Shifter Queen

by Miranda Martin

  Our breathing was loud in the silence afterwards. He rolled to the side, keeping himself inside me as he gathered me close. I listened to his heartbeat as we held onto each other tightly.

  And I hoped it wouldn't be the last time.

  Chapter Twenty

  We made the first leg of the journey to phoenix territory by car. It just didn't make sense to tire ourselves out physically before we had to. Yes it would take more time to drive there, but we would be rested when we arrived which was ultimately more important than the extra time spent. So we were basically in one large caravan driving across the desert.

  We left early, each Dragon Lord ensuring their people were ready to leave on schedule. We stopped briefly in the afternoon, but our first real stop was for dinner. We set up camp with a full perimeter and guards flying above us as well to make sure we weren't attacked while we were distracted. With many of the Dragon Lords in this caravan, it would really throw everything into chaos if we were attacked. So we treated security with care, Ashur coordinating with the various skeins to ensure we were efficient with our people.

  For the first time, we sat down with the other Dragon Lords without a clear agenda to get through. The conversation wasn't focused on what we were going to do. We had hashed everything out in minute detail already, so nobody wanted to talk about that or dwell on it. Instead, we spoke about other things to take our minds off what was coming.

  "Everyone knew Cinira was destined to be the Dragon Lord of her territory," Tanar said, looking at her. "When she took the position, it was a surprise to exactly nobody."

  Cinira smiled, shaking her head. "I remember it quite differently," she said wryly, leaning back in her chair. "As I remember it, everyone was always telling me that Dragon Lords don't wear dresses. That I needed to look at how they presented themselves so I would know how to behave like I should." She smiled faintly. "So, of course, I had to wear only dresses from that point on."

  Everyone laughed, taking in the black tunic dress she was currently wearing. Just that short story definitely gave me some insight into her. The dress was almost a symbol of defiance, a “screw you” to everyone who thought that she couldn't make it. I could appreciate that and her dresses a lot more now.

  Tanar simply smiled at her response, giving her a warm look. "Only fools would comment upon your dress and ignore the woman underneath," he murmured.

  Cinira met his gaze for a long moment, the connection between them real and clear as day to anyone watching. She ended up looking away first, clearing her throat lightly as she smoothed her hands down her dress.

  Hmm. Maybe there had been something there. Or there was potentially something there now. Something to keep in mind. Someone else picked up the conversation and moved it into different territory when it was clear neither Cinira nor Tanar were going to pick it up again.

  We moved from talk of old styles of clothing, to the newest cars, to the cutting-edge technology used for security outside of the city domes.

  As everyone spoke, I got to know them a little better. Bruno ended up being a classically trained pianist, and had a keyboard he brought out to play in the background while everyone ate and talked to each other. Priyanka was actually an engineer by trade. Victor was a dog lover, bringing along two dogs on this journey. I'd given them a dubious look but he'd simply shaken his head.

  "Lucy and Ethel are vicious in a fight," he explained. "They're trained to go after archers." He patted one large, shaggy head. "Best backup I could have."

  I looked down at the large dogs, their red-brown fur shining sleekly as they lay sedately at their master's feet. Even in their laziness I could make out the muscle in their heavy forms. Yup, I wouldn't want them coming after me.

  But the biggest surprise wasn't from the conversation that night. The biggest surprise to me was the fact that someone I'd never expected to see was there as well. We'd gotten a message out of the blue from Heavener, saying that he wanted to join us on our journey, that he'd seen what Emberich was doing and couldn't stand back anymore. It had been a surprise to say the least. One that had had all of us scratching our heads. The change of heart made sense logically, but Heavener had been so vehement about his opinion, it still felt jarring to see him sitting here with the other Dragon Lords.

  I smiled at him as I moved to get more food, but he just stared back at me with an unreadable look. Okay then. We were not friends. But I was okay with that so long as he threw his support in with us, bringing more numbers with him. Sometimes a common enemy was enough.

  The social aspect of the camp broke up pretty quickly, everyone needing to get their rest. We were going to get up at the crack of dawn the next morning and continue on the journey. I walked back and got into our car with Ashur, the back opening up into a nice bed. It was surprisingly comfortable, though I guess I shouldn't have been too surprised considering how expensive these cars ran.

  "It seemed like you were all getting along pretty well," I ventured as we lay there together.

  Ashur nodded, tightening his arms around me. "Maybe forcing all of us to spend some time together like this might lead to something more cohesive in the future. Maybe a way forward where we could be more cooperative than we are now," he said thoughtfully.

  I agreed. That sounded like a good way to move on from this. A way for something good to come out of this mess. Dragon leadership definitely needed some revamping. Emberich was a terrible king for the phoenixes and I didn't believe in a monarchy or dictatorship of any kind. But there was no denying that he did unite the phoenixes so they could work together when they needed to. The very separateness of the dragon skeins did inherently weaken them when there was a larger threat, even as it made for better representation for the people in each skein. But I didn't dwell on that too long, tired from the long day. We fell asleep to the silence around us, everyone bedding down for the night.

