by JL Madore
“Oh,” Brant says. “If we have an underground tunnel, can we have a bunker area like on my ranch? Then we’ve got an emergency lockdown vault if we need it.”
I laugh, shaking my head. “I think Keyla was just hoping that you’d have a home close enough so we can pop back and visit with you guys and spend time with the baby.”
“It’s not hot and tropical,” Kotah says to Jaxx. “I know you were hoping for a location further south.”
Jaxx waves that away. “So we hop on the jet and fly to Aruba. S’all good. If it works for the family, it works for me.”
Hawk nods. “Oh, yeah. I’m loving this idea. We’ll have to clear it with Calli though. We’ve been talking about where to build our home base so she’ll want a say, but if she doesn’t object, I’ll have my architects flown in and we’ll start surveying the land and drawing up plans.”
“Oh, can I get a family cottage for Mama and Daddy?” Jaxx asks. “When the baby comes, they want to be close.”
Hawk nods. “Of course. This afternoon we’ll have a brainstorming session and we’ll come up with our wishlist. Sound good?”
I dip my wad of roast beef into the horseradish and laugh. “You guys are a riot. I’ve never seen people so excited to spend a million dollars.”
Hawk grins. “You can’t take it with you, Bear. Money doesn’t buy happiness, it buys freedom and choices. If a couple of millions builds us the perfect home for our family to live and grow, I think that’s money well-spent.”
I lift my can of Coke and hold it up for a toast. “To money well-spent.”
Brant, Jaxx, Kotah, and Hawk join me with their soda salutes. “To money well-spent.”
Creed
It takes me half an hour to get to the Travon palace and my heart is thundering in my chest the entire way. The two men acting as my escorts—Elon and River—are frustrated with me and trying to keep up. “Majesty. Please allow us to lead the way. We are in an opposing quadrant.”
The three of us are jogging toward the grand entrance of the palace, taking the wide, stone steps at a run two at a time.
“Travon hasn’t been hostile toward us in over two hundred years,” I say. “I’m not worried they’ll think I’m attacking. If I were, I’d bring more than the two of you.”
River seems to recognize the logic in that and focuses on his footing.
The sentinel at the door sees us coming and opens things wide before we get there. “King Creed,” he says as I blow past him.
“Thank you,” I call back over my shoulder. I don’t take time to exchange pleasantries beyond that.
It’s only once I’m through the public areas of the palace and closing in on the royal receiving room that I slow to catch my breath. Grabbing the pull-rope to call an attendant, I yank and swing the thing like I’m a kid sounding the dinner bell.
“King Creed,” a halfling woman says, rushing into the room. She makes quick work of climbing the steps behind the reception desk so that she’s meeting me at eye level. “How can I be of aid, sire?”
“Is Queen Yennith available for an emergency consult?” I emphasize the emergency part of that sentence so she doesn’t bother coming back at me with procedural bullshit about the protocols of calling a meeting. “If you could inquire promptly, I would appreciate it. It’s a matter of great urgency.”
“Yes, Majesty. I’ll inquire at once.” She doesn’t bother with the steps down. Jumping off her platform, she lands on the floor and rushes through the doorway she used to enter.
When she returns a moment later, I get the sense I’m not going to like what she says. “Apologies, Majesty. The Queen is off the property at present. She’s attending a ritual blessing in the highlands and is not expected back until tomorrow.”
Fuck. “What about her son? Is Prince Satune here?”
“I believe so. One moment, I’ll check.”
Again she shuffles off to the other room but this time when she returns, she doesn’t look so grim. “He is. He is currently meeting with the Travon quadrant leaders and will be finished with the district governors within the hour.”
Within the hour? I check my watch. Damn it, that’s cutting things close. Maybe I can send word to him and call him out early.
“Very well. Where is he? I’ll make my way there now to save time.”
“I’m happy to escort you, sire. Follow me.”
