by Eric Vall
“We love you, Nulena,” Aurora said as she took the Baroness’ hand. “For exactly who you are.”
“We do,” I agreed. “Although, is it a lot to ask for you to maybe respect that my work is like … crucial to the survival of several regions? It’s kind of a big deal, and you make it sound like I’m just running around with my head up my ass.”
“No,” Nulena said flatly. “You cannot even begin to comprehend how superior you are to these idiots. However, I can, and I maintain that you should let this world spiral into destruction and live out your life with the five of us in salacious bliss.”
I nodded. “That’s cool, too.”
Aurora giggled at the look on my face, but I had to hand it to the Baroness, she knew how to inflate a man’s ego. Sure, she had an unconventional approach, but damn it, I was into it.
So, I slid my arm around Nulena’s waist and tucked a kiss in her hair, and she melted against me while we waited for Deya to arrive. Only a couple minutes later, I heard the familiar flap of leathery wings approaching, and a barely visible black form swooped down to land in the clearing in front of us.
Then Deya turned to the side and tipped up her snout, and when her muscles rippled beneath her black scales, I realized she was striking a pose. She even let out an elegant puff of smoke, and as she flicked her tail, she gave a couple sturdy stomps with her front foot.
I tried to quiet my laughter as I nudged Nulena, and the Baroness caught the meaning of the look I sent her pretty quickly.
“Oh!” she muttered. “You look so impressive, Deya. I am impressed.”
Deya wiggled her haunches at the praise, and she snapped her fangs before she flipped around and crouched with her ass in my face. I gave her scales a light smack as we rounded her huge backend to climb onto her back, and when I got situated, the heat radiating through Deya’s scales immediately made up for the northern climate.
Then I wedged Nulena tighter between my legs as Aurora mounted up in front of her, and I couldn’t resist sliding my palms along the ebony woman’s thighs.
“Have you ever ridden a dragon?” Aurora asked over her shoulder.
Nulena shrugged. “No.”
“Well, don’t worry,” I murmured against her ear. “I’ve got you.”
“Do I look worried?”
Something about the glint in Nulena’s coal black eye when she looked back at me proved she wasn’t remotely concerned, but I was still kind of hoping her façade might shatter as Deya lurched into the air.
I probably should’ve known better, though.
The Baroness remained as unruffled as ever while the dragon bucked under us, and when we soared up into the sky, she simply held onto Aurora’s waist. I kept my grip on her anyways for my own enjoyment, and after less than three minutes of us all rolling against each other with every beat of Deya’s wings, Nulena raised her voice above the wind.
“We should have sex on a dragon sometime,” she announced.
“That’s exactly what I thought my first time!” I hollered back. “We actually have so many things in common.”
“Work just isn’t one of them,” Aurora laughed.
“Does this dragon fly faster, though?” the Baroness asked. “Time is of the essence with my job.”
Aurora flashed a broad grin over her shoulder at me, and both of us kicked Deya’s side to send her hurtling over Illaria. The wind howled in my ears as I tightened my hold on Nulena, and as the stars began to streak into lines around us, I decided I needed to go for more dragon joyrides with my women. Both of them were so at home on the giant beast that I was grinning the whole time, and Nulena calmly directed Deya toward Baron Ralish’s estate despite the unnerving sight of the world racing beneath us. It only took us about fifteen minutes at this speed before I could see the dim outline of a large manor coming up, and Deya slowed to a steady coast.
Just before we landed, Nulena summoned her powers with a wave of her hand, and when we touched down, the large dragon didn’t make a sound as she latched her talons on the ridge of the roof.
“Stay right here,” the Baroness ordered Deya once we all dismounted. “There’s a balcony on the second floor at the east side of the house. When I call you, fly there and pick us up, but do not let your wingtips hit the bricks.”
The dragon nodded, and I gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder before the three of us carefully shimmied down the roof and to the edge.
“Lower me down,” Nulena said as she took my hands, and I crouched to help her slide from the roof onto a dim balcony below. Then I helped Aurora join her, and after I swung down and landed beside them, I gestured toward the pathway leading to the estate.
There was a long line of carriages waiting at the entrance of the baron’s mansion, and the coachmen were moseying around like they expected to be there for a while.
“He’s got company,” I quietly told the Baroness. “Is that gonna complicate things?”
“No, I arranged this,” Nulena whispered. “They all arrived one hour ago to discuss how to deal with you.”
“Really?” Aurora snorted. “What is this, a ‘We Hate Mason Flynt’ club?”
“Essentially, yes,” the Baroness replied, and she stooped to jimmy the handle of the balcony door.
“How does that cover my ass?” I clarified. “No one here would kill Ralish if they’re all working together.”
“It covers your ass because every person in this house would have you or your women killed,” Nulena muttered, and the lock on the door clicked open as she straightened up. “After tonight, they’ll be too terrified to even look you in the eye, let alone approach your women. Now, hold still.”
