by Eric Vall
“Celebrating?” Alyona’s voice was curious as she peered up at me with a smile. “I could hear you when I was still sleeping, but it was faint. I almost thought I dreamt it. Hatra, is it really rebuilt?
Alyona peeked over at the entrance of the tent and looked back at me with glittering eyes. The thought of Hatra being rebuilt must have been like a dream come true for her, and I could see the excitement well up in her face.
“It isn’t finished, but we are rebuilding the city section by section.” I stopped rubbing circles on her back and instead just let my hand drop to the curve of her hip. “We finished raising two of the walls already, and we’re working on the city defenses. Trenches and towers, everything. There’s a group working on fixing the farms, and after we finish the defenses, we’re gonna tackle the aqueducts. Polina’s been down in the library looking for any information on how they were first built so we can build them right.”
As I spoke, I punctuated each word with an absentminded tap on her hip. Every time I did so, Alyona shifted closer and closer to me until I felt like I was on fire from how close her body was. I wanted to kiss her until I couldn’t breathe and stars sparked in my vision.
“That sounds like a dream come true.” Alyona laughed gently, and her soft lips parted slightly. “Thank you.”
As I leaned down to kiss her forehead, she suddenly tilted her head back, and I groaned as her lips met mine. They were just as soft and delicious as I remembered. I dove deeper into the kiss, and she responded equally eagerly. Her hands clutched the front of my robe, and I trailed my hands down the length of her spine. Then I pulled her in closer to me because I needed to be as close to her as I could.
“You don’t have to thank me,” I whispered as I kissed her again. This kiss wasn’t frantic or fast paced, it was slow and languid as I moved from her mouth to taste her throat.
“I want to.” She gasped for air as my lips moved from her throat and to her ear.
Alyona tasted so sweet under my tongue that all I wanted to do was bury myself in her. I wanted her so badly even the blood inside of my veins burned with every passing moment that I touched her.
“I just did what I thought was right.” I nibbled and sucked on the lobe of her ear. “I promised I would help Hatra in any way I could.”
With a sigh, I let go of her and buried my face in her shoulder. My control was wavering, and I knew if I kissed her any longer it wouldn’t end with just a kiss. Now wasn’t the time for that, not when anyone could just come into the tent, and we still had to go find her hair pin.
“Not anyone could have done it.” Alyona gently pulled my face away from her shoulder so she could look at me in the eye. “Even the combined power of the council seats wasn’t enough to save Hatra, but you did.”
“Who’s going to tell a dragon no?” I snickered as I stood.
“Who indeed.” Alyona lifted her hand to cover her mouth as she laughed. “I cannot imagine a dragon, even one as gentle as you, being told what to do.”
I offered a hand to Alyona, and she took it gracefully as she stood from the bed to follow me out of the tent. The priestess stumbled on one of the stones in the street, but I caught her before she fell.
“This wasn’t a good idea.” I frowned as I carefully settled her in my arms. “You should be back in bed still.”
“No, no.” Alyona wrinkled her nose as she shook her head. “I’m fine, seeing what’s been rebuilt will be the best balm for me.”
“Very pretty words,” I muttered as I stood in the middle of the street. “You’re not going to walk there, though.” Then I stooped down and swept her up into my arms bridal style.
On one hand, I wanted to turn back and put her back to bed. On the other hand, I had promised to help her find the hair pin, and the idea of putting her back in bed drew dangerous thoughts of me joining her there. Carrying her was the safest bet for me then, because when I did finally sleep with Alyona, I didn’t want anyone to walk in on us.
“What a chivalrous dragon.” Alyona placed a feather soft kiss on my cheek and laughed sweetly. “How did I get so lucky to meet you?”
I felt a dopey smile stretch across my face as I looked at the woman in my arms. She wasn’t the lucky one in this situation, it was me.
“Only the best for a princess.” I set a languid pace as we walked and avoided the areas where all the villagers were sleeping in drunken heaps. “Alyona, what rights do you have as heir to the White Jade Sect? Are you heir apparent or has it all been set in stone?”
