“I—“ I was starting to breathe very fast. “How long?”
“Two hours or so?” Morlis suggested. “It probably won’t feel like that long under the mist’s influence. But—only you can say. Women giving birth always refuse it.”
“Why?”
“It’s bad luck not to feel the pain,” Raia said. “That’s what they say…but don’t take that into consideration! I’d sure take it now. Your foot’s not having a baby.”
The idea of losing control and being forced into a more vivid version of those dreams freaked me out more than pain. “I can handle it,” I said. “Pain is something I understand.”
“Himika,” Seron said, “I will keep you from having pain. Crystal dragons have some healing skill and I regularly use mine on the battlefield to ease pain.”
“You can’t promise that she won’t feel pain at all,” Morlis said.
“Well…I can promise to do my best.”
I took Seron for a pure fighter like so many men of Gaermon. The Gaermoni prided themselves on not fearing pain or death. That was one reason they found Kamiri like Oszin to be weak. The Kamiri were not afraid to admit to weakness. But now I saw a gentleness in Seron that surprised me, as he sat down on the bed and put his scaled hand around my ankle while Morlis grabbed my foot. I shivered with nerves, but Seron’s firm touch helped to reassure me.
He’s different now that he’s in his own home, I thought. I still had that strange tickle in my stomach when I looked at him, and it reminded me of the first time I met Oszin.
Surely I wasn’t developing feelings for Aurek’s champion too. That wasn’t good. Gods—I did have a type. Give me a man guarding me and apparently I was a sucker.
“Ahh,” Morlis said, probing my foot with the tips of his fingers. “I really wish I could see her skeleton.”
“I told you not to say anything like that, old man,” Seron said. “I’m sorry, Princess. He’s a weird hermit. Terrible social skills.”
“Let’s see…” Morlis squeezed my foot and pain jerked through me, all the way up my spine. I shrieked. Kajira let out a howl of concern and flew onto the bed, staring at me and then urgently kneading the front of my dress with her little paws like she could make it better. I had to shoo her away, adorable as she was.
Seron’s hand tightened, and the pain abated quickly. “I’m sorry,” he said, through gritted teeth.
Raia grabbed my hands. “Hold onto me,” she said.
Another jolt of pain. It felt like he had shoved a red hot poker through the inside of my foot. I grabbed a pillow and bit down on the corner so I wouldn’t scream anymore.
Seron lifted an eyebrow at me. “You’re all right, then?”
I nodded.
“Are you sure you don’t want the kalasta mist?” Raia asked.
“Yes! Go on!” I snapped before biting the pillow again.
Whatever pain I might endure, more than anything, I wanted to prove myself. I was in a world where everyone around me could turn into dragons and tap into elemental powers. I could never match that, but at least I could earn their respect.
Morlis kept going, and I felt something inside my foot snap. He was moving my bones around, shaping them back into what they were supposed to be, and I could feel a warm glow bleeding down from Seron’s grip on my ankle, hastily repairing the damage and easing the pain. I bit right through the soft leather covering of the pillow. I gripped Raia’s hands. At first the pain was so bad I was seeing stars, afraid I might pass out, but as the procedure went on it felt like Seron was getting better at healing on top of the surgery, and the pain started to become more tingly and tolerable. I was still breaking out in cold chills from head to toe. I must look like a complete mess.
“It’s done,” Morlis said. “It will probably ache quite a bit over the next week, and you’ll see bruises. But that’s just the foot readjusting to its old shape. Have a healer check on it every day.”
I dropped the pillow and collapsed onto the bed. “So it’s…all back to normal?”
“Oh yes. Look. You can even move it, although you probably won’t want to.”
My foot was already turning weird colors and starting to swell again, but sure enough, the shape was restored. Even the old injury that put my toes at slightly weird angles was repaired.
“Lord Seron, did you hmm her the hmm yet?” Morlis nodded suggestively at me.
Seron turned faintly blue again. “No. It’s been busy. It’s not your business anyway.”
