by Haley Ryan
When I finally ran out of words, an awkward silence fell over the room. And honestly, I’ve never been great with awkward silences.
“So. That’s way more than enough about me,” I said, setting my mug on the floor next to me and scratching Waffles behind his ears. He rolled onto his back with a groan, begging for a belly rub. “You know where I live, what I do for work, and the basic history of my past four months, but I really don’t know anything about you. Like, how old you are, what you do at the enclave, or whether you even like tea, though I appreciate you drinking it anyway.”
I really didn’t think my distraction attempt would work, but it was worth a try.
Ryker cocked his head, and his look told me he was willing to let the remainder of my story go for the moment, but not forever. “You’re what, nineteen?”
“Almost twenty,” I hastened to inform him.
“As I’m sure you’ve guessed, you’re the youngest.” His grin was slightly evil. “Declan is next to youngest—he just turned twenty-four. I’m twenty-nine, and our big brother Callum is thirty-two.”
“How old is… Lady Tairen?” I just couldn’t get the word “Mom” to come out of my mouth, but thankfully neither of them chose to comment on it.
“She’s three hundred fifty-four.”
I blinked at him for a moment, trying to figure out the various implications of that.
“So she survived the fall of Idria. Was she queen then?”
Declan shook his head. “There were a lot of dragons who never made it out, or chose not to leave, and she was simply the strongest of those who crossed over—the most capable of holding us together and making a home for us in a new world.”
“Why did she wait so long to have kids?”
“She didn’t,” Declan said softly.
“So we have more siblings? Older ones?”
He shook his head, and suddenly I understood my mother’s tears a little better.
“She lost them.”
“She lost everything when Idria fell,” Ryker admitted. “Her mate, children, all of it. I think it was a long time before she let herself feel again. And it’s hard, even now. I haven’t seen her cry in years, before today.”
“Then… who is our father?”
“When Mom had been queen for a few years, the council began pressuring her to either provide an heir or step down.” Ryker sounded matter of fact, but I could tell it hadn’t been that simple. “She was getting older, and many of the council members didn’t believe she would be able to have more children. There were a few who hoped to use it to remove her from power—mostly those who wanted to see the dragons wield more influence in Idrian politics. Mom has always preferred to stay out of world affairs unless there’s an issue that truly requires our participation.”
“But dragons lead the Shapeshifter Court?”
“Yes. Mostly by virtue of sheer size and ability. Shapeshifters value strength and settle most things in single combat. Dragons are the largest and most dangerous, and therefore they are granted the right to rule.”
Okay, that much I could understand. I would probably also tend to show the most respect to something that could eat me and not have to pick its teeth afterward.
“So, the strongest dragon rules the dragons?”
“At first perhaps,” Ryker agreed, “but after the throne has been established, the line is matriarchal, unless a monarch has no daughters.”
Oh. Well, that did complicate things, didn’t it?
“So, she decided to have more children?”
He nodded, but a darker emotion lurked behind his eyes. “I’m only telling you this because you’re our sister, and I believe it’s your right to know, but I’m not sure anyone realizes what a difficult decision that was. She’d already lost everything, and that wound wasn’t going to heal just because she replaced the family that was lost. But for the good of the dragons—to help maintain stability in the new world—she decided to produce an heir.”
I let that sink in for a moment, and I didn’t like where it led me.
“So she had kids because…”
“No,” Declan interrupted. He leaned back against the couch cushions in a deceptively relaxed pose, but his eyes were alert. “Kira, don’t get the wrong idea here. Yes, our mother is a queen, and yes, she felt pressured into producing an heir. But she doesn’t see us that way. You are not simply the outcome of political necessity. She chose a good friend, and they agreed to mate out of mutual respect. And she loves us all equally. None of us have ever felt that we were unwanted simply because we were not the hoped-for heir.”
There he went again, guessing what I was thinking.
How must it have felt, being one of three boys born out of the need for an heir, only to be passed over because they were male?
And what did that mean for their relationship with me, the female, whose birth secured the throne, but who then threw everything into chaos again by disappearing? Whose very existence served as a constant reminder that they weren’t quite good enough.
As if sensing my distress, Waffles rolled over and nudged his huge head under my elbow, begging for a hug.
I wrapped my arm around his neck and considered my options. I could ask them how they felt about all this and risk finding out that they actually kind of resented me. Or I could let it go and pretend that politics didn’t change a thing.
Yeah, why go looking for an uncomfortable truth when you can pretend everything is fine? Besides, I’d had more than enough uncomfortable truth for the day, and I still had a summons to read.
Which undoubtedly contained even more uncomfortable truths.
It was with great reluctance that I picked up the rolled paper, broke the seal, and perused the message within.
At least, I tried, but the calligraphy was legit. There were so many flourishes and fancy curlicues, it took me a few moments to pick out the actual letters.
To Kira Everleigh, Greetings.
