by Meara Platt
“I cannot reign glorious if my reign will only flourish upon your death. There is no honor in the sacrifice of an innocent. A monarch cannot rule by cowardice, and that is what I shall be—a coward—if I step aside and allow you to die at the hands of Brihann and his Dragon Lords. As long as there is breath in me, I shall fight for you. I shall protect you.”
“Together,” she said in a whisper and splayed her hand against the blue stone. As she did, violent sparks began to burst within her body, like fiery strikes of flint against stone. She felt no pain and wondered whether the Draloch Stone was taking extraordinary care not to harm her.
Perhaps it was Cadeyrn’s fingers resting atop hers that protected her from the violence of its impact, or perhaps the nearness of his body as the stone began to glow, its soft blue hue now lost amid a more powerful golden light that seemed to pulse from within and encircle her and Cadeyrn.
She would have been afraid to experience this alone, but Cadeyrn was with her, calming her with his quiet confidence. The monolith began to move in a slow circle. She gasped and tried to move her hand away, but Cadeyrn held it pressed to the stone. With his other hand, he drew her firmly against his chest. “Lean on me,” he warned as the stone began to spin, slowly at first and then with heightened speed.
“What’s happening?”
“I don’t know. The Stone of Draloch has never moved before.”
Oh dear! This can’t be good!
Chapter Twelve
Cadeyrn often traveled between worlds, traveled great distances within the blink of a human eye, and never felt any ill effects. However, this journey was like no other he’d ever experienced, not even his very first, thousands of years ago when he was but a child. The air biting his cheeks was unusually cold, chilling his Fae skin. His insides were roiling, about to heave upward, and he was close to losing all he’d eaten in the past week in a cosmic wave of nausea.
He saw that Melody was struggling as well, her eyes squeezed shut and mouth pinched tight as if she dared not take a breath. Her hair whipped wildly in the cold, millennial air, untamed and flailing into knots. Her back was pressed hard against his chest and she had a death grip on his arms, obviously afraid to let go for fear she’d spin away into oblivion.
“You’re shivering,” he said, placing his hand over hers and gently rubbing her icy fingers. Melody’s body always heated to his touch, and he hoped it would respond with its usual fiery warmth, even though cold added to cold was not logically expected to produce heat.
Yet there was nothing logical about this journey. It was different and far more dangerous than any he’d ever taken, and he knew Melody could not have survived it on her own. The realization that he had purposely been dragged into this swirling abyss along with her took him by surprise. At the same time, it made perfect sense. Since their fates were bound to each other, each step along their destined path was designed to draw them closer together until the final confrontation with Brihann.
In fiery death shall she conquer the dragon’s darkness.
Cadeyrn had promised to protect Melody. The oath had sprung from his lips as naturally as the hot spring had bubbled up beside St. Lodore’s vicarage, and he now understood that it was no coincidence that he was accompanying her on this journey or that he’d earlier vowed to keep her safe or die trying.
Something stirred deep within his heart, and he knew, whether or not compelled by the Stone of Draloch, that he was meant to pledge his life to protect hers. What he did not understand was why Melody had to die. He didn’t care about his own death, having faced the prospect nightly for thousands of years, but why Melody’s death? If love conquered hate, how was it possible that she should die as well?
He shook out of his thoughts as the stone finally screamed to a stop with a high pitched, painful whirr. And then there was silence. Blessed silence. “We must have been drawn through a rarely used portal,” he said after a moment, helping a still shivering and ashen Melody to her feet.
She gazed up at him, taking what seemed too long to gather her thoughts.
“Melody?” He was Fae, able to withstand cold and sharp, piercing noise, but Melody was different, soft and delicate. He felt her warming hands and knew she had survived the cold, but he suddenly worried that the shriek of the stone had left her deaf.
She continued to gaze at him with a frighteningly blank stare. It seemed an eternity, but could only have been a matter of seconds as humans counted time, before she slowly shook her head and spoke. “Through a portal? Are you certain?”
