by Dawn Brower
Daire shrugged. “I’m not going to argue with you about it, but promise me you’ll be careful.”
What did Daire think Cale would do? He wasn’t going to hurt anyone, and Cale would never do anything to her. “You said it yourself, Cale loves me. I’m not going to promise something so ridiculous.”
She couldn’t meet his gaze because, if she did, then she’d have to admit he was right. There was something off about Cale, and his feelings for her weren’t the same either. Cale loved her, and she loved him, but he wasn’t the same knight she’d given her heart to. This new Cale was someone she didn’t recognize or understand.
Elodie didn’t have the first clue how to deal with that revelation. There was a hole in her that she couldn’t fill, and that loss was painful. Her mission was complete—she’d saved Cale. He was no longer a dragon, yet she couldn’t help wondering if she’d still failed him somehow. What if this was how he would be forever? Could she live with the new version of him? She hated the idea of him never returning to the knight she’d grown to love; nonetheless, she had to prepare for the possibility.
Elodie started to walk down the path again. He grabbed her arm, stopping her. She spun around to face him. “Let me go.”
“Ellie,” he said with urgency in his voice. “Please, promise me. I’m not telling you to stay away from him.”
“Good, because I won’t.”
He frowned. “As I was saying... Cale’s fate is tied to this place now more than ever. Donia might have healed him, but the dragon lives in his blood. He might not be able to leave Malediction.”
Donia had said that those born of Malediction could never leave it. Did that include a person who merged with a dragon? In a sense, a new being had been created. It was different than the magic that infused her blood. She was still herself, but Cale was now one being created from two—a rebirth. If he had to stay... Fear seized her as she let herself absorb that possibility. A life without Cale? She couldn’t do it. He would be able to return to Zelnon—she refused to believe anything else. Cale belonged there as much as she did, and he would not be forced to remain in the cursed world. He didn’t deserve such a fate.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” she disagreed. “Cale would never willingly choose to remain in this world. We all want to go home.”
“You’re right,” he replied. “The knight wouldn’t want to stay here, and he’d rather not be separated from you. He might not have a choice. Sometimes we don’t have a say in our fate.”
“Fate is a fancy way of explaining to the world you don’t have a say in your own life. We sow our own seeds, and they grow from the decisions we make. Fate has nothing to do with that.”
“In a way, you’re right,” he agreed. “But the seeds put in our path are set there by a predetermined design. Our free will gives us the opportunity to make of them what we will. Cale made his choice, and he has to live with it. That doesn’t mean you have to as well.”
This conversation was going nowhere fast. They would be to the end of the path soon, and from there they would once again embark on the quest to leave Malediction. Elodie wanted to seek out the Athair and question him. He was supposedly the maker of Malediction, and he might be able to help them onto the right path once again. He’d tried before, but Elodie failed to listen to him properly. She was clueless how to proceed.
“I hear you,” Elodie said complacently. “I’ll do what’s best for me. That’s all the promise I can make right now.” She couldn’t help the selfishness that had taken root inside of her. Perhaps she’d always think of herself first, but she hoped to outgrow that inclination over time. For now, it was a part of her and she accepted it.
She had no clue about anything, and she wasn’t about to admit that to him. Her emotions were a turmoil of indecision. At the start of this journey, she’d known exactly what she wanted. Now she didn’t have the first clue. Spending time with Daire had made her question everything. She had feelings she didn’t think possible. Cale had been her future. She’d been so sure of that, and now she wasn’t sure she had much of a present, let alone some distant life she could build toward.
“As long as you’re careful, I can live with that.” Daire picked her hand up in his and lifted it to his mouth. He kissed her palm and held her hand against his cheek. “I want what’s best for you—even if that isn’t me.”
