Dragon Hunted

by Haley Ryan

  Some things never changed—even with his shirt on, even when I was furious enough to punch him in the face, Draven still made me forget how to breathe.

  He was about as tall as Declan, broad-shouldered but not bulky, just perfectly sculpted for speed and strength. His swoon-worthy chest was currently covered by the most formal clothing I’d ever seen him wear—a dark blazer over a black button-down shirt—but it honestly did nothing to tone down his appeal. Or the sense I’d had since the first time we met that he was far more dangerous than he allowed people to believe.

  And just like the first time we met, I couldn’t seem to look away. He wasn’t wearing glamour, and I was glad, because a part of me needed to see that it was really him and he was really okay. His dark hair was a little longer than I recalled, and there was no visible warmth in his light gray eyes, but that coolness was as much a part of him as the slightly pointed ears and the silvery scar that crossed his cheek and disappeared behind his collar.

  “Kirasha!” Lady Tairen rose from her seat, and if I hadn’t known about her injuries, I might not have noticed the care she took in coming to her feet. Or how quickly Callum moved to support her, while Ryker and Declan moved to flank me.

  “Thank you for coming so promptly,” she said, adopting a more formal tone than her initial greeting. “This is Draven Elduvar, emissary of King Dathair. He has brought unsettling news from the Fae Court, and I had hoped to discuss it with you before taking it to my council.”

  I nodded. The motion was jerky and probably looked robotic, but I didn’t trust my voice.

  “Lord Elduvar”—Lady Tairen gestured in our direction—“these are my second and third sons, Ryker and Declan, and with them is my daughter and heir, Kirasha-li-Tairen.”

  Whoa there. She did not just introduce me as her heir, and in front of the one person I would really have liked to talk to about all of this before I made any decisions.

  Ugh. Apparently, standing up for myself and my choices was going to have to start sooner rather than later.

  But where Draven was concerned, there was no taking it back now—damage done. His nostrils flared slightly, and he offered me just the smallest incline of his head. “Kira,” he said coolly, at which point all three of my brothers reoriented themselves slightly to stare him down.

  “Hi,” I said, and congratulated myself when my voice didn’t squeak—much. “It’s… nice to see you.”

  But was it? I hated that I couldn’t decide whether that was true. After months of waiting to hear from him, this wasn’t at all the reunion I had in mind. For one thing, I’d imagined him being a little happier to see me. I definitely hadn’t imagined him taking on his father’s name, but obviously, a lot had changed for both of us.

  “I’m pleased to see that you’re well,” he said, his formal tone sounding nothing like the Draven I remembered.

  “The two of you have met, then?” Lady Tairen interjected. “I look forward to hearing that story at some point. Though I would prefer, Lord Elduvar, that you address my daughter according to her proper status.”

  And since when was Draven lord of anything?

  “Now that I am aware of it,” he said tightly, “you may be sure that I will observe the proper courtesies.”

  Callum seemed to relax, but Ryker and Declan had the advantage of knowing a fair bit more about my association with Draven and were, therefore, clearly more suspicious of his intentions. They continued to watch him as though they expected him to do something either depraved or dastardly at any moment.

  I was just kind of hoping he would take his shirt off.

  Yeah, that’s what a diet of too many books will do—you start using words like dastardly and wishing hot shapeshifters went around shirtless in real life.

  But this wasn’t a book, sadly, so I swallowed my hurt and my questions and acted as though I was fine with all of this, even if I was so far from fine I couldn’t begin to remember what it looked like.

  “Perhaps we’ll have a chance to catch up after your business is concluded,” I said, and winced at the hope I’m sure everyone could hear in my voice.

  “Perhaps,” was all he gave me in return. “For now”—he turned to Lady Tairen—“Your Majesty, I’ll leave you to discuss this and determine your response.”

  “Thank you, Lord Elduvar. You’ll be informed as soon as we reach a decision.”

