“Son.” Rafael’s father rounded the table and took him by the shoulder. “We have another problem.”
Rafael’s nostril’s flared. “What now?”
“Sheharla found out. They have requested your presence.”
“Why?” Rafael growled. “That man does not care about Ma ribella. She was just a pawn in the contract, and he will not distract me from finding her.”
“He wants to know when you would like to have his youngest daughter delivered to replace Maribella.”
Rafael froze; his body rigid, shocked before fury overtook him. “What!” Rafael roared before turning and slamming a fist into the wall in front of him. Stone shattered, spraying dust and chunks of rock all over the room. Fiery rage filled Rafael’s entire being as he stalked out of the chamber.
RAFAEL THREW OUT HIS hand, launching the palace guard into an outer wall, and kicked open the door with so much force the frame exploded. He didn’t wait for the two other Dragon sentries, who followed him all the way to Sheharla, to catch up before rampaging down the great hall and into the throne room. He was up the stairs and had his hand wrapped around the king’s throat before he had a chance to rise. The king sputtered, waving frantically to his guards for help, but no one arrived.
The Dragon sentries following Rafael had finally showed up. He lifted the king with one hand and threw him off the pavilion onto the stone floor. Jumping down, he landed in a crouch, and stood with a snarl, stalking after the king who was frantically crawling backward across the floor.
“Guards...guards!” he screamed but no one came. The two Dragon sentries, still in their natural form, were barring entrance into the throne room. At the sight of the Dragons, the king gaped up to Rafael. “I have no control over what my daughter does! It’s not my fault she ran away! I offer you my other daughter.”
Rafael looked to where the king pointed, only now noticing the bewildered waif of a girl staring at the violence Rafael had unleashed upon her father. Good, he thought, she should be here to see this.
“You,” Rafael growled and reached down, dragging the king to his feet by the front of his ornamental frock. “You will stop trying to sell your daughters to whomever you want. Maribella is mine, she cannot be replaced, and she did not run away.” Rafael thrust out his arm, releasing the king like the sack of garbage he was.
He stumbled, falling to his knees. “I don’t understand...the contract...”
Rafael roared, eyes flashing amber. “Consider the contract in limbo. Henceforth the Mountain Dragon Stronghold will no longer be negotiating Sheharla’s terms with you. We will only negotiate with Princess Elizabeth from now on.”
At Rafael’s declaration, Elizabeth let out a little squeak, and the king stared up at Rafael, utterly speechless. “You...you...can’t...”
“I can do whatever I want. We can lay waste to your city if I so desire, but we don’t. No, we play along with your silly contract because we feel sorry for your women and how they are treated in this city, but I am done with it.” Rafael turned, stalking over to the small princess who was shaking like a frightened rabbit. She flinched at Rafael’s approach, and he could hear the frantic beating of her heart echoing throughout the room. Rafael slammed to one knee, looking into the girl’s eyes. “Elizabeth, look at me.”
She peeked an eye open and gulped but looked at Rafael as he requested.
“I will be sending an emissary and three guards to help with your training and eventual rise to the throne when you’re ready. If you don’t want this, I can take you with me to the Stronghold. From there you can live whatever life you so choose. You are free from your father and his whims from this day forward.”
Elizabeth shook, but Rafael waited patiently, rage burning hot for the man behind him. He watched her gulp, eyes flickering to her father and back to Rafael. With shaking breath and a tear in her eye, Rafael saw her decision made with the set of her shoulders.
“I will stay.”
“Your sister means everything to me, Elizabeth. Consider the Mountain Dragon Stronghold your allies in anything you need going forward. We will begin a new contract with your rise to the throne.”
Elizabeth continued to shake, and a flush crept up her neck, but she held her chin high, “Promise me you will find my sister?”
“I will.” Rafael promised before rising and moving over to Sheharla’s overthrown king. He was still laying on the floor like a gasping fish out of water. “If a hair on her head is harmed between now and the time she takes over the throne, I will personally come down here and rip out your throat. Do I make myself clear?”
The king’s jaw slacked but he nodded, conceding defeat and Rafael sneered at him. How Maribella and Elizabeth even had this man’s gene pool within their veins was beyond him.
