“Easy, easy now Your Majesty,” Golix said, strolling around him casually. “We would not want you to wear yourself out so soon.”
She baited the Unicorn, using the only tool she had. “I thought it was me you wanted asshole.”
The majestic head swung her way, red eyes narrowing. “Oh, it is.” The golden horn tilted slightly toward Draven. “But only to control him.”
She snorted. “Well, that won’t do you any good. I barely know him.”
The beast spun and stomped her way, black hooves kicking up a cloud. He towered over her and if she were the cowering sort, she would have shrunk back a step. But she wasn’t and straightened her shoulders.
She’d faced down tougher nuts in the boardroom. An evil unicorn was nothing!
At least she hoped so…
He tossed his head, black mane waving wildly about his neck. “Ha! You think I need you to love him before he will do as I command?”
She smirked. “That’s usually the way it works idiot.”
Golix scraped a hoof against the ground, stirring up more dust from the hard packed surface. “Maybe in your land. But not here dearest. Not here.” His head dropped, quicker than she would have expected and without further comment, he rammed the horn on his forehead into her gut.
***
Draven’s agonized bellow echoed deep into the jungle, vibrating anything not nailed down to the ground. “You bastard!”
Golix pulled back, the horn leaving Terra’s body with a sickening slurp. She sagged between the two beasties, until they dropped her. Without a care, they walked away, leaving her crumpled in the dirt.
A pool of blood spread out from her body, slowly turning the soil as black as his thoughts.
Was she dead?
No! She couldn’t be!
To find his Mate, only to lose her so quickly was a fate more cruel than death for a Dragon!
Her chest jerked roughly and she groaned, rolling enough to clutch her stomach with both hands.
Thank the Gods above!
She was alive!
“Now, let us try this again,” Golix said, drawing his attention.
Terra’s blood twisted down his horn to pool at the base. A single line slipped away from the rest, getting lost in his dark coat. It paused on the end of his snout, hanging between his nostrils until his tongue darted out to lick it away. The large horse shuddered visibly, eyes slowly drifting closed. “Oh my yes. Such power,” he whispered, sounding almost reverent.
Power? Terra didn’t have any power, not like they did at least. Power over his hearts, sure, maybe even his soul, but that wasn’t magical.
A Dragon’s Mate was predetermined, everyone knew it, even Unicorns. But it had nothing to do with the energies they called upon to cast spells, or shift, or anything else. It just was.
So, what in the Nether Worlds could he be referring to??
One of the Satyr’s hopped forward, balancing precariously on one leg and holding a large bowl against his chest with misshapen hands. A breeze kicked up and the foul stench of the contents drifted to his nose. He coughed, hard and twisted his face into his arm to block the smell.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw Golix bend, letting another of his minions gingerly collect Terra’s life force from the golden surface with a piece of rethus cloth. When it was clean, he nodded toward the bowl. The shorter creature turned and stretched the piece over the top.
There was a moment when time seemed to stand still then a burst of orange smoke billowed into the air.
“Dragon’s Ire, consume the fire. Dragon’s Sin, be the twin,” he whispered, bending a long leg to the dirt. The red of his eyes blazed with power and the smoke hovered in the air, spinning this way and that as if it searched for something…
Or someone, he realized a heartbeat too late. Similar to his fire earlier, it shot forward, spearing him in the chest as Golix continued the spell he was weaving.
“Dragon’s Mate, binds your fate.”
Draven rocked back, desperate to fight the magics spreading across his chest. It rolled under his skin, ripping along his muscles with such speed he feared it would rip him apart before it was finished.
Golix’s head lifted, eyes brighter than a mid-rotations sun. “Loyal to me, you shall be!”
White hot pain consumed every nerve, despite his resolve. His last waking thought was Terra would die alone in the clutches of a madman! And there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it…
Chapter Nine
Arin landed on the roof of The King’s Court late the next afternoon. Unlike Draven, it took him much longer to fly across the Bay of Cythes. He’d had to spend most of the morning resting on their western shore before being able to cross their lands back to the Capitol.
Lanni had remained silent the entire time but he could feel the worry for her sister pulsing off her in waves.
Not that he could blame her. He was worried too. If Draven and Terra returned before them, his King should have – at the very least – sent a Rider Detachment for support. The fact that no one had met them in flight, or now as they landed, told him one of two things.
One, they’d not made it back yet.
Or Two, they had and just didn’t care.
The second was far less likely though, which left him squarely back at the first…
Shifting into his humanoid version once Lanni’s feet were on the ground, he grasped her hand and led her down the three flights of stairs to Draven’s private rooms.
She followed wordlessly, brow furrowed in thought.
He was sure the moment he opened the doors and found the suite empty, he’d have to call out all the Riders to go searching.
What he didn’t expect was to find his leader standing at the window, hands calmly folded at the small of his back, wearing the normal three-piece suit of grey he always did on a Court’s day.
He paused in the doorway, brought up short by the sight. “Draven?”
Lanni stepped around him, striding forward with purpose. “Where is she? Where’s Terra?”
