Shadow of Flame

by Caitlyn McFarland

  “Kavar,” Jiang said, disgust in her voice.

  Ffion shushed them and carried on. “You know the next part. Sometime between Rhys’s great-grandfather and now, the Sunrise Dragon was lost. When Rigani, Owain’s mother, decided to pass the mantle to her brother instead of her son, Ayen was no longer her closest blood relative. Owain was. So she had a team of our most accomplished scholars and magic-users come together to try to duplicate the effects of the artifact. They were successful, but only in part. When Rigani was killed by humans, the mantle tore. That’s why we’re at war. The only way to pass the mantle is for Rhys or Owain to die or, theoretically, to find the Sunrise Dragon.”

  “I think I’ve heard that part,” Kai said.

  “Your hair is finished.” Juli came around and eyed Kai critically then beamed. “You look beautiful.”

  “Thank you.” Kai took Juli’s hand, her arms heavy with tinkling jewelry. “I’m going to pass out.”

  Juli dabbed a white cloth below her eyes and waved a dismissive hand. “No, you’ll be fine. You and Rhys are good together. The two of you will figure it out.”

  Kai gave her a lopsided smile. Being cornered into heartswearing, having her mind invaded—that stuff had damaged her relationship with Rhys before it had even begun. But in the last three days, being with him, defending him in front of the Council and being defended in return—that had tipped the scales. She trusted Rhys. She wanted to be with him.

  She was ready to let herself fall in love.

  That’s why the pledging was so damn terrifying. She was pretty sure she was ready to drop her shields all the way. She was certain Rhys cared about her, at least a little. But would he love her when he saw all of her? Selfish, inexperienced, naïve...she was hardly dragon mate material. She wasn’t even adult material.

  And now that she was “out” to the dragons, what would they expect? That Ceri woman had mentioned heirs. Even if being used as a brood mare was off the table, there would have to be kids someday. When would Rhys expect that?

  Knowing Rhys, not until she was ready.

  A knock sounded at the door. Ffion went to open it, the gossamer fabric of her dress billowing. She opened the door a crack, revealing a narrow sliver of Evan’s face.

  Evan flashed Ffion a crooked, troubled smile. “It’s time.”

  “Oh, hell.” Kai went tense. Bright lights flashed at the edges of her vision. “I think I’m actually going to faint.”

  Jiang slipped a ring on Kai’s finger. “You won’t. Believe you’re a queen, and you will be.”

  “Does that actually work?” Kai asked through clenched teeth.

  Jiang laughed. “Of course.” She winked. “It works for me.”

  The wink broke through the panic a little, and Kai let out a strained laugh. Deryn set a ruby and moonstone-encrusted tiara on Kai’s head, and Kai squashed the urge to snatch it off. Rhys, she could handle. This whole queen thing, though, had to be some kind of cosmic joke. Some omnipotent being had made a huge mistake.

  “Let’s go!” Deryn sang out, flippant and gleeful, like they were kids about to head out to recess.

  “You are the worst,” Kai said, one hand pressed to her stomach.

  Deryn waggled a finger. “I’m the best. Look in the mirror.”

  Kai had been dreading this moment all evening. With no curves and oozing jewelry, she’d look like a little girl playing dress-up. Heart beating in her throat, she stood, lifted her bloodred skirts and rustled over to the enormous three-sided mirror.

  Her mouth fell open.

  She’d never had clothing made specifically for her before, and the team of tailors who’d worked through the night to create this dress were most definitely gifted artists. Beaded flames swirled inward at Kai’s waist and outward at her breasts and hips. The sleeves were split at the shoulder, the sheer crimson fluttering around her exposed arms. It fit like a glove rather than a second skin, which was great, because it meant she could breathe. The skirt rippled with her movements, its train trailing elegantly behind her.

  Deryn was a decent artist, as well. Kai’s eyes, lined in black and gold, looked enormous. Rubies, diamonds and flecks of precious metals flared from her eyelids. Her black hair was braided and coiled in an elegant updo, a circlet shining through here and there.

