“Now,” Dineiro and I said at the same time. “Let’s get it over with,” I added. I couldn’t live with this uncertainty, and apparently neither could my mate.
“Very well,” the king said. “We’ll make the preparations. Perhaps you’d like to say good-bye in the meantime.”
Apparently, they’d expected Dineiro and me to want this. When we gave them room, they began to draw a wide circle on the floor using a strange translucent powder. We turned toward our host, no, our new friend. “You can’t begin to imagine how much your help meant to us,” I told Orion.
“It was freely offered, and your presence honored my home.” Behind his normally serious expression, I detected a measure of regret. “Who knows? Mayhap we’ll meet again.”
Grier nodded. “I admit I’m going to miss you, but I have faith that we’ll see each other one day.”
Prince Julian and his mate looked upset. “I wish you could have stayed,” Mackenzie said, gazing toward Dineiro. “We could have given birth at the same time. It’s kind of boring with only Grier around.”
There was laughter all around, lightening the mood a little. Dineiro hugged Grier and then Mackenzie tightly. “Of course, you are all correct,” he said. “This isn’t good-bye, just farewell.”
“I certainly hope so,” Julian commented as he and I shook hands. “Avalon sounds very interesting. I’d love to visit sometime.”
As we waited for the royal couple to finish the ritual, Orion ordered for a servant to bring us our luggage. I was dismayed, since we had come here empty-handed, but he insisted. “This way, at least, you’ll have a memento of your time on Earth.”
“I don’t know what to say,” my lover answered, genuinely touched. In the end, he kissed Orion’s cheek, and the vampire blinked, looking taken aback by my mate’s touch. Nevertheless, he didn’t comment, instead accepting the gesture as it was meant to be received, as a sign of friendship. Just as the servant appeared with our bags, Julian’s parents finished the spell. Dineiro and I shouldered our bags and stepped into the circle. Samuel and Beatrice were outside it, but with their hands extended.
“Ready?” Samuel asked.
I nodded. I held on to my mate with one palm, using the other to grip Samuel’s. My mate did the same with Beatrice. “Thank you again for all your help,” Dineiro said. “May the Goddess shine love upon your path forever.”
“Rest assured that should you ever visit Avalon, we’ll return the favor,” I offered. “Farewell.”
As I said my good-byes, I sensed the power of the incubus already drifting into me. It reached out to a small part of me I hadn’t even been aware of, or rather, to something that had been artificially attached to my consciousness. I could see it now, and confirmed that the anchor spell was, indeed, unstable.
Samuel snapped the magic, and I felt my world become dimmer. I squeezed Dineiro’s hand tighter, hoping that I’d still be holding it at the other side. He squeezed it back and inhaled deeply, as if to center himself.
This proved to be a bad idea. At the last moment, Dineiro wrinkled his nose and sneezed. Some of the translucent powder used for the spell blew away. I saw Beatrice’s eyes widen, but there was no time to fix anything. The bonds keeping Dineiro and I tied to Earth broke, and once more, we fell into the darkness.
I didn’t know how long it lasted. I was aware of very little throughout our journey. In fact, at one point, I blacked out entirely. However, when I did recover, I instantly knew two things with great clarity. No, Dineiro’s hand had not remained in mine, but to a certain extent, the incubus couple had come through for us. I was home, in Arthuria.
How did I know that, you might ask? Easy. The first thing I saw was Medwin, sitting by my bedside, looking tired and concerned. So, home, and in my quarters. I stirred and rubbed my sore temples, seeking out my connection with my mate. I had to have faith that Dineiro had reached Avalon, too. Unfortunately, it seemed clear that we’d been separated somewhere along the way, but given the fact that I’d ended up in Arthuria, that might have been a good thing, at least in some regards. My mate would never be safe here, not until I managed to drastically change things.
My brother interrupted me before I could get an answer from Dineiro. “Thank the Gods,” he gasped out, clutching my hand in near despair. “We almost thought we’d lost you.”
“Why would you think that?” I inquired.