  Decision? About Morghaine?

  I wanted to know what information he’d brought, but as he walked past us on his way out of the room, I also wanted desperately to chase him down and ask why.

  Why had he abandoned me? After promising he would always find me, why had he left me with nothing but silence and questions for months? And why was he behaving now like the icy stranger he’d been when we first met?

  But no matter what I wanted, I could tell this wasn’t the time or the place to confront him. I would have to act like a mature adult for a little bit longer, and then I could hunt him down.

  As soon as the doors closed behind Draven, Lady Tairen motioned for us to take seats.

  “I’m glad to see you are all well, and that no injuries resulted from the incidents,” she said.

  The incidents. As though this sort of thing happened every day.

  “Kirasha, I apologize for the stress this must have put you through so soon after learning who you really are. I’m sure it must have come as a bit of a shock.”

  “You could say that,” I murmured, not really ready with a diplomatic response.

  “I’m afraid what I have to say now will not make our situation any easier, as it concerns Morghaine.”

  I sat up straighter, anxious to know what they’d learned.

  “I have received word from the Fae Court that they have begun an inquiry into Morghaine’s history and whereabouts, due to what they are calling ‘considerable evidence’ that she actively conspired with Llyr Elduvar to overthrow his father, Dathair.”

  Her words hit me like a punch to the gut. What had Rath and Draven told Dathair? How could they have interpreted what we saw that way? Yes, Morghaine had been in Idria, but there was no evidence she’d been conspiring with anyone. She’d been as much a prisoner there as I had.

  At least Lady Tairen didn’t look any happier than I felt.

  “This is, of course, a matter of courtesy between courts,” she told me. “They announce their intentions in order to avoid misunderstandings, but it is their prerogative to investigate whatever and however they choose. It is not their prerogative to take action against one of my subjects without presenting their findings, but at this point, they will wait for my permission to proceed if they wish for our cooperation.”

  I felt numb. “Then, you’re just going to cooperate with them? As if she’s guilty?”

  Lady Tairen’s expression gentled. “I in no way believe that Morghaine is guilty of what they claim, Kirasha, so please rest easy on that front. However, the quickest way to establish innocence is to cooperate with their investigation so that they can see there is no rational explanation for their suspicions.”

  “And if they find evidence to fit their theories?”

  “The fae cannot proclaim a sentence against one of my subjects without my agreement, which I will not give unless they are able to convince me beyond all doubt. And if they choose to pursue her anyway, they know they are risking a war they are ill-prepared to win, at a time when they have just lost their heir and suffered a deep internal political fracture.”

  Ugh. Politics. How my family lived with this kind of pressure all the time was utterly beyond my comprehension. I had enough stress just trying to figure out how to pay my bills and keep Chicken from peeing on the couch.

  “Before we agree,” Callum said, “I want to do a little investigating of our own. Work with Kira on what she remembers and see what we can find out. The messenger can stew for a bit until we decide what level of cooperation we intend to offer.”

  “Uh.” I raised my hand, then promptly dropped it when all four of th
em gave me a funny look. “There’s probably something you should know before you finish making all of these decisions.”

  “I do intend to question you at length,” Callum informed me, “so whatever you have to add can probably wait until we’re at the fact-finding stage.”

  I was really going to enjoy tweaking his nose as often as possible to see if I could crack that irritating, know-it-all facade.

  “Actually, it can’t,” I said, resisting the urge to do something juvenile. “Before I left home, I was served with a summons. From Dathair. Demanding my presence at the Fae Court. They want to ask me about how Llyr died.”

  Callum fixed me with a rather unnerving stare. “And do you have a great deal to add to the discussion of how Llyr died?”

  “Yes?” I hedged.

  He let out a long-suffering sigh. “Tell us.”

  “Well, I was there.”

  “And?”

  I grimaced. “I helped pull down his castle, destroyed his shadow beasts, and lured out the dragon who eventually killed him.”

