Evander (Stratham Shifters Book 4)

by Sarah J. Stone

  Enya took a deep, shuddering breath, feeling sympathy for the girl. She had been that afraid once. She just hoped that her fears would turn out wrong. Enya had been lucky, but she was loved by a prince. Would Yvette be so lucky?

  Chapter 4

  “What is wrong with her?” Peter asked, as they waited for Yvette to pack her things. Armand waited with them in the front hall, although it was clear that he wasn't happy. He saw it in his best interest, though, to speak to his king about the child he had come to think of as his own.

  “I will send her medical records with her,” he said. “Yvette has a malformation in her brain. It affects all systems of her body and has already done damage to her. Had her parents taken care of her, it might have been easier. But now, there are many complications before attempting a surgery that may or may not save her.”

  “She will die?” Peter asked, emotionlessly.

  “It's possible, yes,” Armand said. “There's a lot she needs on a daily basis.”

  “We will give it to her,” Peter's word was law, and Alexander was glad to hear him speak with such authority again, even under such circumstances. “She will not be lonely on Umora. There has been an influx of Earth girls lately.”

  “If you're referring to your sisters in law,” Alexander replied, “one of whom is your queen, I'm sure they don't appreciate it.”

  “A carapace queen,” Peter said. “A dead king. Father would roll over in his grave.”

  “Or return,” Alexander reminded him, and Peter fell silent.

  Yvette soon returned in the hallway, a suitcase in her hand. She had been crying and seemed not comforted by Enya who was trying to assure her it was fine.

  “Yvette!” Thomas' voice snapped as he came barrelling through the hallway. Now that he knew the truth, Alexander could see the former warrior was moving slowly, his muscles not quite snapping to attention. Peter stepped between the two of them, putting an arm out. Thomas ran right into it, grunting.

  “You may not want to recognize me as king, boy,” Peter growled. “I am not of your type. But Cole is, and he is my brother. Do you understand me?”

  Thomas snarled, but he no longer possessed the strength to fight Peter. Peter stepped back, and Yvette froze. She was terrified, but she held her chin high.

  “Do I have your word?” she asked softly. “That when this job is done, I can return?”

  “You have our word,” Alexander substituted for Peter. “Please.”

  He really hadn't wanted it to come to this. But with no other choice, he held open the door.

  “Is he your boyfriend?” Enya asked Yvette, trying to distract her as they walked out the door. To get back to the transport point was a longer journey, as the next train was not an express. “Thomas?”

  “Um…It's complicated,” Yvette replied. “He had someone, before he…died…and now that he's back, he's in limbo. But yes, we care for each other a great deal.”

  “I know what complicated is like,” Enya replied. “Cole was jailed the first time we went home to Umora. It took a lot of work, but he is the better half of me, and I the better half of him.”

  “I just want this to be over with,” Yvette said, softly. “I have not heard good things about what has been happening on Umora.”

  “Even Earth becomes much more frightening when you know the truth,” Enya replied, as they got into the cab. “It will be alright. I promise.”

  “Armand seems different,” Alexander said to Peter, as they slipped in to the large cab. “He seemed so nervous. I know that Thomas was a problem, but so was Cole.”

  “Perhaps some are just not so patient,” Peter said. “Cole can be a handful. Have they altered his brain?”

  “In a way,” Alexander replied. “It is a prison what they are doing to him. But a different kind of prison.”

  “Keep an eye on the situation,” Peter said.

  “You are very protective today,” Alexander replied, remembering how protective he was on Enya when they did the transfer. It was as if nothing but the small or fragile could break through Peter's black fog.

  “We must protect those who cannot protect themselves,” Peter said, staring out the window. Alexander smiled softly.

  “Yes,” he said, as the countryside began to go by. “We must.”

  The ride seemed twice as long this time. Everyone was tired. The two girls were slumped up against each other on the window of the train, their eyes closed and their chests rising almost in sync. Alexander felt sorry for Yvette, but he knew they couldn't stop. The entire kingdom was at risk, and Peter had not responded to anything else. When it came to family – when it came to the kingdom – hard decisions had to be made.