“Well, I will head back to my own business now, if you don’t mind,” Morlis said. “I have a lead on a rare bit of electrite but I’ll have to fight off a pack of albino toothfish.”
“You don’t need to check on her?”
“No. Healers can take it from here. Good night, miss.” Morlis bowed to me. His robe gapped open when he did and I almost got an eyeful.
“Raia, could you see Morlis to a boatman?” Seron said.
They left us alone. I was so spent that I could have just shut my eyes and gone to sleep, but I forced myself to sit up. “What ‘hmm’ are you supposed to ‘hmm’ me? Sounds inappropriate.”
“No, no.” He coughed. “It’s—uh—I have a knife for you. It’s not a big deal. Morlis was keeping it. It belonged to the last queen so he just asked me to pass it on.”
“You mean King Aurekdel’s mother? Who is that guy anyway?”
“He used to be the crystal shaper of the royal family,” Seron said. “A very respected artisan. But the whole disaster—where Aurek’s parents died and we had to escape—they say he hasn’t been the same since. He refuses to stay in the palace. I suppose there are bad memories for him here. That time was the closest we ever came to losing Hemara and the royal family altogether, so…anyway. Here.” He reached under the sash-belted coat-tunic garment he wore, apparently keeping the knife strapped to his thigh.
He handed me a beautiful knife with gems studding the hilt. I drew it from the leather scabbard and the blade faintly glowed.
“I sharpened it for you and charged it with some crystal energy,” he added. “It’s more of a dress piece, but you could still do some damage with it. Anyway, that’s it. I’m sure you’re tired. Goodnight.”
“Wait a minute, don’t leave yet!” I said as he quickly headed for the door. “I didn’t get a chance to thank you.”
“It’s nothing.”
“Seron, you’ve been very kind to me. You made me the apple oatmeal and you took a personal interest in healing me. But…why? Did Aurekdel ask you to watch over me?”
“Um…yes.” He scratched his head, suddenly looking like he would rather be battling the rock dragons than talking to me.
“But I’m marrying Aurekdel. It seems strange that he would leave me with you.”
“My healing skills are superior,” Seron said. “He knows that, or else he would have been here. Aurek and I each have different strengths, but he will always want someone to take care of you, now that you’re here. It’ll either be me or him.”
“You seem like kind of a team.”
“Yes…”
“How many women has Aurek actually been with?”
Seron almost choked. “Gods! I—I don’t know. Ask him, not me. He’s—uh—well, look, I really shouldn’t be talking to you about those sorts of matters.”
“I wouldn’t mind so much, if I had been allowed to do the same,” I said, faintly teasing.
“Good night, Princess. Good night. You need rest. I’ll send the maiden guard back in.” He fled the room. The other handmaiden, Hara, snickered as she walked back in. She poured me some water and helped me out of my robes.
“Lord Seron is so shy around you! He must truly like you.”
“Like me? I guess I shouldn’t have teased him like that. I wouldn’t want to cause any problem between him and the king.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t worry about that.”
“Why?”
“Aurekdel is not the jealous type. He’s shared before.”
�
��Oh…I…well.” So maybe I could have Oszin after all. Maybe Aurekdel would have whatever ladies he preferred, and I could have the man I preferred. Of course, I supposed I’d have to have these heirs in there somewhere. But that would be an ideal arrangement. If I could just get an heir and a spare out of the way quickly…
I was trying to be pragmatic, but the idea of having the dragon king’s babies still horrified me.
Hara slid the robe off my shoulders and carefully folded it, protecting the beading with a thin sheet of paper. “But a dragon king saves the most sacred act for his bride. He will not have done anything that might produce a bastard. Dragons also mate for life; only death severs that bond. He will only want you from now on.”
She was probably trying to reassure me, but I wasn’t reassured. “Truthfully, I don’t even know Aurekdel at all, so it doesn’t matter to me.”
