Ronan: Night Wolves

by Lisa Daniels

  “That’s… that’s illegal!” Merle blustered.

  “That’s unusual,” Darcen said, his yellow eyes alarmed but puzzled at the same time. “You shouldn’t be able to remove light so efficiently.”

  Now Bethany appeared confused, ignoring the gasps from the students in the library. “We all know this is possible. We just don’t do it.”

  “Yes, but…” Now Darcen looked around, furtive, before raising his hand. Light gradually streamed from Bethany and Yelena’s glow necklaces. The stream was quite visible, directing towards Darcen. “You see? When I draw on the light, it’s slower and suctions towards me. But when you did it… the light vanished instantly.”

  Two guards crashed in, faces thunderous.

  “And we’re going to have to explain what we’ve just done,” Merle said with a sigh. “I swear, Darcen, if you get me arrested, we’re not speaking to each other again.”

  One awkward conversation later, with a promise that what had happened was just an experiment (though they’d need to visit the king and queen later to confirm), Merle and Darcen stared at Bethany with more respect in their eyes.

  “Perhaps what you say is right. Kiara does do strange magic—and you seem to have an unusual ability of your own. It’s not normal to do it so fast. We’ll discuss this with the others. And mention… your ability in passing.”

  Better than no progress at all.

  “We’ll invite you to the academy as well,” Merle said. “Conduct some more tests on that magic of yours. Maybe see if you can take your sister’s magic. That might be fascinating…”

  Both men had the gleam of potential new knowledge in their eyes. The scholars bowed and left, and Bethany’s mood brightened. A weight lifted off her chest.

  They might not believe Bethany completely, but they weren’t prepared to dismiss what she said anymore.

  So that was something.

  “You really, really shouldn’t have done that without asking,” Ronan said. “We may not be as strict as the Fjordans with the whole lightweaving issue, but there’s going to be questions. Not going to be fun, explaining to the king just why we decided to steal all the lights in the library.”

  “That’s the least of our worries,” Bethany said. “About time we do something with the night hordes, with finding out more about our past. Maybe even looking into finding out if we can return the light to the sun. If it’s still up there, but hidden.” And I’d much prefer being involved in this than sitting around in Fjordan all the time.

  She grinned, though the other two still appeared wary.

  Bethany knew anyone could draw upon light. She just didn’t realize that her ability was a little more immediate.

  Kanthus is going to keep me busy for a while. Yelena left, promising to visit later, leaving Bethany and Ronan in the library together. Since the guards came, Ronan had reverted from slumping on his chair to sitting straight, hands clasped together.

  “Well, this should be exciting,” Ronan said, now leaning forward to give Bethany a quick kiss on the cheek. She grabbed him before he could move away, and kissed him back on the lips.

  “If we’re not thrown in jail first, that is.”

  “We’ll be fine,” he assured her. “Probably.”

  Bethany closed her eyes, thinking about the blur of nights that had passed. The images ran through her head, all feeling like different lifetimes. The terror of being in that cage, of hearing the sobs of others, the raucous laughter of the bandits and their broken huts. The fear and pity upon seeing the werewolf for the first time. All those scars, those wounds. Yelena, guarded, so careful, but taken along for the ride.

  Drawing upon the lights, running, running. Sleepless latenights and the constant threat of the endless dark.

  All of which led her here, accidental wife to a werewolf.

  Not that she minded. As people went, you could do a lot worse than Ronan. Even if he acted like he knew this fact as well. He might just help her to relax her attitude on life a bit, help her to drop the mask she hated wearing.

  Though she probably needed to stop stealing light…

  “I still can’t get used to it, you know,” Ronan said, his lower lip quavering for a moment. “Dealing with the fact I’m free. All the nights seemed to blur together after a while. Just… having them force-feed me. Sometimes taking me out, to stop me completely wasting away. They wanted me weak, but not too weak…”

  His hand squeezed hers tightly. “I have bad dreams about it.”

