by Bianca D’Arc
Jared moved toward the archway. “Your leggings were ruined, but I found a few things that might fit and put them in the wardrobe for you.”
“Thank you, Jared.” Her voice went soft as emotion threatened to overwhelm her. “Once again, your thoughtfulness is very much appreciated.”
He just shrugged and left, but Kelzy stayed in the doorway as Adora stood. She walked to the mirror along one wall and examined her back as best she could in the polished metal by the wardrobe. Her skin looked healthy and pink, without a scar in sight. Amazing.
Adora pulled on her own soft leather shirt, needing something familiar to help her deal with the upheaval in her life. She had to search in the wardrobe for leggings that would fit. There was a selection of both skirts and pants in the small cupboard.
Jared must have scrounged clothing from some of the younger boys who lived in the Lair to find leggings that would fit her small frame, and it was these she took from the closet. Adora was used to the feel of soft leather against her skin after having worn the unconventional outfit she’d made for a few weeks.
She needed comfort now. She couldn’t worry about style. The reassuring feel of Kelzy’s shed scales sewn into the layers of her tight-fitting top made her feel good. Adora only hoped her odd clothing wouldn’t offend the prince. He was royalty after all.
More importantly, what would Jared think of the form-fitting outfit? He’d given her the costly leather in the first place, way back when she’d stubbornly refused to leave her home in the woods. That such a gruff man would think of her comfort and safety still touched her deep inside. He’d surprised her with the gift, and the precious dragon scales that rightly should’ve been for his use as Kelzy’s partner. Adora felt bad the outfit she’d spent so much time and effort to make was half destroyed now, but the leather top and matching leggings had undoubtedly saved her life when the skiths attacked. Only the specially treated leather and the few precious dragon scales had stood between her and their poisonous venom. She’d felt special wearing those clothes, because the leather and the scales had been a gift from the complex man who waited even now outside her door.
Would he be shocked by her appearance? Would he think her beautiful? It had been so long since Adora had cared what a man thought of her looks. The very idea of it made her heart speed and her palms sweat like a young, untried girl.
“You’re beautiful, Adora. You were always a pretty child, but you’ve grown into a gorgeous woman, no matter what you’re wearing.”
“So now you’re a mind reader?” Adora raised one eyebrow, turning toward the dragon hovering in her doorway.
“We females always tend to worry about how we look to an attractive male.”
“Kelzy! The prince is young enough to be my son.”
“Is not. Besides, who said I was talking about the prince? It’s Jared I had in mind. And so did you.”
Adora plucked up her courage and strode into the main room, finding the men at the edge of the dragon’s wallow. Jared had installed a soft couch and chairs for human visitors’ comfort. Being the one in charge of the Lair, Jared probably entertained knights who had to speak to him in privacy about one thing or another, she reasoned. Kelzy had told her all about Jared, and she knew the crafty dragon was doing all she could to promote a match between her and the slightly older knight.
For her part, Adora thought Jared was an amazing man, but wasn’t quite sure she could handle any man in her life. Though if she had to choose just one, it would probably be Jared. Still, she knew he’d been hurt badly by the death of his wife and child. It was Jared who always backed off when they seemed to be getting close and she respected his right to do so. She wouldn’t force herself on any man, even if they did live together at this point because of their close—but separate—ties to Kelzy. Kelzy wanted them both living with her and it was usually unwise not to give a dragoness what she wanted.
Adora squared her shoulders and strode with a confidence she didn’t feel to where the men sat. Both had goblets of mulled wine in their hands and were talking easily. Her soft footsteps went unheard as Kelzy moved her great body in the sands, so both men started when she appeared before them. With a lithe grace, she curtsied deeply to the prince in the formal manner.
“Your majesty,” she spoke demurely, “I humbly thank you for your healing skill.”
The prince surprised her, standing to take her hand in his. He raised her easily to stand beside him.
“Then you feel better?”
