They’d made love. They’d participated in things together as part of their community. But had they ever really talked since he’d been back?
No, she decided. He’d never shared what had happened to him in that cell other than to tell him about Raven and his siblings. He’d told her plenty about Raven’s suffering, about how Nathaniel had rescued him, but the more she thought about it, she knew absolutely nothing about what had happened to him while he was there.
All this time, she’d never even thought to ask. She’d been so wrapped up in her vision, curing Aborella, and defending her choice to do so. And he’d stayed away because of it. Now she wondered what types of horrors he’d experienced at his mother’s hand. Could the change she’d noticed in Sylas be more about him than about her?
“Trying to move the door with your mind?” Tobias chuckled beside her. He was dressed in a sleek gray suit with braided detailing that somehow made his eyes seem bluer. Beside him, Sabrina arrived in a stunning mermaid dress that was the blue green of an exotic bird’s feathers. It complemented her red hair and green eyes perfectly.
“By the goddess, you look smashing,” Dianthe said. “You haven’t a single nick or cut from your fight today.”
“It’s the benefit of being a vampire. I heal quickly.” Her gaze roved to Tobias. “Where’s Sylas?”
“Still getting ready.”
“I hope he hurries. Our hosts should be here to get us in just a few minutes.”
“How do you know?” There wasn’t a clock in the room, and she wasn’t wearing a watch.
“It’s four hours until full sunrise. They’ll want to eat and socialize before they’re asleep for the day. I… Every vampire knows how long they have until sunrise.”
Dianthe nodded, suddenly feeling an odd combination of both wired and exhausted. She’d been up most of the night, running on pure adrenaline. And now her mind was reeling with worries about Sylas. The urge to ask Tobias if Sylas had said anything to him about his time as a Paragonian prisoner was hard to deny, but this was between her and her mate. It wasn’t as important that she know what happened as it was that he trusted her enough to tell her.
A knock came at the door, and Tobias opened it. The graceful three were back, still in their white dresses, ready to escort them to the banquet.
Dianthe rapped on the bedroom door. “Sylas? They’re here. It’s time to go.”
The door opened, and she thought her knees might give out. Dressed in a velvet jacket that was so dark blue it might have been black, Sylas watched her through slate-gray eyes that seemed to cut to her soul. His chestnut hair was tamed back from his face, and the white shirt he wore looked temptingly soft draped open at the chest. He was stunningly attractive, and for a moment she couldn’t find her voice. It was like she was back on Aeaea, seeing him for the first time at the meeting of the Defenders of the Goddess.
“Am I wearing it wrong?” He frowned down at himself. “I don’t usually dress like this.”
She shook her head. “No. I… You look very handsome.”
“You make a striking couple,” Sabrina said.
“Everyone ready to go?” one of the graceful three asked from the doorway.
Dianthe slipped her hand through Sylas’s elbow. He tensed at her touch, but she held on as they filtered from the room.
The banquet hall might have been one in any grand castle. The walls were lined with timber and decorated with stained glass windows backlit to appear like they were aboveground. Rows of tables filled the interior. A musical group played their stringed instruments in the corner. Dianthe followed their guides to the head table, next to the place clearly reserved for Demidicus. Sylas sat to his right, Sabrina to his left, and Dianthe and Tobias found their places next to them.
Only when the tables were full did the master arrive.
“You have my attention,” he said coldly. “Pray tell, what brings you here? Before the food arrives please. I hate to talk with my mouth full.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Sylas saw Dianthe grimace. Was she wondering what would be served at this banquet? She couldn’t drink blood, after all. And although he and Tobias, as dragons, technically could survive on the stuff, he’d prefer his food dead and cooked.
But first things first. He’d happily go hungry if they got what they’d come for. “You are aware, Demidicus, that my brother Tobias and I are heirs to the kingdom of Paragon. We were raised in the mountain, and we know our mother better than anyone.”
“It was a tragedy what happened to your older brother Marius. Everyone in the five kingdoms assumed you were all killed in that skirmish. Although recently I heard a rumor that it was Brynhoff who took you prisoner.”
