“Is this what you wanted to see?” he hissed, pulling her close and whispering against the cuff of her ear. He drew the tip of his claw along her cheek and down the plump vein at her throat. “Will the illusion be shattered?” As he spoke, his body grew against hers until his size was overwhelming. “Will you be repulsed by my true face? Enough to let me go?” As she slid her hands over his shoulders and down his back, she could feel his cloak fall away and the leathery black wings emerge.
Thalia gasped, watching as the pale flesh of her prince cracked and dissolved to reveal the beast underneath. His body grew and contracted. She could hear the bones break and reset themselves in strange positions. His face, which had always been a comfort, morphed and changed. A grotesque distortion of massive teeth and horned protrusions. He opened his mouth to speak, but all he could do was roar. A lonely, angry hiss and rumble that filled her with dread and despair.
“Is this… what you wanted to see?” he roared. “Is this… face… what you love?”
“I… I don’t…”
He bent down, knocking her backward with the sudden anger and intensity of his gaze. She crawled backward along the grass as he advanced, stalking her like injured prey. “No! You don’t! Scutter away, tiny mouse! Run!”
“But I…”
“Go now!” he screamed, breathing fire in a ferocious burst over her head.
Thalia woke with a start, sitting up in the enormous bed. Her head ached terribly, and she put a hand up to block out the harsh light from the fireplace. She could smell something all over her clothes. Putting a sleeve to her nose, she inhaled deeply, and it was so overwhelming that she nearly gagged. Burning flesh. She had smelled it many times. It was the smell of a body that had been bested by a dragon. “But it was only a dream,” she cried. Or was it? Everything was so real. The prince. The dark prince from her dreams that she’d known since childhood—could he really be…? She shook her head. The thoughts tumbling around in her mind were too much to process. He’d revealed himself to be the dragon. Or was her mind playing some trick? Perhaps the dragon, Malik, was just on her mind and had invaded her dreams. But everything had seemed so real. As if she really had been walking into Faerie like Esa said. But she feared this beast to whom she’d been given, and perhaps that fear had colored her dreams.
The dragon’s roar sounded overhead, and she rushed to the window, seeing it burst from the trees below and into the sky. Higher and higher it climbed until she could see its silhouette against the moon just as it disappeared. “This… this cannot be,” she whispered before bolting from the room.
Down the corridor she ran, round and round the spiral staircases of stone to the marbled floor below. Desperately, she looked around for a way out into the darkness. Suddenly, it was as if the whole expanse of the castle had shrunk to a tiny casket that smothered her. But everything had changed. Each hallway opened on to another and another. As if someone were deliberately trying to disorient her. Where once had stood a ruin of an ancient kingdom was now an opulent palace where mosaics inlaid with jewels and gold adorned the floor and brightly embroidered tapestries lined every wall.
“Hello!” she called, finally coming to a halt in a great room. “Please! Someone answer! I’m frightened!”
“What’s all the shouting about?” Thalia turned, and the chambermaid was standing by the fire. She’d been sure the woman hadn’t been there before.
“You!” she said stomping toward her. “You’ve done this!”
“Done what, dear? I’m afraid I don’t understand.”
“Don’t play dumb. You’re… you’re doing something to me…”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about, dear. The master asked that I look after you, and so I have.” Thalia wanted to crush the tiny girl with her bare hands. She was being deliberately silly. “I’ve tidied up a bit, if that’s what you mean.”
“That is not what I mean, and you know it!”
The chambermaid chuckled softly and approached Thalia as if she might be a crazed dog. “You’re very tired, miss. Just imagining things. Why don’t you let me fix you something to eat?”
“The dragon. Where is he?”
“He comes and goes in his own time, my lady.” Thalia shrugged off her hand and dashed from the room. “Miss! Come back!” the chambermaid called after her, but she had to get away. Anywhere but inside this claustrophobic bubble of confusion.
