I exhaled a long sigh of relief.
“It worked!” cried Evolene.
“Fyri, how’s your wing?” I asked.
“I-it hurts,” she replied in a small voice. “I think it’s dislocated, like what Gobi did to your arm.”
I winced. “Sorry. I didn’t think the weathervane would explode like that.”
“N-neither did I.”
“Can Fyrian move her other wing?” asked Evolene. “She might be able to steer us to a soft landing space.”
“That’s a good idea, but I don’t want to move my head in case I break the dandedragons.”
“Use my eyes, Fyri.” I clung to her back and stared down at the mountain’s surface. A group of males stared up at us from the banks of the Great Lake. From this distance, it was hard to tell who they were, but I hoped they’d been dosed with the elixir.
Dragons flew around us, but not too close to cause the dandedragon seeds to fly away and none tried to attack or lift us off Fyrian’s back. They could probably tell that we were helping her land safely.
Just as we were about to land, a gust of wind caught Fyrian’s outstretched wing and blew her off-course. Swirling, gray clouds reflected off the surface of the Great Lake. White stalks flew off the seed head, and we sank several feet through the air.
I groaned. “Fyri, keep flapping!”
“Oh, no!” cried Evolene.
“A-Alba… Jump and save yourselves!”
“No!” I turned to Evolene. “Can’t we—”
Talons wrapped around my torso, lifting us both off Fyrian’s back. The movement was enough to dislodge most of the dandedragon seeds
I screamed watching my poor dragon plummet.
SPLASH!
Fyrian sank into the Great Lake like a boulder, leaving only the dandedragon seed heads floating on the surface of the water.
My heart tore into two pieces. “NO!”
Evolene sobbed. “Fyrian!”
I closed my eyes and reached into our bond. Cold terror flooded my senses. The pain of her broken wing weakened her left front leg, but she thrashed with all her might under the weight of the water. No matter what she did, it kept pulling her down.
My entire throat closed up, and despair threatened to drown me, just as the lake was trying to drown Fyrian. If I didn’t push through those feelings and help her now, she would die, and I would die with her.
“H-hold on, Fyrian!” I cried.
“I-I can’t!”
I pushed every ounce of power through our bond, but it wasn’t enough. The lake water swirled around her limbs like liquid vices, holding her captive. A sob ripped from my throat. She couldn’t die. Not now. Not like this! I pushed through our shared memories, every ounce of love I had for Fyrian. She was my closest friend. My bondmate. I couldn’t lose her!
The talons released me. I landed on my hands and feet on the grassy banks of the Great Lake and scrambled toward Fyrian.
A meaty hand wrapped around my bicep and hoisted me upright. “There she is…” said a rough voice. “The Traitor Princess. What shall we do with her?”
Chapter 22
I couldn’t see who had grabbed me, as tears clouded my vision. I couldn’t defend myself with fire, because I’d pushed all my magic into our bond, so that Fyrian could have a fighting chance. As much as I struggled against the male holding me, his grip held like iron.
“Let go,” I cried. “M-my d-dragon!”
“Your Majesty!” bellowed the warrior who wouldn’t release my arm. “I’ve got her.”
“Well done, Captain,” said King Magnar. He shoved a handkerchief into my hands. “Do tidy yourself up. It’s your wedding day.”
The words were a cold, callous, slap across the face. I reared back, heart thudding. “Fyrian’s fighting for her life under the Great Lake, and all you can do is think of marriage?”
He flicked a dismissive hand. “My blue dragons are nudging her out. Fyrian is also needed for the war effort.”
Another rough hand spun me around. The surface of the lake darkened and rippled, then Fyrian’s head emerged. A turquoise dragon held her up on the left side, and a dragon with duck-egg colored scales supported her on the right. Water poured from her open jaws, and light-gray smoke billowed from her nostrils.
Joy surged to my chest, filling my lungs to bursting. If she could exhale, she had to be alive!
“Fyri?”
“A-alba? I thought I’d never see you again.”
My knees collapsed with relief. I would have fallen to the ground if it hadn’t been for the warriors holding me in place.
“Master Roopal, if you please?” said King Magnar.
“Dragons… Warriors… We are gathered here on this Saturn’s Day noon—”
“There’s no time for preamble,” snapped King Magnar. “Get to the important bit!”
Master Roopal furrowed his brow. “Princess Alba of the Noble House of Bluebeard, do you take King Magnar of Savannah to be your lord and wedded husband?”
I craned my neck toward the Great Lake. Fyrian lay on her side, heaving out bellyfuls of water. A dagger-like pain in my heart made me and Fyrian flinch. With her so weakened, the damsel denial was affecting us both.
