by Tara West
Violet slipped off the dragon so fast, she tumbled to the ground, banging up her chin. “Ouch.”
Thaddeus landed, a look of desperation in his eyes as he tried to clutch the side of the ledge. He shifted back into a human, jumping onto the ledge and wildly waving his hands. “Violet, get out of there.”
She had no time to process the pain in her chin or the potential danger she was in. She wasn’t about to let the king ruin their one chance at capturing Goldenwand. She jumped to her feet and ran between the dragon and his potential snack.
Both prisoners had their hoods removed, but they were bound and gagged. Periwinkle had a huge bloody knot on the side of his chin. She inwardly smiled. He deserved it.
“Move out of the way, witch,” the king commanded.
She held up her hands. “If you kill him, we won’t know how to reach Goldenwand. He’s the one you really want to burn.”
Behind her she heard a loud gurgling sound and then she was hit with the awful smell of rotten eggs. She cast a quick glance at Periwinkle. He looked at them with terror-filled eyes, shaking to the point that he appeared to be having a seizure. Did the witch just shit his pants?
Tormung wrinkled his snout. “Well, I can’t eat you now. Guess I’ll have to burn you.”
“Violet!” Thaddeus directed. “Move!”
Periwinkle flopped like a fish out of water, crying into his gag.
With an amused smile, Tormung bent down and sliced through the gag, leaving a big gash in his cheek in the process.
Periwinkle blubbered as blood dripped down his face. “I’ll so vu vere he’ve hiding,” he said thickly, no doubt caused by his busted face. “I svear.”
Tormung gave the pathetic witch a long look before glancing at Brayne, then turning to Violet. “Why is the fae your prisoner?”
“He kidnapped his daughters,” she answered. “He was going to deliver them to Goldenwand.”
The dragon king’s lips pulled back in what was either a snarl or a smile. “Why?”
“Goldenwand kidnapped his son,” she said, giving the fae a look of disgust. If anyone deserves to burn, it’s him. How could a father deliberately put his daughters in peril?
Tormung ripped off the fae’s gag. “You would give that madman your daughters? Are two girls worth less than one boy?”
Brayne hung his head. “I regret it now.”
“I’m sure you do.” The king chuckled. “Do you know where Goldenwand is hiding?”
“I will show you how to get there if you promise not to kill me.”
“Very well. You have my word.” The king turned up his nose with a regal air. “I will let the fae queen deal with you.” He turned to Periwinkle with a mischievous gleam in his eyes. “Which means we don’t need you anymore, witch.”
“Wait!” Serah Goldenwand screamed, racing in front of the dragon king as he began to stoke his flames.
“You dare to intervene, siren?” he bellowed, blowing fire at the cavern ceiling.
Draque and Teju ran in, yelling at her to back away. Ignoring them, she turned up her chin. Seemed the Firesbreath brothers had a habit of mating with women who didn’t follow orders.
“I’m not trying to stop you,” Serah said. “But I have something to say to Periwinkle first.”
The dragon king lay down on all four haunches, waving a claw with a disinterested flick. “Get on with it.”
“Sevah, my dahling,” Periwinkle begged, snot running from his nose. “Pease hep me.”
She squared her shoulders, glaring at him as if he was an insignificant slug, which he was. “I’m not your darling. I just wanted you to know I’ve found true love, and they aren’t manipulative, evil assholes.” She smiled to her mates, who had moved between her and the king. “You used me and discarded me like a piece of trash, but you didn’t break me. I’m stronger now than ever before.” She turned to the king. “You may burn him now.”
Violet didn’t know Serah Goldenwand well, but she liked her already. She smiled as the heiress walked into her mates’ arms, and they wrapped her in a protective cocoon before leading her away from the king.
Thaddeus jerked her away as well. “This is about to get messy,” he whispered.
She looked over her shoulder. The dragon king let out a menacing chuckle, his chest swelling as the temperature of the cave rose by at least twenty degrees.
