by Delia Castel
A sigh slipped from her lips. For her entire life, she had thought herself no better than a scullery maid, unfit for seamstressing, shop-work or even serving behind the counter of a tavern. Being accepted by Berrin and his brothers had been beyond her expectations for love, and it hadn’t even sunk in yet that she was the new Lady Auburn. To be the daughter of not one, but two royals was a bit much to swallow.
“Marigold.” Prince Auburn placed a warm hand on her shoulder. “Am I overtaxing you?”
She smiled up into his shimmering, green eyes. “I’m still trying to come to terms with everything.”
He nodded. “I expect you didn’t ever predict returning to the House of Corrections.”
“That’s true.”
A hatch opened, and a deer fell down to the earth floor. It had already been slain. Marigold stared at the outline of the carcass lying in the shadows. “Are you a fire dragon?”
“Did you not learn the legends about my father?”
She chewed her lip. “Everyone knows him as Old King Hydrus. They said he turned Chrysos into the richest country in the world no-one explained how.”
“He was an earth dragon.”
Her mind went back to the ice dragons who had surrounded Polaris, and she pictured a dragon shooting out pellets of mud. Not wanting to say something offensive, she asked, “What does that mean?”
“We have an affinity to the land.” His lips lifted into a gentle smile. “This includes rocks, metals, plants and anything else related to the earth. Unlike fire dragons, whose powers are mostly destructive, or spirit dragons who contend themselves with matters of the mind, our powers relate to growth and regeneration.”
Marigold studied the ground beneath them and rubbed the back of her neck. It would feel strange to call him ‘Your Highness.’ With his father and brothers dead, he was probably a King, but she didn’t think it was right to call him ‘Your Majesty,’ either. She chewed the inside of her cheek and tried to find a polite way to point out the obvious. “Erm… If you’re an earth dragon, would you be able to dig a tunnel so we can escape?”
His face dropped, and he clasped his palms over his temples. “I have been a fool.”
Marigold leaned into him, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. “It happens. That funny spike might have been controlling you. If you’ve been stuck here for over a decade, you probably never thought of escaping.”
He glanced at her with a sheepish smile. “Please stand back, and I will create a tunnel.”
She scurried to the other end of the dungeon and watched him transform. It was hard to tell the exact shade of his scales, but in the dim light, she noticed that he had fewer sharp ridges on his spine than her mates. The sight made her wonder if earth dragons were the peaceful, non-warrior type. It would make sense, since Old King Hydrus was famous for cultivating fertile soil and for his mines of dragon gold.
Prince Aurelius lifted a mighty talon and pressed it into the earth. With only the tiniest of tremors, a hole about three feet in diameter formed on the ground a foot away from him. She tilted her head to the side, wondering where all the earth had gone. If he was creating a tunnel, it should have piled up inside the cell. Shaking her head, she rotated the poisoned ring. This, along with her claws, would be her last line of defense.
It took her father several minutes of concentration until he huffed out a warm breath and shifted back into his human form. “There! This tunnel stretches half a mile south. When we escape, I will fill it and take you home to your mates.”
Excitement bubbled up in her chest. “You’ll stay with us, won’t you?”
His smile dimmed. “I must return to ensure that my stepmother is still encased behind the magic bubble. If she has escaped, she may try to open another portal. She only failed because her enchantments couldn’t work on one already in love.”
Marigold nodded. It was nice to know that her father had loved her mother that much. “All right. Let’s go.”
The tunnel was tall enough to accommodate Prince Aurelius’ height and wide enough for them to walk side-by-side. Warmth radiated from the walls, indicating they were close to the hot springs. As they progressed away from the cell, pitch darkness descended on them, making her stomach lurch. Her father held her hand. “Are you able to adjust your eyes to the dark?”
“Umm… I haven’t tried yet.” Marigold could transform the skin on her arms into scale and her nails into sharp talons. She’d done that while having sex with her mates and when holding Princess Snowdrop hostage. Using what she had learned from her father and Dr. Squamatus, she focussed on how it had felt to look at the world through Berrin’s eyes. The smoothly carved tunnel walls became visible. “It worked!”