  When they made it to the transfer point, Peter took Yvette's suitcase, which was something he had never done for anyone. Kings and princes had servants to do things for them, and Peter had probably never carried a bag in his life. But here, he wordlessly took the suitcase as if he had pulled them all his life.

  “Right.” Alexander had not thought about this until they reached the transfer point. There were four of them now, and the magic would have to be spread. Suddenly, he gasped.

  “Alexander?” Peter asked, as his brother's hand clenched.

  “The carapaces,” Alexander turned his head to the left and right. He couldn't see them, but he could feel them. “They are close.”

  He had been drained so badly from them that any exposure en masse like this could be dangerous. He could no longer walk Earth's roads with Ariel, who was only a singular carapace, even if she was powerful. Dragons lived by magic, and they could drain him until he was dead. Peter straightened up, his eyes searching the horizon. It was dark now, and there were very few people around.

  “I can transform,” he said.

  “No,” Alexander snapped. “The last time you were here, you gathered too much attention. You were all over the news as a dragon.”

  “What do I care what the humans think?” Peter snapped.

  “If the carapaces get too close, they will reduce you back to human form,” Alexander said. “For we are descended from humans, after all. They will have more to drag from you if you are a dragon.”

  Peter knew he was right, although he felt his heart rate rise. He longed to beat his wings, to express the emotions that had been building up all day. But instead, he took a deep breath and gathered the magic in his palms.

  “Give me what you have, Alexander,” Peter said, taking his brother's hand.

  “What do I do?” Yvette asked Enya, who turned her head in shock.

  “That's right. You've never been to Umora, have you?”

  “No,” Yvette replied. “Never. I've only heard stories. And to tell you the truth, I haven't heard good stories.”

  “You will be amazed,” Enya assured her, taking her hand. “The princes are wonderful when you get to know them.”

  “I don't want to get to know them,” Yvette kept her voice low, practically whispering in her ear. “I just want to go home.”

  “You will,” Enya said. “Soon enough. Thank you for helping us.”

  She took her hand, squeezing it, as Alexander reached for hers. Enya closed her eyes, and she felt the magic circle around her.

  The ride was rough, and Enya felt like she might black out as they began to swirl.

  Before she knew it, though, the ground was solid beneath her feet. She was sitting on the floor of the antechamber of the palace, and the rest of them were panting beside her.

  “Hi.” Suddenly, Cole was in her face, smiling. “You look like you've been through the wringer.”

  “Cole,” Enya smiled as he helped her up. “This is Yvette. Her boyfriend is Thomas Sparta. Like you, he's–”

  “Thomas is alive? Cool.” Cole grinned. “I'd love to see him and rip his arm off again. All in good fun, of course.”

  Yvette turned pale, and Enya elbowed Cole in the stomach as Alexander struggled up as well.

  “Are you alright, brother?” Peter asked, and Al
exander nodded, giving him a painful smile.

  “Yes,” he said. “Just that traveling to Earth may not be my favorite hobby. Cole, can you show Yvette a room where she might rest? Perhaps near the med bay would be best?”

  “Sure,” Cole seemed completely unfazed by what was happening, giving Yvette a smile. “Do you speak dragon?”

  “A little,” she replied. “English…if you do?”

  “I do.” Cole switched much more flawlessly than when he had first met Enya. “Come with me, ladies. This is the life.”

  Alexander rolled his eyes as he watched him go. Cole would always be his kid brother. Peter was watching them go as well, but his eyes were focused on Yvette.

  “What is the life expectancy of a human?” he asked. Alexander turned to him.

  “A healthy one, 80 years?” he said. “Why?”

  “But not that one?”

  “No,” Alexander replied. “Probably not. Enya neither, although she'll do much better here than elsewhere.”

