Ravages

by Kit Bladegrave

  “Is that… is that what I think it is?” she whispered.

  “Yes, and I think you already know what I’m going to ask.” I gently took her left hand and held the ring near her finger. “I’m not a fool and my being the demon king and you being the Vindicar is not going to make this a normal relationship, but I love you, and I want to make this official before… before…”

  “Before we’re sucked into another war?” she offered.

  I took a deep breath to try and steady my nerves. “Yeah, something like that. So?”

  She made me wait at least a minute, and I swear she did it on purpose before a smile spread across her face and she nodded eagerly.

  “Yes, yes!”

  I slipped the ring onto her finger and wrapped her up in a hug, kissing her.

  This peace of ours might not last long, but I prayed it would be long enough to give Kate the wedding she deserved and a few months, maybe even years of happiness before all hell came crashing down around us again.

  We stayed out on the balcony, talking about our future, long into the night, our hands clasped securely together between us.

  This was not how I saw this adventure ending, but then again, this was far from over.

  Now, I was just getting started.

  24

  Kate

  Six Months Later

  I spun my new wedding ring around and around on my finger after I dismounted my black mare and led her into the stable. It had been completed just a few weeks ago, and I was still getting used to my new life.

  The Darrah lands were back in my control, as was the old fortress and surrounding buildings.

  I had a staff, which I was certainly not used to, and Forrest and Craig had given aid to any wishing to start their lives over under my rule.

  Because that’s what I expected out of all of this.

  Not.

  A queen, I was technically a queen as well as the Vindicar and last Darrah.

  Or we thought I was the last Darrah.

  Once the wedding happened, dragons started showing up at Boshen, Darrahs all of them. They’d been hiding out in the human world and as soon as they realized what happened, started to come back home where they belonged.

  I’d been spending so much of my time helping them settle into their new lives back amongst their own kin, I’d almost let myself believe this happy life we had going could remain exactly how it was.

  I married the guy I loved, had my other best friend alive and well, and things were looking up.

  But for some reason tonight, as I entered the fortress, nodding absently at my guards near the door, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.

  Craig had to remain behind in Boshen for another week while he discussed the idea of a large army, one combined of all the races and ruled over by a special council.

  So far, it sounded as if everything was working out well enough.

  I climbed up to my chambers and kicked out of my boots as I let my hair down, running my fingers through it.

  Mama Lucy was coming to visit tomorrow, bringing with her what she said was the only bit of information she could find about this red-eyed shadow.

  I was anxious now, needing to make a plan, to get ready for the next war I knew was coming.

  I opened the balcony doors and walked out, leaning on the railing as I stared out into the distance.

  Fresh farm fields stretched as far as I could see to the trees and up drifted the soft laughter and chatter of those below in the small village that was slowly being created out here.

  I heard shuffling behind me and smiled. “I knew you wouldn’t be able to stay away for long,” I said, smiling as the steps moved closer. “Craig?”

  “Sorry, love,” a rough voice replied that was not Craig.

  I whipped around and stared wide-eyed at the shadow figure standing just yards from me, eyes flaring bright red with living flames.

  “You… what are you doing here?”

  “I’m afraid your husband isn’t going to be seeing you for quite some time.”

  I opened my mouth to scream for aid, even as the runes burst to life on my body, ready to fight, but then he charged forward, and there was nothing, but shadows and silence.

  Keep reading for an excerpt from the next in the Dragon Reign Series and an excerpt from Kit’s other series, Ever Witch.

  Asylum Excerpt

  Tristan’s a wolf shifter practically held prisoner by his position as king of his lands. He’s helped the dragon shifters defeat evil, but isn’t even allowed to roam his lands freely. Now his friends Kate and Craig, the Vindicar and the Demon King are missing, and their psychic link, Forrest can’t feel them.

  Tristan is on a mission to find them, until a mysterious redhead crosses his path.

  Sabella’s in an asylum, physically held prisoner by the doctors and mentally held hostage by her visions. She keeps seeing a woman named Kate and a man whose face scares her being held prisoners. She also sees a wolf. A wolf that calms her restless soul and is a balm to her tormented spirit.

  Chapter 1

  Tristan

  Mud seeped up between my toes as I stared out along the river, rushing down its banks. Crisp, morning air filled my nose, as did the scent I’d waited for all morning while sitting in the predawn darkness, waiting.

  Leaves crunched underfoot, and I slowly shifted my massive body, crouching lower on my front legs as I waited patiently for my prey to appear.

  Closer, so much closer now.

  I tried not to think of anything else except the hunt before me.

  The moment I returned to the castle, Boris would be waiting to give me a lecture on sneaking out again during such precarious times. Being king was not always enjoyable, hardly ever really. And being less than one hundred years old made it even harder.

  I was still seen as a child by many, despite having served as a leader during the effort that helped defeat the enemy several months ago. None of that mattered. I was a pup and my advisors as well as my second would continue to treat me as such.