He squeezed her hand. “You have your mother’s intellect. She was a fast learner, too.” His voice choked. “I am sure we will have plenty of time for me to share stories about life in Chrysos when we go to Austellus.”
“I hope they’re all right.” She didn’t know if Governor Hertz’ boasts of having killed the brothers were true. As much as she liked Prince Aurelius, she wasn’t quite ready to believe his assurances that she would have felt something if her mates had died.
“There’s only one way to find out.” He scooped her up in his arms. “I will walk, while you try to connect with them.”
The sudden movement made her stomach lurch. It took her a few moments to relax in the embrace of an unfamiliar dragon, but she closed her eyes and focussed. A sharp pain drove into her skull, making her wince.
“Are you still having difficulties?” he asked.
“He said he’d given me something to block my higher mental facilities.”
“Hertz has a lot to answer for.”
“My mates want to kill him too. Even though he denies it, he arranged the murder of their parents.”
Prince Aurelius made an annoyed snarl and continued his brisk pace down the tunnel. As he didn’t seem to mind her weight, Marigold closed her eyes, rested her head on his shoulder, and inhaled his earthy scent. They had a long journey ahead of them, and she would need to stay alert for the flight back to Austellus.
About twenty minutes later, the first traces of light seeped through her eyelids. She glanced ahead. Sunlight streamed through a hole in the tunnel ceiling a few yards away, blowing in cold air and sovereign-sized flakes of snow. It seeped through her linen shirt, making her skin prickle. She restored her normal vision and gulped, wishing she still had Polaris’ enchanted leather jacket.
Prince Aurelius placed her onto her feet. “Stay here. I will need space to transform and expand the opening. It’s best that we fly out of the tunnel to avoid the snow.”
Marigold nodded. From the previous warmth of the tunnel, they were probably deep beneath the ground. In Boreas, the snow could amass to shoulder height in places where it wasn’t kept under control. She wondered if she would develop the skills of an earth dragon or the fire attacks of her mates. While both were useful, she valued the ability to immolate Governor Hertz and his bears more than digging tunnels and making dragon’s gold.
Prince Aurelius transformed, sat on his haunches, and raised a foreleg close to the tunnel’s opening. Light streamed down onto his back, bringing out the lime highlights of his moss-green scales. In moments, the hole widened to a diameter of twenty feet, and light flooded the tunnel, making her squint. Still crouched on the ground, he turned and jerked his head for her to mount him.
Marigold climbed up the bumps of his tail, up his spine and rested at the juncture of his neck and folded wings.
Then, with one mighty leap, he cleared the tunnel, unfurled his wings and took to the skies. Cold wind chilled her eyes and skin in a violent rush, but it didn’t matter. Her heart soared with the promise of freedom, and she couldn’t wait to check on her mates. Closing her eyes to protect them from the harsh, icy winds, she wrapped her hands around his warm, scaly neck. “We did it. Thank you!”
A happy rumble vibrated in his throat, reminding her of the cat she’d
once befriended at the orphanage.
Moments later, as cloud passed over the sun, something spider-web soft brushed over her exposed skin. She snapped her eyes open. It was a fine net with a tiny bead of stone at each intersection of its filaments. “What’s—”
A piercing screech overhead stole her attention. Flying above them was a green dragon, almost identical to Matheson’s form, except for his sharp, malicious eyes. He opened his jaws and blew out a curl of black smoke.
The shock was like an icicle to the stomach. Rearing back, she drew in a strangled breath, feeling her heart explode and her limbs turn to water. She’d fallen into another of Governor Hertz’ traps!
Prince Aurelius flailed within the confines of the net. Marigold tried to yank it off, but it had secured itself into his claws and the thumb hooks of his wings.
