by Zoe Chant
She shook her head. Could she be mistaken?
Almost like magic.
No – there was no mistaking that.
“Look out,” she called – making a mental note that she’d really have to remember to ask this guy’s name once everything was squared away. It seemed rude, somehow, to be pursuing a manticore through a dusty library with a man whose name she didn’t even know. But regardless of that, Darklis knew he’d be able to sense whatever magic the manticore was conjuring up, too.
“I can feel it,” he replied, his voice sounding a little strained.
Whatever it was, Darklis could feel it tugging on her, almost pulling her forward...
Be careful! Her dragon called out a warning a moment before a brilliant flash of light lit up the darkened space of the library. Darklis gasped, throwing up a hand to protect her eyes. But not before she realized what the manticore had done.
He’s created a portal.
A portal to... well, somewhere, anyway – all Darklis knew at that moment was that her feet were skidding on the floor as she tried desperately to stop herself from being sucked forward into it.
Vaguely, she could see the manticore wielding the stolen scepter, snarling as he prepared to jump through the gateway he had created.
“What is that?”
Behind her, Darklis heard the voice of the mystery man. She thought she should probably answer him – but then, that would have taken concentration she just didn’t have right now. Not when she was desperately trying to grab hold of whatever was in reach, as the portal sucked her toward it.
The manticore, his face wild with anger, disappeared into the swirling vortex of light.
Darklis grimaced, gritting her teeth. Now maybe he’d close the thing and she could let go of the bookshelf she was clinging to. Sure, he’d get away with the scepter, but –
“Oof!”
Darklis couldn’t stop herself from letting out an unladylike grunt as something solid, heavy and warm crashed into her back.
She barely had time to register that she had lost her grip on the shelves before she was overtaken by another sensation entirely – something that sent a bolt of electricity straight through her heart and outwards into the rest of her body, setting her fingers and toes tingling, her heart racing in her chest...
Within her, her dragon rose up, beating its wings, its mouth open wide in a triumphant roar.
Our mate, it bellowed, a stream of fire building in its throat. Our mate!
Oh, Darklis had time to think numbly, before she suddenly found herself pulled forward, unable to resist as she was sucked into the swirling vortex of the portal.
Chapter Five
Liev
When Liev finally came to, he found himself staring down into the greenest pair of eyes he had ever seen in his entire life.
For a long moment, all he could do was look down into them, his heart thumping in his chest, the memory of the strange electricity that had surged through him at the moment he had lost his footing and crashed into her still echoing through his body.
Liev blinked, sucking in a quick breath at the memory.
Warmth – a jolt – green eyes – and then –
And a split second later, he realized that the reason he was able to look at the green eyes below him was because he was lying completely on top of their owner.
Liev froze. The wide green eyes blinked.
“I – uh – oh. Excuse me, my lady. I –”
Liev felt the words pouring out of his mouth unrestrained as he scrambled to get up.
He felt horrified at himself – behaving so unchivalrously towards a lady!
Liev felt a hot blush spread across his cheeks. He had been raised to protect women at all costs, to treat them with the utmost respect and dignity – not to lie on top of them like a sack of potatoes!
“I am sorry,” he said quickly as he got to his feet, ducking into a quick bow. “I did not mean to – that is, I hope you are not – let me help you to your feet.”
Liev could hear himself babbling, and it only served to make his mortification worse. The warmth of the lady’s skin still clung to him. It was almost as if he could still feel the softness of her body against his. His heart beat wildly in his chest, as if he’d just run a marathon.
Well, no – since Liev had regularly run marathons as part of his physical training, and none of them had ever made him feel like this.
To his surprise, the lady didn’t take his offered hand – though she did grin as she got to her feet herself.
“It’s fine, really,” she said. “It’s not like you did it on purpose. And anyway, I don’t think either of us could have stopped that portal.”
Liev blinked, frowning. “Portal?”
“Don’t you remember?”
Shaking his head, Liev grimaced. “A little.” His memory was hazy. But now that she mentioned it, things were coming back to him. There’d been... a disturbance... he’d run from the great hall...
Of course, I remember now.
Someone had tried to break into the vault that contained his family hoard.
He’d followed the intruder into the library. And then...
Things came back to him in a rush.
He had followed the intruder into the library – only to find there were two people who weren’t supposed to be there hiding inside.
And one of them was now standing before him, with brilliant green eyes, long dark hair, and the hem of her robes tucked up, exposing the long white expanse of her thigh –
Liev quickly dragged his eyes back up to her face, suspicion rising within him.
“What were you doing in the library?”
The woman bit her lip, looking faintly embarrassed. Liev felt his heart beginning to race as a blush colored her cheeks. Somehow, it only made her more beautiful.
He shook his head. Don’t get distracted, he thought sternly.
“I was reading.”
“Reading?”
“I don’t know why that’s so unbelievable,” the woman retorted quickly. “What else are you supposed to do in a library?”
