by Delia Castel
A sharp breath escaped her lips. If he was the brother of the two shifters sent by Governor Hertz, then he had likely been working for the evil dragon all along. He could have been sent to Boreas to spy on the Auburn family and to drug them with papaver to render them powerless.
“Since when did we put the whims of a dragon over family?” snarled the younger bear. “You should be helping me rip this murdering harlot into shreds!”
Marigold’s hand twitched towards the dagger she had tucked into the waistband of her breeches. The two bear shifters were too busy arguing with each other to notice her subtle movements. Somehow, she managed to slip her hand under her loose shirt and pull out the dagger from its sheath without being noticed.
Another hard jerk of the shifter’s arms caused her to choke. The brother restraining her squeezed so tight, he closed off her air again. Not wanting to waste a single second more, she plunged the dagger into his forearm and snatched it away.
The shifter screamed and flinched, loosening his grip. Marigold’s feet hit the ground, and she sprinted towards the trees at the back of the garden. Her pulse boomed in her ears, urging her to move faster. An almighty roar filled the air. It was in low, guttural sound that made the lining of her stomach tremble, and the hairs on the back of her neck jolt upright. As she ran, she turned her head a fraction, only to see a massive, black bear charging toward her. White foam spilled from its mouth, and torn clothes hung from its bulky frame. Her fear spiked, and Marigold shrieked. She wasn’t going to reach the tree on time. And even if she did, the bear would climb up and maul her.
A few feet away to the left stood the stone table Berrin had hidden under when he was young. She darted towards it, ducked between its benches, and pressed her spine against the column holding up its base. Within seconds, the black bear snarled and jammed its head in the space between the benches.
Curling its lips back, the beast revealed four incisors large enough to snap off a woman’s arm. Its hot, rank breath dampened her skin and filled the space with the scent of rotting meat. With a shudder, Marigold skittered to the other end of the table, only to be met by the shifter who had fought Berrin. He held out a broad hand. “If you come with me, I’ll protect you.”
“N-no!” He would only keep her alive to hand her over to General Hertz, and she didn’t even want to think about what that murderer wanted to do with her.
A screech akin to knives scratching stone made her turn around. Shaggy, black paws, larger than her own head, scraped along the underside of the table. Streams of rock dust fell between its curved, finger-length claws, and a musky scent filled her hiding space. She shrank back, her stomach heaving. Since she was too far out of the creature’s reach, it probably wanted to flip the table.
“Don’t be stupid,” snapped the long-bearded shifter. “Can’t you see he means to kill you? If he rips off that tabletop, you’re finished. Come with me, and you will be safe.”
“A-and be handed over to Governor Hertz?” she screeched.
From the other side of the table, the black bear snarled. Its massive front paws slipped out from under the table’s brim and pushed. A sound, louder and more terrible than the creaking of millstones filled her ears, and she wondered if the stone table would crack and crush her to death. She edged away from the black bear, but when another pair of paws grabbed at her arm from the other side, her stomach dropped. The long-bearded brute had shifted. With a deafening scrape that turned her blood cold, the stone table top moved. She turned to find the black bear now pushing the stone aside with the weight of his back.
Marigold’s blood cooled, her limbs froze, and her mouth slackened at the sight of the black bear exposing her to the light of the setting sun. The second bear pushed his dirty white snout through the gap in the benches and growled. He could have been offering protection, but she couldn’t risk crawling out to him. For all she knew, the white bear was sick of her rejections and wanted to maul her himself.
She glanced around the space, looking for an alternative escape route. With bears at both sides of the table, her only hope was to fight her way out. The white bear seemed to be the saner of the pair. Perhaps if she pretended to surrender, he would fight his brother, and she could run for the tree. She edged towards him on weak, boneless legs, but his ear-splitting roar made her flinch back. The stone table top moved further, and fresh air filled her lungs, chilling her sweat-dampened skin.
“No!” she shrieked.
