by Terry Spear
"All right. Wake me in two hours." Ena looked for Freya and found her in a guestroom sleeping. Ena hated to wake her, but told her what they hoped she would do.
"I will go with Brett. If he's agreeable, I'll stay with him. I'll try to hold my fae form and when I'm out of sight of Prince Grotto's people I will let you know what's going on inside the castle."
"That sounds like an excellent plan. Thank you, Freya." Ena was grateful to her because she was going against her own queen's wishes. But Ena suspected since the queen had ruled that Freya be turned into a raven for most of the time, she held a deep animosity for the queen's rulings. "We'll leave in two hours."
Then they said good night and Ena sent Muriel to tell her brother his plan was a go. Then Ena went to bed, wondering again what had happened to Brett's friends. She hoped they had not gotten themselves into dire circumstances and they'd have to save them. They hadn't shown any fae tendencies so she thought they might still be human fae seers and nothing more.
Ena had barely gone to sleep when Muriel said at her door, "My lady, your brother is here. He said the mission is a go. Brett is well enough to go to the castle. Cook has prepared breakfast."
"I'll be right there." Ena was already out of bed and getting dressed in a black leather padded corset, fit for maximum movement and protection, thigh-high boots and leather pants She armed herself with her sword, two daggers, and several throwing stars. Though she figured for most of the time, she'd be a fire-breathing dragon. But if she had to shift into her fae form and storm the castle inside, to go after Princess Alicia's mother or Brett, or Freya, she'd be ready.
She ran a brush quickly through her hair, which was why she loved that it was short and very manageable. Then she applied her makeup, the only thing she allowed herself to do that was in the least bit girly—she loved long black lashes enhanced with the mascara wand and olive green eye shadow that matched her eyes and her dragon's scales when she shifted. Did the shadow disappear with her shift like her clothes and weapons? She'd never seen herself in a mirror when she shifted. Just her form as she'd cross over a reflective body of water. But nothing where she could see her dragon's face up close. She imagined the shadow would vanish along with the rest of her fae appearance.
She applied a bit of lipstick, and then hurried into the dining hall where a feast fit for a king and his courtiers had been prepared. All her suitors were there, waiting for her arrival before they chowed down. Brett, looking worse for wear—despite saying he was fine—was seated near her usual chair, the same one she had made him sit in when he had first arrived as her prisoner. Except for the tenuous situation he was putting himself into, the morning seemed like any other, the sky still dark, clouds hiding any stars or hint of the full moon.
All her staff was up at this ungoddess hour, scurrying about to get them anything else they wanted. She noted Brett was having trouble cutting up his sausage or even lifting his fork to his lips. She watched him struggle so hard to do it and pretend nothing was wrong. She couldn’t help him. Couldn't let him see that she recognized his weakness. Everyone was quiet, subdued, eating, but casting glances Brett's way. They knew what she did. This was so not good.
She prayed it would work, but she had serious doubts.
Freya was sitting on the side table in her raven form. Despite being a winged creature part-time herself, Ena wasn't fond of the notion of having a bird in her keep. Not that Freya pooped anywhere, but Ena couldn't help seeing her as a dirty bird, not as a fae who was cursed. Maybe it all had to do with the reminder that birds in her garden left behind. Or the time she was sitting outside on her stone patio, enjoying a cup of tea when a bird flew overhead and pooped on her shoulder. She loved birds, when they ate the bugs, but not when they made messes on her.
But she understood Freya had to conserve her ability to remain as a fae when she first arrived at Crislis Castle so she could slip away as a raven later, unnoticed by Prince Grotto and his men.
Giving in, since no one else would help Brett with his food, and knowing he needed it for his strength to return, Ena finished the last of her sausages and rose from her seat. When Alton stood, she said, "Brett hasn't finished eating." He had barely begun, except to drink a cup of cocoa Cook had prepared specifically for him. Ena cut up his sausage in small amounts, then offered a bite to him. She hoped he wouldn't find it degrading. She would, in his place. But they had to leave soon and he really needed to eat. After several bites of food, she realized no one else had said a word, which irritated her, because she hoped everyone wasn't watching this fiasco. But they were. Then she wondered if none of her staff had offered to assist him because they were waiting for her to do the job in a matchmaking effort.
