Chapter Sixteen

The burning temple stood before her, the flames reaching out to the darkened sky. She looked around, feeling the scorched soil beneath her knees. Her eyes downcast to the body of her mentor that lay before her, the arrows penetrated his back. Life no longer existed in his eyes. She looked up from him to the two large orcs and the human male, the fire raging behind them. The orcs had the monk's blood on them, but the man was clean. His black hair swayed in the ember winds, his eyes cold, but he displayed a humourous grin on his face. He stepped closer to her, handing the bow off to one of the orcs. He set a foot down on her mentor's head, pushing his face deeper into the dirt.

"The time has come, Rayne." Ravnyk finally spoke, outstretching his long, pale fingers to her. She looked up at him, feeling moisture flood down her cheeks as her heart filled with hate and rage. She slowly got to her feet, his hand still extended to her, waiting for her to accept his invitation.

"I'll die first before joining you." she spit back at him. He chuckled, reaching out and grabbed the collar of her shirt, pulling her in closer.

"You won't die. You will be at my side, just as you should be." he smirked down at her, his hand moving up from her shirt and clenched her throat. She gasped, grasping his hand, but he only tightened his grip more. She coughed, feeling her throat threatening to close up from the squeezing. "You are alone now." he chuckled, his dark eyes like a void trying to suck her in. His boot broke the structure of her mentor's skull, blood oozing out. Her eyes looked to the building behind him, the air that was once filled with the screams of her friends, was now filled with the cackling of the fires.

A soft rumble caught her ears, but her eyes grew hazy as she felt her body struggle to not give out. The rumble slowly grew louder, becoming more distinguished as it did. It was a growl.

Rayne felt Ravnyk's hand weaken and then release her. She dropped to her knees, clutching her chest as she gasped for air. The ground trembled as the growling got closer, the image of Ravnyk's feet backed away from her line of sight. A shadow fell over her, the growling hanging over her head. Rayne took the risk to glance over her shoulder, but what she was seeing was not what she was expecting. A large, golden dragon hovered over her, but it was fixated on Ravnyk and his orcs rather than her.

"The world needs you, Rayne Winters." a woman's voice spoke through her mind. It was gentle, but there was power behind it. In a seering light, she was blinded and everything around her went white.

When she opened her eyes, the scene was gone and what greeted her was an empty white space. She slowly got to her feet, looking around, but there was nothing. She couldn't even smell the smoke anymore. The soft growl returned, forcing her to spin around and meet eye to eye with the golden dragon. She stared at it with a mix of awe, confusion and fear. The dragon rose its head up high, looking behind Rayne. She peered behind her and saw the knight she had been traveling with. His hair had grown longer than what she remembered, and his goatee was shaped. He raised a brow at her and folded his arms against his plated armor, a smile on his lips.

"Speak with Xerath. He is the way to restoring the balance of this world." the woman's voice spoke again. Rayne looked back to the dragon, but it was gone. A hand tugged on her arm, jolting her forward into a walk. She stumbled a moment before regaining her balance. Gideon was pulling her along. She felt the warmth in his hand seep into her skin, assurance and confidence coming from it. She watched his profile, the way he held up his head high,even knowing what the world could be facing, he still held strong. She let her eyes fall shut, taking in the moment.

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When her eyes opened again, the scene changed. Her eyes adjusted to the partial view of a bedroom with stone walls and a purple glass tinted window. It was dark outside. A desk sat in front of the window with a stack of books and papers. A book shelf stood next to it, each shelf filled with a variety of books. She blinked several times, but her left eye remained dark. She jolted upright, her hand waving in front of her face, but she only saw half of it. Realization settled in, and she gently clenched the heavy quilted blanket that covered her. Soft snoring caught her attention and she turned her good eye toward a sleeping figure with their head resting on the bed beside her. Her eyes softened as she watched him sleep, seeing the same length of hair that was in her dream. She cautiously reached out to it, running her fingers through his hair slowly. It was soft against her skin. She didn't remember it feeling like that before. She got curious and brushed his hair aside carefully, spotting the goatee that he also adorned in her dream. He looked so peaceful next to her. She poked his cheek gently, but he grumbled in response. She raised a brow, poking a little harder. His brows pushed together, finally twitching awake. He stirred slightly at first, slowly sitting up as he yawned, exhaustion displayed on his face.