  She didn’t look like a fairy-tale princess. The effect was too visceral and earthy for that. Not that it was overly sexy, either. Just...regal. She looked like a woman.

  She looked like a queen.

  “Oh, hell!” Kai panicked. Rhys would see right through this. He’d think it was ridiculous. He’d laugh. Everyone would laugh.

  She gathered her skirts in a bunch in her arms. She had to run. She had to get out. Go home. Put on a pair of yoga pants.

  “You aren’t going anywhere.” Deryn placed herself between Kai and the door, bending her knees like she might actually tackle Kai to the ground.

  “Ffion, Juli.” Jiang rustled past Deryn and opened the door, inclining her body in a slight bow. “We need to go if we’re going to be in the stone circle on time.”

  Kai stifled a hysterical giggle.

  Juli hugged her. “It’s going to be amazing. I’ll see you down there.” She pressed a kiss to Kai’s cheek and slipped out with Ffion and Jiang.

  Deryn made a few final adjustments to the peacock-inspired blue and green train of her dress, then surveyed Kai. “All right. Let’s go.”

  They walked from Deryn’s rooms—a maze of twisting tunnels and passages, unlike Rhys’s fairly straightforward setup—and onto a large ledge.

  Kai did a double-take when she saw the sky. The waters around the island were a calm turquoise, the sky a flawless blue in a perfect circle that extended just beyond the edge of the island. Beyond that, clouds boiled and rain sliced into a foaming gray sea. The odd combination of muted storm and bright sunlight made everything on the look surreal. The lines of the mountains sharper, the whites, greens and blues of the island more vivid.

  “The Noodinoon.” Deryn indicated the sky. “It takes a lot of them to keep back a storm of this scale. We’d better get down there before they wear themselves out.” She gave Kai a look. “Get your chin up. Smile. Convince these people that you’re a person. A better one than my mother.” She softened. “You will be a good queen.”

  Kai clutched her skirt. “Yeah, thanks. No pressure.”

  Deryn transformed, mist coalescing around her. When it cleared, she’d become a slender azure dragon. Fine platinum chains entwined her horns, loaded with diamonds and sapphires. Not for the first time, Kai wondered how a transformation like that worked.

  Shaking the last, shimmering water droplets from her hide, Deryn lowered her head. “Get on.”

  Kai scrambled up Deryn’s side—not easy weighed down with half a ton of metal and encased in slippery fabric.

  Deryn swiveled her long neck to look back. “I love my brother. I want him to be happy, and I think you make him happy. Tear that dress and I will eat you.”

  Despite herself, Kai snorted.

  They took off, Kai holding one of Deryn’s neck spikes as they glided from her ledge. Deryn flared her wings, skimming the edge of sunlight and shadow at the border of the storm. They came around the mountain, and the valley opened up below.

  Dragons in every color and size dotted the stone circle like jewels at the bottom of a green bowl. Next to it, the lake reflected the sky; half clear, half storm.

  The center of the circle was empty except for Rhys and Seren—one red dragon, one gold. The dragons of the Council stood in pairs at each of the ten standing stones, except for Citlali and Ashem, the sole representatives of their clans.

  The rest of the dragons of Eryri ranged in loose clusters outside the circle and along the banks of the lake, maybe a thousand total. At the sight of Deryn soaring around the m
ountain, a rolling wave of lights, fire, mist and magic passed over the dragons. The majority of them—though not nearly all—had become human.

  Kai’s heart caught in her throat. They might be mocking her, but it looked more like a sign of support. She wasn’t universally hated.

  Deryn circled the crowd once. As she did, Rhys and Seren both transformed, shedding their dragon bodies and becoming human. Seren, draped in her veil, stepped onto a raised platform, a middle-aged Polynesian woman dressed in purple at her side.

  Deryn landed. A weak wave of applause went up from the crowd.

  “The ones clapping are the Wingless,” Deryn murmured into Kai’s head. “They’re decent enough, Kai, but don’t trust them just because they were human. Choose your friends because of who they are, not how they were born.”

  Nice thought, but right now, Kai was more concerned with the dragons.

  Kai managed to slide to Deryn’s elbow without her skirts flying up around her head. From there, she leapt to the ground. Rhys caught her around the waist, spinning so that her red gown flared.

