by G. Bailey
Check. Fucking. Mate.
"This is complete nonsense," Julius scoffs, gripping the edge of the table. "Your Majesty, I beseech you to not endure this any longer. You have already entertained this nonsense more than necessary."
"Yeah, but they’ve made a good point," one of the princes says, much to the disgust of the brother beside him. "Corvina is still our blood. If we turn our back on her now, Draconia will forever be fucked."
The queen gasps at him. "Language, Drakon! There are ladies present."
Drakon lowers his head. "Forgive me, Mother. I'm just saying that I dislike this one"—he points at Zander—"and this one"—points at me—"as much as you do. But there’s truth in what they’re saying, whether we want there to be or not."
"I do not dislike my brother's mate." Valessia places her hands on the table, her eyes darkening and strands of her hair lifting as if caught on an ocean current. "I merely wish to protect our kingdom, as does your father and Sir Griscor."
"Then help us," I say, with every bit of conviction I can possibly muster. "Help us protect your kingdom by stopping the Titans. It's the only way. And once this war is over, once we have won, our kingdoms will no longer be divided. Corvina and I will make sure of that. There will be no more turning a blind eye or abandoning those in need. We'll be united together."
Gold looks at me, his expression one of utter pride. He lifts my hand from under the table and presses a kiss gently to my knuckles.
Valessia watches the exchange and her features soften.
"You fight a strong case," the king says, tapping his lower lip again. He nods. "Very well. I will consult my advisors to see what can be done to prevent this war from destroying the Forest. In the meantime, the key you seek is hidden far in the Deadlands. The Undead Lord stole it from me centuries ago. If you wish to retrieve it, you must plunder his horde of treasure caves where I am sure it is nestled." He stands from the table, a clear sign the feast is over, and turns to Zander. "Come with me. My council will wish to hear the tale you foretold me of earlier."
Zander grabs some food, nods pointedly at me, and then follows the king out of the hall.
"Did we do it?" I whisper to Gold, my heart thrashing so loudly I almost don’t hear his reply.
"Yes." He brushes his thumb down my cheek and kisses me on the lips. "Just like I knew you would."
"I hope we do not come to regret this decision," Valessia says, looking directly at Gold.
I answer on behalf of him. "No matter what it takes, Your Majesty, I promise that will never happen."
Julius merely scoffs, but the queen and her children nod, respectively. The little girl across from me grins as she hangs a silver spoon off her nose. I return the smile, wishing more magics were like her. Perhaps then the Enchanted Forest wouldn't be such a dark place to live after all.
“If you’ll excuse us,” Gold says, rising from his chair.
I rise with him, my stomach growling. Everyone at the table hears it and I feel my cheeks flame.
“I will have your meals sent to your chamber,” the queen says, smiling at me.
Gold takes my hand and we leave the hall. A muscle ticks in his jaw as he leads the way back to my room. I don’t push him until we’re safely inside, and then I take his other hand and pull him forward to look at me.
“Talk to me, Gold,” I whisper.
For a moment, he doesn’t, his jaw clenching even harder. Then he reaches out and brushes a finger down my cheek. “I’m proud of you, Izora. What you did tonight took courage not many in the forest possess.”
My heart jumps at the look of adoration on his face.
“I’ll do anything if it means stopping Eva and protecting my mates. And the Forest, of course,” I add with a wink.
He chuckles, but his smile fades. “I had been worried about the meeting. The king is a stubborn dragon. To think that you persuaded him to reconsider his decision… that is a feat in and of itself.”
“Then why do you look so sad?”
His eyes narrow into golden slits. “It’s my son.”
“Zander,” I whisper, nodding. “Does he know who you are?”
Gold shakes his head. “I didn’t want him to know. Not with everything going on.”
“Isn’t this a perfect time? I imagine a lot of magics need a light at the end of the tunnel right now.”
He hesitates before shaking his head again. He doesn’t say anything, so I decide not to press the matter. It’s unfair for me to expect him to do what I would do. If he doesn’t want to tell Zander he’s his dad until after the war, I need to respect that.
