“Should we ask a fire witch to come?” I wondered vaguely, noting the twin scowls on Astrid and Vela’s faces when I mentioned them. I shrugged—it made sense to me.
“The fire witches have been...contrary lately,” was all Vela said. Astrid shot a questioning eyebrow but didn’t say anything else. Astrid, Vela, Benedict, and Kieran were ready, prepared to venture into the volcano. Ronan needed to heal, still in need of blood and rest. Benedict and Kieran had both emptied a generous portion of blood into cups to help Ronan to kickstart the process. I’d kissed both in thanks, Kieran smiling widely while Benedict huffed, a small dark tinge appearing on his cheeks.
“It is so he doesn’t kill you,” he had insisted, and I gave him a knowing look in return.
Our group stood in a circle, waiting for Benedict so they could set out. I stood next to Astrid defiantly.
“You’re not going.” Benedict immediately stated.
I bared my fangs.
“Like hell I’m not.” I hissed back. His purple eyes glanced at the observing crowd.
“I don’t want to fight you in public.” He hissed.
I quirked an eyebrow. “Then don’t.”
I sauntered away to join Kieran, feeling Benedict’s eyes on my back. He exhaled through his nose, then stalked forward with Astrid, not saying anything further. The mountain loomed at the north end of the island. Kieran bumped up to my side, and I gave him a small smile.
“I bet the island looks different,” I offered, and he sighed.
“Our race and culture are not as they were, so in a way it’s fitting to start over with something completely new—The Lost Siren and the King Who Almost Wasn’t.”
The names jolted against my consciousness, feeling like a second layer of skin that didn’t fit properly.
“What do you mean?” I asked, not knowing much of Benedict’s history. As far as I knew, he’d always been in line to be king.
“Bair was not his only sibling. He had an elder sister, as well. She was in line to rule first.”
Had? I wanted to ask more, but Benedict came up behind us.
“The mountain has many passages we are familiar with—we used to mine it for resources before the war. In Dark Haven, we worried it was our mining which triggered the eruption. It’s comforting to know we weren’t the cause.”
Benedict paused.
“I can simply shadow walk us to the entrance of the tunnel. There is a risk it could be caved in.” He gave a cautious glance at the witches, but Astrid merely flashed him a wicked grin.
“Not a problem if I’m with you.” Vela assured him, and held out one dainty, green hand. “I can instantly sense a barrier of earth and remove it.”
Benedict reluctantly grasped her palm, and Astrid linked from her. Benedict offered his other hand to me, the rough calluses of his palm sliding against the small scales on my skin. I shot him a glance, but he stared resolutely ahead. Kieran slid his hand into mine.
“Now.”
We disappeared into shadows, reappearing in a dark tunnel. The heat was what I noticed first, slapping my face like a physical blow. The air was thick with humidity, and it took me a moment for my breathing to adjust. Vela took in the black, hardened walls around us.
“A lava tube that took the path of an old passage?”
Benedict nodded once, and she clicked her long, black claws together in thought.
“Let’s hope we don’t piss it off again, then.”
Astrid strode forward with confidence, sure to stay one half step ahead of Benedict, who was struggling to keep his frustration and ego in check. I slid beside him.
“Are you alright?”
“I don’t like witches,” he murmured. He walked away, quickly putting distance between us. I frowned.
“Fire demons typically like to stay in the center of the volcano, where the hottest part of the core resides.” Vela lectured as we walked, the ground sloping steadily upward. The tunnel opened into a larger antechamber, with a partial cave-in. We halted in front of it, Astrid frowning as she put on hand on the oddly textured, black rock.
“I don’t think—”
The rock moved, and Astrid leapt backwards as it uncurled, straightening into a creature that filled the entire space of the antechamber.
“Shit, shit, shit.” Astrid chanted under her breath; her hands already raised to ward off any fire.
“Always so helpful,” Benedict taunted, and I smacked him with one wing. The creature had a humanoid shape, but no identifiable features as it’s face and body were covered in hardened magma. Where its limbs bent cracks emerged, fresh lava dripping down and pooling in clumps all over its body. The creature sniffed, turning to face us as we backed into the tunnel we had come from. It gave a low moan as large, almond-shaped eyes flicked open, pitch black in color.
We all held our breath.
“That’s not a fire demon,” Vela gasped, and we backed up further. “They aren’t this big, and they don’t feel so—”
“Wrong.” Astrid finished, her face filled with confusion and fear. We kept moving backward, away from the creature, who had yet to attack us.
“You said it was sentient, so why don’t we ask it?” I added, while Benedict stood rooted to his spot, frozen as he stared. No one answered me, so I tentatively moved towards the creature.
“I said fire demons were sentient, we don’t even know what this is—"
“I’m Wren. What’s your name?”
I flared my wings wide, an instinctual move to make my body appear larger to this unknown predator. I didn’t expect the groaning mass of hardened lava to answer, but it slowly fell to its knees, its hands reaching out for me. I braced myself as it inched closer, then went past me, stopping right in front of Benedict.
The king of the drakens didn’t move as one blacked finger the size of his body reached him and halted. He tentatively laid his palm on