The two bears made triumphant bellows. Terror clenched her heart, squeezing out a whimper. She had failed Berrin, just as she had failed his dying mother, the crimson dragon. Her lips trembled, stomach quaked, and she gasped for air. Tears streamed down her cheeks. Gripping the dagger, she readied herself to do as much damage as she could on the way out. The bears would probably use the magic of their transformations to heal their wounds, but at least she would die fighting.
A screech from above filled the air. The bears turned. Behind them loomed a dragon whose oxblood scales glinted against the orange light of the setting sun like garnets. Its wings, thick-boned appendages encased in a thin, leathery membrane, stretched wide. Marigold’s eyes rounded. She had always imagined dragon wings to look like that of a bat, but each wingbone ended in a wickedly sharp claw that could lacerate a bear in one swipe.
A high-pitched, hog-like screech rang out from the white bear, and the black bear moaned.
Marigold’s arms, which were all that were holding her up, trembled. Her mouth opened and closed. The picture in Berrin’s room had failed to capture the majesty of the creature. She assumed this was Polaris, but what if it was Governor Hertz, angry with his minions for trying to kill his quarry. “Who—”
The dragon’s neck drew back. Its jaws opened, revealing a cavernous mouth, lined with rows of diamond-sharp incisors. A fireball formed in the back of his throat, spinning, widening and picking up speed until it flared out, filling Marigold’s vision with flame.
Cold, blank terror hollowed her insides. With a whimper, she ducked and curled into a ball. Of all the deaths she imagined for herself—hanging, torture, mauling at the claws of bears—none of them had included being immolated by dragon fire.
Gut-wrenching screams, along with the scent of burned fur and charred flesh, filled the air. It curdled her blood and made her empty stomach retch. Marigold shuddered, spitting out sour vomit, and crawled away, her eyes squeezed shut. There was no telling if the dragon had precise control over his range of fire. She had to get out of the way, in case the flames burned through the bears and reached her. Even if Governor Hertz was behind this attack, she didn’t think he would want to harm her… yet.
Smoke engulfed her senses, filling her throat with its dry heat. She coughed, not daring to open her eyes until she cleared the range of the one-sided battle. Even the blades of grass beneath her palms radiated the heat of dragon fire. No matter how much she crawled, the acrid air seemed to follow her. After what felt like an eternity, the screams stopped.
She let out a shuddering breath. The bears’ silence could only mean one thing. They were dead!
Stopping, she forced herself to look. Black smoke filled her vision, stinging her eyes. She blinked several times, and tears formed under her lashes, easing the irritation. When her vision cleared, she found the red dragon standing in front of two charred husks. The massive creature tilted his head, sympathy shining in his amber eyes. Her chest loosened. This could only be one person: Polaris.
The memory of Berrin lying in a pool of his own blood resurfaced, and grief swept over her, making her knees buckle. Tears clouded her vision. “Polaris!” Her voice broke. “Something terrible happened to Berrin. We have to get help!”
Strong arms caught her before she fell, wrapping her into an embrace. A large hand made circles on her back. “I’m fine, Mari,” said Berrin’s voice. “Are you hurt?”
She reared back. Berrin smiled down at her, his face pale. Marigold gasped. “But you were…”
His lips formed a s
ad smile. “I heard that bear’s disgusting threats. I couldn’t let anything happen to you. It was a struggle, but I managed to shift.”
Her hand glided over his naked chest. “Your wound?”
“It would have been fatal had I not transformed.” He pressed his lips on her forehead. “My love for you kept me fighting. I have you to thank for my life. In my darkest of hours, your love and companionship kept me sane.” He pressed his lips to her forehead.
Tears rolled down Marigold’s cheeks. She thought she had lost Berrin. Perhaps she had. Perhaps the bears had killed them both, and they were now in some kind of afterlife. Good things never happened to her, and males never loved her enough to rise from near death to come to her rescue. She gazed into his glistening, aquamarine eyes. “How were you even able to transform? You’re only eighteen.”
“About that…” He squeezed her tight. “Being mated can help a younger dragon shift early.”
Her heart skipped. “So we’re mates?”
