by Gwynn White
“Interesting.”
“Did you know Axel was safe when you let me pull that switch?”
Felix pursed his lips. “Not for sure. But I know my son. He’d have watchmen on the towers. They’d have seen the drone coming, and he’d have made plans to escape.”
“You took a chance.”
“Not as much as you did pulling that trigger.”
“What choice did I have?”
Felix shrugged. “We always have choice. You just chose to humor Lukan. Wise, I would say.” His eyes glinted. “You know, of course, that Heron and Liatl, the desert king didn’t make it.”
Meka’s shoulders slumped. More people dead?
“Oh yes, I found their bodies. Grim, it was, I can tell you.”
Why was Felix telling him this? Couldn’t he see how pale Meka had become—Dragon’s ass, he could feel how pale he’d become.
Felix pulled a cloak with a hood out of the satchel and tossed it at Meka. “Put this on. We’re going for a walk.”
Meka tried to catch the floating garment, but his eyes struggled to decide which of the two objects dancing in his vision were the actual cloak. The velvet fluttered onto his lap, reminding him that he wasn’t in the best state for dodging possible bullets. Still, he paused before putting it on. “Will you let Axel know that I’m still on his side?”
“Now why would I do that?”
Meka’s pulse raced. If Axel thought he didn’t support the alliance, would he still come and fetch him. Especially if Axel knew Meka had pulled the trigger that had killed Heron and the king?
Of course he will, he told himself crossly, if not for me, then for Nicholas.
He took a deep, steadying breath. “Because you care about him, or you wouldn’t be doing this.”
“I have fulfilled my side of the deal. I kept you safe when you shifted the blame for the leak for the Oldfort Burning to Vasily’s door.” Felix poked the cloak with his cane. “I owe nothing more to my son.”
Meka tossed the cloak aside. “So why do you want me?”
“It has been a very costly week, and I find myself in a situation where a young man with an interest in informas could be valuable.”
Was he implying that Meka go to Zakar Province? He doubted Nicholas was hidden in Zakar. That would mean when Axel came for Nicholas, Meka would lead him on a false trail. Would that make his family doubt his loyalty? Meka cursed inwardly that he had been so stupid to con an informa out of Vasily. It had brought him nothing but trouble.
“Now, I have one last move to make in this game,” Felix said. “So be a good boy and put on that cloak.”
Another shrug from Meka. He stood to don the cloak and wavered on his feet. It was only Felix grabbing him that stopped him spiraling to the floor. Felix helped him toss the cloak around his shoulders.
“Where are you taking me?”
“Cover your head, prince. It is unlikely that we will see anyone, but I am taking no chances.”
Clearly, answers weren’t coming.
By the time Meka had pulled the hood down over his eyes, Felix had the door open. Meka staggered over to him, doing his best to keep his feet moving a straight line. Assessing the distance between the door and the door jamb proved tricky, and he fell.
A hiss of disapproval, and Felix grabbed his arm. The count almost dragged him out of the room and down a passageway. With his eyes hidden, all Meka could see were the brick-red flagstones on the floor. The only other sensory clue was a woman screaming. Her wails told him nothing. They stopped at another locked door. Felix pulled out the key.
Chapter 64
Felix’s hand shook as he inserted the key into the lock. He was moments away from delivering Dmitri’s last tile on the map. What the seer planned next, he didn’t know. But Dmitri and Axel had handed him Meka on a plate. He wasn’t about to squander the opportunity the prince presented him.
With some training, Meka could become a valuable member of his secret team, programming his private informa network. He could join the other programmers Felix had stolen from Axel a few years ago. Just retribution for Axel shooting his fingers off.
But first he had to make good on his promise to the seer.
He pushed open the door to the conservatory and looked around. Fear gripped him, and he clutched his throat. “W-where is he?”
“You mean the boy with the huge eyes watching us from the top of the dome?” Meka’s voice brimmed with admiration.
Felix looked up in disbelief.
Nicholas—and the fiddle—hung from the hook in the center of the dome. A spider web of cracks streaked across the glass next to his head. Panic, followed by determination blazed across his pinched face. Quick as lightening, his hand flew up. A metallic thwack, and the glass gave way.
Far down on the floor below, Felix watched helplessly as the dome shattered, raining crystal down on him and Meka. Felix tried to shield his head, but a dozen sharp nicks, followed by streaming blood, made his efforts ineffectual.
Protected by his cloak, Meka laughed. “Go, Nicholas! Show the bastards that you’ll never be beaten.”
Nicholas glanced down at Meka and then dismissed him. He swung his body up into the gaping window frame. He reached down for the fiddle. Nimble fingers untied the rope. The Light-Bearer tossed the instrument and its rope around his frail shoulders and tumbled from view.