To my surprise, it was my oldest sibling who replied. I hadn’t even noticed Leonard in the room, which spoke volumes of my condition. Granted, unlike Medwin, he’d been sitting farther away from the bed, but still, I should have spotted him. “You’ve been out of it for three days, brother,” he told me. “Father even sent for a Morgannian medic since it seemed clear that magic brought you in this condition.”
Three days? Surely not. It hadn’t happened when we’d first traveled between worlds. At least, I didn’t think so. After all, we’d landed in that park, and someone would have noticed us had we been lying there for so long.
But that was irrelevant. I needed to know what had happened with my mate. If something had gone wrong with me, Dineiro and our son could have been hurt as well. Once again, I reached out to him through our bond, fighting back my panic. “Dini? Answer me, baby. Please answer me.”
A few seconds later, Dineiro’s voice popped up in my mind, tentative and hesitant. “Rili? Is that you, or am I imagining things?”
“Oh, thank the Gods,” I said. “It’s me, baby. I’m in Arthuria. It seems I was unconscious for three days.”
“But are you safe?” he asked earnestly. “Are you unharmed?”
“It’d take more than a little spell to put me down,” I joked, aching to be at his side and soothe his anxiousness with kisses. “What of you, baby? Are you all right? Our child?”
“I’m fine. Back home…This is all wrong, love. It’s my fault. If I hadn’t sneezed…”
“Don’t be silly,” I rushed to correct him. “If you hadn’t sneezed, we might not have met at all. Look, I’ll come to you. Fate brought us together once. I won’t let it separate us.”
At that, he released a small laugh, and I was ecstatic at hearing it. “I very much doubt Bowie would even try.” Sobering, he asked quietly, “Will you really come?”
I’d have attempted to reassure him, but I became aware of my brothers giving me odd looks. “Kirril? Did you hear what I said?”
No, actually, I hadn’t heard a word. I’d been too focused on my mate. But I couldn’t exactly tell them that, not just yet. I trusted my brothers, but they weren’t ready to hear everything that had happened to me since we’d last seen each other.
“I’m sorry,” I replied apologetically. “I wasn’t paying attention. What is it?”
Medwin still looked concerned, something that didn’t surprise me. “I asked you what happened. Do you remember anything? Was it the dragon that attacked you? Did it kill Magda?”
I couldn’t help but twitch at the reminder of what I’d gone to Merlinia to do. It also didn’t help that his words confirmed what I’d in my heart already known. Magda had not been returned here. “No,” I replied bitingly. “It wasn’t a dragon.”
Unfortunately, my frustration and anger at myself showed, and Leonard immediately noticed. “All right, little brother. You’re going to tell us exactly what happened, and you’re going to start right this instant.”
I might have done just that, but the door opened and our mother rushed inside. Her eyes were red and swollen, surrounded by dark circles. She carried a bowl of water and a washcloth, which she promptly dropped when she saw me. “Kirril!” she gasped. “You’re awake.”
“Mother.” I bowed my head in respect, feeling accomplished when the action didn’t cause my temples to throb in pain. “Greetings.”
My mother had been obviously caring for me and my formal welcome was unsatisfying for her. She pounced on me, hugging me tightly with a strength that belied her small stature. “None of that nonsense. Do you have any idea what you put me
through? I just knew that dragon-slaying thing would get you hurt. Oh, my baby. How do you feel?”
She fussed over me, going from angry to worried in the blink of an eye. I hugged her and patted her hair, wondering how she’d take my inevitable departure. “I’m fine, Mother,” I told her. “It was nothing serious.”
Sadly, she’d never appreciated being deceived. She pulled away from me, her eyes narrowing in disapproval. I prepared myself for a tongue lashing, but it never happened. My father stepped into my quarters, having obviously been notified by the guards of my recovery.
“Welcome back,” he told me. “I knew you’d wake up soon.”
His faith in me had always warmed me inside, but this time, the feeling was tempered when he added, “It’s regrettable that you couldn’t bring the dragon’s head, but perhaps it was my fault. It’s clearly not an errand one man can take up. The Morgannian king be damned, I’m not sending any of you to perish out there. My army can take care of the entire Merlinian population of dragons.”
