by Rain Oxford
Fortunately, Emiko misunderstood and pulled a key ring out of her cleavage before unlocking the door. Her soft blush made me wonder where else she was pink. She pulled the door open and waited, but I put my hand on her lower back and pushed her into the cell.
“There’s no way I’m leaving you out here to lock me in,” I said, taking her arm. Pulling her over to the bed, I nudged my father. “Father, wake up,” I said. I received no response.
Emiko laughed. “I knew you were regal.” I twisted her arm a bit to shut her up, but her grunt caused a backlash. If her grunt was that cute, I wanted to know what her moan sounded like. “Hurry up. It’s too cold down here,” she wined. I put my face real close to hers and growled. Her mouth shut with a snap.
My father finally stirred and after a few moments, opened his eyes and looked at me. He smiled for a second before memories flickered across his eyes. I had grown a lot since I left, but I figured his slow reaction had more to do with his poor health. “Mordon. Why are you here?”
“Five years and that’s how you greet your son?” I asked. Somewhere in the moment I saw him with my eyes shifted, I forgave him. He was cruel to me my entire life, but he was my father and five years was a long time to hold a grudge.
On the other hand, the woman trying to wiggle out of my grip needed to be taught manners.
I helped my father off of the bed and by the time we made it to the stairs, he was walking on his own, albeit with an obvious limp. I let Emiko go only after she gave up trying to get out of my grip. Luckily, I knew exactly how to get back to the throne room, since the dragoness was no help; she spent the entire time whining about me letting her pet go.
There are four ways to shut her up. Pick one and do it, Rojan grouched. I ignored him, because if I looked at her wet, pink lips again I would pick one. Even her teeth were pretty.
“How did you end up in this situation?” I asked my father.
“Kaori-mor asked me to help when several of her dragons were poisoned. She sent me to several clutches and I questioned them, but I found nothing. I guess she got frustrated and imprisoned me.”
We had just arrived at the throne room when I scented the sudden increase in Emiko’s adrenaline. Rojan took control before I could even turn around and with lightning speed, I had her pinned against the wall, her left hand immobilized across her back and her right hand against the stone. I squeezed her arm until she dropped the knife, then flipped her around so that I could growl to her face. There was no telling whether it was me or Rojan in control.
Really, really bad idea. Even with her arms restrained, she struggled hard enough that I had to pin her with my body, which put my face really close to hers. My own adrenaline was pumping and I was breathing her scent in. Her foul attitude and selfishness was clear to my dragon senses, but her exterior scent was actually really nice. And she was warm; her body radiated heat.
If she could just keep her mouth shut, maybe I could get myself together.
With a great deal of self-control, I let her go and turned around before heading for the door. My father followed me out to the ship that was waiting for us. Instead of heading back to the kingdom, I directed the ship home. It meant spending the entire day with my father, but at least I was sure I wouldn’t end up trapped as king.
* * *
After eating some preserved meat product for lunch, I stood next to him, looking out over the water. He had washed the dirt off of himself and the clothes he wore, but nobody had predicted that the king would need clothes. Although he hadn’t cut his black, shoulder-length hair and he wore it loose, it was clean and combed. He was noticeably malnourished and favored his right leg.
It was silent for hours between us as I waited for him to criticize me or yell at me for something. I was so prepared for him to ridicule me that it came as a shock to me when he finally did speak.
“You have grown taller.”
I hesitated. “Yes.”
“You look like Rojan,” he said. I shrugged, since it was true. “Are you happy with your life now?”
“I’m very happy with my life,” I said, smiling a little. Rojan muttered about a cave, but I ignored him. “I have a little place on Shomodii and some really great friends. My best friend has two boys that I spend a lot of time with.”
“Are you going to have any children of your own? Do you have a woman?”
“No. Shomodii really isn’t the best place to find a wife.” I watched him out the corner of my eye, waiting for his reaction. “Dragons are immortal, so I have plenty of time,” I said.
He gasped and swallowed a couple of times. “Have you been to see the king of Shomodii? I have not spoken with him in ten years, but I know he has twin daughters about your age. The girls are brilliant with magic, especially elemental magic, like fire.”
I made a rude sound of disbelief and my father raised his hand to smack me. I closed my eyes; he always took my self-defense as defiance. The dungeons were dark and cold and after spending many nights in them for defending myself against my father, it was my first instinct to take the beating. Having spent his life yielding a sword, his strength was nothing to laugh about.
After a moment, when his hand did not strike, I opened my eyes. He had his head hung in shame and his hands lowered. My father showing regret was new to me.
“I am sorry,” he said. “A son should never fear his father.”
“You’ve changed a lot since I left. Are you happy?” I asked.
He shrugged. “I have no family left and my kingdom thinks I am ignorant.” He looked at me. “However, I went to an orphanage a few months ago, right before Kaori-mor contacted me. I had been giving them money for better food and teachers, though I only went in to sign some papers. This little boy knocked on the door and came in. He was five and looked just like you, except his eyes were both purple. He was skinny like you were, too. His parents had given him up because they couldn’t afford him. He had heard I was the one who was giving money to the orphanage and wrote me a letter, thanking me. All I could think about was that if I hadn’t charged so many taxes, his parents could have kept him. Then right before he left, I realized there are two more parents out there besides myself who made a horrible mistake.” He looked away from me.