“You don’t know how lucky you are yet,” Hara said. “Ooh, the things I’ve heard about that man… You must admit that he’s incredibly sexy.”
“I don’t trust men like that. I almost married the last Emperor, and…I don’t want to be seduced. I just want someone who’s honest.”
“I see. Well, I think he is an honest man as well…”
I suppressed a sigh as I climbed into bed. This didn’t sound like her first priority.
Chapter Twelve
Aurekdel
My sitting room was crawling with attendants. I could hear loud music pounding through the walls from the great hall even through the stone walls.
“My lord, I’ve laid out your blue robe for the party tonight,” Umarda said, her low voice bearing a twitch of impatience.
“You go. I’m not in the mood for all that noise. Tell Lord Seron I went to the baths.”
“You’re not going to the party? Retiring into an old man before you’re even married?”
“No.” My hand searched the table for any crystal tablets needing my attention. “Do I have anything to read tonight?”
“No, sir. Arkal thought you would surely be busy all week. Are you actually asking for work?”
“Tell him to copy anything to do with rock dragon magic in the archives. Then…go party your brains out. I’ll put the robes away myself. Thank you.” I waved a hand at her, wanting a moment alone.
She hesitated. “Is everything all right with the princess?”
I pointed a mild smile in her direction. “Just fine.”
She dashed off, and I transformed my dragon hands back into human ones just for the purpose of folding the robes. We had to be careful of the precious cloth. Of course, soon we would hopefully have lots of cloth to trade from the humans.
This was, certainly, a business marriage, just as Himika said.
I rarely got the chance to actually smooth my hand over the ancient silks. The beadwork felt like an ancient language.
My precious bride, how you have suffered for me…preserved by my ancestors…
Her existence was the stuff of poetry. The reality of her was quite different. This Gaermoni girl had a warrior’s heart. Like me, she had been kept from fighting. Unlike me, she would soon be free.
Well, all men must accept their fate and so I had. In a lot of ways, I realized this was not the time for the king to go off and fight anyway. But I was definitely concerned that she would be hard to impress. A girl like that wanted a fighting man, not a blind king who made himself useful with studying history and keeping up morale.
Yeah, I knew the type all too well. That was how most dragon women were. I was hoping my human bride would be more like the dainty maidens in the old legends. They didn’t fight; they wore gowns and sewed gowns and wept and things like that.
Usually the bedroom was where I made up for my inability to lead the charge against the Traitor King, but from what I understood, Himika had almost been forcibly wed to the former emperor of the sky realm and just shy of abused. The man had crushed her foot and I didn’t really know how far he’d gone with her otherwise. I would have to go easy on her, but sooner or later, as she let down her guard, I would have to prove to her that while Seron might be allowed to make lover to her as well, I was the center of her world and the master of her pleasure.
Maybe Seron is right. I shouldn’t let her dally with this guard of hers. Not outside of my presence, anyway…
If I invited this man into the bedroom, Himika would have nearly as many lovers as the priestess! But the dragons already expected that I would share her with Seron, so how much of a stretch would it really be to give her a champion of her own? I would have to meet with this Oszin fellow and see what I thought.
I put the robe away in its trunk, changed my hands back into their proper royal appearance, and went downstairs to the baths.
“Which musicians would you like this evening?” the bath attendant asked.
“None. Just keep the sauna nice and warm.” She was a lava dragon and would tap deep into the earth to bring up the heat. “I have some thinking to do. Lord Seron can join me later.” I handed her my robe and slippers.
“Yes, sir. Um…is it true that there’s a high rock dragon?”
I shrugged. “We’ll see. I’m not worried about it.”
I poured a drink from the unattended bar in the corner and sank into the steamy baths up to my chest. Seron found me there, brooding.
“Her foot looks good,” he said. “It was pretty painful, though. I tried my best to limit the damage. What are you doing down here? I thought you’d be at the dance.”
“I don’t feel sorry for myself very often.”
