Smolder (Dragon Souls)

by Penelope Fletcher

  In the gloaming, Pasha had turned and smiled at Koen, the relief evident on her expression. “She will live, my king. She will live.

  Only then had Daniil stepped away from her bedside, his eyes haunted.

  Hours later, buttery sunshine fell on Marina’s face and she stirred. Koen watched as she lifted her head slightly, and looked around the room in alarm.

  Curled up on the floor was Pasha, her fingers wrapped around her ankle. Snores rumbled from the woman’s chest, and her usually pristine robes were rumpled and dirty. At the foot of a bed leaning perilously to the side on a stool slept Daniil. He too looked like he’d been to hell and back. Deep shadows were visible under his eyes.

  Koen leaned over to peer at her intensely. Marina’s face turned stony, unreadable, and she rested back on the pillows, weak. “I’ve been sick,” she said.

  He nodded tightly. “Unconscious and delirious.”

  She swallowed and found it difficult. Koen brought her some water. He was careful not to touch her skin as he dribbled a mouthful passed her chapped lips.

  He allowed her time to remember. “I was supposed to return to dinner.” Her eyes shot to his, the accusation plain as her memories of before she was ill returned.

  “Pasha found you then sought us out. Do you remember what happened? How you were injured.”

  Marina shifted in discomfort. “I was … attacked.” With a huff, she gave up on trying to move herself. “Boy and I had just finished becoming acquainted when I heard a whizzing noise. Something missed my arm and scraped my ankle. Boy got us outside the room, and I threw a tantrum until somebody got me a new one.”

  “Why did you not tell anybody about the attack?”

  She bit her lip. “I was worried about Boy….” She trailed off when she realized the excuse of wanting to see Boy protected would not make her brush with death acceptable. “Was he here?”

  “Yes. He was … distressed, so Mikhail has taken him.” He could see she wasn’t sure how she felt about her father being there. “Your father’s dragon was inconsolable,” Koen added quietly.

  “How are Pasha and Daniil?”

  “Tired, angry and frightened – especially Daniil. He was horrified you might die whilst under his protection and care. At one point, you slipped so close,” he breathed out hard, “too close to death. He called for his ceremonial sword to be prepared in his rooms.” Marina stared at him blankly, and Koen decided she didn’t need to know Daniil would have taken his own life in payment for failing her. His honor would have allowed him to do no less. Such a thing might upset her too greatly, and her heart needed to be kept calm. “Your dragon blood was what saved you in the end.”

  An uneasy silence fell between them.

  Daniil started awake then settled back before jerking straight and staring at Marina with glassy eyes. “Marina?” He shot up, knocking the stool over, and hurried to her side. He took her hand and pressed a kiss to her wrist.

  Koen flinched, and something desperate burned in his eyes before it was extinguished with indifference. His fingers twitched by her other hand, wanting to cover it with his own. He couldn’t touch her. Instead, he crossed his arms over his chest, and took a step back.

  “Koen,” Marina began. “I–”

  “Princess!” Pasha bounced up off the floor and was at her side in a blink. She straightened the headscarf she had tied to her head sometime in the night as tears filled her eyes. “I am so pleased you have come back to us. You truly are blessed by the goddess.”

  Marina smiled ruefully. “I certainly don’t feel blessed, Pasha. My head is aching.”

  “Pain is good,” she said solemnly. “Pain means you’re still with us. I will call you a bath and breakfast.”

  It was clear the idea of food made Marina sick by the green tinge of her skin, but her stomach rumbled in hunger at the same time. “No food,” she said pitifully. “But some tea–” she cut off, chagrined.

  Daniil squeezed her hand and there was a twinkle in his eye. “Would you like a warm up of tea Marina?”

  She scowled at him affectionately.

  “You don’t like tea?” Koen asked, an edge to his voice. His eyes were still on Daniil’s hand on hers.

  “She hates it,” Daniil chuckled, genuinely not noticing, or purposefully choosing not to acknowledge Koen’s heavy glare. “Hosting her first tea ceremony she swore she would never willingly crave or ask for a cup of vile tasting dishwater. Isn’t that right, sweet Marina,” he teased.