“You were always so stubborn, so set in your ways,” I said. “I know you don’t want to hear this, but the one thing you did raise me to be is honest. If anything frightened you or threatened your rule, even if it were just in your mind, you turned your blade on it. You ran the kingdom with methods outdated and you expected me to rule it the same way. When I didn’t do things how you wanted them done, you beat me.”
“I thought I was making you stronger.”
“You were, I guess, at least in one respect. You made it very easy for me to leave. You made enemies all over the world with your suspicions and lack of mercy. I was constantly thwarting assassinations, curses, and traps placed on you by those who were betrayed by you. Everyone who wasn’t in your kingdom was your enemy, and plenty of your own citizens as well.”
My father was quiet, making him appear even more malnourished than he was. “I know that even your best friend, the person you knew as long as your family, could turn on you.”
“You never told me Sujike-mor was your friend. It wasn’t you he betrayed. He was a dragon hunter, which was horrible, but he didn’t kill my mother,” I said.
“How did you know about Sujike?” After I stared at him for a moment, he went on. “He said he could save her and you. If he hadn’t, I could have convinced her to take the physician’s treatment. She could have lived.”
I would never have been born, but he was almost correct; she might possibly have lived. “I’m sorry your best friend didn’t do what you thought was best. I’m sure he tried, but I cannot defend him, for he is the reason Rojan’s mate and children are dead. That is not a reason to treat everyone on Duran, as well as your son, as a traitor.”
“I never treated you that way!” I could smell that he was a
little offended even while his expression showed nothing. “If Sujike could betray me, anyone could.”
“Loyalty must be earned.”
“You know nothing about it. You are far too young. I was friends with Sujike for more years than you have been alive. We were like brothers. He was the first one to hold my daughter. I assume you found out about her, too.”
I nodded and sighed. “You know nothing about me. I may have only been friends with Dylan for seven years, but I trust him with my life.” My father studied me doubtfully. “He has already nearly torn the universe apart to save me. If he stood before me and stabbed me in the heart, I would forgive him and know he was doing it for a good reason.”
“There is nothing I can say to that.”
“Because you have never known someone who would only ever do what he thought was the right thing to do?”
“Because I have. Your mother was a very moral woman and the best person I knew. I told her I would give anything for her, but the only thing she ever asked of me… I failed. She wanted me to give you a good life. I interpreted that as making you into a fine king. I wanted what I thought was best for you. It was difficult for me because you always looked more like Rojan than me. Every time you did something that I thought wasn’t appropriate behavior for a prince, I felt like you were rebelling against me because of him.”
I smirked. “I would have let myself be chained to the throne if you had ever shown me one little hint of acceptance. I wanted to make you proud, even more than I wanted to get away from the kingdom.”
“And then you would be miserable now and I would still be in denial. I suppressed a part of you. I didn’t realize Rojan was a part of you, I just thought I could keep him from becoming who you were.”
“He saved my life. He gave me life, just like you and my mother. Rojan isn’t a father to me or anything, but he’s there. I can hear his thoughts and feel his emotions. And you really didn’t answer my question.”
“I am happier than I used to be. I would be happier if you would ever talk to me again.”
“I am talking to you now,” I said. He looked at me, hopeful, and I specifically looked away. “I have a home where I’m happy, but maybe a family visit once in a while wouldn’t hurt. I can visit Mokii.” I would have offered to let him visit me, but with Dylan and the boys so close and always over, there was no telling what he would see if he dropped in unannounced. We were never going to have a relationship as comfortable as Dylan and Edward, but I wouldn’t reject him as long as he didn’t try to ridicule me or guilt me into being king.
“Why did you come after me?” he asked.
“I ran into some dragons who said you were asking them about a plant they had.”
“A plant? Kaori-mor directed me to several dragon clutches to ask them about a poison. Some of her dragons have been poisoned. Even though she betrayed and imprisoned me, she was correct about that. I have seen an adult dragon go from perfectly healthy to dead in five minutes, but that was the most violent reaction.”
“How many have been poisoned?”
“Fifteen. Six were killed since I arrived.”
“How are they getting poisoned? Food? Water?”
“It alternates. Kaori-mor’s adviser was healthy and fine until he took a sip of his water during dinner. He was dead five minutes later and the physician was too afraid to touch him. It was a real nasty death, very painful looking. I studied the water and found plant matter dissolved in it. It wasn’t poison, but it acted like it on dragons. I tried to send the water to the kingdom to be examined, but it disappeared. Under the oblivious eye of three people, it was taken. Some others had it in their food or even dropped after not eating or drinking anything.”
“Did you question anyone in Emiko’s kingdom?” I asked. He gaped at me. “Sorry, Kaori-mor’s kingdom,” I amended. Using the queen’s first name was too familiar for the amount of time I knew her, especially since she had such a high title. Even though she was a dragon, she had a sago name, so I had to use it appropriately.
