by Sariah Skye
“What about Babua?” I questioned.
“They’re debating. There’s been no word from Zyanhei,” Kiarra said, with a sigh.
I laughed shortly. “Doesn’t surprise me.”
“They are, of course, wary of your appointment. I think Dreka at least is sending someone along just to check you out. They’re not entirely convinced that you didn’t manipulate the Court as was rumored,” Kiarra said ruefully.
I rolled my eyes. “Of course they are. Well whatever. Can’t believe they’ve responded this soon,” I mused aloud.
She shrugged. “Well, most kingdoms are allowing the use of email and cell phones, so messages get through a lot quicker than before. That, and Valessia is very persuasive.”
“I’ll bet.” I sighed, just as my stomach took that moment to rumble loudly. “Crap…”
Kiarra laughed. “I was preparing breakfast for your family at your home. When I got the news from Finnian that we’d caught Connor, Miradoste took over. It should be about finished. Let’s go.”
I grinned widely. “Thank god.”
“I know expending all that energy you and Maxxus have been lately sure makes for an empty stomach,” Kiarra said, in jest.
I elbowed her. “Stop, seriously.” I blushed profusely. Link let out an uncomfortable cough.
“Do you guys want to join us?” I asked, looking at both Loremasters.
“That’d be great, thank you,” Finnian replied, and Kiarra motioned for them to follow, and I ran to catch up with Finnian.
“Do you have a second?” I asked him.
He raised a brow suspiciously. “Not sure I like the sound of this.”
“Everything okay?” Kiarra paused to inquire.
“I’ll catch you up later,” I said pointedly, indicating that I needed a moment alone with the Loremaster.
She nodded slowly. “All right.” Kiarra and Link continued to the house. Finnian and I slackened our pace to give us some privacy.
“What is it?” Finnian’s eyes flashed a muddy brownish-yellow, with curiosity when he figured they were out of earshot.
“I had a dream. Last night—after I was in the infirmary,” I replied cautiously. “I’m not sure…”
Finnian immediately looked concerned. He reached out his hand, and asked, “May I see?”
I nodded quickly. “Please.” I would feel relieved if he could see that it was just that: a dream.
Finnian gently touched my cheek and shut his eyes. They flitted underneath his eyelids as he viewed the dream in my mind. After a moment, they quickly flew open; his irises white as snow before they went back to normal.
“Oh…that’s not good,” I said.
Finnian shook his head quickly. “No, it’s not. It was most definitely Shadows.”
“Shit.” I looked down at my feet and kicked a nearby rock.
“You weren’t seeing them in your mind, though,” Finnian continued quickly. “But through Daxie’s eyes. You literally went to her, in her mind, and pulled her away from the Shadows.”
My eyes widened. “I did?”
“Yes, you did. It’s remarkable, actually. And not altogether unsurprising,” Finnian said. “But, that just reminds us that, dealing with the Shadowtouched makes you susceptible. You had a hard time conjuring your magic…what if it was more than a child next time? An adult? The Shadows might be stronger, and—”
I gestured for him to stop. “Yeah. I get it. Careful on the healing.”
“For now,” Finnian insisted. “We’ll find a better way to get you in there. In the meantime, we’ll use our potions and things and let them work. Your healing is the last resort.”
I nodded, reluctantly but in agreement. “Okay.”
“Good. Well shall we?” he nodded towards Kiarra and Link who were already much further than us, and we continued the walk silently behind them. My stomach continued to grumble and I wished we could fly, but neither Kiarra or I had our leather magic bands that allowed for our clothing to remain undamaged so shifting wasn’t an option. It was for the better, anyway. The air was crisp and cool and it allowed me to wake up some before I had to be “on”. Now that our home was officially the spot for a lot of Court dealings, I would have to be “monarching” earlier than normal, and I needed to be composed.
“Feels like snow soon!” Kiarra said, just as Finnian and I arrived just behind her and Link. A blast of chilly air whipped through the fields, rustling our clothing and hair.
