by Zoe Chant
Erik’s eyes blazed a moment as he looked down on her. “Murdered? Don’t insult me. It was a blood feud, declared and conducted under archaic dragon custom. Or do you think we dragons need to become even more similar to humans, and start adhering to their silly laws? Dragons have always fought for dominance – that is what we are. That is what has made us strong. All this stupid pandering to human morality will only make us weak.”
Darklis stared up at Erik, so furious that she couldn’t speak.
He is crazy.
She had always known that. Erik Lukich had always thought dragons should go back to being the bloodthirsty, medieval beasts they had once been. But even so...
“Even if that were true, and I could accept the idea of blood feuds,” Darklis snarled, “that’s not even what happened. You told your clan a Novak dragon had killed your daughter – when in fact the two of them had fallen in love and run away together. You lied!”
“She was as good as dead to me!” Erik roared suddenly, his fists balling at his sides, eyes blazing. “To form a mated bond with a Novak! I could not have it. No, it was just the same as if he had killed her. In some ways, that would have been better.”
Darklis shook her head, disbelieving. How could he wish death on his own daughter...?
“You’re crazy,” she said, the words out of her mouth before she could stop them.
Erik didn’t respond to her words. He only continued to look down at Darklis, his mouth twisted into a snarl.
“Well, in any case. Perhaps it is just as well she didn’t die, since apparently I raised my dear daughter Landra to be far too soft-hearted.”
Darklis blinked. “Soft-hearted?”
Erik shook his head, almost as if in disbelief. “She only exiled me, after all. She really should have killed me.”
For the fifth time in as many minutes, Darklis’s blood ran cold. She didn’t think it was in her to wish for the death of anyone. But in that moment, she wondered if mercy truly was the right decision when it came to Erik Lukich.
Clearly, he was not going to stop until he achieved his aims – and in taking her, she was certain she knew what his goal was.
Revenge.
Revenge on her brother Stefan, of course, for defeating him in battle. Revenge on her for escaping. Revenge on her cousin Isaak for surviving the blood feud. Revenge on his daughter, presumably, for being merciful enough not to kill him, and revenge on her mate, Marko, for having fallen in love with her.
Darklis had no illusions as to what Erik Lukich was capable of. What he would do, if only he had the power.
If only he had the power...
Suddenly, things started to come together in Darklis’s mind.
The scepter has the power to take away a dragon’s ability to shift... so perhaps it can also give it back?
And if Erik Lukich has been exiled all this time, he must have lost his ability to shift. Dragons need their hoard to maintain their power. Without it, they get weaker, and shifting becomes impossible...
“Oh, very good, Darklis.” Erik’s voice was sardonic. “I can see you’re puzzling it all out. Why I need the scepter from the Drakos hoard. Why I’ve brought you here today. And why I have to work with these truly disgusting manticores in order to bring about my revenge.”
Darklis looked up in surprise. Of course, if she’d had any time to think about it, she would have realized that for her to be here, Erik must have been working with the manticores. But she was still surprised that Erik would partner up with their centuries-old enemies, even in the name of getting revenge.
Maybe he wasn’t as big a purist as he liked to pretend. He’d still break his own rules if it meant getting his way.
“Whatever you’re planning, it won’t work,” Darklis said, though she could hear her own voice shaking. “Stefan beat you before, and he can beat you again.” She stopped, shaking her head. “No. No, he won’t have to. I’ll stop you. Liev and I – we’ll do whatever it takes to –”
Erik’s cold laugh cut her off.
“Liev? Oh – you mean that pathetic prince. I wouldn’t concern yourself with him. I’ve no interest whatsoever in that. I’ve let the manticores have him. They can have the ransom money, if his clan will pay it. Or maybe they’d prefer to do something else with him. Dragon’s blood is a highly sought-after and very expensive commodity, after all.”
Fear clutched at the pit of Darklis’s stomach.
In her mind, she groped wildly for the mated bond – the shimmering golden ribbon that should connect two mates, no matter where they were. She had seen it for a moment when they had joined – why couldn’t she find it again now, when she needed it?
Liev! Liev, where are you?!
“Where have you taken him?” she asked, her voice rising in terror.
Erik looked down at her, bemused. “I haven’t taken him anywhere. And what the manticores have done with him is anyone’s guess.”
Slowly, Erik began to kneel down, his bemused expression giving way to one of complete and utter malevolence.
“No, I’m afraid it’s just us here,” he spat, hissing directly into Darklis’s face. “That stupid prince won’t be riding in to save you. And when your brother does... well, let’s just say I’ll have a surprise waiting for him.”
Chapter Eleven
Liev
Voices...
Blinking, Liev tried to remember where he was, and what he was doing there. He could hear the muffled sound of voices on the very edge of his hearing, but his head was ringing too loudly for him to make out any words.
Voices... voices...
Voices arguing. Yelling about... something. He couldn’t tell what.
Blinking again, Liev resisted the urge to shake his head. It wouldn’t do anything to clear his blurry vision or stop the pounding in his ears. It would only make his brain rattle painfully against the inside of his skull.
Got to wake up... got to get out of here...