  “And going to dragons for help,” Peter shook his head. “How has the kingdom come to this? Dragons on Earth, dead and not, shifters mixing. Everything is different.”

  “It hasn't been easy,” Alexander said. “As I'm sure you are finding.”

  “You did a good job, brother,” Peter put his hand on his brother's shoulder. “Don't think that you didn't.”

  “Thank you,” Alexander said, hopeful. “And perhaps no more?”

  “A little longer,” Peter said. “At least, I hope it's just a little. I will not take the throne, brother, if I feel I will put the kingdom in danger. The darkness in my mind, the world around me – it's not what I thought it would be. I hate to admit it, but I could not handle it when I…left. And I find it difficult to handle now, as embarrassing as it was. There is nothing worse than a kingdom who is led into disaster by a king not in control”

  “You don't believe you are in control?” Alexander asked.

  “I can't see past today.,” Peter admired “All I can see, all I long for, is the darkness of sleep. It is not as bad as when I first returned, but it is there. So, a little longer, brother, at least.”

  “Right,” Alexander said, as Peter turned to go. Once alone in the antechamber, he ran a hand over his face. Wandering, he found himself in front of the throne in seconds. As a boy, he had played around the feet of his father and mother, never thinking that it might be his. It was never supposed to be, even in his wildest dreams.

  When he did take it, it was with a heavy but hopeful heart. He would do the best he could until his time was up, one way or another. But he knew that he never belonged there.

  “Alexander?” he felt Ariel before he heard her, and spun around, rearranging his facial features so he didn't betray his heart. “Are you alright?”

  “I am,” he said. “Just lost in thought.”

  “Less thinking,” she said. “More fun. Come on, you've had a long day.”

  He smiled. “Mm. My dear, you always know the words to say.”

  “I don't intend to say words,” she raised her eyebrows. “Just noise. Let's go.”

  He didn't need to be told twice.

  Chapter 5

  When Yvette awoke, she didn't know quite where she was. The bed was vast, enormous, and the room was cold. The walls were grey and stone pillars surrounded her. She thought that perhaps she was dead, until she remembered yesterday.

  She wasn't dead; she was just prisoner of the princes of Umora. She had trusted dragons for months now, seeing them as giving her hope and life. They had seemed like kind people, full of compassion. But they had told her stories of the princes on Umora and how they ruled by an iron fist and a lack of compassion for anyone but themselves. She had heard stories of the way Thomas was treated in the army, of how Armand left because he held his Hippocratic oath above their needs. Armand was still loyal to them, that much was clear. Although, judging by his reaction, she was pretty sure that it was with a heavy heart.

  She was here to teach Peter how things were and how they had been, and to teach him English. Enya had told her that Peter was stubborn, difficult, but she could at least help with the language. It would be up to Yvette to figure out the years of dragon culture and communicate it with him in a way that would make sense. It was easy to catch up dragons on Earth history. They had chosen to live on Earth and wanted to fit in, and she, of course, had grown up on Earth. But she knew very little about Umora. She didn't want to admit it, because she was terrified of what they would do to her.

  She had to just do her job, get paid, and go home. Armand had said Alexander was a man of his word, even if the others were not. She had to trust in that; she had no other choice.

  Breakfast was served to her in bed, and she dressed slowly, trying to delay going downstairs as long as possible. They had told her last night to enter the throne room when she was ready.

  Yvette felt odd today, almost floating. She had the proper dose of medications, and she had slept well. But the atmosphere was different, and she would never get used to seeing dragons walking down the grand palace halls.

  She had seen them only once before, on TV back on Earth. She realized it was Peter she had been watching on the news, terrified along with the Donizettis as Peter murdered and revealed himself to the world. Her world had never been the same since.

  The dragons paid no attention to her as they wandered down the hallways. She knew that they were equally comfortable in dragon form as human form; there was no preference for most of them. They also seemed quite used to humans in the hallway, which made her wonder just how long Enya and Ariel had been here. How long had there been a world above her; how long had humans lived in ignorance?