Aurora and I did as she said while the Tenebrae Mage raised a slender hand toward us, and as she doused us in her magic, I recognized the strange feeling I’d had outside House Natyr the day I killed the head of House Syru. It was the same enchantment that allowed all the elves and I to race through the jungle without making a sound, and my skin tingled as the sensation spread throughout my body.
Then the Baroness nodded, and we followed her through the door.
We moved as silently as shadows while we jogged to keep up with Nulena from here, and as she crept from one darkened doorway to the next, I could hear the hushed conversations taking place on the first floor. It sounded like a subdued and snide crowd judging by their voices, but I kept hearing the scratching of pens on paper as well. Then we ducked into a darkened bedchamber, and when Nulena went to the mantle of the fireplace, she motioned for us to stand in the corner.
Aurora and I watched while she slid her fingers over three different candelabras, and when she came to the fourth, she nudged it ever so slightly to the left. Then the wall behind me creaked, and I whipped around to see a two-foot gap had appeared in the corner that led to a winding stairwell.
Aurora gasped as she sent me an ecstatic smile, and Nulena brushed by to head to the lower level while we promptly followed. She was waiting for us at the bottom with her powers sparked at the ready, and once Aurora reined in her snickering, the Baroness looked at the wall in front of us.
“Only follow when I nod,” Nulena said under her breath.
Then she nudged her foot against a stone I hadn’t seen on the floor, and the wall in front of her creaked open while the upper entrance sealed itself.
Aurora was so excited now she was clutching my arm in a death grip, and we exchanged huge and dorky grins while the Baroness barely peeked her head out of the gap. My heart was pounding, and I felt like I was in some old timey mystery movie, but when Nulena raised a slender finger in front of her, I was immediately reminded this world was way cooler than that.
The Baroness gracefully trailed her finger through the air, and a curtain of billowing shadows draped itself across the entrance like a veil. Then she pressed it outward to make it expand, and as she stepped from the hidden stairwell, she looked around before she nodded to us.
Even though I knew her shadowy veil would conceal us, my heart stil
l stuttered when we joined her, because there was a large collection of ritzy nobles standing directly through the doorway to our left.
Aurora was too busy poking the strange billowing curtain to notice, but when the Baroness poked her in the side, she blushed and refocused on the task at hand.
“They can’t hear or see us,” Nulena murmured as we slowly neared the doorway, “but we can still interact with our surroundings, so don’t bump into anyone, and don’t knock anything over.”
“Wait, you’re gonna kill him in front of all these people?” I asked uneasily.
“No, as enjoyable as that sort of scene can be, it won’t have the proper effect to ensure the others abandon their plans,” the Baroness replied. “We have to wait for the perfect moment. Follow me closely.”
Then Nulena led us into the room, and I raised my eyebrows at how many nobles apparently hated me enough to have a party over it. There were at least forty people present in the decadent hall, and they mulled around with hors d’oeuvres and goblets in hand while they kissed each others’ asses a bit.
We slid along the burgundy walls until Nulena brought us around to the furthest corner where we would be out of the way, and as she stopped to scope out the gathering, I studied her expression out of curiosity.
I’d seen her in work-mode at Temin’s castle not long ago, and while it seemed like every noble there needed a quick and shady word with her, Nulena had appeared completely impassive about it.
This side of the Tenebrae Mage was different, though.
Behind her veil, Nulena’s two-toned eyes were steely as they scoured the room, and when I saw them flare and settle on one man, I followed the direction of her gaze.
“Who is that?” I muttered under my breath while I sized up the glowering man.
He was less well-dressed than the other attendees, but his hefty build made him more intimidating, and he stood apart from the gathering as he scanned the crowd as intently as Nulena had done. None of the nobles were speaking with the man, but after a short time watching him, I realized the nobles even avoided looking his way.
“That’s a lord from southern Cedis,” Nulena replied. “He will be dying tonight, as long as his two consorts have taken the bait, and it looks like at least one of them has.”
“I thought you were only killing Baron Ralish,” Aurora whispered.
The Baroness nodded. “Him, too, but sometimes, others must die in order to cast the proper web of deceit. The man who is watching from the opposite side of the room is my other pawn. I only need to be sure the third is … ah. There he is. The man speaking with the baron now.”
My pulse quickened as I looked around for the snide baron from the meeting, and when I located him surrounded by ten others, I felt that hot brick in my stomach begin to scald again. Just the sneer on his face was enough to make me hate him, but knowing he’d targeted my women made it difficult to keep from grabbing my pistol right then.
“Mason, I can see you grinding your teeth together,” Aurora muttered. “Be patient.”
“I’m patient,” I lied, and I turned to Nulena to distract myself. “Why those three men? What do they have to do with me?”
“Nothing,” the Baroness replied, “but they have everything to do with the others. Each person in this room has dealings with one or two of them, and all of them would be hanged if those dealings were exposed. The three men rarely come together like this, but when they heard what would be in discussion this evening, they were enticed to join.”
“What’s being discussed this evening?” Aurora asked as she leaned around me.
“Overthrowing the Order of the Elementa, and taking control of the kingdom,” Nulena muttered.
“What?” I gasped. “How could they possibly accomplish that? And why?”
