Stuck in the Cabin (Exiled Dragons Book 8)

by Sarah J. Stone

  “What are you doing?”

  “I have a show tonight.” The girl shrugged. “Gotta go.”

  Ariel stalked off, leaving Enya in a state of shock. This entire time she was up here, she hadn't thought about her life back home. She missed her parents, but she never could have imagined living a normal life. Or at least, as close to normal as she was used to.

  But could she do that? Travel here was hard, but she had been very sick. She felt stronger than she ever had before.

  Inside the throne room, Nicholas and Alexander were sitting on the thrones. They weren't in any official positions, just quietly talking.

  “Enya?” Alexander noticed her first. “What can we do for you?”

  “I just came to talk to you,” she said. “If you had a moment. Oh, you're uh...highness,” she curtsied. When she looked up, she saw Alexander smiling down on her.

  “Thank you,” he said. “But there's no one here right now, so you can speak freely.”

  “Brother,” Nicholas protested, but Alexander waived his hand.

  “She can speak freely. I am not her king.”

  “I wanted to ask for Cole's freedom,” she said. “I wanted to plead for Cole's freedom.”

  “Plead for it?” Alexander said, with a raised eyebrow. “I assume you have a case to present to me.”

  “I don't really,” she replied. “Aside from the fact that I can control him, I can make him better.”

  “Better than what?” Alexander asked. She paused.

  “I...he wouldn't...the things that he did, when he was alone. You have to understand what he went through. The news that he was adopted devastated him.”

  “Devastated him?” Alexander replied. “Enya, you have to understand. WE didn't abandon him. We didn't tell him that he wasn't welcome.”

  “But you broke everything he believed in,” she said. “How would you feel if you were told your family wasn't your real family?”

  “We are his real family,” Nicholas said. “And I admit, Father didn’t treat him the best. But he is gone now.”

  “So why don't you let him out?”

  “Because he killed a lot of people!” Alexander burst out. Enya looked at the ground, her eyes blinking back tears.

  “None of us are perfect,” she replied. “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.”

  There was silence in the throne room.

  Chapter 13

  “Cole.”

  He looked up to see his brother, Nicholas, at dawn the next day. Nicholas was a frequent visitor, and so he didn't move. Nicholas was always the one who had taken care of him. It was the rule in the family. With four boys, originally, they always took care of the ones below them. It was always Cole who had no responsibility; who had no one to watch over. He supposed that contributed to the fact that he was always up to no good. It wasn't his job to take care of anything but his own amusement.

  “What did you bring me?” Cole asked with a smile. He was trying not to think about the reality that his brothers could possibly leave him in there forever. That was the obvious solution, he thought.

  “A key,” Nicholas said, and waived his hand. To Cole's surprise, the door clicked open.

  “I'm free to go?”

  “Not quite,” Nicholas replied. “But for the moment, you can wander the palace. More specifically, you need to go see your human.”

  “Enya?” Cole asked, in concern. “What's wrong?”

  “The magic we flooded her with is wearing off,” Nicholas said. “She's growing sick again.”

  Cole got up quickly, panic flooding his face.

  “Why don't you help her then?” he asked. Nicholas remained silent. “Nicholas! Help her!”

  Nicholas paused, trying to put it in less frightening terms.

  “We have, Cole. Several times.”

  “So, do it again,” Cole snapped. “Why don't you just cure her? Why are you keeping her in this state?”

  Nicholas said nothing, and horror came over Cole.

  “You can't do it, can you?”

  “Not all of us are witch half-breeds,” Nicholas said, trying to have hope. “Alexander and I may be the most powerful dragon lords alive, but you are more than that.”

  “So?” Cole asked, half frantic. “Are you going to let me do it? Are you going to let me cure her? Is her cure a condition to my prison sentence?”

  “Cole,” Nicholas said, meeting his eyes. “Do you think we are so cruel?”

  “So, you'll let me do it? No conditions?”

  “No conditions,” Nicholas said. “Let's go.”

