Liza (Dragon Isles Book 1)

by Shelley Munro

  Now, they were in the castle library.

  Leo spread the old map over the desk in the far corner of the room. Books filled shelves on three walls, although his parents never read them.

  “This isn’t right. It’s too new.” Jakab pointed at the far-left bottom of the map. “See the additions to the ballroom? That’s not part of the original footprint.”

  Frustration fueled Leo’s temper, and he clenched his fists. This felt like a waste of time. Gwenyth might be dead for all he knew. If only they’d had more time to make that ultimate connection. Then, at least, there would have been a possibility of communicating. His inability to act and save her gnawed at him while his dragon paced, his tattoo zigzagging across his chest, ribs, and back. The unrest of his dragon tickled his ribs again.

  “Cease,” Leo thought to his dragon. “I’m doing my best.”

  “The inaction is bad. What if our Gwenyth is dead?”

  “She’s not dead,” Leo snapped.

  Jakab’s head jerked up, and his friend stared at him. “She’s not dead. Where else might the plans be?”

  “Sorry,” Leo said as he unrolled yet another set of plans. “I didn’t realize I’d spoken aloud. Try the drawers over there at the bottom of the shelves.”

  Jakab strode over and jerked the top drawer open. “You’re right,” he said. “These look older.”

  Leo released the edge of the plans he was checking and stalked to Jakab. He’d plonked himself on the floor and unfastened the faded red ribbon on the first plan.

  “This is them.” Jakab’s finger traced the line of the castle and the dungeons over to the side. He tapped the faded parchment. “We were right. Well, partly right. It looks as if there is a rear entrance to the kitchen.”

  “So the deliveries didn’t disturb the castle residents,” Leo guessed. “Likely, it was blocked during the period of riots when the common dragons sought equality.”

  “See this alley? It backs onto the dungeon too. It would’ve been the perfect way to drag in prisoners unannounced,” Jakab said.

  “I wouldn’t put it past my ancestors. The record book is full of stories detailing their bravery. After the first few tales, I didn’t have the stomach to learn more about my barbaric forebears.”

  “If we find this alley, we should be able to break into the dungeon with no one suspecting a thing. That’s as long as this dungeon is where they’re holding Gwenyth.”

  Leo jumped to his feet. “Let’s investigate now. You know, my gut told me not to bring Gwenyth. I thought she’d be safe because I’d keep her with me. I didn’t want to leave her alone at my home.”

  “Should haves offer no benefit,” Jakab said. “We’d better shove all these plans back in a drawer. I’d hate to give anyone a heads-up.”

  With the plans tidied away, Leo and Jakab left the library. They took a route to avoid his family, their guests, and most of the servants. Or at least the servants loyal to his parents. Leo led Jakab down a set of stairs reserved for the servants and into a secret passage the old cook had shown him before she died.

  He remembered the day since he’d raced through the castle to escape his brothers and ended up lost. The cook had found him, crying as he meandered through the original castle corridors.

  Luck was not their friend.

  “Damn and blast,” Leo muttered. “What the hell is Telus doing here? He never lowers himself enough to visit the ancient rooms. If anyone requires something from this area, he sends a lower servant. This way.” Leo directed Jakab into a cupboard.

  Leo wrapped his arms around his friend and squeezed inside. He drew the cupboard door shut just as Telus exited the room he’d stood inside. Through the tiny gap, Leo spotted his second oldest brother, Nemyr, The Scary, leave the room. With a murmur too quiet for Leo to hear, the pair parted and went in opposite directions.

  As Telus reached the cupboard where they hid, he paused. Telus sniffed the air, his nostrils flaring.

  Every muscle in Leo tensed.

  Telus sniffed again, shook his head, and departed in rapid steps.

  For long moments, Leo didn’t move. The last thing he wanted was for Nemyr or Telus to discover their presence. Telus had always struck him as sly and a dragon seeking to fill his coffers. As for Nemyr, his brother had killed a dragon servant because she’d refused to lie with him. Rumors had also reached Leo about the way Nemyr treated the human females if he trapped them alone.

  Without warning, Jakab squeezed him. He made a kissing noise. “Leo, I didn’t know you cared. Have you told Gwenyth of your feelings for me?”