“Much better, your majesty.”
The prince sighed theatrically. “If you insist on calling me ‘your majesty’ then I’ll have to call you ‘milady’ and we’ll waste all our time on extra words that mean nothing in the grand scheme of things. It’s all so tiresome.” He sniffed with regal disdain, making Jared laugh out loud. “Please, call me Nico and I’ll call you Adora, all right? After all, we’re kin.”
She gasped. “You can’t know that for certain.”
“Oh, I think it’s safe to say that you have the blood of Draneth the Wise in your veins somewhere. Our magics would not have meshed in such an agreeable way had you not.”
Adora swayed on her feet and Nico’s strong arm steadied her, guiding her to sit on the couch. Settling her there, he pressed a full goblet into her trembling hand.
“It’s impossible.”
“No, I’m afraid it’s not. I did some research before I left the castle, and it seems there are quite a few members of the various royal lines unaccounted for through the years. The most likely scenario is that you are the Princess Amelia Jane, who was stolen from her home the same night the rest of her family was killed. The baby princess was never found, though the rest of her family was left where they were slain.”
Adora found herself reaching out for Jared, needing his strength as the prince relayed the sad facts.
“There was some talk at the time about a maidservant who’d gone missing as well, and many of the chroniclers believed the maid took the baby to safety, but she was never seen again.” Nico sat next to them on the long couch, taking her other hand in his. “You would be about the right age to be little Amelia Jane, I think, though you look much younger than your thirty-eight winters.”
Adora gasped. “How did you know my age?” Her eyes sought his, her confusion plain, then understanding dawned. “Oh, sweet Mother! The princess you mentioned. She would be thirty-eight?”
Nico nodded. “This year.”
Adora felt a tear slide down her cheek, followed by another and another. Kelzy growled, crooning in her dragonish way as she had when Adora had been just a child, but it was Jared who pulled her close against his broad chest, comforting her with his warm strength.
“Do you have anything from your childhood, Adora? Anything that might tie you to your past?”
She sniffled, cuddling against Jared as if she belonged there. Turning slightly, she looked up at the handsome prince.
“Only one thing. It’s not much.” With shaking fingers, she reached into the front of her shirt, separating the seams she’d sewn between the layers, reaching for something only she knew was there, just under her heart. “I didn’t even realize what it was until recently when Kelzy gave me her shed scales. My mother gave it to me when I got married. She said it was an ancient and valuable good luck talisman that I should keep with me wherever I lived. She told me to keep it a secret, instructing me to hide it under my mattress and to never let anyone see it. One day, she said, I’d need it. I guess that day has come.” She pulled out a gleaming black panel that was wafer thin and resilient as only true dragon scale could be. Nico went silent as she handed the evidence of her heritage to him. “But I’ve never seen a black dragon scale before.”
Jared’s arms tightened around her. Adora’s breath caught in her throat as the prince turned the gleaming black scale over in his hands, studying it with an odd sort of knowledge. Kelzy’s head loomed up over his shoulder, then suddenly, Nico spun to hold the deep black scale up to the drago
n.
“Anybody you know?” Nico held up the scale like an offering as Kelzy reached out her long tongue, licking the black scale delicately with just the tip.
“Not your direct line.” Kelzy was more serious than Adora had ever seen her. “I think it likely to be from the line of Kent, but we need a dragon who knew one of them personally. I think Sandor served Prince Fileas when he was just a dragonet. He arrived at this Lair recently. I’ll call him.”
While they waited for one of the older male dragons to make his way to them, Adora moved away from Jared’s tempting strength. She sat up straight on the couch and tried to gather her scattered emotions. She felt shaky, but she knew Jared was there should she need him. It was a reassuring feeling.
“I never would have guessed you were over thirty, Adora.” She felt Jared’s hand stroking her hair softly and turned to look into his amazingly gentle eyes.
“I have a grown daughter, Jared. And I had twins before her.”