“Stay here until I can send the emissary and guards. I don’t need this bloated sack of filth getting any ideas.” Rafael growled to the two sentries. They nodded as he rushed past them, back out of the palace and into the courtyard. Shit, Rafael thought, how exactly was he going to break the news to Maribella that he just overthrew her father and placed her baby sister on the throne?
His Dragon laughed in his head. Forget about that, think about what you are going to tell your mother.
Chapter Twenty One
Two Months Later - Rafael
Exhaustion raked over Rafael’s body as he landed, stumbling and shifting into his human form. Shaking off the transition, he rose from his knees and marched into the Stronghold. Like every time before, he veered left and headed straight to the guards’ command center. Ildrex was nowhere in sight, but Rafael knew the drill. He sat heavily at the table, grabbing the blank parchment paper and began to scribble down his report. Eyes blurred and he slumped forward, smudging his words. Rafael shook his head and refocused. He didn’t have much to report on. He had patrolled a quarter of the endless forest, but it still wasn’t enough in his mind. He couldn’t go into the closest sections bordering the Stronghold’s mountain due to the unsteady treaty between them and the mountain elves. After his stunt with Sheharla, the elves were watching the Stronghold closely. His eyes blurred again, and Rafael pushed the papers away, finally finished. Nothing, he had nothing to show in his effort looking for Maribella. The knight never showed back up even though he was looking for her, and the Rovers had nothing to report. Rafael would have to check with Ildrex if the Southern Isle Dragons had any leads.
At least we haven’t burned the realm down yet, Rafael’s Dragon murmured.
Get some rest, you know the routine, Rafael snapped back, but his Dragon had already fallen asleep in his mind. Pushing himself out of the chair, he stumbled out of the command center and began the tortured ascent up the stairs to the third floor. He needed to talk to his mother, and at this time of the day she would be in her study. Rafael was correct in his assessment when he knocked on the queen’s study chamber and an echoed “Come in” rang out. Rafael fumbled with the door handle, finally able to grasp it and pushed. The door swung open and he stepped inside, but instead of approaching, he leaned heavily against the door after closing it. He was hoping to hide his exhaustion from his mother by not getting too close. She barely glanced at him and instead focused on the parchment in front of her. Rafael let out a breath and asked the one thing he dreaded every time he came back to the Stronghold. “How is Sheharla doing?”
Her eyes flickered up at Rafael’s question. “Better than one would think after an unprovoked takeover.”
“He had it coming,” Rafael murmured before wincing when she slammed her hand down on the desk.
“Rafael! We were lucky the king wanted to preserve his life and would rather roll over like a spineless rat than fight back. Even so, breaking the contract this way has forced some of our allies to question our contracts with them.”
“I can speak to them.”
The queen sighed and sat, fully taking in the way Rafael slumped against the door. “As of right now, we have other more pressing issues.”
&nb
sp; Those were the words Rafael didn’t want to hear. If he hadn’t already been leaning against the wall he probably would have sunk to the ground at her next words.
“The Floating City Dragons have issued their challenge.”
Rafael rubbed at his face, knowing that this had been inevitable. “Did the council accept the challenge?”
When his mother didn’t respond he looked up to find her sad eyes seemingly boring holes into his soul. “I’m sorry, Son. I have convinced the council to hold out for a few weeks but you will be expected to appear before them when the extension is over. They will be deciding the date of the challenge.”
A light knock reverberated on the door and it inched open. A familiar head popped in. The queen gave their resident witch Katrina a generous smile.
“I’m sorry if I’m interrupting but I heard...” Katrina trailed off when she zeroed in on Rafael. She threw her arms around his chest, giving him a hard squeeze. Rafael affectionately hugged her back. Katrina had been around the Stronghold for over fifteen years and was like family. She pushed back and reached up, fingers brushing bruising under his eyes. “You need to rest, Rafael.”
He shook his head. “I can’t, Kat. Not while Maribella is still missing.”
Katrina pushed away, looking between his mother and him. “That’s why I’m here. I have some... complicated news.” Her face scrunched up at the word complicated before continuing. “My sister showed up today, and I rushed right over after we talked.”
Rafael growled. “Is she here?”
“She’s back from the Banished Realm?” The queen said, her words overlapping Rafael’s.
Katrina chewed on the bottom of her lip; a nervous habit Rafael had thought she dropped years ago. “The knight and her companion spoke to her. She wouldn’t tell me exactly what they said, but she did tell me this: Maribella is alive, she’s in the Veiled Realm, and the weapon is with the gatekeeper.”