  Nicholas's haste scared Cole as they hurried down the hallway. Nicholas was not usually panicked. He took things in stride and did what was necessary. It was true, he had anger and emotional issues, and sometimes lashed out. But he never looked panic or scared.

  Cole wanted to transform for the simple reason that he would get there faster. But he had a feeling that he would need every bit of magic he had.

  Nicholas led him to the room where Enya had been housed. Cole was relieved to learn that she was being kept in the royal quarters – the best rooms, the best service.

  But upon entering the room, he saw the familiar demons return. Enya was pacing the room, which she sometimes did when the pain was out of control. She was half doubled over, sweating buckets, and trying not to vomit.

  “Hey, baby,” Cole leapt forward. The hope in her eyes when she saw him was so uplifting that he almost cried. He wrapped her in his arms, pulling her close and kissing the top of her head. “It's OK. It's OK.”

  “Cole,” she managed, and a wave of pain took over.

  “Alright. It's OK. Come here.” He pulled her down to the luxurious bed. “You're OK. I need you to stop tensing up, because you know it's harder to accept the magic.”

  “But I can't!” She was fighting against him, but he remained calm. Nicholas was taken aback by the way Cole was acting. This was not the reckless, mischievous brother that had caused so many problems. The one that sometimes seemed cruel just for the sake of being cruel. Cole was angry. Cole was a rebel. Cole killed for the sake of killing.

  But in this moment, he was the calmest, sweetest, kindest boyfriend to his weak, sick girlfriend.

  “Ready?” Cole asked, and Enya managed to nod. “Here we go then, my love.”

  The magic flooded from his palms, stronger and better than it had on Earth. Cole could feel her body accepting the healing, and he fully intended to surpass the normal point. He didn't just want to just heal her. He wanted to renew every cell in her body so that she was never sick again.

  Cole was the greatest dragon lord when it came to magic. Learning that he was a half breed had been his downfall not too long ago, but currently, he was grateful for it.

  He closed his eyes, pushing the magic from the most inner workings of his body, but he couldn't seem to break the barrier within her to renew the cells. And to his horror, Enya was still in pain. Her fever still burned, and her head was half limp against him.

  “Nicholas,” Cole's eyes flew open. “Nicholas, can you come and help me?”

  Nicholas moved forward, placing his hands on the bed.

  “Tell me what to do, brother.”

  “It's healing magic,” Cole said. “But you have to give it to me. Can you do a transfer spell?”

  “I think so,” Nicholas replied.

  “You can do it,” Cole urged him. “You can do it. I know you can.”

  “Right.” Nicholas put his hand on his brother's shoulder.

  “Cole?” Enya asked, and he squeezed an arm around her.

  “It's OK, love, just give me a minute.” He was trying to sound hopeful, but his heart was beating a million miles a minute. He couldn't seem to find the perfect position to give her all the magic he had. It was almost as if her body was putting up its own barrier. “Just one minute.”

  He felt Nicholas's magic flood into him, and he pushed as much as he could, grasping Enya tight.

  Her cells we
re highly damaged. He could practically see them in front of his eyes – warped, weak, and fighting for survival.

  “I need more!” he cried to Nicholas, who gritted his teeth and pressed harder.

  “Cole,” Enya said again, and it sounded like she was in even more pain.

  “Just hold on,” Cole said, as he tried again. The magic was starting to flood him in ways he had never experienced. He knew that using high amount of magic was dangerous, and he knew that it could sometimes do terrible, harmful things.

  But in that moment, feeling Enya's limp body against him, he didn't care. He would give up his own life for her.

  He suddenly felt what he could only describe as a pop or bang. It hurt immensely and he felt darkness sparkle in front of his eyes. Nicholas fell back, slumping against the wall. Cole felt blood dipping from his nose, and he wiped it away in haste as he looked down at Enya.

  She was limp in his arms, her eyes closed. And to his horror, her chest was not moving.

