Awakening The Dragon (Exiled Dragons Book 9)

by Sarah J. Stone

  “Ready to go home, Princess?”

  “Yes, please.”

  “Princess, one thing,” he told her.

  “Don’t tell anyone you are a dragon,” she replied with a smile.

  “It would be best for me,” he said.

  “I think that it is the least I can do for a man that just saved my life.”

  “Thank you.”

  CHAPTER 3

  As they approached the castle, knights flooded outward, surrounding them.

  “Halt!” one of them yelled at him, stopping beside him and placing a sword to Aodh’s neck as he and the Princess stood just outside the gates. The knight looked down at them from behind his armor as he remained perched atop his horse.

  “Remove that sword this instant!” Princess Katherine demanded.

  “I am sorry, Your Highness, but I cannot,” the knight replied.

  “Unless you want me to have you beheaded at dawn’s first light, you will do as I ask,” she replied.

  His expression was indiscernible beneath the heavy metal helmet he wore, but Aodh had no doubt he was not pleased about being ordered around by a woman, royalty or not. Still, he lowered the sword.

  “Is this the man that took you?” he asked.

  “Of course not! Do you think he would have taken me and then delivered me and himself back to you? This is Aodh. He works in our stables and he did what your men could not do. He saved me from the men that took me and brought me back home. Now, stand aside!”

  The circle of knights that had gathered around them parted as their leader waved his hand for them to do so. Katherine grabbed Aodh’s hand, pulling him into the castle gates. He looked at her, astonished at the fact she was touching him in front of everyone. It was not fitting for someone of the royal family to hold the hand of a mere servant. Aodh pulled his hand away, causing Katherine to scowl at him and reach for it again, leading him toward the entrance to the castle from the outer courtyard.

  “Katherine. Thank God!” her father exclaimed as he came barreling out the front doors, at first oblivious to Aodh’s presence beside her. However, the previously admonished guard was quick to pull up by them and take advantage of the situation.

  “You’ll kneel before the King,” he demanded, hitting Aodh in his lower back with a large stick with such force that he was instantly forced downward, pain shooting outward in all directions from the blow.

  His hand was yanked free of Katherine’s, involuntarily, this time. As the knight drew the stick upward, keen on another blow, he found himself blocked as Katherine threw herself behind Aodh, staring defiantly at him.

  “You will put down that stick before I have it used on you, instead,” she barked at him.

  The knight frowned at her, but lowered the stick as he turned to look at her father.

  “Do as she says,” the King said before turning back to Katherine. “What is the meaning of all this? Who is this man? Oh, I’m so thankful the knights have returned you to me safely.”

  The King pulled her into his arms, leaving Aodh exposed to the knight again. He prepared himself for another blow, but none came as Katherine quickly extracted herself from her father and turned back toward him.

  “You are dismissed,” she told the knight.

  “I only answer to the King,” he replied.

  “You will not speak down to my daughter,” the King advised him. “Go and thank you for what you’ve done to return her to her proper place.”

  “He did nothing, Father. He was nowhere to be found. As a matter of fact, I don’t think the knights you sent have had time to return, and yet, he is still here, looking as fresh as the morning sun. Did you even leave the castle grounds to find me?” she said, her eyes squinted at him as she realized he had cowered behind the castle walls and sent others in his stead.

  “I…” he began to say.

  “We will discuss this later. Take your men and make leave of us,” the King told him again.

  He began to pull Katherine toward the doors to the castle, but she refused to go without Aodh.

  “You cannot leave him out here,” she told him.

  “Who?” the King replied, not comprehending that Aodh was even present, much less that he was of any significance. As was usual for people of his class and those of royalty, it was if the common man didn’t even exist.

  “Aodh. He works in our stables. He is the one that rescued me from those horrible men that took me.”

  “Ah, I see,” he said to her. He turned back and faced Aodh, looking him up and down as he spoke. “Thank you for your service beyond your position here at the castle. I will see to it that you and your family are handsomely rewarded for your actions.”

  “Father! Please! Aodh is coming in with us for our evening meal,” Katherine told him.

  “Katherine, I understand that he has done you a great deed, but we cannot invite a commoner into our home. It is unheard of.”

  “There is nothing common about Aodh,” Katherine replied.

  Behind them, the Queen appeared in the doorway. Aodh cast his eyes downward upon seeing her, but was surprised to find her hand extended, lifting his chin up to examine his face. She smiled and waved her hand toward her husband as if to hush him.

  “Stop being so self-important, Charles. It appears this man has done the work that dozens of your knights failed to do. Not only did they allow our daughter to be taken from under their noses, but they failed to retrieve her, as well. You owe this man much more than some coins as a reward.”

  “Margaret! This is not appropriate!” he insisted.

  “Well, you are the King. Write a decree or something deeming it fit,” she told him, reaching for Aodh’s hand and guiding him to his feet. “Come on, young man. I would like to hear this tale of how you saved my beloved Katherine.”