Link was positively shivering by the time we reached the front door; his lips nearly blue. He was only wearing a t-shirt and jeans, and even though I’d volunteered to give him my robes he refused; saying it wasn’t okay to take clothing from women. I raised a brow, wondering just where his old-fashioned attitude was from—or when. He looked only in his early twenties but I knew he could be much older than that with his Loremaster magic.
I warmed up my hands with a touch of light magic and blew it towards him. He shuddered as it hit his shoulders and trickled downwards; the color drained back into his cheeks and he smiled at me appreciatively. “Thank you,” he said.
Kiarra led the way in—I laughed to myself thinking about how comfortable she’d become in our family home—and announced my arrival, as well as the two Loremasters. “All hail the queen!” she hollered, letting the door slam shut behind us.
I groaned. “Did you have to do that?”
She smiled mischievously. “Oh yes, yes I did.”
My grandfather came trailing down the stairway, Braeden close behind him.
“There she is!” he said, and I felt the sudden desire despite my resentment towards him to go running up and be swept away in his arms. Instead, I remained reserved and just nodded at him. “Hello, Elder,” I said cooly.
The smile on his face quickly fell and he nodded cordially. “Highness. And company. Good to see you gentlemen again,” he said to the Loremasters.
“Brae, can you get Link here some heavy robes? I don’t think he anticipated how cold it would be here and I think he’d appreciate it,” I said to my brother with a wink towards the Loremaster.
“Of course. Sorry about that; the weather team has been sort of slack lately with the Shadows and all. We’ll probably get snowfall a lot earlier than usual.” He motioned up the stairs and asked Link to follow and they disappeared up to my brother’s wing.
“Where’s your betrothed?” my grandfather asked, noticing Maxxus’ absence.
“The mage was caught; they’re bringing him to the dungeon. I’m not sure what we’ll do next, but at least we know he was the cause of the destruction in Castle Danger. Or he was being controlled, at least,” I said.
My grandfather clicked his tongue, stroking his long beard. “By who? Cyril?” my grandfather shuddered in the middle of his sentence.
“Indirectly at least, but probably. But who’s the middleman? Don’t know.”
My grandfather had a worried look on his worn face. “Troubling…troubling indeed.”
I was in agreement.
Kiarra was already to the dining room, waving us in. “Come on guys, let’s eat! Before Leo has to do something royal!”
I groaned, and we followed her to the dining room. The official banners of the Court had been hung up on the wall, draped with a gauzy black covering, indicating that we were a Court in distress with all our losses.
My father and mother sat at one end of the table, conversing quietly. They both stood upon my entering the room.
I held up my hands and prompted them to sit. “Please, just pretend it’s like old times and you hate me. That’s easier to deal with then all the reverence, seriously.”
My father’s dark eyes lifted slightly. “Oh Leorah, don’t be so modest. It’s not often parents get to witness their children in such a prominent position. Let us enjoy it, okay?”
My mother had raised from her seat and disappeared into the kitchen to get more food and plates for everyone, Kiarra hot on her heels. Finnian pulled out a chair for me and motioned for
me to sit. I shoved him playfully but obliged.
“Seriously, stop you guys. I’m still the same old Leo.”
“Except you are a savior and have more magic here than everyone combined, sure,” my father retorted. “Oh, and there’s that queen thing.”
I snickered, rolling my eyes. “Oh whatever. It’s just temporary.”
“You keep saying that. Maybe you’ll like it and want to stay,” he said. “Speaking of, where’s Maxxus? Aren’t you two inseparable now?”
I bit my lip to hide my smile. “He had some business to take care of. But they’ll be along shortly along with Gabe and Dan,” I replied.
His eyes widened. “Mira! We need more food!” he hollered. “Those humans can eat…” he said, bemused under his breath. I laughed. That was saying a lot, coming from a dragon.
She and Kiarra came out carrying plates of breakfast meats, biscuits, and heavenly white gravy. I practically drooled as my mother set a plate in front of me.
“Good morning, dearest,” she greeted, a smile on her face. She leaned over and offered me a motherly peck on the temple. I beamed under her affection. Grown or not, you never outgrew your parents’ adoration (even if outwardly, you deny it).
