"The Guild. They're the reason for all of this. The reason I even bonded with dragons in the first place."
"Is it that terrible though?" she sat back on her heels and arched her brows at me.
I stood and looked at the droopy wings. "I don't even know how to fully control them."
"Practice."
I rolled my eyes as the door to my chamber squeaked open.
"Who goes there!" I yelled.
"Relax woman, it's me."
"James!"
"I wanted to see how you are."
He reached out and rubbed my feathers.
"Can you not?" I asked.
"Forgive me. I've just never seen a person with wings before."
"I've never had wings before."
"What does it feel like?" he asked, circling around me.
I shrugged, causing the large objects attached to my back to shake. "They feel cumbersome."
"Have you tried moving them around?"
"I don't know how."
"Interesting."
I flexed my back, causing the feathers to expand behind me. "Oh, that's new."
"What did you do?" Charlene asked.
"I just stretched out my shoulders."
"Try it again," James said, pushing my wings back down.
I nodded and stretched my back again. The wings flung out as though they had a mind of their own.
"Focus on them. The feeling you have as you move," James muttered, circling me.
I reached out an arm to stop him, in the process a wing sprung forward smacking him in the face. "Stop doing that."
"What?" he asked.
"Going around and around. You make me feel so awkward."
"How are we going to hide them?" Charlene asked.
"Hide them?" James questioned. "Why hide them?"
"I don't think anyone is ready to see their queen with feathers and scales."
He stroked his chin and nodded in agreement. "No, I suppose not."
Charlene jumped up and strode to the clothes. She dug around, shaking her head before she must have found what she was looking for. She pulled out a silver and white cloak.
"What is that?" I asked.
"A cloak. You've always refused to wear it." She swung it around so that it rested on my shoulders, completely obscuring the wings. "And it's just perfect."
I turned to look in the mirror. She was right. The wings were hidden very well beneath the satin fabric. The only thing that stood out was my scales.
"Don't worry about the rest. I'm assuming you still plan on wearing gowns?" she asked.
"Oh, yes, of course. I almost forgot that I hadn't put anything on. I don't even feel the cold."
"What does it feel like?"
"I don't know. It's an odd feeling. It doesn't feel like scales, I suppose it still feels similar to regular skin, I just don't feel cold." I let Charlene take the cloak and help me into my nightgown. "I do have a problem."
"What?"
"All of my clothes are made for people and not half-dragons. What do I do with my wings?"
"Oh." Charlene sat on the ottoman in front of the bed and stared at the bulge in the back of my shirt. "That does pose a problem."
"Yes, it surely does."
"Just cut it," James said pulling a small dagger from his side.
"That works for this, but what about my gowns?"
"Hmm, I suppose we're going to have to find someone we can trust who can make new gowns."
"Can we trust anyone? Really trust them?"
"I can only think of one," Charlene said, crossing her leg, shaking her foot.
"There is only one person who I know can make you act like that. Do you really think we can trust her?"
"Who is this woman?" James asked.
Charlene sighed and continued shaking her foot. "Someone who we don't talk about or see. Ever."
"Who?" James asked again.
Charlene closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"Amelia," I said.
"Amelia?"
"My little sister."
"You have a sister? Why wasn't she at our wedding? Or at court?"
"She's not exactly looked upon highly in the family."
"Why?"
"She ran away from home. Our parents had set up a wonderful marriage for her to a wealthy earl. She wasn't in love with him. She loved some boy from the local town. He was a nothing. Just some apprentice. Our parents said that their union was forbidden and if she went against their wishes she would never be allowed back home. So she left. She started her own sewing business making gowns. She's actually really good. She's successful. But out parents refuse to acknowledge her existence."
"I haven't seen her in years. Do you think she would make my gowns?"
"She's the only one that I know who wouldn't say anything. She does still like you. You were always nice to her."
"She was a nice kid," I said.
"I'll send for her."
Charlene stood and left James and me alone. The fire crackled as we just stared at each other. I didn't feel the same. I didn't feel like I had before I died.
"Do you still love me?" he asked.
I nodded. "Of course."
"What's wrong, Evelyn?"
"I don't know. I just feel like everything is going to change. I know I'm so different now. I feel the change."
"No, things won't be the same, but they still can be between us. I love you."
"I know you do, James. But what happens now? Am I mortal? Am I immortal? What am I?"
"We'll find answers to all of the questions. We'll find out what's going on."
"What will we do if someone finds out?" I asked.
"We'll deal with everything as it happens. This is all new to me as well. I don't think anyone has ever dealt with things like this before."
"Can I still be a queen?"
"Why wouldn't you be able to be?"
"I don't know. What if this transition changes my personality and not just my appearance?"
"You're fine."
James wrapped his arms around my body and held me close. I could feel the tears welling in my eyes before slowly sliding down my cheek, before landing on his shoulder. James jumped back and grabbed the spot where my tear hit.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"That was really cold."
