by Tara West
Kron turned to the mage. “Do you know where Serah Goldenwand is?”
He paled. “I do not.”
“And yet how easily you speak of murdering her!” Ladon roared.
The guards returned in a whirl of feathers, dragging a shrieking Katherine. “We have brought the griffin girl, my kings,” they said and deposited the griffin in front of the dais.
Ladon ran to her, hauling her to her feet and desperately searching her eyes. “Where is she?”
She shook him off. “Where is who?” she asked nonchalantly, her disinterest too practiced, her voice too hollow.
“Don’t play dumb with me.” Ladon jabbed her with a long talon. “Or I swear I’ll burn you to a crisp.”
“You will do no such thing!” Eagleheart said, whacking Ladon’s leg with his staff.
Ladon blew out a stream of fire, but the mage threw up a shield in time to prevent being flamed. Too bad. Ladon needed revenge, and he needed it now.
“Tell us where she is, Katherine,” Kron said sternly. “Tell us now, or we will use the truth spell.”
Katherine let out a wistful sigh. Ladon longed to smack her smug face.
“I found her tied up and gagged by your sons,” she said, “so I helped her escape.”
“Liar!” Ladon yelled.
“That is enough, son,” Kron cautioned before turning back to Katherine. “Where did she go?”
“She’s on a boat to Siren’s Cove. She’ll be much safer there than here. Plus, she’ll be with her own kind.”
Ladon was so upset at that news, it was a wonder he didn’t wring Katherine’s neck. They were going to sacrifice Serah.
“Did she tell you that’s where she wanted to go?” Teju asked.
She hesitated, then said, “Yes.”
“Now I know you’re lying!” Ladon advanced on her, his dragon barely in check. “The siren queens want to kill her.”
“Oh!” Her hands flew to her face. “I didn’t know that.”
Latching onto her arm, he dug his claws into her skin, all too aware of her father hovering nearby with his wand. “But Serah knew, and she would’ve told you.”
She smile was contemptuous. “I guess it slipped her mind.”
Kron nodded to Lord Crowfoot and two other bird-beak guards. “Arrest her.”
“My kings!” Eagleheart banged his staff to draw their attention. “I implore you to be reasonable.”
Kron said evenly, “We are.” After his guards had Katherine in their grasp, he said, “Arrest her father, too.”
The mage backed away from the guards, brandishing the staff and his wand. “You don’t want to do that.”
Kron straightened to an imposing height. “Name one reason why we shouldn’t.”
Master Eagleheart’s eyes gleamed. “Oh, I can name thousands of reasons.” His face transformed to that of an eagle and he let out an ear-shattering screech.
Ladon’s blood turned to ice. “What are you doing, Eagleheart?”
“Summoning my family,” the mage said.
Vepar took their mother under his wing. “Your family?”
He let out a sinister chuckle. “You’ll regret crossing me.”
The guards knocked the staff and wand from his hands and bound him and his daughter by the wrists.
Ladon heard a rumble beneath him, followed by several ear-piercing screeches that sounded like rabid bats. Goddess save them.
“CLOSE THE DOORS! CLOSE the doors!” Draque flew into his fathers’ hall, hell birds nipping at his tail.
When the guards saw them, they whistled to Cerberus, who helped them push the massive doors shut. Draque added his weight, then bolted the door as the first griffin hit. Hundreds of them slammed into the doors, their beaks and claws sounding like hail hitting a tin roof.
Vepar flew to Draque’s side. “What in the devil’s name are those?”
“Demons,” Draque said and turned to those behind him: his birth brothers, two of his older brothers, his fathers, Mother, and Master Eagleheart and Katherine, who had been restrained by guards. About time his fathers arrested the Eaglehearts. Draque only hoped it wasn’t too late.
“Over three thousand griffins, my spawns.” Master Eagleheart smiled triumphantly. “Surrender the throne to me, and I’ll call them off. If not, they will destroy your kingdom and everyone in it.”
Kron towered over Eagleheart. “You’ve gone mad.”