  Hence sneaking out to enjoy a few carefree hours, letting my wolf free to roam the river lands, and find my own breakfast.

  They rarely let me out to hunt anymore, not since this new threat had yet to show it’s face again, putting all on edge. There’d been no sightings, no rumors, nothing since that shadow rose out of Cassius’s corpse.

  I wanted to believe it was a good thing, but that was a fool’s hope. A war was coming, worse than the last, and it was going to drag us all down, push us further than we ever wanted to go. My parents had always said the time of peace wouldn’t last for long. I hate to admit they’d been right after all.

  The buck stepped out of the shadows and I lifted my nose, readying myself to attack, when the sound of more rushing steps met my ears. They twitched backward, and I caught the scent of Boris and the rest of my guard. A growl slipped from my lips as the buck’s head lifted suddenly and it took off back into the trees.

  “My King!” Boris bellowed after shifting back to his human form.

  I considered hiding amongst the tall grasses for a few to watch them frantically search for me, but the tone of his voice told me something was wrong.

  With a grunt, I shifted back, rising high above the grass and waved my arm over my head.

  “Here, Boris, right here. What is it?” I asked, disgruntled as he and the others rushed towards me. “Did you need to bring the entire guard with you?”

  All ten men and women surrounded me immediately and if I’d still been in wolf form, my hackles would’ve raised. Boris grabbed my arm and pulled me into the trees, the guard following, until we were well out of sight. Sweat beaded his brow and his eyes landed everywhere, but me, watching. Always alert.

  “Boris, tell me what this is about.” I demanded.

  “We have word from Boshen and Gregornath,” he told me in his deep, growling baritone. “We have trouble and we need to get you back to the castle straightaway.”


  “Craig and Forrest? Are they alright?” I asked even as Boris started to guide me through the trees again. “Boris, answer me!”

  He hesitated, but shook his head. “Not here. We will be faster if we run.”

  I glared fiercely at him, informing him this conversation was far from over, but shifted, landing on my front legs and shook out my dark waves of fur.

  My guard did the same and together, we sprinted for the castle. I sniffed the air as I went, but there was nothing to help explain what might’ve happened to the others. With each step, my worry grew until I was growling and snapping my jaws at the wind rushing past my face. As we neared the castle gates, I spied more soldiers than normal atop the wall, and the moment we were through, the gate was shut and sealed behind us.

  I barely shifted back when Boris ushered me inside, not stopping until we were in the council chamber and we were not alone.

  “Forrest?”

  If I was considered a pup amongst my kind, he was still a baby in dragon years and yet, he, like me, was stuck with the mantle of king. The past few months had worn on him though and he no longer appeared the young, excited prince I remembered.

  Now, he looked like a man about to drown beneath a tidal wave of fear. I reached for his hand and pulled him into a brotherly hug before setting him back on his feet.

  Figures moved behind him, and I glanced up to see his guard pacing by the far wall, peering out the windows every so often as if afraid of an attack.

  “Why are you here? I assumed you would be busy rebuilding still.” I motioned for him to sit with me at the table.

  He did so and held his head in his hands, muttering incoherently under his breath.

  “Someone better explain now,” I snarled, and Boris stood at attention along with the rest of my guard.

  “Don’t blame them,” Forrest said as he straightened and looked me dead in the eye. “I’m the one who told them to wait to tell you here instead.”

  “Tell me what?” I asked, emphasizing each word with a growl.

  “Craig and Kate… they’re missing.”

  I couldn’t have heard him right, but he didn’t say anything further. “That’s not possible.”

  “Exactly what I thought, but neither of them can be found. Luca said he saw Craig go into his chambers that night and stood outside to guard his door as always,” Forrest explained roughly. “When he went in to wake him before changing his shift with another guard, the room was empty. They’ve been searching for days, but no sign of him, or what happened.”

  “And Kate?”

  He shrugged, and I saw a flicker of pain slither across his eyes before he answered. “She was at her new home in the Darrah lands. Same story. They saw her enter, but then she just vanished. Like she wasn’t even there.”

  I glanced past Forrest where Boris was speaking quietly with the dragon guards. “And you? Have you seen anything strange?”

  “Nothing. I have sent word to Drake as well, and Lucy. Whatever took them, I have a feeling it’s not finished.” He rubbed his hands over his suddenly tired-looking face and smiled bitterly. “Here I prayed that the shadow was only that, a shadow that we’d never see again.”

  “We need to find them.”

  “Sire,” Boris stated loudly, earning my glare. “I respect you wish to jump into action, but we know nothing about this… this new threat and if it’s coming after monarchs, the last thing you should do is leave.”

  “Why? Clearly it has no regards for guards or walls,” I argued. “I will be no safer here than out on the road.”

  He opened his mouth, but I stood and rested my hands flat on the table.

  “I will not be kept locked away like a child. I am King of Torolf and I am leaving to help seek out Craig and Kate. We will double the guard at the castle, ensure our people are safe, and then I will leave.”

  Boris’ lips thinned in annoyance, but he bowed his head. “As you wish, sire.”