Rafael’s Dragon rose quickly taking over his mind. “Where is Maribella, and what is this weapon?”
Katrina’s brows knitted together and she glanced at the queen. “He doesn’t know?”
The queen sighed, slumping in her chair. “This makes...more sense now.” She glanced up to Rafael’s tense form. “There are a few things we need to talk about.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Three Months Later - Rafael
Rafael leaned heavily against the cabin door. Three months. It had been three months since Maribella was taken from him. He didn’t know how much more he had in him. Rafael was pushing his human body to its limits, his control on his Dragon almost non-existent. The amount of time he spent in Dragon form was pushing the limits of his psyche, and if he kept this up he would lose control forever. Normally his Dragon would interrupt his thoughts around this time, but he was sleeping, and for that Rafael was grateful. He stumbled forward, feet dragging from exhaustion, making it into Maribella’s sleeping quarters within the abandoned cabin. His letters from the last two months were still sitting in the same place, dust collecting. Nobody had been here in those months besides himself. Her smell had all but disappeared from the pillow on her bed and Rafael sagged, sliding down the side of the bed, back resting against the mattress. Putting his hands over his face, Rafael crumbled, hot tears falling down his cheeks.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Torrential rain peppered the ground. Lightning cracked, and the dusky gray sky turned purple before the rumble started. It was low and deep, seeming to move the ground I lay on, even though the sound erupted from above. My hands shook, pushing back my mess of hair from my face, and I stared up into black eyes of the pouting elemental who was having a temper tantrum. You would have thought that after freeing it and allowing it to inhabit a new and less evil vessel would have raised its spirits. But who was I to know the moods of a gatekeeper? Breaking eye contact, I glanced over to the woman rocking back and forth, huddled mere feet away from me. Knees to chest, her head was buried under her arms, thick, black pleated hair tumbling over her shoulder. A hiss erupted in front of me, and I snapped my attention back. The elemental struggled, eyes shifting from black to hazel, snapping back and forth. They were fighting for control. Rising up on unsteady legs, the rain stopped between one breath and the next. Hazel eyes filled with sadness bored into my soul, and Amelia ran into my open arms. I clutched at her, squeezing my little lady-in-waiting-in-training to my chest. “I am so sorry, Amelia. I am so sorry for everything,” I blubbered.
Amelia shivered in my arms her voice, meek and tiny. “I know, Princess. I hear her in my head. We are one now.”
Seconds later she stiffened, pulling away from my embrace and letting my arms fall. Amelia’s eyes blackened, face void of all emotion. Glaring at the Elemental, gatekeeper for the Veiled Realm inhabiting Amelia’s body, my hands shook from anger. “Are we done here?”
The elemental cocked its head and smiled, the alienness of her stance something I couldn’t wrap my head around. My brain was still trying to process that the Amelia I knew was gone and the thing standing in front of me was not her. The urge to scream, to yell to the gods themselves to take me instead flowed through my veins, but I knew it wouldn’t make a difference. A choice had been made; the sacrifice completed. My words hung unspoken, thick in the air as the elemental raised her hands, and I was once again encased in hot white light.
HITTING A WOODEN FLOOR with a loud thud, a moan mixed with a sob escaped my mouth. A tide of emotions crashed over me and I blinked through the tears leaking down my cheeks. Tears blurred my eyesight, but I recognized my cabin. I was home. I was in my cabin in my forest. Everything was just as I left it, minus the layer of dust currently coating the floor and furniture around me. A loud sob bubbled up, muffled by my hand, followed by another and then another. They raked at me and the dam I was holding back broke. The sobs flooded through me, taking over my entire body, and I curled up into a ball on the floor. Every emotion I had held back over the past weeks swelled up, crashing into me all at once, and it was akin to taking a kick to the stomach. Hot tears streamed down my face as memories flashed before my eyes. Rafael, the night I learned I lost him forever. Disbelief and shattering heartbreak when I let him walk out the door, knowing my entire life was over. Riding back to Sheharla, meeting my sister for the first and last time. Having my heart ripped open all over again, learning that Rafael and our entire history together and the contract that brought me to this point in my life was all a lie. The wedding. Being ripped from Rafael’s arms and thrown into the Veiled Realm to complete a quest I never asked to be part of. Killing the gatekeeper’s host and lastly, losing Amelia to my stupidity. I screamed over and over, sobs shaking my body as I let all my frustration, anger, and sadness billow out of me.
