by Delia Castel
“That’s a lie!” he rasped.
Berrin bared his teeth. “You forget that a dragon’s hearing is better than a bear’s. I heard you, too.”
Polaris growled and wrapped his clawed hand around Cinnamon’s neck. “Did you kill my parents?”
“No!” The shifter’s words came out like a strangled gurgle. “I would never condemn myself by killing a dragon, let alone two!”
“I expect you’re going to tell me someone else did the deed.” Polaris squeezed the shifter’s neck, making his face turn the color of clotted blood. “You will tell me who ordered you to kill my parents.”
Berrin’s breath caught. If they could get the shifter to confess that Uncle Hertz sent them to murder Mother and Father, he and Polaris would be able to exact vengeance. He clenched his teeth, waiting for the truth.
“Until this morning, I was in Boreas. Ask Poda, if you don’t believe me. We traveled down together,” Cinnamon rasped.
“Who murdered them?” asked Polaris, his voice soft.
The shifter hesitated. His gaze fell on Marigold. “I will tell only her.”
Berrin stepped in front of Marigold, shielding her with his body. “No tricks! Answer the question.”
“My brother, who you murdered!” He lurched forward and transformed.
Marigold gasped and skittered back. Polaris, whose hand had slipped due to the transformation, grabbed the bear by the neck and shoved him hard into the ground. Berrin widened his stance. Scales covered his hands, and his fingernails lengthened and thickened. He held back the magic swirling within his chest. It picked up speed, lashing within him like a trapped dragon, urging him to transform and protect his mate.
The shifters eyes bulged, and foam erupted from his lips. Polaris snatched his hand away and jumped back. The half-transformed bear thrashed about on the lawn, his limbs flailing.
Berrin’s stomach dropped. “He’s taken something!”
Polaris bared his teeth. “There is no doubt of that.”
“What should we do?” cried Marigold.
“Nothing,” Polaris growled. “He chose to die than to reveal the identity of his master.”
Berrin ran a hand through his hair. “Why would he protect Uncle Hertz?”
“The situation is more complicated than I initially thought,” replied Polaris. His gaze moved to Marigold. “We should accelerate the analysis of your bracelet.”
Marigold clutched at Berrin’s arm. “There’s still one shifter left in the house, but I might have killed him.”
“Don’t feel bad. These shifters were either murderers or their accomplices.” Berrin slid his hand down and interlaced his fingers with hers.
She bowed her head. “I know for a fact that Poda didn’t take part in the murder. He was my probation officer, so he would have either been in Boreas or on the road when the killers struck.”
Berrin’s lips tightened. “The one who took you to that brothel?”
She nodded.
Polaris gave her a small smile. “Then anything you did to him was probably in self-defense. You two get cleaned up, and I will destroy the corpses.”
“Thank you, brother.” Berrin clutched Polaris’ arm in thanks, then guided Marigold back to the house. He wondered if she realized that her clothes had been burnt off. From the far-off expression in her eyes, he guessed that nudity was the least of her concerns.
They passed Blacksmith, who lay on the lawn with his wings folded. Berrin’s brows drew together. “Lets check on the griffin.”
“I wondered what that was,” she murmured.
Blacksmith’s chest rose and fall, and the creature didn’t appear to have any wounds on his body. Berrin tilted his head to the side. “Do you think he might have been poisoned?”
“It would make sense,” replied Marigold. “Those bear shifters seemed to rely on them a lot.”
“I’ll ask Polaris to contact the doctor. A sleeping draught might explain why the griffins weren’t able to help Mother and Father.”
As they walked across the lawn and towards the patio doors, her trembling restarted. He glanced down at her. “What’s wrong?”
“Poda’s in there. What if he’s still alive?”
“Hold on, I’ll check.”
Berrin closed his eyes and widened his senses into the house. Except for Marigold’s erratic heartbeat, the only other heartbeats he could sense were the slow, steady beat of the griffins sleeping on the roof. The rapid, barely audible heartbeats of rodents echoed from below ground. Behind him, Polaris’ heart was slow and steady, likely because he had transformed. At the front of the house, he heard the heartbeats and snuffling of four horses. He gave Marigold’s hand a reassuring squeeze. “If he’s still in the house, he’s dead.”
“All right.” Her shoulders relaxed. “Let’s go inside.”
“We can walk around to the front. That way we can avoid—”
“I’ll be fine.” Her free hand slid to his chest. “I’m just trying to come to terms with everything.”
Berrin’s brows drew together. “Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?”
She tilted her head up, her eyes gleaming with unshed tears. “You and Polaris have done so much for me already. I don’t know how I can repay you.”
“Marigold.” He placed his hands on her shoulders. “There are no checks and balances between mates.”
“You still want to stay with me after what I did?”
He studied her features. Obviously, she was still in shock. “I killed two bear shifters today, so I’m hardly going to judge you for defending yourself.”
“I suppose.” A tiny smile broke out on her lips.