“Lies,” Sylas said. “Our mother was responsible for Marius’s death and exiled us to another realm to keep the crown for herself. She has always had an unmatched lust for power. Now she plans to force the other four kingdoms to swear allegiance to her crown.”
“That’s a serious accusation, dragon. I don’t need to tell you that Paragon and Nochtbend have a long history of tensions, but our independence has never been a topic of conversation. I might even say that Eleanor wouldn’t dare.”
“You haven’t noticed your taxes increase substantially?”
He tipped his head in acknowledgment. “Our mining operation is quite lucrative. Paragon may be swimming in gemstones, but the gold and platinum used to mount them comes from Nochtbend.”
“You’re a wealthy kingdom, that’s for certain, but surely you must have noticed you are keeping less for yourself.”
Another tip of the vampire’s head.
“It’s only the beginning,” Sylas said. “My mother’s plan is to become the sole ruler of the five kingdoms. She told me that once she’s conquered Nochtbend, she plans to force vampires to sleep aboveground in Paragonian dwellings.”
Demidicus hissed.
“She sees herself becoming the new goddess of the mountain. She doesn’t just want to rule, she wants to be worshipped.”
“We will never bow to Paragon,” Demidicus stated unequivocally. “And Eleanor wouldn’t dare invade Nochtbend. We would drain her dragons dry.”
Sylas felt a tap on his elbow, and Dianthe leaned forward. “Don’t you see? It’s why she burned Everfield. With the Obsidian Guard now occupying the Empyrean Wood, Nochtbend is surrounded on all sides by her troops.”
His eyes narrowed. “The Guard has remained in Everfield?”
“My home forest is crawling with them.” Her amber wings fluttered, and her skin glowed softly in the dim light. Demidicus’s gaze raked over her as if he were seeing her for the first time. Sylas had a sudden urge to remove the vamp’s head from his body.
“It’s been centuries since we’ve had a fairy here.” His dark eyes turned hungry, his fangs growing long in his mouth.
“My people prefer the sun.” Dianthe leaned forward a little more and her dress puckered, giving Sylas and the master a delicious view of her cleavage. That was it. He indulged in a fantasy of wrapping her in his jacket and carrying her back to their room.
“So I’ve heard.” His nostrils flared. He dragged his eyes from her, turning his attention back to Sylas just in time to calm the jealous fury rising within him.
“Even if I believed you, what do you expect from Nochtbend? We cannot openly support the rebellion, not with the tentative peace between our kingdoms.”
Sylas shook his head. “I’m not asking you to. All we need from you is the orb on your scepter.” He pointed to the red crystal ball resting beside the master.
Demidicus scoffed. “Now I know this is a joke.”
“It contains a piece of a key that can be used to unlock a weapon with the power to bring Eleanor down. The witch queen of Darnuith divided the key and hid one piece in every kingdom. Her descendants have joined the Defenders of the Goddess. The three sisters can leverage the power the witch queen left behind to take back our world from Eleanor, but we need every piece to access it.”
<
br /> A shadow passed behind Demidicus’s dark eyes, and he leaned back in his chair. “I knew her, the witch queen. Her name was Medea. So many centuries have passed now that her memory feels like a ghost who haunts my heart.”
Sylas glanced at Tobias, who looked just as confused as he was. He’d known Demidicus was ancient, but he hadn’t realized that Nochtbend was involved in any way in the witch wars.
“It surprises you that we were once friends? Oh, there were many secrets then. In many ways, Eleanor and Brynhoff got lucky. Had Medea and Tavyss not craved peace, those two would have never gotten close enough to slay them.”
He hadn’t known the details, but his mother truly was the most manipulative liar he’d ever met. Medea and Tavyss lost to her because they had souls. They had limits. They wanted to preserve lives. Eleanor had no such boundaries. The only thing Eleanor cared about was Eleanor.
