands placed set atop the table like the proud and proper lady she was.

"So gentlemen," she said resolutely, "if you've quite finished, I believe we've still a matter to discuss."

***

Niva tried to check the time on the grand clock at the end of her chambers. It was too dark and her lamp had burned out a while ago. Her own glow only glared in her eyes as she tried to make out the dials and Roman numerals. She reached a hand out finding a cold spot in her bed where her mate normally slumbered. His absence was expected this night. Usually he would creep in in the still-dark hours of morning, careful not to wake her or the baby, but tonight was different.

Niva pulled the covers off her chest where little Drayce was cozied down between her breasts asleep.

"What do you think little one? Will she come with good news this night?" whispered Niva. She sat up, pulled a thick shawl out of a nook between the pillows, and wrapped her babe in it.

The French doors to the balconey had been left open, the embroidered drapes billowing in on a gentle breeze like fog into the room. Niva walked outside and peered up into the night. There were still many dragons up there dipping and swerving and tumbling in the heavens. She spotted the old Alphas, Rue and Christoph Langford, in a harmonious symphony flitting across the moon. It must have been nice after a lifetime of baring so much responsibility to hand it over to the next generation and fly unburdened until the sun dawned.

Despite the darkness, despite her lids feeling heavy from lack of sleep Niva felt that pull of the stars beckoning her up with her people. She hadn't flown in over a week, and when she had the rare opportunity it was an hour at most during the day - and always alone. Drayce wasn't particularly tolerant of being held by others.

She sighed and looked down at him, piercing violet eyes now wide open and looking around. It was at night, like his mother that his true colors blumed.

"At least you got this," she said, stroking his thick, black hair.

Niva wondered which he resembled more: dusk or dawn. He yawned and let out a squeal that only a mother could recognize. "You are one ravenous little beast," she quipped affectionately. She sat against the cold, carved stone of the balustrade, using one leg to prop him up and drew him close to her breast where he suckled contently.

Bare thighs cold, she eventually stood from the balustrade and supported her babe completely in her arms. A few errant leaves fallen from a decorative, potted ficus swirled about on the stone flooring and that tickling at her ear began whenever her mate came near. Even at night when her senses were dulled and he was shadowed was she always sensitive to Kimber's proximity. She couldn't see him, but she knew he was coming.

Niva rose and moved between the French doors giving him adequate space to land. He was a silent void, cloaked in his magic shadow betraying little of his presence. A whirl of smoke, only visible after pulling far enough away from him, passed Niva as it slid into the Alphas' bedroom chamber.

She's here. Splendid!

Niva didn't look, giving the woman privacy to Turn. Instead she watched as her mate became visible, beautifully layered in black upon black. He drifted into a bulbous cloud, like soot kicked up from a fireplace, then thickened into the form of man. Delicious thought Niva admiring her mate's muscled body. Even after having a child, even after the many nights of scarce sleep she wanted him. There were many laws of their kind, quite a few of which she was trying to change, but there was at least one that she had come to accept as a natural fact: Alpha mates with Alpha.

Kimber came to her and pulled her to him, dropping a kiss onto her head.

"Were you seen?" she asked.

He gave her a look, incredulous.

"Right. Silly of me to ask. I'll make it up to you sometime, somehow," Niva said with a temptuous smirk. She stood up on the balls of her feet and lured her mate into a deep kiss. He tasted of fresh snow landing on her tongue. As she enjoyed the moment of surrendering her heat to him, came the expected disapproval of Drayce insisting his mother give no one else attention. Kimber's lips - still pressed against Niva's - narrowed and the corners of his mouth tightened up into a smile.

"I'm not sure from whom he gets more of his persistence. His mother or his father," quipped Kimber.

"I'm sure you never expected to be usurped from my side by such a tiny creature," replied Niva, feeling a bit disappointed at the break of their kiss.

"It's perfect this way," said Kimber, looking down lovingly into the dragon eyes of his son. He brushed Niva's hair behind her ear, lacing fingers through it following the line down her shoulders. "It won't be like this forever."

"How could you know?"

"I'm the eldest of five siblings. Don't think because I was slated for Alpha at a young age that my mother spared me from changing nappies and caring for my younger sisters while she flew with my father," he explained. "Speaking of sisters..." Kimber coerced her into a turn with a gentle hand towards their bed where their guest stood.

"Lady Amalea, welcome home," bid Niva at the sight of her.

Kimber's youngest sister was very similar in form to her siblings, but her colorings were a unique mixture of both her parents; dark, chestnut locks with streakss of gold, eyes of viper green and skin to shame even the finest of alabaster.

"Lady Langford," she began, awkwardly calling essentially a stranger by her mother's title when she had last been in Darkfrith. "You've no idea what a pleasure it is to finally meet you. I don't think I'd have returned if it weren't for you. Your letters were a beacon for me during a very lonely time."

"I'm glad then," answered Niva. "I'm sorry I couldn't invite you for tea or something more safe for our first in person introductions."