He could remember all of what happened perfectly – the manticores grabbing his arms and pinning them, the blow to the back of the head that had rendered him unconscious. Clearly, he’d been dragged to another location now.
And Darklis –
Liev’s head shot up, making the world reel sickeningly around him. He fought down nausea, forcing his eyes to focus. When he tried to move, he found his arms were bound with chains.
Darklis – where is Darklis –
He could barely see anything in the dim light of the place he was being held. From what little he could see, it looked like an abandoned warehouse, or some kind of storage facility. Somewhere with thick walls, and most likely few surrounding buildings.
Swallowing, Liev tried to reach out with his mind, seeking the mated bond. For a moment, he thought he could see it before him, shining dimly in his mind – but when he tried to reach for it, it slipped away, elusive, disappearing into the gloom that seemed to enshroud him.
Darklis! Can you hear me?!
But there was no reply. No part of his mind could touch hers. His dragon, usually so present within him, was still gone.
“Well, well. Look who’s awake.”
Liev looked up at the sound of the female voice to his left. His vision had finally started to clear a little, and even in the dim light he could make out the face of the hotel receptionist – if that was who she really was.
“See, he’s a Drakos prince, just like I told you.”
The next voice was male, and sounded nervous. It was a voice Liev recognized. His lips twitched into a slight snarl as he looked past the receptionist to see the pawnbroker he had given his ring to standing behind her, fidgeting anxiously.
“It was the ring,” the pawnbroker said, when the woman didn’t respond. “I recognized the crest. I knew there was something weird about them, but I didn’t figure it out until –”
“Yes, yes, Norman, you did very well,” the woman said dismissively. “You sent them straight to me.” She stared at Liev a moment, her eyes narrowin
g and her smile widening. “I admit, it was unexpected, but not unwelcome. Seems we did the right thing by helping that revolting exile after all.”
“Then... can I go? Rowena, you said I could go once –”
“No. I might still need you,” the woman – Rowena – said, without turning.
“But I can keep the ring?” Norman said hesitantly after a moment.
“Yes. It’s yours.”
Now, Liev did snarl. My ring. The ring of the Drakos crown prince.
“Take that ring, and I’ll take your head,” he growled out, ignoring the pain in his head and throat.
“Well, well! It speaks. Maybe there’s a brain in that head after all,” Rowena said, laughing. “Though I wouldn’t have thought so, given how easily you walked into our trap. Are all dragons this stupid? My God, we should have wiped you all out centuries ago.”
Liev grimaced. So this Rowena was a manticore, then. Clearly the pawnbroker, Norman, had directed them straight to her. He knew that manticores had a tendency to get involved in organized crime, and he supposed pawnbroking and seedy hotels would all be part of that, either as fronts for other operations, or as a means of keeping an ear to the ground.
And I walked straight into it. I put my mate in danger. I couldn’t see what was right in front of my face...
Liev tamped down quickly on his self-recriminations. There would be time for that later. He would find Darklis, and he would punish these thieves for what they had done. No one would lay a finger on his mate and live.
“Set me free now, and I may argue with my father for clemency,” he said, staring her in the eyes. “But if you do not –”
“You’re in no position to be making deals, dragon,” Rowena growled, her eyes lighting up with a malevolent fire. “You’re alive now because I ordered you to be taken alive. That’s it. So don’t go acting high and mighty with me. I know you’ve lost your powers and you can’t contact your hoard or your clan. They have no idea where you are. Your father and his clemency mean nothing to me.”
Liev felt fury burning like fire in his belly. If only it had been actual fire – dragonfire – then this would have been over in minutes.
And then, I could find Darklis and get her to safety.
The thought of his mate, trapped and alone, renewed his struggles against the chains that bound him.
“What have you done with Darklis?” he asked, his voice coming out as a furious shout.
Rowena raised one eyebrow disdainfully. “The dragon girl? She’s no concern of mine. Why would a high and mighty Drakos prince even care?”
She doesn’t realize we’re mates, Liev thought in a sudden rush of understanding. Ordinarily, shifters could sense a mated bond between two other shifters – which saved a lot of fights and complications. Only a rogue would make a move on a dragon they knew to belong to someone else.
But perhaps, since their powers had been taken from them, the mated bond between himself and Darklis wasn’t apparent to other shifters either.
Swallowing, Liev did his best not to seem as if Rowena had said anything that surprised him. It would be better if she believed Darklis meant nothing to him. She couldn’t use her as leverage, that way.
“True enough,” he said, even as pain sliced through him at the words. “She’s not important. But I’ll have to tell her clan something.”
Rowena barked out a short laugh. “Arrogant as per usual, you dragons. Who says you’re going to be in a position to tell her clan anything? I haven’t even decided what I’m going to do with you yet.” She paused, her lip curling. “Anyway, I don’t know where she is now. She might already be dead, for all I know.”
A bolt of white-hot agony carved its way through Liev’s chest.
Darklis... dead? No. No, that can’t be.
Liev struggled to keep himself under control as rage and pain warred within him.