“I’m the same I’ve always been.” The mage turned up his chin. “I have served your family faithfully for three generations, and I would’ve served you faithfully, too, but for your cowardice.”
A hush fell, with the exception of the noise the griffins made on the other side of the door. Draque wondered why his fathers hadn’t crisped Eagleheart yet.
“You’ve allowed the witches to strip your powers and your sovereignty,” the mage continued. “You are a disgrace to the Firesbreath name.”
For the first time in his life, Draque saw Kron flinch, his golden scales coloring to an almost crimson hue. “We did what had to be done to prevent war.”
There was much Draque wanted to say to Eagleheart, but he held his tongue. It was true his grandparents had been far more confrontational, but they’d also suffered an untimely end because of it.
“Yet war is at our border even now.” The mage banged his staff on the stone floor, and the demons outside squealed and pounded the door with more ferocity. “The witch army will be here soon, and you can’t defeat them without my griffins.”
“Fathers,” Draque said, trying not to gloat, “I burned most of the griffins while they were in their cocoons.”
He enjoyed the look of horror in Master Eagleheart’s cold, black eyes.
“You what?” the mage rasped.
“How many are left?” Kron asked.
“Probably a third their original number,” Draque answered.
“Excellent job, son.” Kron grinned, his dragon teeth long and sharp. “We will not yield the throne. Call off your griffins.”
Eagleheart’s face twisted into a grotesque cross between man and bird. “A thousand griffins can still raze your kingdom.”
Smoke rings blew from Vepar’s flared nostrils. “And it only takes one dragon to fry you like an egg.”
Master Eagleheart was unfazed despite the guards holding tightly to his bound arms. “I’m the only one who can control them.”
“We are eight mighty dragons,” Kron said. “They don’t need to be controlled. Our cunning son has already destroyed most of them, and we will kill the rest.”
Draque shared shocked looks with Teju and Ladon.
Cunning, huh? He never compliments you, Teju’s thought echoed in Draque’s head.
I know, Draque answered, a strong sense of pride surging through him. I have never heard such sentimental words from him.
Ladon hung his head. He is probably sentimental because Thaddeus was killed.
Draque heard the words, and then their meaning became clear. What?
Witches attacked him with the unbreakable curse, Teju said sorrowfully.
War is imminent, Ladon said. We know Nathaniel Goldenwand was behind it.
Draque was stricken by the news. He and his pack brothers had never gotten along well with their older siblings, but the loss was devastating. He couldn’t imagine how he’d handle losing Teju or Ladon.
He jumped when the griffins renewed their attack on the door, and the wood splintered down the middle. Not much longer, and they’d breach the barrier. Draque prayed he’d burned enough of their cocoons to shift victory in their favor.
Ladon and Teju shifted into full dragon form, flanking Draque to form a line with their other two brothers and father.
You might have saved us, Ladon said. Thank you.
I did what had to be done. Draque felt like a pile of troll dung for the way he’d treated Serah. You were right to chastise me earlier. I’m sorry we fought.
Me, too, Ladon answered. And now Serah is gone.
&nbs
p; A resounding crack ricocheted through the cavern as the splinter widened, the door buckling inward. The creatures would break through any moment. But right now Draque was more concerned about Serah. Where is she?
Katherine sent her on a boat to Siren’s Cove, Teju said.
What the fuck are we doing here? Draque rose on his hind legs, as upset as he’d ever been. We need to go save her now!
The demons burst through the doors, and Draque had to shift gears from saving Serah to fighting for his life and his kingdom. He and the other dragons blew out blue fire, engulfing the hall in flame. Mother and the others huddled behind the throne, protected by a blue bubble of magic.
The winged creatures came toward him in what could only be described as suicide missions. He and his family incinerated them the moment they drew near, like electrocuting bugs in a zapper. The more demons that flew at him, the more he killed. It was so easy, fighting them became tedious. As he settled into complacence, one broke through the barriers and landed on Kron’s neck with an ear-splitting howl. Kron swatted it away but not before it bit his neck, ripping out a chunk of flesh. Kron bit the demon in two. A wave of leathery, winged creatures washed over them, using their burned brethren as shields. Debris from overhead rained down on them when their dragon tails swept the walls. Draque howled when a big chunk of rock sliced open his arm.
