20 Shades of Shifters: A Paranormal Romance Collection

by Demelza Carlton

  “You should have stayed out of it! Not pretended to be my friend, and—”

  “I am your friend.”

  “Bullshit!”

  “When the temple representatives came to me they expressed compassion, explaining you were delusional. They were concerned you were throwing away what you had worked your entire life to achieve.”

  “I don’t care what they said!”

  “The representative advised me that if I helped, you could be safely captured, spend a few months here, get treatment, then be released back to your life. If I had refused, and you made it to the mountains, you might be killed, and if captured alive, held indefinitely. Because you’re my friend, I agreed to assist to ensure your safety, your future.”

  Gwain stared, attempting to process Rob’s justification. “You should have warned me. We’d have taken a different route. Escaped another way.”

  “She’s a voice of the goddess. They would have pursued you to the world’s end.”

  “You condemned her to a fate worse than death. You betrayed me!”

  Rob lowered his gaze to the grimy stone floor. “I didn’t believe you, when you said she needed you, nor did I anticipate she would be so fragile. I didn’t…” He shook his head. “I’m sorry, Gwain.”

  “Sorry?” The word came out as a deep growl. “You’re sorry? Well, I suppose that fixes everything.”

  “No, it doesn’t.”

  “You gave her to monsters! Condemned her!” The words were venomous. “My little sister. I promised to protect her. I swore she would never be forced to return.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “I hope your actions haunt you, Robert. Every night for the rest of her life.”

  “Please—”

  “What you did is beyond any realm of forgiveness. You condemned her to never-ending dreams.” Anger transformed to anguish as Gwain fought to breathe. “You trapped her in nightmares, Robert. The very thing I promised would never happen.”

  Overcome with grief, Gwain hung his head, leaning against the gate, hands digging into rusted metal.

  Reaching between the bars, Rob placed a hand on Gwain’s shoulder in an attempt to offer comfort. For a time, Gwain allowed the contact, the pain too deep to even react to the touch, his failure as fresh now as it had been months before.

  “Gwain,” Robert said, “I thought I was doing the right thing.”

  Jerking back from the gate, he spat, “I don’t give a damn. I want you to leave.”

  “Gwain, please—”

  “There’s no forgiveness.” He met the other man’s gaze head on. “There never will be as long as she remains captive.”

  Robert’s lips parted as though to speak, then closed. He offered a single bow, and turned from the cell. As he reached the end of the corridor, he paused. “For what it’s worth, I am sorry, Gwain. What I did, was out of friendship. Yours was the best I’ve ever had.”

  With that, Rob departed, leaving Gwain to anguished solitude.

  Chapter 21

  Gwain turned from the princess, fixing his gaze back on the running spring. “Six months after I was taken into captivity, my father used his influence to retrieve me. However, before being returned to my family, the priestess escorted me back to the temple, to see my sister.

  “She was…comatose, eyes vacant. She…wasn’t there anymore. My bright, beautiful sister, who would not so much as pull a rose from the vine, was no more. I walked to her, but she shied away from my touch, unable to recognize…” He drew a deep breath. “I kissed her cheek, even though she flinched at the contact, and asked her to be strong. But…my sister was gone.

  “I left brokenhearted and, once home, endured additional months of punishment, at the hand of my father. For trying to save my sister, he said I was a disgrace to the family. Had brought shame.

  “But it didn’t matter. His words couldn’t touch me. I’d failed Gwen, and no amount of additional punishment could compare to that horror.

  “Eventually, I returned to the guard. I had expected they would reduce me to a menial position, but given my father’s influence, and connections, the entire incident was virtually erased.”

  “And your sister?”

  Gwain shook his head. “I went back, but they had moved her to a new location, and I lacked the heart to learn where. A coward, I was unable to face my failure, and thus allowed them to condemn her to eternal nightmares.”

  “You were too young to protect her the first time, and your trusted friend betrayed you the second. You can’t blame yourself.”

