by Lea Doué
Vanda sat beside her, arms wrapped around her knees and face tilted to the sky. “If you don’t mind my asking…”
Mel waited, but she said nothing else. “Go ahead.”
“I’m trying to figure out why Tharius wanted True.” She paused, collecting her thoughts. “What exactly did he say?”
“He said no harm would come to her, but I would never see her again.” What had his exact wording been? “He said to hand him the goose, take the dragons, and get out of his sight.”
Vanda stared at her. Had she missed something?
“He told you to hand him the goose? Not give?”
“Yes, but what are you implying?”
“Melantha, you did exactly what he asked you to do. Exactly. He didn’t ask you to give him True. He didn’t ask you to go to the tower to meet up with your friends. He didn’t ask you to stay away… and he didn’t ask you not to come back.”
Her eyes widened. Vanda was right. With either curse or contract, the wording was crucial. “I can get her back!”
“You can try. I’ll follow at a distance. If he didn’t want me around the first time, he certainly won’t want me around now.”
Mel kissed Vanda on the top of the head. “You’re amazing!”
After ordering the dragons to stay with Vanda, she ran full speed back towards the cave. Twice she stopped to catch her breath, legs shaking. The third time, she chewed a strip of dried meat and washed it down with cold lake water. By the time she reached the cave, nearly an hour had passed since she’d left.
Tharius lay stretched out in the shadows in front of the cave, wrapped in his cloak. He didn’t move. His rock dragon opened one eye halfway and then closed it again.
Where was True?
Mel tiptoed to the basket and peeked in. Nothing. If she’d been in the cave, she would have come limping out when Mel ran up. Tharius hadn’t lit a fire, so he hadn’t eater her… unless he’d fed her to the dragon. She glanced around, half expecting to see bones or feathers glaring at her in condemnation.
There was no sign that True had ever been there.
She walked up to Tharius and kicked him hard in the thigh. He startled and rolled away from her, gaining his feet quickly. He drew his sword and turned to face her.
He frowned. “I didn’t expect to see you again.” After looking her up and down, his eyes pausing at her empty hands as if checking for daggers, he sheathed his sword. “Miss me already?”
“I want True back.”
He cleared his throat. “That’s not possible.”
“I did exactly what you wanted. I handed her to you, I took the dragons, and I walked out of your sight.” She wiped a tear off her cheek. Exhaustion had made her weepy. “That’s all you asked me to do. The contract is fulfilled. Even you can’t be so heartless as to keep her, when you know you’ve no use for her. Tell me what I have to do to get her back.” Without entering another contract, of course, but she assumed that went without saying.
“The goose is gone. Forever.”
“What happened? Did you feed her to the dragon? Did you eat her yourself?”
“Of course not,” he scoffed. “Do you actually think I would go through all this in order to eat such a stringy old thing?”
“Then what—”
“Your goose was not who she seemed.”
Mel growled and clenched her fists. “Stop being so cryptic and explain yourself.”
He leaned against the basket and crossed his arms. “Oh, but I’m having far too much fun, and I’ve gone through so much trouble just to hand her over. Why don’t we make this a guessing game? You guess the goose’s secret, and I’ll give her back to you.”
“You said she was gone forever.”
“I just gave you the chance to get what you want. Are you going to argue or take a guess? You have three tries.”
She kicked a rock at him and muttered, “You’re a horrid man.”
“So I hear.”
“All right. I’ll guess.” Tharius had said True was not who she seemed, indicating a person who’d been cursed in some way. Orin had found her almost two years before in the Ling Forest, so she’d been a goose at least that long. Who had lived in the Ling Forest?
“True is Sissi in disguise,” she said.
He shook his head. “That’s incorrect and you know it. True was with Orin at the same time Sissi was getting acquainted with your sisters. Two guesses remaining.”
“How in all the world am I supposed to guess who the goose is? She could be anyone!”
“You’re smarter than that.” Tharius obviously felt generous, because he gave her a hint. A small one. “Think of everything you know about her. Every little detail.”
All right. Mel paced while listing the facts to herself. Orin named her True after he found her wandering the Ling Forest alone. She’d always seemed like a normal goose up until she found the dragon eggs, which were unusual enough—messenger dragons didn’t lay in threes or on the ground. After that, she became a super protective foster mother to those dragons with an understanding of what was going on around her that defied explanation. She’d been someone before being cursed into her goose form. Tharius believed Mel should know True’s real identity. Did she know of a woman who’d been cursed around the time Orin found True?
No. At the time, Tharius himself still struggled to gain freedom from his own prison.
Created by Idris.
Who had been in the Ling for years raising Sissi and perfecting his plan to place her on the throne of Osha.
The throne with a missing queen.
A queen who had three children: Edric, Theodric, and Holic.
“It’s Amantha! Queen Amantha of Osha!”
His lips twitched, and a twinkle entered his eyes. “Are you quite certain?”
Amantha’s oldest son, Edric, caught with his mother in Idris’s trap, had been unconscious when she disappeared, but he’d told them a dragon had crushed the queen’s foot not long before.
True walked with a limp.
