by Ivy Clyde
My vision turned hazy as warm blood soaked through my clothes. A dark figure leaned down close to me.
"Looks like you kicked the hornet's nest and the hornet," said a strange voice. My head swam with exhaustion as my strength began failing me. Next moment, I felt my body being hauled into someone's arms.
"Cain?" I whispered, but I knew it wasn't him. The person holding me didn't smell or sound anything like.
"It is I, Ren."
Ren? The name sounded oddly familiar in my muddled head. My eyes closed, drowning me into a sea of oblivion as blood continued to pour out of me.
19
The pain that made me lose my consciousness was a dull throb now. That's surprising, I thought, my eyes still closed. I should be writhing in pain or be dead by now.
Expecting to find myself in a shadowy dungeon, I slowly opened my eyes.
A painted ceiling came into view. It was several feet above me, illuminated brightly by shafts of sunlight. I blinked my eyes several times, wondering if I wasn't dreaming as my gaze focused on the crimson roses among a sea of green vines. It was a truly unique painting, not something I would conjure in a dream or imagination.
My lips parted to ask where I was but a sudden bout of thirst overcame me. I squirmed under the heavy blankets, struggling to sit up. I gasped as the pain in my shoulder flared up at once.
"Stop moving," said a strange voice. With a start, I remembered it. I'd heard it just before losing consciousness. My glance went to my side.
A young man about my age stared down at me intently. A shaft of sunlight hit his vivid ginger hair, making his curls appear like plumes of fire. The eyes looking into mine were a deep blue, reminding me of a summer sky in Iorna. He was beautiful, with kindness shining in his gaze.
"Who are you?" I croaked through my parched throat. My hand went to touch my neck. "Water..." I pleaded.
"Of course," said the stranger, moving to the side and bringing a silver chalice up to my lips.
I looked at him questioningly. So far, he hadn't harmed me. Deciding to trust him for the moment, I parted my lips. He slowly poured a stream of cool, sweet water into my mouth. I gulped, reveling in the feeling of satiating my thirst.
"Do you want more?" asked the man, lifting the goblet.
"No."
With a gentle smile, he moved away.
Confusion settled within me. Who was this man? Other than the three princes, no one had looked at me with such kindness. However, there was something more in his expression. He treated with a familiarity I'd never witnessed before.
"Who are you?" I asked once again.
"Do you truly not remember me, Daria? I recognized you the moment I saw you."
My lips parted in surprise. I'd never seen this man before in my life and yet, he knew my name without even asking me. My gaze went back to stare at his fiery locks, framing his beautiful face. There was something familiar about that though. It felt like watching an object float up from the bottom of a lake and bob on the surface. One of my long lost memories flashed by my mind's eyes.
"Ren." The name came onto my lips just as the memory of a young boy with the same fiery shade of orange hair came to my mind.
The man smiled. "You remember, then."
Ren was my playmate in the palace, the only cousin who didn't push me around and bully me. He was the youngest of my uncle's sons and my constant companion for playtime.
"Prince Ren," I uttered the name, feeling my throat choke with a mix of emotions. He was Ivan's third son. Foremost, was fear. What did he want to do to me? His brothers had tried to rape and kill me. Did he want to do the same to me?
Despite the pain throbbing at my shoulder, I sat up. Throwing aside the heavy blankets, I lunged at the man before me. To my surprise, he let me push him down on the bed and pin his shoulders under my hands. Straddling his thighs, I sat on top of him, bringing a hand to grab his throat.
To my astonishment, he stared back at me calmly, with utmost trust in his eyes.
"Why don't you resist?" I asked, tightening my grip on his neck.
"You won't hurt me, Daria. I know that much about you."
My eyes widened as my grip loosened. What was about this man who kept surprising me every moment? With a frustrated noise, I slid down his body. He remained lying on the bed, not making a single move to get away from me.
"How do you know I won't do what I did to the soldiers at the slaves' prison?" I asked, my voice cold with suspicion.