Liev frowned. That was a good point, he was forced to admit.
“Why were you in the library, then? I don’t seem to recall my father giving anyone permission to be there. You were invited into the castle for –”
“I – okay, I admit, I wasn’t supposed to be there,” the woman interrupted him. “But... look, I just couldn’t resist the temptation. I’m sorry! But you have so many books in your library – books I can’t see anywhere else. I really thought no one would notice I was gone! And I guess no one would have, if that manticore hadn’t chosen today to stage his raid on your hoard, and... well, open a portal to... to wherever this is.” The woman looked around them, wide-eyed.
With a jolt, Liev realized he’d been so preoccupied first with leaping up from on top of her and then demanding to know what she’d been doing that he hadn’t taken the time to look around at all. His fencing master would be horrified. His first lesson had always been to first survey your surroundings, and know what was going on around you at all times.
Fortunately for Liev, what appeared to be going on around him at this precise moment was... not a lot.
Unless one counted filth as something, which Liev was inclined not to.
He’d been raised in Drakos Castle, and the only human places he had ever ventured into had been the villages and small towns that surrounded their mountain home. The villagers knew there were dragons in the mountains and were respectful toward them, and the Drakos Clan had long since vowed never to harm any human, unless the human attacked them first. The little villages Liev knew were small and quaint, filled with markets and dilapidated cottages, with farms patchworking the surrounding hillsides.
He’d never seen anywhere quite like this before.
Brick walls extended upwards on either side of him, while the ground – concrete? – was littered with trash and bits of food. He could see rats foraging amongst
it, scuttling about between the enormous metal boxes that lined the walls.
He could hear the wail of a siren from somewhere far distant, and the smell that wafted to him was... indescribable.
“Where are we?” The words slipped out before he could stop them.
“I... I don’t know.” The woman’s voice shook a little as she answered. As she glanced up at him, Liev realized she was frightened. “Can you... can you feel your dragon?”
Liev sucked in a quick, shocked breath at her question. “Of course I –” he began, before cutting himself off suddenly.
No. No!
Reaching deeply into himself, Liev began searching frantically for his dragon.
Usually he had to do no such thing. The dragon was here, inside him, an ever-present part of him.
It was there whether he liked it or not, sometimes helping him, sometimes offering its unwanted opinion, sometimes blazing with its full dragon instincts, which had to be tempered with his human brain’s moderation.
His dragon was him, a primal source of power, his other self, a heritage that linked him to every other member of his clan...
... And it was gone.
Frantically, Liev raised his hand to his chest. Of course, the dragon didn’t actually live in his chest, but it was where he felt its presence: deep inside his heart.
Nothing.
Liev felt fear ripple through him. It was a sensation that, while not completely unfamiliar, was certainly not something he was used to feeling.
He had been brought up to believe that nothing could stand against any Drakos dragon. Not dragon hunters, not manticores, not humans. He had been trained how to defend himself from the moment he could walk, both in dragon form and human. He had never had any reason to fear.
But not since Magnus had gone missing had he felt quite like this.
“I can’t feel mine either,” the woman said, her green eyes wide, her hand also resting on her chest. “I – I wonder if –”
“What is it?” Liev asked.
The woman shook her head. “I wonder if traveling through the portal caused this,” she said slowly. “I... I don’t know a lot about it, admittedly. But I do remember reading that sometimes ancient magic could have this effect on dragons. Before the spells were perfected, they sometimes had... unintended effects.”
Like this, Liev didn’t need her to add. Like somehow taking our dragons from us...
“We have to get back to Drakos Castle,” he said. “And I need to find the manticore who did this. Who stole from us, and brought us here. I need to make sure my father –”
“Wait, slow down. Who stole from you?” the woman asked, looking up at him, amazement plain on her face. “Are you Prince Liev?”
Liev nodded. “I am.”
For the first time, he noticed the colors of the robes she was wearing. He’d been too distracted by the strange situation they’d found themselves in, but also, he had to admit, by her beauty – not to mention the fleeting glimpse of her legs before she pulled her hemline down. Her robes were green and red, which meant –
“You’re a Novak,” he said in surprise.
“Y-Yes,” she said, still staring up into his face in shock. “Darklis Novak. You don’t remember? I told you my name in the library.”
“I am sorry, but I don’t,” Liev had to confess. “Everything is... hazy.”
He watched in mild confusion as Darklis bit her lip. For a moment, he could swear he saw something in her eyes change, but he couldn’t tell quite what.
“That’s okay,” she said quickly. “I think the only really important thing right now is that we find out where we are – and how to leave.”
“I agree,” Liev said.
“And... uh, maybe that we find something else to wear.”
Liev looked down at his gold and black robes. “Is there a problem with my garments?”
Darklis glanced at him curiously. “You haven’t spent much time around humans?”
“I have,” he said. “I spend a lot of time in the villages surrounding the mountains.”
“No, I mean regular humans,” Darklis said. “Ones who don’t know about dragons.”