“Oh, thank gods. You’re feeling insecure. I thought you were immune to that sort of thing.”
“Aren’t cocky men always very insecure, actually? I know the Traitor King must be, if he spends his days ranting to rock dragons about how weak I am.”
I heard Seron throw off his boots and then his clothes. “Well, you asked me what I thought of her. What did you think? You’ve probably been imagining her all this time.”
“I thought she would be more like the human princesses in all those stories. I don’t care if she’s angry at me for the curse, but I hate the thought that she might think I’m weak. I showed her kittens, gardens…but she wants to see a sword. And if I could…I would take Saramu in my hand and show the Traitor King what a true king looks like.” I clenched my fist around my cup. “You know that, but she doesn’t. I’m not this Emperor of hers, a sham of a ruler who hides behind armies.”
“She’ll see who you are with time.”
“Yes. But…I’m still…” I kneaded my forehead. “I want to see this supposed high rock dragon. I want to sniff him out and destroy him. I want Himika to know she’s safe here. And we’re spread thin and already having to prepare for the fog season. When are we going to show this bastard?”
“We just fought for the humans and battled our way back home. We need to let the warriors rest up and recharge their magic, establish the supply chains, and then we’ll have more surprises we can use against them.”
“Seems to me that he’s the one with the surprises. I can’t let him win. I don’t like to give the man credit, but he tried his best to ruin my life before it had even begun.” The entire world before that vicious attack seemed shrouded, even to history. It wasn’t the first time the mist dragons attacked, but it destroyed everything I held dear.
“Do you remember when you had to go fishing without me?” I asked.
“Of course.” Seron sounded grave. “It’s almost my first memory, when you got so sick and Mother told me to go catch some fish for all of us. I was scared just being alone by the lake.”
“You were so little,” I murmured.
“And I kept thinking of you, all passed out. I thought you were going to die if I didn’t catch the fish. I was still getting over the fever myself.”
“I remember when I woke up and she was trying to explain what happened, and she said, ‘You go fish, Seron, and Aurek, you and I are going to gather up the grass fruit.’”
/> Seron chuckled. “You were so pissed about gathering fruit.”
“Well, even little kids know when they’re useless.”
“Yeah, and I was lucky if I caught one fish. I would stand outside of our cave holding that one fish, not wanting to come in and admit it was all I had. I look at kids that tiny now and I can’t believe I got anything…” Seron put a hand on my shoulder. “We’ve lived in royal luxury, but I guess neither of us will ever forget those years. You wanted to do more than you could do, and I was sick to my stomach that I couldn’t replace you. But would you be as good of a king if not for that time? There are a thousand dragons in this fortress who can use a sword with skill.”
“But only one blind king who drinks too much and has slept with too many women? Is that what you’re getting at?”
“Yep,” Seron said, climbing down onto the stone seat beside me. “But now you’ll be the king married to our surprising human princess.”
I finished the thought for him. “So I’d better not mess it up.”
Chapter Thirteen
Himika
“Hey.”
I woke up to the sensation of kitten feet roaming around on my body.
“Hey,” Raia said, lifting Kajira off me. “It’s time to wake up.”
I rolled onto my back, clutching the covers, my eyes blurred with sleep. I was aching all over, especially the foot. “What—what time is it?”
“It’s the second King’s Hour.”
“Never mind. King’s Hours don’t even make sense.”
“It’s your wedding day. I’m supposed to make sure you’re ready. I’m sorry. I let you sleep as long as I possibly could. But soldiers can’t sleep forever, and neither can you!”
I glared. “This is not how my handmaidens at home treated me. If the dragons want to play on the world stage, you should probably establish better rules. I’ve noticed people calling the king by nothing but his first name!”
“Hmm. Well, you should tell him.”
I could tell she didn’t think this was really important. Maybe it wasn’t. It wasn’t like I enjoyed protocol myself, but I was so used to it.
The Kingdoms of Sky and Shadow Box Set Page 9