"You freed the slaves though," said Ren, folding his arms and resting his hands under his head. He looked utterly relaxed. "It told me you're not bloodthirsty like my brothers and sister. You wouldn't murder for the sake of enjoyment and sport."
"No,” I said. "What happened to the slaves?"
"They are currently running free all over the capital," said Ren with a smile. "If they are clever enough, they can evade the soldiers. Mekhi is too busy trying to placate the nobles who are demanding soldiers for extra protection." He chuckled like he was enjoying a joke. "They don't care for the slaves who escaped but I bet my father will have a word with Helena after she's a little better."
"What about her?" I asked, not remembering what happened to her.
"You lighted the front of her dress before passing out. The flames damaged the left side of her face and neck." His jovial look disappeared as he turned grim eyes on me. "You meant to do worse to her, didn't you?"
"Yes. If I didn't faint from blood loss and pain, she would be dead."
Ren closed his eyes but didn't say a word to curse me even though I could feel he was upset with what happened to Helena.
"You can say what you really think of me," I said through gritted teeth, hating the way he subjected me to his sudden silence.
"She's not completely rotten," said Ren. "My father and brothers spoiled her to the core. She has become entitled and forgotten her own roots. I feel sorry for the pain and torment she's going through." He glanced at me, the warmth coming back into the depths of his blue eyes. "I don't blame you for what you did to her. Helena would have done worse to you if she caught you."
It was the strangest feeling ever as jealousy flared inside me. Years had passed since the last time I saw Ren and yet, his support for Helena burned my heart. He'd been my favorite person in the palace other than my parents. He was my playmate as well as a boy I considered an elder brother.
But, it had been years...
"What do you plan to do with me?" I asked, my voice cautious.
"For now, I want to keep you safe so you can heal fast."
"But why? Why save me at all?"
Ren sat up, his eyes watching me closely. "You've truly forgotten me, Daria," he said, sadness lacing his tone. "You reappeared in my life suddenly with Helena surrounding you with a small army. She hates you and I can guess the reason why. You're the one responsible for hurting Zane and the rest of the catastrophes over the past month." He released a long breath and sprang up from the bed. "This isn't the time to be discussing such things. I will bring you your medicine and you should eat something. It will help heal you faster."
I was about to climb out of bed but he stopped me. "You need to rest, Daria. Please trust me this once. I don't wish to harm you. My house is the only place you'll be safe in for the next few days. So, please stay."
He walked out of the room, closing the door behind me. It was hard to find any logic behind Ren's attitude and behavior, yet my stupid heart already trusted him. "It's been years," I reminded myself. Yet, I was actually happy to see Ren.
Climbing off the bed, I walked to the tall window on the other side of the room. A weak afternoon sun shone over a cultivated rose garden. It was beautiful to look upon the crimson blossoms nestled among the dark green shrubs. Just looking out into the garden told me I wasn't in the palace of Drakhaven.
Confusion rose up within me. Why does Ren live here? He said it was his house...
The door opened and Ren walked in with a small tray. Coming close to me, he h
anded me a small porcelain bowl of dark amber liquid.
"I would have killed you already if I wanted to," said Ren as I sniffed at the bowl.
"Don't blame me for being suspicious. Zane poisoned me with some wine."
He winced before looking at me with wide eyes. "Did you really cut off his...his...you know?"
I laughed, the emotion of mirth suddenly bursting out of me. "I did. He was about to rape me and I wasn’t in my right mind. Otherwise, it would have been his head and not his cock that got cut off."
Ren ran his fingers through the long locks of fiery-red hair. "He shouldn’t have attempted to do that. You’re practically family!"
I shrugged, drinking the medicine. It was bitter. Swallowing the rest of it in one go, I placed it back on the tray. "Zane had no idea who I was. Unlike you, he couldn’t recognize me. He even cut me with his sword before getting down to raping me. I was nothing but an insignificant maid to him."