A cold chill swept through me. It wouldn’t be very easy for Arthurian soldiers to find their way through Merlinia, but they still represented a danger for my mate. “Father, what did you do?”
“A troop of two hundred men has already been dispatched,” Leonard replied in my sire’s stead. “This is no longer about the alliance with Morganna. We take care of our own.”
Even realizing that I needed to keep my calm, I couldn’t help but imagine my mate lying in a pool of blood, his beautiful skin marred by wounds. He’d survived me, yes, but two hundred Arthurians were not easy to fight. Knowing my brother, he must have insisted to go along, but it seemed obvious that our father had refused him.
I needed to stop this at all costs. “Call them back,” I said. “You don’t know what you’re doing.”
Everyone seemed taken aback by my outburst. My father narrowed his eyes at me. “If you’re worried that they’ll be harmed, you need to—”
“I’m worried about what they might do,” I interrupted him, throwing off the blankets and jumping out of the bed. “Merlinia is a beautiful country, and dragons aren’t what we were taught to believe. They’re people, Father. They shift. What you had me and the other soldiers do was nothing short of murder.”
“Brother, be calm,” Medwin tried to soothe me. “You’re confused. Merlinia is dangerous. We’ve always known this, and it’s time for that threat to be more adequately assessed.”
“I’m not confused!” I shouted. “Are you even listening to me? Dragons are shape-shifters, and they haven’t hurt us with anything, not in ages. Why should we attack first?”
“Whether they shape change or not, it doesn’t matter,” my father replied coldly. “They’re still monsters. I don’t know what you saw out there, Kirril, but it’s clear to me that you’re not as unharmed as I originally thought. You will remain locked up here in your room until your sense comes back.”
Without giving me a chance to reply, he turned on his heel and stalked out of the room. My mother gave me a look full of regret, then followed. My brothers did the same, although I could tell they were confused and uncertain regarding this sudden development.
As they left me alone in my quarters, I immediately began to plot. I couldn’t wait for my father to change his mind. My mate needed me. I had to find a way out of here. But how? How could I escape the palace that had once been my home but had now become my prison?
Chapter Twelve:
In Which There Are Family Interventions
My mate was trapped in Arthuria by orders of his father, the king. An army of human slayers headed toward Merlinia. However, I was oddly ecstatic. Given the fact that, mere minutes ago, I’d been contemplating the chances of Kirril being dead, the new information I’d received filled my heart with joy. Kirril was safe. The rest didn’t matter to me.
I let out of cry of glee and rushed out of the cave, still in my dragon form. As I burst into the air, I allowed myself to feel the bliss of flight, which I had refused to accept during these long days of sorrow. My sudden explosion of enthusiasm didn’t go unnoticed to my guardian, as before I could get too far, I was intercepted by someone far larger than myself.
“Where do you think you’re going?” my mother asked me, huffing a breath of cold air in my direction.
“Just spreading my wings,” I told her. “Oh, Mother. He’s alive. He’s not hurt.”
“Your slayer?” I could almost see her compute this new information. “I suppose that’s a reason for celebration. But where exactly is he now?”
At her inquiry, I remembered the rest of what I’d caught from Kirril’s mind. That wasn’t so good, and my parents needed to know. I knew they were perfectly capable of defending themselves, but that didn’t mean I wanted them to face any danger.
“He’s in Arthuria.” I flew closer to her and placed a paw on her shoulder. “Oh, Mother. Not all of it is good news. He was unconscious for three days, so his father sent a troop of soldiers this way.”
“Oh, them.” My mother waved a paw dismissively. “We’ve already received notice of their approach. Honestly, the humans are insane if they think such a course of action will be accepted. Once those men step onto Merlinian soil, their fates will be sealed.”
I was horrified. Obviously, a lot of things had happened while I lay in my cave, hiding from the world. If my parents hurt Kirril’s people, a war might break out. My bond with my mate would never break, but we’d never have peace to enjoy our love. And so many would die, human and dragon. No. I absolutely couldn’t allow it. There had to be a way to avoid it.