“Sevah, vait!” Periwinkle called. “I wove y—"
The dragon king released his inferno.
Two terrified screams resounded inside the cavern, then one; Brayne had probably suffered from burns as well. The heat radiating from the cavern walls made it feel like a sauna.
Thaddeus’s brothers shifted and flew to the campsite with Serah. Then Thaddeus shifted and asked her to hop on his back. After she climbed up his wing, she took one last look, nearly retching at the sight of Periwinkle’s blackened body. She reminded herself never to get on King Tormung’s bad side.
Chapter Sixteen
THE SUN’S MORNING RAYS were peeking over the horizon when King Tormung let out a satisfied roar before jumping from the ledge. He soared around the campsite, his wing obviously healed, and snatched up an injured griffin that had been clinging to a tree, toying with it before swallowing it in one gulp. Violet had to look away, covering her ears until the beast stopped screaming.
He landed near the campfire and stretched his wings, looking over Violet’s work. “Not bad, witch.” He ruffled his wings and tucked them close. “That felt good. Any more of Goldenwand’s witches I can kill?”
“No. Violet already killed them.” Thaddeus sipped his morning coffee, which he’d found in Periwinkle’s supplies.
He winked at her, obviously forgetting her chagrin over the deaths. She had yet to process killing half a dozen witches, let alone the consequences of using the unbreakable curse.
She hugged her knees and stared into the fire’s dwindling flames. “Don’t remind me.”
The king’s upper lip pulled back in a snarl. “Why do you regret killing those who would do you harm?”
She groaned when Thaddeus wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Because I used the unbreakable curse.”
Thaddeus’s brothers and their mates gawked at her.
“How many were there?” Serah asked.
“Six.”
“Was an annoying little twit named Penelope Pixiefeather Pratt among them?” Serah had a hopeful gleam in her eyes.
“You mean Periwinkle’s fuck buddy?” Thaddeus laughed. “She was the first to go down.”
Serah pumped her fist in the air. “Yes!”
Violet shuddered. She was an apothecary, a healer. She didn’t take death as lightly as the rest of this group, who were laughing and elbowing each other as if what she’d done was no big deal.
“You don’t seem pleased with your accomplishment,” the king said.
“I’ve never killed anyone before.” She stared at her scuffed boots, which were at least three sizes too big, thanks to Katherine’s large feet.
“I would have gladly killed them for you,” Draque said, palming a cup of coffee.
Why was no one taking this seriously? “Using the unbreakable curse is an offense punishable by death.”
“Who’s going to tell on you?” Draque motioned to the blood stains on the rocks behind them. “The griffins have eaten the evidence.”
“You don’t think the marshals will use a truth serum on me? On any of us?” She glared at Draque and his brothers. “They will ask questions when they find out Thaddeus and I are alive.”
“You had no choice,” the dragon king said. “I do not blame you.”
As if his opinion mattered to the marshals.
She rubbed her aching temples, feeling a migraine coming on. “They will force me to stand trial.”
“They won’t.” Thaddeus puffed up his chest. “I won’t let them.”
“They will,” the king said. “Witch justice is anything but just.”
“You will live in
The Grotto with me and my brothers,” Thaddeus said, his younger brothers voicing their agreement. “They can’t touch you there.”
“I thought only shifters were allowed in The Grotto,” she said.
Thaddeus squeezed her tight. “I know how to override the spell and get you in.”
Tormung straightened and cleared his throat, a king about to pass judgment on one of his subjects. “You will live in Valhol as my apothecary. Witch laws are void in the fae realm.”
“But that’s so far from everything, from my mother.” The only thing she knew of that realm was that fae and dragons were prejudiced against witches.
“Either that or risk war between witches and shifters,” Tormung said.
He was right, damn him. “I don’t want that.”
“I insist you come with me,” he said. “I offer you protection.” He swooshed his tail like a cat waiting on dinner. “It’s the least I can do after you pulled that thorn from my tail and fixed my wing. Besides”—his fanged smile widened—“I need a new apothecary after my last one tried to poison me.”