“Yes, I’m certain.” That she’d heard him and responded to his comment with questions of her own, revealed that her mind and hearing were both intact. Thank the Graces!
In the next moment, the sparkle returned to her eyes.
“Why are you staring at me?” she asked, obviously flustered by his continued gaze.
“Because you look a mess … a beautiful, glorious mess.” He gently brushed back a lock of her vibrant hair that had fallen over one brow, a subdued response considering he wanted to sweep her into his arms and kiss her long and hard, kiss her senseless. Kiss her into eternity. She had scared the wits out of him, looking at him in those first moments as though soul catchers had eaten her insides and left nothing of her but a lifeless human shell.
But he hadn’t lost her. She was still his beautiful Melody.
She blushed and turned to glance at the Stone of Draloch, which was now at rest and once again seemed immovable. “A portal, you say? But we’re in the same marble hall, only now it’s empty save you, me, and this enormous slab of rock. Everything looks the same, though I must admit, it feels different. Don’t you think so?”
He ran a hand distractedly through his hair. “I’m not certain of anything just now. I don’t know why the stone moved or why you’re glowing.”
“I’m glowing?”
He nodded.
“What color? Green, I imagine. I’m not yet myself. My stomach is in an uproar and my legs feel like crumbling mountains of sand.” She tried to take a step, teetered, and grabbed onto his arm. “The ground feels as though it’s slipping out from under me.”
“Take another moment. We’re in no rush. Your light is gold, same as the golden aura that encircled you when you healed Ygraine and during your battle with Brihann’s demons.”
She inhaled lightly. “Do you think they’re now approaching?”
“The demons? No.” He glanced around. “We’re in my castle. We’re safe.”
“Then why am I still glowing?”
“I don’t know.” As a precaution, he withdrew his sword from the sheath secured at his hip and nudged Melody into a shadowed nook beside one of the marble columns near the entrance to the great hall. “Don’t make a sound. Move back as far as you can to hide your light.”
“Where are you going? Don’t leave me here. I want to stay with you.”
“No. Stay back and be quiet. Melody, do as I say.”
Someone … or something … was coming toward them.
“You speak of fire,” a woman said, walking briskly into the hall a few steps ahead of her male companion, “but your eyes are cold and, suddenly, so is your touch.”
A man followed the woman in, briefly taking hold of her hand and then releasing it at her accusation. The woman appeared familiar to Cadeyrn, but he couldn’t place where he’d seen her before. She was tall and slender, with honey-blonde hair that fell to her small waist and beautiful eyes the shimmering, deep blue of the ocean. Her gown, also of deepest blue, was of the finest material and she wore it with a regal elegance that denoted her stature as a Fae princess.
“Where is the child?” the man asked, curling his hands into fists as they rested at his sides. He was also finely garbed in a tunic of ebony velvet with a row of superbly cut sapphires running down the front. He had black hair and ice-blue eyes that marked him as a member of Cadeyrn’s own royal family, but was he an ancestor or a descendent? “Answer me! Where is he?”
“Dead, f
or all I know! Murdered by your henchmen.” Tears fell upon the young woman’s pale cheeks. “This is my fault, for I refused to believe you were capable of this unspeakable evil. I refused to believe, even as I saw the dragon markings along your spine and noticed you honing your ability to shapeshift. I refused to believe, even as you envied our king—”
“My foolish, softhearted brother,” he spat out.
“Brihann, he is a good king, respected by his subjects.”
“Bah! He’s weak!”
“He’s shown you nothing but kindness and you’ve repaid his generosity with hatred and malice. What is wrong with you? I do not understand this bitterness that has swallowed you whole. You are my husband. I love you, but I no longer like you, nor do I recognize the beast you’ve become.”
“I will not have you lecture me, Ygraine. As I am your husband, you are my wife, pledged to me and bound in law and duty to do as I command.”
Brihann and Ygraine? Cadeyrn spared a glance at Melody, wondering whether she’d made the connection between this pair and the Brihann and Ygraine of their time. Of course she had. Her eyes were wide and those tempting lips of hers were slightly parted in surprise. He silently relayed a caution to keep quiet, and then turned back to study the bickering couple.