“I thought I’d killed most of them,” Draque said when he paused to stoke his fires. “There are more than I imagined.”
“We can hold them off,” Kron said and flung another demon off his back. “I’m more worried about the witches. They will be here soon.”
“Father,” Ladon said, slinging a demon off his tail, “Serah is in danger. The sirens have tried to sacrifice her before.”
Kron didn’t hesitate. “Then one of you must save her.”
When Teju surged forward, Kron blocked him. “Not you. We need your magic when the witches arrive.”
“I’ll go,” Draque said. He was probably the best dragon for the job, though she’d like seeing him the least. He needed to make amends with her. He hoped saving her would earn her forgiveness.
Ladon puffed up his chest. “I’ll go with you.”
Kron shook his head, then stomped on a crawling griffin that was missing a wing. “We need you here.” He turned his dark gaze on Draque. “Go, son. May the goddess bless your journey.”
Ladon gave him a dark look. “Do not fail her, brother.”
A renewed sense of energy washed over Draque, fueled by determination. “I will save her or die trying.” He released a ball of fire and charged through the wall of griffins, treading on their heads and beating them down with his heavy wings. He fought his way through the busted doors and out into the tunnel, shifting into a dragon-human hybrid after he passed the griffins. He flew through the tunnels until he reached the underground lakes. He couldn’t summon strong protective bubbles like Teju, and he had no time to learn. Drawing in a deep breath, he dove into the water, letting the current sweep him into the lagoon. By the time he surfaced, his lungs were begging for air. He shifted into full dragon form, emerged from the lagoon, and shook water off his wings.
“I’m coming, Serah,” he yelled. He only hoped he wasn’t too late.
THE WIND BEAT DOWN on Serah, drying her skin and cracking her lips. Clouds passed in a blur overhead, blotting out the moon’s light as her boat swiftly sailed her to her doom. She wondered how long it would take her to reach Siren’s Cove. Her heart raced when she recognized the familiar scents of honeysuckle and lilac. She was nearing her homeland.
She’d tried several times to loosen her bonds, but it was no use.
Damn you, Draque, for tying them so tight.
If Katherine hadn’t put that spell on her, she could’ve shifted into a siren and flopped out of the boat, but she couldn’t even hear her siren’s voice, much less transform.
She heard a splash, followed by another. When the boat slowed, she tensed, wondering what had caused those splashes. She tried to temper her breathing, but her chest heaved from fright. When long fingers grabbed the side of the boat, she nearly pissed herself.
A woman with moss-covered hair poked her head above the gunwale and looked at Serah with a mixture of curiosity and alarm. “Serah?” she hissed. “My daughter?”
Serah blinked at her mother, her eyes filling with tears. She’d never see her dragon princes again.
Chapter Sixteen
Teju and Ladon pushed through the wreckage with their fathers and older brothers, sweeping away dead griffins with their tails. Luckily only the great hall was damaged; the rest of the kingdom had been spared. Their fathers’ spies had reported no signs of the witches yet. Teju wondered why they were waiting. Even though he was exhausted after fighting the griffins, the agony of not knowing their fate was worse than war. He wanted to get this over with, so he could fly to Siren’s Cove and help Draque save Serah. He only prayed he survived and that Draque and Serah weren’t already dead.
Dame Doublewart chased Kron’s tail, a determined glint in her eyes. “I could pretend to be her and ask them to call off the battle.”
“Dame Doublewart.” Kron heaved a sigh, blowing out a weary ring of smoke. “I appreciate your offer, but I doubt it will matter if we show them Serah is alive. These witches are possessed, like zombies. We saw it with our own eyes.”
“And they are also armed with the unbreakable curse,” Hector added, his eyes red and swollen from crying over Thaddeus.
“To say they’re fighting dirty is an understatement,” Bastian added emotionally, wiping tear stains from his face.
