Shadow of Flame

by Caitlyn McFarland

  Mair pushed her braid over her shoulder. “Now that you’ve come, perhaps you can convince Rhys that he should, as well.”

  Shards of ice drove into Cadoc’s brain. He clenched his teeth, the world blurring for a moment.

  Lladd y ddraig goch; lladd y brenin ddraig...

  “Cadoc?”

  Mair’s voice cut through the mist. She regarded Cadoc, her thumb spinning her rings. A small line of concern grew between her brows. “The rumors are true, then?”

  Cadoc shivered. Seren’s voice, raised in song, playing through his mind, kept him present. “If we could talk inside, Lady?”

  The concern line deepened. “Of course.” Mair turned, opening the door wide. She dismissed the guards and beckoned him to follow.

  Inside, the house was vast and open. The log cabin mansion was a facade, a roof to cover the large subterranean cavern where the dragons lived. The main floor of the house was hardly more than a wooden balcony that ran around the outside of a yawning pit with a few wider spaces where chairs and couches gathered in clusters. Stone stairs spiraled away into fire-lit dimness below, and the faint scent of sulfur wafted through the air. At the bottom of the cavern, barely visible, several dragons in varying hues lounged in pools of water.

  “Subterranean hot springs,” Mair said, answering his questioning look. “You’ll find it quite comfortable here, I think. If you’re in need of a place to stay.”

  He’d been hoping she would offer. Ancients knew he had nowhere else to go. “Thank you.”

  Stairs led to upper levels that looked more moderately sized. If Cadoc knew Mair, they’d be outfitted with living quarters for the Wingless and any dragons who preferred to spend their time human.

  Mair led them up the closest set of stairs to the second level. They passed several people, mostly women. A few months ago, he would have grinned at the way their eyes dropped from his head to his toes. One, a particularly pretty Naga, gave him a smile wide enough to make Cadoc quirk the corner of his mouth. Then she brushed his arm, pressing his hidden right hand into his side. His smile melted.

  Mair led him into a lushly furnished office with light streaming in through tall windows. A glass orb sat in the middle of her desk. Something was wrong with the gemstone inside. It was large and polished, but the cut was wrong, somehow. Asymmetrical, as if it had been broken. A familiar voice murmured in the air, emanating from the stone in a quick, distorted whisper.

  Before Cadoc could make out what it was saying, Mair snatched the stone from the orb and dropped it into a small silver keeping box. Cadoc had seen similar boxes before. Put something inside—a communicator, a record stone, a piece of magical jewelry—and that object’s magic would be unable to affect the outside world.

  Mair flipped the lid closed and fastened the latch. The stone immediately fell silent. “Apologies. I’ve been nostalgic lately. Just a diary entry from long ago.”

  Cadoc shrugged. “No apology necessary, Lady.”

  Mair settled in her chair. “So, tell me why you’ve come. You were cryptic when you contacted me.”

  Cadoc hunched his shoulders, pressing his bad hand tight to his side. “I need help. I assume when you mention rumors, you mean the blood curse?”

  She nodded. “I knew something had happened when I saved you from Owain. I just wasn’t sure what.”

  Cadoc swallowed. “You were right. I need to find the charm that binds the magic and dissolve it in blood, or I can’t go home. The curse forces me to attack—” He had to stop, fight the creeping cold in his blood.

  “It’s all right, I think I know who you mean.” Mair frowned. “But why have you come here? Where is the charm?”

  Cadoc rubbed his bad hand. This was the tricky part. “I caught up with Izel a few days ago. She told me it’s in one of Owain’s caches not far from here. Less than a day’s flight. Do you know it?”

  Mair leaned forward, propping her chin on her hands. “There is a place I’ve long suspected to be a cache.”

  Relief flooded him. If Mair didn’t know the place, Cadoc would have had to find someone else—or fly back to Mexico and haul Izel up here with him. “I need help to break into it. It’s guarded by magic and two pairs of heartsworn dragons.”

  Mair raised her eyebrows. “That’s not nothing, bach. Why hasn’t Ashem sent someone with you?”