  Ignoring his teasing, Marina turned to Koen. The laughter in her eyes died at the hard expression on his face.

  “I have duties,” Koen barked, making them all jump, and he strode from the room, unable to bear watching them anymore.

  Sliding the screen shut behind him, Koen stepped out into the corridor. The fear and horror of the night washed over him in full force. He couldn’t stop his hands shaking, so he rubbed them together.

  She could have died.

  “My king.” The soft and deep voice of the Regent filled his ears, and Koen offered him a bow. “The patient?”

  “Recovering. She has awoken.”

  “Ah. This pleases me.” His gaze wandered to the faint tremor in Koen’s hand, and he inclined his head. “And it pleases you.”

  Koen dragged in a shaky breath and feigned indifference.

  Myron’s lips quirked. “I will see her now.” Before he pulled the screen open, he added in a low aside. “I would suggest celebrating in a less conspicuous place. Should any complaints of your involvement here reach my ears, I will have no choice but to heed them and investigate the matter in full. I can scent you haven’t touched her, but you walk a thin line.”

  Steeling himself to the subtle threat, without a word of protest, Koen turned and strode away from Marina’s room, knowing she would understand why he had left, and knowing she would be hurt by it.

  Chapter 24

  Marina spent the last day she had to train for Aver in a four-poster bed, recovering. She had dreamed of the luxurious sheets and opulent furnishings since she had moved from Zar palace to her atelier, but now she couldn’t get comfortable. She had visits from Boy, Mikhail, Daniil and even the Regent Myron. Koen did not come to see her. Marina had spent the entire day tossing and turning, and by the time the sun was setting, she had worked herself into a bit of a state.

  She wrapped her covers around her securely, and got out of bed, padding barefoot from her room.

  The Red Citadel had gone to bed early. The first quest of Aver began hours before the sun rose, and most of the gentry would attend, so needed their sleep. It was eerily quiet, making Marina’s task of getting to her destination unseen easier than she thought it would have been.

  Gathering her courage, she slid the screen open to the room she had snuck through the halls to reach, and slipped into the room.

  “Marina?”

  Her back to him she held her breath and waited for him to toss her out, to rebuke her, and tell her it was wrong to be there, but he said nothing else. Glancing over her shoulder, she could see his body highlighted by the dying sunlight. She swallowed and padded over, standing by the edge of the bed.

  “I’m cold,” she said and pulled the covers back to slip in beside him.

  He swiftly scooted over to the other side of the bed and sat up. “You shouldn’t be in here.”

  “I couldn’t stay in that bed alone. My thoughts are all … tangled and ugly.” She scrunched the sheet up in her hand. “I don’t like feeling so helpless. You make me feel strong. I look at you and feel happy.”

  “Marina–”

  “When I wake up I’m excited to see you. To talk to you.” She scooted closer to him in the bed, and tugged on his shoulder to get him to lie down. He did, and she clasped his hand between hers to press it to her heart. “I love it when you laugh and when you make that stern face. I could be happy with you.”

  He was quiet. “You flatter me. But you’re upset.”

  “Yes I am, but that does not
change the things I said.”

  He sighed and kissed her forehead, her eyelids, her cheeks. “You love Koen and I love Anastasia.”

  “But we care for each other,” she muttered. “That means a lot too. We can comfort each other.”

  “If we go down this road there would be no turning back. It would be a mating. Every one would know. Our scents would be all over each other for months.” He paused. “Koen was your first.”

  She blushed and shrugged. “I choose you.”

  “No. You chose Koen. You’re here because you are turning to the next best thing. We both deserve more than that.”

  Marina groaned and tucked her face into his shoulder. “I can’t even have recreational sex in this dimension. Not that I did before.”

  Daniil chuckled and hugged her to him. “Sweet Marina. If ever you choose me, really choose me over Koen, I will submit to you. I would be your dragon, and I would be proud to have you fight for me, to be my champion.”