  The King watched as she led Aodh into the castle with Katherine following closely behind. Finally, he sighed and followed them inside, motioning for the knights that guarded the front door to secure it as they disappeared inside.

  “Please wait here for a moment,” the King said to him, arriving by his side and stopping him for a moment.

  “Of course, your majesty,” Aodh replied, feeling very uncomfortable with this entire situation.

  What was he supposed to say about the battle with men? It would be hard to explain how a man like himself single-handedly took out the more than two dozen men they would find littering the countryside beyond the castle walls, but he certainly couldn’t tell the truth.

  The King disappeared into a nearby room with his wife and daughter. They spoke in hushed tones behind the heavy doors. It seemed like forever that he stood there waiting. Then, a young woman appeared and addressed him.

  “Aodh, is it?” she asked.

  “Yes,” he replied.

  “Come with me,” she told him.

  “Where are we going?”

  “We have to get you dressed for dinner. You aren’t fit to sit at the King’s table in your current state.”

  Aodh looked down at himself. He was dirty, as were his clothes. He supposed he was being taken to somewhere to get washed up, but he wasn’t expecting to be guided into the large guilded bath reserved for men of far more importance than himself.

  “Strip off those rags,” a rather stern woman advised as they stepped inside the room. His young escort stood to one side of the door and waited quietly as the other woman addressed him.

  “What? Why?” he stammered.

  “Unless you are accustomed to taking your baths in a full state of dress, you won’t be needing them. I will take them and find something of similar sizing for you to wear to dinner. Something more suitable,” she said.

  It was obvious that she found him distasteful. Being a servant within the castle was of much higher stature than being a stable hand, but she was still of no higher class than himself in the broad scheme of things. All it would take was for her to fall into one disfavor with the royal family and she could end up in a local pub slinging p
ints for men far worse than him.

  Aodh removed his clothes and handed them to her. She took them and left the room without another word, miffed that she was forced to treat another servant with any dignities she deemed above his standing. The maiden that had led him there, looked him up and down appreciatively but did not comment other than directing him toward the large marble bath sunken into the floor ahead of him.

  “Would you like for me to bathe you?”

  “What? No. I can bathe myself!” he said.

  “I don’t mind,” she added with a sultry smile.

  “No. I will do it myself,” he replied, ignoring her flirtations and slipping into the water.

  “Very well,” she replied, turning on her heel to walk away. It was obvious that he had offended her, but he had no desire to entertain any fantasies she might have about a liaison with a handsome stranger. He was not surprised when another young woman was sent in her place to help him towel off and provide him with clean clothes and boots.

  “Thank you,” he told her.

  “You’re welcome. I don’t know what you did, but I don’t recall ever having someone like you allowed in the baths and given audience with the King, much less breaking bread with him.”

  “Just my lucky day, I guess.” He laughed.

  “Must be. Get dressed and I will take you to the dining hall.”

  Aodh pulled on the clothes he was given. They were soft and clean, made of much finer threads than anything he owned. The woman who had selected them might not be lacking in social skills, but she had done an excellent job of sizing them to his frame. When he was done, the young woman led him to a great hall. It was empty, aside from him.

  “They will be with you shortly,” she told him before turning to leave.

  “Wait. What am I supposed to do when they come?” he asked, feeling incredibly anxious. Something certainly not normal for him.

  “Eat?” she replied with a kind smile, obviously not understanding what he was truly trying to ask.

  “No. I mean, do I bow? Do I wait for them to be seated? What is proper?”

  “Ah. I see. Your first time in a castle.”

  That wasn’t exactly true, but it was his first time in a castle in human form. As far as this castle, it wasn’t nearly his first time here. It was the first time he was expected to honor traditional courtesies to royalty though.

  “Just kneel when they are announced and remain so until asked to take a seat by one of them. After that, just be polite as you would if you saw royalty outside the castle walls,” she whispered.

  “Thank you. Thank you so much,” he replied. “I’m sorry. I don’t know your name.”

  “It is Hega,” she told him.

  “Thank you, Hega. I am Aodh,” he replied.

  “Pleased to make your acquaintance, Aodh. Perhaps we will see one another in the markets sometimes,” she told him with a kind smile before exiting the room.

  It seemed like he stood there forever. His back still ached from the blow he had been given by the knight but he didn’t dare sit, lest he be caught in that position without warning. He was very tempted to just slip out before dinner, but he knew that he would be offending not only Katherine, but the entire family. It was not often that a man such as himself could spend time in the presence of royalty.

  Instead, he paced back and forth while he waited. He was on edge, completely out of his element in this place. It wasn’t like him at all to be this ill at ease, but there was something about this place that set him on edge. It looked different than the last time he had been there. Though it was quite a large dining hall, it seemed much smaller than he remembered. Perhaps it was because he had been much smaller the last time he had seen it.

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  Chapter 1

  Life had become aimless.