“At this stage? Mostly for the sake of destroying you,” the Baroness said. “After your little celebration at Temin’s castle, I started a rumor the king had appointed you to be his successor if he should be killed in this war.”
I stared at the ebony woman. “Why would you do that? It could only make things worse for me.”
“Not much worse, they already wanted to kill you by then, and I only intended to enact a slow punishment for it.” Nulena shrugged. “I enjoy watching people frantically try to protect themselves from what they believe is inevitable. If you were to become king of Illaria, those three men would be able to charge five times their normal price to hold their tongues about these nobles. Otherwise, they could expose all of them to you and have them stripped of their titles and cast into poverty. It’s been rather amusing to watch them all squirm over it. And lucrative.”
“You’re so fun to work with,” Aurora sighed.
“I’m a little turned on,” I admitted.
“Unfortunately, humans are unpredictably stupid, so now they’re twice as intent on killing you and are failing miserably,” Nulena continued. “Which brings us to this evening. It so happens there is a certain price these three men are willing to accept from these nobles to collectively make all their troubles disappear. That price hinges on the plan they are plotting this evening.”
“What’s the plan?” I asked.
“Framing you for Temin’s murder,” Nulena replied. “The three men I am using as pawns will assassinate him in two days if this group of nobles can agree on the terms.”
My gut dropped. “Please tell me Temin didn’t end up targeted because of you.”
“Of course, he did,” the Baroness said with no concern. “What do you think I’ve been arranging all day? I planted the idea and ensured the proper lords would commit to it, but don’t worry, as long as those three men leave this room with Baron Ralish within the next … five minutes or so, Temin won’t be killed.”
“Nulena,” I groaned as I rifled my hair. “This is--”
“Necessary,” Nulena interrupted.
“No, it’s getting too many people involved,” I countered. “Temin should never be at risk over my bullshit. He’s a good man.”
“Mason, you asked me to handle the situation,” the Baroness sighed. “Allow me to do my job. I let you do yours.”
“But why did you bring Temin’s life into the balance?” Aurora asked, and she wasn’t smiling anymore.
“Several reasons,” Nulena muttered. “For starters, the nobles needed to believe they could buy their way out of this and secure their situations in Illaria. I needed these three men rooted out and brought here tonight, and only the ultimate goal could entice the nobles toward the price that these three men couldn’t ignore.”
“And framing me is the ultimate goal?”
“Not at all,” the Baroness snorted. “With Temin dead, and you to blame for it, Illaria would be in an uproar. The mages who have followed you would be cast out of the kingdom, and the Order would fall. You and Aurora would be executed, there would be no successor to the throne, and with no Order, every citizen in Illaria would have to depend on the nobles’ private armies to protect them. With the profits of the taxes they’d charge the citizens, they could pay these three men to kill off the seven most prominent nobles in the kingdom. This would secure the position and power of every person in this room, and Ralish would be appointed king for bringing it all together tonight.”
“Damn,” I muttered. “That’s pretty diabolical.”
“Thank you,” Nulena chuckled. “Of course, their efforts would be useless. The Master would take over within days of your execution, but it would be incredibly entertaining to watch everything unravel.”
I cocked a brow at the ebony woman, and she blushed lightly.
“What? It would,” Nulena mumbled. “Obviously, I won’t let it come to that.”
I shook my head while we all kept our eyes on the three pawns and the baron, but after five minutes passed, I was more anxious than ever at the thought of how much hung in the balance.
“What happens if they don’t leave the room?” I asked.
“If they don’t, it means my plan hasn’t
worked, and I’ll be running around for the next few days trying to save Temin’s life for you,” Nulena sighed. “You’re welcome.”
Aurora couldn’t help giggling as I let out a tense breath, but then the Baroness tapped my arm, and I saw the three pawns slowly begin making their way to a door on the other side of the room.
“There they go,” Nulena said with a deadly grin. “This next part I must do alone.”
“But you said I could help!” Aurora scoffed.
“And you will, yours is the most important task,” the baroness assured her as Baron Ralish casually dismissed himself from his conversation. “You and Mason are to return to the room we just came from. There are two books stacked on the mantle, and if you open the cover of the bottom book by a few inches without removing the one on top, a passageway will open to your left. Once you’re inside, shift the wooden plank you find to your right to reseal the entrance, and follow the passageway to the end, but do not bump into the crooked brick. That’s very important so you don’t disrupt my work. Stay there until I call you out, and then you may touch the crooked brick. Understood?”
“I think so,” I said as I scrambled to remember all this. “What if--”
“Go,” Nulena hissed, and she headed in the opposite direction.
Aurora and I both held our breaths while her magic split off from the two of us, but part of her shadowy curtain remained behind to keep us hidden. Then we exchanged nervous glances before we inched our way along the wall, and when we made it to the deserted room we’d come from, Aurora slid her hand into mine.
“There’s the two books,” she whispered, and I nodded.
Just like Nulena had said, opening the bottom book cover by three inches caused another hidden entrance to open, and the slim gap in the wall revealed a musty corridor that ran between the rooms.