“You must have been a child bride.” Jared’s teasing lightened her heart.
“Twins?” The prince turned back to her. “Where are they now?”
“I don’t know. They were stolen from me when they were just little girls.”
After the revelations of the last moments, it was devastating to think about the little girls she’d lost so cruelly. Adora gripped the cushions of the couch until her knuckles turned white. Jared must have seen her distress. He pried one hand up from its death grip on the couch and grasped it firmly between his own rough fingers. His silent encouragement meant the world to her in that moment.
“Girls?” The prince ran a rough hand through his hair. “Merciful Mother.”
“What?” Adora’s gaze went from the prince to Jared to Kelzy.
It was Jared who finally answered. “Royals, probably because of the wizard blood, have more twin sets than is usual. Twin girls are a rarity, though. Few girl children are born to any of the royal lines, and only very rarely in pairs.”
“Sandor approaches.”
A large, battle-scarred dragon with coppery brown coloring entered the archway leading to Kelzy’s suite. He started in surprise when he saw the prince and bowed his great head in respect.
“How can I serve you, my prince?” The newcomer’s voice boomed with resonance through the minds of all present.
Nico walked up to the huge copper dragon and held out the black scale. “Do you recognize this? Can you tell us who it may have belonged to?”
This new dragon repeated Kelzy’s odd licking gesture and then his garnet eyes opened wide. “Fileas! This scale belonged to Prince Fileas.”
Adora was confused. “Fileas was a dragon?”
Nico turned back to her, his hazel eyes shining. “Yes, he was. As am I.”
Jared stood at Adora’s back, his presence reassuring as a black mist began to form in front of their eyes. Between one moment and the next the prince was gone and a sleek black dragon stood in his place. He was somewhat smaller than the other dragons, but obviously built for speed. He also had sparkling tourmaline eyes—eerily like the hazel gaze of Prince Nico.
“The only black dragons are of the royal line. We alone have the ability to shift our shape from human to dragon, and it is that dual nature that solidifies this land’s ties with dragons and humans alike.”
“Prince Nico?”
“It’s him, Adora,” Jared assured her. She walked up to the prince and reached out hesitantly, but the black dragon moved forward into her touch with his sleek black-scaled head.
“Incredible.” Her voice was a breath of a whisper. “You’re dragon and human? Half and half?”
The dragon lifted one shoulder as if to shrug. “That’s one way of looking at it. But Adora, if you are the daughter of Fileas as we believe, then half of you is dragon too.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
Kelzy claimed her attention. “Think about it, child. Why did you seek me out when you were just a baby? How did you even know where to find me? My lair was well hidden. None of the humans in the area knew I was even there until you toddled off to find me.”
“I can’t shift into dragon form and fly away with you, Mama Kelzy.” Her sarcastic tone was laced with shock and a bit of fear.
The very idea of Prince Nico being able to shift into dragon form tantalized her, though Adora knew in her heart it was impossible for her. Surely if that kind of power existed inside her, it would have made itself known long before now. Sure, she had a little healing talent, but most of the healing she did relied on skills learned through hard work and trial and error, not dragon magic. Or any other kind of magic at all, for that matter.
The black dragon moved closer. “Royal females generally can’t shift, but they are usually healers of great skill and ability. Their dragon magic manifests itself in the healing arts—the Dragon’s Breath made human, if you will. I understand your daughter is a dragon healer.”
The prince stepped back from her and the black mist swirled, leaving him human again, clothed all in black leather, before her. That was some powerful magic indeed.
“Sweet Mother! Belora.” Adora’s legs gave out and she found herself hoisted back onto the couch, wrapped securely in Jared’s strong arms.
“She healed Rohtina,” he reminded her gently.
At this point, the huge copper dragon craned his neck forward to lay his great head at Adora’s feet. A rare tear sparkled in his deep garnet eyes. His tongue flicked out to touch the back of her hand and she started.