  “I love you,” she whispered. How she could say the words so easily to him and not Koen was a mystery to her. “I know I do Daniil.” She stifled a sob. “I’m so sorry, but I can’t stop thinking about him. I wish I could, but I can’t stop. He’s like some addiction I can’t shake.”

  He clutched me tighter to him. “Believe me when I say I know exactly what you mean.”

  After a moment, she felt her face heat, and pushed on Daniil’s chest. He released her and they both sat up.

  “I should go,” she said awkwardly. “Embarrassing as it is to admit, I don’t trust myself to stay in this bed with you.”

  He chuckled and kissed her shoulder. “Good sleep, Marina.”

  She slipped from the bed and crept from his room, not looking back at him as she slid his screen closed.

  She tuned, and her heart leapt into her throat.

  Koen stood in the hall, leaning against the opposite wall, slumberous eyes glinting in the dusk. “Would you take a turn about the gardens with me?” he asked. “We need to talk.”

  Marina eyed him warily, but nodded. “I just need to put … clothes on.”

  ***

  Marina dashed off, and once Koen was sure he was out of sight, he entered the room she’d crept to.

  The shadow on the bed had his hands behind his head. He turned slightly and sighed.

  “If I hadn’t been outside would you have taken her?” Koen asked.

  “She came to me,” he said. “And I turned her away for you. Don’t ruin the gift I have given you.”

  “She is not yours to give,” Koen hissed. He pulled back his anger. Letting it control him would do no good. “As your overlord, I command you not to touch her.”

  Daniil stilled. Sitting up, his feet hit the rice mats and he leaned forward, blue eyes smoldering. “I am her mentor of course I have to touch her.”

  “Not anymore. I will find another to train her.”

  “No,” Daniil said in a hard voice. “They are not good enough. It has to be me or you.”

  “Nikolai–”

  “Is a young fool who will spend more time flirting with her than teaching. And he is her guardian. Aver begins tomorrow. You would cripple her chances now? She needs me.”

  Koen turned on his heel. The conversation was over. “Find someone else. Touch her again and I will kill you.”

  The aggressive roar thundered through the room, and Koen turned to meet Daniil’s charge head on, his dragon bursting from under his skin to attack with claw and fang.

  ***

  Marina was rushing back to Koen, alternating between a heartfelt apology with an explanation of why she had chosen to go to Daniil’s room, and a firm slap across his face for stalking her.

  She still hadn’t decided which one she was going to do when she realized people were running in the same direction she was in their nightclothes. Women picking up their skirts and dashing after the men who thundered down the hallways dragging tunics over heads, calling out to each other, the flash of gold and silver passing hands.

  Marina caught a young girl by the arm and yanked her back. It was the hostess who had performed the tea ceremony when she had gone to House Raad, Pasha’s daughter. “What’s happening?” she demanded.

  Recognizing who Marina was, the girl dropped to the floor and pressed her forehead to the ground, so she missed the exaggerated rolling of Marina’s eyes. “Princess,” she said breathlessly. “Dragons are fighting.”

  “Dragons fight all the time.” Marina’s eyes darted around at the frantic excitement around her. The hallway was nearly empty and the crowd was moving as one towards the fracas up ahead.

  Outside Daniil’s room.

  “Yes, but not dragon king Koen Raad and his kin.”

  The words were like ice water. “Koen and Nikolai are fighting?”

  “No. The dragon king and lord Kol.”

  A deafening roar echoed down the hallway and there was a catastrophic collision.

  The fortress shook.

  The ground unsteady, Marina held her hand out lest she fall over. Hauling Peeta up by the arm, they sprinted the rest of the way, and skidded to a stop.

  Marina gasped.

  The black dragon reared back on his hind legs, obsidian scales glistening in the torchlight. He unleashed a blistering surge of flame. Simultaneously, the cobalt dragon lowered his sleek body and spewed a torrent of ice. The two mighty elements clashed and exploded in a shower of fire and frost.