He was certain he would know if Darklis was dead. He didn’t care that his dragon was gone and he had only glimpsed the mated bond for a moment – he would have been able to sense it. He couldn’t believe that she was dead. It just wasn’t possible.
“Dead?” He could hear the pain in his own voice. But Rowena didn’t seem to notice.
“I have no idea what that exiled dragon wanted with her. I suppose I could have argued with him, but in the end, it just seemed easiest to let him have her.” She grimaced. “Bad enough to have done a deal with a dragon in the first place. But he promised us a share in the hoard he took, and, well. Having a prince land in our laps was an unexpected bonus.”
Liev narrowed his eyes. “What exiled dragon? Who are you talking about?”
“Erik Lukich.” Rowena shrugged, tossing the name out as if it were nothing.
Liev sucked in a quick breath. Erik Lukich. At one time, he had been the most powerful dragon in the world, and one of the richest. His clan had been huge, and their hoard almost unrivaled. But the Lukich Clan had accumulated it by murder and plunder, wiping out other dragon clans from the face of the earth and stealing their treasures. When other clans had argued that dragons needed to leave their old, bloodthirsty ways behind them, the Lukich had persisted with them.
And now, he has Darklis.
Horror filled his heart.
Darklis, Darklis! Please, please tell me you’re still alive.
His mind cried out desperately to her.
But he received no reply.
“And now, we turn to the question of what to do with you.” Rowena’s voice jolted him back into the present. He stared at her, hatred and rage clouding his vision. “I admit, at first I was thinking only of the ransom we could get for you. Imagine what your father would pay to have his beloved crown prince home safely! But then I realized I was thinking on much too small a scale.”
Liev frowned. What is she talking about?
“Ransoms are good for a one-off payment, but that’s it. Plus, I know you dragons. Vengeance this, enemies perishing in flames that. Can’t say I’m too keen on it. Too risky to let you fly back to daddy, now that you’ve seen my face and place of business.”
Rowena grinned. For a moment, Liev imagined he could see the manticore in her eyes.
She stood, turning and calling over her shoulder.
“Norman, what did you say the effects of dragon’s blood on a human were again?”
“Increased speed and agility,” Norman replied quickly. “Increased strength. Faster healing. A limited amount of psychic communication. A higher state of perception. Basically, the human gains some of the dragon’s powers – but it all wears off after only a few hours.”
“Well,” Rowena said, as if musing. “Super strength, super agility and speed, fast healing, psychic powers... that all sounds like something people might pay to get, doesn’t it, my handsome prince? And if it wears off, well, they’ll just have to keep coming back for more.” She turned back to Liev, grinning – and this time, it was as if her manticore’s teeth filled her mouth. “And here’s me, with an unlimited supply.”
Liev stared at her, his mind refusing to comprehend what she was saying.
No one could be so evil as to do what she was suggesting – what he now knew she was planning, to his growing horror.
“You are sick,” he managed to growl out, even as every fiber of his being recoiled from her. He struggled against the chains that bound his arms, but it did no good.
“Sick?” Rowena simply shook her head. “You say sick, I say practical. I’m only thinking of the bottom line, my prince. You’re very lucrative.”
Liev grit his teeth.
He had to get out of here. He had to find Darklis. And he had to get them both to safety.
And then, they are going to pay.
Of that, he would make certain. And if anyone had harmed even a hair on Darklis’s head...
Unable to resist any longer, Liev let out a roar of fury. These people will not walk away from here with their lives!
Twisting in the chains, he ignored Rowena’s cold laugh.
Darklis, he vowed, feeling the steel chains cut into his skin. Darklis, if you can hold out just a little longer, I swear, I swear I will come for you.
Chapter Twelve
Darklis and Liev
What... what was that?!
Darklis managed to resist the urge to shake her head, but she couldn’t stop herself from gasping in surprise as she felt... something... echo through her chest.
Blinking, she tried to make herself focus on it, to block out everything else.
Was it my dragon? Has it returned to me at last?
Squeezing her eyes shut, she tried to find the feeling again, but it was gone. It had only been brief, just the most fleeting of sensations.
But it was there, I know it! If only I had more time...
But time was the one thing she knew she didn’t have.
Well. There were plenty of things she didn’t have, but right now, time was the most pressing.
Erik Lukich had been in quiet conversation with the other dragon – Dante, that was his name, wasn’t it? – ever since he had made the threat against her brother. He hadn’t even spared her the most cursory of glances. Clearly, he thought her well and truly subdued.
Which is exactly what I wanted.
She’d done her best to play-act the part of someone who was totally defeated; someone who had given up all hope of rescue.
Because what she really needed was time to think.
He’s going to use the scepter on himself, Darklis thought, watching the two dragons from beneath her eyelashes. He can’t shift without it. But how is he planning on luring Stefan here? And more importantly, what can I do to stop it?
Darklis watched as Erik and Dante spoke. Every now and then she could see Dante’s eyes flicker back to her, clearly keeping a close watch on her.
Darklis made certain not to react. But in her head, she could still hear the desperation in Dante’s voice as he had told her that he had no choice but to help the manticores. She could see the barely veiled pain in his eyes.