  Four sets of eyebrows went up.

  “Which dragon killed him?”

  “That’s what I’m hoping you can tell me,” I confessed. “She was a prisoner there and had been for a long time from what I could tell. Llyr tortured her—cut off her wings and one of her toes and used her blood for his experiments.”

  “Cut off her…” My brothers went pale, and I thought Lady Tairen might throw up.

  “Sorry,” I said, folding my hands together and shrinking into my seat. “Guess I should have eased into that a little more carefully.”

  “This does put a different face on their investigation,” Callum said softly. “If their heir was torturing one of our own, they can’t want us to know about it. Kira”—he turned to me—“what else can you tell us about this dragon?”

  I shrugged. “Not much. She was huge—bigger than Ryker or Declan—and she was black. Also…” I paused, not sure what to make of this piece of information myself. “She knew my name. My real name. Before I even knew it, because Morghaine always just called me by my human name.”

  Lady Tairen’s expression was fierce. “We will get in touch with all clan members outside the enclave. See who is missing. And we will most certainly be questioning Dathair about this matter when we make our response to his request for an inquiry.”

  She threw me a glance. “Don’t concern yourself with the summons. I must assume Dathair had no idea who he was summoning, considering that he can in no way compel you to appear at his court.”

  I relaxed a little, but not by much.

  And I decided not to bring up the reason for my anxiety, because the last thing my family needed was more things to worry about.

  In reality, though, the fact that Dathair even knew to summon me meant that someone had talked, and I had no way of knowing how much he’d been told. It was possible he knew not only about my part in Llyr’s death, but also that I was a near-mythical bronze dragon.

  I might have been made a target for more reasons than my newfound political importance.

  That discussion, however, could wait.

  I had bigger issues to deal with. Like the half-fae emissary currently staying somewhere at the enclave, and the question of whether he’d been the one to betray me to his father.

  “So now can I shower?” I asked tentatively, and Declan chuckled.

  “Of course,” he said. “Mother, where will Kira be staying?”

  She narrowed her eyes and tapped her chin with one finger. “I don’t want her too exposed, but on the other hand, the rest of the clan will have to get used to her sooner or later.”

  The rest of the clan?

  “Cousins and whatnot,” Declan murmured, easing my worries. I didn’t think I could handle any more immediate family. Although at some point, I was going to have to meet the person my mother had chosen to be my father.

  Seemed like a strangely impersonal way of handling things, but what did I know about dragon courtship rituals?

  “Put her in one of the visitor’s suites, in the north wing of the Lodge,” Lady Tairen said finally. “She’ll be easier to guard there, but the rest of the family is close by. We can move her to one of your houses later if she prefers.”

  Somehow, they’d started talking as if I weren’t even in the room again.

  “Yes, she probably prefers,” I said, jumping to my feet. “And right now, she prefers a shower. With real toiletries and clean clothes, if it isn’t too much trouble.”

  Callum pulled out a phone and began texting at a speed that would put the average teenage girl to shame.

  “Done,” he said, a few moments later. “Declan, will you escort her to her suite? I’ve arranged for guards so you can get some downtime, and we’ll reconvene later to establish a plan of action.”

  Declan nodded and moved to my side. “Don’t worry,” he whispered. “We won’t abandon you.”

  I shook my head and offered him a tiny smile, feeling somewhere between exasperated and amused. I wasn’t sure I would want him reading my mind this much all the time, but right now, it was nice to have someone thinking of what I might need.

  “Thanks,” I said. “And in return, I’ll try not to freak out and run away.”

  “If you do,” he murmured, leaning in closer to my ear, “can I come with you?”

  Somehow, he knew just how to make everything better.

  Though not quite as much better as I felt after my shower, and after I realized that whoever had provided me with clothes was a fabulous shopper who had actually taken my preferences into account. Jeans and a sweater—far nicer than I would have chosen, but still casual—and comfortable flats waited on my bed, and I slipped into them with a blissful sigh.