“You’d remember Medea if you’d had the chance to meet her. Magic surrounded her, filled her to the point it spilled over to an inch outside her skin. The day she came here, asking for my help, she made my heart beat.” Demidicus stared wistfully out across the hall.
Sylas saw something in the vampire’s eyes he’d never expected. Demidicus loved Medea, as much as a vampire could love anything. It was all there in the way his face softened as he thought of her.
“What did she ask of you?” Sylas asked.
Demidicus’s eyebrow rose, and the corner of his mouth quirked. “She asked me to guard this”—he gestured toward the orb—“with my life. She said one day someone would come for it and know its purpose. I suppose that someone is you.”
“Please. I understand that Nochtbend can’t risk getting on Eleanor’s bad side, but if you give us the orb, I promise you we will do our best to end her reign of terror for good,” Sylas said.
The vampire placed his hand on the orb and left it there. “Hmm. Time to eat.”
Servants flooded the hall with boxes of piglets. Squeals and screams echoed off the walls as the vampires captured their prey and bit into their dinner. Sylas glanced at Dianthe, who’d paled, her eyes fixating on a spot on the tablecloth. She looked like she might be sick.
A cooked suckling pig landed in front of them. He appreciated the effort, but the thought of eating piglet after watching the bloody display in the hall turned his stomach.
Demidicus waved away the live piglet that was offered to him. “I will give you the orb, but in exchange, I want to taste her blood.”
“What? Whose blood?” Sylas narrowed his eyes on the vampire.
The man’s dark gaze flicked up to meet his. “Your mate’s.”
Sylas’s growl garnered the attention of the vampires nearest them, who hissed in warning. The din of eating in the room quieted by half.
“Careful, dragon. Mind your manners or it will be more than the orb you leave here without, if you leave here at all.”
“Do not threaten a dragon’s mate,” Sylas warned.
“I did not threaten her. I only asked for a sip of her blood. You could extract it. I don’t need it from the vein. It has been three hundred years since I’ve tasted fairy blood. It tastes of sunlight, you understand. A delicacy for a vampire.”
Dianthe tugged at his elbow. “It’s okay, Sylas. If it will get us the orb—”
“You’d rather have dragon’s blood,” Sabrina said from his other side.
“The champion speaks. What was that?” He flashed her a wolfish grin.
“I said dragon’s blood is better. Have you ever had dragon’s blood?” Sabrina asked, her eyes sparkling as if she had a tightly held secret. She already knew the answer. Sylas vividly remembered Demidicus mentioning he’d never tasted dragon’s blood when they were in the arena.
“Have you ever tasted dragon’s blood?” The master chuckled as if the idea was preposterous. “It is forbidden, an act of war between our species. I have lived a long time, child, but even I have never convinced a dragon to give me his blood, and I have never had the opportunity to take it.”
She raised her eyebrow, her red hair falling in a curtain over one of her eyes. “Yes, I have tasted it. After all, I am mated to a dragon. You do know a dragon will do anything for his mate.”
Demidicus’s gaze darted between them. He licked his lips.
“A taste of dragon’s blood for the orb. Only dragon’s blood. You will leave the fairy alone,” Sabrina offered.
“Done.” Demidicus’s answer came swiftly, his focus tightening on the couple as if he couldn’t quite believe Sabrina could pull it off.
Sylas stiffened. His gaze locked on Tobias. Feeding a vampire their blood had always been strictly forbidden. Sylas hadn’t ever asked why it was forbidden. He’d never questioned it. Clearly some rules Brynhoff and Eleanor had taught them were simply folklore used to control them. Was this one of those rules, or was there good reason behind the warning?
He’d seen the way Sabrina had changed after drinking Tobias’s blood. It definitely gave the vampires energy and strength. Was it wise to imbue the master with that privilege at the moment? Demidicus already enjoyed the upper hand in this negotiation. Why make him stronger?
But Tobias reached for Demidicus’s glass, then held his wrist out to Sabrina. She bit into his flesh and nearly filled the goblet. The redhead offered the goblet to Demidicus.