  When I woke up again, it took me a moment to get my bearings. When I did, I realized I'd woken because nature was calling. I really didn't want to get up, but there really wasn't an alternative. So I slid out of bed, careful not to wake Ashur. Getting out of the car, I used the flashlight on my watch to light my way over to the designated latrine area. No matter how much money you had, some things just always were what they were. I took care of business quickly and then headed back towards the car, already half-asleep again.

  "Mia."

  I frowned, turning towards the call of my name. Who was awake right now? It was someone in the shadows of one of the larger vehicles.

  I took a step forward towards whoever it was, bringing my light up to get a better look, but my hand was knocked away as something hit me hard and fast on the side of the head, knocking me literally silly. I stumbled, feeling reality blur at the edges as my ears rang.

  What?

  I felt myself being roughly thrown over a large shoulder.

  "Come on you troublesome bitch," Heavener muttered as he walked away with me. "Let's get you over to the Phoenix King and end this bullshit. I refuse to go to war because a mutt like you has daddy issues."

  I wanted to fight. Wanted to curse him out.

  But the blur spread to the rest of my vision.

  And then I saw only the dark.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  I woke up completely disoriented and twisted into an odd position, curled up on my side, but weirdly bent with one arm pinned and falling asleep. I blinked to clear my vision, my head aching.

  What...?

  My eyes focused on the desert passing by below me. Below me? Where was I? It took some time for my thoughts to clear a bit. If I was watching the ground pass below me, I must be in the air. I turned my head to look up and my eyes landed on the underside of an iridescent white dragon.

  Everything came rushing back to me. Going out to use the bathroom. Someone calling my name. The blow to the head. Heavener. Heavener was taking me to Emberich.

  I lay there, careful to stay still even though I wanted to claw at the net he'd put me in. The
reason why I was twisted so oddly. I took a deep breath, trying to slow down my heart rate.

  I needed to think this through. I was guessing Heavener thought that delivering me straight to Emberich would squash this war before it began so he wouldn't have to participate in it or feel the effects of it. Not only was he wrong, he was an idiot. Did he really think Emberich was just going to let him go after he delivered me? But that didn't matter at this point. I sincerely doubted Heavener was going to take any advice I would give him.

  Okay, focus.

  How was I going to get out of this?

  Getting out of this net was going to be difficult. It was made of steel and looked like one of the ones that Sven had been carried to Cinira's territory in. It was made so you could only get out once the tension at the carrying point above was released.

  I moved carefully to check if I still had my knives, not wanting Heavener to find out that I was awake. I still had them. He hadn't even bothered to disarm me. Stupid and sloppy. Made me feel even more embarrassed that I'd let him get the drop on me. In my defense, I was sleepy and I'd thought I was in a safe place. My mistake.

  Okay, if I had my knives, I could knife him in the gut and that would likely get him to let the net go. But then I would have only a short time to untangle myself from the net and change into my dragon-phoenix form. And then catch air before I hit the ground. I didn't think I had the level of expertise needed to pull that off in the short amount of time I would have.

  I'd probably just end up a Mia pancake on the desert ground. Too risky.

  And even if I did manage to get free and fly before I hit the ground, Heavener would just chase me down. And he had many more years of experience in his dragon form than I did. He'd probably catch me.

  No.

  My best chance was to get free as we reached Emberich's city, so I'd have somewhere to escape to, not just empty desert all around.

  If I waited until Heavener was close to landing and then stabbed him to let me go, maybe I could absorb the impact when I hit the ground. But that was also dependent on where he was planning to touch down. If he decided to land inside the city with Emberich's people around him, I was screwed. And I couldn't control that.

  I guess I'd just have to wait and see. I couldn't come up with any other options and from where the sun was in the sky already, I knew we'd been traveling for quite some time. We were too far for me to try to make it back to Ashur and the rest of the Dragon Lords. My best bet was to move forward. So I waited. Not that I had a whole lot of choice in the matter.

  I stayed limp in the net, not wanting to move around too much and alert my idiot of a kidnapper. The wait was nerve-racking. I really didn't like heights when I wasn't in control of them. Riding in a net piloted by someone who basically wanted me dead was definitely not in control. It didn't help that the metal net was uncomfortably hot and was digging into my body where I lay on it.

  Luckily, we were apparently already near Emberich's city. I'd spent most of the journey asleep. Or unconscious, if I wanted to be completely accurate.

  Soon enough, the mountainside came into view, the sandstone-colored buildings dotting the winding road that led up to Emberich's palace. The gondola system that was rigged to take people up and down the mountainside was very efficient and also added another bit of charm to the place. But that wasn't the route I was most likely going to be able to take.

  When I could see the city and Heavener wasn't attacked immediately, I knew that he had struck a deal with Emberich before he took me. I also doubted that Emberich would honor whatever the terms of the deal were. Why would he? His supporters were vehemently anti-dragon. He would be an idiot to be seen openly colluding with one.

  My eyes caught on phoenixes in the distance. They were coming closer. Emberich's security was tighter as well. I guess if you had decided to piss off a good portion of your own people and a whole race of others, you would probably be paranoid enough to increase security. Though it felt more prudent than paranoid. People were out to get Emberich.