  She only knew the way to the throne room by the antechamber, which was the way that they came in. She opened the door, expecting it to be empty.

  She did not expect Peter, arm in arm with a beautiful redhead, to be standing there. Cole, Alexander, and another one who was clearly a brother were also there with Enya. Peter looked handsome – stunning even. He looked exactly like what one would expect a king to look like. Yvette had trouble tearing her eyes away from him, and she felt her heart drop when she saw the redhead. There was clearly some sort of connection, some sort of relationship.

  That moment where their eyes had locked in the hallway back on Earth had been nothing, she told herself. He was nice looking, even in her moment of terror.

  She did not expect Peter to be wearing a crown on his head, in full royal regalia. The redhead was clinging to his arm, a crown on her head as well.

  “Yvette,” Enya said in surprise. “We didn't expect you.”

  “Have I interrupted something?”

  “No,” Enya said, with a smile. “Stay with me a moment. I'll explain.”

  Yvette was desperate for anyone to explain anything to her at that point. She had just gone to stand beside her when all of a sudden, loud trumpets blasted from inside the throne room. Yvette jumped several feet in the air as the door opened. Peter went in first, the redhead on his arm.

  “Is that the queen?” she asked.

  “It is,” Enya replied, as the rest of the brothers filed in. She signaled to Cole that she would follow later. Cole, the most laid back of the four, shrugged and headed inside with a grin on his face. “But she is not his wife. The dragons follow an equal opportunity rule. The highest-ranking female is queen, even if she isn't married to Peter. In this case, she's married to Alexander. She is called Ariel, and she was a ballerina on Earth. She's a carapace, though, so it's a bit tricky.”

  “I know of carapaces,” Yvette replied. She was surprised to feel relieved that he had no romantic relationship with the redhead. And why did she care anyways? She missed Thomas. She loved Thomas. “It's all caused quite a mess, hasn't it? So, she's a princess?”

  “Queen of the carapaces and the dragons, at least until Peter married. And never was there such an unwilling and informal queen,” Enya smiled. “The other one you haven't met is Nicholas
, the middle brother. He's a sneaky one, but I like him. He's not often around the palace, preferring to perform the away duties.”

  “He would have been regent, then? Until Peter returned?” Yvette asked, and Enya nodded.

  “That's correct.”

  “Right,” Yvette took a deep breath. “This is all a lot to take in.”

  “It is,” Enya said. “But then, when you consider that you've spent your whole life learning the history of Earth, it's perhaps not that much. It just takes time.”

  “I don't know if I can do this.”

  “You can,” Enya ensured her. “You've endured much worse.”

  The two exchanged a look, the trials of a harsh medical world passing between them.

  “Doesn't that make you a princess?” Yvette asked, at last. “Part of the royal procession?”

  “Oh,” Enya shrugged. “Yes, but I've done it enough times. I'm used to a very simple, very unglamorous lifestyle, so I don't participate if I don't feel like it.”

  “Flexible princess,” Yvette said, with a smile. Enya shrugged.

  “Sure. You have to be if you want to life here. Do you want to go around and watch them?”

  “I'd rather just wait quietly,” Yvette said. “If that's all right? I understand Peter has some duties, of course, but I'd like to get started as soon as possible.”

  “Of course. Go down the hallway to the left, and you'll find a sitting room. He only has to make an appearance today with Ariel, and then I can send him in.”

  “Thank you.” Yvette squeezed her hand. All she wanted was for this whole thing to be over.

  It was only half an hour for the door to open. Yvette had curled up on the couch, staring at the ceiling. It was beautiful and high, painted with epic drawings of dragons and of what she imagined was the story of their rule. There was a mural on the wall of what looked like Earth, and the dragons circling above. She was focused on it when Peter came in.

  “I can do the balcony,” Ariel said to him, as the door opened. “But just for today, I don't like doing it.”