  He held on, towering between Kai and the rest of the world, his hands warm and strong. His scent washed over her, going to her head.

  “Thank you,” she murmured.

  A smile teased one corner of his mouth. “You have a tendency to fall from things, George. I just assume it’s my job to catch you.”

  Despite everything, Kai laughed.

  He was dressed mostly in black with accents of crimson and gold. Like Kai, a circlet sat in his hair. It was kind of funny, her dressed in red with black hair, him dressed in black with red hair. Even the embroidery was the same. They looked like a pair.

  He ran his thumb over the back of her hand, obviously troubled.

  “What is it?”

  “I wish Cadoc could be here.” He took a breath, then exhaled. “Are you ready?”

  Kai swallowed convulsively. “If feeling like I’m going to puke all over your feet means ‘ready,’ then yes.”

  He threaded his fingers through hers. “I promise not to throw up on yours if you don’t throw up on mine.”

  Reassured, she squeezed his hand.

  A mist gathered and dispersed as Deryn changed from dragon to human. She and Rhys bowed to each other, then Deryn retreated to stand beside the rest of the members of the vee. As she did, Kai caught sight of Morwenna. The tall woman looked like she’d been crying.

  Rhys looked from her to Morwenna, something like resignation crossing his face. He took Kai’s arm, and they processed around the edge of the circle, greeting the members of the council. “It was a mistake, Kai. My mistake. You can’t blame her.”

  “Now is not the time.” Kai plastered a smile on her face and waved at a dragon who’d waved at her. If she thought about Rhys and Morwenna and why he hadn’t told the other woman that he’d heartsworn, she wouldn’t get through this.

  They completed their circle and knelt in front of Seren’s platform. One dragon from each of the ten clans had formed a semicircle with Seren at the center.

  To Seren’s right, an old man with a mustache cleared his throat. “We the Council welcome Rhys ap Ayen ap Thân, Lord of Eryri and King of Dragons. We welcome Kai Kiera Monahan of the Wingless, Lady of the Haven Lagoon and Queen of Dragons.”

  Kai tried not to hear the angry muttering that rose among the gathered dragons.

  The man bowed. “May your fire burn bright. May your thoughts be sharp. May your knowledge be guided by wisdom, and may the wind always carry you well.”

  There was a rustle of wings and a wave of polite applause.

  Because the king was from all clans and none, a member of each clan performed a ritual.

  This could not be more different from Ashem and Juli’s ceremony. That had been small and joyful. This felt more like a golf tournament—formal, a little pompous and leaning heavily toward boring.

  Afterward, Kai hardly remembered any of it, except that they’d dissolved a sugar cube in a cup, as Juli and Ashem had done, and there had been chanting. Her knees started to ache. And then...

  “Speak,” Seren said.

  Rhys, facing Kai, took both her hands in his own. “Kai Kiera Monahan, my soul is your soul. My wings are your wings. I pledge you the love of my heart, the strength of my body, the whole of my faith.”

  Kai took a deep breath, squaring her shoulders. When she spoke, her voice rang in a way that would’ve made her high school choir teacher proud. “Rhys ap Ayen, my soul is your soul. I pledge you the love of my heart, the strength of my body, the whole of my faith.”

  “Rise.”

  They rose.

  Kai couldn’t see Seren’s face, but her voice was warm and happy. “Seal your promise with a kiss.”

  Kai took a shaking breath. She’d known this was coming, but anticipation dried her throat and weakened her knees. She stepped close to Rhys, the space between them going electric. She slid her hands to his forearms and he rested his on her hips.

  Rhys was shaking, too.

  He leaned down. It was a long way—he was a foot taller than her and she was barefoot. She had a sudden, desperate wish for a stepstool.

  And then he was kissing her. A wave of heat sparked from her lips to her toes, making a couple of inconvenient stops along the way. They inhaled in unison, and Kai had to suppress a moan.

  She’d craved this since she’d left him on a roof, drenched in Seattle rain.