A greenish tinge appeared under his pale, flawless skin. He looked visibly ill.
"Zane has a reputation with women and blood play,” he said slowly. “His lovers don't often survive long but the lure of gold and his status always brings some unfortunate soul into his bed." He fixed me with another inspecting glance. "Your color is coming back," he said, moving close to me. Bending down, he caressed my cheek with the back of his hand. "I am glad you heal as fast as my brothers."
It was an odd thing to say. Why compare me with his brothers and not himself. He was supposed to be a dragonborn too. "What about you, Ren? Don't you heal fast too?" I asked, wondering if something had gone wrong with him. Even as a child, he was weaker than Mekhi and Zane.
"I am not a dragonborn. Of course, I don't heal as fast as you or them."
I blinked. "What are you talking about? You are Ivan's son."
A mocking smile spread across his face. Leaning in so close I could feel the warmth of his breath, he whispered, "I am not."
"What?"
Grinning, he straightened up and took a step back from me. "We have a lot of catching up to do, don't we?"
I nodded dumbly. How could such a thing be possible? Ren was born from Ivan's concubine, Lady Renita. Even my mother spoke of being there at the time of his birth. He was the youngest of the three princes and my closest friend in the palace. How could Ren say something as preposterous as this?
My gaze went to glance at him as he stood with his back towards me. The last rays of the afternoon sun glinted on his vivid ginger hair. It was a feature that made him different to both his brothers and father. Even his eyes of vivid blue and delicate pale skin were different from the usual Drakhavenian features of dark hair and olive skin.
Lady Renita had those blue eyes but her hair had been auburn. For the first time, I wondered who gave Ren the fiery orange locks.
"Lady Renita is your mother, isn't she?" I asked.
He nodded, turning around to face me. "She was."
"So your father..."
"Is not the emperor."
"But how?"
Ren glanced at the door which was tightly closed. He came back to sit with me at the window sill. "You're not as young and innocent as not to know, Daria. My mother had relationships with another man other than my father."
"I don't think I can blame her," I mumbled under my breath.
"No, the emperor is a monster," said Ren in a grim tone. "He always suspected her and treated me with disdain but he became sure of the truth fifteen years ago during the rebellion. You'd somehow disappeared without a trace and the palace was searching for you." He took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment. "I was mad with worry for you. So when I crossed paths with my father, I berated him, called him all the sordid names I'd learned from the palace cooks and may have even kicked him in the knee."
When he opened his eyes and looked at me, there was pain and anguish in his eyes. "Ivan grabbed me by the throat. He was angry and his hand was red-hot." Ren removed the high collar of his tunic to show me the pale scar where the four thick fingers had held him. "My skin seared and burned. And that's when he knew."
I waited, knowing the consequence of such a discovery couldn't have been good. "Ivan left me to die while he proceeded to my mother's chambers to kill her. Miraculously, I survived but my mother didn't. No one knows of the truth. The emperor was too ashamed to let it out after the way the queen treated him."
His gaze bored into mine. "You know what happened to the queen, didn't you?"
I nodded without a word.
"He threatened to kill me if the secret ever came out. Even my brothers are not privy to the truth. They think Ivan hates me because I shirk all responsibilities and spend my days at the brothel, drinking and frolicking."
"Why did you tell me this?" I asked.
"You are the last person alive from a time when life was different." His gaze was somber. "It's time you told me your secrets too. They can't be bigger than the one I just told you."
"You want to bet on that?" I asked, my lips curving into a grin.
"Ohhh! You’ve got to tell me everything!" he cackled, rubbing his hands together. The sudden change in his expression made me chuckle harder.
"But first you must bring me something to eat. I am starving."
He groaned but smiled. "Be right back, princess."
My gaze followed him as he walked out of the room and firmly closed the door behind him. A defeated sigh escaped me. I believed every word that Ren said, but I wondered if I could bring myself to trust him. My heart said 'yes' but the wary assassin inside me wanted more time to assess him and the situation. I knew I would sleep after eating a meal, so at least for the night, I could get away without explaining anything to him.
