by Bianca D’Arc
The tall man who emerged from the shadows a few moments later—dressed all in black, with the same gleaming dark light in his hazel eyes as that of the dragon—strode forward confidently though he’d never visited this Lair before. The sentries bowed to him, as was his due, and received a regal nod in return.
He was not the king, but he was damn close. Prince Nico preferred to leave the political intrigues to his older brother while he engaged in more…stealthy pursuits. As spymaster for the king, he was aptly suited to the task at hand. Nico had not arrived at this new Border Lair by accident. No, he was on a mission of the highest importance to the royal family. His mission would either bring rare royal blood back into the fold or expose an imposter.
The Prince of Spies. That’s what the dragons laughingly called him and it was an apt title. He prided himself on his ability to get in and out of places with none the wiser to his presence, but the trip to this out-of-the-way Lair was official business.
“Greetings, Lady Kelzy. What news do you have for me?” Nico sent the message to the mind of the blue-green dragon whose glistening body was spread out in the wallow before him. He’d known the layout of the new Lair even before he left the palace and had made it his business to know where the leaders of this particular Lair lived. Kelzy’s head rose in surprise, swiveling on the long, sinuous neck to face him. Her aquamarine eyes glinted with happiness.
“Nico! You’re here already. I should have known you’d hear about the events of the last few days before we could send official word.”
Prince Nico loved the easy manner of this particular dragon. She had taught him a great deal as a youngster and guarded him when he was still too young to protect himself. In a way, she had been like a second mother to him and his brothers, though she was just one of many dragons who served the royal family directly.
Her knight partner, though, was one of Nico’s favorite people in the world. Sir Jared had taught him to fight and how to protect himself. He had also trained the young prince in the arts that helped him become not only a spy and reluctant politician, but a true diplomat when it was needed.
Prior to the tragedy that had taken his wife and child from him, Sir Jared Armand had been one of the old king’s most trusted counselors. That one horrible event had taken the spark from Jared’s eyes and sent him into self-imposed exile in the mountains. It was there Kelzy found him and finally claimed the man as her knight partner. The soul-deep bond between dragon and knight gave Jared renewed purpose, though he was still alone and would probably never marry again. The first time had undoubtedly been much too painful to bear.
Nico bowed in respect to the motherly dragon and smiled as she moved closer to him.
“It’s true then, what I’ve heard? You’ve found a mother and daughter who possess the royal gifts?”
Kelzy’s large head bobbed in eagerness. “Both Adora and her daughter, Belora, are true healers. Belora healed a mortal wound to Rohtina, the dragon partner of Lars, one of Belora’s mates.”
“How did Rohtina come by her injuries?”
“You mean you don’t already know?” Kelzy’s eyes snapped in humor at the Prince of Spies.
“Actually, I can guess. Skiths, right?” He fairly spit the name of the huge, snake-like creatures that gave the neighboring kingdom its name. The king of Skithdron was using the skiths on the border—herding them and coaxing them across the border to destroy villages and towns in preparation for a large-scale invasion. The man was mad, Nico suspected. It was said King Lucan had spent too much time tampering with magics better left alone. Rumor had it dark magics had changed him and warped his mind.
Skiths were killing machines that slaughtered everything in their path. The only thing they were even remotely afraid of was fire, and luckily, the dragons had that in quantity.
“The skiths attacked Adora. Jared and I had to snatch her from a tree. Rohtina and my son, Kelvan, engaged the skiths below. That’s how Rohtina was so badly injured. She got too close to the skiths and nearly paid with her life.”
“Where is the woman now?”
Kelzy’s great head rotated to the doorway where she had been resting when he came in. The suite was arranged, like most sets of rooms in any Lair, around the central, heated oval sand pit that was the dragon’s wallow. All the rooms flowed around the wallow with archways large enough for the dragons to lay their heads in if they so desired. In this way, the dragons and their human families could be together in all things.