Thaddeus nodded slowly. “At least until we’re sure they won’t prosecute you,” he whispered and addressed the king. “My brothers and I must be allowed to stay with our mate.”
“Of course.” The king’s upper lip twitched. “I’ve tolerated your grandparents. I can tolerate you, too, so long as you don’t try to kill me.”
She had no choice in the matter if she wanted to stay alive. “We wouldn’t dream of it, King Tormung, as long as you don’t try to kill us.”
TEJU FOLLOWED THADDEUS, stepping over the bloody, butchered carcasses of forest animals left by the griffins, until they were a safe distance from camp. “Do you have it?”
“I do,” Thaddeus said. “Did you find the other one?”
“No.” Teju grimaced. “I found only ash where Eagleheart had been. I believe Tormung incinerated the wand along with the wizard.”
“Let us pray that is the case,” Thaddeus said. “A wand like that in the wrong hands will send the world into chaos.”
Teju impatiently held out a hand. “Which is why we should destroy this one.”
Thaddeus’s jaw hardened. “You can’t destroy it. You must give it to our parents. They can decide what to do with it.”
“Thaddeus, that’s a bad idea.”
“It’s not for us to decide. Our parents are the dragon rulers. Think how angry they will be if they found out we had a wand with such power and didn’t turn it over to them.”
Teju cringed at the thought. They would be furious. “Very well, but let us pray they do the right thing and burn it.”
Thaddeus gave it to Teju. “If Violet asks, tell her we incinerated it.”
“You’d start your relationship with a lie?”
“I don’t want her to worry,” he said, averting his eyes.
Teju decided not to press his brother on the matter. He thought it was a mistake to lie to Violet, but he wouldn’t interfere with their relationship when he had enough to deal with. He wrapped it in cloth and stuck it in his pocket, then he marched back to the campsite, trying to put it out of his mind. His heart was heavy enough after watching Lily sacrifice her life and almost losing Serah and Draque.
But how could he not obsess over it? If a dark witch discovered that wand, they would all die.
SERAH HAD BEEN FIGHTING sleep all night. Now that the sun was peeking over the horizon, she should’ve been preparing to leave, but she refused to budge from her spot until Lily rose from the ashes. She’d slept all day yesterday, thanks to Brayne’s potion. She shouldn’t have been so tired, but she was exhausted—probably the side-effects of the sleeping drug. One more reason to hate Brayne.
Resting her head against Draque’s shoulder, she’d shut her eyes for only a few minutes when she heard the sound of a baby crying. A pale, naked baby with tufts of flame-red hair kicked and wailed on the cold ground.
She knelt beside her, suddenly realizing she’d never held an infant before. Ladon scooped the baby into his arms and handed her to Serah as if he cradled a fragile egg. He helped her wrap the child in the blanket they’d found in Brayne’s carriage and then escorted her to the fire, where they sat for several minutes, rubbing warmth into the infant’s limbs. The babe calmed down, except for a pitiful cry that broke her heart all over again. The child needed milk, but she had none.
“She’s hungry,” she said to Ladon, rocking her.
“There’s no grocery stores around here, Serah.”
Violet sat beside them, stroking the babe’s cherubic cheek. Thank the goddess she appeared strong and healthy.
“It’s almost two-days flight back to my apothecary,” Violet said.
“Elysan is closer,” King Tormung said. “The fae will have milk.”
Serah thought of Brayne’s big, empty house and decided that’s where she would take the baby. Brayne wouldn’t be needing it, since King Tormung had promised to take him to the fae council. The fae queen looked down on fae men mistreating their women, and he would be punished accordingly. Serah didn’t care what they did to him, so long as he suffered harshly.
Draque grabbed her elbow. “King Tormung is right. The fae realm is much closer.”
“I know. I’m okay with it, as long as Lily gets food.” She smiled at the child, whose cries had become a fitful whimper.
Ladon stood, brushing dirt off his pants. “We need to hurry.” He held out his arms. “Do you want me to carry her for you?”