  Because the mission is suicide. Because Griff just died and I can’t lose any more of them. “I’m asking you.”

  Mair’s brow furrowed. She looked incredibly like Deryn in that moment. And Seren.

  He locked the thought away.

  Leaning back, Mair asked, “What makes you think I have people to spare?”

  Cadoc shrugged, his heart sinking into a familiar sea of bitter disappointment. “I couldn’t know that until I’d asked.” He shoved his chair back. If Mair refused, he’d have to ask Ashem, after all.

  “A moment.” Mair’s mild reproof and amusement were back. “I didn’t say I wouldn’t help.”

  Cadoc sat down, hope sparking painfully inside him.

  Mair clasped her hands together on her desk. “What exactly are you looking for?”

  Cadoc frowned. “To be sure we get the charm, I’d want at least three dragons to go in with me. One of them will have to be trained in breaking spells.”

  Mair raised one eyebrow. “Not asking much, are you?”

  Cadoc shook his head. “I’m not asking for many people.”

  “Just the best ones.”

  “You don’t have to help me.”

  Mair raised a placating hand. “No, I’ll help. It’s important to me that you be with—well, you know. He needs you.”

  Cadoc rubbed his mangled fingers, the spark of hope flaring brighter, warmer. “So...you will help?”

  “That’s what I’ve just said.” She spun her rings, their tops spiked and sharp. “You’ve done so much for me, Cadoc, being you-know-who’s friend. Standing by him in a war. Risking your life for him. I owe you.”

  Cadoc took a breath, but for a moment, he couldn’t find words. His plan was working. He was going to get the blood charm. “Thank you, Lady. I will forever be in your debt.”

  Mair smiled. “I’ll count it. Can you give me a day or two to find the right people?”

  “Of course.” Ancients, he’d give her a year if it meant breaking the curse.

  Mair produced two keys from her pocket and handed them to Cadoc. “Many of the free dragons pass through here, so we always have rooms ready. Ophelia can show you to yours.”

  He took the keys and walked to the door. Then he paused and turned back to Mair. “Thank you. Truly. Help me break the curse, and I swear I will do all that I can to help bring this war to an end.”

  She turned to go down the stairs. “That’s exactly what I want you to do.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Everything, Lost

  Kai stood at the top of the staircase in the atrium, eye level with the tops of the waterfalls. Greenish midday light filtered in through several plant-shrouded openings. After being up until dawn, she’d slept most of the day the day before. She and Rhys were supposed to have dinner, but just when they’d been getting ready to talk, Deryn had come in and informed Rhys that some woman named Ceri was having it out with a Wingless named Athena and he had to go right then to resolve whatever it was.

  He still hadn’t been home when Kai had gone to bed.

  Trying to have a relationship with a king was damn inconvenient. But Rhys had promised in his note that he would be there tonight.

  At the moment, Rhys was in a Council meeting—which she only knew because of said note. Juli was with Ashem, helping him with whatever it was that he did. Ffion, Kai suspected, was in her usual spot just inside the tunnel between the atrium and the outside ledge.

  Kai pad
ded down the great curving staircase. She didn’t particularly feel like company, but it seemed weird to ignore Ffion.

  As she approached, the silver dragon stood and stretched.

  “Hi, Ffion.”

  “Bore da, Kai.”

  “How are you doing?”

  Ffion blinked her ice-blue eyes slowly. If that meant something, Kai wasn’t sure what.

  “Now that you’re awake, I need to stretch my wings. I’ll still be watching the cave, but I’m going to circle the peak for a while. I haven’t flown in too long. Make sure you stay in the rooms and don’t come out on the ledge.”

  Kai nodded, relieved. She liked Ffion, but for right now, she wanted to be alone.

  Ffion took off in a flurry of silver and wind. Kai watched her fly off, then retreated into the cave.

  As Kai had observed before, the bridges of the atrium created a five-pointed star. The top point, directly opposite the stairs, led to the human-sized living room and kitchen. The “arms” of the star led to either the outside ledge or, across from it, an open, sandy-floored room with walls of weapon racks. The “legs” of the star straddled the stairs. One led to a storage room that reminded Kai of the hoard the dragons had had in the other cave, but much, much smaller.