  “NO!” Cole screamed. He was loud, the scream coming from the bottom of his lungs. It was such a terrifying cry that people from all over came running into the room. “ENYA! NO!”

  Alexander came sprinting in with Ariel, having been down the hall. Cole's hands were on her chest, trying to push more magic in a frantic attempt to revive her. Nicholas was dazed, his magic blown, and he could barely focus on the scene in front of him.

  “Move!” Ariel moved forward, letting go of Alexander's hand. “Cole, get off her. Alexander, call your medical team.”

  “What the hell happened?” Alexander barked, in his own panic.

  “I'm trying to help. I'm trying to help. I’m trying to help,” Cole repeated, but Ariel had no time for his explanation.

  “I said, call your damn medical team,” Ariel swore as she quickly tied her long, red hair in a knot. “They are more advanced than Earth, and yet they can't get here? Do it, now!”

  She pushed a stunned Cole aside, checking Enya's breath. Finding nothing, she placed her hands on Enya’s chest and began CPR immediately.

  Everything on the planet was either magically controlled or mechanically controlled. The simple measures of CPR seemed beyond them, and none of them had any idea what they were doing.

  Ariel continued CPR for almost five, heart-stopping minutes. It was the most chaotic that things had ever been in the palace. Cole was frantic and screaming, Nicholas was trying not to faint, and Alexander was trying to remain in control.

  Eventually, the medical team rushed in. They moved in perfect unison, taking over the moment that Ariel's hands left Enya's body.

  The redhead grabbed for Cole, holding him back as the team worked on her. They rushed her away, and the boys were only a moment or two behind.

  Within an hour, it seemed all was well. They had revived Enya, hooking her up to high tech machines, and making sure that she was awake and conscious. In a place where science and magic went hand in hand, it was the head physician who consulted with them.

  “It should have worked,” Cole said. “It should have worked. I tried to heal her on a cellular level.”

  “You did,” the physician said. “But it didn't work. Humans have a different make up than us, Cole, and magic doesn't work on them that way. You can't just change her cells without changing her in a radically different way. Or in this case, killing her. Medical science can intervene, manage the symptoms, and heal the damage done by the rebel cells. But you cannot change them.”

  “What are you saying?” Cole asked. “That I can't cure her?”

  “No,” the doctor said sadly. “No, you cannot.”

  Cole sunk against the wall, his face growing pale.

  “I lied to her,” Cole said, softly. Nicholas turned to him.

  “Little brother.”

  “I lied to her,” Cole said. “I promised her. She risked everything for me. She gave up everything for me. I promised her that she would live, that she would be healed, and I lied.”

  “You didn't know,” Alexander said softly. “You thought as usual, Cole, that you were invincible and could do anything that you wanted to do.”

  “And now?” Cole asked, in a flat voice. “What do I know? If you lock me up for the crimes I committed, she cannot receive my magic which is the best for her. If you try me, I will die, and so will she eventually. If you let me out, I know that your rule will be forever questioned.”

  Alexander said nothing, looking between each of them.

  He had never wished that Finneas was here more than in this moment, and that was something he wished for daily.

  “Cole,” he said. “You will be under house arrest in the palace while Enya recovers,” he said. “You can stay in the medical center with her. You won't be guarded, so I need to have your word and your honor.”

  “Of course,” Cole said, and Alexander looked him right in the eye.

  “This is your last chance,” Alexander said. “If you break this parole, I will have no choice. There will be no way to get out of this.”

  “I understand,” Cole said. Alexander had his doubts about the promise, but he knew he had to take the risk. If Cole didn't change, then he would have no choice. It would be life in prison or worse.

  “Good. Go to her then,” he said, and Cole hurried off. Alexander looked at Nicholas and sighed.

  “Any ideas?” he asked. “Otherwise, an innocent girl will end up dying.”

  Nicholas sighed.

  “For once, brother, I have nothing to say.”