Panic seized her throat in its merciless grip. Her pulse thrashed in her ears, drowning out the roar of the wind. This was worse than jumping out of the brothel window. Worse than tumbling through the air in Berrin’s body. But worse would be to allow themselves to fall back in the clutches of a deranged dragon. She cast her mind back to her last aerial fight and tried to imagine how Polaris would handle this situation. There was only one way to disentangle themselves, and that would be to get rid of Prince Aurelius’ spikes and claws.
“Father, transform!”
He reared back.
“It’s the only way you’ll be free of this net.” She clutched his neck, ready to grab his shoulders when he shifted. “Just do it for a second and switch back!”
The large mass beneath her disappeared, replaced by a naked Prince Aurelius falling through the sky. Heart lurching, Marigold clamped her arms around his neck. She thought it would feel like the intense stomach drop from jumping out of windows. It was far worse. The wind engulfed her senses, overwhelming her until the fear of an imminent and messy demise forced her into action.
Palpitations thudded through her chest, and violent tremors rocked her limbs. Despite this, she forced her legs to kick off the net, while her father pulled it off their joined bodies with a series of overarm movements. Her gaze darted to the approaching forest, the tips of each tree liking like a giant, green bed of nails.
“We’re free,” she cried. “Transform!”
He turned back to her, his eyes wide, mouth open in a silent scream. Shards of fear exploded in Marigold’s heart. Something was wrong, and they were both going to die!
A plume of acrid, black smoke billowed from above, and the green dragon, who could only be Governor Hertz, swooped down. Marigold gasped. She wouldn’t let herself fall back into his hands. And she wouldn’t let herself die. Not now that she had three mates, a home and a father. She also wouldn’t let Prince Aurelius die, either.
A massive shadow formed over her, and huge, scaled talons opened to snatch her out of the sky. Wind roared in her ears, and Marigold’s terror morphed into rage. Molten fire swirled in her veins, lengthening her fingers into claws, hardening her skin. The only thing saving them from imminent death was the wretched dragon who offered them equally grisly fates. With a screech of fury, her body twisted, expanded, sharpened, and she curled her talons around her father, spread her wings, and swooped up into the skies.
The other dragon’s screech of frustration filled her ears, and fury soared through Marigold’s veins. She spun in the air and blew out a stream of yellow flames. He spun away and retreated. Triumph exploded in her chest. She was free, and she had a power Governor Hertz did not: the ability to breathe fire.
“Well done, Marigold!” cried Prince Aurelius from her talons. “You are truly your mother’s daughter. She also learned to transform early. That’s what’s so amazing about you spirit dragons.”
She preened at the comparison and glanced down at the landscape below. The tops of pine trees no longer appeared so menacing, and menthol-scented wind swirled around them, filling her vision with snow. Prince Aurelius shivered in her grip, and her heart lurched. Flapping her wings harder, she promised herself to stop somewhere to get clothing for her father, in case he couldn't transform back into a dragon. After being kept prisoner and not using his powers for so long, he had likely exhausted himself from making the tunnel.
From her peripheral vision, something approached. She narrowed her eyes and tilted her head to the side, only to find the green dragon flying towards her, holding something in his talons. She clenched her teeth and flew harder.
“Marigold,” cried Prince Aurelius. “My weight is slowing you down.”
She shook her head, ignoring her father’s entreaties to drop her and escape. If she could flap faster, she might be able to outfly Hertz. As a larger dragon, she had the advantage, didn’t she?
Moments later, the green dragon overtook her from below. Marigold blasted him with fire. He dove down toward the pine forest, only to fly up again and try to approach from her side. Turning her head, she aimed a stream of flame into his eyes.
He screeched, and she roared with victory. This time, he headed for the skies, and Marigold continued flying.
“He’s up to something,” shouted her father.
Marigold nodded. Hertz always had some kind of nefarious plan. He overtook her again, flying above but several feet behind. As much as she wanted to twist around and spray him with fire, she could not. That action would slow her down and prolong the amount of time her father was left freezing in the cold. Until she had shaken off Hertz, she would not be able to stop to grab clothing.