"What was?" I questioned.
"Whatever you did." His eyes grew large as he stared at me. "What happened to your face?"
I turned to look in the mirror. There was a long purple streak down my cheek. "I cried."
"Purple tears?"
I pulled him closer to the fire and looked at his shirt. There was a large purple circle where the tear hit his shoulder. "Remove the shirt."
He did as told and I ran my hand over the spot on his skin. The purple wiped away, but it left a strange texture to his skin.
"Interesting."
Chapter Forty-eight
I didn't understand what was happening to me. I knew I was no longer fully human, but how much of me had changed? I stumbled back, my chest growing tight as my breathing intensified. Grabbing for the mantle of the fireplace, I steady myself as the room began to spin. James leapt to my side and wrapped an arm around my waist, trying to hold me up.
"Help me to the chair," I said.
My feet felt as though they weighed as much as Draco.
"What's happening to you?" he asked.
I shook my head as I stared down at my hands. "I don't know, but look."
I held them up for him to see. Scales slowly appeared down to my knuckles. They shimmered in the firelight. They were going to pose a problem in the future if we didn't get things under control.
"I have wings, scales, and talons. I'm turning into a monster."
"You are not a monster."
"Look at me!" I yelled.
A burning sensation grew in my the bottom of my belly. At first, it
tingled a little bit but as the moments went by it got hotter and more uncomfortable. I grabbed my stomach and doubled over, dropping to my knees.
"What?" James asked.
"My stomach."
I yelled out as the pain grew too much to bare. As I did, fire shot from my mouth, singing the rug in front of me.
"Where is Draco?" I groaned, pulling myself to the window. "He can help."
I couldn't make it. I stopped just an arms length away, collapsing onto the cold stone floor beneath me. My body grew hotter and hotter. I could feel myself being drug across the stone, and lifted up.
"Draco!" James shouted, holding me in place.
His voice seemed to be growing more and more distant. I should be fine. Why am I not fine?
I could feel the low rumble of Draco's voice as he spoke.
Who is speaking too? James? Why can't I hear him? Why am I like this again?
The coldness of Draco's talons wrapped around my body, pulling me from the window and into the cool night air. The feeling of wind blew my hair about as I could feel myself being lifted higher and higher. The burning heat began to subside as did the heaviness. I opened my eyes to see Draco focused on the horizon.
"What is happening?" I asked.
"You're going through your changes."
"I know that, but why am I feeling like this?"
"These changes aren't going to be easy on you. There are a lot of differences between mortal humans and dragons."
"Obviously."
"Your body is trying to adjust to being half human and half dragon."
"It seems that the dragon is taking over most of me."
"Dragon's are a very aggressive species." He lowered himself to a cliff that sat a ways off from shore.
The water sprayed up as the wind howled. It felt good.
I ripped at the dress the constricted everything and let my wings out. The breeze caught the feathers and billowed them out. The force jerked me back slightly, causing me to dig my talons into the stone. I felt so strong. So much stronger than I ever had.
"It feels good, doesn't it?"
"What?"
"Stretching your wings and not trying to hide them."
"Yes, but I am also naked."
"Are you?"
"What?"
"Look at your body, Ellie."
I glanced down where the pale skin I once had had been, and saw shimmering white and blue. It was gone. All of it except my fingers. I reached up to feel my face and felt the smoothness of skin.
"I don't look naked?"
Draco shook his head. "Do I?"
"Well, you're a dragon."
"As are you, your majesty."
Keeping my talons dug into the stone, I sunk to my butt and hugged my knees. "What am I going to tell my children when they're older?"
"That you're special. That you sacrificed everything to bring them into the world. And that they are half dragon as you are."
"This is not how I envisioned my life."
"No, but you have the ability to defeat the Guild now."
"The Guild. I had forgotten about them. They are a bit of a thorn in my side, aren't they?"
"Yes. And once you are healed and able to fight, we should."
"It is a long time coming. Do you suppose they know?" I asked.
"They must or at least some things. They have spies everywhere."
"Unfortunately, this I know. I'm sure since my last visit they've moved their home."
"Yes," Draco said, "They're not longer there. They have moved a bit further away. Across the ocean to a land that nobody knows about."
"Where?"
"It has no name. No one from here has ever been there before the Guild."
"I see. I guess it will take a while for us to get there?" I questioned him.
"Yes. If you plan on taking an army, even longer."
"What if we only take two other people?"
"A few hours of flying could get us there," he said.
"Okay, then that's what we do. Minimal people."
"Do you think it wise to take anyone with us?" he queried.
"We're going to have to take someone else with us. We can't fight the Guild and the assassins on our own."
"Why not? We're immortal."
"Unless one of us is mortally wounded in such a way that even we can't heal from it. Then we both die."
Draco nodded his large head. "I suppose that is true. Do we take James?"
"Yes. He is quite handy with a sword."
"And your mother?"
I groaned and shook my head. "No. Not my mother."