"Good morning." she said to him, and he looked at her tiredly. When his brain finally registered what was happening, his eyes slowly widened and a smile lifted his cheeks. She blushed lightly at the expression he showed.

"Rayne." he spoke her name tenderly, his hand reaching out and brushed his fingers against her cheek lightly. She felt the heat in her face rise more at the interaction. She avoided his gaze and touched her left eye. His smile faded.

"He was able to save your eye, but it might be some time before you get your full sight back. His troll really messed it up." he said, and Rayne dropped her head into her hand. She remembers vaguely of their battle, and the feeling of pain rampaging her head. Everything else was a blur.

"Are you okay?" she asked him, moving the topic along. He shrugged, but his eyes didn't leave her.

"Nothing I couldn't handle with some stitches and rest," he twitched his lips, "you were asleep for quite some time." he said, and she peered up at him through her hair.

"How long was I out for?" she asked, and he sat back, rubbing his neck as he avoided the question for a minute.

"A month." he finally said, and Rayne dropped her hand to her lap. He looked back at her, "You were fighting a fever non-stop after he healed you. Your body was going through a traumatic experience and it shut down," he grabbed her hand, "I thought you'd never wake up again." he said softly. She looked at his hand, taking in his warmth. She recalled the dream, feeling the same warmth then as well.

"Where is Xerath?" she asked, pushing past him and got to her feet. She wobbled, but his hand caught her waist and steadied her.

"He's cooking right now. You need to take it easy. Let me go grab him and the food, just please, get back in bed." he pleaded with her, and she looked up at him. She sighed and fell back onto the bed. He stared down at her before leaving the room. She raised her hand above once more, confirming one last time that her left eye couldn't see.

"That dragon. I've never seen it before." she mumbled to herself, closing her eyes as she rested her hands above her head. She could see the creature clearly in her mind. It protected her from Ravnyk, but why?

A few minutes later, the door opened and an older man stepped into the room. His long white hair flowed freely, and he had a long white beard to match it. He wore a long dark blue robe, stars stitched in the seams.

"I'm glad to hear that you're awake." he smiled at her, but she sat up and away from him. He stepped aside as Gideon followed in, carrying a tray with two steaming bowls on it. The smell drifted into her senses and she started to salivate. Gideon rested the tray on the desk, and brought over both bowls, passing one to her. The smell overwhelmed her senses when she took the bowl into her hands. Gideon sat beside her, raising a brow when she stared into the stew.

"Do I need to feed you?" he teased, but she continued to stare down at the steaming bowl. Gideon's smile slowly faded away and shot a glance up to Xerath. The wizard nodded slowly, pacing to the desk and took a seat.

"I know this isn't what you were expecting." he started.

"It's not that," she interrupted, resting the bowl carefully in her lap, swirling the beef and potatoes with her spoon, "I toyed the thoughts on the walk up here."

"Ravnyk has a firm grip on the King and his people." Gideon said, his jaw clenching and unclenching. Rayne looked up at him, watching the anger and helplessness mix in his eyes. Xerath turned to the desk and picked up a rolled up parchment. When he unfurled it, an image projected before their eyes. It was the throne room, King Abel say upon his throne just like any King would do, but the atmosphere had changed drastically since they had left. King Abel appeared terribly ill, his once full cheeks were now concaved until his skin took shape of his bone structure. Life had no existence in his eyes, but that wasn't what drew Rayne's attention. The shadow behind the throne, and piercing cold eyes stared in return. A shiver crept along her spine as if she could feel Ravnyk's gaze within this room. Xerath quickly rolled up the parchment and set it aside once more. Gideon reached over and grasped her hands in his. She was trembling, but not of fear.

