15 Flowers on a grave

Elementals = someone that can use one of the elements (water, air, fire, earth) together with their magic – can be any magical species and they are very powerful
Soulbiter = someone that is part of a group that wants to take over both planets
***POV - Zagon
I walk into a wall of pack guards. Okay, something is up. Harron and Stephan stand there, tense, ready to fight. They don’t even look at me; their focus on something else. Could it be the man? Or maybe that fucker woke up from his slumber and is trying to get to Eni again. A wave of antipathy cascades over my body. Fuck … since I’ve met my lovely mate I’ve been a walking emotionally strained bomb – and I hate it.
“What’s going on? I swear you can cut the air out here.” I haven’t noticed Puck, but I seriously wish the little shithead would find another place for his butt than my shoulder. It's getting rather irritating.
But he’s right … there’s a vibe of uneasiness in the air; strained; hostile; rigid.
My tension grows and my hand reaches for the hard handle strapped against my side. The guards open a path for me to walk through, and then I understand why everybody is so on edge.
There, in the middle of the waiting room is a fay. And judging by his clothes he’s a warrior. And judging by his tattoos, he’s an elemental; a person that can control one of the elements with his magic. A normal fay is dangerous … a warrior fay is very dangerous … this man is beyond dangerous.
“Fuck,” Puck pulls my hair; flabbergasted. And for good reason too … you don’t get to see an elemental very often.
The man doesn’t seem bothered at all, instead, he’s walking up and down the room, arms crossed in front of his chest, looking rather bored.
“Yes, can I help you?” My heart is beating, not because I’m scared to fight this fay, but because I’m scared that Eni might get hurt again. How freaking comical is that? I meet my mate and suddenly I know what fear and pain are. Funfuckingtastic.
“I’m here about the flowers,” his deep voice answers. There’s not even a hint of fear or anxiety in it. I stare at the man, his brown cloak covers most of his green and brown outfit; some weapons are stuck in a holder running from his left shoulder to his right hip. Around his wrists are leather strips, tied like a bandage, decorated with orange beads. For a moment I’m lost … what flowers?
“Must be the ones Bud left on your mom’s grave,” Marrok suddenly whispers. Where did he come from all of a sudden? I didn’t even notice he moved in next to me … but then again … these last few days I haven’t noticed a lot of stuff. Shit, I’m a mess … I need to get my head out of the clouds and fast or something bad could happen.
The fay runs a hand through his long dark hair, the harsh hospital lights giving his green eyes a sinister shine.
“Who are you?” Stephan asks first.
“The name is Ignit, your majesty. How can I help?” He asks straightforwardly, not wasting time, looking straight at me instead of the alpha.
“You know who I am?” Stephan frowns. As if that’s important right now.
“I know a lot.” Great, then he can share his knowledge with us, cause it feels as if I know shit.
“Well, let’s go talk then,” I’m eager to learn what you know, but you just try something green-eyes and I’ll put you underground so fast you won’t even see it coming.
“We can use my office, it’s soundproof,” Stephan starts walking towards the exit, grabbing the fay’s arm as he passes him. Great move by the alpha. Harron follows right behind, but I’m still standing in the same spot next to Marrok.
“Bro, can you stay with Eni,” because I don’t trust any of these other fuckers to keep her safe. He smiles widely and I roll my eyes.
“Sure thing … but be careful, you know your head is up there somewhere these days,” he points to the ceiling, a teasing look on his face. I pull a face back, but I know he’s right. I haven’t been myself lately and we can just blame little miss hybrid for that. Fuck, I still can’t believe that.
“I’ll keep him in line,” Puck pulls some of my hair to bring his point around. I growl and he lets go quickly, pulling his lips into a straight line. My boots squick over the bright white tiles.
Maybe I can kill the little bugger and get Eni a real cat. I smile widely. His face falls.
“You can’t replace me,” I swear he read my mind. Is that something sprites can do? I have to look it up.
“Eni loves me … more than I can say about you. And maybe I’m clairvoyant … beware demon … beware … “ he wiggles his fingers as if he’s putting a spell on me. Okay, this is getting creepy. I flick the little shit from my shoulder with my finger.
“Dip-ship!” he shouts while flying through the air. It’s ‘dip-shit’ stupid. I shake my head with a smile. Maybe I’ll keep him. He’s actually entertainingly cute. And … he’s back on my shoulder again.
