Darkness was not something Desire associated with calm or safety. She was used to it haunting her every step, clawing at her body and mind both.
And yet now, as her consciousness began to slither back, her mind waking, she felt reluctant to tear herself away from the unexpectedly comforting darkness she was provided by her closed eyes.
Of course, try as she might, eyes closed or not, she couldn’t black out the feeling of ropes around her wrists and ankles, and she couldn’t ignore the footsteps getting closer and closer.
A boot made contact with her leg and it ached in a way that told Desire she had been kicked many times before in the same place. If her eyes weren’t closed, she would have rolled them.
“You’re awake, aren’t you?” the kicker asked. “I can tell.”
Desire took a deep breath and opened her eyes. She ignored the loud, excited gasp from her captor and looked around her prison.
It was a cave; fairly typical for a jail, but the decor was… not. The room was well lit and decorated with books, swords and staffs of all. Some of them radiated magic so strongly that Desire had the distinct itch to pull even further away from it.
Fingers curled their way under Desire’s chin and forced her eyes up to the face of her captor. Her red eyes danced hungrily across Desire’s face.
“Look at you,” she muttered.
“Get your hands off me,” Desire said. To her disgust, she could hear the exhaustion in her voice as easily as the sound of the wind whipping through the Reedcleft Ascent.
“I’ve met some like you before,” the other dragon said, utterly ignoring Desire’s demand as she turned her head. “Well, not like you like you, I’ve never seen anything like what you did. But I do know some of the Shade-touched.”
Desire jerked her head out of the other dragon’s hands. She bared her teeth so fast one of her sharpened canines caught on her lip and broke the skin. “Shut up,” she snarled.
Red eyes blinked once, twice, three times and the other dragon frowned. “Me?” she asked. “What did I do? I was just asking -- ”
“Asking about the Shade,” Desire cut her off.
“Yes of course,” the other dragon said. “The Shade is such an interesting entity. To have such a thing inside you, even if it’s a small part of it, well that’s something I’ve always been interested in.”
The laughter bubbled up in Desire’s chest and burst out of her before she could stop it. “I would gladly give it to you, if I could,” she spit out through giggles.
The other dragon leaned close again. “You can’t give it to me, but you can let me study it,” she said.
Desire sighed and leaned her shoulders back against the cave wall. “And why would I do that?” she asked.
Her captor stood up tall again, a smirk drawing across her pale face. “Because I know what magical exhaustion looks like. And I know even if I untied those ropes, you wouldn’t be able to go far. So, you’re stuck with me.”
Wandering was something Desire was very, very used to. From the exact moment another’s eyes met hers and saw a darkness she herself hadn’t been aware of roiling inside her, she had been lost. Even now, all this time later, she was still lost and she just wandered on and on.
She had found a place, at the side of the first dragon who had put her in the dirt and proclaimed herself a queen over her body. Perhaps a strange turn of events, but one that Desire had come to welcome with open arms. For the first time, Desire felt as if she had her feet planted on a sure path that may actually lead some place better.
But just like before, darkness had shrouded the path before her and had stolen it out from under her feet. It had left Desire exhausted and more frightened than she cared to admit to anyone, even -- especially herself. She could not help but think; if this kept happening… if there was no way to avoid it… what was the point of trying at all?
Forced out of her birth clan as a hatchling, Desire had only known the barest bones of why that was. She’d had to figure out most of it herself. Her magic had come to her in spurts, both bursting out of her with the power of a roaring waterfall and trickling out of her with the comfort of a small, quiet stream. For a long time, her magic was the only companion she had. It didn’t speak like the other creatures of Sornieth, but in its own way, it breathed. And she had loved it.
But one day, her magic came not with power, nor with comfort. Instead, it had come screaming out of her, the edges burnt and black. It had clawed at her skin and her insides both, doing its best to wrench whatever meager control she had over it away. It ate away at her consciousness, casting her into a deep, dark sleep where her dreams were nothing more than oozing, bubbling darkness that called for her both in false kindness and fearsome rage.
When she had woke, she had hoped and prayed that it was nothing more than a horrible nightmare, that her one companion would not turn on her like all the rest. But for all that she had been promised the Plaguebringer looked upon her fondly, her most desperate of wishes was not granted.
Desire locked that part of her away. She donned armor she scavenged from the dead bodies of those who thought she’d be an easy target, and she used it to guard herself and close away the magic she had once depended on so fiercely. She fought on for reasons she didn’t understand, clawing and cutting her way towards something she couldn’t see.
Meeting her Charge was a bizarre change in her life. She had heard rumors of these things that Guardians like herself were supposed to have, and yet she had never felt any need to seek hers out. Desire met Asterion quite by accident, but even after she had, she found she could not bring herself to leave his side.
At first, she was furious. Abandonment was all she had known, and being this dependant on someone she barely knew, something she didn’t want… it felt like another betrayal in an ever growing list.
