Syrra

AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH MATE TO THE DRAGON IS AT 2 MILLION THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH FOR ALL OF YOUR SUPPORT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!! As a thank you I wrote a really long chapter (I think it's long anyway) and I hope you enjoy it :)

btw your guys' comments after Ash and Jaxon kissed were the greatest things I've ever read and I'm a little shocked at how much you guys ship them XD And for the few of you still wanting Jax and Taylor to get together, I'm gonna tell you right now to let it go. Jax is gay and Taylor has her own mate. It's not gonna happen.

This one is half-edited so I hope there aren't too many mistakes :)

********

"Yeah that'd be fine."

"Are you sure?" I ask.

She nods. "Yeah I trust you and you both can take care of yourselves," she shrugs.

I grin. "Thank you, is there anything you need before we leave?"

"Actually yeah, can you check on Ash? He usually makes the trip to werewolf territory and back in less than a week and I'm starting to worry. Especially since my son Jax is probably with him," she says.

"Of course. I will send Rexall over the Mountains, he'll find them," I assure her.

"Thanks," she murmurs with a heavy sigh.

I walk out of her office and down the hall where I run into Kaine. "What's going on?" he asks.

"I have to go back home for a few days check on things, and you're coming with me."

He raises an eyebrow at me. "Really?"

"Yeah I just talked to your mom and she said it's okay."

"I've always wanted to see the witch clans," he says with a smile. He leans down and kisses me lightly on the lips.

"Well before we leave your mom asked me to check on Ash, she's worried something happened to him," I explain.

"Oh gods I hope not, I really like that kid."

I make a face. "Kid? Kaine he's like twenty years older than you."

"What? No way. He looks like he's like 17," he scoffs.

"He's a dragon, you guys look like you're 17 until you're 30 and you don't even look old until you're well past a hundred," I snort.

"Seriously why do you know that?" he mutters, turning and walking down the hall.

I roll my eyes before following behind him. I speed up until I'm walking beside him.

"How are you going to check on Ash?" he asks.

"Rexall, he has really good eyesight and he's a fast flier," I say as we reach my room. I sit down on the floor and hold out my wrist.

"Wait can I see too? If my brother's with him I want to make sure he's okay," Kaine says.

"Yeah hang on," I mutter. I press my palm onto the tattoo and close my eyes and whisper my dæmon's name. My eyes snap open and I see the inside of a bloody carcass. "That's just lovely," I murmur. I throw it forward so Kaine can see.

"What the hell is he eating?" he asks.

"I don't want to know," I grumble. I press my fingers onto my tattoo. "Rexall where the hell are you?"

A scratchy voice meets my ears almost instantly. Kaine snorts beside me and I roll my eyes. "Rexall just get out of the damn deer, I need you to look for Queen Zari's messenger. You remember him?" I ask.

"He's the tall guy with long hair right? The one with the scars on his face?" my dæmon asks.

"Yeah he's somewhere in the Zhyden Mountains, most likely with the Queen's son."

"It's getting dark so they're probably in a cave," Kaine says.

I glance over at him. He's chewing on his lip and his fingers are tapping against his knees. "Kaine don't worry, Rexall will find Ash and your brother too if he's with him," I tell him.

He nods but his jaw is still clenched. He's really worried.

Rexall flies over the canyon, searching for any sign of movement, but he doesn't seem to find any sign of life at all. What feels like hours pass and still nothing.

I rest my head on Kaine's shoulder as weariness washes over me. It's dark outside now but Kaine is fully alert as he stares at the floating window.

"Where the hell are they?" he growls.

"They're here somewhere, it's a big area though so it might take a while," I say.

"Syrra what if they're not even in the mountains?"

I look up at him and my eyes widen at the pain on his face. "You really care about your brother don't you?"

He sighs. "We've always been close. Our mom would bring us here to train, my sister liked partying better so she stayed in the wolf pack while Jax and I did literally everything together. The problem is things around here have been kind of intense for a while so we had to stay away and Lucifer is always on edge there and my temper is shorter and I turn into a completely different person while I'm there. Before I left I was a dick to him and he didn't deserve that at all."

"Like I told you before, we all make mistakes," I murmur.

"I see dragon fire."

My gaze snaps towards the window. Rexall flies lower, towards a cave illuminated with a red light. I sit up quickly.

"That's definitely from a dragon. You can't build a fire that color," Kaine comments.

"Rexall get closer, remain unseen though just in case they're not friendly," I murmur.

"He's a big-ass bird how is he supposed to get close enough to see who it is and stay hidden?"

