Dragon Splendor (Immortal Dragons Book 3)

by Ophelia Bell

  When the activity subsided, Calder extracted himself from the embraces of the three lovely nymphs. He stood and stretched, gave the napping trio an affectionate look, and began to make his way up the river.

  The novelty of his homecoming began to fade the closer he got to the Greathall and his true reason for being here. He’d come to report his failure and to regroup, and to find out if any of his brothers had reported in, though he knew from his prior connection to them that it would be a miracle if any of them had managed to escape Meri’s clutches and return home, too.

  The Greathall was a sprawling, elaborate construction of intricately carved stones set into the wet rocks of the grotto, straddling the wide expanse of the river. Its tiered front piazza was part water fountain, part stairs. Thick, hardwood trunks supported it, with branches that still sprouted lush foliage at the tops. The upper terrace overlooked the deep canyon of shining stone he’d made the short trek through to get here. The steep, sheer rock wall behind the Greathall was a webbed network of trickling streams and cascading waterfalls descending from the mist above.

  That perpetual foggy barrier disguised the magic that protected this place. The only way through it from the other side was to find the River’s Source, which existed only inside their sister race’s highly protected Sanctuary.

  No human had ever set foot in the Haven. During Calder’s younger years living here, the other races had occasionally visited, but rarely did anymore, their visits dwindling once the Ultiori began systematically hunting down their kind, and likely halting completely after the ursa Sanctuary had locked down their barrier a year earlier.

  Thoughts of their sister race only reminded him of Nicholas, adding to his already morose mood. If he gauged the timing correctly, Midwinter was several weeks away. When it arrived was the optimum window for Nicholas to return home. In the meantime, he hoped the dragons were treating him well.

  He wished he still had his connection to the River. The link to all the events of past and future in the world had been something he’d taken for granted for so long, he felt strangely impotent now without it. He still remembered what he’d learned while he had it, but when he tried to reach for those memories, they became as ethereal as fog, just a glimmer of shapes he was unable to hold onto long enough to make sense of.

  He tried to tell himself it was better this way. That kind of foresight was a curse more than a gift—one that he’d used with extreme caution. Now he only knew the snippets that the River chose to share, and so far, even after the hours within its current today, it had only given him the one piece of the future: that Nicholas’s mother was going to die and another would take her place.

  “Brother to the queen,” he blurted, recalling a snippet of the image that the River had shown him of a daughter recently returned home and staying by Maia Stonetree’s side in her final year of life. His sadness for Nicholas lifted somewhat. That must mean Nicholas had a sister, so even if his mother was gone when he reached the Sanctuary, he would still have family to greet him.

  Calder made his way up the wide, fern-lined path to the stair-bridge that arced up over the center of the river, branching into an intersecting helix that rose to the main terrace of the Greathall.

  Another nymph wandered past and spied him, let out an excited shriek, and ran off. Moments later a throng of other females ran up, leaning over the railing and peering down at him as he ascended the stairs. They chattered and waved, bouncing and smiling. At the top of the stairs he saw the three he’d left back by the riverside in the forest and laughed.

  “I already said hello to you three,” he said when they greeted him.

  “We know,” Clio said. “You seemed as reluctant as an outsider to really give an enthusiastic greeting, so we thought we’d drift ahead to make sure you weren’t traumatized by our sisters. It’s been ages since any of them have seen a satyr in the flesh who wasn’t a Dionarch—some never in their lives. Everyone’s going to want a taste of your essence and get into your head.”

  “Ah … “ Calder hadn’t considered the possibility of melding with any of the nymphs, even if it were only an initial round.

  “Don’t worry,” Ephyra said on his other side, squeezing his hand. “We thought about it, but when we sensed your bond to an ursa, we knew better. So it’s true that the higher races are mating with each other now?”

  “Ah …” He glanced at her, startled by her intimate observation. His relationship with Nicholas was complicated, but that wasn’t something he wanted to get into with these nymphs. Opting to respond to the essence of her question, he said, “Yes, in fact. The dragons have decrees from Fate to seek out mates from the other races.”

  “Nyx and Neph are waiting for you,” Pithys said, her voice taking on the resonant monotone of a nymph in close mental contact with another.

  It didn’t surprise him in the least that the twin leaders of his race would have melded with the nymphs as well.

  “We haven’t all melded with them,” Ephyra whispered, astutely picking up his thoughts from his expression, no doubt. “Only the members of the new Thiasoi share their essences with Nyx and Neph.” She glanced around at the other two. “There are a dozen of us now, and each of us is connected to a dozen other nymphs, and so on. Can’t be too careful, you understand.”

  Calder nodded, recalling the long-faded connections he had with the original members of the Thiasoi—the dozen nymphs and satyrs who comprised the highest tier of protection for their race and aided the two Dionarchs with overseeing their laws and governing the others.

  When they passed through the huge doors, the other nymphs fell in behind them and followed them through the entryway, down a long, pearlescent-tiled hallway, and into the throne room.

  He didn’t know quite what to expect after being gone for as long as he had. So much had changed in their world. It seemed strange to come home in the aftermath of it all, and not just because he had bad news to report.