"No need to apologise. I didn't truly trust you until you asked me to go the new world. It was then I was certain this wasn't an elaborate ruse to get me to return."

Amalea shot a distrustful look at her brother whose own took on a guilty slant.

"How did you know I could Turn?" she asked, looking at Niva once more.

"Well I didn't really. I mostly deduced it. You're from a powerful line and found an ounce of freedom from the confines of the shire. From what I've seen so far it seems a promising recipe. Does anyone know but us?"

"I don't think so. Mama and Papa still think I'm in Edinburgh at finishing school."

Niva snickered. "And the council has always assumed you a great disappointment. Ah I remember when I too had that luxury." She looked down at Drayce whose eyes were fixed on his aunt.

Kimber and Amalea's heads suddenly snapped in the same direction.

"A guard is nearing," warned Kimber.

Amalea shifted nervously. Like all drákon she emitted that hum of power and her's was certainly unique. It wouldn't take a skilled hunter to sense her sex either.

Niva released the light around her permitting that burning energy so fierce at night into a consuming tempest. The fluttering enticement of her power served as a convenient decoy. And there certainly wasn't anything suspicious about it when she was in the privacy of her own room in the company of her mate. It wasn't uncommon that Niva let go when they made love, unable to keep hold when Kimber brought her to orgasm. But no one knew they hadn't been intimate since the birth of their child just seven weeks ago.

"You were right, Kim," said Amalea, with transfixed eyes. "It is mesmerizing."

"You become less affected by it over time," said Kimber.

"Is that so?" she said with sarcasm, looking at her brother's eyes now orbs of glazed onyx.

"There is a reason I only permit married men on the night guards' rounds," he finally admitted, blinking his eyes to no avail.

Amalea shot him a smirk. "I do see the wisdom in that."

The guard paused outside the door briefly then resumed his round. Once down the corridor nearly to the stairs Niva wrangled her aura back into something more manageable.

"Amazing. And this is how you can change your face as well?"

"Aye. Though it's much easier in the light of day. I'd love to show you sometime, but I am tired and desperate to know if you found what I was hoping you would find."

Amalea's face lit up with a smile. "Precisely in the direction you said it would be."

Niva had been secretly keeping correspondence with Kim's sister via letters, explaining the changes in the shire, telling her about herself - albeit vaguely should any human chance upon her words. She wanted to establish a trust with someone on the outside, someone the council gave little thought to and someone who was not loyal to those men.

Niva had felt the pull west the same night she felt Drayce's first flutter in her womb, as if the Earth wished to show them to their new home. Going herself would have been ludicrous. Apart from the impending baby coupled with what a long and perilous journey it would have been, she had been trying to establish a pattern of "good behavior" with the ruling members of the tribe. None had the gumpshon to outright forbid her from leaving the borders of Darkfrith, but they certainly had concern over her control of her special abilities, given that the wrong timing and lack of light could reveal her. And when it became known she was with child that concern expanded to her safety as well. By consistently remaining well within the shire and playing the noble aristocratic wife of a marquess she could push through some of her more controversial changes to the tribe.

So when she felt the winds tugging at her senses she asked the only one that she could to see what could found there.

"Please, tell me everything."

"It was well past the colonies, far past their furthest settlement. For miles upon miles there seemed to be endless flat. I must admit hunting was certainly simple and the beasts are abundant. But then I hit a vast range of mountains. Even if the Americans continue moving west they certainly couldn't settle the mountains the way they do everywhere else."

Niva leaned against a bed post with a contented smile. "What do you think Kimber?"

"It sounds lovely. So much vast wilderness to fly in with mountains to hide us. Now it is only a matter of convincing the rest of them."

"Details, my dear. Simply details."

"Niva it's not so simple. What do we do with those who can't fly? Send them on that journey via horse back?"

Kimber had a point. Sometimes Niva was so accustomed to flight she forgot those who couldn't Turn. As much contempt as she held for the council she had to admit they held a purpose. Before she could continue Amalea spoke again.

"There is something else," she said, her face growing grave. "What drew you to have me look there was not the lovely scenery. There is another tribe."

"What!" exclaimed Kimber and Niva simultaneously.

Amalea nodded her head and continued. "They aren't fair as we are, with their copper skin and shimmering black hair. And they wear jewels with songs that I don't think I'll ever forget."

"Did you make contact with them?"

Amalea shook her head. "Not exactly. A number of them Turned as soon as they sensed me near. I fled. Flew for two days straight. They seem not to care whether they fly in the day or night. Unconcerned with being seen it seemed."

"Because they don't care or because no one is around to see them?"

Amalea gave a shrug. "I wasn't interested in finding out if this tribe was just another Darkfrith."

"Smart. Thank you Amalea," said Niva. She turned to Kimber. "This might make it easier to convince the council of us going there. If this tribe happily flaunts their Gifts in front of humans it puts us all in danger."

"The other possibility is that they simply don't know what is coming and must be warned of the inevitable European expansion lest they inadvertently risk exposure."