I smirk. "Rexall is not an ordinary creature. He was created from shadows and is practically invisible when it's dark."

He just looks even more confused. "How―wait, so he's uh―what?"

I roll my eyes and wave him away. "I'll show you at some point, it's way easier than trying to explain it," I say.

We turn back to see Rexall approaching the cave from the ground. It moves closer and after just a few minutes, we can see two figures inside. They lay down beside a blazing red fire that burns on nothing.

"My gods," I hear Kaine breathe beside me. Then he laughs. "Way to go big brother," he chuckles.

I squint, looking closer until I realize what he's talking about. There's a young man with wavy red hair that must be Kaine's brother, and his arm is wrapped around Ash who lays on his shoulder. My attention immediately goes to the bandage on Ash's head and the stitched up wound on the side of his chest. "Ash is hurt."

"And Jaxon has been taking care of him, how fucking adorable is that?" Kaine chuckles.

"Kaine we should send someone to help," I say and he shakes his head.

"Hell no. Jaxon helps the healer a lot, he knows what he's doing. Besides, my brother has always been worried that he'd never find a mate but now he has a chance. He doesn't like telling people and if we send warriors then he's going to distance himself from Ash to keep them from finding out and it's just a bad idea," he tells me.

I nod but my eyebrows are still furrowed in confusion. "I wonder what happened," I murmur. "Since female Fury dragons almost always died giving birth, the male dragons would raise their offspring together. A few decades ago it was more common for two males to be bonded mates than a male and a female."

"Yeah well now dragon territory is full of young douchebags that don't understand what it even means to be a Fury dragon let alone any of our history. They're all just judgmental assholes."

"Is that why your brother doesn't seem to be in a hurry to get back?" I ask.

"Probably, I mean he's not supposed to shift outside the circle because he has to wear a collar but knowing him he'd risk it if someone else was hurt."

I wave my hand to make the window disappear. "Is his dragon one of the spirits?" I ask.

He nods. "Yeah. My mom makes him wear a cold iron collar when he shifts because she thinks his dragon is more powerful than hers and she's worried because Jaxon never actually had to fight for control like all Fury dragons do."

"Well I should go let your mom know that your brother and Ash are okay. Does she know that Jaxon wants a male mate?"

He nods, standing up. "Yeah he told her after he told me. How are we getting to the witch clans?"

"Well it's only about a half a day's walk past the volcanoes," I shrug as Kaine pulls me to my feet.

"Or a five minute flight," he grins, leaning down to kiss me.

I wrap my arms around his neck, standing on my toes. "Why do you have to be so damn tall?" I murmur against his lips.

He growls a little. I gasp as he grabs my butt and lifts me up. I wrap my legs around his waist, smiling as I realize my face is level with his now. His eyes are fiery red, exactly like Lucifer's eyes.

"So you're gonna let me ride your dragon?" I ask.

He smirks, cocking up an eyebrow. "Excited to ride me?" he growls with a flirty wink.

I scowl making him laugh. "I'm just kidding!"

I shake my head but I can't help the smile on my lips. "You're an idiot."

********

"This is amazing," I breathe, "I've always wondered what a cloud felt like."

He chuckles. "I can fly around for a little longer if you'd like?" Lucifer asks in the dragon's tongue.

His voice is a deep, rumbling growl that sends a shiver down my spine. "No it's alright, just go to the tree. There should be enough room in front of it for you to land," I say.

I sit up as he starts to descend. My gaze wanders over the clouds that turn silver under the moonlight.

The wind blows my hair back and I close my eyes with a sigh. "Gods I wish I could fly," I murmur.

I open my eyes as Lucifer lands gently in front of a massive tree that stretches over a hundred meters into the sky. He crouches so I can slide off of his back, carefully avoiding his razor sharp spikes.

I stand facing the tree until Kaine slides his arms around my waist. I lean back into his chest with a small smile.

"You seemed to enjoy Lucifer's company more than mine," he growls.

I smirk a little. "Are you jealous of your own dragon?"

"I'm jealous that he seems to have better game than me."

I laugh, shaking my head. "You have nothing to worry about," I say, tilting my head back so I can look at his face.

He grins and kisses me lightly on the forehead.

"You have clothes on right?" I ask.

"Of course, the last thing I'm gonna do is go streaking in the presence of the witch queen," he chuckles.

I roll my eyes as I turn around to take my pack from him but he swings it over his shoulder before I can. I shake my head but he just shrugs.

"You might want to wear your armor while you're here, some of the creatures here like to play pranks," I warn, walking towards the tree that glitters with hundreds of tiny lights. I climb up the winding wooden staircase running around the trunk of the tree, glancing behind me to make sure Kaine is still following.