Asterion had been kind, though. He had given her space as she struggled with conflicting feelings. He had spared with her, and when he discovered how good she was, he introduced her mercenary work. Desire had reminded unsure whether to trust this or not, but she’d had to admit Asterion had never done anything that would work against her, and he had never shown any sign of wanting to leave her.
Eventually, Desire had come to trust him. He became more than just her Charge. They became partners. Good partners, powerful and strong, they had worked together effortlessly to cut down any their blades were pointed at.
Except one.
Akane had stormed into their lives and changed everything. She brought out Desire’s dark, tainted magic like no one had ever been able to. She pushed Desire hard, but had never demanded Desire use her magic again. She had treated Desire like she was something that had worth. She had saved Desire’s life. And she had given Desire a chance to do what she wished with that life.
It was far from the first time Desire had thought about turning back, returning to the Fortress. Part of her felt wrong to leave it, especially now in the wake of death and weakness. But more of her remembered how she felt when she had turned her corrupted magic on Humarya.
Desire had felt like poison itself. Waiting for a chink in the armor, waiting to bring a long, slow, creeping death.
That feeling had brought anger and despair. It had brought her right back to being a hatchling, lost and losing the only thing that had brought her comfort. And so like before, she ran. Like before, she lost herself.
Sometimes what was lost would never be found. But try as she might, that would apparently not ever be Desire’s fate. For a pair of red eyes watched from the shadows, and lips curled upwards as she breathed in and tasted the power on the air.
When the gods walked, the ground shuddered. When they flew, the clouds trembled. The entire earth bowed in their wake.
Their Blessed held more of their power than any other dragon could boast. Most Blessed lived comfortable lives, held in high esteem for their strength by their clan and looked down upon favorably by their deity. But some were not privy to such luxury.
Still, the power remained. It lingered in the air like the electricity before a lightning storm (this is particularly true for those who carry the Blessing of the Stormcaller). It was difficult to not sense the power that rolled of the Blessed in waves, even for those who carried no particular magical prowess themselves.
Desire slowed and her eyes narrowed behind her wolf pelt. Behind her, power snapped like a freshly broken bone. Her tail swished over the ground as she turned, barring her teeth in a fierce snarl.
“I don’t take kindly to cowards,” she said.
Plague eyes flashed as the other stepped out of the undergrowth. Her pale skin turned lighter in the dimming light and she eyed Desire with something close to scorn.
“I don’t think that’s a word anyone’s ever used to describe me before,” she said. She shifted her weight, her black dress sliding around her thighs.
Desire clenched her hand into a fist and the air around them crackled with power. “First time for everything,” she said.
A wall of bright red light erupted out of nowhere but Desire was already moving. She drew her sword and tossed the hilt in the dust as she spun out of the way. A volley of bolts flew towards Desire and she smoothly dodged each one.
Desire made her way forward in a blast of speed. She brought her sword down on the other dragon’s neck, only to have it stopped short by a glittering red shield.
“That’s not right,” the dragon snarled. Her burning red eyes were fixed on Desire’s blade. “That’s not how this should be.”
Desire pulled her blade away and pushed back into a waiting stance. She eyed the other dragon warily. “What are you talking about?”
Her entire face contorted. Her lips pulled back in a sneer, her nose wrinkled like she had smelled something disgusting. “You don’t even feel it!”
This time, the wall came too fast and large for Desire to dodge. She ended up on her back, her ribs and head aching as she wheezed out a breath and shook the spots from her eyes. The rotted earth came to life underneath her, trindles of it wrapping around her and keeping Desire pinned down.
Out of the corner of her eye, Desire could see her opponent pacing back and forth. Irritation poured from every inch of her body like blood rushing from an open wound. “How can’t she tell?” her rival muttered to herself. “How can’t she feel it?”
Desire tried to ignore the thump thump thump of her heart as it sped faster than a Fae’s wingbeat. “How can’t she feel it?” the other dragon asked. Oh, but Desire did.
She felt it in the air that was stiller than she had ever felt before, like it was holding its breath. She felt it in the tremors of the earth beneath her palms. And she felt it in the push and shove of something she had denied in her veins and under her skin.
Desire’s stomach churned as she let her magic free. Red lit, dimmer than the one her opponent had cast, light up. The rot around her wiggled and moved, now willing to do her bidding. The other dragon turned to stare, something akin to excitement lighting up in her red eyes.
Desire pushed herself to her feet and as she rose, she felt good. Strong and whole, in a way she hadn’t for so long.
But by the time Desire stood at her full height, she felt the all too familiar dark poison begin to slide through her veins.
Her opponent lashed out again, a twisted red and green bolt of pure magic making its way towards Desire’s heart. Desire did not counter with a bolt of her own, nor did she erect a shield. She reached out, her hand glowing with red magic. As it glowed between her fingers, black veins crept up to darken the red glow. The bolt shattered in mid air, breaking apart into pieces that quickly turned black and Desire ignored the way her heart beat ever faster.
Rot turned black and died under Desire’s feet. The shock exclamation of her opponent was lost in the roaring Desire’s ears.
Her chest ached, her hands shook, her breath came faster and the world turned darker.