Chapter Sixteen
Thalia was breathless as she made her way through corridor after corridor, looking for a way out of the castle. She ran through what seemed to be an inexplicable labyrinth of twisting staircases and darkened halls until finally she came to a heavy oak door. With all her might, she pushed against it, heaving the door open with a groan. To her surprise, it opened onto an expansive garden. Probably the one she’d seen from her room above. Everything was overgrown: vines crawling along the ground and over stonework, the remnants of rose petals and leaves crunching underfoot, and angry-looking, gnarled branches reaching toward the broken stones. But in corners and small cracks, it appeared that this garden was coming back to life just as the house had done.
Thalia passed through an arbor with skeletal vines that snagged at her hair as she ran into the forest. The darkness descended around her as the canopy overhead deepened. She was suddenly overwhelmed with the distinct sense that she was no longer in control of her own destiny. It was a claustrophobic sensation, and she had to get away. Malik was right: no one in Osghast would offer her shelter, not even Esa. So there was really no use in running away, but it was too hard to breathe in the castle. It was ever-changing, like the stones themselves were some great beast, waking up after a long winter nap.
She ran down the tattered old path, the wind whipping at her cheeks. Overhead the sky had grown darker and finally broken open in a magnificent downpour. The rain mixed with Thalia’s tears, wetting her cheeks and drenching her ragged gown until it was soaked through. The fabric was so heavy that she finally couldn’t run anymore, and she ended up sitting down under a tree. For how long she sat, she couldn’t be sure. The emptiness and sadness consumed her as she sat there in the mud. Never in her life had she felt so abandoned. Being alone wasn’t anything new to Thalia. When her mother had died, her father had laid most of the blame on Thalia. He had barely acknowledged her existence, and she had lived in solitude until it had become an old friend. Only Esa had been there. And the dark prince. He’d always been there, haunting her dreams since she was old enough to have them. Her only real friend and now… she feared the worst.
The rain began to fall in earnest now, and the cold crept into her bones. Thalia stood, knowing that she had to make her way back to the castle. It had begun to get dark, and the ancient trees looked like gnarled old crones reaching out for her. She tried to keep her eyes focused on the ground as the rain dripped from the ends of her straggled hair and into her face. She wrapped her arms around herself in a tight hug, desperately trying to get warm. Lightning crashed, and a thin, spidery bolt struck the tree just ahead. Thalia gasped as a heavy, blackened branch fell at her feet. She could smell the sharp hint of fire, and it roused her from weakness. She broke into a run, sprinting through the woods. She could see the dark outline of the castle in the distance, but the path seemed to be moving away from it. Her feet pounded on the ground, and the scrubby underbrush tore at her feet and ankles until they were bleeding. Suddenly, she stopped to look around and realized that she was in exactly the same place she’d started. There was even a scrap of her dress caught on the stump where she’d been sitting.
“Damn you!” Thalia shouted at the sky, throwing her hands up and stomping the ground like a child having a tantrum. She didn’t know who or what she was screaming at, only that she was violently angry. She wanted to tear at her clothes and skin until the blood came. Something that would release the fear and anger that boiled in her blood. And now to make things worse, it was raining, she was cold, and she was lost.
“What is all the shout
ing about?” a low, rumbling voice inquired.
Thalia’s head snapped up. The voice was all around her, and she could feel it in her chest. She recognized it at once as the dragon’s. Had he been following her all this time? “Hello?” she whispered.
“You’ve ventured far from the castle, Mouse. Are you running away?” His voice trailed off in a loud yawn that almost made her smile. “Because that would be so tiresome.”
“Where are you?” she called.
“Just ahead of you. Keep walking forward toward my voice.” Thalia considered his offer. Was she sure that she wanted to get closer to him to avoid being lost? Perhaps lost was the best place for her. “Come on. The path you’re on will only take you farther into the forest. Some say this place is enchanted by an evil fairy.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, you’ll think you’re moving forward when really you’re only walking in circles until you’re exhausted, and she can steal your soul.”
Thalia walked slowly, trying to keep herself from making any noise. No point in announcing her arrival. “That’s a silly story.”
“Yes. A fairy has no use for your soul. Come closer, Mouse. I promise I’ve not led you here only to devour your bones.”