Her heart ached inside of her chest. He was so sweet and loving. How could anyone not grow to care for him? She glanced away from him and toward the path leading away from the Dragon’s lair. Cale continued to trek down the mountain with Donia and Kalypso behind him. He hadn’t even noticed that Daire and Elodie had stopped to talk. She scrunched her eyebrows together and frowned. That wasn’t like him either. He’d always been far more alert than this.
“We need to catch up to the group,” Elodie said and pulled her hand out of his. “I’m afraid you’re right about Cale.”
“I’m glad you’re finally seeing it.”
She shook her head. “No, I always saw it. I wanted to hear your take on things. It was difficult to figure out what wasn’t right, but I see it now.”
Elodie rushed down the path heading toward Cale. Daire fell in step beside her. The other three had already gained a good distance ahead of them. She lost sight of them as they rounded a corner. Her heart raced in her chest and her feet moved faster, almost running.
“Slow down,” Daire warned. “You might slip and fall.”
“We have to hurry,” she said. “Before they reach the bottom.”
She finally understood everything. How could she have been so stupid? Ever since Cale had woken up, something seemed off. He had been so remote and false in his actions, but just enough for her to think it was a side effect of being in the dragon. He’d be his normal self after a while.
“Ellie,” Daire called to her. “It’s dangerous to run. Slow down.”
She ignored him and rushed forward as fast as her feet could carry her down the steep incline. She turned around the corner and came to a dead stop. It was exactly as she feared. At the end of the path, Cale had halted with his arms crossed over his chest. At the edge where the path ended, every one of the dragon hunters lined up waiting for them with Lulu at front of the line flying overhead.
Cale turned back toward them and smiled. It wasn’t a good smile, and instead held a maniacal gleam to it. Donia was on the ground, knocked out cold. Kalypso roared loudly at the hunters and snapped her large teeth at Cale. If they continued down the path, they’d find themselves prisoners of the hunters too. Elodie wasn’t sure what she should do.
“Hell no,” Daire said glaring at her. “Don’t do something stupid.”
“How do you know it is?” She lifted a brow.
He leaned down and placed his lips on hers. The kiss was quick and hard. Daire lifted his head and met her gaze. “Wherever you go, I go. We’re in this together.”
“All right,” she agreed. “But you’re not going to like it.”
“Doesn’t matter.” His lips tilted upward. “As long as I’m with you.”
With those words Elodie strolled down the path. She reached out and grabbed Daire’s hand. They had a battle on their hands, and might as well go into it at full strength. The prince didn’t know it yet, but he had a gift of his own. He needed a little encouragement to tap into it. No better time than an impending war to find out what he was capable of. Elodie was the person to help him reach his full potential...
16
Broken Curse, Broken Not
Elodie and Daire walked in unison, step by step, until they were directly in front of the group assembled at the bottom of the mountain. The long, winding path had kept them from their view during their descent. There wasn’t a lot of them, but compared to two, it was a lot. A half-dozen men stood behind Cale and Lulu. In contrast to Elodie’s smaller frame, all of them were big and brawny. Alone, each one of them would have the capability of defeating her, even with Daire by her side. Together, they appeared unstoppable.
&nbs
p; Several feet separated them. The hunters didn’t move as if waiting for some sign they should act. Cale walked the length in front of them, watching both Elodie and Daire with each step he took. He seemed to be gauging their capabilities and determining every one of their weaknesses. Sadly, there were many things going against them, but Elodie refused to back down. As long as she remained stalwart, so would Daire.
Whatever had a hold of Cale...this wasn’t him. Her knight never would have betrayed her and laid a trap. He’d have protected her until his last breath. Elodie would stake her life on that fact, and actually had. Not once had she believed he might not put her first. That loss of trust stabbed through her, leaving a trail of misery in its wake. It appeared as if Cale was lost to her forever...