  Chapter 14

  She had been in the medical center for three days, and she had been enjoying every second of having Cole by her side. Without the need to rush through the cipher, or half way across the world, they were ironically having the most relaxing time of their relationship. Cole brought her things to do, entertained her with stories, or occasionally took her on short walks through the palace to show her things that he had strong memories of.

  She laughed, she smiled, and she seemed to be growing stronger each day. But the fact remained heavy in Cole's heart that he wouldn't be able to heal her like he said.

  “What things did she tell you?” Cole asked. Enya shrugged.

  “That she goes back and forth and lives a normal life. I didn't realize something like that was possible.”

  “Well, Ariel is sleeping with the King,” Cole replied. “But it is possible, of course. Not forever, but for a time.”

  “So, would it be possible for me to do something like that?” she asked. “If things settle down?”

  “My love, if we find a way to survive this, I would happily give you whatever you want. But to be honest with you, I’m not quite sure how to get out of this.”

  “We'll find a way.” She leaned against his shoulder. “Your brothers are good people, Cole, we'll find a way.”

  “You have such faith in them, and you barely know them,” Cole replied.

  “Yes, but they are related to you,” she replied. “So, they are good people.”

  “Oh Enya,” he replied. “You are such a romantic.”

  “Mmm,” she said. “Until then, we cannot change anything, so why don't you relax?” She closed her eyes. She had been through so much, and somehow, she felt the safest and most calm in her whole life.

  In the throne room, Alexander and Nicholas had locked themselves away with Ariel, scouring records and books.

  “You know how this society is,” Nicholas was saying. “If we can find a way to pardon him by law, then the citizens will accept it. Besides, has he done any worse than any of us when we go to war?”

  “The difference is, it was in cold blood,” said Ariel, who seemed undeterred by this. “Unless of course, it wasn't.”

  “It was,” Alexander replied, but Ariel shook her head.

  “He went into a war-torn zone to take his temperature, a zone that you have been sending fights to for years. Who’s to say that he wasn't following through with some order, some war. He killed enemies, too, didn't he? Civilian casualties are par
t of war.”

  “So, let's say for a second he did,” Nicholas replied. “He didn't kill in cold blood. He still committed a crime.”

  “Argh,” Ariel put her head down. In her time here, she had become fluent in dragon words as much as English. But sometimes, she was simply frustrated with their stubbornness. “There must be something. Look, I love Cole just as much as the rest of you. But if you're going to follow the rule book to the letter, you're going to lose your brother. “

  “And then there's the case of this girl,” Alexander said. “To bring an innocent girl into all of this…”

  “As you did to me?” Ariel asked. Alexander raised an eyebrow.

  “You may have been younger than her, my dear, but you were far from innocent. You had seen and experienced the world. This girl has lived five feet from her parents and always been taken care of. It's a different case. “

  “Still, she's not here against her will,” Ariel replied. “She thinks she's in love with Cole, and I wager he thinks he's in love with her.”

  “Or they actually are,” Nicholas replied, and Ariel rolled her eyes.

  “Whatever,” she said, as she looked down at the book in front of her. Suddenly, her eyes lit up. “Hold on a moment.”

  “Hmm?” Alexander leaned over to look at the book in front of her. “Can you read that?”

  “I'm not just a pretty face,” she gave him a smirk. He had a look of pride on his face as she translated the text in her head. When Ariel first arrived, she had stubbornly refused to learn dragon lore. She had struggled with it and gotten frustrated. But now, she was fluent, and even able to take on ancient texts that sometimes confused him. She was growing to be a good partner, his red-headed dancer. “There's some bullshit here about the savior of an innocent – a trade.”

  “A trade?” Alexander asked, confused.

  “A trade: evil for good.” She squinted. “Nicholas, you must have invoked this half a hundred times. You're a rat bastard sometimes.”

  “What?” Nicholas asked with a smile on his face as he leaned over on her other side. “The law of Repentance. I've heard of it before.”

  “Your father probably passed it several times without even mentioning it,” she said. “You remember when you saved that drowning girl, and suddenly you didn't have to answer for the fact that you freaked out during a council meeting?”