"Where is everyone? Like I know it's night but seriously, there's not a single person outside," Kaine says.

"They're not gonna come out for another hour or so, the nocturnal creatures tend to sleep until the middle of the night but then they're awake until a few hours after dawn," I explain.

"Why?"

"I honestly have no idea. They're strange creatures, nobody really understands them," I admit.

We reach the top and I push open the heavy doors. I look around the circular room, frowning a little when I notice it is empty. "Okay now this is not normal. Something must have happened," I say.

Kaine steps in beside me, looking around as well. "I'm guessing this place normally has people in it?"

I nod. "I need to see what day it is," I mutter. I head down the hall on the other side of the room and up another flight of stairs.

I throw the heavy door open to my bedroom and immediately go to the set of maps on the wall. One is covered in a series of constellations and lunar cycles with small notes written all over it. I search for the current lunar cycle and matching constellations and relief washes over me when I read the tiny scrawl beneath it.

"Syrra what's―oh my gods," I hear Kaine breathe.

I turn around to see him crossing my room with an awestruck look on his face. A large section of the wall is missing just across from the door but the floor continues so you can step outside.

I walk outside with Kaine, smiling at the amazement on his face. He stares out at the lake below us. It stretches all the way to the horizon, seemingly endless. The moonlight shines through the clouds and onto the rippling water.

"This is so beautiful," he sighs, curling his arm around my waist.

The air is suddenly chilling, so I lean into the warmth that always seems to surround him.

"So why is it so empty?" he asks.

"Tomorrow's a blood moon. The night before a blood moon is supposedly cursed. Anyone that is outside at midnight will be taken by the darkness," I tell him.

"Wait really?" he asks, sounding panicked.

I shrug. "The darkness is one of the few stories that is still just a myth. My parents didn't believe in it but remained cautious in case it was true."

"What do you believe?"

"I think the darkness is real, but I don't think it comes to take people the night before a blood moon."

"So does that means it's safe to be outside?"

"Yeah it's fine. I'm going back inside though because I'm exhausted," I sigh, sliding off my dress. I toss the fabric into a basket and pull on a nightgown from my dresser.

"Where am I sleeping?" Kaine asks as he drops the packs.

"You can sleep here, it's the only room in the tree," I say.

"Oh okay."

I climb into the bed, sighing as the silk sheets hit my skin. Weariness fills my bones but I can't get my eyes to close. The bed dips a little as Kaine lays down beside me.

"Syrra?"

I roll over to look at him. "Yeah?"

"Do you believe in the Moon Goddess?"

My eyebrows furrow. "How else would you explain werewolf mates?" I ask.

"Well yeah but―like do you think she does more than just assign mates to werewolves?"

I prop myself up on my elbow. "What do you mean?"

He sighs then shakes his head. "I don't know, never mind." He holds his arm out a little.

"Let me know if you figure it out," I mutter, laying my head on his chest and curling up against his side.

He kisses the top of my head, hugging me close to him. "I will."

********

I clench my jaw tightly, fury coursing through me. "Step down."

He smirks down at me, leaning back on the throne. "You know, I don't think I will. It's too comfortable up here," he sneers.

I feel a tingling in my fingertips. "Step down before I make you," I snap.

He guffaws, throwing his head back. He finally sobers after several minutes and twirls his fingers, glancing pointedly at the black smoke that wraps around his hand. "Back off little girl before you get hurt."

"Black magic doesn't scare me," I spit. I raise my hand and slide the blade of my knife across my palm. I growl out the incantation, smirking at the sudden fear written across his face.

I flick my fingers and he keels over, screaming in pain. He clutches his head, his nails digging in so hard that blood runs down the sides of his face.

I stalk forward, pulling my shoulders back and holding my head high. I grab the collar of the man's shirt and yank him to the side. He collapses onto the floor and curls in on himself.

I sit down on the raised throne, waving my hand. The man quiets and glances up at me, his whole body shaking.

I watch him expectantly. After a few moments, he crawls across the floor until he is front of me. He puts his face to the floor. "My deepest apologies Queen Syrra," he whimpers.

I let my gaze sweep over the room filled with creatures of almost every race. My eyes lock with Kaine's on the other side. He stares at me, his golden gaze unreadable.

"Anyone else want to take my throne?"

********

So yeah this is a pretty long chapter (it's actually twice as long as my usual chapters) but I hope you liked it anyway! I'm going to do Kaine's POV after this. (BTW for those of you that don't know, the title of the chapter is what POV the chapter is)

Please COMMENT and VOTE!!!!!!