  “But I do. I failed my sister. I had promised to protect her, and I did not. The very definition of failure, Your Highness.”

  Gwain turned to face Amelia, whose golden hair and blue eyes were strikingly like those of another. “Your sister claimed you would join the temple to become a high priestess. If you were to succeed in this endeavor, by the ancient traditions of this land, your position would one day be as powerful as her own. Tell me, Princess Amelia—and I pray you answer truthfully—do you believe your sister will share her power so easily?”

  Amelia stared, wanting to defend Kaliyah, even now. The silence lingered. She knew the truth, but to speak the heresy became another matter entirely. “No.” The word tore at the fabric of her soul. “I don’t believe she would.”

  “Nor do I.”

  “So you believe she sent me to the temple to…meet the same fate as your sister?”

  “I do not wish to believe it,” Gwain answered. “She is my queen.”

  “But you do.”

  “Yes.”

  Fear gripped her. “What would you have me do, Captain?”

  He withdrew a key from his belt, released the single lock in her remaining chains, and threw them into the water. “Run north to the mountains. To the ice and cold. The one place in this realm where anyone, even a princess, can disappear. For I fear, my lady, should you enter the temple’s sacred walls…you shall never leave.”

  Her eyes widened as she rubbed her wrists and shoulders. “What about you, my lord?”

  Moving to the tethered mounts, he explained, “I shall ride back on the dead man’s horse. I will tell the guard you took Gabriel during the battle, and I chased after you.” He patted the ebony stallion affectionately. “The smaller horse is no match for him. I’ll send them in the wrong direction. They will search for a long time. With no sightings of your dragon, they’ll presume you are bound by horse travel, and can’t break your chains to fly.” He held her gaze. “I have one request, Princess. A promise, if you will, to be made upon your royal bloodline.”

  The words seemed important, and Amelia paused before nodding. Her words came soft, yet certain, knowing the vow he demanded was not one she would be able to refuse. “What would you have of me, Captain?”

  “Do not go back to the palace. You will find no help there. Not from those you knew. Not from your sister. Not from the man you loved.”

  Reality crashed around her at his words; the truth found within undeniable. “I understand.”

  “Your promise, Princess. What I intended to allow to happen is unforgivable. But I’m asking, Your Highness, promise you’ll not to return to the palace for help. There is none to be found.”

  “I promise,” the words ripped through her, re-opening the wound created by her sister’s cold pronouncement of her fate. “As a princess of Kalleen, you have my word.”

  Chapter 22

  Amelia rode north, traveling mostly during the cover of night, and resisting the urge to take her dragon form, lest she be recognized before reaching the mountain sanctuary. She used fire sparingly, opting instead to bury herself between the warm layers of pelts and cloaks Gwain had added, including his own, after transferring the dead man’s saddle to Gabriel, and carefully packing as much as he could into the attached bags.

  “The fewer risks you take, the better,” he had said. “Once you reach the north mountains, you will be outside your sister’s reach. Those lands are not technically under
her rule, but instead, a region with no ownership between our kingdom and the next.”

  She had been riding for the better part of two weeks, hunting as she could for small game, and gathering berries. Thankfully water was plentiful along her path.

  Amelia did not fear traveling in the dark; her eyesight had adjusted to darkness since her first moonlight transformation. Each morning after bedding down, she offered a silent prayer for the man who had helped her escape, and for the sister he had lost long ago. Once those prayers were spent, she would close her eyes against the sunlight, hoping when she woke, it would be in the safety of Stephen’s arms.

  Her heart ached for him to tell her this was naught but a dream. She was still in the palace, her newly crowned sister waiting with a smile Amelia had not seen since their mother had died. When had her sister become so cold? So heartless? Had it been at the death of their last parent? Or before? She tried to remember, but never seemed to grasp an exact timeframe before her consciousness gave way to slumber.

  Temperatures steadily declined the closer she came to the mountains. She switched from her own cloak to the one Gwain had sent with her, grateful for the added warmth of the thicker material, then added a blanket over Gabriel, stroking his mane. “Sorry for getting you into this, boy. If it gets any colder, I’ll start a fire, I promise.”

