The light from the lantern did little to push back the shadows as Askerian continued to traverse the spiral stairwell, leading him down into the deepest parts of the Celestial castle.

This part of palace Celeste was a stark contrast to the rest of it and he never thought that he’d find a part of it to be so eerie. Every inch of the rest of the structure screamed starlight and flame, much like its creator, but even Ardent had a darkness to her that she hid from the rest of the Celestial realm, a side that the new Ark was well aware of.

Research Department. I bet they do crazy experiments down here. There was something else that had him standing on edge, something sinister was lurking within the confines of the shadows and whatever it was, it was watching him.

Where the bloody blazes is it? As his feet reached the bottom step, he shifted his energy to his eyes, taking advantage of the dragon’s curse.

He could see that he was at the basin of a dark corridor, stone pillars standing guard along the edges of the long hallway, holding the cathedral ceiling above them. Stone statues stood proudly between each pillar, like gargoyles, ready to attack at a moment’s notice.

Just as he approached one of the carved structures to get a closer look, a shadow darted out from behind it and rushed towards him

Askerian fell backwards, dropping the lantern. It landed on the floor with a clang, but the light didn’t go out, illuminating the beast that had Askerian pinned to the ground, the cold floor seeping through the leathers on his back.

He was face to face with blade sharp canines that were attached to a gaping maw of what appeared to be a very large wolf, larger than normal. A low, but menacing growl sent shivers down Askerian’s spine.

The heck is this thing doing here in the castle? I need to get rid of it before it attacks someone else. He thought, before calling on his dragon powers and shifting halfway, his long legs growing shorter.

Pulling his haunches back, he kicked the wolf creature in its stomach will full force, the shift giving him more space for the maneuver, and sent the lycan flying towards the far end of the hall where the stairwell wound its way upward.

He flipped over, getting to his feet, shifting his legs back into long human extremities. Then turning around to face the approaching beast, he inhaled deeply, then let out his dragon fire with a single breath of flames.

The flames stretched out towards the end of the hall where the lycan stood, the creature disappearing beneath the gold and red river. The Hall was illuminated then, flames erupting on the sconces that hung on the pillars. Askerian surveyed the freshly lit corridor for signs of the creature.

“Congratulations Askerian. This realm has accepted you.” A masculine voice spoke, seeming to have no spot of origin. Then the shadows along the walls coalesced into the giant wolf at the end of the hall before shifting into the shape of a butterfly and then, a fae boy.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Askerian readied his stance, his hand on the hilt of his sword. “Who are you!?” he demanded.

“You can call me Ace. The lycan unseelie.” The boy spoke with a smirk that lit up his pale face. He was short in stature with a muscular build and only wore a pair of trousers, his feet bare with nails like claws. His dark hair and violet eyes reminded Askerian of the other unseelie he had seen in the courtyard, the vampire boy.

He cocked his head to the side. “Do all unseelie have dark hair and violet eyes?”

Ace gave a hearty laugh. “That’s what you choose to ask?” he said doubling over, his laughter filling the long hall.

Irritation flitted over Askerian’s face as he glanced around the illuminated area, realizing the “gargoyles” were actually statues of the Ark Knights. Each one protecting a mahogany door along the walls behind the pillars, banners of Gaian kingdoms flowed downward beside each door. Only one door stood bare, the statue a giant hunk of stone.

Next to the plain door was a sight the dragon rider never thought he’d see. “It can’t be.” The statue was made in his likeness, the banner next to the door beyond it, a black flag that flowed to the floor, carrying the emblem of Moria on it.

“I see you found your office.” Ace said, making Askerian jump slightly.

“Don’t just sneak up on people!”

“If you haven’t noticed, I’m a shadow being, an unseelie, it’s our thing.” Ace deadpanned.

“What do you mean by office?” Askerian enquired, his gaze returning to the door.

“Well this is the hall of the Arks.” Ace explained, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Only those who are qualified can come here. Otherwise, they get the lycan treatment.” He said with a big grin.

“Well, I’ll be looking at that later. Where is this Research Department? I’m supposed to be meeting Lady Seraphina there.”

Ace gave another laugh. “You have so much to learn.” He stepped passed Askerian towards the opposite end of the hall, then turned on his heals. “Its this way.” He nodded his head, signaling for the new Ark to follow.

At the end of the hall stood two enormous mahogany doors. On each was a golden wreath of feathers that joined together with a garnet. Golden sconces stood in the center of each wreath, the familiar flame danced from the embrace of the sconces. A red banner hung on either side of the large entryway, each banner holding a flame, golden flecks danced around the flames, like embers or rather, stardust.

“The Ardent flame.” Ace spoke, a wave of awe shone in his eyes as he said the words. “Comes in handy when you’re an Ark or any knight for that matter.”

“And why might that be?” Askerian asked in a gruff voice.

“We don’t call it the Ardent flame for nothing.” He turned to Askerian then. “You may have noticed the flaming sconces around the kingdom, they mimic Lady Ardent’s state of health.”

Askerian observed each sconce. “How is that possible?”

“How is anything possible?” The lycan shot back gently.

“Touché”

“Now, you may be wondering why these doors are so large. The Research Department lies beyond them. It’s one of the biggest rooms in the palace. Just a word of advice…”

“What is it?”

Ace sized Askerian up and down before answering, “Don’t touch anything without permission.”

As he was about to protest, the unseelie disappeared, just as the doors creaked loudly, fanning open slowly, anticipation rushing its way through Askerian.