“You are Fileas’ daughter. You’re little Amelia Jane. Thank the Mother that you’ve finally found your way home to us.” The tear leaked out of his eye and tumbled onto her hand, a sparkling magical gem showing the great extent of emotion he was feeling. “I served your father when I was just a youngster. I was away when the attack came, on a quest issued by your sire, but if I’d been there, I would have given my life for his. He was a great man. You have his eyes, though you have your mother’s smile and her beautiful hair. I stand by my pledge to your sire and I will serve you and your line all my days, if you will have me.”
Adora was moved to tears by the dragon’s solemn pledge. She reached forward and touched his long snout, rubbing gently and feeling the magic inside her tingle in a way it never had before.
“You’re hurt,” she thought, surprised when the dragon answered her.
“An old wound, my princess. Nothing to worry over.”
“Wait.” Adora felt the healing energy gather and suddenly overflow from her into the dragon, shining light all around them as her energy came alive as never before. She looked at the dragon’s left foreleg and the awkward angle at which it was held. It had been broken sometime in the recent past and set badly.
He hid it well, but Sandor was in a great deal of pain that communicated itself to her when she touched him. Sometimes it was like that for her with human patients, but never had Adora felt such a response with a dragon. Then again, the only dragon she’d ever known before now was Kelzy and she’d always been quite healthy.
As they all watched, the magic flowed, and Sandor’s leg straightened out, the lines of pain just visible around the dragon’s eyes easing. Adora pulled away and felt the residual high of the magic already beginning to fade in her body. It felt much like it did when she did a complex human healing, but with so much more energy. It was very nearly overwhelming.
Adora sank back and Jared was there for her.
“Do you really have any more doubts about who you are, Adora? You’re my cousin,” the prince said, kneeling at her side. “You’re Princess Amelia Jane of the House of Kent.”
“That’s not my name.”
“It was.” Nico shook his head. “But you never knew it, did you? You’ll be Princess Adora from now on, of the House of Kent. Welcome back to the family, cousin.”
Adora tried to focus but was fast losing energy. It was a phenomenon she knew well. She had overextended herself in healing Sandor, but it was worth it to know he was
whole again and no longer in pain. She just needed sleep to recover.
“Thank you, my princess,” Sandor said gravely in her mind. “I’m only sorry you tired yourself so on my behalf.”
“I’m fine. I just need sleep.”
Jared lifted her into his arms as she leaned back against him, cuddling close to his warmth. He felt so good. It was heaven to rely on his strength for just this short moment.
“I’ll seek you out when you wake, princess. I have no knight partner at present, but I would be your guardian as I was your father’s before you.”
“That’s nice,” she mumbled. “You’re such a pretty copper color.”
The dragon’s voice rumbled comfortingly through her mind as she drifted into unconsciousness. “I match the lights in your hair, as I matched your mother’s.”
Jared found himself again tucking Adora into the bed in the guest chamber that was now hers. Kelzy wanted her adopted human daughter close and Jared found himself wanting to keep Adora close for entirely different reasons. If he wasn’t very careful, he could easily lose his heart to such an amazing woman. But his heart was too badly damaged to take such a chance again.
He realized, despite his best intentions, he had spent a great deal of time in Adora’s room in the past few days, tucking the covers around this small, puzzling woman. No, he thought ruefully, make that this small, puzzling princess.
He could still hardly believe Adora was lost royalty. True, she was not in direct line for the throne. In fact, her family line was quite remote from the ruling line—only very distant cousins at best—but the fact they had bred true and the males of the House of Kent could shift to dragon form made them all princes and princesses of the realm. It was a closely guarded secret—and something of a legend now to the people of this land—that their kings were descended from dragons.
Few now knew how true the legend really was. Not only were they part dragon, but the males actually could become dragons when they chose. It was a very useful ability and one that allowed them to rule wisely over both human and dragon kind, giving them personal insight into both races.