The Ice Queen "Fate" - Ch. 20 (Patreon)

Cassian

Hynden is waiting in my office as I enter. She turns to face me, bowing upon my entrance. I had the weapons and bullets sent for her to analyze on the Dragonborn side of the island. I assume since she is here, she has the information we need.

My gaze shifts to my desk which already has everything spread out across it for me to go over. As I move behind my desk, Hynden opens a file folder, spreading blueprints out on top of the already filled desk. I can tell by her silence I’m not going to like what she found. And as I sift through the pages, I see that I am right. Rage fuels me as I take in the information.

“Humans have once again stuck their nose where it doesn’t belong,” I growl aloud.

Hynden hesitates slightly, pushing back papers to hand me the blueprint.

“They’ve created a weapon specifically targeting your wife. The bullets are coated with a synthetic version of her DNA allowing it to penetrate her skin. They’re light enough to fire at extremely high speeds.”

My stomach dips as I snatch the blueprint from her. My gaze narrows.

“And these rounds are lethal?”

“Not yet. They’re enough to shock her system, but if they keep going in this direction, I fear they’ll be able to unlock one with the potential to be lethal. And my sources inside tell me they’re getting close.”

Stillness fills the air as both of us come to terms with what this means. This wasn’t a one time attack. And whoever it is won’t stop until they have her and are able to experiment on her enough to unlock the secrets of our bodies. They’ve put a lot of time and resources into ensuring they can put her down if it comes down to it.

“Do we have any leads?” I ask.

Hynden shakes her head.

“We’re working on it. The manufacturer of the gun distributes across the world, it’s going to be difficult to sift through the clients and pinpoint the exact location of the warehouse. But we did do a crosscheck between the humans brought to the island and the distributor. It’s between three countries at the moment, with the U.S. being the biggest target.”

I release a bitter laugh.

Of course it is. The United States has always been after more than they understand. And once they realize they sent won’t be returning, they’ll be enlisting the help of other countries, putting us in a bind. Brineau is the only place most ancients reside. The others scattered across the world in hiding. If it comes to war, it will be us against the world. And if they unlock Neytiri’s DNA, the Ikniri will be in trouble.

I take a deep breath looking at Uric.

“Leave us.”

Ulric bows slightly, leaving the room. I wait until he closes the door to take a seat, giving Hynden my undivided attention.

“How are you adjusting to the colonies?” I ask.

Hynden releases a bitter laugh looking at me.

“If I say things are good, will you let me leave?”

I shake my head in disbelief.

“What is your disdain for your own home?”

“That is not my home that is a refuge-”

“That is your home. Our home is gone, Hynden. We will never get it back. That world we grew up in no longer exists. And in case you haven’t noticed, this one is in jeopardy as well.”

“Is it? Or is your precious Ikniri?”

“Watch yourself,” I growl.

Hynden’s eyes widen slightly and she takes a seat, looking at her hands.

“It is so small. It is not my home,” she whispers.

We’ve had this same argument over the centuries. Hynden’s hatred for the Ikniri grows by the day as she is constantly reminded of what they took from us. Their cowardice wiped out generations of families, including her own. She resents that I have helped the Ikniri come back from where they were in the first place. It’s a luxury that our people, unfortunately, do not have.

There are so very few of us left.

“When is the last time you visited the colonies?”

I release an irritated breath from the accusation in her tone.

“You know I am busy-”

“With the Ikniri?”

Hynden releases a bitter laugh.

“I don’t understand you Cassian. You are our king, not the Ikniri’s. Why do you focus on them as if they aren’t the reason we are like this?”

“Focus on them? I’ve built a sanctuary for all Dragonborn-”

“A sanctuary? This place is a prison. We cannot be free here and you know it. We are Dragonborn. We are meant to fly and roam. We were meant for lands greater than this,” Hynden hisses.

“I gave you lands, Hynden. You did not take care of them. You let your greed and anger towards Xander ruin everything I fought for. You let the lands become overrun and the humans grow out of control,” I growl.

“I was not meant to be the High King! Humans rule the world with hatred and evil. We need to take back what is ours before they run it into the ground, and you won’t because of her? The world is out of balance!”

I stand from my seat.

“I’m not doing this with you again. You are dismissed,” I say.

Hynden stands, the heat in the room rising along with both of our tempers.

“You are a coward! Her feelings are more important to you than your own people!”

“I chose my people once before! I burned the world for my people! I killed her for my people! But fate has forced her back into my life. Can’t you see? She is the key to ending all of this, she is the key to fixing what was wronged all those centuries ago!”

Flames erupt in the room, everything catching ablaze as I exert my authority. Hynden’s eyes widen and she takes a step back, bowing her head in submission. I squeeze my eyes shut, taking a deep breath before releasing the steam from my mouth. The thick smog rises to the ceiling, the room still crackling from the flames.

“I chose my people over her… and I lost everything. I gained nothing from it. Not even revenge. I lost my men. I lost my friend. I lost her.”

I hold my hand out, quieting the flames.

“I have nothing, Hynden. My family is gone. Do you think I do not see that our people are gone? That only a handful remain? After everything, she came into my life and taught me how to feel again. How to be something other than an angry soul. And when she came back as a woman, she need only say it, and my heart was hers.”

Hynden looks at me with sorrow in her eyes. Tears spill over her cheeks and she drops her head in her hands. I take a deep breath, stepping around the charred desk to stand over her. I hesitate slightly as I take in her sobbing form, placing my arms around her shoulders to pull her into an embrace.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you. I’m sorry I abandoned our people to exact revenge instead of building what was left. I lost my way and I wasn’t the king you needed me to be. But I’m here now, and I’m ready to make things right. I can no longer turn a blind eye to fate.”

Hynden pulls away from me, looking towards the window.

“Fate…”

“Yes, fate. I need you to be with me during this time, Hynden not fight with me because of the Ikniri. This is bigger than what happened between our people. This is about uniting us.”

Hynden chuckles bitterly.

“Uniting us?”

I nod.

“For too long our people have remained separated. We must bring them together. No more of this animosity.”

My gaze shifts to the window and I take in the Ikniri village in the distance. It’s grown so much over the years, unlike the Dragonborn.

“It’s time both sides meet their queen.”