  The air was crisp, but the wind was worse, blowing on an icy breath, which penetrated the skin to chill bone. Arriving at the mountains’ base under dense gray skies, Amelia considered the towering peaks rising to touch the clouds, tops shrouded in mist. The austere sight was enough to place a fresh layer of despair over her heart, having exchanged one form of exile for another. A strong gust sent a shiver down her spine as she led Gabriel upward, occasional patches of snow dotting the ground as dead grass crunched underfoot.

  After traveling a ways up the mountain, she encountered a cave. Cautiously, she entered, finding it deep and barren. Large enough, Amelia brought the horse inside and lit a fire, using the surrounding rocks to cover the flames’ light. Ensuring Gabriel was close enough to benefit from the warmth, she settled herself against a rock wall.

  Relatively safe, she reached for her leather satchel and dumped the contents. The journey had resulted in a cluttered disarray, which she intended to remedy. Sorting through the blankets, and what little remained of her emergency rations, she found a scroll she had not noticed prior. Lifting the dry parchment, she glanced at the wax seal and recognized the mark of her sister’s signet ring.

  She considered tossing the scroll into the fire, but resisted the urge, instead breaking the wax to flatten the carefully rolled letter. In her sister’s unique handwriting, she read the note within.

  High Priestess,

  I write to inform you of two equally important events.

  First, as discussed, I deliver unto you my sister, Princess Amelia. I appreciate you taking her off my hands, and shall rest at night knowing she is safely out of the line of succession; neither she, nor any child, will be able to challenge my rule. Your idea of transforming her into a voice of Kamar is one I agree with wholeheartedly. You have my permission to grant my sister this position, and administer any force deemed necessary to ensure her compliance in her new role at the temple.

  Second, I wish to inform you I have decided to name my chosen consort, Lord Stephen, son of Lord Terrance. He shall stand by my side throughout my reign, and together, we shall provide children to the realm. Stephen has consented to this position, and our union shall be announced shortly. I would advise not informing my sister, as such news might cause her to act even more unruly than I already expect. Stephen and I are eager to begin our venture together and, soon, to provide this kingdom with a future king or queen.

  Again, thank you for your assistance in confining my sister, and ensuring the stability of my reign.

  Faithfully,

  Queen Kaliyah of Kalleen

  Stunned, Amelia stared at the imprints on the parchment, and traced her finger over the signature she knew well, desperately wanting to believe the words were false. Yet there they were, in her sister’s own hand. Unchangeable. Unquestionable. Undeniable.

  A numbness spread, tears coming to her blue eyes for the first time since her last nightmare, from which Gwain had awoken her. Had the captain known? His repetitious admonishment that Stephen would not help her echoed with newfound meaning.

  If Gwain knew the truth, why didn’t he tell me? Followed immediately by the answer. I never would have believed. But this letter, meant for the high priestess, crushed her in a manner so profound it overwhelmed. The loss of all she knew. Her position, her friends, her sister, and now, irrefutable proof of her lover’s betrayal.

  Did he trade me in so quickly? A princess for a queen?

  Amelia gave herself to grief. Sobs spilled from an emotional wound as blood would slide from a physical one. Her shoulders shook as she wrapped her arms around herself, the salty taste of tears reaching her lips as she cried. Even as Gabriel moved closer to nudge her affectionately with his head, she did not attempt to stifle her emotions, allowing them to flood her system. She welcomed her grief as numbness spread, seeping through her veins.

  As she surrendered to her pain, her dragon stirred. At first the warmth was comforting, a soothing heat that pushed back the deathly chill. It spread, accelerating from comforting warmth to burning heat.

  Amelia waited for the expected sense of well-being as the beast awoke within her. However, instead of a gentle rumble, the dragon roared. A sound that shook her, though heard by her alone. Belatedly, she attempted to calm the beast, but it burst forth with a boundless rage.

