Omega's Rebirth-Chapter 700: The Academy 3 ()
It all happened so fast, Neveah could barely keep track and wolves were presumably faster than dragons in human form, but in this moment, Imagor proved that to be terribly wrong.
One minute he had just arrived at the hall, how he had even picked up on Neveah’s whispered words were unknown to her but in the next moment, he made for Celeste, his eyes blazing with unmistakable killing intent.
At the next moment, Kirgan had restrained Imagor, also in a move swifter than Neveah could comprehend, but not before Imagor sent the dark fairy, Celeste flying across the room, where she crashed harshly into a pillar and then slumped down to the ground.
Neveah’s ears twitched, picking up on the sound of cracking and snapping bones and she dearly hoped fairies were more tenacious than they looked.
An odd sense of relief settled on Neveah when her gaze zeroed in on visible heartbeats from Celeste...the dark fairy still lived, and all hope was not lost for Zephyr.
For a moment, Neveah had feared Imagor would be too impulsive, but he had clearly withheld his strength knowing what was at stake now.
"Where is my son?!" Imagor roared furiously, struggling against Kirgan’s firm hold.
Imagor was usually the most composed of the King’s guard, yet in this moment, he completely lost his cool and Neveah could not even cast blame... Zephyr was Imagor’s one and only child, the child he and Kaliana had through so many difficulties, almost at the risk of Kaliana’s life.
The premature birth of Zephyr had resulted in the child being born as a dragon egg, before his human side could fully take form and even up till this moment, the couple had never seen what the human side of their child looked like.
Everon had said Zephyr would heal from the premature birth slowly and only retain his human form at his own time. It had been nearly two years since, Neveah could not even imagine the heartache the couple experienced everyday, fearing their son would never truly be a full dragon shifter.
Yet they loved and adored him for what he was, however it would turn out. Everyone did...but now, Zephyr’s life had also been pulled into this never ending battle of supremacy.
The response to Imagor’s wrath was not much more than Neveah had expected. Her brows furrowed in displeasure when Celeste’s amused giggles filled the hall, quickly graduating into full blown laughter.
Neveah’s conscious attempt to keep this unfortunate turn of events from the dark fairy had been rendered fruitless by Imagor’s outburst and now Celeste knew... that the dragons were in a bind and her life was no longer at risk.
"Need we still await sundown? I am fine to wait...but I do not believe the Lord of Argentine Scales can afford to be that patient." Celeste taunted weakly as she struggled to get up to a sitting position, despite the chains securing her limbs.
Imagor snarled, a low and deadly sound that was backed by a dark growl from Menarx, and even a hiss of rage from Master Maloway, but Celeste was not at all fazed.
"Imagor...stand down." Neveah said in a tight tone, her glare still fixed on a cackling Celeste.
Imagor growled lowly but he complied, shrugging off Kirgan’s hold on him, he turned away from the rest of the hall, running a hand through his hair in a bid to tame his frustration.
Neveah beckoned Kirgan over with a slight nod of her head and she walked over to the side with Menarx, ignoring Celeste’s cackles.
"When did it happen?" Menarx asked in a low tone.
"A little over two hours. Imagor did not wish to burden you as it might just have been Zephyr’s mischief. But with a dark portal, two hours is more than sufficient time." Neveah replied to Menarx’s question.
"We scoured the academy, Zephyr never came here. There are no signs of him whatsoever." Kirgan related to Neveah.
"It seems he was taken away right from the courtyard and for it to not have alarmed Zephyr, it is likely a familiar face. Does it mean...it was an inside job?" Kirgan whispered.
Neveah picked up on the momentary acceleration of Menarx’s heartbeat, a change Neveah knew she was the only one who would notice due to her sensitive hearing.
"He was last seen two hours ago, those away from the Keep at the time have a strong alibi. And the patrol made no sightings." Neveah said, subtly conveying to Menarx that Adrienne’s alibi was solid this time, she had been in the courtroom with Menarx all along and still was. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎
However, that did not entirely absolve her of guilt... Adrienne had hardly ever done anything without borrowing the hands of others, and her mind manipulation ability was truly concerning.
"How can we be sure they have him?" Menarx asked.
"His scent...was all over the whisper orb." Neveah replied to Menarx in a grim tone.
"Is the dark fairy all they want?" Menarx asked Neveah doubtfully.
Neveah hesitated for a moment before revealing it fully.
"The message read..."
’A fair exchange...’
’The dragon spawn for Celeste...’
’A life for a life.’
’Come alone... wolf princess.’
Neveah relayed to Kirgan and Menarx. Menarx hissed beneath his breath.
"We cannot bargain with dark forces. They are sure to have an ulterior motive and it is impossible for you to go alone." Menarx said firmly.
"This is Zephyr in the question, Narx. We have little choices." Neveah reminded.
"Are we to submit to some unknown dark force?" Menarx hissed.
"No...we must find a way to turn this to our advantage." Neveah said thoughtfully.
"What do you mean?" Kirgan asked uncertainly.
"Think about it, if this dark fairy is someone of importance to the dark forces, her death at this time might trigger more repercussions than we are prepared for."
"We do not fear repercussions, but there is no harm in letting loose a bait that can topple the enemy in the shadows for good. We can send the dark fairy back to them and get Zephyr back...but not without leaving a track." Neveah said meaningfully, her gaze moving between Menarx and Kirgan.
"But how do we know they will not hurt Zephyr even after getting her back?" Menarx asked doubtfully.
Neveah passed a look to Imagor who now had an eye on them but did not come over. He knew he would hear of the way forward when it was decided and he also knew Zephyr was the first priority to his brothers.
"Zephyr must be unhurt. It does not matter what they intend to do...we have to make it so." Neveah said firmly.