  Samuel padded through the woods, disinterested in the small wildlife that moved about him. His bear form was agile, but right now he moved sluggishly. When had he become so bored with life?

  Humans contemplated eternity with fascination.

  They seemed to think that living with no end in sight was some sort of wondrous adventure. They could not be more disillusioned.

  Samuel the Warrior.

  Samuel the Wise.

  Samuel the Scholar.

  Names given to him that meant nothing now.

  When was the last time he had fought for a cause? When was the last time he had surrounded himself with books? Life had become so empty. A branch scraped against his side, and he ignored the slash of pain. Sure enough, the wound healed within a heartbeat.

  Death was a morbid subject, one with which he had become quite fascinated.

  Sometimes, he assumed his younger form and wandered around the humans who loved death. But they were naïve, mere children who discussed forces that were out of their intellectual depth. Sometimes, he sat amongst the elderly, and became one of them.

  Humans were lucky. Although, they feared death, it was the very incentive that led them to enjoy their life to the fullest. He had had children. He had seen them grow up and take mates of their own. And he had left when he had realized his time was near.

  The love of a woman was not unknown to him. But Clara was dead and had been gone for centuries.

  Sometimes, he tried to recall the sound of her voice when she had been angry at him, or her infectious laughter. But he failed. He couldn’t even remember what his youngest had looked like when he had last seen him.

  Of course, Roy was buried now.

  His children had lived full lives, and sometimes he went to check on his extended family. How long had it been since he had gone to the markers where his family was buried? Emily, his eldest daughter, had been furious when he had decided to leave.

  Of course, he hadn’t known at that time that he would meet that damned vampire and outlive his entire family as a result.

  A grunt.

  He felt a twinge of pain when he thought of them, but four hundred years was a long time. He had met women; played with them for a while, but no one had ever caught his interest, not like Clara. Nobody was quite like his mate, so open with her emotions. He had spent half of his mortal life running after her, making sure she didn’t get herself killed with that honesty of hers. Clara had always been direct, no sugarcoating the truth.

  Samuel stared at a spot on the ground. How long had he been standing there, lost in his thoughts? The sun danced on the ground, playing hide and seek with the foliage, thin beams peeking out from behind the leaves. Maybe he should lie down here and take a nap?

  No, he didn’t quite like the shade. It was cold for early November. The fog that had settled in the woods was ominous to many a creature, but not to him.

  He had no home anymore.

  Changing his train of thought as quickly as it had come to him, he started moving. He should probably eat something as well. Since the sun was out, he should find a nice spot which would warm him up as he took a nap.

  A lingering scent caught his attention, and his bear recognized it as something new.

  Human, but not human.

  As he moved further, he caught traces of that earthy scent. It almost felt like the entire place had been scent-marked by a predator claiming its land. This place was new to him. He didn’t like to stay in one place for too long, so moving about gave him an activity to do.

  Samuel paused for a heartbeat and looked at the dense foliage ahead. Should he even bother?

  The scholar in him sat up, revealing some interest. This was a scent that he had never come across. Not a witch, not a shifter. Every species had an underlying scent that gave away their kind. This was different.

  He cast a look at the dying sunlight. It was going to become dark soon, and he h
ad not bothered looking for a place to sleep. A cave would have been a suitable reprieve after so many nights of sleeping under the open sky.

  His head turned to study the dense shrubbery. Every time he looked at it, it seemed that it had been placed there almost deliberately. It piqued his interest. After so many years of just going through the motions of living, anything that stirred his bear’s curiosity was worth checking out.

  He nosed his way through the barrier and muscled his body out of it. The sound of something snapping back into place had him turning around.

  The shrubbery looked like nothing had disturbed it. The broken twigs and leaves were back in place, having grown back immediately.

  The bear cocked his head.

  Sure smelled like the handiwork of a witch.

  It was then that he got a proper view of where he stood – a large clearing that was surrounded by a circle of trees. A few steps ahead of him was a body of water, something akin to a pond. The sunlight reflected on the water, giving it a shimmering appearance.

  A small, gardening patch was just a few feet away from the pond. As Samuel padded closer, he saw that it was a vegetable garden of sorts. He sniffed at a cabbage that protruded from the ground. It smelled fresh and raw.

  He wouldn’t mind having cabbage stew at this very moment.

  Turning his head, he looked at the small cottage that sat there. It wasn’t very new, meaning that either someone had been living here for quite a few decades, or had inhabited the stone building and built a life around it.

  Fresh flowers in the window showed that whomever it was considered themselves well protected, enough to leave an access point into their home, open and unguarded. There was no sign of life in this place, and if it hadn’t been for the flowers and the lingering scent in the air, he wouldn’t have thought that anyone…

  A soft humming.

  Samuel watched, motionless, as a young woman emerged from the back of the cottage. Her skin was an earthy tone with freckles spread all over her dainty, little nose. Those cobalt eyes did not seem surprised to see him, neither was there a shift in her scent to reveal any fear.