Felix held his breath as he heard Nicholas scamper to the ventilation duct. In order to keep the room with its huge lights habitable, the vent in the final construction had been built a little wider than what he’d shown Lukan on the plans. Never in his wildest dream did he imagine that Nicholas would scale these walls. It was then he noticed the even niches gouged out of the plaster. He remembered the metallic clunk on the glass and looked down at the grate on the sluice.
It was gone.
“He must have jumped the last bit,” Meka said in awe. Clearly, he had also worked out how Nicholas had clambered to the dome.
“He won’t get far,” Felix grumbled. But even as he said it, he heard the clatter of the metal on concrete. He groaned.
The boy would be through the vent and into the air passage in no time. It would take him minutes crawl through to the opening to the roof. With his ability to scale walls, he would be on the street before Felix could even call the guard.
And there is no calling the guard for this escapee.
“Aren’t you going to stop him?” Meka asked.
Felix pursed his lips as he considered. He pulled out his handkerchief and took his time blowing and wiping his nose. By the time he’d put the cloth away, Meka wasn’t looking nearly as self-satisfied as he had been when Nicholas first escaped.
“No. He wears an ice crystal that only I can track.” He waved his hand. “Oh, Axel will try and find him, no doubt, but if I ever think he’s in danger of capturing the Light-Bearer, I will step in.”
Meka staggered back against the wall. “So . . . so you are just going to let him go?”
“Your cousin has no allies outside of the alliance. No knowledge of the world outside the forest. And no desire to be Dmitri’s hero. What better way of neutralizing him than to let him loose?”
Meka ran a hand across his face, and then he straightened to stare Felix in the eye.
The action put Felix on alert; he’d seen enough of his nephew’s acting skills not to trust Meka further than he could throw him.
“And the emperor?” Meka asked. “What will he say about this?”
“He will never know.” Felix’s shook his finger at Meka. “And you will never get the opportunity to tell him, either. I will keep you here until I can arrange a more suitable home for you.” He pointed at the broken roof. “Don’t even think about following your cousin’s example. There will be guardsmen waiting on the roof to intercept you.”
The blond prince’s blue eyes flashed panic. “Axel . . . Axel will want me back. He said you had made a deal with him not to hurt me.”
Felix shrugged. “It will be a simple matter to e
dit your answer to my question about your loyalties. When Axel hears your voice, it will say that you never supported the alliance because Lukan has your allegiance. Axel knows you hit that switch that killed Heron and Liatl. He will have little difficulty believing my version of the truth.”
Fist flying, Meka lunged for him, but Felix was too old and too wise to be bested by a teenager. The prince’s fist flew wide, missing Felix’s face by inches, and his feet wobbled under him. He clawed at the air, but couldn’t stop himself from collapsing into a heap.
“Sedatives. They are such wonderful things.” Felix tucked his cane under this arm and sauntered to the door.
Dmitri had most certainly done him a good turn when he insisted on bringing Meka to Nicholas.
Chapter 65
Tao rubbed his chin in confusion. Meka drugged?
And not even two feet away, his cub swung down a drain pipe on the outside of Felix’s elaborate conservatory?
Grin as wide as the world, the seer balanced on the gargoyle on top of the gutter.
Fighting his rage, Tao demanded, “Care to explain?”
“You mean you haven’t worked it out?”
“All I can see is that everything has gone to hell. And, as usual, you are doing nothing to stop it.”
“Oh, quite on the contrary, my friend. Things are going exactly as planned.” Dmitri rubbed his hands together. “Every tile on the board is perfectly positioned to usher in the greatest event in history.” He stood, looking smug. “The fulfillment of my curse.”
The End
Afterword
Thank you for reading Dragon’s Fire. I apologize for the cliffhanger ending—they do seem to sneak up on me. The perils of writing a series, I suppose. I promise I’m already working on the next book.
If you would like to see Natalia’s view of Meka and Grigor at that awful dinner, you can sign up for my newsletter and I will send it to you. I will also contact you once a month to tell you about new releases, giveaways and other cool stuff. You can unsubscribe at any time. If you are already signed up, you should have received it in your inbox. If not, please email me at: [email protected]
I hope you will join Lynx, Axel, Felix, Meka, Nicholas, and the gang as they go on another adventure with Dmitri and his curse in book four (as yet unnamed). I plan to release that by the fall.
As usual, I have a ton of people to thank. But the biggest hug must go to my family. They are unfailing in their support. I honestly could not do this without them. My thanks also go to my editor, Monika Holabird. Please never stop nitpicking! And for my beautiful cover, the team at Deranged Doctor Design. They patiently worked through a multitude of photo rejects with me before we settled on the final cover. Getting the right image for the Light-Bearer was almost as time consuming and challenging as writing the book!
Finally, for those who are interested in such things, I thought I’d share the song I listened to the most while plotting this book: “Smile” by Mikky Ekko. The lyrics seemed so appropriate.
Until next time.
Cheers,
Gwynn
Also by Gwynn White
Crown of Blood Series
Rebel’s Honor
Warlord’s Wager
Adventure Travel Books
Torn Trousers