"I can't eat any more," Brett said. "Thank you, Ena. I'm ready to go."
He looked like he could barely stand, and when Alton took hold of his arm to help him, she was certain this was going to be a disaster.
Chapter 12
Brett was going to do this if it killed him. Which, considering the way he felt, it might. Not only was he nauseous, maybe from the pain medication, but he felt woozy and like he could just pass out at any moment. He and Freya were riding a horse together, while she held onto him, trying to keep him on the horse. He hoped he could make it to the gates of the royal dragon castle before he fell off. Likewise, he was praying she wouldn't shift into a raven all of a sudden. They needed to keep that secret. If anyone suspected she was cursed by her own queen, they might realize she wouldn't be on the queen's side in this. And if she needed to make a hasty escape, she would be better able to do so as a raven.
Brett wished Ena could have been with him, but she and the rest of the dragons were keeping out of sight of the archers on the wall walk. They were positioned in the woods near the castle as he and Freya made their approach. He kept expecting men to surround them at any moment. He felt eyes upon them from all around the dark woods and heard the breeze catching the oak leaves, swishing them in a fluttery dance. Overhead, the canopy of the woods kept all the dim light out. He realized once he'd gained his fae abilities, he could see somewhat in the dark. Not as if it were daylight, but in shades of gray and black and shadows.
"How are you feeling?" He wondered if Freya would suddenly have the urge to turn into the raven or if it just happened without warning.
"I can stay in my fae form for longer periods. I was a raven all last night, even when you were wrecking Ena's castle so that I could be in my fae form longer. But it seems I'm able to stay a fae longer because I'm farther away from Zane's influence, you froze him, or I'm getting the hang of it."
"Good."
"How are you holding up?" Freya asked, her arms tight around him as the horse cantered toward the castle.
"I won't have any trouble feigning I'm wounded," he said. "The only thing I worry about is that they will wonder how come I'm here on my own, well, with you, but not with any forces. I'm certain they'll wonder why I'm a new phantom fae just walking into the castle without someone to confirm I'm supposed to be here."
"That's all you worry about? What are you going to do if they attempt to kill you?"
"Protect myself, and you, in a way they won't expect."
"As a dragon."
Prince Grotto had to know that some of the dragon shifters had returned to reclaim their castles. He might have even had word that they had destroyed wagons coming to supply the troops with food, medical supplies and anything else they might need to prolong the ongoing battles. Fires and smoke could be seen off in the distant woods, and Brett hoped the fires wouldn't lay waste to all the lands.
Suddenly, Brett heard movement to the right and left of him.
"Dismount, now!" a gruff man said.
"We're phantom fae, come here on Queen Everlee's orders. Brett is badly wounded and we seek shelter until he can offer his services and fight on King Grotto's behalf," Freya said.
"Dismount now, or ye will both be dead."
"You'll have to help him down. I tell you, he's badly
wounded."
"You, woman, get down."
Brett squeezed her hand, and then Freya climbed down. They quickly put her in iron chains to keep her from fae transporting out of there.
Then they waited for Brett to comply. He knew this was going to hurt. He tried to swing his leg over the horse's back, but all he managed to do was upset his precarious seating and went flying for the solid earth. And cried out as pain shrieked through every bit of his torso and short-circuited his brain.
"We should have left him on the blame horse," the one man said as he and two others hoisted Brett over the saddle. He was barely conscious at that point, but he was certain if he could remain so, riding on his belly would knock him out again he would be in so much pain.
Sure enough, as soon as they began to lead the horse toward the castle, Brett groaned as the pain was unbearable, and then he was out again.
The next thing he knew, he was in a filthy cell. And Freya was next to him, coaxing him to wake as he lay on a ragged wool blanket atop a plank of wood.
"Freya," he ground out, his teeth clenched against the pain.