Tomorrow, I would choose what to do, I decided, watching the sky turn a dark purple.
20
I woke up to a gray dawn the next day. Stretching luxuriously under the sheets, I yawned, despite having slept well the entire night. Tuto kept watch over me, staying inside the room for the night. I'd instructed him to hoot as loud as he could if anyone came in. Thankfully, no one disturbed my slumber.
"You deserve a special treat," I whispered, glancing at him. He was perched over the backrest of a chair and sleeping.
Climbing off the bed, I went to him and gently prodded him awake. "Thank you, Tuto," I whispered, affectionately stroking his soft, white feathers. "I'll get some nice meat strips for you later." He hooted softly, his large amber eyes watching me intently. "I suppose you want to go out now?"
Moving to the window, I unlatched it. Tuto's wings brushed against the top of my head as he flew out, leaving me to contemplate everything Ren told me yesterday. The wound in my shoulder was still irksome but the painful throb I suffered before had lessened. His medicines were helpful in aiding my recovery as well as helping me sleep through the night. So far, Ren hadn't hurt me.
Still too early to tell, I decided, taking a seat at the window sill to watch the first rays of the sun light up the beautiful ornamental rose garden down below.
My thoughts went to Cain, Adal, and Norvin. They should have finished distributing the herbs to the major towns and villages of Drakhaven by now. Relief spread through me to know the people were being helped despite my lateness to come to their rescue.
I said a small prayer to the dragon gods and goddesses for their blessing. The power of a dragon was immense. Apart from breathing fire and ash clouds, it was also given the gift of flight, covering large distances in a matter of hours. I could only imagine how efficiently the kingdoms were managed during the times of our fathers.
My desire to turn into my true self strengthened. All I had to do was conduct a mating ritual at a dragon temple. The nearest one was located just outside of Fuvaros.
The mere thought of the mating ritual with one of my princes ignited my core with a fiery need. It felt like a long time since I'd been intimate with them even though it had been barely a week since I lay with Cain.
A small noise of frustration escaped
me.
While I desperately wanted to see my princes again, I didn't want to worry about them. The fact that I attracted Helena's wrath right after they left would cause them to be anxious. Thanks to Ren, I was fine. Another day's rest would make me strong enough to heal the remnants of the arrow wound.
A knock sounded on the door, followed by the turning of the knob.
I stood up from my perch just as the door opened to reveal Ren. He balanced a large tray in one hand while closing the door with the other.
"Don't you have servants for this kind of thing?" I asked, walking up to him and taking the precariously balanced tray from his hand.
"I told my servants I'm entertaining a special lady. Over the years, they've learned not to venture into my personal quarters. Some sights you can't wash away from your eyes," he said, grinning mischievously.
I chuckled, carrying the tray to a small table nearby. Before I could start on the creamy porridge, he said, "Drink the medicine first. It needs to be taken in an empty stomach." He removed the cover from the smallest bowl and gestured towards it.
Picking it up, I drank the bitter concoction he gave me last evening.
"It's a very special brew," said Ren, watching me as I swallowed the last of the potion. "The herbs in it are extremely potent for the dragonborns. I stole them from the emperor's stash."
I giggled, starting on breakfast. "He hates you but can't really stop you from prancing around as a prince."
"No."
"Mekhi and Zane have maligned your reputation too. People clump you along with the three princes of Drakhaven, portraying you to be just as ruthless and cruel as them."
He nodded, picking up a cherry from one of the bowls and popping it in his mouth. "It's advantageous. People stay away and do my bidding without me having to lift a finger. The fear of my brothers works in my favor."
Once I'd eaten my fill, I decided to ask the question bothering me the most.
"You rescued me from the soldiers back in the slavers' arena. What will you tell Helena if she asks you about me?"