They flew like this for several minutes. Hertz kept his distance, and Marigold imagined him waiting for her to tire. She soared above a frozen lake, gut twisting at the quaking Prince in her talons. His golden hair hung limp, and his skin took on the pallor of frost.
Letting out a pained, sulfurous sigh, she decided to land at the next village she found and bully a bear shifter into providing some aid. If Hertz landed, she would battle him dragon to dragon and use her superior size to her advantage.
A light weight landed behind her wing arms, making her rear back with shock. Footsteps scampered over the spaces between her spine ridges, and a body nestled itself on her neck.
With a screech, she rolled like a barrel, but the figure clung onto her back like a parasite. The green dragon was nowhere in sight… Governor Hertz had transformed and was now riding on her back!
“I have you now,” said an oily voice.
A dagger-sharp point pierced the back of her neck and slid deep into her flesh. Tendrils of shock traveled through her body with the speed of a lightning-bolt. Her jaws opened to screech. Instead, angry flames erupted from her throat. Was this the spike she had removed from her father’s spine?
He reached out and stroked the underside of her neck. “Easy now, girl. Don’t hurt yourself or your father. We will need you both intact.”
The rest of his words formed a jumble in her brain. All concerns about Prince Aurelius, Governor Hertz and her mates faded away, replaced by the overwhelming urge to serve her master. Ignoring the noisy person squirming in her talons, she focussed on the beguiling voice, ordering her to head north for the island of Chrysos.
Chapter 19
Berrin flew behind Matheson, following him back to Florus and wondering how in the name of Vulcan he had managed to get a sample of their mate’s blood. He would ask his brother when they landed, and if he didn’t like the answer, he would not let Polaris get between him and his retribution.
Moonlight shone down on his brother’s scales, lighting them like green opals. The sight reminded him of Father, which sent a bolt of anger through his chest. Uncle Hertz had murdered his parents, tried to kill him and his brothers, and had now taken his mate.
Baring his teeth, he snarled. That evil, old dragon had to die.
Polaris rubbed the underside of his neck. “It doesn’t matter how Matheson obtained the blood. If it leads us to Marigold, we should thank him. Let’s not waste any time fighting each other.”
Berrin gave his brother a sharp nod.
He would make no promises about sparing Uncle Hertz, though.
As they glided down towards the junipers lining their street, the scents of night-blooming flowers rose to mingle with the woody aromas of the trees. Blacksmith soared through the sky lanterns floating above the mansion’s garden and screeched a greeting. The tufts of the griffin’s head feathers twitched like feline ears.
Berrin screeched back and swooped down to the blackened lawn. The sight of it made his stomach churn, as it served as another reminder of Uncle Hertz’ unnatural obsession with poor Marigold. It was only days ago that Berrin had immolated those two bears, and now he wished he had transformed and burned Uncle the night of the ball, when he’d had the chance.
The moment he landed, Polaris jumped down to the ground, Berrin transformed, and they waited by the house in silence for Matheson to work out how to land. Their brother flew in a circle and then swooped down, lowering his hind legs to the ground making tight wing flaps for balance. Finally, his front legs landed with a thump, and he folded back his wings and shifted.
Polaris stalked towards him. “Where did you get Marigold’s blood?”
Remaining by the house, Berrin clenched his fists. He wouldn’t start a fight. It would only delay Marigold’s rescue.
Matheson tilted his head up and smirked. “It’s Uncle’s blood.”
Berrin grinned. “From that time you ripped his earring?”
Matheson nodded. “That, and the time I slashed him across the face!”
“Go and get it.” Polaris flicked his head to the mansion, voice tight. “We’re setting off as soon as we get supplies.”
As Matheson sprinted towards the house, Berrin asked, “Why are you angry with him?”
“He supported Marigold when she insisted on coming along. I wanted to keep her behind Dr. Squamatus’ wards.”
“Oh.” Berrin’s shoulders drooped. “Then I’m also to blame for getting myself arrested.”