  Wrath overwhelmed, the hurting girl surrendering to mythical power, blue scales emerging from pale skin with ferocious speed, the suddenness of the shift stealing her breath in a gasp of unexpected pain. First pulling off her mother’s ring, and then throwing her clothes aside before they were completely shredded, the sharp sensation of splitting flesh was swallowed by the emergence of her dragon half, to whom such pain was but a trifle. Wings emerged from her back, melting into shoulders as cracking bones rearranged within her to accommodate the creature’s immense form.

  Beside her, Gabriel squealed, rising to paw the air at her changing scent. Amelia raced from the cave, exiting before her size threatened the shelter’s structure. Her wings expanded, soft, itchy scales covering tender flesh, transforming it to a nearly impenetrable hide. Her vision sharpened, neck and face stretching. When the transformation was complete, a sky-blue dragon stood before the cave’s entrance.

  Snarling, her forked tongue licked the air, tasting the scents of barren bark, and creatures hiding from the bitter cold of ice-tipped mountains.

  As Amelia gave herself to the dragon within, her pain dimmed. All thoughts faded behind the desire to survey this new land. Surrendering, she allowed the dragon to spread its massive wings and took to the air, the ground fading as each powerful beat carried her closer to the mountains’ ridge.

  Nothing painful could harm her here, among the clouds. Pain, anger, even the rage which had drawn the creature forth, vanished under the dragon’s power. Refusing to struggle for control, she took comfort in the solitude and forgetfulness she found within her beast. Slipping into the wet clouds, the dragon drew a breath, roaring its dominance to the mountains below, before releasing a stream of hot, blue fire. Intense heat clashed with icy wind as Amelia gave herself fully to the dragon’s embrace.

  Chapter 23

  Naked in the cave where she had taken shelter, Amelia awoke with no memory of how she had returned. Groggily, she sat up, grateful the cold air had less effect on her kind than it did mortals, but she nevertheless pulled Gwain’s cloak over her, cinching it around her waist as best she could, snuggling into the extra warmth.

  Checking on Gabriel, she was relieved to find the horse unharmed. After stroking his neck for a time, she walked back to where she’d dumped out her saddlebag and, retrieving a leather pouch, extracted a handful of oats.
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  Offering them in her cupped hands, she apologized, “Sorry I scared you, boy. Not sure what came over me last night.”

  With a soft huff, the horse ate.

  After giving one more affectionate pat, Amelia walked back toward the center of the cave where her bag’s contents waited, strewn over the dirt. With a heavy heart, she picked up the discarded letter and again read the heartbreaking words she desperately wished to deny. Tracing her fingers over the familiar signature, she could not summon the required doubt.

  “Stephen,” she whispered, clutching the paper to her chest, eyes closing as she resisted the urge to renew her tears. “Why?”

  Questions ran through her mind. Did Stephen love my sister? Had he loved me? What was—

  Amelia drew a harsh breath and forced herself to pause her contemplation. “It doesn’t matter,” she spoke to the empty cave. “Results will be the same.”

  No amount of tears would change the fact that Stephen must have agreed to the arrangement. Nor that he was now by her sister’s side. The thought of his lips, which had coaxed her to sweet release, now moving over Kaliyah’s pale flesh caused her to shudder, but she forced the emotions back. Obsessing would not help her current situation.

  After a deep breath, she lit a new fire to warm Gabriel. She then removed her outer cloak, and pulled back on the shirt and trousers she’d discarded the night before, along with her mother’s ring.

  Replacing the outer cloak, she carefully repacked her saddle bags as she’d intended to do the night before. She then turned to the fire and, not wanting the letter to reveal her identity to strangers, tossed the parchment into the flames. Eating a simple meal of rations, she watched the scroll turn to ash before extinguishing the blaze.

  Thus prepared for an uncertain future, the exiled princess saddled Gabriel and journeyed deeper into the mountains, seeking one of the scattered villages she had been told of during her childhood studies.