  The other leg led to a library. Kai headed in that direction, letting her mind wander to Rhys.

  Was she falling in love with him? Rhys had flaws—he seemed to be fond of hiding things from people “for their own good,” for example, and he’d acted without thinking more than once—but even his flaws stemmed from his desire to protect. He had suffered incredible pain for days on end just to give Kai a chance to adjust to being with him. He’d panicked when he thought she was in danger, and he’d come for her himself.

  She’d known since he’d heartsworn to her that there was the potential for something huge and beautiful between them. Now she stood with her toes over the brink of a precipice, her arms outstretched, just like she had the day they’d met.

  She’d never jumped on purpose before.

  No, that was wrong. She had once. When Kavar came after her, right before she’d heartsworn to Rhys. She’d jumped, and he’d caught her.

  She was still terrified that he might not be there this time, but there was no way to know unless she jumped again.

  When he got back, they would talk.

  For now, Kai suspected a long day of waiting lay ahead. Hence her visit to the library.

  Kai’s whole life had been about athletics, thanks to her mother’s vicarious Olympic dreams. As a gymnast, Kai was sufficient at best. She’d lacked the all-consuming drive, that spark that separated the truly gifted from people like her. After quitting gymnastics, she’d become a climber. Movement was as necessary to Kai as breathing. But contrary to stereotype, being an athlete had never stopped her from loving to read.

  She stepped through the archway and into a room filled to bursting with books. The humidity dropped radically—not surprising, she’d come across magic climate control before—and Kai was overwhelmed with the scent of books.

  Dozens of shelves ran the length of the room and covered the walls. More stood back to back in the center of the room. Kai walked among them. Many of the books were old, so she resisted the urge to trail her fingers along their spines.

  In the corner, a flight of three stairs led into a smaller room. Here, the stone walls were honeycombed with tiny holes that Kai knew held gemstone records. Long, narrow tables took up nearly half the room. If Kai had thought some of the books on the shelves looked old, these were ancient.

  She left that room unexplored for now, not wanting to accidentally destroy anything, and walked around the main library until she found a section of books that looked a little newer.

  “I knew it!” Tucked up in one corner was a worn, dog-eared copy of The Hobbit. After a little more digging, she unearthed Dune, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Dragonriders of Pern, A Game of Thrones and its sequels and all seven books in the Harry Potter series. Several other books looked like they might be fantasy novels, but unfortunately, none of them were in English.

  She laughed. Rhys: dragon king, secret fantasy nerd.

  Kai tucked Dragonsong under her arm, figuring it would be okay to take this one out of the climate-controlled room, since it was a new copy. Humming to herself, she stepped back into the tropical humidity.

  “Rhys? Rhys!”

  Kai started. A woman stood on the island at the center of the atrium. Tall and slender, with sleek chocolate-brown hair and a pale oval face that belonged in a magazine makeup ad—flawless, classic and stunning.

  Morwenna. Kai hadn’t seen her often, but Morwenna wasn’t the kind of woman another woman forgot. Or probably any man, either.

  Morwenna called for Rhys again, her voice silky and dark, as if they were playing some kind of sexy hide-and-seek.

  The thought made Kai’s hands heat.

  Morwenna’s gaze fell on Kai. Her smile dropped away.

  Kai opened her mouth to say hello. Morwenna was, after all, part of Rhys’s vee, so Kai supposed they’d be seeing a lot of each other.

  Quick as a darting cobra, Morwenna leapt across the bridge and grabbed a fistful of Kai’s hair, forcing her head back.

  “What were you looking for in that library?” Morwenna hissed, yanking hard.

  Kai yelped in pain, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. “A book. Ow! Get off!”

  Morwenna laughed, low and deep in her throat. “Of course you were.” She lifted her hand higher, until Kai had to walk on her toes to keep from having a chunk of her scalp ripped off. The pain made Kai’s eyes water.