Kiarra set down two drinks in front of me: a mug of black coffee and a glass of orange juice. I grab my fork and dug in to a slice of ham on my plate.
Link entered at that moment, saying that Braeden had to go assist in the dungeon and he’d be joining us shortly.
“Do we even have enough guards to keep him subdued? He’s really, really strong,” I asked with concern.
My father nodded. “Yes, that won’t be an issue. Though, you won’t like who one of them is.”
“Who—” I immediately grimaced. “Lorusto.”
“He’s an ass, surely. But he’ll do his job,” my father said.
My mother snorted. “Yeah, because he’s too afraid of Maxxus killing him to mess up. Especially now that he’s the king, and you’re bonded.”
I let out a wild laugh. “I’d like to see him squirm!” I was in mid-bite when Finnian pulled out his phone next to me. He swiped across the screen and looked at me, wide-eyed.
“What is it? Bad news?” I gulped in fear. I didn’t think I could handle any more bad news.
“For once, no. Prelate Yarrem has been found!” he said, tapping furiously with his thumbs into the display.
I gasped. I forced myself to swallow, cringing at the large bite and asked, “Oh my god! Is he okay?”
“Shaken, but he is okay. Evie is looking over him right now.” Finnian nodded at Link and they both stood. “Thanks for breakfast. Sorry to eat and run, but this is very urgent.”
“Of course,” my mother said. “Royal orders.”
“Can I come?” I asked, standing.
“You can do whatever you want, but I want to limit your exposure to Castle Danger. It still isn’t totally scrubbed; and you’re vulnerable. Obviously,” Finnian said, but he turned to my parents and grandfather. “I could use your help though, for now. At least Elder Aleron, and one other of you, please.”
My father stood, pushing in his chair. “Anything you need.”
My grandfather motioned out of the dining room, and he and my father followed both Loremasters out.
“Guess it’s just us girls, huh?” Kiarra quipped, as I sat in my chair and puffed out my lower lip.
“I could have helped…” I said, petulantly.
My mother reached out to pat my arm. “I know Leo. Just let them do their thing. Your father feels like he must over-compensate now for all we couldn’t do for you growing up. Let him have it,” she said, with a wink.
I sighed. “Okay, okay.”
“Eat up,” Kiarra prompted, poking at my plate. “They’ll be a little while.”
I took a long sip of juice and took another bite of my ham and biscuits…and another. And another. I didn’t realize I was eating so rapidly, but I looked up a few moments later and both Kiarra and my mother were giving me odd looks.
“Yeah, you don’t want all your future baby drakes to go hungry now, do you?” Kiarra said with a smirk, and I choked on my food.
“What is that supposed to mean?” I demanded, giving her an odd look.
“Well, a healthy appetite is a sign of the body getting ready for mating,” my mother said, rather blandly. I wrinkled my nose.
“Ew. Don’t talk about that. And besides I have months before I get to that point. Probably just as well,” I said, trying to keep the dryness out of my tone.
“Why is that?” Kiarra asked. “I know you want to.”
I shrugged. “Given the Shadow shit going on, it’s probably better we wait.”
“Is that what you want?” my mother asked.
“When has what I wanted ever really been taken into consideration? I know—everything was done for my safety, and I get it. If everything had worked out the way I wanted it, Maxxus and I would have been bonded years ago and already had a drake or two. We’d be living in a quiet little home by the river and that’d be it. I wouldn’t have these freakish powers.” I sighed, setting my fork down I looked at Kiarra. “Looks like you’ll have to be the one having the baby drakes, Ki.”
Her eyes widened. “Oh—I don’t know—”
I exchanged a look with my mother, who smiled.
“Well whatever you two do, just know we’ll be here for you. Now that I actually can be totally here,” my mother said wistfully. “I hope all this stuff is over soon; been a long time since I did the baby thing. It’d be fun.”