However, the pained look on Gold’s face unsettles me deeply. I push up onto my tiptoes and kiss him hard and passionately. Gold pauses before he lifts me and hooks my legs around his waist. Sex is a great distraction, but making love is an even better one.
I moan into his mouth as he carries me over to the bed. He lays me down gently and drapes his body over mine. His hands trail down my legs and lift my dress up, then his fingers slide into my panties. With a growl, he pulls them down and yanks them off my feet, tossing them onto the floor.
The cool air brushing my sex sends a shiver through me. That shiver turns into a moan when Gold’s cock breaches me and I clench around him. I tangle my hands in his hair and pull him down, crushing our mouths together. His moan vibrates against my lips and I kiss him harder while squeezing my legs around him, desperate to hear more of his sounds.
“You mean everything to me, Izora.” He groans, looking deeply into my eyes as he pinions into me. “You’re all I need.”
Tears gather in my eyes and I smile, unable to hold them back.
He stops and frowns at me. “Why are you crying?”
“I’m just happy.”
His frown disappears, replaced with a look of utter adoration. “I always want to see you happy.”
I lean up and kiss him, and squeeze my legs, pulling him in deeper. “Then don’t stop making love to me.”
Gold smiles and thrusts his hips. We’re just two bodies entwined with each other, two souls, our moans filling the silence of the room with sounds of our pleasure. I’m floating, captured in his arms, as we soar through the clouds together. When we both let go, Gold kisses me and stars dance over my line of sight as all thoughts of war and destruction disappear entirely.
Chapter 9
When we leave the next morning, the farewell is fond and emotional. Queen Valessia cries as she embraces Gold. While he says goodbye to the other royals, King Cyrus takes my hand and kisses my palm.
"Good luck in your quest, Princess."
I bow to him. "Thank you, Your Majesty. I promise not to fail you or the Enchanted Forest."
The king inclines his head and then moves back.
Zander grins as he stalks up to me. "You take care of yourself out there, alright? Vina worries about you."
"And I worry about her, so you better protect her." I accept his hug, but I also bring my lips close to his ear. "Or I will hurt you."
He chuckles and pulls back, his lips tilting into a crooked smile. "See you on the battlefield, Izy."
"Try not to die," I joke, more to lighten the severity of his words than anything.
The next time I see Zander Sabhain, I'll be fighting alongside him in battle. Who knows if either of us will survive. All we can do is hope the gods are looking over us.
Once we finish saying our goodbyes, Gold shifts into his dragon and takes to the clouds. I hold on to him as we soar through the Dragon Kingdom back to my guys. We arrive a short journey later. The guys have set up camp where we left them, and the smoke from their fire rises into the clear-blue sky. Scott sits with his legs dangling over the edge. He stands upon seeing us and the others join him as we land effortlessly on the ground. I grab the provisions given to us by the king and fly down to their side.
"We come bearing gifts," I shout as I grab the heavy rucksacks given to us by the king. "Fresh provisions and essentials."
I fly down
beside them, and the instant my feet touch the ground, the four of them drag me into their arms. You'd think they hadn't seen me in weeks by the way they each embrace me lovingly.
Scott brushes the hair from my face as he studies me. "Did you find the key?"
"No, but we know where it is," Gold says, transformed back into his male form. "And the king has agreed to consider fighting with us in the war."
"Consider?" Luke frowns, dumping his rucksack by his feet. "What do you mean by consider?"
"The fact that the old dragon is considering joining us is a blessing," Gold replies, picking up one of the rucksacks and slinging it over his shoulder. "He'd been against it until we arrived."
Axel scoffs and begins stomping out the fire, kicking dirt over it. "Not surprised. He's a fucking snake."
Gold moves so quickly toward Axel that it's just a blur. "Don't you ever fucking insult my king like that!"
"Your king?" Axel huffs and crosses his arms. "You've changed your tune. Some king, too, if he left you to rot in prison all these years."
"Enough goddamn bickering," Scott growls, stepping between them. "So, how about the key? Did you find it?" he asks Gold.