  Instantly, her blood pulsed in pity. “Of course you would. I don’t think I want to imagine everything they put you through.”

  “It’s best not to tell you everything, Princess. But it wasn’t anything good. The best times were when I’d be left alone, forgotten for a little while. Without my werewolf generation… I should have died. Each night blurred into another. And then you came. Not yet broken. Not yet sold. Bringing something back to my life that I’d long since abandoned. Hope.”

  He lay his head gratefully against her hand, smiling in a way that made her both happy and want to cry.

  “All I did was slip you a lock pick.”

  “Ah… but you did so much more than just give a lock pick. I want you to understand that.”

  “Really, it wasn’t…” Bethany’s words trailed off. He meant every word. Finally she accepted what he said. “Okay. I’m glad… you’re out of that place now.”

  “And I’m glad to be here with you.” He rubbed his cheek against her knuckles, still smiling in that blissful way.

  So damn cute. She had to prod him on the nose, and she loved the way he wrinkled the skin around it when she did so.

  “We should go somewhere else. Warmer. Like a bedroom.”

  “Yes…” Bethany gently began to stand up, prompting him to do the same. “That sounds like an excellent idea.”

  “I always have excellent ideas,” he replied, grinning as they walked out of the library.

  Annora’s Dragon

  By: Lisa Daniels

  Chapter 1

  Competition and Criminals

  Annora looked around, her blue-green eyes taking in the picturesque landscape. Had she been anyone else, her breath would have been taken away by the way the rising sun reflected against the ocean and the brilliant colors of the sky. Annora noticed none of these things as she scanned the horizon. Her thoughts were focused on one thing only – finding the dragon that had burned down the villages of King Salmon and Marked Tree. The inhabitants of King Salmon had largely escaped with their lives, but the people of the small town of Marked Tree had not been so lucky. She had known many of those who had died. While she hadn’t been exactly friendly with them, the people had always treated her well, despite her profession. Dragon hunters were not popular. They were considered boorish, brutal, and generally cold. The people of Marked Tree had not felt that way; they had always been understanding that you did what you had to do to make a living. It was an easier sentiment for the people of Marked Tree to understand since that was the way most of them lived.

  Initially, she had refused the request of King Salmon to hunt down the dragon, but after it decimated Marked Tree, she took up the contract. What Annora did not tell her employers was that she would go after the dragon with or without their payment. After all, if you could get paid while getting revenge, it provided a little extra incentive. Dragons were among the toughest creatures to kill, and there were times when the fight didn’t seem worth it. The odds of dying were significantly higher than surviving. It’s probably why dragon hunters were so wild and unpredictable. And they were incredibly expensive. You had to be either a certain type of desperate or a large amount of crazy to join this profession.

  Annora was neither of these. Dragons had destroyed three of her homes by the time she was 12 years old, leaving her an orphan after the second attack. She never questioned what she should become. For her, the job was a vendetta.

  That had been 15 years ago.

  As the woman stood on the c
liffside scanning for the familiar outline of a dragon, a few strands of her wavy, chestnut-colored hair passed over her vision. She seemed not to notice, her attention too intent on finding the one thing she was after. Standing there, any passerby would have thought she was a strange statue – a fair woman wearing men’s clothing and carrying a pair of weapons. The sword was angled up so that she could quickly remove it from the scabbard. A dirk was located slightly higher on the right side. Men who saw her often laughed, believing that she didn’t understand that real sword wielders carried the sword on the left side to make it easier to remove with the dominant right hand. Their laughter lasted only as long as it took Annora to level the sword at their throats, her left hand firmly grasping it with a level of expertise that few others had.

  Annora’s eyes sparkled as her cold smile told the men she knew how to use the weapon just as well as they. “Yes, it should be on the opposite side of the dominant hand. Why do you think it’s on my right side?”

  No man who ever tried to challenge her during these encounters was ever able to use a weapon afterward.

  Men were easy when you were accustomed to dealing with dragons.

