I nearly laughed at how offended he was on my behalf. “He showed back up, but he clearly got out of there as fast as possible once you and Cyrus got into it. I don’t know what he was planning, but either way, it’s always been clear to me that he doesn’t truly love me.”
Calix froze, looking up at me, “He would be a fool not to.”
I stilled, taking in the meaning of his words.Did he…?
I shook my head; I couldn’t think of that now. “He loved an ideal of me that doesn’t really exist. That’s not love.”
“No.” His eyes glowed with green and blue, wrapping around the purple and shining bright. “No, true love accepts people as they are. It sees them for every aspect that makes them who they are, and loves that person because of them. Sometimes, even despite them. Love is gritty and real; it's not an ideal to live up to.”
Water filled my eyes, and I desperately tried to blink it away.
Calix watched me, concern written all over his face. When I finally managed to get my emotions under control, he sighed, “I know you’re the heir, Asteria, because I saw the glow surround you when your magic broke free.”
I cocked my head to the side, looking up at him. “The glow?”
He nodded in confirmation, “It surrounds any chosen heir. Usually, it happens when they are born. However, what happened to you, when your magic was released… I don’t know what you’d call that except for a rebirth. It makes sense it would appear again.”
I took that in, along with a deep breath, but he continued, “Unfortunately, I wasn’t the only one to see it. Cyrus saw it, too.”
My head whipped back up to his, and he nodded grimly. “We know he was already making moves to align with Day?—”
“And there’s only one kingdom missing an heir. An heir he promised to find for Aelius.” I concluded, a shiver running through me.
Calix growled, the rumble vibrating through me. “He will never touch you again. Ever.”
I nodded slowly. “Then I better figure all of this out quickly.”
Calix calmed some, clearly agreeing. “I did promise you some explanations. You told me before about the rage you always felt. Your emotions unable to be controlled at times?”
“Yeah?” My brows rose, unsure what that had to do with anything.
He smiled slightly. “That’s the dragon within you. All dragon shifters struggle with similar issues. When I was younger, I had to learn to control my rage and other emotions to prevent them from controlling me. I can help you learn to do the same.”
My mouth hung open in surprise. “You’re telling me all the emotional upheaval I’ve always dealt with has been, what? Normal?!”
Calix nodded calmly, a reassuring smile forming on his lips, “Basically, yes. For dragons, anyway. Our emotions are always up and down, swinging hard one way or another. But rage? That rage fuels our fire. I can only imagine having your dragon side forcibly repressed for so long meant it often bubbled up in other ways.”
It made too much sense, thinking back to the ways it felt like my blood would heat in my veins. I groaned out loud, “And you can help with this? Getting my emotions under control?”
Hope sparked in my chest, bright and loud.
“Of course. You’ll learn to harness them and let them fuel your power.” Calix lifted my chin up with his finger. “Those emotions are perfectly normal to feel.Youare perfectly normal for feeling them.” I didn’t want to admit the way my eyes teared up at his reassurance. “It’s all about figuring out how you are letting them affect you and your life. How you can prevent them from taking over and letting them control your actions. It’s all about control.”
Calix slowly smirked. “And you’ve always wanted more control over your life, haven’t you?”
Chapter Ten
Asteria
“Lesson one:fueling your fire and redirecting your rage.” Calix began, standing in front of me on the cliffside. He said it would be easiest to release my fire and fly here, and I couldn’t say I wasn’t looking forward to it. Just that brief shift I’d experienced was amazing, and I couldn’t wait to try it again.
“Find the rage inside you. Think of things that usually enrage you.” He instructed, and I thought back to Cyrus. To the rage I felt when he had me captive.
“Once you’ve felt that rage, I want you to shift into your dragon form. Take all that rage and spit it back out as flame,” Calix continued, and I let the rage build and build inside me.
When I finally felt that spark in my blood, like it was heating inside my veins, I let my dragon form take over once more. The shift from Fae to dragon was just as surreal as the first time, even being more aware of what was happening now.
Still, I focused on Calix’s instructions, and I let the rage flow out of me, fire spitting from my maw over the cliffside and out into the sky.