“She lives with you?”
“She is like a daughter to me. When my last knight died, I went into the forest to grieve and recover. I met little Adora there. She was only a toddler when she first found my cave. I returned her to her family, but none of them could hear me.”
“But she could?”
Kelzy nodded slowly. They both knew the ability to hear dragons was passed from generation to generation. If neither of the people who claimed to be Adora’s true parents could hear the dragon as the child could, they were not her birth family.
“She spent most of her time with me until she was just coming into her teen years. That’s when your parents were killed and your brother, Roland, took the throne. I moved back to the palace then to aid Roland in his new duties, but it became clear to me over time that he needed wise counsel. When things had settled and Roland was steadier in his role as king, I set off on my quest, in search of Jared. I remembered him from when he’d served your father. He’d always impressed me as a strong warrior and never failed to give your father good counsel. I hoped he could be convinced to do the same for your brother. It took a while to find him, but when I did…”
“You chose him as your new knight partner.” Nico finished her sentence with a respectful nod.
Kelzy’s eyes dimmed with remembered sadness. “I lost track of Adora, I’m shamed to say. I went back to look for her years later, but she was long gone. Her family had moved and no one knew where they went.”
“And you just found her again, after all these years?”
“Actually, my son, Kelvan, found her daughter. The girl was poaching in the forest and they argued over a stag. When she met my son’s partner, Gareth, he knew he’d found his mate. We celebrated their joining shortly after. When Kelvan met Adora that first day, she talked of the dragon she knew in her youth and from her description, he knew she was talking about me. He convinced her to come here for a visit and we were reunited.” The dragon’s jeweled eyes sparkled with remembered happiness. “But Adora is a dedicated healer and wanted to return to her hut in the forest so she could tend her patients in the nearby village. When the skiths overran the village, they nearly got her too.”
“You said she climbed a tree to get away from them? She sounds like a brave woman.”
“Brave and ingenious! Jared gave her some treated leather before we left her in the forest and she fashioned it into the most remarkable garments. I asked Jared to give her some of my shed scales and she sewed them between layers of leather in her boots and in strategic spots on her clothes. She got sprayed pretty thoroughly with skith venom, but not a scratch on her.”
“Then why is she recuperating? How did she get hurt?”
“That was my doing. I had to snatch her out of the tree and I clipped her with my talons.” Kelzy seemed very upset by the incident. “I hurt my own girl! How could I have been so clumsy?”
“It happens to the best of us, Lady Kelz. It’s hard to be perfectly accurate all the time, much less under combat conditions, with such sharp talons. Don’t be so hard on yourself.”
“You’re a good boy, Nico.”
The prince laughed outright. “Only you would have the nerve to call me that, Lady Kelz.”
At that moment, Jared emerged from the doorway Kelzy had indicated was Adora’s room, surprising Nico. The older knight looked worn and tired, but there was a light in his eyes that had been missing for many, many years.
“Nico, my boy! When did you get here?”
A smile spilt
the older man’s face as he moved forward to catch Nico in a fierce hug. Jared was one of the few people in the world who would dare approach Nico and his siblings with such familiarity, but he was also one of the few people in the world who Nico actually loved as if he were part of his own family. Jared had been there for him after his parents’ deaths, and for that he would forever love the slightly older, wiser man.
“I just got here a few minutes ago. Kelzy was filling me in on the history of your guest.”
“Adora.” The way Jared spoke the woman’s name sent up warning signals in Nico’s mind. There was something between them, he realized with a start, though he never thought Jared would heal enough to let another woman into his life, even just a little.
“You think she’s of royal blood?”
Jared nodded. “I can’t see any other explanation for what’s happened. Her daughter definitely has the wizard gift. She healed a dragon’s mortal wounds in front of half the Lair. They’re all treading on eggshells around her now from what I hear.” Jared chuckled, offering Nico a drought of mulled wine from the sideboard. “You’ll stay with us, won’t you?”