  The breeze on the cliffside caused her dark-brown braid to sway, the only sign that she wasn’t a statue. The dragon hunter didn’t feel it gently tapping against the small of her back as she took in the horizon.

  Then she saw it. The creature was smaller than most she had seen, but that didn’t mean anything when it came to dragons. Females tended to be smaller than males, but they were far more vicious. Of course, the dragon may have been young still and was testing out its strength and power for the first time. Annora watched the graceful arch as the dragon soared over the water in the distance. A wry grin spread across her face as she imagined how much fun the dragon was having. Probably the same look it had when it decimated Marked Tree.

  She was about to move when a movement at the bottom of the cliff caught her attention. For a second, she thought she had seen wings. If there were two dragons, she would have to reconsider the agreement. Either she would require more money or turn it down.

  Shaking her head, Annora knew that she couldn’t do anything without confirming a second dragon. The fact that the dragon on the horizon was playing indicated that it did not realize that another dragon was nearby, and dragons did not tend to be stealthy. With that kind of power and size, stealth was hardly a necessary (or practical) skill to have. Considering how territorial they were, there were only a few reasons why two would appear in the same area together. This kind of distance between them made no sense. It was likely that the wing belonged to something else, perhaps a griffin or siren.

  Taking a step forward, Annora looked over the cliff. To her surprise, a human was walking along the beach, his eyes also on the dragon in the distance. Her eyes flicked up to watch the movement of the dragon on the horizon, then back to the man. He was tall with curly black hair that moved with the breeze sweeping along the beach. For a moment she stared at his figure as he moved along the edge of the waves in the same direction as the dragon. It was obvious that the man was a fighter. The way his muscles pressed against his clothing was easy to see even from the cliff top. Even if she hadn’t been able to see the tensed muscles in his arms as he stood and folded them to watch the dragon’s progress, the broadsword on his back left no question that he was a warrior.

  She completely forgot about what had caused her to look over the edge in the first place.

  Competition.

  It was the only thought that mattered amidst the jumble of other words floating through her head as she gazed at him.

  Her eyes swept over his figure one more time, taking in the details. Best to know the competition, she thought, unable to admit even to herself that he was rather pleasing to watch from such a distance. He quickly unfolded his arms and turned toward the cliff face. Annora was startled for a moment and backed away where she would not be seen. Giving her head a shake, the dragon slayer turned and quickly moved back into the woods following the same direction in which the dragon had gone. She was going to have to work fast with someone else also after it. There was no way she was going to let anyone else take this kill because it wasn’t just about the money. Annora was going to make it suffer for what it had done to the people of Marked Tree.

  Annora walked into Defiance, a bustling town and port. She had only been there once before, nearly five years ago, and it had grown considerably since then. The change was a bit unsettling. Had the woman known that it had changed so drastically, she would have gone to Kildeer. However, that was another three miles out of the way, and she didn’t want to go so far out of her way just because of a bit of discomfort. Not at this hour. Not when someone else appeared to be after her kill.

  She didn’t notice any of the merchants or customers going about their lives as she headed toward what had once been a small and inviting inn. To her disappointment, that inn had burned down three years ago. In its place was a merchants’ guild. Glaring at the building, Annora saw someone approaching her from the corner of her eye. It was getting dark, and she wasn’t accustomed to so much light, but it did make the shadows and movement much easier to detect.

  “Hello…” Annora slowly turned to look at the man addressing her. He was about to say something, but stopped when he got close. “Oh. Hello, ma’am. What do you think?”

  Annora watched as the man folded his arms over his chest. He was clearly a merchant and he was looking up at the building with a sense of pride.

  Usually she would just turn and walk away, but she did need some information as she had no idea where to go for the night. She attempted a small smile when he looked at her. “It certainly looks nice.” The woman’s mind was scoffing at him as the man returned her smile with a huge grin.

  “Nice!” He laughed. “There is no building in this magnificent town as costly or luxurious.”