Teju ached for them. Though he, Draque, and Ladon had never been close to their older brothers—heck, at times the rivalry between them was so fierce, he’d considered them more enemies than family—now was not a time for enmity. Losing a member of a pack was more than just losing a family member. It caused a deep rift in their tightly bonded group. Other packs that’d lost family had compared it to losing a limb. It affected their number of offspring as well. When they did find a mate, she would most likely only produce two eggs at a time. Dragon kings had always ruled in threes, which meant Teju and his brothers would probably inherit the throne, a burden he did not wish to bear. He also suspected this would make Hector and Bastian resent Teju’s pack more.
He wanted to go to his older brothers and offer them comfort, but he worried they’d resent his pity, so he felt sorry for them from a distance while praying to the goddess that their fate didn’t befall his pack, too.
“I don’t care. I want to help.” Doris waved her wand wildly. “They killed Thaddeus! They destroyed my school!”
Kron gazed at her as if she was a wayward child, his upper lip pulled back in a snarl. “We appreciate the gesture, but please—”
“It’s no gesture,” she interrupted, jabbing his snout with the slender piece of wood. “You won’t find anyone more skilled with a wand than me, other than perhaps Teju.”
Teju’s scales warmed when his headmistress and Kron turned their eyes on him. He gave Dame Doublewart a subtle nod. “Thanks, ma’am.”
She eyed Teju as if she was sizing up his worth. “As a matter of fact, Teju would serve you best fighting with his wand, not his fire.”
Ordinarily, Teju would’ve felt pride at his headmistress’s faith in him, maybe even rub it in Ladon’s face, but he just felt numb.
Kron studied Dame Doublewart for a long moment, and Teju didn’t know if his father planned to eat the pushy headmistress or thank her. “You’re right. Thank you for your counsel, Dame Doublewart.” Surprisingly, he bowed low to her.
Her expression was as dour as ever. “Anything to stop that madman.”
“Why aren’t they here yet?” Teju asked.
Kron scanned the cavern ceiling as if expecting witches to crash through the granite any moment. “My spy reports they’re waiting until dawn to attack.”
“Why?” he asked.
Kron frowned, his long whiskers nearly dra
gging the ground. “I don’t know.”
A chill went through Teju as he scanned the ceiling, worrying they were planning a surprise attack.
SERAH FOUGHT HER CAPTORS, but it was no use. They pulled her from the boat and dragged her into the warm water. Doing her best to keep her head above water, she nearly fainted from fright when her mother bared her fangs, but the woman only cut through her bonds. When she was free, she lurched for the boat, trying to scramble back inside.
“Seraphina!” her mother cried, pulling on her shirt. “My precious child, do not fear me.”
Heart racing, she kicked and flailed, desperately trying to pull herself into the boat. “Stay away from me!”
“Seraphina, darling.” Her mother pulled her back into the water, spinning her around with a surprisingly strong grip. “Don’t you recognize us?”
Several other sirens had joined her mother, their gleaming teeth shining in the moonlight that reflected off the water.
“I know who you are,” she said venomously.
An older siren with a long silver braid draped over her shoulder frowned at Serah. “Nathaniel has poisoned her against us.”
Serah recognized her grandmother and trembled. “Grandfather saved me when you tried to kill me!” Biting down on her knuckles, she spun around, unable to look at them a moment longer.
Resting her forehead against the hull, she clung to the side of the boat, flinching when someone placed a hand on her shoulder.
“We’d never try to harm you,” her mother said at her back. “Please turn around, child, and see that my words are true.”
Emotion tightened her chest as she refused to look at her mother. “You tried to sacrifice me to Maiadra.”
“Is that what he told you?”
She bravely turned around. “Have you so easily forgotten dragging me to the altar and lighting a fire at my feet? If Grandfather hadn’t stopped you, I’d have burned to death.”
Her mother arched back, clasping a hand to her heart as if she’d been wounded. “Seraphina, we don’t do sacrifices. We haven’t in over two thousand years.”
