He flinched—subtly—at the Dragon Master’s name.
“All High Lords can heal simple things. Think of it as first aid,” he said. “But only descendants of ancient blood—like Gleeda—are high healers. Aurelius bears the mark of ancient blood with his silver hair, but his healing ability is only that of a High Lord.”
For the first time, it felt like he was truly opening up. I believed every word.
“TheLithovore said she trusted me because I was a child made of ancient blood,” I said. “What is that?”
Titus’s face paled.
His eyes widened, pupils shrinking as he whipped toward me and jerked his hand back. He went very still, eyes shifting like he was piecing together a puzzle.
“What? Is it bad?” I asked, suddenly scared.
He blinked like he snapped out of panic, exhaled, then shook his head.
“No,” he said.
“Just… explains a lot.”
He interlaced his fingers and pressed them to his mouth, elbows on his knees.
And just like that, the window of transparency between us slammed shut.
But I wanted answers. The very thought of having relatives— family—filled me with aching longing.
“Am I related to Aurelius and Gleeda somehow?” I asked. “Titus, come on. You can’t say something like that and not tell me.”
He sighed, then finally spoke. "It's a long story." "You're immortal, you have time." I said dryly.
He gave me a defeated look and stared into the flames. “In the beginning of time, before the Fae, humans, and shifters, there was only one realm: the realm of angels. They were the first species to exist. The Creator ruled the angels, naming four to be Archangels, to enforce peace and order.”
“For many years they did, and they were given a new species as a reward: dragons.”
“The God Dragons?” I interjected.
“Precisely. Four God Dragons for four Archangels.”
He continued. “One Archangel—the most loved by the Creator— became consumed by his power. He turned away and persuaded many angels to revolt. The Creator, furious and heartbroken, ripped a hole through time and space and banished the traitor and his followers to the lowest part of existence.”
“With the evil banished, the angels lived in peace for eons. But over time they became bored and restless. Worried about another revolt, the Creator added new life to enrich their lives. Humans, Fae, shifters, and many other lesser forms like sprites and animals were created to expand the realm.”
“The remaining three Archangels were instructed to use their God Dragons to maintain peace. Over time, many angels grew jealous and wanted the beautiful creatures for themselves.”
“The Creator decided to make a less powerful dragon species for the rest of the angels—like the fire dragons back home.”
“But the imbalance of power among the Fae, humans, shifters, and angels caused so much suffering that the Archangels lost control, and the species went to war.”
“The Creator became furious at the pointless death and suffering. Realms were torn into the universe—one for each species—separating them by power level, and all channels between them were closed.”
He paused, then said, “The Creator became enraged with the remaining three Archangels because they were too busy interbreeding with other species and had failed to maintain order once again.”
“The God Dragons were taken away, but the Creator did not have the heart to destroy them. Knowing their power was too dangerous, they were split up and hidden among the realms in a deep sleep.”
“The three Archangels were banished into a sub-existence to guard and maintain the divided realms for all eternity, without living among creation.”
“Those three, imprisoned Archangels are the Guardians of the Realms.”
I swallowed.