  “Good. Forrest, if you wish to remain here until we are ready to depart, I will have accommodations made and we can set out in the morning.”

  “Thank you, that would be most appreciated. The past few days have been long and I have not exactly slept soundly since.”

  He sighed as he stood and I led him from the room to join me for a drink in a more private part of the castle.

  We walked through the castle, our guards trailing behind until we reached my chambers. I waved them off and we entered. I closed the door soundly behind us.

  “Now then, do you have any good news to deliver or just this?” I asked with a quirked brow as I poured out two glasses of ale. “You have not taken a queen yet. A dragon such as yourself should have them lining up to wed you.”

  He half-smirked, sinking into an armchair by the hearth, holding only burning embers now. “Oh they are, but I’m afraid none of them are quite who I dreamt of having by my side.”

  “No? They’re not good enough for you… or they’re not Kate?”

  “Both, maybe?” he said as I sat across from him. “I’m happy for her and Craig, really I am, it’s just… she’s just a fiery woman, and strong. One day I might find those same qualities in another, but I doubt she’ll be wearing heels and a gown,” he added with a laugh before his eyes darkened. “Tristan, I can’t sense them.”

  I lowered my glass from my mouth without taking a sip. “Neither of them?”

  He shook his head. “Nothing, not even a whisper. It’s been less since we defeated Cassius, but I knew where they were, knew they were safe, but now it’s like we were never connected at all.”

  I refused to say the words aloud, the same ones I saw were clearly on his mind. They were already dead. Whatever took them, killed them, and all we’d find were bodies.

  But it just wasn’t possible. Kate was the Vindicar. I’d seen her power, seen her with Craig and Forrest as they fought. Whatever stole them away would not kill them easily.

  “We’ll find them, I swear to you we will,” I told him firmly.

  “I don’t even know where to begin,” he whispered. “There is nothing left behind, no trail to follow. How do you track someone when they simply vanish into thin air?”

  “We’re trackers by nature,” I reminded him. “If there’s a trail to follow, I’ll find it.”

  “And then what?”

  I gulped down my ale and set the empty glass on the table nearby. “Then we get them back and hopefully get some damn insight to whatever’s doing this to us. I’m tried of not having answers. If this thing wants a war, then I say we show it exactly what it’s up against.”

  He lifted his glass in toast and took a long swallow. “Lucy and Greyson have been researching around the clock for anything on this shadow with the fiery eyes.”

  “And?”

  “And nothing. They’re still working on learning what Cassius did all those centuries ago with his father to awaken the darkness in the first place.” His harsh tone was enough to tell me this was still a touchy subject for him.

  I could barely handle my own life, let alone coming to grips with a past life that had suffered and died trying to save the world. There were ghosts in his eyes that shouldn’t be there, but he’d told me before how Malcolm’s memories were always with him. He dreamt about those days, which only made it harder for him to get over Kate and move on, since he continually saw Celandine in his sleep.

  Perhaps remaining a bachelor king was for the best. For him, and for me. There was enough to worry about without some woman driving a man insane day in and day out.

  “If you need anything, just let one of the guards know outside your door,” I told him as I found my feet.

  “I can help you prepare,” he suggested, but I was already shaking my head.

  “You need rest, especially if we’re to begin the hunt tomorrow morning. Sleep, Forrest. I’ll send someone to wake you by dinner.”

  He rose and made for the door, thanking me again before one of my servants offered to lead him to his rooms for the duration o
f his stay. Several of my own guards accompanied them, an added precaution to ensure no harm came to the dragon king while beneath my roof.

  “I do not like it,” Boris said the second Forrest turned the corner.

  “You don’t have to,” I muttered with a growl. “You think I do?”

  “Running about the realms will only draw attention to yourself,” he argued hotly. “As your Commander, I do suggest you reconsider this course of action and—”

  “And do what?” I whirled around furiously, feeling the wolf wanting to break free, but I held myself back as everyone in the hall froze around me. “To let others take risks that their own king isn’t willing to take himself? The demon king and the Vindicar are missing. It is the duty of every monarch to lend aid in finding them, Boris. I will not sit idly by, twiddling my thumbs in this dank, depressing castle waiting for them to be found when I can do something about it! We’ve sat still for far too long,” I added, pivoting on my heel and storming off down the hall. “Too damn long.”

  Since the battle with Cassius, I hadn’t been able to stop thinking what could’ve happened if we paid attention to what happened in our realm and the others. Would we have seen the signs sooner? Realized Raghnall had been possessed?

  So many chances to save more lives, but we missed them all because we’d been too caught up in our own problems, afraid to look outside Torolf. No longer.

  Peace had most certainly ended and if it was a war this darkness wanted, then it was a war it would get.

  Taking two of our pieces had been its first move.

  I grinned darkly, thinking of the havoc I would bestow upon him the second we found his hiding place.

  My inner wolf howled with excitement at the idea of a new hunt and fresh blood.

  Soon, very soon the beast would be unleashed.