His Majesty, Dathair Elduvar, High King of the Fae, requests your presence at The Vale, Royal Fae Enclave in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, where you will be required to submit to questioning regarding your role in the alleged treason and subsequent death of Llyr Elduvar, former prince and heir to the fae throne. As a matter of courtesy, your cooperation will be expected at your earliest convenience.
Nope, not a medical bill, and for the first time in my life, I was a little disappointed by that.
This wasn’t good at all.
“What is it?”
I tried to think up a story that might get me out of explaining, and failed. Badly.
“The fae king wants to know whether I killed his son. Who was a traitor and a total jackass, by the way.”
I’m not sure what I expected, but it wasn’t for Ryker to chuckle as though that were wickedly amusing.
“And did you?”
“Um…”
His grin widened. “Well done, sister.”
“But now Dathair expects me to show up at his court to answer his questions. He doesn’t know I’m a dragon, and I don’t want him to find out.”
Ryker shrugged. “He won’t find out, because you won’t be going.”
“But I don’t want him to come looking for me either.” And part of me was tempted to obey the summons just so I would have a chance to hunt down a certain irritating, half-fae, possibly-an-assassin.
Who probably hadn’t betrayed me. When had my life gotten this complicated?
“Dathair can’t technically summon you directly,” Declan said, appearing utterly unconcerned from his comfy corner of the couch. “He can summon Kira Everleigh, and she might seek counsel from the Shapeshifter Court before responding, but he cannot summon Kirasha-li-Tairen, Princess of Dragons. The fae can politely request your cooperation, but a summons is an insult to shapeshifter sovereignty and potential cause for war.”
Oh. I guess that was good news?
“So, do I just ignore it?”
“For now.” Ryker still seemed rather amus
ed by the whole thing. “Mother will be better able to advise you, and will take the matter up with Dathair herself if it becomes necessary.”
“If I decide to join you at the enclave,” I guessed.
“No,” Declan said firmly. “She will help you, no matter what. We all will.”
That would take some getting used to. And I would probably require some proof before I could actually believe it.
I opened my mouth to announce that it was past my bedtime—it wasn’t, I was just that desperate to get some space to think—but I never got the words out.
The Imperial March suddenly began playing from the vicinity of Ryker’s jacket, which I’d laid over the counter when we got home.
“Callum’s ringtone,” he said with a shrug. That made me grin in spite of myself as he got up, retrieved his phone, and answered with a terse, “We’re fine.”
It didn’t take shapeshifter hearing to realize that all was not fine on the other end of the call.
Ryker’s posture shifted in the blink of an eye. Where he’d been alert but relaxed, he was now tense and coiled, looking suddenly as if his dragon was only barely contained and straining to break free.
“Where?” he barked.
I couldn’t make out Callum’s reply.
“We could be there in three or four hours.”
More yelling from the other end.
“Damn it, Cal, that’s not fast enough. Not if it’s a serious hit. No way they were counting on impact alone.”
A hit? Had someone attacked Lady Tairen?
Ryker’s gaze jerked to me. “Yes,” he said, suddenly razor-focused and serious. “You know we will.”
Oh, I wasn’t going to like this at all.
“No one’s going to touch her,” Ryker said softly, and his words seemed as much meant for me as for Callum. “Not again, not while we’re alive. You fight your battles, and we’ll fight ours.”
He hung up, and a quick glance at Declan confirmed my suspicions. Something very, very bad had happened.
“The plane was attacked,” Ryker said, and suddenly there was no doubting that I shared a room with two incredibly dangerous predators. Even Declan, for all his gentleness and empathy, was still a dragon, and now he was a very angry one.
“Who?”
“They’re working on it. But Cal believes at least one of our own was involved.”
Declan swore, and I reminded myself that even the gentlest of my brothers was probably far more dangerous than I had any idea of.
“Mom?”
“She’s unconscious. Cal shifted and got her to the ground, along with the pilot, but the copilot is dead.”
“Then they’re exposed. Is there any cover?”
“Cal says they’ll be fine. They’ve called for backup, and it should arrive within six hours.”
“Six hours is forever,” I blurted out, and Ryker gave me an oddly approving nod.
“It is, but Cal is as tough as they come, and Mom should be awake soon.”
Suddenly I understood what he wasn’t telling me.
“That’s not why he doesn’t want you to come. He told you to stay here to protect me.”
Ryker’s silence confirmed my guess. Callum didn’t want their help, not because he didn’t need it, but because he was afraid whoever had attacked them might be aiming for me next.
Because if anything happened to Lady Tairen…
I would be the next Queen of the Dragons.
Four
In retrospect, I probably should have predicted what happened next. But honestly, it hadn’t quite sunk in yet that I might become a target, and even if it had, wouldn’t it be just a bit fatuous to assume I was important enough for someone to blow up my house?
Technically, the whole thing didn’t explode, just all of the windows, in a single terrifying cascade of falling shards.