“How can I be sure?”
“If I were going to eat you, I could have done it back at the castle. I prefer my meals warm anyway.” Thalia followed the low rumble of Malik’s voice to a clearing where he stood. Seeing him this way was far different than in the ruined hall. Here he looked majestic and much larger. His wings were unfurled as if he were about to take flight. “There you are, Mouse.”
“Yes. I… was lost.” She swallowed the tremble in her voice.
He hummed. “This forest is a strange place at night. I was about to come looking for you. You rather ruined my plans, I’m afraid.”
“What?” She was taken aback at his matter of fact rudeness.
“Yes. I had planned a most spectacular hunt tonight from which I would probably not return for a season. But alas, someone had to save you.”
“I beg your pardon!” Thalia snapped. “I don’t remember being asked to come here.”
“But you did volunteer, didn’t you?” She started to protest, but a look into his face indicated that it was of little use. He knew all about Tristan’s plan. There was no point in hiding it.
“Only to save the life of another.”
“I see.” He looked up into the sky above. The rain was beginning to slow, but the drops splashed against his scales and in his eyes. He shook his head, throwing a spray of water from his wings. “I don’t like the rain. Do you?”
“Not always,” she replied with a shiver. “It’s very cold.”
“Indeed. Let’s get above it, shall we?”
Thalia looked around as if she were unsure that he was speaking to her. “What do you mean?”
As she approached, Malik bowed before her, stretching his winged arm out before her. “Climb on to my back, Mouse. Let us get away from this angry place.”
“Uhm… I… don’t…”
Malik laughed heartily, throwing his head back. “A dragonslayer who’s never flown before? You are indeed full of mystery, little thing.”
“It isn’t natural for a person to fly.”
Malik looked around. “Is there anything about this that’s natural?”
“Well… no.”
“Then let us enjoy the strangeness. Now, up you get.” He tapped his talon on the ground in a show of mock impatience.
Thalia started forward, but hesitated as she reached his wing. “What… what if I fall?”
“Silly mouse. I won’t let you fall. Come on, lest I think you’re a coward.”
“I’m not a coward!”
“Then prove it.” He sighed and turned his head, waiting for her.
She bit her lip and put a slippered foot on one leathery wing. “Are you sure this won’t hurt you?”
“I think I can withstand one tiny dragonslayer. Stop stalling. I’m getting wet.”
Thalia nodded and stepped up, going down on her knees to climb precariously up the scaly arm to his elbow. She slipped once in the stream of rain that ran between his scales, but he straightened the wing and caught her. With a gentle shudder, he tossed her gently to his shoulder. “It will be most comfortable for us both if you sit in the valley between my shoulder blades.”
“Do I just…” She shifted around, trying to find a position that would make her feel somewhat secure on this very precarious perch. “Like a horse?”
“If you like, but do hurry. The storm is getting worse.” Finding that the girth of his serpentine neck was too great, Thalia finally lay flat on his back holding on to the ridges of bone that protruded across his shoulders. “Are you finally ready, Mouse?”
She took a deep breath, trying to swallow the shuddering that would be evident in her voice. “Wait… are you sure…?” But before she could protest, Malik shot from the ground and into the sky above them. His ascent was so fast that the inertia made her head ache and her body feel impossibly heavy. She began to fear that she would slide down the beast’s spine and be launched into the abyss from the end of his pointed tail. “Stop! Wait! I’m going to fall!” she screamed, knowing he probably couldn’t hear her.
Ever higher the beast ascended, through the rain and lightning toward the roiling of the storm clouds. “Don’t look into the rain!” the dragon shouted, his gravelly tone carrying over the wind and thunder. Thalia put her head down, praying that her stomach would stop rolling over. The noise was incredible, so loud that for a moment she thought her head might explode. And then, everything was still. Slowly Thalia picked her head up just as they burst through the clouds and into the endless midnight blues of night above.
