Not caring if others heard, his dragon took full control as he slammed into her.
A deep moan escaped at the brutal claiming, Amelia’s dragon answering his as her emerald eyes emanated with light, glowing in the dimly lit room.
He delivered a second full stroke, and she called his name, confirming her desires. Giving himself fully to the creature within, Conner thrust in abandonment, the punishing pace driving him to unexpected heights as he forced himself over and over again into the young beauty who gave herself so willingly.
Tension built to the breaking point as he called her name in a deep-throated growl before spilling himself, the rush of warmth coating her insides with a final deep thrust, causing her to cry out, repeating his name over and over between shaking breaths as he collapsed.
Buried inside her, Conner lay, struggling for breath. He had never known anything like this. To give himself so completely, without fear of harming himself or his lover. The act was intoxicating. Exhilarating. He pulled back enough to meet her eyes and she squirmed at the movement.
“I never knew,” he stared bewildered. “I never…”
“Nor did I.”
“What do you…”
“Not like that,” she answered. “Not from someone who connected to my soul. I think I was fated to be with you, Conner.”
He leaned down and kissed her, the man replacing the dragon as he confessed through caresses what he could not seem to find the words to express. She responded in kind before he fully withdrew, rolling to his side as he pulled her against him, holding her tight as both drifted to an exhausted sleep.
Chapter 43
Returning to the cabin where Kelsie and Chris waited, Amelia arrived to face them with a heavy heart.
“I apologize,” she informed her childhood friend. “I didn’t want to believe what you said was true.”
“I didn’t either,” Kelsie replied. “I remember your sister from childhood, Amelia. Believe me when I say, I did not wish to believe she was capable of such cruelty either.”
“I’ll go to the palace,” Amelia said, “but you must understand, I am going to attempt to avoid physical conflict. I want to try speaking with her first.”
“I fear, my friend, you will find yourself disappointed. She will not listen to reason.”
“That may be,” Amelia agreed sadly. “Yet I must try, nevertheless. If I don’t, I’ll regret not doing so for the rest of my life. I love Kaliyah, no matter what evils she may have allowed to transpire, and despite the crimes she has committed against my person.” Amelia drew a breath, exhaling. “For her crimes against me, I can forgive her. However, for those against the people she was meant to protect, there must be a reckoning.
“I will go forthwith to the palace tomorrow. I would go now, but exhaustion might overcome me if I do not rest.”
“I understand,” Kelsie answered. “I’m sorry, Amelia. Pitting the two of you against each other is the last thing I desired.”
“You’re not responsible,” Amelia said. “Kaliyah is, for forgetting her responsibilities to our people.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I’ll do my best to protect your daughter, Kelsie. You have my word, I shall do all in my power to help her. If I fail though, go to the palace and speak to Sir Gwain. He’s a knight in my sister’s guard. Tell him I said he would help you. He may be able to succeed, should I fail.”
Kelsie reached for the princess, pulling Amelia into a brief embrace. “Thank you, Amelia.”
“I should be thanking you, for reminding me of my responsibilities in the realm, and my duty to the people within it. I shall do my best with my sister. I can promise no more.”
“Whatever you accomplish, it’s enough. I wish I were capable of helping you. Being only human in a dragon’s domain, I feel helpless.”
“Not helpless,” Amelia answered. “Differently gifted.”
Amelia allowed Kelsie to draw her into a second embrace before extricating herself and leaving the room.
When she reached the bedroom, she found Conner standing with his mother before the door, the elder woman hugging her son. “I’ll always be proud of you,” she whispered. “No matter what.”
“Thank you, Mother.” He pulled back, allowing both himself and Chris to see Amelia, alerted to her presence by her footsteps along the wooden floor.
Chris smiled up at the princess and took her hand. “I am grateful you two found each other,” she said. “I’ve spent his whole life praying Conner would find a woman such as yourself.”