“I-I do!” the words tumbled out of my mouth.
“And do you vow to serve and protect your lord husband in valor and faith, obey his authority, guard his honor, keep his faith, and speak truth to him at all times?”
I clenched my teeth. These vows were ridiculous! How could I ever gain a modicum of freedom if I agreed to all of that?
“Princess Alba?” snapped King Magnar.
The damsel denial magic twisted my heart. In the distance, Fyrian roared with pain. I gasped out, “I do!”
And King Magnar, “Do you take Princess Alba of the House of Bluebeard to be your wedded wife?”
His face twisted into a smug smile. “I—”
Thunder rumbled through the air, and milky, white droplets fell from the sky. Rain!
My shoulders drooped, my head fell to my sternum, and I exhaled. “Finally.”
Lightning flashed across the sky, and rain battered down on our heads. It soaked my hair, got into my eyes, my ears, my mouth, but I didn’t care. The dying weathervane had done its job, and now the elixir would rain down on every single person standing outside.
Moments later, Master Roopal rubbed at his temples and blinked. “How… peculiar.”
“I do!” said King Magnar. “Finish the ceremony and announce us man and wife.”
The dragon master stepped back, cyan eyes flashing. “I will do no such thing!”
Around us, dragon warriors shook the confusion out of their heads, glanced around and muttered their discontent. Even the dragons who had settled around the Great Lake did the same.
“You did it, Alba!” Fyrian’s reed-thin voice echoed in my mind. “The dragons are free from the loyalty elixir.”
My heart flip-flopped. “Fyri! Are you all right?”
“I’ll live,” she replied.
Master Roopal’s cyan irises turned silver, and the slight male seemed to expand. “King Magnar. Under your orders, my comrades and I battered Master Fosco to unconsciousness for daring to suggest you had dosed us with a loyalty elixir. Explain yourself.”
I clapped a hand over my mouth. Poor Master Fosco!
King Magnar balled his fists. “I didn’t dose anyone!”
The dragon warriors surrounded him, fists clenched and looking like they would tear him apart with their bare hands. I wrapped an arm around my middle. If I did nothing, they might kill him. The males were acting out of vengeance for the loyalty elixir, so the damsel denial wouldn’t punish me the way it had when Niger had attacked King Magnar.
His face turned the color of sour milk. “I-I-I can explain myself!”
“We have heard enough of your false words!” snarled Captain Caiman. “You are a plague upon the Known World!”
The men roared their agreement.
Guilt twan
ged at my heart. Nobody, not even King Magnar, deserved to be beaten to death by an angry mob. While he didn’t make or distribute the loyalty elixir, he had certainly taken advantage of the dragon’s weaknesses and tried to force them into a war they probably didn’t want.
“Wait!” I pushed my way through the warriors. “We can’t kill him without a hearing. Let’s find out why he did this and if there are any more threats to Mount Fornax.”
To my surprise, they backed off. Phoenix, in his human form, pushed his way through the crowd and seized King Magnar by the arm. “Come on, your royal dungeon awaits.”
The warriors roared with laughter, and I rushed to where Fyrian lay on the bank.
Evolene stood at her snout. “After the blue dragons pushed her out, I removed all the water from her lungs. The healers are taking care of her broken wing bone and are keeping her warm and pain-free with their magic.”
Fyrian’s eyelids peeked open, revealing a glimpse of crimson. “I feel better already.”
Warmth filled my insides, and I leaned on her snout, wrapping my arms around as much of her as I could. “Thank goodness. For a moment, I thought…”
“I’m fine,” she said with a weary sigh. “Now that everything’s worked out, I’m going to sleep for a bit.”
I stepped away, grinning like an idiot.
Master Jesper hurried out of the Healer’s Academy with General Thornicroft, Madam Maritimus, and Dr. Duclair. The four of them looked like they had been battling since I had left them in the laboratory.
“Gather around, everybody,” shouted the troll. “I can explain.”
The warriors turned to face it.
“We have a quartet of cadets to thank for the liberation of Mount Fornax: Rufus Griffon, Stafford Perrault, Madam Evolene, and Albert Bluford, who you see standing before you.”
The warriors all turned to me, wide-eyed.
My breath caught. Now they all knew my secret. As soon as the relief died down that they were no longer under the influence of the loyalty elixir, they would remember that Mount Fornax was a brotherhood. Witches were allowed. Our society couldn’t survive without them, but women like me, who couldn’t wield magical staffs, were only good for making heirs.
“That is Princess Alba.” Albens pointed at my face. “I smell her.”