Draven turned, his molten gaze landing on him then swung to her. And if he didn’t witness it, he never would have believed it. His liege visibly stiffened and with a roar that rattled the windows, dropped his upper body and rushed across the living area, murderous intent glowing in his eyes.
“I will kill you, vawi,” he bellowed, heading directly for the woman. “Today you die!”
His warrior’s instincts were the only thing that saved both his King from killing an innocent for no good reason and her from certain death. He sprang forward, landing between them and met his friend head on with a thundering clash of body on body. He planted his feet, but the strength of Draven’s anger pushed him back a step or two before he could gain enough of an edge to hold him in place.
“Run!”
Thankfully, the girl had enough sense to do as he bade. She spun on a heel and with fear coiling from her pheromones, bolted for the door.
And then the strangest thing happened. The very instant it shut on her retreating back, Draven ceased struggling, turned and calmly walked to the window, straightening his suit along the way.
He bent, propping shaking fists on his knees, the surge of adrenaline he’d used ebbing slowly. “Draven! What in the All Fires?”
The man he’d known longer than any other, spun from the window, looking as cool and regal as ever. “Ah, there you are, Arin. Ready for the evening’s festivities?”
Was he serious? Had nothing just happened? It surely didn’t appear to have! There was no rage in his friend’s eyes, no bellowing anger or other form of maliciousness on his features. Just the collected King, whom he’d called best friend for almost 300 Suns…
What in all the Nether Worlds was going on?
“Um, yes,” he backpedaled a step. “Allow me to change.”
Draven’s eyes took him in, from the filthy shirt and pants to his mused hair and two-day scruff of beard. His lips pursed thoughtfully. “Yes, do that. Bathe while you
are about it too. You reek, man.” The berating words held no real ire though and there was even a teasing glint in his eyes, much like the man he’d always known. “Rough daylight?”
He nodded quickly. “Indeed. I shall return shortly.”
Draven waved a dismissive hand, swinging back around to look out over the city. “Take your time. We have several ticks before the banquet.”
He checked the calendar on the wall and groaned. Tonight began the Festival of Suns and in all the excitement he’d forgotten about it! He bowed low, backing out of the room. “Yes Your Majesty.”
He found Lanni in the hall pressed to a tapestry, her skin as white as the snow near the Northern Caves. Her fingers clutched into the material, visibly shaking. Her chest heaved as her silver eyes drifted up to his. “What the fuck was that?! I thought he was going to kill me!”
He shifted the belt holding Thonu across his back. “He would have, though why I am unsure.” Gently untangling her grip, he held her hands in his for a moment then turned and led them to the bank of elevators. “Come.”
“Where, where are we going?” she asked, her voice a small, girlish sounding squeak.
“To my quarters, where you will be safe, for now,” he explained, pressing the button for his level.
She didn’t speak again until the doors had swished closed. “What the fuck happened?”
He let go of her hand long enough to slide the harness off his shoulders. “I do not know. But, considering he just called you a Hobgoblin’s nether regions, I can only assume he is rather upset with you, or your sister.”
***
Lanni had no idea what to say to that. She couldn’t stop shaking either, which grated on her already raw nerves. Closing her eyes, she leaned back against the wall, grateful for Arin’s reassuring bulk between her and the doors.
If he hadn’t been in the room…
She wasn’t the fighter Terra was. She could hold her own, in a scrap, maybe, but she wasn’t as proficient as her twin. Terra had spent years taking all manner of defense classes. From Tae-Kwan-Do to the more strict form of Ju-jitsu, her sister feared little.
Not that there was a lot to worry about in their world – crime had been virtually wiped out in the last millennia, street crime anyway. Most people preferred to take their aggressions out on the virtual landscape, not real life.
Still, Terra had felt she needed the ability to defend herself and had begged Lanni to join her on numerous occasions.
Now, she really wished she’d listened.
The doors hissed apart and Arin pulled her along. Turning left, he entered the only door she could see a few paces down the hall. Closing it, he gently aimed her toward a room off to the left.
“You are welcome to the guest quarters,” he said. “There is a private bathing area and if you are lucky, something someone left in the wardrobe, might just fit you.”
She wrapped her arms around her middle to hide her still shaking hands. “Um, thank you.”
He paused on the way to a door across the room, cutting a look over his wide shoulder. “For?”
“Being there?” Her voice cracked and she cleared her throat. “Stepping in between…”
One corner of his short snout spread and the golden eye she could see, closed on a wink. “I did not intervene for you,” he said. “But for my friend’s sake.”
“Um, still, thanks.”
He gave her a curt nod and disappeared, the door clicking quietly shut behind him.
She was tempted to explore but her own stench wafted up her nose on a burst from the air conditioning and she nearly gagged in response. “Oh geez! No wonder he told me to take a bath, I stink!”
Distracted with the mundane task, she managed to forget all that had happened in the last two days, at least for a little while.
Stepping out of the shower, which could have just as easily been in her own apartment given its modern nature, she wrapped an Arin sized towel around her body and went in search of clean clothes.
And that’s where the modern comparison between their worlds came to a screeching, earth-shattering halt…
She found the wardrobe he’d referred too easily enough, it took up nearly an entire wall, but what she wasn’t prepared for was the almost alien nature of the clothing within. Or the sheer amount of them.