“In that case, no,” Liev admitted.
“Because we’re definitely going to stand out wearing this stuff.” Darklis gestured to the long, ceremonial robes that covered her from head to toe, before looking him up and down. Something about her gaze sent warmth shooting along his veins, and Liev had to suppress the urge to clear his throat uncomfortably.
He was a Drakos prince – he did not squirm or blush when people looked at him! Not even when their eyes were as green and sparkling as Darklis’s, or when the memory of them just before the two of them had been sucked into the portal made a strange, inexplicable heat pool in his belly...
“Not that the robes don’t suit you, of course,” she said after a long moment, her words coming out in a rush. And was it Liev’s imagination, or were her cheeks a little flushed? “But if we’re stuck here for a while, we may need to find ourselves something more... well, normal.”
“I will have to trust your guidance on that,” Liev said, as they emerged from the alley, and out into the street.
Blinking in the suddenly bright light, Liev looked around him. The smell, at least, was not so rancid here without the enclosing walls of the alley around them – but instead, it smelled of vile chemicals. Resisting the urge to shake his head and wrinkle his nose, Liev instead tried to focus on what was going on around him. Making the observation it smells was hardly going to be useful to them now.
“Do you know where we are?” he asked Darklis, when at last he felt he had himself under control.
Darklis glanced at him, her eyebrows knit together. “I do,” she said slowly, “but I just don’t know how.”
“Perhaps that will have to be a question for later,” Liev replied, grimacing as a car blaring music roared past them, belching more of its foul-smelling exhaust. “What is the name of this place?”
“You really don’t know?” Darklis asked, before shaking her head. “No, I’m sorry. I don’t know why you would. This is New York City.”
Of course Liev knew where that was – but he had never been here before. He had never had any reason to. He had visited some cities in Europe as part of his education – but he had never set foot in the United States.
“It’s... not like what I pictured,” he said after a moment.
Darklis laughed softly. “Nothing ever is, I suppose.”
Looking around him, Liev was beginning to see what Darklis meant when she said they would have to obtain some other kind of clothing.
The people here didn’t dress like the ones at home – not that the humans of the villages he knew dressed in ceremonial dragon robes either, but certainly he would not have been stared at had he wandered among them dressed as he was now.
But then, the people of the villages around Drakos Castle knew about dragons. He and his family could be open about what they were there. Beyond their lands, Liev knew things were different.
Perhaps he should have appreciated before now just how different.
A few of the people on the street were staring openly at him and Darklis as they passed, raising an eyebrow or shaking their heads a little.
They are impudent, was Liev’s immediate thought, as anger rose within him. Did they think they could laugh at him?
“I do not like it here,” he muttered.
Darklis glanced up at him, a small smile tugging at her lips. “You never wanted to visit New York?”
Liev opened his mouth to answer No, never, but the truth was he simply hadn’t considered it. His duty had always been to his homeland.
“Even if I had,” he finally settled on, “it would not be under these circumstances.”
As he spoke, he again felt the twist of loss in his gut – he needed to get home. Immediately. What must his parents be thinking – his brother? Liev had watched his mother and father mourn Magnus for years, neve
r knowing whether he had been alive or dead, or what had happened to him.
He could not stand to think of what they must be feeling now – how terrified they must be.
If only I had my dragon, I would transform this instant...
Liev shook his head. He had to believe his dragon would return to him soon. The alternative simply did not bear thinking about.
“We need to find a way back to my homelands,” Liev said, forcing himself to speak past the tightness in his throat. “Alternatively, we need to find the manticore who has done this. Our families will be... concerned.”
“You have a point there,” Darklis said softly, her eyes darting away. “But I think the first thing we need to do is –”
“Hey, sweetheart. Nice robes. You going to a costume party?”
Darklis’s words were cut off by the sound of a man’s voice – loud and leering.
Liev looked up to see a small group of men stopped in the middle of the path, snickering amongst themselves and nudging each other.
It was clear the men were fools – not even worthy of the slightest consideration. But still, Liev had to fight down the sudden anger that clutched at his heart. Anger – and a sudden, furious desire to protect Darklis.
How dare they speak to her that way?
“Come,” he said quietly to her, trying to keep his voice even. “We will go elsewhere.”
“Good idea,” Darklis muttered back, her green eyes flashing as she glared at the men.
“Hey – hey cutie, I was talking to you,” the man called out again as they began to turn away. “You fucking deaf or something?”
If we were still in Drakos lands, I would teach him some manners, Liev thought furiously. But he was not in Drakos lands. And while he had promised he would never lift a hand against any human, he was, at this moment, sorely tested.
“Leave her be,” he growled, turning to glare at the man and his cronies. They had clearly stopped where they were in the middle of the sidewalk for the sole purpose of making trouble.
“Liev, we should just go,” Darklis said, shaking her head.
He knew she was right. They were humans, after all, and he was a dragon.