She shook that thought away. That couldn’t be a concern, at least not now. First, they had to survive, and if after that was done and Cale still lived—only then could she consider saving him. This was no longer about her knight, and never should have been. This was about survival and those she could trust. For all appearances, Cale and Lulu were on the other side of that invisible line. They hadn’t chosen her—they’d elected to move against her. It hurt deep down in the bottom of her soul to realize how foolish she’d been, and that the one person she’d thought she could always rely on had betrayed her.
She’d been warned though. A tiger, a relentless bird, and a dragon—one would guide, and one would betray her. Never had she believed it could apply to more than one of them, nor had she considered that she and Cale could ever be on opposite sides. Nothing truly made any sense.
“I’m glad you finally made it down the mountain,” Cale shouted. “I was worried when I realized you were not directly behind me as you were supposed to be.”
To be more accurate—he’d been angry he couldn’t thwart them all at once. Daire and Elodie’s chat had waylaid them, and derailed his plans of capturing them easily. They’d ruined his surprise attack with their concern over him. That was irony in itself.
“What’s going on?” Elodie asked, taking the ignorant approach. Best to act dumb until she had to do something she’d possibly regret later. “Do you know those men?”
Cale blinked several times. The color of his eyes changed from purple and then back to blue. She barely made out the flickered alteration. The distance between them remained large enough to keep him at bay, but small enough to register inflections of emotion. Still, he didn’t act. What was he waiting for? Elodie weighed her options. Should she rely on magic or her skill with the short swords. Either way, Cale could defeat her. He’d been the one to train her, his skill greater than hers, his magic older yet new inside of him. The odds were against her.
“Daire,” she whispered. “I need you to uncover your magic.”
“What?” he asked startled. “I don’t...”
“You do,” she insisted. “Remember the dust storm?”
He shook his head frantically. She’d known it for some time, but hadn’t pushed, her own magic a contention within herself. She hadn’t wanted it, but had no choice except to accept it. Daire would have to as well. If they had any chance of making it past this moment, they would have to work together. Lulu had said a piece of her was in Daire. She didn’t understand what it meant; however, she believed it. They were bound together, and she could sense things in him he might not want her to know. The magic was there ready to be tapped. All he had to do was accept it.
“I remember not being able to breathe,” he said quietly. “Regretting I’d never truly kissed you, and wanting desperately to survive if only to experience that once. It brought my entire life into perspective.”
Cale paced in front of the hunters. Elodie kept track of his movements waiting for him to attack. What was he waiting for? Elodie had to make Daire understand everything before they no longer had the time they needed.
She nodded. “Almost dying does that to you.” Her thoughts hadn’t been the same as his, but still she could relate. All her focus had been her feelings for Cale, and her desire to return to Zelnon. Those still held true even now. “The dream, or rather the images, in your mind when I merged with you. That kiss was more for you than me. You willed it.”
When she’d opened her eyes after saving him, that image had remained ingrained in her mind. It alone had made her start to look at Daire differently. True, she’d seen him in a different light before then—a friend and ally she could trust. The dream kiss had awakened something else inside of her. A part of her she’d been repressing in her love for Cale.
“Maybe,” he replied. “That part seemed real enough, as if the kiss came into being because I wanted it bad enough.”
Elodie nodded. “The dust altered you and gave you the one thing you wanted more than anything. You can make things happen none of us can.”
“No,” he told her. “It doesn’t work like that. You have to know I’d take us home if I could.”
She smiled at him. Sadness filling her at his statement. Crazy enough, that had never occurred to her. If Daire had the capability of returning them to Zelnon, he certainly would have. His gift was limited and wouldn’t stretch beyond the borders of Malediction. She wondered, as she often did, if his magic would remain once they returned. Magic wasn’t unthinkable in Zelnon, but it was a rare gift. Paige had a gift, and she’d never thought to ask where or how she’d attained it. She had just accepted the white witch for who she was, and what she could do. Had she been to a realm similar to Malediction?
“I’m not asking that of you,” she replied. “I need you to save Cale. You know he’s not himself and saw it far clearer than I did—a part of him is still cursed. You are the key to un-breaking it completely. A piece of him is missing—find it, make him whole again.”