She looked Tharius in the eyes. “Yes. I’m sure.”
“I’m impressed. You didn’t even need the third guess.”
Mel walked in a circle, one hand at her temple. “I can’t believe this. So… she’s back to her true form now?”
“Yes. You’ll find her resting in the cave.”
She ran to the entrance. A woman lay in the shadows, dressed in a black shirt and trousers from the supply basket. Her hands rested on her stomach as she slept, moving up and down with her gentle breathing. A thick blonde braid as long as Mel’s snaked over one shoulder and back into the dirt on the other side.
Mel rejoined Tharius. “You planted those dragon eggs, didn’t you? Three for her three sons.” He was the dark cloaked figure she’d seen in the woods.
He licked his lips and shifted against the rock. “Guilty as charged.”
“Were you hoping that would change her back?”
“It wasn’t that simple.” He glanced at the cave and took a deep breath. “She had to experience heartbreak. Betrayal. Sissi explained it to me, her understanding of it, anyway, and I pieced together what I needed to know. Idris felt betrayed by his wife, a princess of Sotan. She was supposed to be his ticket to the throne, although he had yet to remove a few others ahead of her in line. Even in Sotan, no one would willingly crown a sorcerer.”
“Is that what he’s been doing all this time? Trying to get close to an heir to gain power?”
“As far as I can tell, yes. If he can’t sit on a throne himself, he’ll manipulate the one who can.”
So she’d guessed correctly. Idris had hoped to have Sissi marry the Oshan heir. When that didn’t work out, he tried to gain favor with Vanda somehow in order to get close to Baz. Who would he go after next?
Tharius continued. “Apparently reluctant to kill a queen outright, he incorporated that sense of betrayal into the curse. I had no idea how to get a goose to feel those emotions without her having a deep connection to… som
ething. Her regard for you and the prince was the start, and the eggs worked better than I’d hoped.”
She shook her head. Although there seemed to be some form of logic behind the curse, there were things that didn’t make sense. “Wait. You planted the dragon eggs, which means you were lurking around even before I first encountered you inside the barrier. You followed us into the tunnel. You’ve been trapped in here the same as us.” He’d lied about being able to get out whenever he wanted.
He shrugged. “After unlocking that second shackle of yours, I actually entered the tunnel first. I also caused the cave in.”
She’d assumed Keir’s digging had caused it. “You trapped us in here?” Her fingernails bit into her palms.
“I took care of the razor-tails following you.”
“You didn’t have to collapse the tunnel! You could have… I don’t know… called down lightning on them.” Like he’d done with the storms.
“While I’m flattered you think I could eradicate an entire pack of razor-tails, you’re not seeing the big picture, Your Highness. I needed to build your trust in me in order to get you to hand over the goose later. To make the betrayal complete. And not knowing the details of the curse, I took the precaution of not letting you in on the plan. Sorcerers work in secrets.”
He’d advised them to keep her disguise as Vanda a secret, as well. She shook her arms, hoping to ease the desire to hit something, and took a deep breath. And then another. She disliked his methods. She disliked him even more.
But he’d also broken a curse no one knew existed. He’d saved a queen. That counted for something. “Why would you want to help her?” She gestured towards the cave.
“I’ve not become altruistic, if that’s your hope. My reasons are entirely selfish.”
“Tell me.”
“I have no need to tell you why I do anything.”
She studied his face, tanned and scratched. He was no longer the pale underground prince she’d first met. “You may have no need, but you have the desire. I can see it in your eyes. You’ve no one to talk to but that dragon. I still think you’re horrid, but I want to hear why you did it.”
Interest. Indecision. Desire. In a few seconds, his face expressed that and more. Finally, he said one word. “Revenge.”
She waved it off. “You already told Gwen that. I’m not going to lecture you on how pointless it is. But there’s more to your motive than simple revenge.”
“Dancing with you in the undergarden, I wouldn’t have thought you so astute.”
His pathetic attempt at insulting her to deflect her interest wouldn’t work. “I was hardly your focus. I doubt you thought me much of anything.”
“I watched all of you, make no mistake. Some of your sisters are naturally more vibrant than others, but you are all intriguing in your own ways. You all have your secrets and surprises. Your little Ivy, for instance, has the taint of sorcery about her.”
Mel bristled. They were all protective of Ivy, whose twin brother—their only brother—hadn’t survived. “Of course she does. Her bodyguard is a former sorcerer.”
A sly smile spread across his face.
“Never mind my sisters.” She put her hands on her hips. “They have nothing to do with your revenge.”
His smile faded. “No.” He watched her again, looking her over from head to toe. “My mother would have liked you.”
“You’re talking around the subject again. I think you want to speak your mind, but you don’t know how to express it.”
“Perhaps.” He walked to where his rock dragon lay curled up in the underbrush and knelt down to rub its snout. “Perhaps I am not against doing some good while seeking my goal.”
“Perhaps?”
He stood and faced her. “I needed to hear what the queen knows about Idris. They had a number of conversations before he changed her. The more I know of him, the better I will be able to find him and deal decisively with him.”
“Can’t you find out about him the same way you found out about King Lotario and Gram?”