Berrin wrapped her in his arms and buried his face in her golden curls. Her body shook with sobs, and he squeezed her tighter and pressed his lips onto the top of her head. He was surprised that she was coping at all. The past few days must have been the most harrowing of her life. “You have a home with us. And we’re going to work out your true identity and see if we can find your father. All right?”
Marigold drew back. Her smile widened, but to his surprise, even more tears rolled down her cheeks. Berrin supposed it would take him a while to understand the heart of a lady.
“Do you still have the dagger?” He stepped through the patio doors into Father’s study.
She raised the ornamental blade and nodded.
“Right, then.” He tried to inject a bit of cheer into his voice, hoping to break her out of her shocked stupor. “Let’s get you cleaned up!”
Marigold nodded, and she also stepped inside. They crossed the study hand-in-hand. Traces of blood had dried on the floor from Berrin’s footsteps. He’d had to walk through his own blood to rescue Marigold, after all. When they reached the door to the hallway, he paused. “I should let you know that what you’re about to see might be disturbing.”
“It can’t be as bad as witnessing someone stab you through the back.”
He pressed his lips together, suppressing his sorrow, and gave her a grim nod before stepping out of the study.
Blood coated the stone floors of the hallway. Most of it belonged to him. It was clear to see where his footsteps had morphed into claws. He was glad that Father’s study doors were wide enough to accommodate a male dragon. At the time of his transformation, he could not afford to revert back. His experience with failing to shift his claws at the Regiment’s entrance exam told him that early transformations were not reliable.
“You’ve lost a lot of blood. Isn’t that dangerous?” she asked.
Polaris stepped in from behind. “Good Lord, Berrin! I must call Dr. Squamatus immediately.” He held up a wanted poster. “I found this on the remains of that last shifter. You should be safe here, Marigold. The warrant is for a human female, and you are obviously a dragon of a prestigious lineage.”
Marigold turned away from the blood. “I understand the dragon part, but how do you know my parents are noble?”
They continued walking down the ha
llway towards the grand staircase. Polaris gestured at her wrist. “It’s the bracelet. In the courtroom today, I saw it on the wrist of Lady Brimstone. It reminded me of another high-status lady who also wore a similar piece of jewelry.” Before Berrin could ask the identity of the other lady, Polaris added, “From my uncle’s fixation with you, I would wager that you are the offspring of someone of great importance.”
Berrin glanced down at Marigold, whose eyes swam with confusion. He patted her on the shoulder. “Let’s go upstairs for a soak.”
They were about to ascend the stairs, when the doors burst open. Matheson stormed into the house, his face red with rage. He took one look at their naked forms and froze, his face slackened. “What is this, an orgy?”
Polaris raised his hand. “Enough—”
“Marigold has been through a horrific ordeal,” snapped Berrin, “and I will not stand for your cruel remarks!”
Matheson’s face twisted. “While you two were… rescuing Goldilocks over there, Judge Embers threw out my case on the grounds that I wasn’t a mature dragon.”
Berrin straightened. “Maybe I should present the case! I am mated now and can transform.”
“You still need to be twenty-one.” Polaris patted him on the arm. “What we need is to get Matheson to form a mating bond with a female dragon.”
Berrin narrowed his eyes and held onto Marigold’s waist. Apart from her, the only pure-blooded female dragons he knew were Lady Brimstone’s peculiar-looking daughters. Although Berrin had agreed to take his brother over for tea, he couldn’t see Matheson settling for the daughters of such a cruel dragon.
Matheson threw his hands into the air. “How am I going to get one of those stuck-up she-dragons to mate with me at a weeks’ notice?”
Polaris turned to Marigold. “Would you—”
“No!” Berrin gritted his teeth.
“Let me finish,” said Polaris.
Berrin clenched his fists. “It’s out of the question. Matheson can’t stand her, he’d make her miserable, and most importantly, she’s already mated to me!”
“She’s our only chance,” said Polaris. “And if you had stopped to listen to me, you would find that I’m—”
“My answer is still no!” Berrin wrapped his arms around Marigold, shielding her from his brothers.
“I don’t care what you’re suggesting. She’s been through enough, and it’s time—”
“I’ll do it.” Marigold placed her hand on his arm.
Berrin spluttered. “But Mari—”
“You saved my life,” she said, “and now it’s time for me to save your family.”
END OF BOOK ONE
READ BOOK TWO
Also by Delia Castel
Free novelette: The Big Bad She-Wolf
http://www.cordeliacastel.com/wolf
Goldilocks and the Three Dragons
Prequel
Bated
Mated (August 2018)
Sated (September 2018)
www.cordeliacastel.com/delia
Writing as Cordelia Castel
The Seven Kingdoms Series (COMPLETED)
The Stepmother (free novelette)
http://www.cordeliacastel.com/stepmother
The Magestaff
The Academy
The Witch-Hunt
The Betrothal
The Usurper
The Banishment
The Kingdom
The Frozen Heart
The Bluebird
The Princesses