Nico took the goblet and smiled. “I’d enjoy that. If I’m here long enough.”
“Adora stirs.” Kelzy sent her thoughts to both men. Jared instantly moved to the archway, a look of touching concern on his weathered face. Nico suspected the older knight was already half in love with the mysterious woman who could very well be a lost member of the royal family.
“Perhaps I can help?”
Nico didn’t make the offer lightly. The royal line was said to be among the last of the wizard blood in this realm, and each of them had some healing talent. Nico didn’t use his often, but it was there. He could do small healings, but his true magic was something far different. Still, if he could help this woman who clearly meant so much to two beings he valued so highly, he would do what he could.
Kelzy’s glowing eyes pinned him. “Would you? Oh, Nico, I’d be forever grateful! We don’t have another true healer in this Lair. Her daughter’s gift only works on dragons, not humans.”
Nico knew the dragon didn’t bother stating the obvious—that Kelzy’s own magical healing ability, known as the Dragon’s Breath, could not heal wounds made by dragons or that Adora’s own healing skills were useless on her own wounds. It was a quirk of magic that healers generally couldn’t heal themselves.
The prince followed Jared into the small guest room, noting instantly the unusual tenderness with which the older knight stilled the thrashing body of a small woman mostly hidden under the covers. Nico moved closer to stand on the other side of the bed as Kelzy’s head filled the doorway, watching all closely. The dragon hovered over the woman as if she was truly her own dragonet, and Nico had to hide a smile at Kelzy’s completely un-dragonish behavior. That was one of the many things he loved about this particular dragon. She never let anyone—be they dragon or human, prince or pauper—dictate her actions. Kelzy was her own dragon, through and through.
Nico could see the woman more clearly now and she was exquisite. Only a little older than him, she looked somewhere near thirty winters or so. Though if she had a grown daughter, she must be a bit older than that. Still, she was a beauty. Her flowing hair was auburn in the dim light of the room and her features could almost be described as fragile, though what he could see of her bare arms were lithely muscled. She had not lived a life of leisure, but she looked every inch the fair damsel. And she was most definitely in distress.
Jared soothed the woman and drew her onto her stomach, pulling the blanket away from her loose bandages. Three angry red, parallel furrows were partially covered by light swaths of linen across her back.
“Adora, wake up.” Jared spoke softly near her ear and her head shifted sideways toward the knight.
Nico saw her eyes open and was stunned by the deep green reflected there. Most of the royal line had green eyes. His own hazel color was the exception rather than the rule.
“Adora, we have a guest. He has a bit of healing skill and is willing to try and help you.” She looked as if she would have objected, but Jared placed a finger over her pouty lips, stilling her words. “Just lie still and let us do this for you. You haven’t slept well and it pains Kelzy to see you hurting. Think of her before you object.”
Nico sensed the resignation in the woman as she turned her tired green eyes to the doorway.
“For you, Mama Kelzy.”
Nico was amazed by the mental communication all three of them heard in their minds. Unskilled, but powerful, this small woman showed yet another of the gifts of the royal line. While knights could certainly communicate with dragons in such a way, it was a rare female human who could even hear dragons, much less send their own thoughts. All royals could do it, of course, but such a gift was rarer than emeralds among regular folk.
The woman settled down with a sigh, her magnificent green eyes closing as she trusted the men to do what they would. It was clear she had no doubts that Kelzy and Jared would protect her. She trusted them, which was undoubtedly why she didn’t question his presence. That and her own pain and fatigue conspired to make his job easier. Willing patients were always preferable to those who were in too much pain to lie quietly. Nico’s healing talent was small when compared to some of his kin, so it was important he be able to focus without too much distraction.