  As I was wondering if we were landing in the city and I was going to be trapped, I felt Heavener start to descend, the ground rising up closer. We were landing in the open area before the city. Good. Now I just needed to wait until we were at the right height...

  Wait for it...

  Wait...

  Now.

  I pulled my knife out of its scabbard and rose up, stabbing upwards with all of my might. Dragon scales were tough and I didn't have the steadiest footing in the net with how malleable it was. I only had one shot at this, otherwise he could do some evasive maneuvers or simply fly up higher and drop me.

  I felt the knife sink into his hide and I jerked it back out, cutting a deep slice into his vulnerable underbelly. I might need the knife later.

  Heavener screeched above me and immediately let go of the net.

  Oh shit.

  There was no way to really brace myself as I fell through the air.

  I could only hope I wasn't too high.

  I hit the ground with a heavy thud, the clinking of the net accompanying the deeper sound. The net didn’t cushion my fall, swinging around to whip me as I landed. But I didn't have time to lie there, even though I really wanted to take a moment to catch my breath and make sure everything was still intact and working.

  Groaning, I quickly sat up and opened the top of the net where it was fastened. I climbed out stiffly, the landing hard enough to make me sore.

  Heavener was circling above me with phoenixes sweeping closer, not a welcoming party.

  I didn't have much time, but I knew there was a place nearby that I might be able to get through without being caught. Or at least I hoped so.

  Here was where the rubber met the road, where I found out if Sven and the others were telling the truth. Turning away from the sight of all of the people who likely wanted me dead, I swore as I ran towards the base of the mountain.

  There was a crack to the side that was supposed to be hidden among the bushes. I scanned the rock in front of me, my eyes looking for a possible crevice. It was supposed to be small, which would make it even harder to find. Perfect when I was in a high stress situation with no time.

  I reached the base of the mountain and immediately ducked lower in the shadows, hoping they would help cover me. I felt along the face of the rock in front of me, my hands getting scratched and bruised as I reached beyond scraggly bushes, trying to find an opening. Come on. This was taking too long. They were going to catch me. I kept moving, my fingers searching.

  My heart had started to sink right when I felt a bit of a breeze hit my forearm. I pushed forward with my hand. Nothing. There it was. I'd found it!

  Not wasting any time, I shoved my way through the bushes and came out on the other side, directly into a tunnel.

  But there was a dead end only about ten feet in front of me. If this was the entrance I thought it was, I needed to find the small indent to the left...

  I felt along the rough stone with my fingers and pushed at several places where I thought I felt a dent of some kind.

  Nothing.

  I heard the sound of wings nearing. They were close to the shallow tunnel I was in.

  Shit.

  There was nowhere to hide in here if I didn't find a way out in time. I re-doubled my efforts. Pressing and sliding, pressing and sliding, pressing...

  I pressed one more time.

  The rock sank underneath my touch.

  And a sliver of an opening, maybe two feet across, silently appeared in front of me as rock moved to the side.

  Bingo.

  And not a moment too soon.

  I heard a rustling in the bushes outside and immediately slid through the opening, finding the button on the other side much more easily. I guess they didn't want it to be difficult when you already knew the tunnel was there. The opening disappeared just as quickly as it had opened for me. And I didn't hear anything anymore from the other side. I was breathing hard as I turned around to look at the
dark tunnel in front of me.

  Heavener shouldn't know anything about the tunnels. Ashur had briefed him on what he needed to know to fulfill his part of the plan during the attack, but that briefing hadn't included the tunnels. He'd only told him what he needed to know and left everything else out because there was no time to go over everything again. Hopefully I wasn't wrong about that or I would be caught immediately on the other side.

  Taking a deep breath of that musty air, I moved forward, using my watch to light my way. The tunnel was small and narrow, and I didn't particularly feel good about being so deep down inside the earth. But I pushed past it and kept going. There was no other choice unless I wanted to backtrack and throw myself on the mercy of a man who wanted me dead.

  Not the best idea.

  I kept going.

  It felt like I was in that dark, narrow tunnel for hours, but it couldn't have been more than twenty minutes before I felt the breeze coming from the other side and heard the sounds of a bustling city.

  When I reached the other side, there were some cracks around what I was assuming was the door and a lever rather than a button.

  Here we go. There was nowhere else to go at this point.

  I pulled the lever and the door slid to the side a couple of feet. I slipped outside and it rolled closed automatically. It hadn't spit me directly out into the street, which was good. I was in a narrow alleyway, in a small alcove with another actual door. When I looked at the side of the alcove I'd come from, I couldn't make out the hidden door at all.

  Secret passageway indeed.

  I took a moment to get my bearings. Okay. I was in the city. Now what?

  Just as I thought that, I heard shouts coming from the street that ran perpendicular to the alley.

  "Someone has breached our defenses! We need to be on the lookout for an outsider female!"

  Oh no. If that wasn't me, the coincidence was uncanny. I needed to hide. I turned to look at the door directly behind me. Couldn't hurt to try. It was right there.