Rhylan
My head lolls limply as I hang by the two hamburgered stumps I used to consider my wrists. I inventory the damage done and am proud of the thoroughness of my brethren. A dozen of my brood brother dragons took their cracks at me, leaving me a throbbing, swollen mass of broken flesh.
All hail the most powerful wildling race.
But, the joke’s on them because despite the stabbings and the pummellings and having half the males of the brood piss on me, I’m still sure I made the right call. I’m a male of honor and they’re assholes.
Although, I keep that opinion to myself.
I cough on blood, hissing as the tensing of muscles releases another round of agony. This won’t end well. My skin is on fire. I’ve lost too much blood. And no cavalry is coming because no one who gives a shit about me knows where this lair is.
The festering stench of burnt flesh, blood, and dragon piss singe my sinuses. The olfactory trifecta triggers my gag reflex and churns my stomach. It’s a good thing I haven’t eaten in a while or I’d be retching and causing myself even more agony.
“Wonderful, you’re awake.” Shadowcaster steps into the cavern where I’m confined and grips one of the dagger hilts sticking out of my side. He twists it and then sends me spinning and swinging as the bindings on my wrist cut deeper.
My dragon fights its tether, but the electrical pulses they shot me with make it impossible for me to shift. When my spinning slows and my head settles enough to clear, I blink my swollen, watery eyes and try not to black out.
I can barely see past the swelling. All I’ve got is a tiny window of vision between the lids of my one eye as I swing round in a slow rotation looking at the same things over and over…
Asshole alpha looking smug as shit… blood spattered stone wall… One dragon guard… A second dragon guard… The rock crevice leading out of here… And back to my asshole alpha looking smug as shit.
“You remind me a lot of your father,” Shadowcaster says. “He thought himself above our laws too.”
He didn’t. My father followed every arrogant and asinine order his alpha ever gave him. He simply lost control of his dragon when, despite his loyalty and commitment, that asshole moved in to claim his mate.
“Are you ready to atone for your sins? We’re setting up for quite an event tonight. Invitations have been sent. The courtyard is being transformed. And a grand feast is being prepared.”
“I committed no sin. I followed every order you and Laryssa gave me. She deemed me a traitor and tried to kill me without even speaking to me first. Was I supposed to sit there and die? I don’t slecking think so.”
His eyes flash a warning. “That’s exactly what you’ll do tonight. You’ll accept your death with the honor of any noble dragon.”
“Killing me isn’t noble. It’s petty revenge because my father challenged you and even with him gone for more than a decade, my mother still can’t stand to have you touch her.”
“You know nothing of my relations with your mother.”
I roll my eyes and then regret it when pain shoots deep into my eye sockets. “You make her skin crawl. Hell, not just her. Half the women you force yourself on despise every moment of your awkward hump and thump.”
The fist that rams into my intestines hits like a concrete block. “Bite your tongue, welp. I am your alpha.”
“Not anymore, you’re not. I’ve been exiled. For the first time in my life, I’m free to tell you how much everyone laughs at you behind your back. You’re a joke. A pompous loser that bullies his people because if they didn’t fear him they wouldn’t follow—”
&nb
sp; The wind is knocked out of me and my consciousness flags.
If nothing else… I’ll go out speaking my truths.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Creed
“Thornebane, nice to see you out and about, my friend.” Satune strides out of the parliamentary chambers, holding out his hand. When he gets close, he meets my gaze and stops in his tracks. “Slecking hell, what’s with your eyes.”
I sigh. “A souvenir from being cursed by the Blood Witch. We’re working on breaking her hold and correcting them. Listen. I need your help and time is running out. Is there somewhere we can talk?”
Satune gestures toward a door to our right and the two of us step into a private parlor of some kind. “What is it, old friend. What’s happened?”
He stands well over six feet tall, dressed in long, gold robes, adorned with the tanzanite gemstones mined in the Travon Fringelands. In the years since I’ve seen him, he’s filled out across the chest and now wears his forest green hair to his shoulders.
His features are more elongated and leonine than a human’s and his eyes glow gold like a cat’s and reflect the light when he glances around the room. I always found his animal nature unnerving as a kid.