  She had seen them fight before but it had been nothing like this. The rage was palpable.

  Koen leapt forward and Daniil lashed out with his claws. The two wrapped around each other. Tails stabbing and jaws snapping. Claws sliced flesh from bone. They hissed and snarled. Rolling, entwined in a deadly clutch, they smashed into the wall making the citadel quake.

  The dragons wrenched themselves apart and retreated. Lips curling, their warning growls rumbled so deeply Marina felt her bones vibrate.

  They both sucked in air. Koen’s throat burning scarlet, Daniil’s deepening to a tempestuous blue.

  Seeing how far things were going, people starting running away from the brawl screaming for help.

  Marina spun to the girl whose arm she still held in a vice like grip. “Your name?” she demanded.

  “Peeta.”

  “Okay Peeta. Get your shit together, because I need you to go get Mikhail Zar.”

  She gasped in horror. “The phoenix?”

  “Yes. Go. Tell him Marina needs him. Now!” She shoved the girl to get her going.

  Marina pushed her way through the surging, crowd, pushing back when people tried to grab her to go the other way. She stumbled out the other end of the crowd.

  Koen and Daniil charged each other with thunderous roars.

  She flung herself between the raging beasts and flung up her arms, palms raised to the sky, eyes flashing anger. “No!”

  Both dragons spotted her and skidded to a stop, tumbling hide over claw.

  Marina screeched as a tail caught her around the middle and tossed her across the hallway. She waited to hit the wall, but the blow never came. She opened her eyes just as she soared out the glassless citadel window. There was a heart stopping moment when she was suspended, weightless, before gravity caught up with her and she plummeted.

  The wind rushed passed. The world rotated around her as she tumbled and somersaulted wildly in the air.

  Koen and Daniil dived out the window after her, zooming down the side of the volcano at immense speed.

  For Marina everything but the black dragon – gilded with the dying rays of the sun – receded into the shadows. Wings tucked close to his body, Koen accelerated until he was but an arm’s reach away.

  A shockwave blasted through Marina’s body, jarring her to the bone. Her skin prickled. Blood rushed so fast through her body she thought her insides would splatter. A burgeon of heat flared over her skin and an urge to escape death ripped through her. Fly with your wings. Roar. Fly. Fly! Her body wanted to fly; wildness lurking deep
inside wanted to break free. All the aggression she carried around fluxed, and the pressure built between her eyes. An alien sensation crawled over her, gathering force, pushed the quickening and then … nothing.

  It dissipated leaving her empty, and she was terrified again.

  Koen’s talons snapped open and snatched her from her freefall the moment before she hit the ground.

  Koen Raad king the mighty of dragons reared back, decelerated as his wings jack-knifed out, but it was too late and they slammed into the jungle floor in an explosion of fire and earth. Thundering, screaming, roaring they crashed through the undergrowth, tearing trees from their roots until they tumbled to a stop in a broken heap.

  ***

  Marina was hale. Unbelievably. Grunting, she scrambled up, and pushed on Koen’s talons until they fell open, and she crawled out into the mysterious jungle she had seen from her goddess damned glassless window, but not explored.

  The uncultivated land was dense with leafy shrubs and willowy trees. The canopy was a snarl of vines and leaves, only allowing the occasional thick shaft of failing sunlight. The air was thick with the scent of life. A crisp smell so unlike man that Marina could imagine walking the forest and acquiring this smell, so she would not longer be man, but beast. The wildlife was mad. Disturbed monkeys tootled, swinging from the vines in creepy shadows, and running along the tree branches in agitation. Tropical birds screeched and darted passed in brief whooshes of movement.

  The heavy beat of wings preceded Daniil’s landing close by, and he tuned human in a blaze of brilliant white light. “Marina!” he shouted.

  “I’m here,” she called.

  Already, she recklessly scaled Koen’s hide, trying to see if he was conscious. He was breathing, but it was stilted, and cut out mid inhalation. She jumped down and ran around his body until she found his snout, half buried in the dirt on one side.