"I want him dead just as much as you do, but we have a whole Kingdom against us when we return." Gideon squeezed her hands gently. She slowly started to relax. What had she become like this with him? Was it because she was unconscious for so long?

"The golden dragon..." the words left her lips before she could stop herself. Gideon's hands stopped squeezing at the mention of the creature, and the screech of the chair shifting against the stone floor as Xerath crossed the room to her bed.

"You've seen her?" he asked, and she looked up at him quizzically.

"So, it was her voice." she said, her eyes slowly dropping away from his gaze as she recalled the dream.

"What did she say to you?" he asked eagerly.

"Back off, Xerath. She's been out cold for a month, let her eat first." Gideon glared at him, releasing her hands, "Please eat, then tell us everything." he lifted her bowl out of her lap and she took if back into her hands. Xerath stepped away, stroking his beard thoughtfully.

"This is extraordinary news indeed," he put his hand on the doorknob, "I'll return in a moment, I need to grab something." he hurried from the room, closing the door behind him. Silence fell between them, only the smell of stew filled the space.

"Eat." Gideon said a bit more forcefully, pushing the bowl closer to her before turning away and started eating his own. Rayne peered down at the mixture of meat and vegetables.

"How were your wounds?" she asked, finally taking a bite. The broth soothed her dry throat, the beef savory on her tongue. She held back a moan of delight.

"Nothing a healing spell couldn't take care of. I was more concerned about yours." he nodded to her left eye, "I've seen your scars, I know you can take a hit, but you lost a lot more blood." he stopped, his eyes focused on his stew. "Your heart stopped at one point." he spoke the words slowly. Rayne glimpsed at his face. His sapphire eyes had darkened as a look of regret crossed his face. She hadn't seen that look before. Her chest tightened at his expression. Her body began to move on it's own, her hand reaching out and brushed his hair from his face. The affectionate gesture caught him off guard and they met gazes. Her heart started to accelerate when she gazed into his eyes. She retreated her hand.

"I'm alive now," she hesitated, looking down at her stew to avoid his gaze, "thank you." she whispered, feeling the embarrassment settling in her face.

"Don't get all sentimental on me, Winters." he chuckled. He went back to her last name again. Why does that bother her now?

Xerath returned, carrying a thick, red leather bound book in his hands. He grabbed the chair and placed it next to her bed. He ran his fingers over the blank cover as he sat down.

"You met her in your dream, correct?" he asked her as Rayne filled her mouth with another spoonful of the stew. She nods, her eyes on the book. Xerath opened the book, skimming through the pages until abruptly coming to a stop, an image painted on the page. He held up the book to them, revealing a golden dragon. An unknown text sat beneath it.

"Well, I can definitely tell you that the dragon looked far more realistic than that," she pointed to the text, "what language is that?" she asked, and Xerath lowered the book slowly back into his lap.

"It's Draconic, an ancient language carried down in those with the dragon blood in their veins." he said. Gideon let out a sigh after polishing off his bowl.

"I don't know the language, but I know what race you're referring to. We don't have many in the kingdom, usually travelers from other countries. They are descendants from actual dragons, right?" Gideon asked, sitting back on the bed until his back rested against the cool stones.

"In a way, yes. There are a few theories to how they came to be. No one has the balls to deny them though." Xerath said, flipping to the next page.

"Deny them? Like how the dark elves are treated?" Rayne asked, and Xerath chuckled softly.

"Yes, and no. They have the appearance and power of a dragon, but they are a generic human size, mostly on the taller side of the ruler. I'd rather believe they are a dragon kin before melting from acid for saying otherwise." he shuddered at the idea.

"What's her name? The dragon from my dream." she asked, and Xerath inclined his head, his eyes casted down to the book, running his slim fingers over the page.

"She has gone by many names, but her true name is Aetherius."