For a long while, Gold just stares Axel down. "No, because it wasn't in Draconia."
"It's in the Deadlands," I add quietly, hoping my tone will defuse their tempers. The fact that tensions are running high isn't really surprising; the guys did just spend a whole day with each other out in the wild, without me there to calm things down "The Undead Lord stole it from King Cyrus."
"The Land-Draugar?" Luke’s eyebrows lift. "Fuck."
Axel runs a hand through his short hair and groans. "Yeah, fuck. Draugars are a fucking nightmare, especially land ones. If they've got the key, it'll be in one of their treasure caves."
"And those motherfuckers stink," Luke grumbles. "But they also sleep like the dead, so if we hit the caves during the day, we should get in easily enough."
I've only ever read about Land and Sea-Draugars. All I know is that they sleep in nests and once fought in battle with the Draconians. However, that was before they started stealing gold from the dragons. If there's one thing Draugars are powerless to resist, it's treasure.
"They're harmless for the most part," Gold says, his temper cooling down as he faces me.
Axel crosses his arms and shakes his head. "Not when you try to steal their treasure. Things can get ugly real quick." He lifts his hands into the air. "Hey, I'm not saying we're fucked. It's just not going to be easy getting outta those damn caves."
"Didn't Shades originate from the Deadlands?" I ask, looking around for Ozy.
Gold nods and follows my gaze. "They know the Deadlands better than anyone."
As if on queue, Ozy jumps out from the trees and trots over to me. I can't help but smile when I see him. He's so dang cute. And it amazes me that the Draugars were the ones that created them.
"He might be able to navigate the caves better than we can," I say, bending down to pet Ozy. He presses his wet nose into my cheek and I smile. "Maybe he can help find the key."
"Then let the piggy lead the way, jaybird," Luke says, winking at me.
"He's a Shade, not a pig," I hear Gold mumble, and Axel just laughs, which tells me they're not mad at each other anymore.
While the guys march ahead, I fall into step with Scott and take his hand. He smiles down at me and rubs his thumb in a gentle caress.
"Guess who I saw at the palace?"
The sunlight catches his bright eyes and white hair. "Corvina?"
"If only. No, it was Zander. The Shadow Warden who taught at the academy."
"Why was Mr Sabhain there?" His expression is unreadable, but his tone is laced with a hint jealously. "The boy could barely keep his eyes off you."
Is Professor Mune... jealous? I don’t know, but that is so fucking cute.
"Zander is head-over-heels for Corvina. He was actually there on her behalf," I say, trying my best not to smile at how protective he is over me. "He's hoping to convince Cyrus to fight with us."
Scott nods thoughtfully. "I hope he succeeds. We need as many allies as we can. An inmate in the last prison said the academy was attacked by a Titan and not much of it is left."
I root to the spot, my heart sinking. "What about the students?"
"Safe." He glances at me. “And don't worry, I have things in motion."
Before I ask what things, Ozy hurries off into the shadows.
“I think he’s found a secret passageway,” Luke shouts over his shoulder.
We hurry after Ozy. True enough, he leads us to a tunnel with two entrances. Ozy hurries into the one on the left.
“This must be one of the old passages used during the Silva War,” Scott says. “There were six of them at one point but only two of them remain accessible. This one should take us right into the Undead Lord’s territory.”
I nod, steeling myself. “Okay. So what’s the plan?”
My guys gather around while Ozy remains at the entrance of the tunnel. Gold is the only one who’s ever stepped foot in the Deadlands. He talks about the Lord’s treasure caves, which are located at the other end of the marshlands.
"What about an invisibility spell?" Scott suggests, scratching his beard.
Gold shakes his head. "Magic is forbidden beyond the entrance to the caves. Draugars are smarter than people think. But the good news is that they sleep during the day, so they'll no doubt be in their nests."
"Then we should sneak in as quietly as possible," Scott says, nudging Axel on the shoulder. "Think you can do that, brother?"
Axel grins at him. "I can be quiet when I need to."
I smile at them, then face Gold again. "Does the no magic thing also mean we can't shift?"