  “What the hell are you doing? Let go!” Kai clawed at Morwenna’s hand, digging her nails into skin. Morwenna shook her. The pain made bile rise in Kai’s throat. “What are you doing?”

  Without explanation, Morwenna dragged Kai, kicking and clawing, up the stairs. She shoved open the door to Rhys’s room. “Rhys?” Morwenna sounded slightly panicked now. She shook Kai again, hard. “Where is he?”

  A dangerous tingling had started in Kai’s palms, but she didn’t care if she melted Morwenna’s skin off. “He’s in a Council meeting, you psycho bitch!”

  Morwenna shook Kai again. “Shut up.” She paused and took a good look at Kai’s left arm. “Wingless?” She stood and threw her head back in real laughter. “Owain is sending Wingless now? Please.”

  “Owain? Are you insane?” Kai aimed another kick at Morwenna. This time, her heel made satisfying contact with the other woman’s knee. But the angle was too far off to do any real damage.

  Morwenna’s laugh was cruel and cold. “What kind of spy are you?”

  “Not one!” Kai forced through gritted teeth.

  Apparently it had been a rhetorical question, because suddenly she was trying desperately not to trip as Morwenna dragged her down the sweeping stairs and onto the island.

  Fresh horror assaulted Kai as Morwenna dragged her toward the ledge. “Where...are...you taking me?” she choked out between agonized yelps.

  “To the Council. They’ve been trying to catch you for months.”

  “You can’t!” Kai dug her heels in, but couldn’t find purchase on the slick, white stone as Morwenna dragged her over a bridge. “Listen, you know me! I was at the cave, Ashem’s cave! I saved Rhys’s life! I stabbed Kavar! I’m Rhys’s heartsworn!”

  Morwenna was in his vee. She should know all of this.

  Morwenna threw back her head and guffawed, then gave Kai another vicious jerk. “If my king and my friend and my vee-brother had heartsworn two months ago, he damn well would have said something to the rest of us.”

  “Everyone in the vee knows!” Kai gasped. Rhys must not have told her. “Ask Ashem, Ffion, any of them!” Why hadn’t he told her?

  Morwenna stopped. She low
ered Kai a little and forced her head back, staring into her face. “You were at the cave, weren’t you?” She swore and yanked Kai forward, and Kai closed her teeth over a shriek of renewed pain.

  “No wonder they captured Cadoc. No wonder they knew how to find us. We were too arrogant to look for a human or Wingless spy. Ancients, what is wrong with Ashem? He’s too sundering twitterpated to think straight!”

  They emerged onto the ledge. She threw Kai down, and Kai fell to her hands and knees, losing at least a layer of skin on her palms.

  Kai jumped to her feet and darted for Rhys’s rooms, but Morwenna caught her and shoved her to the ground. Then she burst into flame.

  Kai backed up until she was on the edge, searching the sky frantically for Ffion. She spotted the silver dragon high above. The fire of Morwenna’s transformation rippled the air around her, but Kai drew scorching air into her lungs and screamed, “Ffion!”

  She hadn’t needed to—the silver dragon was already diving for them. But before Kai could regain her feet, Morwenna, now red-black, scaled and as large as a dinosaur, snatched Kai in her claws and dove off the ledge.

  The ocean rushed toward her, and Kai screamed. Morwenna snapped open her wings and swooped around the curve of the mountain. Faintly, Kai could hear Ffion’s mental voice.

  “No! Morwenna, stop! Stop!”

  It was too late.

  * * *

  Rhys shifted in his heavy, wooden chair, keeping a close eye on Ashem, two chairs down, as the Council debated the ethics of forcing him to torture his own brother.

  “We’ve had everyone from the king to Commander Tane interrogate Kavar,” the Wonambi councilwoman was saying. “I dislike it. If Commander Ashem can bring the questioning to an end sooner, it would be a kindness.”

  Ashem, who sat on the Council as the only member of Clan Azhdahā, took a breath to speak. Then something huge and red flashed across the line of narrow, arched windows that opened to the sea.