“Someone to lead him to his doom in a fight we can’t win?”
Chris smiled, shaking her head at Amelia’s sarcastic tone. “Someone who could show him not just how to exist in two worlds, but to thrive.” Leaning forward, Chris placed a gentle kiss on Amelia’s left cheek. “Thank you for showing him the world he was born to, Amelia. I am grateful. Now, get some rest. I’ll see you both off in the morning.”
With that, Chris headed out the door.
Later, as Amelia lay beside Conner, she whispered, “I would hate to think we’ve finally found each other, only to be torn apart.”
“No matter what happens, I will never leave your side.”
His words, meant to assure, instead placed a new flurry of dread in Amelia’s heart as she wondered if the promise, spoken with such conviction, was one either of them would be able to keep.
Chapter 44
It took four days to reach the castle grounds, Conner and Amelia abandoning their dragon forms when they reached the kingdom’s inner sanctum and opting for a more stealth approach. On purchased horses, staying off the main roads, they traveled without incident, managing to avoid the majority of other travelers. No one questioned them, Amelia’s dragon eyes a clear mark of her higher status among a kingdom now divided, between the blessed and unblessed children of Kamar.
Arriving at the palace, Amelia did not reveal her name, nor ask for the queen. Instead, she asked for Gwain.
“Regarding?” the gate’s guardian asked.
“Tell him it’s regarding Gwen. Give him this.” From her inner pocket, she withdrew a rose plucked from a bush near the palace.
The guard appeared puzzled as she handed over the bedraggled flower.
“Careful of the thorns,” she cautioned. “Gwain will understand.”
The man nodded, turning to deliver the cryptic message while his companion kept an eye on the two travelers.
Ten minutes later, Gwain emerged, a bewildered expression on his face as he met the changed eyes of the princess he had saved years ago.
Struggling to hide his shock, Gwain slowed his approach. “Gwen,” he addressed Amelia by his sister’s name in an abundance of caution, “what are you doing here?”
“I need to speak with you. I wouldn’t have come if I had other options.”
Gwain nodded. “I understand. It’s all right guys, let them through.”
The men stepped aside to let the travelers through the gates.
“Keep the cloak over your face, Gwen. Lest you be mistaken for someone else.”
She did as instructed, following him through the courtyard, before entering a spare room in an unused portion of the palace.
“This wing has been unoccupied for quite some time. We should be able to speak in relative safety.”
Amelia pushed back the hood, pulling her golden hair from beneath the neck of her cloak as she turned to face the captain.
“What are you doing here, Princess? You swore to never return.”
“Yes, I promised. And I know how much you risked helping me escape. Were you punished for doing so?” Her breath caught as she asked, afraid this man, who had already endured so much heartache, may have been subjected to additional pain because of the steps he had taken to save her.
“No,” Gwain assured, easing her fears with a smile. “I was not punished, though the queen was, understandably, not happy at your escape. And I’ve missed Gabriel.”
Amelia released the brea
th she had been holding. “I am glad to know you were not harmed on my account. Your stallion is well, growing lazy in my friend’s care, getting too many oats from her nephew.”
Gwain nodded. “I’ll ask again, Princess. What are you doing here?”
“I had to come. My best friend from childhood, Kelsie, came to see me. Her daughter has been claimed by one of the lords, to be forced to bear his children in hopes they might strengthen his line. I’ve come to understand these actions are a result of my sister’s rule. I’m here to try and reason with her.”
“There is no reasoning with your sister.” Gwain’s frank tone took Amelia aback. “She reigns supreme, and punishes all who question her. If this Kelsie you speak of is the same woman I suspect her to be, trust me, the girl’s grandparents have pleaded with the queen to reconsider. The queen hears no one except the bastard at her side.”
Amelia’s breath caught at the mention of Stephen, causing Gwain to bow his head, contrite. “I apologize, my lady. You loved him, and thought he loved you.”