Jared stripped away the bandages with a gentle hand, and Nico was surprised by just how badly this little woman was injured. She had borne her injuries without much complaint from what he’d just seen and that was remarkable in his experience. He’d seen these kinds of wounds before and they weren’t pleasant. The gouges were deep. Neat and clean, but very deep. Without help, they would take weeks to heal and scar badly, but he thought he could at least speed up the process, to help limit the scarring and take away the worst of the pain.
Focusing his energies, Nico reached out and touched the woman with just his fingertips. Then the strangest thing happened. A flare of light filled the small chamber as his energies met and reacted to hers. There was a moment of resistance, then a moment of pure bliss as the woman’s magic welcomed his, aiding him in the healing and directing his meager skill with all the knowledge and power of a highly skilled healer.
Nico found himself wielding the strong healing power with ease. The serious wounds were no challenge to the incredible energy that echoed through him. When he sat back after a few minutes, all of them were smiling and Adora’s back was whole and unblemished.
“Merciful Mother.” Nico stared at her back in amazement. “That’s never happened before.”
“Your energies recognized each other. They meshed so you could work together.” Kelzy spoke softly to all of them. “This cements it then. Adora has royal blood. This just proved it.”
Adora shifted in the bed, clutching the blanket to her nakedness as she looked at the strange man at her side.
“Who are you?”
The rogue smiled and bowed, winking at her. “My name is Nico.”
“The Prince of Spies,” Kelzy supplied with a dragonish cough of laughter. “We’ll have to track down exactly where you come from, Adora, but this boy is probably a distant cousin of yours. Don’t let the fact that he’s a prince stop you from boxing his ears if he gets too fresh.”
“Prince Nicolas?” Adora’s eyes widened even more as she realized the prince had just healed her and was even now watching her lounge, half-naked, in bed. Could this day get any stranger?
“I’ll leave you to dress, milady. We have much to discuss as soon as you’re ready.”
The prince winked at her again and walked easily out the door, past Kelzy’s bulky head, leaving Adora alone once again with Jared. She looked up at him, seeking answers.
“Did the prince just heal my back?”
Jared chuckled but nodded solemnly, his eyes twinkling. “Nico is an old friend, Adora. I’ve known him since he was just a boy. He’s still a bit of a rascal, but a good lad. He came to s
ee if you were what you claim to be.”
“I don’t claim to be anything!”
Jared shook his head. “That was a bad choice of words on my part. I should have said what you appear to be.”
“Why?” A knot of fear settled in her stomach and unreasonable anger battled with panic just below the surface. “Just what do I appear to be?”
Jared eyed her bare shoulders, making her all too aware she was naked under the blanket. He stepped back and seemed to force his gaze to meet hers.
“Royalty, milady.”
“You’ve got to be kidding.”
He twisted his lips wryly. “I’m afraid not. Your daughter healed Rohtina’s wounds. Healing dragons—now that’s a gift reserved to those of royal blood alone, Adora, and you bespeak dragons as easily as a knight. Kelzy heard you call her when you were hiding in that tree. Even I couldn’t reach her over such a distance, and we’re bonded.”
“It was an emergency. Sometimes people can do amazing things when faced with a life or death situation.”
“That may be the case for others, Adora, but I believe you’ll find no ready explanation for the way your magic sparked off the prince’s just now. I think the magics recognized each other and that allowed him to use your knowledge and his gift to do a more thorough healing than that lad has ever been able to do before. He’s not a strong healer. The most I expected was for him to be able to speed your healing a bit and maybe take some of the pain. Kelzy will back me on this.”
Adora shot her gaze to the dragon whose head still filled her doorway. “What Jared says is true. Nico has never been a strong healer. His talents lie elsewhere.”
She stared at them both, speechless for a moment. Flopping her hands down on the blanket, she shook her head.
“I can’t deal with this right now. I’ve got to get dressed. There’s a prince waiting out there for me to make my royal appearance, for heavens’ sake! Go away, Jared, and let me dress. I’ll deal with all of this once I have some clothes on.”