He smoothed a strand of hair out of her eyes. “Mates and much more.”
Right now, she wasn’t interested in finding out what he meant. She had just been snatched from the jaws of a terrible death, and all she wanted to do was bury herself in his protective embrace. Resting her head on his shoulder, she inhaled his new, wood fire scent.
A screech made her head snap up. Swooping down from the skies was another red dragon, identical to Berrin’s form. Clutching her dagger, Marigold shrank into Berrin’s embrace. “I-is that Governor Hertz?”
“Hush.” He rubbed her back. “It’s only my brother.”
A ragged breath escaped her lungs, and she let her shoulders relax. The dragon landed on the lawn and morphed into a naked Polaris. Marigold sucked in a breath, awaiting his reaction. He scanned the garden, his dark, stormy eyes taking in the sight of the two burned shifters and the half-transformed bear lying on the lawn with a short sword in his chest.
He closed his eyes and let out a relieved sigh, wrapping them both in his strong arms. “Thank the heavens! Are you all right?”
“Berrin got stabbed through the back!” The words came out in a sobbing rush. Perhaps it was the presence of the General, but with the two brothers holding her, she finally felt safe.
“I’m fine,” said Berrin. “When I transformed, my wounds knitted together. Marigold was the one attacked in the stairwell and chased out into the gardens.”
Polaris chuckled and let go. “You must have a very strong flame to reduce these two to char.”
The breeze blew fresh air through Marigold’s hair, clearing her thoughts. She furrowed her brow. Something about Berrin’s story didn’t add up. She understood that their recent closeness had created some kind of mating bond. And it made sense that mates in peril would trigger a transformation. But something about his actions were off. Her gaze caught the charred remains of the two bear shifters. “My clothes. They’re burnt.”
The two brothers gave her similar confused looks, and Marigold flushed. Her words were coming out wrong. “I-I meant to ask… How did you know I wouldn’t be burnt to a crisp as well?”
Polaris tilted his head to the side, staring between Marigold and Berrin, not understanding the situation. Berrin was the first to speak. “Haven’t you worked it out, Mari?”
She glanced down at the blackened remains of her clothes. Only the collar of her shirt and the waistband of her breeches remained. “I’m not sure…”
“My flames could never hurt you.” He beamed.
A tiny smile formed on her lips. “Because we’re mates?”
“Because you’re a dragon,” he replied.
Chapter 20
Berrin gazed down at a spluttering Marigold and chuckled. The light of the setting sun made her curls shine like gold, even if her face was blackened by smoke. He brushed off a bit of burnt fabric from her shoulder. “I suppose I didn’t explain to you that a young dragon needs to mate with a female of his own kind to accelerate his maturity.”
“But I don’t understand.” Her brow wrinkled. “How could I be a dragon and not notice?”
“Our females can’t shift until they’ve birthed their first child with a dragon. Until then, the only way to tell their pedigree is through their parents.” He placed his arm around Marigold’s shoulder. She was still trembling from her ordeal. His blast of fire had scorched her clothes, leaving her body blackened and bare.
He glanced up, about to ask Polaris how he knew the house would be under attack, but the expression on his brother’s face gave him pause. Polaris stared down at Marigold with a hunger in his eyes. Berrin turned his gaze down at Marigold and chewed his bottom lip. She gave Polaris a shaky smile in response to a question about her well-being. Was Marigold interested in his brother? Polaris was accomplished, more powerful, and more experienced. His heart stilled, squeezed by his tightening chest. If his brother had been in the house, he would have slaughtered the shifters before they had gotten the chance to threaten Marigold. He had failed to protect her, just like he had failed his entrance exam for the King’s Regiment. Was it any wonder if she was considering a stronger male?
His brooding was cut short by a pair of slender arms circling his neck and pulling his head down. Marigold peppered his face with kisses. “T-thank you!”
Berrin’s chest loosened, and he closed his eyes, basking in her affection. He placed a hand on the small of her back, his fingers resting on the curve of her luscious buttocks. “I should be thanking you, Mari.”