Niva felt a grave knot in her stomach. She hadn't expected this. For months she had been sure it was a simple as convincing everyone of their need to relocate. She only needed to know where. Had she been alone she would have left the day she felt that pull without much thought of what she might find. Niva knew she should have known better considering that in less than two years she had a mate and a child and was joint-leader to her kind. Another tribe of drákon introduced a new world of difficulties she wasn't sure how to confront.

"Amalea, I wish to honor your privacy. I won't reveal your status as dragon to the council without your permission."

One of Kimber's brows twitched at this, but he held his tongue.

"But I need you to know," continued Niva, "that if you aren't willing to testify to the council about what you have found it will take months maybe years before we can have our scouts "conveniently" discover this tribe as if we never knew about it."

"I understand," replied Amalea lowering her head. As daughter to the past Alpha's the girl knew what this meant. She'd lose the freedom she'd come accustomed to in Scotland. There would be a sudden string of suitors, pearls and diamonds in hands using bold tactics to make her theirs and the council would have no qualms with this.

She paced across the room. "So you would really let me leave right now if I wished? Go back to 'finishing school?'"

"Your Alpha brother would make sure you weren't seen leaving and I'd take the fact that I'd ever met you to my grave if that's what it took. I do hope you burnt those letters we exchanged."

Amalea began to chew on her lip. "They are in a valise tucked away just outside the shire." She hesitated before continuing. "Along with a map I drew of where the other tribe is located."

Kimber's face drew into a scowl and Niva drew her lips tight in concern.

"I'd like to show to the council myself, if there is a meeting soon that is," she bravely said.

Niva let out a smile and Kimber a sigh of relief.

"It can certainly be arranged," said Kimber.

Amalea began drawing the floral pattern embroidered across the bed spread.

"You know when I left here I couldn't Turn. I thought it a waste to be stuck here my whole life married to some bore if I wasn't even really drákon." Amalea tugged at a silk tassel on the Alphas' large canopied bed and looked around the room at the superfluous decor as if it meant nothing.

"It was just last year after my seventeenth birthday when it happened. My class had gone out on an excursion in the woods to practice our landscapes with oils. I'd luckily chosen a secluded glade to set up my easel and canvas. I wasn't really prepared for how horrible it would hurt. I'd heard stories from the boys but I paid little attention because I was so certain it would never happen to me. Just every fiber and atom of your being ripped apart into infinite pieces. I think fear made me pull myself back together so quickly. Fear for everyone here even though at the time I hated this place. If such fairy tale creatures were confirmed true the hunts might begin and it would be a simple deduction to Darkfrith."

Amalea turned around and sat down on the bed with her arms wrapped around her shoulders.

"It wasn't long before some of my classmates and instructor came. When they found me I had just gotten my bodice back on, though not quite buttoned. Rumors spread about some lover I kept hidden and some lewd behavior. I endured that rubbish believing it was better than being here. I was so lonely until I got your first letter. And then another. And another."

"What changed your mind about this place?" asked Niva.

"You, I guess."

Niva's mouth drew downward into a frown. "I haven't changed much," she said glancing out the still open window, then down to her infant.

Amalea shook her head. "Oh but you have. Some have tried to change things. My mother for example. She didn't even make it past the council chamber threshold. And look at you, sitting next to my brother with a babe at your breast telling those stuffy men how the future is going to be while your own secret agents get to help behind the scenes." Amalea began to beam proudly.

Niva couldn't help but see her point feeling her constant fatigue having been an acceptable sacrifice. A surprising giggle sprouted from her arms, as Drayce began to laugh at his smiling Aunt.

"He likes you," remarked Niva.

"He certainly does," added Kimber. "He barely lets me hold him and you've got him enthralled."

"May I?" asked Amalea with outstretched arms.

"By all means," replied Niva, happy to get the weight off her back. She passed Drayce over, tucking and folding the shawl over his extremities.

Amalea made silly faces and big eyes at her nephew eliciting further giggling. He tugged at one of her curls and she tickled his face with the rest of her loose hair.

Kimber shot a conspiratorial smirk at Niva, then glanced through the open French doors out into the night. Niva returned the smile as one of her brows rose.

"Lea dear, would you mind if we went out for a bit?" asked Kimber.

"I'd be honored," she said. "On the condition that I get to see Niva Turn. I've tried to imagine it hundreds of times, but seeing is truly believing."

Kimber took Niva's hand and they skimpered out to the balconey like two freshly wedded lovers. Niva looked back at Amalea, feeling a bliss she hadn't had since that first time she'd flown with Kimber. "Thank you, Lea."

The Alphas Turned to smoke and fire in perfect harmony together, helixing up towards the silky heavens like creeping dusk and charging dawn.

It was only a moment that Lea saw her queen's piercing glow in great contrast to her brother's consuming darkness.

The Terrible Sun and the Dreadful Night. she thought and for the first time she had hope for the future as the two flew in unified dominion over their kingdom.