We walk out of the clinic back to the castle. It’s raining.
“I’m not freaking cute!” Whoa, this is getting ridiculous. There’s no way he can read minds. He tucks under my cloak to hide from the rain. I’ve changed into my usual hunter gear after I’ve taken Eni to the clinic. Well, couldn’t walk around in that ridiculous, but very useful, thong the whole time. And it’s not that I don’t like Earth clothes … I just feel more at ease in my hunter outfit.
We bundle into Stephan’s office, the fay spreads himself on the chair in front of the huge fireplace, wet and cold. The rest of us choose to stand … in case we need to fight.
“Okay boys, I’ve come a long way so how can I help?” Suddenly it dims on me – how the hell did he know where I am?
“I’m not tracking you, I went to the house and your brother sent me through the porthole.” This is really not funny anymore. Is everybody suddenly a fucking mentalist? Or do I have a thought bubble above my head?
I take a piece of paper from my pocket and thrust it into the man’s hand. He opens it and starts reading the words, that are imprinted in my brain, out loud. I’ve memorized that stupid thing, going over it like a million times since Amy wrote it down.
All kings rule, one insane
the innocent will get the blame
from the ashes, a feud will fire
friend will call …
He stops reading, scrunching the paper in his hand a few times. He stares into the fire for a while before speaking again.
“It’s the prophecy … what about it?” Hell, you tell me. You’re the one that knows everything.
“Is it the truth?” I ask instead. He’s now slowly moving his right hand in a circular motion, his index finger pointing towards the fire. I notice the flames forming shadowy figures. Shit … he’s a fire elemental …
“We suspect so … “ he pauses when there’s a knock on the door. Stephan opens it and a young omega girl hands him a tray filled with cups of hot soup. My tummy rumbles and I eagerly take one, handing another to the fay. I can be friendly and a good host if I want to. He takes a few sips in silence, savoring the warmth.
“This is good,” he mumbles and he’s right. Well, not surprisingly… cooking is something wolves excel in; maybe because they eat so much.
“Okay, as I said … we think it’s true.” He doesn’t elaborate but instead drinks some more soup.
“Why?” Puck asks before I can.
“Well, do you know about the Elder Gathering?” Nope, but now I really want to know what it is.
“Yes, my grandfather and father are there now,” Stephan says quickly. Okay, so his father and grandfather must be the alpha king and his son.
“Mine is there too,” Harron continues as if everybody knows this stuff. Elven king. Kings equal Elders. Make sense.
“It’s a meeting where our Elders go to Earth and meet up with Earth’s leaders. It happens once a year,” Puck whispers in my ear.
“Exactly … all the la-di-da’s of both planets in one place … not very safety conscious, therefore the secrecy,” Ignit is playing with the fire again, this time creating devil-like faces, screaming in the flames. I like his sense of humor.
“Anyway, a few years … eh … 20 years to be exact. Can it be? Gosh, how time flies when you’re fighting a prophecy,” I’m not sure if he’s talking to us, to the fire, or to himself. Twenty years? It’s a long time.
“Sorry, 20 years ago, something happened at the gathering. And we believe that was the start of the prophecy.” He stops and stares into the flames again and I feel like dropping a bucket of water on the fire. Maybe if it’s extinguished, he can concentrate on what he’s saying. His pauses are irritating the shit out of me … and he talks in circles. The door opens and Blade strolls in. He sits down on the chair next to Ignit, holding his hands towards the fire, shivering. Vamps get cold much faster than wolves and demons.
“What happened?” I’m annoyed by how slow this is going.
“Apollyon Nox tried to assassinate the Commoner king with his nether-blade. The king survived, but the demon disappeared. And later the vampire king, Vladimere Nikolaevich, helped him to attack THIS castle, killing a few royals in the process,” Harron fills us in, hatred clearly audible in his voice.
I tense upon hearing my father’s name and quickly look at the fay. I can see in his eyes that he knows the truth. Duh … my father sent him. But is he going to tell? Does it matter? Not really.
“That’s the story … but what most people don’t know is that all of it was a setup.” Another pause again. I clench my hands into fists, trying to gain some patience.
“A setup?” I’m trying to not grab the guy and shake him until he tells us everything. I am really trying.