  Leo checked the corridor outside the cupboard and scanned what he could see of the room almost opposite before he inched open the door. Jakab bumped him, as cramped as Leo.

  “Quit messing around. Telus and Nemyr almost caught us.”

  “Your brother?” Jakab asked. “The plot thickens and makes sense in a twisted way.”

  “How so?” Leo opened the cupboard and stepped into the corridor. “I think they’ve gone, but we’d better take care.”

  “You haven’t been around during the last year. From the few things I’ve overheard, Nemyr resents Russays, The Magnificent. Nemyr believes he should be the heir rather than your oldest brother.”

  Leo shook his head. “The pair were close during childhood.”

  “That might be true, but it’s when we reach adulthood that situations become more important. Things like status and race. We lose our innocence as we gain knowledge of the world.”

  That was true. He’d learned with life experience. “The best thing I ever did was leave my family and Hissing Isle,” Leo said. “Gaining my independence from my family made me into the dragon I am today.”

  “What’s with all the soul-searching?” Jakab’s grin held teasing.

  “I met my mate.” Leo peered around the corner into another passage. A set of footprints showed in the dust. “It looks as if Telus walked this way. We’d better take care not to come face-to-face with him. The kitchen is up ahead. I don’t understand what Telus is doing down here.”

  “A mystery for another day,” Jakab murmured. “Gwenyth is our priority.”

  Leo led the way along the passage until he came to the kitchen door. Telus’s footsteps, or at least he assumed they belonged to the butler, kept going. He made a mental note to check with Cook what was along that way. He didn’t recall. Leo eased the door open.

  Since the evening meal had ended, the kitchen was quieter. Cook was working on prep for the morning meal and was showing a junior maid the correct way to peel and prepare a jagger fruit. The honeyed scent of the pale yellow flesh filled the kitchen.

  “Cook, could we have a word?” Leo asked.

  The junior dragon squeaked and dropped her knife. She grabbed at it, sliced her finger, and yelped.

  “So sorry.” Leo grasped the adolescent female by the shoulders, intending to check on the cut. The girl screamed, and two male kitchen hands came running.

  “It’s all right,” Cook said, her gray eyes flashing. “Nothing to upset yourselves about. Child, stop your blubbering, and let Leo tend your finger. I’ll make tea. Take a seat.” With that said, she bustled over to a range heated by a stone quarried on Smoking Isle. She lifted the lid to the range and huffed out a small but steady flame. The stone ignited, and with a satisfied cluck, Cook resettled the cover.

  With her usual efficiency, Cook soon had a kettle of water heating.

  Leo dealt with the first-aid, glad to have a task to perform. He fastened a special healing plaster around the female’s finger. “It’s not a deep cut,” he said. “If you leave the plaster on overnight, the cut should heal by the morning.”

  “Thank you,” the young dragon said.

  Cook turned to her junior. “I hope you’ve learned your lesson, child. If you drop a knife, don’t attempt to catch it. Away with you. I’ll finish preparing the fruit.”

  “Thank you, Cook,” she said with a curtsy.

  Once she had gone, Cook turn
ed to him. “Why are you skulking around the disused rooms? I almost leaped out of my skin when you jumped through the doorway.”

  Leo grinned at the older woman. She’d looked the same way for as long as he remembered with her vibrant red hair smoothed back in a chignon. He knew the name of the hairstyle because he’d asked as a youngster. She wore her baggie white trews and white coverall with a green apron tied around her waist. The apron color was the sole part of her uniform that ever changed.

  Today’s apron was the same green as the grass in the valley below his house.

  “My mate is in the dungeon,” Leo stated, anger pulsing through him afresh. “Her one crime is that she married me, and they’re treating her like a dangerous prisoner.”

  Cook gasped and patted her chest. A smile bloomed across her lips until she was beaming. “My Leo has a wife.”

  “Gwenyth is not simply my wife, she is my mate,” he said.

  “A true mate?” Cook asked, astonishment replacing her excitement at Leo’s news. Then she frowned. “I heard your parents arranged a match for you to Nandag, The Strongminded. I thought to myself that this dragon was not the right one for you.”