“I have been the only heir since before I was born.” Alyona played with the end of one of her braids as she spoke. “Even while I was still in my mother’s womb, the Nobles of the Sword swore fealty to me.”
“Nobles of the Sword?” My brow furrowed as I repeated the strange title. “Are those knights?”
“Yes!” Alyona nodded, and her eyes brightened as she dove into an explanation. “They are, as the title suggests, the swords and shield of Rahma. They live and breathe for Rahma and have been blessed by the heavens with divine swords. Each of them rule over a territory in Rahma and are sworn to protect it. One of those swords was here, but the Elders told me it was lost during Hatra’s fall. If we could find that sword, that would be incredible.”
“If they swore fealty to you,” I spoke slowly as I thought about how Alyona could openly use her political power, “can you command them to come here?”
“Perhaps.” Alyona tilted her head toward my chest as she spoke. “Only if my command does not conflict with any edict of His Eminence. If His Eminence has ordered for the Swords to fight on the border, I cannot recall them. ”
“The current Seat of the White Jade Sect?” Once again I wondered if the current ruler was her father or another member of her family. He very well could be, but it sounded like power, not blood, was what decided rulers in Rahma. Alyona could have been made heir solely for her power as the Divine Maiden.
“Yes, Lord Rodion.” Alyona clenched her jaw as she replied.
I wondered if she felt guilty or if Lord Rodion was a stern ruler. The Elders hadn’t mentioned much about the ruler of Rahma, but they’d have little opportunity to study him.
“Now that Hatra is protected from the miasma,” I continued speaking as I carried her past one of the rebuilt buildings, “and the underground library was found, would the Sect and the Swords help rebuild Hatra? Send craftsmen and supplies to help us?”
“Their honor would demand it of them.” Alyona sighed and let go of the braid she had nervously played with as we spoke.
“Even though they abandoned Hatra for a thousand years?” I raised an eyebrow as I thought about how cold hearted a ruler would have to be to give up an entire city to demons.
“Duty kills the heart,” Alyona replied with a bitter tinge to her voice as she looked down at the ground. “How do you choose between a destroyed city and an invasion? How can we judge them for their choice when so much was at stake?”
I breathed in deeply as I thought about what I would have done in that situation. Frankly, I knew what I would do. It was my work as an EMT on a much larger scale. If I took my work ethic as an EMT and applied it to when Hatra fell, I knew I would come to the same decision. I would pick the choice that would save the most lives, and I would live with the consequences.
“There had to have been a way.” I shook my head as I lied to myself.
“Perhaps there was and perhaps there wasn’t,” Alyona’s voice was soft as she sighed. “I’ll send the message now.”
The woman in my arms lifted one finger into the air, and the very tip of it glowed a faint blue. She trailed her finger in the air in the shape of a circle and stretched out her palm. The circle glowed in the air like a pale blue disc of light, and the surface of it rippled underneath her hand.
Then she pulled her hand back from the circle, and it shot away from us until it was nothing but a tiny speeding blur.
“How long will it take to get to them?” My eyes followed the blue
blur as it steadily rose in the night sky.
“By the time the moons rise again.” Alyona buried her face in my chest as she sighed. “And then, they will respond whenever they wish.”
We stood there for a moment in silence, and I looked up at the three moons in the night sky. Then the smell of pine filled the air, and I turned to see Laika in her armor running at full speed toward the two of us.
“Evan!” Laika skidded to a stop in front of us and stared at Alyona with wide eyes. “My Lady?”
The wolf blinked between Alyona and myself in confusion.
“Laika!” Alyona half jumped and half fell out of my arms as she launched herself at Laika.
“My Lady,” Laika sobbed into Alyona’s hair. “You’re back, you’re actually back.”
Suddenly, the hair on the back of my neck stood up, and I looked at the direction of the gate. My heart rate jumped up, and it felt like the organ was trying to escape my ribcage. My blood thudded in my ears to the point that I almost thought I was underwater, and I missed what the two women said to each other.