She shrank back, clutching her sister tighter. “No.”
“Okay.” Ladon said, smirking. “Give me a minute. I’ll make a sling for her.”
He fashioned one out of a blanket, then Serah put the baby inside. “You’re going to make a great mother, you know that?” He kissed her cheek.
“Ladon, I am her mother,” she said, cooing to the baby. “I’m the eldest Phoenixfire. I must take care of her. But it means I won’t be able to finish school.”
“We’ll work something out,” Teju said and helped Draque put out the fire. “We can use fosters until you finish.”
She wasn’t leaving her baby sister with foster parents. What if they didn’t treat her well?
She twirled a tuft of red hair around her finger. “So they can take advantage of her powers, too? You heard Brayne. She hasn’t made it to adulthood in a thousand years.”
“We can give her to our parents or grandparents,” Ladon said, rubbing her back. As if a back rub would make her give in. “They will look after her. You only have one semester left.”
Serah shrugged. “What do I care about high school? I’m an heiress. I don’t need the diploma, and it’s not like I need a job.” She would not leave Lily unprotected. What if Goldenwand attacked the school again, killing her and leaving Lily an orphan? She couldn’t take that chance.
Draque gave her a severe look. “You can finish and you will. I learned the hard way the importance of a good education. It can mean the difference between life and death.”
“I’m glad to hear you say it,” Teju said, returning from his trek with Thaddeus in the forest. Considering all they’d done was relieve themselves, they were gone a long time.
Draque patted Teju on the back so hard, he lurched forward. “I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you in class.”
Teju smiled and hugged him fiercely. “I’m sorry I was hard on you.”
“I’m not. You were right. From now on, I’m paying attention in class.” He gave Serah a pointed look. “You need to as well, Serah.”
She protested, rocking the baby when she let out a wail.
“No excuses,” Draque said, sounding too much like a professor with his patronizing tone. “You owe it to yourself and our children to complete your education.”
She didn’t know if she had the strength to give up Lily, even temporarily.
Draque tugged on her sleeve. “Let’s go.” The carriage had been made ready, and the Pegasus horses waited impatiently. “We need to get that milk.
”
She didn’t argue as she let her mates help her and the baby inside, but this debate was far from over.
Chapter Seventeen
KING TORMUNG LEFT VIOLET and Thaddeus in their grandparents’ home. It was a massive cavern with several, smaller but still huge adjoining caves, each with openings wide enough to fit a dragon. The bedroom was separate from a bathroom with a clawfoot tub and a pipe contraption connected to it that she assumed led to a cistern. There was also a primitive kitchen and an herb room.
Violet had wanted to sleep for the next century, but Thaddeus had other ideas. She’d tried to push him off, considering the large feather bed they were sleeping in belonged to his grandparents, and it not only felt weird but wrong on so many levels. He continued teasing her to a sweet burn until she no longer cared where she was—she needed him NOW. At least Thaddeus had changed the blankets.
They enjoyed a vigorous round of lovemaking and then another, this one long and slow and sweet. She held him as he gently thrust into her, whispering words of love in her ears. Oh how much she loved him. She’d told him so over and over. After their marathon lovemaking, she was somehow left wide awake while he snored like a dragon.
She went through his grandmother’s herbs and potions, amazed to find everything she’d need. There was even an inventory of plants she thought had gone extinct. She found a bag of Pegasus feather wands and pocketed one for safekeeping, since Thaddeus and Teju had destroyed the cursed wand Eagleheart had given her. At least, she prayed they’d destroyed it.
She discovered her favorite sleeping herb, torangne root, which was not as strong as scyllshade, but a mild sedative used for anxiety. Goddess knew she was anxious. After brewing it into a tea, she sipped it sitting on the ledge, making a wish as a falling star streaked across the night sky. Inhaling a deep breath of mountain air, she slowly released it. She loved it here in Valhol. It certainly beat the sulfuric, stagnant air she’d been forced to breathe as Katherine’s slave.