  The nymphs that surrounded him moved to the side when he reached the center of the room, giving him a clear view of the dais at the far end and the pair of shining thrones that rested there. Just like he remembered, a light mist filled the area from the rushing water that cascaded down the back wall, flowing under the floor and into the riverbed far below.

  The pair seated on the thrones were both achingly familiar and completely alien to him. Sadness filled them both, their faces lined with loss and weariness. Unlike the rest of their race, Neph and Nyx were immortal. His mother was already thousands of years old when Calder was born, but never in his life had her age showed so much.

  “Mother,” he said softly. “I am home.”

  Chapter 5

  Calder

  Nyx’s flowing gown billowed like sea foam around her when she rose and descended the dais, sweeping into Calder’s arms and embracing him in a desperate hug. He accepted his mother’s embrace, returning it with affection.

  “My son, praise the River for bringing you home to me. After all this time I believed you’d fallen into Meri’s trap like all the others. You are the last of the original Thiasoi.”

  “They aren’t dead, Mother,” Calder said stiffly.

  Nyx went rigid and stepped back, the happy expression she’d greeted him with replaced with a stern, cool look. She shook her head. “Whether they are alive or not doesn’t matter anymore. They are compromised. We have no way of knowing how far they have been pulled under Meri’s spell.” Her lips curved up into a thin smile that added no warmth to her expression. “But you are here now. You can have your pick of as many of the nymphs as you would like for mates. They’ll be pleased and honored to have you. Many have never had the experience of coupling with a male of our kind before.”

  Calder’s uncle, Neph, rose from his seat and moved to stand beside his sister. “Leave off the nagging, Nyx. He just got home—no doubt his formal greeting was enough to last until he’s had time to settle in.”

  Nyx gave Neph a weary look. “We need more satyrs to kee
p from becoming extinct. Now that he’s here, he shouldn’t waste time reproducing. Gaia knows you won’t help.”

  Looking back at Calder, she said, “I’m sure you understand how important it is to our security. The nymphs take too big a risk surfacing to find human mates. We need more males in the Haven so we can keep everyone in. But Neph is right, you deserve a rest. Your old quarters are ready for you. I’m sure you’ll find them even more pleasing than before you left.” She gestured at one of the multitude of nymphs that hovered nearby. “Daphne, will you please show my son to his rooms and make sure he has everything he needs?”

  The curly-haired nymph stepped forward with an eager smile, but her expression fell when Neph stepped in front of her, holding up a hand.

  “Daphne, you may leave,” Neph said. “I’m sure my nephew knows the way. He was born here, after all. And I need a private moment with him.”

  He gripped Calder’s arm and led him away.

  Calder pressed his lips together, stifling all the anger that threatened to spew forth in response to his mother’s words. Safe? She was worried about their safety, and this was why she wanted him to bed all the nymphs in the Haven? True, if they wanted male children, they required a satyr to produce them. Nymphs could mate easily with humans, but the product of those unions was only more nymphs.

  He glanced at his silent uncle as they walked side-by-side through the large doorway back onto the piazza that wrapped around the entire hall.

  “What did she mean you haven’t been doing your part? Got tired of being the sole stud for all these mares?”

  Neph grimaced. “It’s more complicated than that and you know it. Your mother’s trying very hard to maintain the integrity of the Haven. Having the ursa on our side helps. The only way to keep our race alive is by restricting access to our home. The ursa have already assisted by increasing the security of the Sanctuary’s barrier. The other routes into the Haven are too great a risk.”

  Calder sensed that his uncle’s words were a rote explanation that lacked any true conviction. He narrowed his eyes. “She can’t cut off the Thiasoi still out there. The only way to truly lock down this place is to close off all access outside the Sanctuary. But doing that would mean permanent exile for everyone who isn’t already inside.”

  Neph sighed and glanced at his hands. Calder stopped short, staring at his uncle’s back. “Please don’t tell me she’s already done that …”

  Neph slowly turned and nodded. “The second she sensed word of your arrival, she contacted the Diviner. No one who lives outside the Haven now has the power to access the River. The only way to get in is to go through the ursa, and they’ve already locked the Sanctuary’s barrier, even to their own kind. Gaia’s Falls … our Source … is under close guard, with orders to capture any who attempt to enter the sacred waters without explicit consent from both myself, your mother, and the ursa Queen.”

  Calder’s neck prickled with rage and he clenched his fists. “And how, pray tell, am I supposed to get back out to find my brothers? My own father is one of the Thiasoi who was captured. Does she have so little love for any of them?”

  Neph’s expression darkened. “She has too much love for Nereus and all your brothers-in-arms. She loves all the nymphaea as if they were her own children, every bit as much as you or your sister. It’s killing her to have to do this, but she believes it’s the choice that needs to be made.”

  “But you don’t agree with her.”

  “It doesn’t matter whether or not I agree,” Neph said, his jaw tightening around the words. “Meri’s hatred of us is more my doing than it is anyone’s. If I hadn’t …” He cut himself off and closed his eyes, exhaling through his teeth to expel the frustration. “None of that matters now. All that matters is making sure we are safe.”