  “My parents made the match without my approval. Gwenyth and I came to tell them, and they tossed my mate into the dungeon.” Leo told Cook everything.

  “Gossip tells me your brothers are friends with this Nan. They visited Smoking Isle last month, I think it was.”

  “Do you know how long they stayed or if they traveled elsewhere?” Jakab asked.

  “No,” Cook replied with a toss of her head.

  “All right,” Leo said. “If you think of anything useful, please let me know. How many staff are still working at present?”

  “I was about to send the last two workers to their beds.”

  “Excellent. Once they’ve gone, do you mind if we knock a hole in your wall?”

  Cook’s brows rose. “Whatever for?”

  “I never realized until I studied the original castle plans, but the kitchen is close to the old dungeon where they’ve imprisoned Gwenyth. An alley runs between the two, but I’ve never noticed an exterior entrance. I presume builders blocked it some time ago. Jakab and I think if we find our way into the alley, we can break into the dungeon with no one noticing.”

  “The guards aren’t stupid,” Cook said. “The dragon in charge is efficient. They might notice a hole in their wall.”

  “By the time they realize, I’ll have Gwenyth safe,” Leo said.

  “Where do you intend to stash her?” Cook asked.

  “I had thought to stay in an old, unused room until I determine a way to leave the castle unseen. But seeing Telus and one of my brothers loitering in the area has put me off that idea.”

  Cook’s brows lifted, her surprise evident. “What were they doing there?”

  “We don’t know,” Jakab said.

  “You’re best to free your mate and leave town. Or better yet, fly to a neighboring isle and make it difficult for anyone to follow you.” Cook stood and brushed her hands over her apron. “You have little darkness available tonight. The castle walls are thick. It will take time and strength to break through them.”

  “She’s right,” Jakab said. “We didn’t think to bring any tools with us either.”

  “There is an old door behind the pantry. It’s locked, and I was told it led nowhere. The cook I took over from told me the builders made a mistake while constructing the kitchen. Instead of bricking it up, they placed the pantry in front of it to disguise their mistake.”

  “Why didn’t you say so earlier?” Leo leaped to his feet, strode to the pantry and flung open the door.

  “Do not make a mess,” Cook ordered.

  Leo ignored the demand and checked the walls. He shoved a heavy set of shelves aside.

  “Leo,” Cook said in a stern voice.

  Leo didn’t reply, the physical action tamping down his rising anger.

  “He’s not listening,” Jakab said.

  “Come and help,” Leo ordered.

  “At least try not to make so much noise. The last thing I need is someone coming to investigate. You’ll get us tossed into the dungeon.”

  “Not with the delicious food you produce, Cook. You’re safe.” Leo manhandled another set of shelving away from the wall. “Found it,” he said in satisfaction.

  Jakab straightened. “Leo, we need tools to break through the dungeon wall.”

  “Not if we find a door. The earliest castle inhabitants required a way to get their prisoners in and out. It’ll be there.” Leo pushed confidence into his voice because he refused to consider anything other than success.

  * * * * *

  “Why are you here?” Martinos asked his sister.

  “The human raises my curiosity since she bears none of my beauty. Leonidas no longer works on his reputation as a womanizer. He doesn’t have a woman he visits to slake his needs. In theory, he should’ve been my easiest target. His parents assured me the marriage would go ahead. The plan is perfect on paper.”

  “You want to discover where you went wrong with your scheme.” Martinos sounded disbelieving. “By Lodar, you’re egotistical. Our parents spoiled you, and now you think everyone owes you.”

  “My scheme is perfect.” Nan stopped speaking, and Gwenyth imagined her shrugging. She remained still and silent on the stretcher bed, listening to the dragon woman.

  “Leo is spoiling everything,” Nan said. “He is the perfect age for marriage and will gain more standing by affiancing himself with me. At least until he outlives his usefulness.”

  Gwenyth’s mouth popped open at the sheer audacity of the woman. The way she was treating Leo like a possession—one she intended to mold to her specifications—was beyond ludicrous. She’d miscalculated because Leo had worked hard to become his own dragon. He followed the path he’d plotted for himself, and that was admirable. She wished Tony had—

  Her thoughts halted amidst an arrow of pain that sliced through her sluggish memories. Who was this Tony person? She recalled the pale band of flesh on her finger, yet she didn’t sense a male companion in her life. When she thought of a man, her thoughts raced to Leo. He was the one who consumed her. His kisses weakened her knees, and their last one had left her yearning for more. Privacy. A comfortable bed. Solitary time with Leo.