Gowns, dresses, and some silky, very flimsy looking material hung along row after row of hooks inside. There had to be at least a hundred different ones and a burst of jealousy settled in her chest.
How many women had Arin slept with! Secondary to that, why did she care? She had no answer to either question and tabled the matter for later, preferring to try and decipher the garments…
Some, like the dressy, fru-fru ball gowns, she could figure out, but it would take an act of congress to get her into any of them; or a very tight corset with at least four people yanking on the strings!
Others, like the nearly see-through garments in all the shades of the rainbow, were a definite mystery.
She flipped through them, slowly lifting each until she finally found what might equate to a sundress. She fingered the silk like piece, reveling in the soft whisper of sound her fingers made. Slipping it over her head, its thin straps settled on her shoulders, the material caressing her body as it slid down her newly clean skin.
It was a bit tight across the chest but when she turned toward the mirror in the door, she could have cared less. She looked fabulous in it!
Leaving her feet bare, she headed back for the bathroom, hoping to tame the wild mass of locks she’d been cursed with all her life. If she couldn’t though, she might be able to figure out a way to beat it into submission at the very least!
Still wet, it was semi-manageable and she took the fifteen minutes necessary to twist it into a long French braid, the end dangling just above her butt. She found a leather thong in a drawer and used that to secure it.
Entering the main room she was on the verge of following her earlier desire to explore when Arin’s door opened. He backed out, pulling it closed behind him again, turned and she got yet another shock to her system.
They stood a few feet apart and her gaze took in everything about him in a long, slow sweep.
He was wearing a tuxedo as modern and dapper as anything from her world. The cut was tailored to his wide, thick shoulders and broad chest. The black jacket tapered in at his waist and he lifted his hands, tugging at the crisp white cuffs of the shirt. The length of his legs shifted the material against his thighs with a soft swish as he nervously rolled from one foot to the other, polished shoes gleaming. A blush crept up his neck, barely discernable in the setting sun beyond the windows. He reached up and patted the mane of his hair, which he’d pulled back with a leather thong similar to hers. “What?” He scrubbed a hand over his freshly shaven cheeks. “Did I miss a spot?”
She coughed. “No,” she managed. “You, you look good.” Wow! How lame could you get girl!? “What’s the occasion?”
Something unreadable pinched across his face and he sighed. “The Festival of Suns begins this darkfall.”
She perched on the arm of one of the two long couches in the center of the room. “Oh? What’s that?”
He moved to the wide mirror on the wall near the door, swiping a hand across his cheeks like he didn’t believe her earlier statement. “The leaders of the Five Kingdoms gather for a feast. They give thanks to the Gods, if we have been graced with bountiful harvests, exchange gifts of respect and just generally celebrate the Sun to come.”
She frowned, tapping a finger against her chin. “Sounds a bit like Christmas, New Year’s and Thanksgiving all rolled into one.”
He spun, straightening the lapels of his jacket with a tug. “Are these holiday’s in your world?”
“The three biggest,” she snorted softly.
“Well, would you like to attend then? I am allowed to bring along a companion.”
She thought about it only briefly. “Will that guy be there? The one that just tri
ed to kill me for no good reason?”
He chuckled, picking up on her implication and tilted his head. “Yes. I see your point and rescind the offer, M’lady.” He put a hand on the doorknob and paused, turning another of those unreadable looks over his shoulder. “Will you be well here? I can stay if you like.”
Boy would she ever like him to stay! Despite the lion-like nature of his face, what he could turn into and the gruff front he’d put up so far, he genuinely seemed concerned in that moment and that was endearing in its own unique way. Not to mention the whole, he’d-saved-her-life-twice-in-the-two-days-she’d-known-him aspect of this crazy adventure.
But, she was a big girl, and could handle a few hours on her own, so she let him off the proverbial hook dangling in the air. “I’ll be fine. Go on, enjoy your party.”
Another of those curt nods and he was gone.
Alone, she flopped back on the couch, heart heavy and suddenly desperate for something, anything to fill the silence left in his wake.
Rolling off the couch, she gave into her desire and explored…
The main room was spartan and very utilitarian. Not a lot to see beyond the two long couches that faced each other, a coffee table of thick wood between them. A fireplace graced one wall and a cabinet hung on the other. A single remote looking thing sat on top of the table but it was just as confusing as the one she had back home, so she let it be.
Terra would be able to operate it in a matter of seconds, but not her. She and technology did not get along, they never had. Not that she was stupid, she’d just never had a use for it. She preferred books, mostly in the science and math arena’s and while she’d finally given in and gotten a vid-helmet of her own to be able to access the vast libraries online, she still preferred the musty pages of a tome.
Giving up on the living room, she headed beyond it and found a spartan, if gleaming kitchen of sorts. What had to be the fridge, a stove and maybe a microwave stretched along the far wall and an island made from the same wood as the coffee table stood silent guard. Not much of a cook either, she spied two doors off to the left and tried the first in an effort to find something worthy of occupying her time.
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