“I understand why you didn’t tell me. I doubt I would have believed you if you had.”
“I tucked the queen’s letter, telling of their involvement, in your bag not to harm you, my lady, but in hopes that once you knew the truth of Stephen’s liaison with your sister, it might allow you to one day move on. Not to wonder if he searched for you, or any other scenario where you might have held onto hope of him returning.”
Amelia gave a tight smile. “You did what was best.”
Gwain nodded.
“I’m trying to do the same. This isn’t only about Kelsie’s daughter. It’s about the entire kingdom. She’s directing the enslavement of the very people we are charged to protect.”
“She won’t hear you, Amelia. She might kill you. Or worse, send you back to the temples, and this time, no one will be able to save you.”
“No one is sending Amelia anywhere.” Conner stepped forward. “Queen or no.”
“Who are you?”
“This is Conner,” she told the knight. “He’s a grandson of Lord Tyron, from a daughter who was born mortal. He was not.”
“Did you bring an army?” Gwain asked.
“I don’t need one,” Amelia replied. “I only wish to speak with her.”
“She will not be open to anything you have to say.”
“Then this will be a very bad day…for both of us.”
Gwain considered her. “You plan to challenge the queen.”
“If I must.”
“She’s the most powerful dragon I’ve ever seen. You can’t defeat her.”
“I hope I don’t have to, but that remains to be seen.”
Gwain gave a chuckle, a harsh sound that held no trace of laughter.“You’re kidding me, right?”
Her blank expression told him she was not.
“You’re here on a suicide mission. Why even ask for me?”
“To ensure Kelsie’s daughter is returned to her mother, no matter what.”
“You have got to be kidding me. I helped you, but what makes you think I’m willing to risk so much for another?”
“Because you’re a hero.”
Caught off-guard by the answer, Gwain stared at the princess for a long time before shaking his head with a loud sigh. “This is ridiculous. You’re going to challenge your sister, while I steal a high lord’s intended.”
“Not intended, Gwain. Slave. He’s not going to marry the girl. He’s going to defile her.”
“All right. I give up. I’ll do my best to save the girl. But if you engage your sister, no one can help you. Not I, nor the man at your side.”
“Deliver me to the queen, Gwain. I’ll take it from there.”
Gwain stepped closer, lowering his voice. “You have a kind soul, my lady. Don’t permit your sister to use that kindness to her advantage. Because she will, Amelia. And she’ll destroy you.”
Amelia took the counsel to heart, allowing the words to fully envelope her before nodding. “I understand, Sir Gwain. And thank you for the warning.”
“Allow me to escort you, my lady.”
“Certainly, my lord.” She gave a tight smile as he formally led her from the room, Conner trailing a few paces behind.
Chapter 45
Heart pounding, Amelia stood with Conner beside her in the throne room, waiting her sister’s entrance.
Not being told why, the queen arrived in a rush, confused by the captain’s unusual urgency. “This had better be important,” Kaliyah’s voice reached Amelia for the first time since her sister had stripped away the only life she had known.
“I assure you, Your Majesty, this is a meeting of utmost importance.”
Rounding the corner, the queen was greeted by two hooded figures.
Kaliyah looked at the captain. “What’s this about?”
But the captain stepped back, not answering.
Instead the closest figure spoke, “The state of the kingdom, Your Majesty. I fear there is much of which you are unaware.”
Stepping closer, the queen narrowed her eyes, attempting to better see the face of the cloaked figure who had spoken. “Of what, exactly, am I unaware?”
“The pain of your people,” Amelia answered, chest tight at seeing her sister for the first time in so long. The queen was a vision in a deep emerald gown, the velvet material draping her body to form sharp, angled sleeves. The sister who had condemned her, wearing the same face as the one who had comforted her as a child, had held her when their mother died, and had escorted her through numerous moonlit nights, soaring into the skies before she had been old enough to venture on her own.