And I didn’t even see much of it, because Declan grabbed me, pulled me down, and completely shielded me with his body before the last shards fell to the floor. Which was when I smelled the smoke…
“Air elemental,” I heard Ryker snarl. “Must be working with a fire, maybe a phoenix.” He rose to a crouch as Declan helped me roll over and sit up. “Fire is on the first level. We’ll need to go up.”
“I can’t leave Waffles!” I hissed, as terror and rage in equal amounts shot through my veins.
Their blank looks suggested I should have come up with less culinary names for my pets. “My dog. Hugh has the cat, but we have to take Waffles.”
Declan let me up long enough for me to run for the leash, not even a moment before I heard a crash from downstairs.
Someone was destroying my store.
Fire and fury rose in my throat like acid, my eyes went hot, and scales began to appear on the backs of my hands. No one got to take what was mine. I’d fought for it before, and I’d fight for it again.
“They’re dead,” I hissed, and bolted for the stairs, but Declan caught me, his shocked gaze on my hands and arms.
“Kira, you can’t go down there!” I could tell he wanted to ask about my scales, but there wasn’t time.
“This is my home!” I cried out, straining against his hold. “I won’t let them have it. It’s mine!”
He tugged me closer, caught my eyes, and held them. “That’s the dragon talking. I know you want to save the store, but whoever is out there doesn’t want your house—they want you, and we can’t keep you safe from them without shifting. We have to retreat.”
I knew that. I did, but how could I just walk away and let someone destroy my home?
It was tiny and creaky and ancient, but it was all I had. My only link to a time when I knew who I was and everything made sense.
“Please, Kira. We have to go.”
Finally, I nodded, as an unnatural wind rose around us, scattering my pile of junk mail and drawing a terrified moan from Waffles, who pressed against my leg, shaking from nose to tail.
And that was before an unearthly scream rose over the sound of the wind, sounding like a pissed-off pterodactyl crossed with a banshee.
Oh no.
I looked out the broken window and almost let out a cuss word I’d never said out loud. Standing in front of my house was a creature out of nightmares—a clawed, winged beast that stood probably eight feet at the shoulder, with long, curved horns, and a coarse, dark mane falling down its back. Its eyes glowed red in the dark as it let out another scream of rage, but it wasn’t attacking. It was…
Protecting. Oh dear saints in heaven. That thing was Hugh. He’d bonded with my house, and now he was striding up and down the street in front of it, looking for the attacker. Protecting the store, because now it was his home, too.
And even though it tore me apart, I was going to have to let him do it alone.
We were only in danger because of me, and the sooner I got away from here, the sooner my enemies would follow. The faster I drew them off, the more likely that Ever’s Afters (and my human neighbors) would survive the night. My leaving might be the only thing that ensured I would have a home to come back to.
And even more than my own fears, there was Hugh’s future to think of. We might not always see eye-to-eye, but none of this was his fault. How could I stand here and watch while he lost his home a second time when there was a way I could possibly prevent it?
With one last look around, I grabbed Waffles’ leash and led my brothers into my bedroom. Snatched up my wallet, my phone, and some clothes and stuffed them into a backpack along with the fae summons. Tried not to second guess my choices or wonder whether I would ever see my home again.
Then I led them out the window onto the roof, where the wind whipped at our hair and tugged at the hem of my poorly fitting shirt.
It just figured that I would end up fleeing for my life in clothes that weren’t even mine.
Ryker jumped down first, and Declan helped me lower Waffles as smoke began leaking from the downstairs windows, hurting more than my eyes. All those books, the rare and vinta
ge collection… How could someone have set fire to this place just to get to me?
When we were all safely on the ground behind the house, I choked down all my thoughts of betrayal and tossed Ryker the keys to my aunt’s Subaru. She hadn’t come back—why should I feel wrong about using the car to escape?
“Kira!” I turned at the sound of my name and was thankful to see a familiar face. Seamus came racing out of the shadows—his expression desperate and his eyes glowing amber-gold—only to be nearly tackled by my brothers when he got too close.
“Stop it,” I hissed, shoving them off and throwing my arms around my favorite bartender in a tight hug. “Seamus, I’m okay. We all got out.”
He hugged me so hard he swept me off the ground before putting me back down. “Thank the gods for that. I called Faris when the windows blew. If anything had happened to you, I think he would have pulled the city down around our ears.”
“Tell him I’m fine,” I reassured the shaggy-haired shapeshifter. “But…” I turned to look at the house. “The store isn’t.”
His expression turned grim. “We need to find that elemental and stop him before he knocks down more than a few bookshelves.”
“You sure it’s a him?”
He knew what I was asking.
“Whoever it is, it’s not Bronwyn, I swear. She’ll be apprehended the minute she sets foot in the city. And this guy’s magic is stronger. He’s still in hiding, but he’s going toe-to-toe with that gargoyle, and if they aren’t careful, they’re going to draw all the wrong kinds of attention.”
“I know.” I gripped his arm. “Seamus, this attack is aimed at me. As soon as I leave, they should follow, and you’ll be able to get Hugh calmed down. Promise me you’ll help him. Promise me you’ll try to save the store.”