"Aye. I'm so sorry," she whispered. She motioned to the window. "I can fly out there and let Ena know what has become of us."
"Ena," a woman whispered from the cell next to theirs.
"Aye. I'm Freya," Freya said. "Who are you?" The gray stone wall blocked their view of the woman and they could only see the prisoners in the cell across from them. Four men, bearded, dressed in padded armor.
"Princess Viviana."
"Princess Alicia's mother?" Freya asked, glad to hear she was alive and sounded well.
"Aye."
Freya fought shifting into her raven form while she held Brett's hand as he rested on the wooden plank that served as a bed. He was manacled in iron bracelets, though Prince Grotto hadn't believed he was anything more than the human Ena had taken as her prisoner. Even so, Brett couldn't move as a fae would anyway. Not yet, at least.
She so hoped he wouldn't suddenly shift into a dragon either.
"Was that Brett with you?" Viviana asked.
"Yes, and he's been badly wounded by an archer's bolts. Then Prince Grotto had him beaten when he was just coming to. Now Brett's unconscious again."
"Why…why are you here? Where is Ena?"
"She is with her own kind, destroying supply trains." Freya didn't want to say that Ena and her brother and suitor were here, waiting for the word to attack. She was afraid the jailer might overhear and send word to Prince Grotto.
"But why are you here? You are…a phantom fae?"
"Yes. Ena was forced to offer Brett in payment to my queen and he and I became friends. He would not fight Ena. You know how she saved her life. He would never go against her."
"I'm so sorry they've taken you prisoner. Have you any word of my daughter? And son-by-marriage?"
"The last I heard, they are leading their own forces and doing well." Freya glanced up at the small arrow-slit window high up above. A man couldn't slip out through it. But a raven could.
She looked in the direction of the cell opposite hers. Like her, the four men were wearing iron manacles. They were chained to the floor, though they had chains long enough to allow them to sit on wooden planks covered in thin, ragged wool blankets. She wasn't chained. She guessed Prince Grotto assumed she couldn't do anything to get away. It wouldn't have mattered. Chains wouldn't have kept her in place. As soon as she shifted into the raven, the manacles would drop away.
"I'm Prince Deveron's cousin, Count Micala. You are a phantom fae? How did you manage to get yourself locked up in here?" he asked from the cell across from theirs.
"We didn't support the queen's alliance with Prince Grotto."
"We heard you were captured in the woods and that you had no weapons. What exactly was your plan? Or did you have none?"
"It appears our plan didn't work." Which wasn't true. This was Plan B, get into the dungeon, learn if Princess Alicia's mother was still alive, and report her whereabouts to Ena and the others.
"You say Brett was shot by two bolts?" Micala asked.
"Aye."
"Then how does he still live? Any fae would have died with those kinds of injuries, unless they just nicked him. But he doesn't appear to be just slightly wounded."
"He's remarkably strong." And kind and caring. Yet, if Freya had any notion Brett might favor her as something more than a friend, she knew she was mistaken when she saw the way he had looked at Ena. He adored her, would risk his life for her, and had. Freya had virtually held her breath when she saw the tension in his whole body, and in Ena's, when he first saw the dragon shifter standing quietly in the woods, annoyed with Alton and Brett for fighting. Freya could see that Brett had wanted to run to join her and give her a hug. Maybe wary of what Alton would do to him, or how Ena would react, Brett stayed put. But did the dragon shifter return the interest?
Freya thought Ena did. Only she was fighting showing her true feelings for Brett. Freya knew that any dragon shifter who gave up such jeweled weapons valued beyond priceless to someone who had just worked for her had to mean she truly cared for him. Freya had heard how the dragon shifters were concerned that their kind would be further decimated if they mated with fae other than the dragon shifter kind after the dragon fae rulers had killed so many of the dragon shifters. They had an uneasy truce with them up until now, but not with Prince Grotto in charge. So she assumed that was why Ena fought showing how much she cared for Brett, who was not a dragon shifter like her.