“I questioned many guards and staff of the castle, but ultimately found nothing.”
“How many of the dragons targeted were close to Kaori-mor?”
“Almost every dragon poisoned was close to Kaori-mor, though I cannot be certain that anyone in particular was targeted. Like I said, someone would be talking to us and then just drop. Food and drink would be served up to everyone and it would be in a certain item. It occurred to me that it was maybe more of a scare tactic than an assassination attempt.”
“Could be. I saw a little sago child. Are there any sago who live on the island, or was he visiting?”
“A few sago live there, only five or six at the most.”
“Where does the food and drink come from?”
“There are farmers, but several hunters go to the mainland and bring back various meats. After I thought to analyze the contaminated water, I examined all food and water that I saw. I managed to catch it many times, but the number affected never went down. It is possible that I was poisoned with the plant myself, but it had no effect.”
“Have Mokomo examine you for unusual substances. I don’t smell anything wrong with you, and I would know, but it never hurts to get a medical eye. Why were there no guards with Kaori-mor? There were guards at the door, but nobody guarding her in particular. In fact, the fortress was nearly deserted.”
“I wondered that myself. I was in that dungeon for at least a month. Before I was confined, the castle was full.”
“Maybe there were many more deaths. Keep asking around, but stay away from her. Most likely, this is an attack on dragons and a poison that only affects them, so you should be safe. Make sure you scan everything you ingest just in case. Your highest priority is to find a sample of the poison and get Mokomo to make an antidote.”
He stared at me. “Do you realize how easily you deliver orders?”
“I learned a lot from Dylan. He talks more than he needs to, but words of brilliance come flying out of his rambles.” Oddly enough, few people have figured out that he talks so much for a reason; usually either as a distraction or in order to get a reaction out of someone. I have seen people blurt out their plans just to get Dylan to stop talking.
“So you learned how to be a leader from your friend and not from your father who is a king?”
“You lead by threat. Dylan doesn’t really want to lead, he just comes up with plans really well and everyone who knows him wants to follow him. By the way, what happened to your leg?” I asked. His fingers were tight on the rail of the boat as if he was in pain and his stance was wide. My father never had trouble at sea before.
He shook his head. “I am getting old. One of the dragoness’s guards and I got in an argument. He shifted. I plan to have Mokomo take a look at it.”
* * *
Growing up as the son of a man who had more enemies than friends, there was nothing that woke me faster than the sound of a gun being shot. I had enough time to sit up before the ship tipped and I was thrown out of bed. Disorientated and wary of a mad shooter, I stayed down until I could collect my senses. The floor was quickly flooding with water, the ship was rocking violently, and I was alone with my father.
As I had requested, we were in the smallest ship my father had, which may have been a bad call on my part. The lower deck actually consisted of two meager beds and a large table. It was not a ship meant for long distances, so there was no shelving or treasured items flying about, but there was also nothing to grip.
My father, who had successfully clung to his bed, released his hold, reached out, and clutched the table. It was sturdy, wooden, and nailed to the floor, so I thought it was a great idea. As I tried to grab the nearest table leg, the ship rocked again, causing me to roll away. My father managed to catch my arm and pulled me easily within reach of the table. Another shot rang out and when my father made a move for the door, I held him back. It seemed that between the table and my father, the king was the sturdiest.
&nb
sp; “You can’t go out there when someone is shooting!” I yelled over the sound of the commotion. Someone opened the door and water crashed through. Luckily, the now knee-high water wasn’t extremely cold.
“I may be an ignorant old king, but I know how to hold my own. This isn’t my first time at sea,” he said confidently. He shook off my grip and made his way steadily to the door, then climbed up the ladder and out onto the deck before I could even get to the steps.
My father never listened.
I climbed the slippery metal ladder carefully. It was an hour or so before dawn and the chill of the morning would have stopped me any other time, but I didn’t have a moment to hesitate. I had forgotten about the pirates between Mokii and Shomodii.
Ten men were trying to raid the tiny vessel, while our one captain was doing his best with a sword and a child’s degree of magic. Unfortunately, the pirates had guns. The tables turned when my father arrived. With no weapon and month-old clothes, he appeared feeble and outmatched, but the man was not just the king of Mokii. Before anything else, he was a highly trained wizard.
Instantly assessing the scene and locating the leader, my father waved his hand in a sideways motion. A huge wave built over the side of the ship and crashed into the largest clump of bandits, washing most of them into the sea. While the ship spun, my father was unbothered. He faced the next nearest opponent and thrust out his hand in a jabbing motion. The thief froze, as if in fear, but without breathing or making a sound. The captain seemed to see his advantage and drew his sword on the immobilized pirate.
“You have all come to the wrong ship!” my father yelled. His voice carried over the sounds of the ocean and the panicked men in the water.
“That was our mistake. We will leave!” the smallest of the pirates promised. He was no older than eighteen, so I had to assume that he was either an orphan, or one of these men was his father.
The king seemed to consider it for a moment. “No. You will not leave. As penance for your foolishness, I will take your ship.” The ship the thieves owned was quite a lot nicer than our own. “However, I am a kind man and will not leave you stranded. You can have this boat.”