  Annora simply blinked at him. “Well, that is something, then.” She fought to keep her tone from being too sarcastic.

  The man didn’t seem to notice. “It’s mine, you know.”

  Suddenly Annora didn’t feel like asking this man for assistance. “Good for you.” Her tone was nearly monotone as she gave him a condescending look. “If you will-”

  Ignoring her words, the man pressed on. “And I dare say you are quite a pretty thing, aren’t you?” He winked at her. Annora merely stared back at him, her cold eyes warning him not to continue. The man seemed oblivious to the warning. “I’ll tell you what. If you will give me the pleasure of your company for, oh, let’s say three days, I will-”

  Annora spun on her heel, her braid hitting the man’s arm with an audible smack. Ignoring whatever he had to say, she walked purposefully back the way she had come.

  Unsure of where to find lodgings, the dragon hunter headed toward the water. The town was located at the mouth of the Allia, the longest river in Senones, a country that, until recently, had been backward. After the Cremera War, though, Senones had been growing rapidly, having benefited from aiding the victorious country of Volsci. Annora didn’t know the politics behind it, nor did she care. The only thing that mattered to her was that the small town she once understood was now yet another place she planned to avoid in the future.

  As she reached the port, a hand fell on her shoulder. The woman’s instinct was to draw her blade, but she could hear someone gasping for breath and saying her name.

  “Annora! My gods, but I never expected to run into you here!” There was a very melodic laugh and the tension eased from Annora’s shoulders.

  Turning to face the woman, Annora tried to keep her face straight. “Hello, Bree.” She could not help the way one of her eyebrows raised and the corner of her mouth likewise went up.

  There was another laugh as the curly-haired, redheaded woman placed a hand on her hip and stood up straight. Dramatically, she expelled a long breath, “Wooooo, but you are a hard woman to catch.” She beamed from ear to ear. “Don’t know what brought you here,
but damn, it is good to see you. It’s been, what? Three? Four years?”

  Annora couldn’t hide a small smile. “It’s been a year and a half.”

  Bree looked shocked. “That’s it? Are you sure? No! It has to have been longer! Your hair is almost twice as long now.”

  Annora shook her head, the braid swaying back and forth. “Just a couple of inches. It was just after the war ended. That was about two years ago.” Bree’s eyebrows were furrowed. “Remember? We were in Illyrian when the army came through and you-”

  Bree began laughing. “Oh yeah! That was amazingly fun. You should have joined me.”

  Annora just shook her head.

  Bree looked her friend in the eyes. “So, where are you staying and for how long?”

  Annora looked out over the water. “Just staying for the night, but I don’t have a where yet. The Boar’s Snout Inn burned down and I really don’t know anywhere else.”

  Bree threaded her arm through Annora’s. “Now that’s what I want to hear. You’re coming with me.” Annora knew better than to try to fight at this point – Bree had never been one to listen once she heard what she wanted to hear. A rare smile spread across the dragon hunter’s face as her friend gently steered them toward one of the more luxurious inns in Defiance.

  Annora stepped out of The Palace Paradise and shook her head. Bree had finagled a room for her, despite how packed the place was, and had managed to get it for free. Laughingly, Bree had told her that the room wasn’t free, it just wasn’t a bill that either of them would be paying. The woman was a couple of years younger than Annora with a personality that was the complete antithesis of Annora’s, despite the pair having grown up on the streets together in the modest city of Achaean. Bree’s given name had been Brianna, but she had always said it was too formal. Where Annora was cold and serious to a fault, Bree was charismatic and gregarious almost to the point of obnoxiousness.

  Still, Annora loved her like a sister and was sad when Bree had taken her to a small but nicely-furnished room, then announced that she had to tend to a few things that night. Annora thought she knew what Bree was up to, so it was best not to ask, just as Bree never asked her about dragon hunting. Their outlooks on life were very different, and both felt the other had taken on a job that was too dangerous. The best way to avoid arguments was to simply avoid talking about work.