The Stone of Draloch, Cadeyrn realized, had taken them backward thousands of years through a rare time portal. The young wife had to be his now trusted, elderly counselor, Ygraine. The husband had to be his enemy, Brihann, High Dragon Lord, before his body had lost its Fae form and his skin had turned to thick, oily scales.
By the Graces! No wonder the journey had been so uncomfortable. The Stone of Draloch had transported them back to the beginning of their Dark Time, to the exact moment, the exact exchange, that marked a turning point in Fae history.
Why were they brought here? Merely to observe? Or were they meant to change the course of destiny?
Cadeyrn’s fingers tightened around the hilt of his sword, for he was eager to step out of the shadows and battle Brihann. Defeating the Dragon Lord would free Melody from the Draloch Prophecy, would free him and his subjects from their years of torment. He managed only a step before what seemed like a monstrous, invisible fist struck him in the chest and hurled him backward.
“Cadeyrn!” Melody cried out in a frightened whisper. “Are you all right?”
He nodded, paused a moment to regain his breath and tried again, only to receive the same punishing blow. The Stone of Draloch was purposely holding him back.
Why do you bind me? Let me end this now!
A quiet thunder rose in his ears. Silence, Fae king! Watch and learn, or you shall never save your Melody.
Cadeyrn’s heart shot into his throat. Was it possible he could save Melody from her prophesied fate? He returned his attention to the pair with desperate intensity, absorbing every detail of their surroundings, their every word and gesture.
“I know your brother’s wife died in childbirth,” Ygraine said, emitting a ragged moan as she clutched the front of Brihann’s tunic to keep him from turning away from her. “Tell me it was a natural death and you had nothing to do with it. Tell me!”
Brihann merely laughed. “It was a natural death.”
“I don’t believe you! It isn’t too late to abandon your wicked plans. Your brother and nephew are alive and unharmed. If you promise never to hurt them, then I will promise never to reveal your role in the death of our queen.”
“Or the deaths of the other Fae children?”
“What?” She took a staggered step back. “They died of disease. You couldn’t have … why are you purposely trying to scare me? I will never believe you capable of such savagery.”
“Because you think I’m noble? Or is it because of your pride? The clever Ygraine, wisest among the Fae, yet duped by her own husband. You cannot admit to yourself that these foul deeds happened under your very nose and you were too ignorant to prevent them.”
Tears glistened in her eyes as she stood in proud defiance. “How is it possible? To believe it would mean that I do not know my own husband. Perhaps I don’t. But never underestimate me, Brihann. I will do what I must to protect our king and the infant prince. You mustn’t ever try to harm them. Do I have your promise? Will you give me your oath—”
“Here’s what I shall give you.” Brihann raised his hand and struck her hard across the face, sneering as she fell to her knees. “You are a fool, Ygraine. The game is at an end. I’ve won. My brother is dead.”
“No!”
“Soon, his mewling son will be as well.”
“Cadeyrn is still alive? What have you done with him?” Ygraine rose and lunged at Brihann, pounding her fists in a fury against his chest. “You fiend! You devil! Where are you hiding the boy? He is rightful king now. Not you! Never you! No Fae will ever follow you! They’ll fight you to their last breath. They’ll drive you into the foul ooze of the underworld where you belong.”
Brihann struck her again. “I’ll reign over these Woodlands, over its lakes and fields and farms. I’ll reign over the earth and air, over the rolling hills and soaring mountains, for I shall soon be High King of the Fae! Only the boy stands in my way … but not for long. Do not play coy with me. I know you have him, Ygraine. Where have you hidden the brat?”
“Me? You’re mad to think I have him.” She glanced around the large hall, no doubt seeking a route of escape. “But I’ll do my best to make certain you never get your filthy hands on him.”
He threw back his head and laughed. “You did not find my touch so filthy when we first married.”