I suppose me mating three wildlings is nature’s way of making me rethink my prejudice. “You heard I was soul-seared to the Prime Princess of the Human Realm and her mate, yes?”
He nods. “Yes. It’s the talk of the realm. Two mates. It’s radical, for sure.”
“Not as radical as me mating three, I suppose.”
Satune straightens, his golden eyes glittering as he stares without blinking. “Oh, now you’re just getting greedy. How big is your bed?”
I wave that away. “Our fourth is a member of the Travon Dragon Clans. His name is Rhylan Silverwing and he and his brother—”
“The dragon twins,” Satune says. “Yes. I know of the Silverwing twins. I knew them when we were kids. They would accompany their father when he had business here at the palace.”
“Right, well, long story short, Rhylan’s alpha is an asshole and laid claim to his mother. Their father challenged him and was killed and the twins fell to the mercy of Shadowcaster.”
He frowns. “What does this have to do with me?”
“I’m getting to that,” I say, holding up a finger. “Shadowcaster sold the twins into servitude to Laryssa and when I killed her last week and reclaimed my throne, Rhylan was declared a traitor.”
“Uh-huh… this is sounding like a species domestic dispute.”
I take out the invitation Vikarus gave me and hold it up for him to see. “Shadowcaster has taken my mate prisoner and intends to flay him to death in a few hours. It may be a domestic dispute, but it’s about to be an all-out declaration of war. I want my mate back.”
Satune curses and takes the invitation to examine it. “Tonight at sundown at the dragon lair? I’m sorry, my friend. There’s no way for me to help you even if I were to step in. No one knows where in the traverse the dragon lands lay and there isn’t time to search for them. It will be sundown long before we find them.”
I hear the truth in his words but I can’t accept it. “There has to be a way… there just has to.”
The sympathy in Satune’s gaze is enough to make me homicidal. I think he sees it in my eyes too because he takes a step back. “Okay. Let me escort my guests out, and get changed. I’ll be back here in ten minutes with our military advisor and we’ll see what we can come up with.”
“Thank you. Yes. Apologies.” I pace a few steps away and shake out my fists.
When I’m alone in the room, I try to get a hold of myself. We will save him. I love him. He won’t be persecuted for doing what’s right. Sitting on the edge of the upholstered bench by the wall, I run my hands down my thighs and try to rein in my mental energies.
I’m amped up.
Ever since I called forth the Amberloq power on the night of our searing and then Keyla connected with it last week during the battle against Laryssa, my cells have been alive with potential energy.
Something about that tweaks my curiosity. Is there any way Honor’s Amberloq warriors or their power could help track down a hidden lair of asshole dragons?
Keyla
My morning with Calli is time well spent and by lunch, we’ve spoken to everyone I needed to speak to. The two of us return to the royal residence and I pack two large trunks of personal belongings from my rooms to take with me to my new life.
“Are you sure you don’t want this cutie?” Calli asks, waving at me with the stuffed arm of Ms. Penelope, my stuffed wolf.
“I don’t suppose the queen of a quadrant needs to be snuggling her stuffies at night.”
Calli snorts. “Not with the three mates you’ve got.”
I grin. “Why don’t you keep Ms. Penelope for the baby’s room. Maybe she’ll think of me now and then when I’m too long in a far away realm.”
Calli sticks out a lip and makes sad eyes at me. “That’s a sad story, girlfriend. Too bad it ain’t happening. There’s no way this baby won’t know who you are. We’ll see you guys all the time, I promise.”
A knock on my bedroom door brings one of the original staff to my father’s reign. “You called for me, milady?”
“Yes, Gemmy, thank you for coming. Will you see that these get to Mr. Barron’s jet right away? We are leaving tonight and I want to ensure my things don’t hold up our departure.”
“Yes, Princess, ah… sorry, shall I address you as Queen Thornebane now?”