The vampire master snapped the orb off his scepter and excitedly turned it over to her. The exchange was made. Sabrina slipped the red crystal into the velvet cross-body bag that hung at her hip.
Demidicus sniffed the goblet. His eyes sparkled with excitement at the scent. “I never thought…” He shook his head. Raising his glass to salute Sabrina, he drained the cup dry.
Less than a minute later, Demidicus sagged against Sylas as if he were falling-down drunk. Tobias laughed and jiggled the vampire’s arm, using the touch to reposition him in his chair. The vampire could barely keep his head lifted.
“Good blood,” Demidicus mumbled.
“What’s wrong with him?” Sylas asked.
Sabrina smiled. “Nothing. Dragon’s blood is intoxicating to vampires. A little is like a snort of cocaine. A lot knocks you on your ass.” She wrinkled her nose. “He’s had a lot.”
Brilliant.
Standing, she turned to the women in white waiting behind them. “We will go back to our room now.” They were led from the banquet hall, the master drunkenly murmuring his thanks toward their backs.
Chapter Twenty-One
“This is exhausting,” Raven muttered. Her wrist ached from copying the symbols frantically while Avery drained the protective enchantment from the scroll.
Across the table from her, Clarissa rubbed her wrist, similarly afflicted. They’d been at this for hours, and it wasn’t getting any easier.
“We’re more than halfway there. We can’t give up now.” Clarissa pulled the elastic from her ponytail. The dark roots of her bleached hair had grown out since they’d left London. Between the tropical humidity and the magic she was doling out, her locks were caked in sweat. She ran her fingers through it, forming a messy bun at the top of her head.
“Fuck, I need a break.” Avery rubbed her eyes and stretched out onto of one of the tables.
“Go back to your tent,” Raven said. “You don’t have to sleep here.”
But her sister was already snoring.
Xavier pushed off his seat where he’d been observing them from the back of the tent and waved dismissively at Raven. “I’ll carry the lass,” he said in his heavy Scottish brogue. “She’ll sleep better with me beside her anyhow.”
Avery snorted as he repositioned her in his arms and carried her from the tent.
“We could try your translation spell on what we have,” Clarissa suggested.
Raven shook her head. “We don’t know this language or how many symbols equate to a single word or thought. The little I read of it before was from when I’d translated the entire page. We don’t even know if it’s meant to be read left to right or up a
nd down. Without the entire text, I can’t guarantee the translation would be accurate.”
Clarissa sighed. “Tomorrow is another day.”
Raven gave her a hug before hurrying back to her own tent for a much-needed break. She swept Charlie from Gabriel’s arms and planted a firm kiss on her cheek. “How is my baby?”
Gabriel grinned. “Wait until you see what our baby can do.”
Raven’s eyes widened, tears pricking the edges. “I missed something else?”
Charlie’s development was unlike anything she’d ever witnessed in a human child. When she hatched from her egg, she was already the size of a six-month-old with wings like a cherub’s that could almost lift her off the ground. Now she’d grown to the size of a one-year-old who could pull herself up on the furniture with the help of her wings.
Gabriel insisted all that was perfectly normal and that her development would likely accelerate until she shifted for the first time into her other form. Dragons, he explained, were usually born in their dragon form and then transformed into their soma or human-looking forms at some point. It was different for everyone. That’s when their rings appeared.
Charlie didn’t have a ring and had never looked like a dragon. Her wings were also far different than a typical dragon’s. But dragon development, along with what she remembered about human development, was all they had to go on. The only certainty was that Charlie was one of a kind.
“Show me,” Raven said.
Gabriel sat down on the rug at the center of the tent and grabbed a coconut from behind him. “Sit, like me.”
She did, spreading her legs and seating Charlie on the floor in front of her. The baby waved her hands excitedly.
“Do you want the ball, Charlie? Ball. B-ball.”
Raven’s heart turned into a puddle in her chest at the sight of her oversized husband making baby talk. But what happened next melted the rest of her. Charlie put her lips together and said, “Ba, ba, ba.”
Hidden Dragon (The Treasure of Paragon Book 7) Page 14