“Please, Mother,” I begged her. “Surely you must realize what this will do to us, and them.”
She released a heavy sigh, and together, we landed on a nearby cliff. “We weren’t the first ones to attack, Dini,” she replied. “I know how you feel about your human, but he’s still a slayer. He hurt you.”
“He’s the father of my child,” I replied bitingly, “and my mate. We’re in love.”
For a few moments, she didn’t reply, instead looking away from me into the distant horizon. In truth, I’d been very surprised when I’d awakened in my cave, only to find my parents waiting there. It seemed that they had felt my absence and had come looking for me. My trail ended here, but they had run into Vesper and Larue, who’d apparently made their way back here in a desperate attempt to find me. I didn’t know much about the specifics since at the time, I’d been too lost in the terrible silence of my connection with Kirril. Oh, I’d known Kirril wasn’t dead, but I’d feared he might have ended up on some other world, or Goddess knew where else.
Shockingly, my parents had proven to be quite supportive when they’d learned the truth. This surprised me a lot, given our less than amiable separation. As it turned out, they’d never been angry with me for my disobeying and leaving the tribe. In fact, my mother, who was by her ice dragon nature colder, had now self-appointed herself as my guardian, while my father hunted for us and flew around to check for any foes. I guessed that in one of his long trips, he must have somehow found out about the Arthurian army.
“I can understand your situation, Dini,” my mother finally said. “But what will you have us do? Arthurians see us as monsters. They’d never listen to reason. Has your mate even tried to get them to stop? Has he even told them about your bond?”
I hated to admit it, but she was right, at least to a certain extent. “He attempted to convince his father to pull back the soldiers, but he became a prisoner for his trouble,” I admitted, already waiting for the “I told you so.”
It never came. Instead, my mother looked surprised, having obviously not expected Kirril to even try to defend us. “You should give him a chance,” I told her softly. “He’s a good man.”
“Perhaps you’re right,” she mused. “But his kind are stubborn and set in their ways. Your Kirril seems fond of you, which is why he was more open to change. Not so with the rest of the Arthurians. Otherwise, they’d have never imprisone
d him.”
“They believe him to be addled,” I replied. My enthusiasm for having found my mate was now melting into concern. “We have to find a way to get him out of there.”
As it turned out, my mate must have been monitoring our conversation, because his voice popped into my head. “You’re not coming anywhere near Arthuria. Give me time. My father has already posted guards everywhere, but I think I could make a break for it if I really wanted to.”
“Don’t you want to?” I inquired, confused and unsettled.
“If I run, there will be no one here to make them see the error of their ways,” my mate answered. “I’ve decided on a plan of action. I’ll talk to my brothers. I’ll tell them about you and our son. Perhaps they can help me reach out to our father before it’s too late. If not…Well, I’m a resourceful man. I promise you, baby, I’ll return to you.”
On instinct, I reached out to my mother and clasped her paw. “What did he say?” she asked, having apparently guessed that I’d been talking to Kirril.
I explained Kirril’s plan, while my mother remained silent, musing over what I told her. “I’ll try to keep the attack on the Arthurian force in check,” she finally offered. “But if they go too deep into Merlinia, I can’t promise anything.”
In the end, I couldn’t ask for anything more. I only hoped my mate’s trust in his brothers was justified, because otherwise, we were all in trouble.
* * * *
The hours passed slowly while I remained trapped in my quarters. I’d stolen a look outside my balcony, only to find guards posted there. I suspected I could probably escape either way, but what I’d told the mate was the truth. If I didn’t do something about it, my country would fall into an unnecessary war.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, there was a knock at the door. I’d been waiting for a servant girl to bring me my meal, hoping that I could coax her to deliver a message to my brothers. Instead, I watched both Leonard and Medwin slip into my room, looking glum. “You wanted to tell us something,” Leonard said without preamble. “We’re listening.”
My Mate's a Dragon Slayer? Page 11