“My heart feels like it’s going to burst out of my chest,” I muttered as I rubbed my sternum
“It’s the prelude to war,” Laika spoke darkly as she held Alyona close to her.
“What?” I blinked at the wolf and thought I had misheard her. “What do you mean by war?”
I angled my head to the ground and hit my ears to see if I had somehow gotten any water in them.
“There’s an army of adventurers outside of the city.” Laika tightened her arms around Alyona as she spoke. “They must have cloaked themselves to hide from our senses.”
“What?” I balked. “Why are they here?”
Laika shook her head. “We do not know yet.”
I mentally cursed. Hatra couldn’t catch a break.
“Take Alyona back to the tent,” I ordered as my mind churned and searched for a possible plan.
Hatra was in no way ready to hold off an army, and we all knew it. We didn’t have enough people or resources to hold the entire length of the wall or even enough stockpiled to survive a siege.
“I am not going to be hidden away,” Alyona declared, and her voice carried a thinly disguised steel in it as she looked at me with stubborn eyes. “I will protect Hatra no matter what.”
“Promise me that you won’t push yourself,” I said softly as I walked forward to press my forehead against Alyona’s. “Whatever happens tonight, you will both live.”
“We are together.” Laika stared at me with her stormy grey eyes and smiled fiercely. “An army of men is nothing compared to what we’ve faced.”
I smirked at that because she had a point.
What was an army compared to murderous smoke?
“If this comes to battle, they will break on us.” I placed one hand on Laika’s shoulder and the other on Alyona’s shoulder. “Laika and I will be on the front while you, Alyona, bring up that barrier as soon as the fighting starts.”
“Hatra will not fall tonight,” Alyona promised as she wrapped her free hand around one of mine.
I lifted her hand and pressed a kiss to it. With every fiber of my being, I prayed and hoped Alyona’s words would protect us.
With that promise between the three of us looming in our minds, we quickly made our way to the main gate of Hatra. Along the way, we ran into the remaining Blue Tree Guild members, and they were fully dressed for battle.
The three Elders stood on the battlement above the gate, and we climbed the enclosed staircase that led to them. Alyona stopped behind the door that led onto the battlement and peered out, but Laika and her guild members followed me to where the Elders stood.
Three hundred adventurers stood outside the main gate, and a man in silver armor stood at their head. Somehow, a sense of despair wafted off the man, and a faint scream echoed in my mind.
“Cursed city of Hatra full of kidnappers and worshippers of the cursed dragon!” The blond man in silver armor stood outside of the main gate with a sword in his hand, and his voice echoed throughout the area. “I am Asher of the Green Glass Sect, and we have come to this forsaken land to rescue the Divine Maiden Alyona from the madness within this city. Give her back to us so that we may guide her to a place worthy of her purity, and we shall show you mercy. Refuse, and we will not hesitate to water the earth with your blood as we tear down your city stone by stone.”
I inhaled sharply at those words and could feel cold anger rise inside of me. Who was he to threaten Hatra like that?
“Are you out of your damned mind?” Ruslan yelled back as the fur on his ears bristled.
“Diplomacy, Ruslan, diplomacy!” Julia hissed as she drew him back from the battlement. “You do not insult the man who has an army at your doorstep.”
“Didn’t you hear that bastard?” Ruslan clenched his jaw and fists as he spoke. “He’s not going to listen to us no matter what.”
“Let me try.” I turned to Laika and nodded for her to move closer. “Keep Alyona out of sight just in case diplomacy fails. He’s a fanatic, and I have the feeling seeing her won’t help.”
Julia nodded at me, and I stepped closer to the edge of the wall.
“Is there no one fit to treat with us in that city?” Asher laughed and glanced at the adventurers who were lined up behind him. “Only ruffians and cruel men ready to destroy his property and betray their liege lords? Heathen savages and barbarians!”