“I recognize her from the opening ceremony,” said a rider. “That’s the Prince Regent’s daughter!”
The males all rumbled their agreement.
Master Jesper shook its head. “The cadets used a combination of cunning, brute strength, and Madam Evolene’s ability to cast magical glamors.”
I bit down hard on my lip and nodded.
“Madam Evolene helped Cadet Bluford disguise his identity after he was caught having organized the robbery of King Magnar’s crown.”
“Then who was the little girl?” asked Albens. “She did not smell like a witch.”
“The librarian. One of the alchemist ringleaders. When he discovered King Magnar had taken over Mount Fornax, he returned from his hiding place in Westeport to help enact our plan.”
“What plan?” bellowed someone from the back.
I raised my brows. This was something I wanted to confirm, too.
“To make the antidote, we needed two ingredients: gold and blood.”
“King Magnar’s blood!” shouted someone else.
“Indeed,” replied Master Jesper. “That’s why the librarian went in disguise as his sister in need of a blood transfusion.”
I nodded. I’d already worked that one out.
“Then we hang the alchemists and their rotten King!” shouted a voice in the crowd.
General Thornicroft stepped forward. “We do not. The dragons of Mount Fornax are facing their most serious threat since the banishment of their creator. It is unclear why, but dark fairies wish to obtain dragons to release their master from his banishment.
“We will liaise with the high fairies on this matter, but these alchemists claim to have developed substances that will cause damage to these rogue elements. We need to be prepared for when they come after Mount Fornax, because in time, they will.”
A hush filled the air. I didn’t even want to consider what would happen when the spriggans ran out of patience and attacked Mount Fornax.
General Thornicroft inclined his head. “Now, everybody, go to the mess hall for a late lunch.”
The crowds dissipated, and I headed toward where Evolene crouched on the banks of the lake with Fyrian lying on her side.
“Princess,” said a voice from behind.
Niger shoved his way through from the crowd, wearing his usual grin. A purple bruise covered his face from brow to cheekbone. My breath caught. Somewhere in the periphery of my senses, Evolene squealed and sprinted toward a figure behind Niger. I could only assume she was pleased to see Stafford. Right now, the sight of Niger took up my attention.
He closed the distance between us and murmured, “You are free.”
“For now.” I placed my fingertips on his bruised cheek. “You’re hurt.”
Niger grinned, and his arm encircled my waist. He glanced down at my lips, making my heart skip several beats. “It was nothing.”
“Niger,” snapped an unimpressed voice.
We turned around to find Albens standing with Rufus, two other Griffon brothers, and a scowling Gobi. A crowd of perplexed-looking warriors stood behind them.
Rufus pointed at my face. “Despite appearances, the woman you are embracing is our classmate, Bluford.”
“B-Bluford?” Niger let go of my waist and stepped back. “I am confused.”
Albens clapped him on the back. “Where were you? Master Jesper just told us what Bluford did. He escaped punishment for treason by getting Evolene to disguise him to look like Princess Alba. Then he stole the secret of the antidote straight from under King Magnar’s nose.”
Niger narrowed his eyes. “I see,” he said in a voice that meant the complete opposite. “Very… clever.”
Albens roared with laughter. “Risky, more like. The brave little fool nearly got himself married to King Magnar! Imagine what would have happened when Magnar kissed his bride.”
The males all snickered. I gave Niger a half-smile. He gave me a wink back. So far, I’d evaded a marriage, even though the pesky damsel denial was still in place, averted a war, and with the help of Master Jesper, gotten the whole of Mount Fornax to still believe I was a boy.
My secret was safe… For now.
END OF BOOK FOUR
Dear Reader,
Thanks so much for reading Protector of Dragons. I hope you enjoyed it!
Alba hasn’t forgotten about Master Fosco’s plight. She’ll rescue him in the next book, I promise.
While you’re waiting for the next book, you may wish to read Aunt Cendrilla’s story, which details how a down-trodden stepdaughter broke her shackles and became a Warrior Queen.
Take care,
Cordelia
P.S. Reviews are much appreciated!
P.P.S. Here’s the link to Aunt Cendrilla’s story: https://readerlinks.com/l/221923
Dragon Mage Academy
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Cordelia Castel’s Books
The Seven Kingdoms Series
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The Seven Kingdoms series is Cendrilla’s story set seventeen years before the events of the Dragon Mage Academy series.
The Magestaff
The Academy
The Witch-Hunt
The Betrothal
The Usurper
The Banishment
The Kingdom
Th
e Frozen Heart
The Bluebird
The Princesses
Dragon Mage Academy Page 20