"She knows the Guild better than anyone else. She is an assassin after all."
"Not anymore. She's a queen who hasn't had to fight in decades."
"That is not true. She goes on campaign with your father all the time and has fought at his side during all wars your home country is involved in."
I sighed heavily. "Yes. I suppose she has."
"She will prove to be a great warrior when the time comes."
"Fine. Okay, mother comes."
Draco nodded his head. "Shall we return? Are you feeling well?"
"I am a bit."
"We wait then."
I stood and focused on my wings. It felt so very odd. Almost as though I had two more arms that were much longer and much stronger.
"How do you control them so well?"
"Practice."
"Not helpful."
"Focus on them. They are a part of you. AN extension of who you are. Know them."
"Okay."
I closed my eyes and focused on the feathered protrusions. I stretched out my arms, having my wings follow. I slowly moved my shoulders up and down, getting a better feel for them. Connecting with them.
Who would have thought I would have to learn how to use a new extension of my body?
The wings flapped in the wind. Slowly at first as I learned how to control them more and more. As I got a feel for them, I moved them faster and faster. My feet lifted from the ground a few inches.
"Good. Now stop flapping them about and let the wind catch you.
"Okay."
I opened the feathers fully and let the wind take hold, pulling me from the ground very quickly. I drifted in the sky as the wind blew me higher and higher. Draco took off from his perch and followed.
"Good. Now, slow and steady flaps. You want to glide."
I nodded and tried to flap slowly. Instead, it felt like repeated slaps against the wind. Which sent me hurtling toward the ground below.
"No. Not like that!" he called after me followed by chuckling.
"Not helping!" I shouted, tumbling head over tail.
"Slow and steady girl. Open those feathers back up."
I did as he said and pushed my wings open, allowing the wind to capture me and push me back up.
"Good, now slow and steady!" he shouted.
"Yeah, yeah. Slow and steady," I said. "Says the dragon who has been flying for hundreds of years."
I meticulously moved my wings. Focusing on slow and steady. It worked!
I glided through the air, a bit shakily, but forward. We flew through the sky, side by side. Dragon and, well, whatever I was. Friends. Partners.
Chapter Forty-nine
I landed rather clumsily on the edge of my window sill. I could see James sleeping inside. The babies bassinets had been moved while I was gone. I crept along the edge, peering into windows until I found their room. A fire roared and they were tucked nicely near the warmth. A guard stood near the door while my mother slept in a chair between the slumbering babes. I sat, allowing my scaley legs to dangle over the edge of the stone castle and watched. Not for long. This was a rare opportunity to see things from a different perspective. I leaned against the corner of the window where stone met glass and turned my gaze to the sky above. The stars shone bright and the moon hung high in the sky. For anyone not privy t
o what I knew, you would assume it was simply a peaceful night. There was nary a thing to fret about. Almost as though the world was at peace.
I knew differently. I knew that peace would not be achievable as long as the Guild existed. My life had already changed vastly because of them. My children would never have a normal life. My husband was thrown into such a crazy mix of things because of what my mother was at one time in her life.
A soft knock on the glass brought me out of my thoughts. Charlene stood, arched eyebrows, with a blanket held out to me. Smiling lightly at her, I used my claws to pull the window open.
"Much thanks." I turned as she wrapped the heavy fabric about my wings and shoulder.
I didn't realize how sore my body would feel after flying.
"You need to come here," she whispered, motioning towards the babies.
"Why? What's wrong with my babies?" Panic rushed through my body, I knew something was bound to happen.
"Oh, they're fine. They're just, um, going through a bit of a change."
"What sort of change?"
"Apparently the same you've gone through just since you left," she mumbled.
"What are you talking about?" I queried.
"Your hair, Ellie."
I reached a clawed hand up to my head, expecting nothing but scales, but was relieved to run my fingers through hair.
"What about it?"
"It's, uh, quite different."
I groaned and walked toward the full-length mirror. It took everything in me not to scream. My blonde hair had been replaced by shockingly white hair with deep red streaks.
"Oh," I managed to mutter.
Charlene pursed her lips and nodded.
"How?"
She shrugged her shoulders and motioned towards the babies.
I glanced in their cribs and was met with quite a sight. They weren't turning into the monster that I was, but they were incredibly beautiful creatures. Elizabeth's pale skin contrasted against her stark white hair. She cooed lightly and stared up at me with the most strikingly ocean-blue eyes. Connall had fiercely red hair and deep ruby colored eyes. Definitely not normal.
"That's not all?"
"What? What else could there be?"
"They are quite magnificent. Very intelligent."
"Eh?" I questioned, hesitantly reaching a clawed finger out to them.
They both squealed a delightful baby squeal and grasped my fingers. I smiled at them but glanced at my hands. Elizabeth's tiny, pudgy fingers were turning my finger blue and covering it with ice while Connell channeled an extreme heat to me.
The Defender's Daughter: The Defender's Book 2 Page 26
