Dragon Aster Trilogy

4: I WANT YOU HERE WITH ME



Sybl looked at Damek as the realm of death started to become brighter. She didn’t need to find his soul in Aragmoth—he had led her right to it. Of what memories she had of Damek in her past life, she knew that there were always two edges to his blade. Two faces that would switch without warning. With his Eminor half gone, but still watching, she was left with a debate against his soul. A soul that was proving more deceptive than one of light might suggest.

Before she could anticipate Damek’s next move, Cirrus walked over to her. He took her hand into his, and knelt down on one knee to introduce himself as one of the High Guards of Toria.

Her blush burned away all that she was thinking. Even here, Cirrus was beautiful enough to make everything else insignificant.

Cirrus gave a humble smile, but it looked to be the hardest fight of his life to face her.

“Come, Asil. Toria has been too long without its Caelestis,” Damek said, holding out a hand to her. “I want you there with me.”

Sybl took a step forward to follow both of them, until a harsh, cold wind stung her spine. She turned around as it felt like the eyes of the entire forest was staring at her. But Cirrus’ touch brought her focus back to him. His hand left her shoulder and rested against her forehead, as if to check her for a fever.

She stood dumbstruck for a moment, as he looked to be feeling for the right Threads to somn with her. The uncertainty in his touch might have suggested that she was a broken toy that he couldn’t quite figure out.

“The chimeras are attempting to expand their lands again. We will need to step up our efforts against them,” Damek said.

Cirrus looked at Damek as the both of them looked to decide something by psi, before focusing simultaneously back on her.

Damek broke into a laugh that sent a chill down Sybl’s spine. In the realm of death, it seemed that not only the deer spirits were the ones walking on the edge of complete madness.

“Do you not trust me?” Cirrus asked, diverting her attention back to him.

Sybl felt her dark blue eyes glow against her control. His face was next to hers before she knew it, and his warm breath brushed over her ear. His body heat made her heart melt to the point it might not start again if he let go of her.

“I won’t hurt you.” He walked around her and placed his hand on her back, before somning into his dragon form and trying to scoop her up between his claws. But her fear continued to prevent him from touching her, and his Ancient simply phased through her like a ghost.

Sybl stepped back, as the memory of him trying to pull her back through the Rift to Aster flashed through her mind. It was then that the mass of fire struck them both.

Cirrus tried again, this time using only the back of one of his fingers to touch her, but again, he passed right through.

Sybl looked at Damek as his expression changed, likely having not foreseen her reaction to Cirrus.

“This looked so much easier when Simera somned with Serena. What am I missing?” Cirrus asked, looking back at Damek. He unsomned, then looked her over, before stopping his eyes on the Mei glyph on her arm. Strangely enough, it was not a Mei, but the opposite Aliyr mark that was usually given to the male. “Maybe I need to turn into a female,” he joked, and carefully picked up her wrist. It didn’t take him long to realize the glyph led to a phelan somnus.

“Looks like we won’t be able to have her so easily,” Damek said.

Sybl pulled her arm away from Cirrus, then looked back to the woods where the eyes she felt earlier appeared from behind the trees.

“Is that where you would rather be, Asil? Amongst the chimera monsters?” Damek asked, sounding incredulous.

“You’re one to talk about appearances,” Sybl retorted.

“So be it.” Damek lifted his sword to the height of his neck, and took aim at the angry spirits in the trees. “If you believe that these monsters would serve you better, then I will have to prove you wrong.”

Sybl shielded her eyes as Cirrus somned back into his dragon form with an angry rush of wind. Then he set himself between her and the chimeras. She looked to where the stag from earlier appeared, as a circle of leaves flew around him like a tornado.

“Do you wish to leave, my Lady Caelestis?” the deer asked, unbothered by the fact that two dragons were in the path of its answer.

Sybl looked at Cirrus as the white dragon bared his teeth to say otherwise. “Can I take him back with me?” she asked the stag.

The deer expanded in size until its antlers towered over Cirrus.

Cirrus stepped back, having never seen a chimera expand to match him in size. “What is this?”

“This is what happens when a corrupt creature steals a soul larger than itself.” Damek lowered his sword and somned into his dragon form. He stretched out his dark brown wings, and let out a threatening cry at the stag. His battered form alone, that exposed his muscle tissue and bones in some places, was already enough to scare anything to death that was not already dead.

The stag met his attack with its antlers that expanded and caught the dragon in dozens of spear-like points. Then the chimera tossed him back to the frozen pond as if Damek were merely an illusion of the weight he had taken to.

Before Sybl could get out of the way, the stag hastily stepped over her. It caught Cirrus in a similar fashion, but brought him down with more force that shook the ground like an earthquake. Then he kicked him into the Rift that Cirrus’ blood had created.

The white dragon cried out as it tried to escape the pull of the Rift, and Sybl couldn’t stop herself from running to him and grabbing his claws. A gentle nudge from the stag’s nose sent her falling away from the realm of death, right behind her dragon.



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