  Rhys made a sound low in his throat. Quiet, barely a hitch in his breath. But it shot through her, fanning the sparking heat into flame. His grip slid up to her waist, his hand coming into contact with the bare skin revealed by the low back of her dress.

  Kai gasped against his mouth and Rhys tightened his hold. Through the cracks in her mental shield, his feeling of finally, finally, you are mine mingled with her own. She didn’t want to let go. She didn’t want him to stop.

  Rhys pulled back, breathing hard. His Bunsen-burner flame eyes luminesced.

  A wave of something washed over her. Profound. Inexorable. Endless.

  Rhys blinked, and his eyes widened. Something tentative reached through the widening cracks and touched her mind. “Kai?”

  A dull roar of sound rose like a tide, and they both turned. People were cheering. Well, some of them.

  Still, it was enough. This moment was enough. Rhys was enough.

  Maybe she was enough, too.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Secret Combinations

  Kai’s kiss still burning on his lips, Rhys could have sworn he’d felt her. That her mind had opened and touched his.

  She loved him.

  It was all he could do not to kiss her again to see if he could crack those shields around her mind a little wider. Being loved like that was like touching sunlight when all he’d known were cold, clouded skies.

  “The Noodinoon can’t hold back the storm forever,” Deryn said, approaching them. “I’m going to get the feast started.” She embraced Rhys. “Congratulations,” she whispered. “For two people pretending to be in love, you two are shockingly convincing.”

  She let go of him and hugged Kai, then straightened to face the crowd. Raising her voice, she shouted to the assembled dragons that the feast was ready whenever they were. Dragons and Wingless dispersed, some following Deryn into the wide cavern mouth at the base of the mountain, some forming a line to greet Rhys and Kai.

  The vee split. Ffion and Evan followed Deryn. Ashem hovered at Rhys’s shoulder, Jiang at Kai’s. Rhys saw Morwenna hesitate, then take up a position a little behind Jiang.

  He watched Kai from the corner of his eye as the first few dragons came to pay their respects. Any worries he might have had melted away within minutes. Ffion had done her job well. Though dragon greetings could be used across clans, there were nu
ances. For the most part, Kai remembered them.

  After an hour, the end of the line came into sight. Henry Harrow, the human tech specialist, and several other Wingless had gathered around Kai.

  Rhys half-listened to the extremely friendly greeting Harrow bestowed on Kai. Distracted by how the Wingless man seemed to be clinging to her hand, he nearly missed nodding to a short, thickset dragon with wide-set eyes and the silver scales of an Air Elemental coiling up his arm in cloudy chrome whorls.

  Though Rhys had never met this man personally, he knew all the dragons who lived in Eryri. “Prynhawn da, Cadell. Thank you for being here.”

  Cadell’s smile was smug. “I couldn’t stay away.”

  The air around Rhys froze, going as hard as stone. Sounds muffled. He couldn’t breathe. Paralyzed and in shock, it was all he could do to watch Cadell produce a long dagger from his coat.

  “Long live Queen Deryn,” Cadell hissed.

  Then he lunged.

  Rhys called his fire. Knowing it was too late, he steeled himself for pain.

  A streak of red launched at Cadell, slamming into him and sending the dragon staggering to one side. The air imprisoning Rhys disappeared, and he heaved in a breath.

  Ashem snatched Cadell by the collar of his shirt. He couldn’t tackle Cadell to the ground, however, because Kai was on the Air Elemental’s back, her arms wrapped around his neck, her feet dangling off the ground.

  Cadell emitted a choked sort of shriek, and Rhys smelled seared skin.

  “Sunder me.” He tried to pry Kai off—the man’s face was turning purple and the smell of cooked meat was getting stronger—but she wouldn’t budge.

  “Let go, cariad.”

  At the sound of his voice in her ear, Kai loosened her hold and slid until her feet touched the ground. Once she was clear, Ashem knocked Cadell into the dirt. Morwenna produced silver cuffs from a fold of her dress, securing his hands.

  Kai grabbed Rhys around the middle, pulling him close, the words streaming from her mouth muffled against his shirt. “You were surprised, so I turned around to see what was going on and he had a knife and I just...I just...”