Freya had been amused that Ena had been annoyed with Alton for finding her nice looking. Freya had expected him to be really upset or angered with her for flying in his face as a raven, trying to avert his attention from Brett so he could escape to the safety of the den-like cave.
Freya liked that Alton had been impressed with her courage to fight a mighty dragon. If Ena had feelings for Brett, why should Ena care if Alton said nice things about her? Then again, maybe he only did so to rile Ena for liking Brett. Freya thought Alton's comments were genuine though.
When Brett fell asleep, Freya let go of his hand and walked over to the bars to their cell, closest to the wall that adjoined their cell with the king's daughter's.
"Are you all right, Princess Viviana?"
"Yes. I'm fine. The guard said Brett wasn't a fae. Are you certain he is?"
"Aye. A phantom fae. He saw his grandfather before he died at Queen Everlee's hand."
"Why was Brett's grandfather put to death?"
"Disloyalty. He rebelled against some of her rulings." Freya knew that wouldn't set well with this woman either. If they didn't have compliant subjects, they would have anarchy.
"For Brett's sake, I'm sorry to hear it. Was he treated poorly because of his association with his grandfather?"
"The queen wishes him dead."
In the cell opposite Freya's, Micala snorted. "He can be one of us, if Queen Irenis wishes it. Any man who can survive being struck by not one but two bolts and live to tell the tale would make for an excellent warrior."
"I agree. He still wishes to serve Ena."
"A dragon shifter?" Micala shook his head. "He needs to be a warrior. What could he do for the shifter?"
Love her, Freya thought morosely.
As soon as everyone went to sleep, Freya would shift and fly off to tell Ena what had happened. She sat down on the pallet that was hers, intending to rest until it was dark out and then she'd shift and fly through the window.
She must have fallen asleep herself when she heard a whispered voice say, "Freya?"
"Brett?" She jumped up from the pallet and joined him at his bed. "How are you feeling?"
"Like I've been beaten when I wasn’t looking. Just when I thought I was getting better."
"You were just coming to when Prince Grotto had one of his men beat you into unconsciousness. I'm so sorry. If I could have turned into a dragon, I would have killed every last one of them. Prince Grotto believes you are still human, but just in case,
he manacled you against fae travel. Princess Alicia's mother is in the cell next to ours. Prince Grotto has had some dark fae imprisoned also. Do you know Count Micala?"
"I do. We must free them also."
She sighed. As if Brett could do much of anything right now. "We will. Sleep. I'm off to find Ena and the others."
"Go. I'll be here, waiting."
Smiling a little at him, she kissed his forehead. He smiled a little in return, but he didn't look well. She wished she could fly him out of here and to safety. The whole plan had been a mistake. "I'll be back as soon as I can." Then she stood and shifted. The manacles dropped off to the stone floor. She flew to the arrow-slit of a window. With a backward glance, she paused to look at him. Brett had already closed his eyes. She turned and spread her wings, then took off cawing, trying to catch the dragon shifters' attention.
***
Ena, her brother, and Alton had stayed as close to the royal dragon fae castle as they could, sitting in trees, not flying overhead as targets for Prince Grotto's minions. Even though he had proclaimed himself king, he had gotten the crown by murdering the true king. She would never see him as anything but a ruthless coward. She would never call him king.
It was killing her not to fly around while they waited for an interminable amount of time, hours, until Freya told them what was going on. Ena reminded herself that Brett and Freya would have to wait for the perfect time before Freya could bring them news. So Ena tried to be patient. But she was agonizing over how Brett was faring, and Freya, too. She wouldn't stop worrying until she heard from them.
When Ena heard the raven cawing, she was certain it had to be Freya. She rose from the tree, flew above the canopy of the forest, and gave a soft roar, as soft as a dragon could make it. She had to get Freya's attention, but she didn't want to alert the warriors at Crislis Castle that any dragon was near their defenses.
The raven cawed again, getting closer. It had to be Freya. Relieved, Ena waited for Freya to join her as she remained in a holding pattern. It was dark enough that the castle archers couldn't see her unless she flew over the castle.