  My suite was impressive—and incredibly huge for just one person—with a king-sized bed, cozy sitting area, dining table, and a window seat that I curled up in immediately after discovering it.

  The view looked out over the meadow and the river, and it should have been utterly peaceful. But there was very little peace in my mind at that moment, and it was impossible to ignore the realities that clamored for my attention.

  Way too much had happened since yesterday. My entire life had been turned upside down in a matter of hours.

  I was in a different state, with a family I never knew existed, a royal title, and the mystery of Morghaine hanging over me like a cloud I could never quite dismiss.

  How could I move on and accept any of these changes without knowing why she’d raised me the way she had?

  No, I needed closure. And the best way to get it was to stay here and fight for it, no matter what obstacles seemed to litter my path.

  I also needed answers from Draven, which was probably going to mean engaging in subterfuge. There was no way in any of the nine circles of hell that my brothers would let me anywhere near their fae visitor, especially not for the purpose of a private conversation.

  But if I was going to establish my independence, I had to start now. And the best first step might be demonstrating to my family that I was an adult who made her own decisions, especially regarding friendships that started before I ever met them.

  Feeling ready for a confrontation, I stepped out the door of my suite and almost ran into a tall, slender, blonde woman. She appeared to have been standing there staring at my door with narrowed eyes, as if that might make it burst into flame.

  “Hi.” I tried consciously not to take a step back. Wasn’t sure whether another dragon would see that as an indication of weakness. Not that she needed any such indication when she towered over me by seven or eight inches.

  “You’re her.” The icy, derisive tone was enough to convince me that this was not going to be a joyful family reunion.

  “Yep!” I said, and almost instantly resorted to the ponytail swinging, bubblegum snapping, bubbly-teenager routine that I typically used to irritate customers I didn’t like. “I am, in fact, a her. Nice to meet you. Don’t tell me—you’re here becaus
e we’re going to be best friends and paint each other’s nails and go shopping and talk about boys!”

  After she recovered from the shock, her lip began to curl in evident dislike.

  Which was too bad, because she looked like my kind of girl. Jeans and boots, a flannel shirt, and hands with neatly trimmed nails—dressed for work, in a no-nonsense style. But she was also built like an Amazon, with well-defined shoulders and long, athletic legs. A bit older than me—late twenties maybe—but still young.

  Also, she was gorgeous.

  “You’re ridiculous,” she said flatly. “Practically a human. I can’t believe they’re actually talking about letting you remain in the succession.”

  Wow, so dragon gossip traveled fast. Good to know.

  “Are they?” I wrapped the end of my ponytail around my finger and wished I had gum to snap. “That’s fun. What does it mean?”

  Her eyes narrowed again before her face began to cloud with uncertainty. “You’re messing with me,” she said finally.

  “Yep!” I folded my arms and leaned back against my closed door. “If people start out prepared to dislike me, it just seems neighborly to give them plenty of reasons to keep doing what they want.”

  “Right.” She didn’t look as though she knew what to do with me, but she did hold out her hand for a more traditional greeting. “I’m Skye. Jaida’s daughter. Your cousin.”

  I had to think about that for a moment before I remembered that Lady Tairen had mentioned my real aunt’s name was Jaida. And given that Lady Tairen hadn’t had a living daughter before yesterday, I would bet my dragon eyeteeth that Jaida had been her heir, followed by…

  Yep, this girl had definitely been ready to dislike me. I accepted her hand, hoping none of those revelations showed on my face.

  “Well, you probably already know my name, but I’m Kira. And up until yesterday, I had no idea any of you existed.”

  “So I’ve gathered,” Skye said, still eyeing me like I was a bug on the wall. “They say you were raised as a human.”

  “More or less.” I shrugged. “But I’m here to learn from whoever is willing to help me.”