When she dared to look, Thalia opened her eyes to the magnificent view of the storm from above. She could watch the lightning bounce from cloud to cloud reminding her of two great deities conversing. The ice crystals kissed her cheeks as the cold air rushed past. The sensation was exhilarating. Malik stretched out, leaning into the wind. His muscular wings beat the air slowly and steadily, like a heartbeat. “It’s so beautiful,” she murmured.
The dragon hummed in agreement. “Hold on,” he growled before twisting his body into an impossible spiral back toward the ground.
Thalia screamed, gripping the scales at the back of the dragon’s shoulders. “Slow down!” she shrieked, squeezing her eyes shut. The dragon laughed against the wind, showing off his prowess as he pulled up at the last second, unfurling his wings to slow down and level out. “Don’t do that!” she said when she caught her breath. “You’ll kill us both.”
“You have such little faith, Mouse.”
“I make it a point never to trust a dragon.”
“Perhaps that’s where you’ve gone wrong.”
Thalia began to relax a little, pulling her knees under her body and sitting up between the dragon’s shoulders. She was able to throw her leg over one of the spines that protruded from the soft space where the wing joined his body. It offered some security. It was a bit like riding a big horse. They soared along with the updraft, sailing above the storm and into the night. Thalia’s head felt light, and it was almost as if she were the one with wings. She couldn’t help but smile. Never in her life had she felt so scared, delighted and utterly alive all at once. The mountains rose out of the mist, hulking dark shapes in the distance. “Where are we going?”
“Away from the storm and the interference of fairies,” he replied.
Thalia laughed nervously. “Fairies?”
“Oh, don’t we believe in fairies? Better not to say that aloud, lest they hear you.”
Malik turned his body slightly, and Thalia gasped, clutching at his scales as best she could. He turned toward the mountains, seeming to fly into them. She squinted her eyes shut, not wanting to look as she was sure he was going to crash them into the rock face. But with an inhuman grace, he avoided it and flew between the mountains, twi
sting in and out amongst the peaks. When he evened out once more, Thalia caught her breath and tried not to sound as terrified as she was. “Fairies are ancient myths. There may be some truth to them, but I don’t put stock in their power.”
“Yet you have no trouble believing in talking dragons.”
It did seem ridiculous. “Perhaps I should open my mind a bit more, my lord.” Malik snorted in reply and began his descent into the mountains.
The forest where Malik landed was a lush green expanse of overgrown trees. At the center was a massive waterfall that emptied into a stream that snaked and wound its way around the mountain, presumably to join with the rushing river that surrounded the castle grounds. “Where are we?”
“Gwynfir,” Malik replied, bowing low so that Thalia could slide down from his back. “A much more palatable environment for a dragon, wouldn’t you agree?” The canopy overhead was thick with foliage, only allowing tiny slivers of moonshine to glisten among the leaves on the forest floor. Thalia felt very small, but she could understand why this place was a comfort to the dragon. The grove where he’d landed was open, and she could see the mouth of an enormous cavern that would lead into the base of the mountain, just behind the waterfall.
“It’s beautiful here.”
“And hidden. As I said, this place is devoid of magical interference.” He turned, taking care not to swipe her with is tail as he walked toward the cavern. Thalia was so fascinated by the graceful, yet clumsy gait of the dragon that she stood there watching for several moments. “Come,” he commanded. “My home is this way.”
“Home?” she asked. “I thought the castle…”
He said no more, but she followed him into the darkness. As they entered the cavern, Thalia could hear the thunderous roar of the waterfall crashing against the rocks above them. She had, at first, been afraid that it would be completely devoid of all light once inside, but the gentle glow that came from within Malik offered some illumination until they entered a sort of antechamber. With a breathy whoosh, the dragon spat a ball of fire at a pit full of wood, much like the one in the Great Hall of the castle. Thalia shivered as the warmth rushed around her. The room glowed with the firelight. Polished stone floors and walls stretched so high that she could not see their terminus in the deep darkness. Hanging down were dripstones in shades of orange and red. The path continued, but Malik made no move to go farther, instead settling down.
Huntress: A Paranormal Romance Page 14