He jerked his head toward Cale and his small band of men. They all watched them with avid interest. That wasn’t exactly true either. Each of the men were focused on them, but their expressions were almost blank. They were being controlled by some unknown force. Elodie glanced upward and found Lulu flying above them. Had she overheard a part of their conversation? She’d been so intent on making Daire realize his own magic that she’d tuned out the world around them. A mistake she would probably regret soon.
“It won’t work,” Cale called out. “I like who I am now.”
She didn’t believe that. Cale was an honorable man, and he’d die before he hurt those he cared about. This was not her Cale. The knight would have made sure she was protected always.
“Maybe you do,” she replied. “But I find this you lacking.”
He laughed. “That’s because you haven’t given yourself a chance to really know me. You think you do, but you never did.” He stepped a little closer, his broadsword in hand. “Perhaps the problem is that you have him by your side.” He held the sword up, pointing at Daire. “But don’t worry. That won’t be an issue for long.”
He stalked forward, his steps hitting the ground hard and his hands clenched at his side. Elodie drew her short swords and prepared to fight him. Daire could defend himself, but she needed him to do something else. Until then, she’d keep Cale at bay. “Don’t think too hard about it,” Elodie said to Daire. “Reach inside and find what you already know is there. I’ll hold him off as long as I can.”
“You don’t want to do this,” Cale warned her. “I’ve beat you every time we’ve gone up against each other.”
“Not every time,” she reminded him.
He scoffed. “The last time doesn’t count. I let you win.”
She didn’t believe that for a second. It had counted, and he’d been taken by surprise. That maneuver wouldn’t work a second time though. Mostly because Cale wasn’t himself and wouldn’t let a kiss distract him. She’d have to find another way to accomplish the same thing. She took a step forward, preparing to circle him. “I doubt that,” she mocked him. “I beat you by playing to your ego. I’ll do it again.”
Lulu whistled from above. Elodie couldn’t let that distract her. Daire had to do
his thing or they’d never make it out alive. Donia groaned in the distance as she woke. She wouldn’t be on the hunters’s side. If she had been, then they never would have incapacitated her.
“If you insist on fighting,” Cale retorted. “Then I’ll humor you. If you want, you can consider it the final lesson.”
It may end up being that too. She wouldn’t let his words distract her any more than Lulu’s call to arms. Elodie sprang into action, tumbling through the air to land on the other side of Cale. He should have expected that move as she’d done it before. But this wasn’t the normal Cale. He reacted more than anticipated. He turned around in time to meet her blade with his sword. Cale spun around and met the edge of her other short sword with a small dagger. She recognized it immediately. The jewel encrusted hilt of the ring dagger he’d carried as a knight. That had gone missing when they entered Malediction. When had he found it?
The distraction of the dagger gave Cale the advantage. He pulled her against him, wrapping his strong arms around her. Her back met his chest as he tightened his hold. “Let me go,” she demanded.
“Never,” he said. “You’re mine.”
“Not like this,” she replied defiantly. “Never like this.”
Elodie smashed her head backward, hitting his chest. He grunted from the blow, but his grip didn’t loosen. She was losing, and fast. Around her, the other hunters sprang into action. Donia leapt to her feet as she became aware of what was going on. She lifted her fist into the sky, and a bolt of lightning struck two hunters in front of Elodie and Cale. Then she reached for an arrow and let it fly over them. The grunt that followed was the only indication that Donia hit her intended target.
Kalypso remained silent as she watched the fight around her. Why was the tiger being so complacent? Had Lulu woven a spell around her as well?
Elodie didn’t have time to figure any of it out. She had to free herself. She couldn’t see Daire any longer and had no idea if he was even working to save Cale from himself. She had one tactic left. “I’m sorry,” Elodie said. “I wish things could have been different.”