Polaris gave him a sad smile and turned towards the bear lying in the middle of the lawn with a sword in his chest. Berrin’s heart ached for his brother. If Polaris had also fallen for Marigold, he would do the honorable thing and keep his distance. He buried his nose in her hair, chest expanding at his luck. The teachers at St. Fafnir’s had warned them not to set their hopes on finding a female dragon as a mate, let alone one as beautiful as Marigold. He had adored her when he had thought she was a human, but now he knew she was a dragon, he would do anything in his power to keep her by his side.
“Open your eyes!” Polaris snarled. “I know you’re still alive.”
Berrin’s gaze snapped across the lawn to his brother, who kicked the prone bear shifter in the side. The hilt of his short sword protruded from his tunic, which indicated that he was a mercenary and not an employee of any district. Marigold stiffened, and her hands clenched into fists. His heart twisted. While he was lying wounded on the hallway floor, struggling to stay alive, he had heard her cries and her every anguished breath. She had been so brave to have continued fighting even when overpowered and outnumbered.
“Come,” he murmured into her hair. “Let’s get you away from that brute.”
She turned her head upwards, her eyes as hard as jade. “I want to hear what he has to say.”
Berrin nodded, and they walked across the lawn. A cloud had covered the sun, bathing the horizons in a hue of blood orange. The blades of grass he hadn’t scorched with dragon fire reflected their eerie glow. He glanced at Marigold, wondering if the sinister sight had affected her mood, but she fixed her glare on the remaining bear shifter. His half-transformed face twisted with agony. After the filth he had overheard them spewing to Marigold, he deserved nothing less.
“Pull the sword out,” the shifter said through gritted teeth. “I must transform.”
“Who sent you?” asked Polaris.
“My master,” he said through gritted teeth. “Please… Take out the sword. I will tell you anything!”
Anger burned through Berrin’s veins. “You told me Governor Hertz had sent you.”
Marigold nodded. “They were trying to take me to him.”
“Not. Hertz,” said the shifter. “Help me transform, and I will speak.”
“You are alone and outnumbered. Think carefully before you attempt to attack or escape.” Polaris turned to Marigold. “Stand back.”
Berrin stepped in front of Marigold, shielding her with his body. He agreed that there was a risk that
the shifter would transform into a bear and lunge at her. It was unclear whether Uncle Hertz wanted Marigold dead or alive. Her identity as a dragon certainly gave him a motive for pursuing her.
Polaris pressed his palm on the shifter’s shoulder and pulled on the sword. The shifter arched his back and cried out as blood gushed out of the wound. As soon as the tip of the blade left his body, he transformed into a grizzly bear and whined.
He tried to lift himself up, but Polaris held him down.
“If you’re well enough to attempt an escape, you are well enough to answer questions. Transform, or face the wrath of two dragons.”
Despite the awful circumstances, pride surged in Berrin’s chest. With the help of Marigold, he had achieved something not even his brother had attained at his age. He was a full-grown dragon, now counted amongst the likes of Polaris. Holding Marigold in place behind his back, he gave the bear a menacing scowl.
The creature flinched and morphed back into a human. Although dark blood stained his skin, the wound had healed. He let out several rasping coughs. “Water!”
Berrin growled. “Give us answers!”
“All right…” The shifter licked his dry lips. “What do you want to know?”
“Who sent you?”
“I’m here on the authority of the Governor to capture a fugitive.”
“Out of uniform?” snarled Polaris. “Since when did a bear shifter have the authority to apprehend a dragon female?”
The shifters eyes bulged. “They told me she was human!”
Berrin curled his lip. Although the laws in Igneous offered dragons significant privileges, no lady, regardless of species, deserved such deplorable treatment. “Yet you tormented her and stabbed me in the back.”
“That was my brother, not me!”
Marigold stepped out from behind, and Berrin placed his hand on the small of her back. “I saw you, Cinnamon! And you all but confessed to using papaver against Governor Auburn and his wife. And that shifter who works in the stables is your brother!”