Her cheeks flamed pink. “You were Brihann then, not this monster you’ve become.”
“I am what I always was. It is you and my foolish brother who never understood the workings of my heart.”
“By your own admission, you’ve never had a heart.”
He jerked Ygraine up against his chest. “You’re wrong. I loved you once, but no longer. You’ve grown tedious. Yet you are still my wife. For that, I shall give you the chance to be my queen, to rule by my side in these vast Woodlands, to reign as High Queen of the Fae.”
She fought out of his grasp. “I would rather die.”
“Then so you shall, Ygraine. Here and now.” He reached for the sword sheathed at his side, but as he drew it out, Ygraine flashed her own knife and stabbed him through the heart.
Melody gasped against Cadeyrn’s shoulder.
“Stay back,” Cadeyrn warned quietly, at the same time tightening his grip on his own sword as he attempted once more to leave the safety of their nook. He needed to finish the job Ygraine had started, for there was no love lost between him and Brihann, and if this was his one chance to kill that devil, he would take it willingly. Destiny and the Draloch Prophecy be damned!
Ygraine was now in tears and wringing her hands in distress, clearly regretting what she’d just done. Don’t heal him, Ygraine! As Ygraine’s shaking hands hovered over Brihann, Cadeyrn realized that he had to move fast to land the killing blow, but the Stone of Draloch again raised an invisible barrier to block his path, imprisoning him and Melody in the nook like two helpless mice caught in a glass box.
Cadeyrn threw his shoulder against the unseen wall between him and Brihann. “Let me out!” he roared, no longer caring who might hear him. To his frustration, not even his shouts penetrated beyond the barrier, for neither Brihann nor Ygraine spared so much as a glance at him.
Melody joined him in his efforts, beating her fists against the barrier, but her puny human strength was no match for the strength of this unnatural force. “I’m no longer glowing,” she said, drawing away to hold her arms out to his inspection. “What does it mean?”
“The Stone of Draloch will not allow us to change the course of Fae history.”
“Or my destined death,” she added, letting out a soft breath.
Cadeyrn slammed his body against the imprisoning wall several more times, but accomplished nothing more than giving himself a massive bruise from should
er to forearm. “Ygraine!” he cried out as his counselor knelt beside Brihann. “Listen to me! Don’t heal him!”
“She can’t hear you. Let me try again.” Melody slipped between him and the barrier, and then closed her eyes and placed her palms against it. In the next moment, a jolt of golden light shot through her, the force of it tossing her backward to land hard against Cadeyrn’s chest.
She cried out.
“Melody!” He wrapped his arms around her, fearing the Stone of Draloch, unable to tame its strength, had seriously injured her.
She clung to him, letting out several ragged breaths and finally, a soft, groaning laugh. “Well, that didn’t work very well, did it?”
“No.” He swallowed his anger and frustration, for ridding the world of Brihann would have made things so much simpler. “How do you feel?”
“Fine when I’m in your arms.”
He gave her a gentle hug and sighed. “I don’t think we are meant to interfere.”
“What happens now?”
“Brihann lives.”
As he spoke and to his dismay, Ygraine set her hands on Brihann’s chest and began to recite a healing incantation. Cadeyrn recited his own words of helplessness and frustration … damn … damn. Damn!
Ygraine finished her incantation and began to back away. “I love you, Brihann. Forgive me, but I will never allow you or your demons to harm the boy.”
Brihann coughed out a laugh. “Seek him out. Find him, Ygraine. Then I’ll find you and get the boy back. The longer you hide him from me, the worse it will go for him. I’ll have him tortured first, then ripped to shreds before your very eyes.” He coughed again, and then gripped his chest in pain. Blood oozed between his fingers. “You call yourself a healer? What have you done to me?”
“You’ll live, Brihann, but you’ll always feel the pain of this moment.”
“Foolish woman! It is nothing to the pain I’ve carried all my life. I should have been king! I should have been king!”
“The boy—”
“Give him to me now and I’ll kill him quickly. I promise you, his death will be swift.”