Chapter Twenty-Four
A sunbeam pierced through the cracks of the door, dancing slowly across the floor. It had made it to the other side of the room, and soon daylight would give way to the nighttime. My voice had given out long before my tears stopped flowing, but eventually those too had ceased. My face burned and my skin had tightened. My lips had become salty and cracked. A whirlwind of thoughts and emotions had overwhelmed me, but eventually even they abandoned me. Now dead silence took up residence in my head. Shifting my weight, I groaned, unwrapping my arms from around my knees and pushing up into a sitting position. My head swam but it didn’t ache like how it did in the other realm, which meant I either didn’t hit my head as hard as I thought or the transfer back to my own realm healed me.
I went to wipe at my face before stopping mid-way, staring at them in horror. They were covered in black blood that had since dried. Grabbing blindly at the table leg next to me I pulled myself up, trying to get the shaking in my entire body under control. A fleeting thought crossed my mind. Maybe I should look around, make sure that my cabin was truly uninhabited. Shaking the thought off as quickly as it came, I realized that I didn’t care. I didn’t care if the Rovers had yet to send another caretaker, or if they decided to abandon the cabin
for now. Quickly glancing around, I went with the second. Abandonment. No one had been here since I left a week ago.
With a groan, I turned, and my entire body tensed. Scratch that, there had been someone here, a few times. Leaning heavily on the table, I examined the footprints left behind in the accumulating dust. They were all the same size and boot pattern, the eldest being covered with a layer of dust again. I squinted shaking my head; something about the dust layering was wrong. A dull ache took over in the back of my skull as I made my way around the table, shuffling into the back rooms. Darkness had encroached quickly and I lit one of the lanterns on my way. Everything seemed normal when I’d peeked into the two backrooms which held the washing area and the sleeping quarters. I sighed in relief before stepping into the washroom and finding that the layer of dust on the basin did not match the surrounding room. Someone had indeed been in my cabin and had used the washroom before heading out on their way. I found it mildly disconcerting that someone had been here in my cabin when I wasn’t, but I brushed away that thought. It was no longer my cabin, and if a traveler did stop by for just one night before moving on then who was I to argue? That was what this cabin and land was designed for.
Grabbing the handle to the basin water pump, I lifted it up. Creaking filled the air and water began to trickle out. Thrusting my hands under the cool spring the pump was connected to, a weight lifted off my chest slightly as the black blood coating my hands rinsed away. Reaching over for the washcloth, I franticly scrubbed at my arms and hands until the water flowed crystal clear and my skin turned pink and tingly from the cold water. The dull ache in my skull had turned into a throb, and my entire body felt numb when I walked back into the main cabin space. After locking the door, two windows, and making sure everything was secure for the night, I lit the fire. My entire body felt ten times heavier than normal and the need to sleep washed over me. I knew this feeling. My body was shutting down from exhaustion. The last time I’d felt this type of exhaustion was my first nights in the wilderness twelve years ago before stumbling across the Rover camp. Pausing, I stared at the flames as they danced across the logs before shaking my head and turning away. Copper coated the back of my throat, and I held back a gag as I looked down, quickly retreating to the back of the cabin. The way the firelight had played across my wedding dress and hands made it seem like the left over blood had spread, moving across every inch of me. I had to get out of this dress and into clean clothes. Running to the bedroom, I scrambled, trying to remember where I had left the stash of emergency clothing. All Rover safe houses had some, and mine was no exception. That was when I noticed the letters left on the small table next to the bed, weighted down with an ink bottle. My hands shook, carefully moving the ink bottle from the paper, fingers hovering over the Mountain Dragon insignia at the top left before quickly scanning the handwriting. Blinking away tears swelling up in the corner of my eyes, my lungs constricted, knees buckling, and my body slid to the floor, back against the wooden bed frame. The papers shook in my hand and crinkled as I read the first letter, turning to the next one, and the next. Three letters, all from Rafael. White-hot rage began to boil deep down in my heart. I focused through the blurring of my eyes on Rafael’s words.
The Rover Princess Page 14