“He’s well able to hide himself from such searching.”
Oh. “Helping felt good, though, didn’t it? Despite your selfish reasons.”
He shook his head, but doubt clouded his eyes. “I need Queen Amantha on the throne. I need the kingdoms to be strong to stand against him. I don’t need to go around undoing all of Idris’s mistakes so I can feel better about myself.”
Unlike Idris, he didn’t seem to want a throne for himself. “What happened to wanting your own kingdom? Wasn’t that your goal in the undergarden?”
“My goal was freedom. Surely you can understand that.”
She understood, but serving only yourself wasn’t truly freedom.
“The power that comes with a crown could have made things easier,” he continued, “but I have enough power on my own and none of the responsibilities.” He walked to the cliff and picked an orange flower from among the bushes that clung to the rocks. “No. A throne is Idris’s goal. Not mine.”
“What will you do now?”
Grinning, he said, “I have no desire to tell you that.”
He would continue to search for Idris, of course. Mel wanted nothing more than to curl up and sleep for a week.
Tharius glanced towards the lake and tossed the flower to the ground. “Your prince is on the way with his rescue party. It’s time for me to go.” After saddling his dragon, he removed two of the blue orbs from around his neck and hung them on the supply basket. He bowed. “I wish you well, Your Highness.”
She watched him ride away without a word. The glow of the orbs drew her to the basket, and she stared at them for several long minutes before realizing he’d looped her compass ring onto one of the cords. As she studied the orbs, the glow dimmed, until only a cloudy blue liquid remained inside. The potion itself didn’t glow—Tharius’s use of sorcery to speed the process had created that. He’d been siphoning his own energy this whole time to create the counter-potion to free Queen Amantha’s sons from the effects of Idris’s potion. With no benefit to himself, except to earn Mel’s trust. So what did he gain by giving Sissi the counter-potion? Surely his motives were not purely selfish, despite his attempts to convince her otherwise.
Hanging the orbs around her neck and slipping the ring onto her finger, she sank to the ground, curled up on her side and watched the trees. Orin would find her soon.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Mel leaned on the wall of the courtyard at Cliffside and watched ravens soar above the valley. The stream glistened and winked goodnight as the sun sank behind the trees.
Two weeks ago, Orin had found both her and Queen Amantha sleeping soundly at the cave shortly after Tharius had left them. Orin and the soldiers had brought them safely to the black tower, where they shared stories and a meal around the campfire.
She didn’t see King Lotario again. Baz employed four of his soldiers’ messenger dragons to send notices to key officials informing them of his father’s retirement, and then promptly sent him away to an undisclosed location. He’d forced his father’s hand, fully backed by soldiers who’d witnessed their king’s disregard for life and the prince’s heroism in ridding the land of a massive curse. Not knowing the true details, some went so far as to say the king had brought the curse upon them. Baz decided to leave that misunderstanding unchallenged, as it would make the transfer of power easier if support for his father faded quickly.
Keir had flown his original four passenders to Cliffside, where Baz set up his base of operations, away from the palace for the time being. Gram and Queen Amantha arrived by carriage days later. Mel had offered to stay behind with them rather than fly again, but Baz wanted Vanda by his side, and Vanda wanted Mel, which meant Orin joined them, too.
By the time they landed, Mel wanted nothing to do with flying ever again.
Keir remained quiet and aloof, but he agreed to fly Queen Amantha home to Osha when she was ready, along with the counter-potion orbs for her sons. Mel remin
ded Vanda of her offer to stay with her sisters, but Vanda refused to leave her Gram and eagerly awaited her father’s arrival. Mel guessed she had another reason for staying, too, but Vanda was still shy about discussing her feelings for Baz.
Boots clacked on the cobblestones, and Mel turned and leaned against the wall. Keir approached, black cloak waving behind him in the breeze like wings. He stopped a few feet away so she didn’t have to crane her neck to look him in the eyes.
“Good evening,” he said.
This clearly wasn’t a chance encounter. “What’s on your mind?”
He ran a hand over his smooth head. “I want to talk to you about something Vanda’s grandmother said after the barrier was broken. About me finding someone…” He swallowed.
She finished the sentence for him. “About you finding someone to love you in order to break the curse.”
He nodded.
What did this have to do with her? “What is it you need? You know I’ll do anything I can to help, but I don’t like beating around the bush.”
“Right.” He sighed and looked over her shoulder at the valley and the forest beyond. “Do you remember when you talked about your sisters at the stream, and you mentioned one of them who had a nickname? The dragon girl?”
Neylan.
“She’s a descendant of the soldier-king, the same as you, and so doubly a dragon girl.”
“She’s also not the least bit red or tangled up with Mazereon in any way. What do you think would happen if you met her? She’d fall in love with you and true love’s kiss would break the spell? That only works in storybooks.”
He shrugged. “Could you at least ask her if she’s willing to come? Give me some hope of getting free of this prison?”
He had to mention freedom. “All right. I’ll ask her, but mainly because Neylan would find the challenge academically interesting. And at least you like to read. She wouldn’t look at you, otherwise.”