  Gwenyth pushed her memories again, thinking the name Tony and rifling through her mind for a face to go with the name. She came up blank.

  “So get someone else.”

  Gwenyth frowned, her mind back on the conversation. What was Martinos trying to do? Make his sister angry?

  “No.” Nan snorted. “It wasn’t as if I intended to keep Leo for long. He’s the Champion of the Skies. So tough and sexy. It makes any red-blooded dragon woman wonder what he’d be like between the sheets. I want an heir and a spare, and then my reluctant husband is no longer necessary.”

  Shocked at the woman’s callousness, Gwenyth scowled. Nan’s attitude toward Leo was disgusting. Leo had feelings. He wasn’t a lump of meat for Nan to fight over. Leo was her husband, dammit. Every part of Gwenyth wanted to heap abuse on this rude, despicable dragon woman. But she heeded Martinos’s advice and remained silent. It wasn’t the best idea to poke at the dragon since Nan had no problem making free with her fists.

  “Are you certain she’s still unconscious?”

  “She’s a weak human. Her body isn’t as strong as a dragon’s. You must come back tomorrow.”

  Nan sighed. “Tomorrow, I’m busy with ball preparations. I must massage my plan. While I haven’t spoken to Leo yet, I’ll seduce him without difficulty. Men don’t resist me.”

  Sheer conceit.

  Leo wanted her, not this dragon with an inflated opinion of herself. The minister had married them, and Leo had assured her their marriage was legal. Nan hadn’t considered that point.

  Throwing Gwenyth into the dungeon wasn’t enough. Nan needed to break the marriage before she could move on with Leo as her husband.
/>
  “It doesn’t matter if she lives or dies. Easier for me if the weak human never wakes. That way, there is no impediment to me marrying Leonidas.”

  Martinos made a scoffing sound. “You’re only now recalling Leo has a legal wife?”

  “Bah! A human man of the church married them. I doubt that will hold up under dragon law. Telus suggested we resurrect the gladiator games to celebrate my betrothal to Leonidas. The human will be the climax of the show when she fights the other prisoners for her life.”

  Gladiator games? Gwenyth had difficulty remaining still, the urge to throttle the dragon woman so strong, her hands fisted.

  “But that would be cold-blooded murder,” Martinos said, and even he sounded shocked.

  “Entertainment,” Nan countered. “I thought you would make a worthy candidate to fight in the games. Make our family proud.”

  “You’re a haughty bitch,” Martinos snapped.

  Nan laughed, her amusement like the tinkle of a pretty bell. The sound was incongruous coming as it did from this cruel, proud woman. “Something for you to consider during the next few days. I rather liked Telus’s suggestion, and the gladiator battle will proceed. It will clear the dungeons and reduce the costs of maintaining them.”

  Martinos let out a growl and threw something at the bars of his door.

  “Now, now, brother. It’s not the time to have a tantrum. Save your energy for the battle to come.”

  16 – Our Mate Is Alive

  The cracks in the dungeon’s wall were many, but with a lack of tools and the heavy rocks, it would prove difficult for a prisoner to escape. Hearing the murmur of voices, Leo placed his eye to one crack and tried to look through.

  By Lodar! What was Nan doing in the dungeon? She was talking to the male prisoner. Her brother. Wait, was that wolf fur draped around her shoulders?

  Leo’s breath caught, and for a moment, he thought he’d made a noise because Nan glanced in his direction. The fur was wolf, and it was an identical color to Jenny and her dead littermate.

  A coincidence, true. But Leo wondered.

  A betrothal took time to arrange. Nan’s representatives would have approached his parents some time ago. It wasn’t unusual for prospects to undertake a full investigation of an intended partner since with liaisons between dragons, sizeable amounts of money and property were factored into the decision. Leo thought back. The stranger who’d approached him to sell his property had come around six or seven months ago. Was there something he’d missed while perusing the property deeds? Something to check and research.