“Bullshit!” Harron growls, slamming a fist against the table. “I’ve seen both Apollyon and Vladimere that day. Hell, I even caught Nox bending over my sister’s body. He killed her on her wedding day, for fuck’s sake.” Shit, my father killed his sister … on her wedding day … how more fucked up can one be … hell …
“Not!” the fire twirls violently in the hearth as if showing its power, “Listen first, prince and then I’ll prove it.” The fay points a finger at Harron, his expression serious. Harron backs down, but his blue eyes are filled with hate.
“You see, Apollyon is a super genius. He worked on manipulating DNA strands, and he perfected it by creating … eh let’s go with stronger being,” he glares at me with a strange look I don’t particularly like.
”But never mind that now … long story short, they framed him to steal his research. But only got half and it’s written in code … as I said – genius.” Okay, for a third time in like two months, my world is shooked and turned upside down. First I find out Polly is my dad, then I find my mate, now my dad might not be the monster everybody thought him to be. What the fuck?
“So, you’re telling us that Apollyon was framed to steal some research? And that’s the start of the prophecy … “ Harron looks disbelievingly at the fay.
“That’s exactly what I’m saying.” I roll my eyes – another fucking pause.
“So what about the vampire attack on the wedding then?” Puck asks.
“Apollyon and Vladimere tried to stop it but was too late. And what you saw, “ he looks at Harron, “Nox actually saved your sister … the only way he could … didn’t he?” Harron turns his face away, looking sad. “And the poor vampire king was also betrayed by his own … and he’s desiccating in a tomb right now.”
“So, let’s say all this is true …” Blade uses huge hand gestures, “Who stabbed King George Edward Windson 3rd, why did he lie, who framed Nox, and how did they get Apollyon’s blade?” He holds up a finger for each very good question.
“Before you can enter the gathering, you have to hand in all weapons … that’s how they got his blade. We’re not sure why the king lied about the attack, but we suspect him to be a Soulbiter, the group that framed Nox. As to who stabbed him exactly … that we don’t know … probably another Soulbiter,” he answers each question patiently but as if it’s not important.
“It seems to me that you don’t know everything after all,” I’m getting frustrated by the lack of answers this man is giving me. At the moment he’s just creating more questions.
“Boy, I’m just telling you what you need to know right now, and that is that your father is innocent,” it seems as if he’s looking straight through me; seeing my darkest parts. Damn. Why me?
It takes a minute for the information to sink into the rest of the room before shocked faces fall onto me. Yeh, what can I say, people, I’ve got a famous dad it seems. Maybe.
“How do I know he’s really my father?” He could say anything to get us to help him. I need some proof.
“He is, and you have the mark to prove it.”
Instinctively my hand moves to touch the mark on my face. The fucking cursed thing I was born with.
“The dark mark.” Ignit whispers. Oh, it has a name – good to know. He lazily twirls his finger and the flames ignite into a blazing ball of fire. Mesmerizing and hypnotizing.
“Is it a good thing or a bad thing?” Harron’s blue eyes are on my mark.
“I can’t say, maybe it’s just a thing.”
“You said you will prove everything … ” Stephan says.
The man then gets up and strolls lazily to the huge wooden table. He picks up a stone from it; holds his one hand open flat and places it on his palm. He looks at Harron, both their eyes glowing like jewels; one icy blue; one apple green. Then Harron nods. Okay, again I don’t have a clue what’s going on.
“Everything I said here is the truth,” the stone on his hand glows bright white and everybody in the room looks shocked.
“It’s a truth stone - white is truth, black is lie,” the tiny omniscient on my shoulder whispers softly in my ear. Okay, so truth it is.
“You can trust Apollyon,” he continues and the stone stays white, “and it was nice to meet all of you,” this time the stone goes black. He drops the stone on the table with a smirk.
Marrok bursts into the room to inform us that Enigma is awake and I fight the need to run to her, but I can’t help my huge grin. Ignit winks at me, looking rather pleased.
“Keep in touch, boys. Oh, and be very careful who you trust.” He walks up to Blade and looks into his eyes for a while. “Some should not trust a brother,” then he walks to stare at Marrok, “and some should recognize a brother.” What is all that about?
The man opens the door, pulls his cloak tighter, and follows the two guards. All of us stand silently, watching him go, even more confused than before and an eery silence creeps slowly through the castle as if waiting in anticipation for what’s to come.