“Are you going to tell me, or do I have to guess?”
“I am here to address the ways in which your people suffer, under the absolute, and unjust rule of the lords to whom you have granted unlimited power.”
The queen turned back to Gwain. “What is this?”
“Enlightenment,” Amelia answered for him. “For surely you were unaware of the abuse, and never would have condoned such atrocities had you known.”
“Atrocities?”
“Parents condemned to torture and death for attempting to protect their children from unwanted advances. Lovers tortured and murdered for attempting to protect their spouses from the same. Men mutilated for attempting to choose a line of work undesired by their lord. Shifters playing god with the lives of those who are not.” Amelia shook her head, the cloak shrouding her identity. “Please, my queen, these acts cannot be an extension of your desires.”
Kaliyah sighed. “You speak of non-shifters. Tell me, have you a loved one you wish to save from the newly established order? If so, such a complaint is not one I desire to hear. Those requests are forbidden, and how dare you assume I am unaware of what is taking place in my own kingdom. Of course I’m aware! The non-shifters, who continually taint our bloodline are, at last, being put in their proper place. They have lived under the protection of dragons for too long, ungrateful of the lengths the blessed go through to ensure their safety, and undisturbed livelihood. Why should they not be expected to give something in return?”
“In return? You’re talking about murder, rape, enslavement! How can you possibly justify such acts?”
“Justify?” She laughed. “I don’t have to justify anything. I am the dragon queen. It is my right to do with these people as I see fit. They are less. Little more than property, but for centuries they have acted as our equals. Well, no more.
“Gwain, take these two to the dungeons and—”
“You are not supposed to harm the weak. You’re supposed to protect them! Mother would be ashamed of you, Kaliyah.”
The queen froze, back straightening. She turned, heels striking the marble floor as she stepped closer.
“Amelia?”
Reaching up, the princess untied the cloak and allowed it to slip from her shoulders.
“You survived.” Kaliyah stepped closer, eyes studying her sister’s changed form. The unusual eyes, and
diamond-shaped textured shadow on her neck. “Or, at least, your dragon did.”
“It’s me, big sister. Though I’m having trouble recognizing you.”
“Hmm,” her sister mused, a smile lifting the corner of her lips. “It’s not that you don’t recognize me, Amelia. You never saw me to begin with.”
“You were my sister. You took care of me when I was sick. Played when I was sad. Held my hand when I was scared.”
“Ah, yes. You were scared quite often, were you not?” Kaliyah’s voice grew cold, her heels again echoed through the room. “Tell me, little sister, are you afraid now?”
“Not of you,” Amelia answered. “Only for you.”
“Ah. Well, sounds like your first mistake.”
“What, by the gods, has gotten into you, Kaliyah? Why did you send me away?”
“You should have been sent away years ago!” she exclaimed. “Children of moonlight are always surrendered to the temples. But Mother would not hear of it! When she died, the temples made arrangements for you to finally be collected. However, I had to wait until I was crowned, lest some heroic fool attempt to challenge in order to save you.”
Amelia stared at her sister uncomprehendingly.
“Oh don’t act so surprised, Amelia. Mother always loved you above all others.”
“Not true. She loved you as well.”
Kaliyah scoffed. “Hardly. Mother had little illusion as to what I was, and what I intended to do with this kingdom after she was gone. That’s why she called the high lords, to speak with them about seating you on the throne instead.”
Amelia’s lips parted involuntarily, mind reeling.
The reaction drew a cruel laugh from the sister Amelia no longer recognized. “How tragically beautiful. Here I agreed to send you away, to prevent you from usurping my throne, and all the while, you truly knew nothing of Mother’s plans.”
“Mother never said anything to me, Kaliyah, I swear. I never would have sought your throne.”
“What are you doing here, Amelia? Clearly you managed to escape, in spite of my best efforts to ensure that did not come to pass. Why return? You, the only one alive who can contest my claim to the throne?”
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