“Asher!” I called out and stepped onto the battlement.
“Oh?” Asher rose one pale eyebrow at me and sneered. “And who are you?”
His eyes, although pale in color, were dark with weariness and pain. There were black circles under his eyes, and for a moment, I thought I saw a different face ghost over his.
I shook my head. I didn’t have time to try to figure out what it was that I saw.
“Just a son of Hatra.” This was the first time I had said I belonged to Hatra, and I couldn’t have picked a more dramatic moment than an impromptu invasion. “Why are you here threatening us, calling us kidnappers and savages?”
“Because you are,” Asher laughed, and he ran a hand through his hair. “We have an eyewitness, a brave man who escaped from the evil in this city and found us. He told us of how the people of Hatra worshipped an ominous dragon and had the Divine Maiden imprisoned, no doubt to sacrifice her or to be a hostage. We are here to rescue her.”
I furrowed my brow at his words, and I wondered if that’s where the scholar Olivier had run off to.
Fucking bastard.
“We aren’t holding anyone prisoner here.” I shook my head as I tried to explain to the man. “There are dragons in the area, but they aren’t a threat. The Divine Maiden came to us willingly in order to help save the city from the miasma.”
I had a gut instinct telling Asher I was the black dragon wasn’t a good idea, so I skirted around the issue.
“Lies!” Asher turned to the adventurers behind him and spoke furiously. “Do you hear the blasphemous lies that the corrupted man speaks? He is a servant of the black dragon. We were told of how the Divine Maiden was kidnapped by the dragon after she had left the Cave of One Thousand Sages. We came here to save her from the hands of these savages, and we will slaughter every one of them in order to do so!”
The adventurers yelled in agreement, and the sound faded in my ears as my mind focused on one thing and one thing only.
They had threatened to kill everyone in Hatra, and for that, they would die.
Chapter 14
I moved away from the battlement and stood in front of the open door so Alyona could hear me as I explained the situation.
“They’re going to attack no matter what.” I struggled to keep the anger out of my voice as I spoke. “They came here looking for a fight. Did any of the survivors leave?”
I looked at the three Elders as my mind raced to form a battle plan, and I tried to figure out who had found these adventurers. There was no way I would let Hatra fall, and I would
fight with every fiber of my being before that happened.
“No.” Julia shook her head and tightened her fingers around her fan. “They’ve all stayed to help.”
“Then Olivier is behind this.” I scowled as I clenched my fists so tightly I drew blood. “He’s the only one who left Hatra and saw Alyona.”
A cold sense of anger started to fill me as I spoke. We had welcomed the scholar into Hatra even though I was suspicious of him. Food and shelter had been offered to him, but instead of thanking us, he brought down death and destruction on us.
When I found Olivier, I would kill him.
“The scholar?” Ruslan growled as he paced in front of us. “How could he have amassed an army so quickly?”
“He recognized Alyona,” I said calmly as I clasped my hands behind my back. “He might have also found out about the library or somehow had known about it from any old records. Both are strong possibilities and enough to tempt any man, he probably used that information to get these people here.”
Even though I said that, I wasn’t convinced. Somehow, Olivier knew that both the library and Alyona would be here. All of this had been planned out beforehand, and we were being treated like chess pieces.
Fuck that. I wasn’t going to let my city be part of whatever game he was planning.
“It’s not a surprise he knew who Alyona was,” Julia replied as she tapped her fan on her open palm. “If we knew, then a scholar with access to countless records would have known. But the library? That would have been impossible to know.”
“You knew who I was?” Alyona covered her mouth with her hand as her amethyst eyes widened in shock. “But no one in Hatra should have known what I looked like.”
“Well, you can never forget the child you delivered with your own hands.” Julia brushed her knuckles along Alyona’s cheek and smiled fondly. “You looked just like your mother when you first came here.”
“You delivered me?” Alyona’s voice wavered as she spoke, and her eyes glittered with curiosity. “You knew my mother?”