“Soon Mom. Soon.” I felt my heartstrings tear not only seeing her sad face but feeling the longing in my own heart. Suddenly, though I’d left about a quarter of my plate and I was hungry, I’d lost my appetite. “I’m going to go take a shower. Grandfather hopefully still left my things in my room, yes?”
My mother nodded. “He left most everything untouched. He basically just sleeps there to give the duchess her privacy.”
“Okay. Let me know when Yarrem arrives, okay?” I instructed them. They both nodded and I went upstairs to take a shower, change my clothes, and try to be presentable. Kiarra said she’d join me in a little bit to help, and I was grateful for the alone time right now.
With Connor Styles in the dungeon, and Prelate Yarrem found; that meant we’d be able to hopefully reach out better to Zyanhei. I was going to have to Queen it up, and hard today.
It was going to be a long day.
Chapter 9
I hadn’t noticed how drained and sore I was until I stepped into the shower, and I took a bit longer than I should have. The hot water pounding on my back and shoulders was heavenly and exhilarating. When I was finished, and wrapped myself with a towel I noticed the reason for the soreness: a handful of fingertip shaped bruises all over my body, as well as a couple of teeth marks. I cringed. Certainly, I hadn’t noticed it while they happened. There was truth after all to the raging hormones that came with bonding, because at the time, everything felt divine. I also realized I was probably more of a masochist than I had previously been willing to admit. It had just been so damn long…
I tried to pull for my healing magic from inside and waved my palm over each bruise. I felt the warming and a tell-tale tingle that the magic was working, however it didn’t really seem to help. At all. I frowned, remembering what Gabriel had said about Niall and Cyril; that Niall frequently had to help Cyril heal himself. I really didn’t want to ask Gabriel to help me with this but, hopefully after a shift it should improve.
I dropped my towel and willed the shift. My muscles and bones ached momentarily as I became my dragon-self. I didn’t have much room in the washroom to stretch without taking out the sink or toilet but I did my best, shaking myself out much like a dog would. I groaned at the crick in my neck and winced as I banged my head against the bathroom mirror. “Shit,” I said, noticing the small crack that now blemished the glass. Sighing, I willed myself back to human form and eyed my reflection once again in the mirror. T
he ache had subsided some, and the bruises turned to a sickly blue-purple instead of the brown but at least, it was an improvement. However, I now had a headache from banging my head against the mirror. “I just can’t win,” I murmured to myself, disgruntled. Someone had set clothes out on my bed and I dressed quickly. I was inclined to think it was my mother, because the choices were practical: a pair of wide-legged, black trousers, a button down, pink silk blouse and some heavy pink robes. Kiarra probably would have picked out a cocktail dress, high heels and more bedazzling than a 1980s jean jacket.
I cocked a brow, realizing I hadn’t seen the clothing before. They were a heavy silk on the outside, lined with green and pink patterned flannel. I wouldn’t have thought pink and green flannel would have been so pretty together, but it was. And very, very soft. On the back of them, my dragon’s mark was embroidered in a darker pink; the outline of a pink dragon weaved in and out of a round Celtic knotwork; the nose of the dragon touching the end of her tail. I smiled, as if seeing the mark for the first time. For the first time ever, I felt a sense of pride looking at it.
“It’s about time you see it the way we all see it.”
I let out a shriek, dropping the robes to the bed. Completely startled, my heart leapt into my throat. “Ass!” I scolded, seeing Maxxus lean against the doorframe, arms crossed over his chest, smirking.
He laughed uproariously. “Is that what you’re wearing to meet the Prelate?” he asked, with a flirty upturn of the corner of his lips.
“What do you—” I looked down and saw that I was completely naked. I sighed, picking up the pillow from the bed and tossing it at him. “Yes, this is what I’m going to wear. Think I’ll scare him a little,” I said sarcastically.
Maxxus shut the door behind him and sauntered across the room to me. He frowned, fingering a set of bruises on my shoulder. “Ack, darling, I’m so sorry. You’ll have to shift a few times to get rid of those.” He leaned over and placed a soft kiss on each bruise; his touch sent sparks straight to my core as my head rolled back, I tried not to moan as I shoved him away.