The worry on the royal porter’s face is priceless. “You’ve known me my entire life a Princess Nakeyla, so you choose. Both are correct. In this realm, I am and will always be your princess. In the Fae Realm, I am Queen Thornebane. There is no wrong answer.”
He dips his chin in a quick nod. “Thank you, Princess. It’s such a shame to see you go. You have always been the sweetheart of the realm. I hope the people of Dornte realize how lucky they are.”
I squeeze the man’s wrist. “You flatter me.”
Gemmy grips the handle of the trolley I’ve loaded and away he goes. Once he’s off, I take another few minutes to look through my drawers. “Do you mind if I pack a bag to leave with you guys? You can stuff it in a closet or something, but honestly, the way the universe conspires for us to run off at a moment’s notice, it would be nice if I—”
A buzz lights off in my head and I cup my temples and let off a hiss.
“Keyla, what’s wrong?” Calli’s hands close around my shoulders and squeeze. “Talk to me, hon. What’s happening?”
I breathe through the intensity of my mating beacon exploding and then wince at her, holding my forehead. The current is there again, zapping through me like I’ve touched an exposed wire. “Something’s wrong. I need to get back to the Fae Realm. My mating beacon is going haywire.”
Doc
“How’s she doing?” Brant asks as I sink into one of the four leather captain’s chairs in Hawk’s jet.
Jaxx hands me a drink and I suck it back—one and done. I hand him the empty and he tops me up.
I’m about to go the same route with round two and think better of it. If Keyla’s beacon is going wild because Creed and Rhylan are under attack and need our help, it won’t do anyone any good for me to be half-plastered. “Kotah’s working his magic and lying with her. He’s trying to calm her mind but she’s in rough shape.”
“And we’re too fucking far from the portal gate to be effective,” Hawk snaps. “It won’t happen again, I promise you that.”
Jaxx leans over the back of Hawk’s chair and kisses the top of his head. “This is not your fault, hotness.”
Lukas strides down the aisle from the cockpit and sighs. “We need to create a portal link from the new gate room to the palace. This commute is getting old fast.”
“Too late,” Hawk says, frowning. “I’m making the new Pennsylvanian Prime Palace a priority.”
“Say that five times fast,” Brant says, chuckling. “How long
until we land?”
Lukas checks his FCO watch and shows us the readout. “Fourteen minutes. I’ve got the helicopter prepped and ready and Gantley is working on the new configurations.”
“Do you think it’ll work?” Calli asks.
Hawk shrugs. “I don’t see why not. It works in the Fae Realm. As Creed said, it’s the same concept as transporting people, just without the bells and whistles.”
Jaxx chuckles. “And since we haven’t gotten to the bells and whistles part of our portal travel, what’s the difference?”
I take another long sip of my drink and let the amber fire burn its way down my throat. “Yeah, I just wish our trial run wasn’t at a moment when Keyla’s alarm bells are going off and we don’t have any clue what we’re walking into.”
Brant holds up a meaty fist. “Preach.”
Rhylan
I have no idea how long I’ve been playing the part of the dragon chandelier. By the time the chains are released and I’m lowered to the ground, I can’t feel my arms, my body is trembling with blood loss, and I’ve given up the fleeting hope that either my mother or my brother give enough of a shit about me to help.
So, this is it.
The unfortunate part of dying here with my face mutilated is that I can’t even look the assholes in the eye as they put me to death.
The swelling over my eyes has gotten progressively worse over the past hours and now, if I care to witness my demise, I can only see out of a tiny sliver out of my right if I force it open. Yay me.
“Hose him down,” Shadowcaster says somewhere behind me. “He reeks.”
“That’s what happens when people use you for pissing target practice.” I chuckle at my quip, proud that my voice is steady. I can't move to get up, but my hands have ceased ripping off my wrists, so I take that as a win. “Time to whip your big dick out and get your revenge, big man?”
A boot drives into my stomach and I curl around it like a shrimp in a boiling pot.
“Your execution is about justice, not revenge. You betrayed your oath. You violated our traditions by coming back here after your exile. You’re not fit to live as a dragon from this brood.”