"I am not sure," Gold answers me. "We can certainly try. Just be careful. From what I remember, the caves are filled with traps."
"That's the plan, then...we get in and get out before any of them wake up and we avoid the traps," Luke says, crossing his arms. "If we can't shift, we fight."
"And we protect Izora at all costs," Axel adds, his expression sobering when he looks at me.
And with that, we follow Ozy into the cave. It takes a surprisingly long time to reach the end of it. A putrid smell invades my senses when we're close to the end. Gold says it's from all the dead bodies that were buried in the marshlands during the war.
By the time we reach the other end of the tunnel, I'm almost gagging from the disgusting odor. It's like meat left to rot out in the sun. The marshlands themselves are seemingly endless, the thick, stagnant water shimmering under the blinding sunlight. My stomach churns and my insides recoil as I struggle not to vomit. The sooner we get out of here, the better.
I flap my wings and relief fills me when I'm lifted into the air. The treasure caves, a dark shadow captured by a mirage, stand in the near distance.
"I can't shift or fly," Axel growls, his tone laced with venom. "Motherfuckers!"
The other guys try, but only Gold appears able to shift into his dragon.
"Izora and I will go into the caves. The rest of you meet us in there," he says.
"No, I need to go alone."
Gold's expression darkens. "I am not letting you go into the caves on your own."
"She's got a point," Axel says, and the guys all glare at him. He holds up his hands. "Hey, I don't like the idea either, but Gold's big ass dragon is hardly inconspicuous, now is it?"
"Inconspicuous?" Scott frowns at him. "Since when did you start using fancy words?"
Axel flips him off while keeping his gaze on me. "We can meet her in the caves, or fly over once we figure out what the hell is stopping us. Now, if anything goes wrong—"
"I'll fly out," I finish for him, giving them a reassuring smile. "I'll take Ozy, too, so I won't be completely alone."
For a long moment, neither of my guys say anything. Only the sound of Ozy sniffing the air can be heard. Well, that and my thrashing heart.
"Fine," Gold says, t
hough by his tone and expression, it's not fine. "But if anything happens to you"—he glares at Axel—“I'm holding him responsible."
"You'll hold no one responsible," I tell him, my voice equally firm and cold. "This is my choice."
Gold cuts his eyes to me, but they soften as he lets out a sigh. "Okay. Just please... be careful."
My heart jumps at the way his voice breaks. I have no intention of getting killed in the treasure caves. My only intention is walking out of them with another key.
Once I hug my guys, I pick up Ozy and take to the sky. The smell is even worse as I fly over the marshlands and I pinch my nose, my stomach heaving. Why in the name of Selena the Draugars want to live here, I'll never know.
Before long, I am landing on the ground in front of the middle cave. Its towering shadow swallows me up and I hug Ozy, more to reassure myself than anything.
"You think we'll be okay?" I ask him, rubbing his head.
He sniffs the air before giving a little oink.
"I'll take that as a yes," I whisper as I set him on the ground. After letting him sniff the key around my neck, I stand. "Okay, Ozy. Let's go treasure hunting."
The horrible smell is strangely absent the moment I enter the cave. They must use the marshlands to ward off enemies. I might not have liked the smell, but I can't really deny their logic; it made me want to drag my ass away from here.
My footsteps are light, but my breathing sounds deafening due to the heavy silence. I hold my breath as I follow Ozy through the cave. The lit sconces flicker and send eerie shadows stretching around me. At first, I don't see any treasure. It's not until I follow the snoring do I see the mountains of treasure piled up on each other. Nestled around the heaps are groups of soldiers clad in dark fabric. Their skin is dark green and they have tufts of either white or black hair on their heads.
Ozy doesn't go inside this part of the cave, so I tiptoe on by. My heart hammers against my ribs with each step. I remind myself that my guys aren't far behind and I do have my wings. If I'm caught and the Draugars attack, at least they can't fly after me. I'll grab Ozy and get the fuck out of here. It will make coming back harder since my presence will have been detected, but I'll worry about that when I come to it.