  “Leaving the dragons to deal with Meri while we hide is the last thing we should be doing. I didn’t come back here to hide from my responsibilities. I came to regroup, to find out if any of the Thiasoi had reported in, and then to go back out there to hunt for her. Whatever the fuck you did at the beginning doesn’t matter now. We are all on task for taking care of the problem.”

  Calder started walking again, leaving his uncle behind while he navigated his way down a twisting, moss-covered stone staircase and along the familiar path that led to the far wing of the hall where his quarters were.

  Locked in. His mother had fucking locked them all in the second he’d arrived. This wasn’t part of his plan. If the only way into the Haven was through the ursa Sanctuary, that meant that was the only way out too, and it wouldn’t be an easy one. Unless he changed his mother’s mind, he would have to swim against Gaia’s current, which had never been done before.

  But he couldn’t fucking leave yet, even if the place wasn’t locked down. He couldn’t let his mother persist in this crazy plan of hers to cut off their entire race from the outside world. He had to convince her to see sense, and as old and stubborn as Nyx was, it would take some doing.

  Neph had caught up to him and walked by Calder’s side again. “She’s right about one thing at least,” Neph said. “You are long overdue to take a mate. There are a dozen grottos in the Haven, all with extremely suitable nymphs. You can have as many as you wish—the trio who greeted you are more than appropriate, as members of the new Thiasoi. They haven’t bred with any human men yet, either.”

  “Don’t tell me you believe my mother’s bullshit, Neph. I don’t see you running off to bed any of them now, and it certainly seems that with our satyr situation as dire as it is, you should be the first to step up. I get that we have a shortage of nymphaea males, but we can fix that if we get out there and fucking find them. My father was your best friend. Did you just stop caring about him when he lost contact?”

  Not to mention, he had zero intention of bedding any nymph while he was here. He had an intended mate, but she was outside the Haven. Even though he couldn’t take her as his mate until he fulfilled his vow, the idea of being as cut off from her as he was now made his insides ache.

  But he knew he should stay clear of her until Meri was found and dealt with for good, just as he’d remained clear of any female entanglement since his mission began—a habit he intended to continue. The ones he’d been forced to service while in captivity notwithstanding.

  “You know I cared as deeply for Nereus as if he were my own blood.”

  “Care … you mean you care about him. He is still alive. Just because my mother severed the Thiasoi’s connection to the River doesn’t mean they stopped existing. And I’ll be damned if I’m going to be coerced into mating with any of the nymphs. I had to live with that kind of fucked-up expectation while the Ultiori held me. The only female I mate will be one I already know I love—not just because she gives me an excuse to pursue my taboo desires without admitting the reason.”

  Neph’s head jerked back as though he’d been slapped. His face reddened and he opened his mouth, closed it again, then shook his head. “You know my situation was more complicated than that.”

  “Admit to me that you didn’t love the dragon more than you loved Meri. She was just meant to be the glue between you. You only wanted her because she gave you an excuse to be with him, and you were too fucking blind with love for Aodh that you didn’t see what the scheming bitch was doing. By the time you figured it out, it was too late. Aodh suffered because of it, and you lost everything.”

  Neph had gone pale and still, no doubt horrified to realize that Calder knew all the sordid details of his extremely taboo affair with one of the other immortals. It was a bonus of having been plugged into the River for the last two thousand years or so—he knew all his family’s secrets if he chose to look for them, and he’d had more than enough time to sift through them all during his captivity.

  “It doesn’t matter now,” Neph said stiffly. “Even the River’s power won’t let us change the past … believe me, I’ve tried.”

  “But you can understand why I refuse to be anything less than hones
t about my feelings. You didn’t need Meri … you shouldn’t have had to use melding with her as an excuse to be with him. I’m not going to lie to myself about what I want, Uncle. And what I want is not inside this place.”

  Neph’s eyebrows rose and one twitched quizzically. “So there is a lover out there? Someone you found while locked in a dungeon, was it? Another prisoner? It can’t have been a nymph—the original female Thiasoi were all killed fighting the Ultiori. And you know the law. The higher races …”

  “Don’t you fucking start, you son of a bitch. The higher races don’t interbreed, right? Well, you might want to pull your head out of the sand once in a while, because half of them are already beyond that law. They had to be, to ensure we were all prepared for whatever the Ultiori have cooked up. Meri’s scientists have been intent on cross-breeding their captives for centuries already. They’re close to success. We have no idea what will come of it, but the dragons and the turul at least aren’t wasting any time.”

  And as soon as Meri was fucking caught, he wouldn’t waste time, either, though he had no idea what kind of creature a dragon-satyr union would produce.

  Neph swallowed and looked at Calder. “The dragons have … changed their laws?”

  Calder enjoyed how off-balance the news seemed to make his uncle, his irritation easing when he saw the other man’s hopeful look.

  “Yes. In fact, they’ve relaxed many of their laws and are focused even more closely on increasing their numbers. If that means cross-breeding with the other races to facilitate happy dragons, so be it. Two of the Council have already found turul mates.” He raised his eyebrows, waiting for his uncle to respond.