The crowd was going mad, and a roar of a dragon drummed in my ears.
I shook with tears. Why had she transformed?
Someone grabbed me from behind and we disappeared just like that.
When we reappeared I was standing right in front of Guinevere’s dragon body. I screamed and fell to my knees at the same time as the person who had taken me there.
She was beheaded and hadn’t transformed back yet.
“Seize him.” My father roared and as the guards came near a strong wind shot them back.
“You killed my daughter!” I froze and turned around. My sight blurred as it was clogged up with tears. But it was Philip.
“You will regret this day.”
“Seize him.” My father yelled again and he tried to get up but he couldn’t.
Philip’s hands were stretched out to father as his lips moved fast. It was the dragon tongue.
His eyes became slits and a pure gold in color.
Then he touched me and I felt as if I was going to die. But before I let out my last breath he stopped.
“No Swallow Annex’s touch would ever heal your son. You will die alone, bury everyone around you and mark my words Alexander you are no king. Your day will come and you will die a slow death, a painful death. I curse your son for what you did to my daughter. The sickness will weaken him time and time again. Weaken the darkness that flows inside of your blood. A dragon will sit one day on the throne and it will be the Malone blood that will make sure of it. That is your curse, to know what is going to happen, and it will happen, I’ve seen it.”
Father coughed from his chair as Philip’s magic finally let him go.
Philip looked at me with a look I never seen from him before. Disappointment, Love, Hatred. All his emotions were clogged up together. He went to Gwen’s dragon body as the men were still subdued by his magic, he touched her, growled and then just like that, they were gone.
The magic disappeared and everyone was free at last.
I screamed at the top of my lungs and went for father again, but guards held me. Sadness overpowered my entire being and I cried all the way back to my room.
When they threw me in the room, Albert was gone.
“Where is my son?”
The door closed and I hit it hard.
“Louie, calm down.” A familiar voice said and I turned around and saw Delilah.
I ran toward her and just collapsed in her embrace.
“He killed her, just like that.”
“I know. Philip was too late. He thought he could bargain your life for hers.”
“I don’t understand. Why, why didn’t you come and get her sooner?”
“Dragon magic works the best after a full moon and he hasn’t tapped into that kind of magic for a long time, Louie. He needed the strength. Last night was the only full moon. We were too late. I’m so sorry.”
“Where is Albert? Where is my son?”
“He is safe. But he won’t be with your father. You will see him again. I promise. I need to go. I’ll watch over you and I will be back when your father has left this world. Stay strong. I’ll see you again.”
She disappeared in a wisp of smoke and I screamed again. In one day I had lost my true love and my son. There would be no recovery from this. None.
I collapsed on the floor and woke up with father in my room.
“You will obey me Louie, and now that all of this fiasco is over, you will return to normal. You will hunt down dragons and you will marry Magdel for the future of Paegeia. You will come to hate dragons just like your brother have. I will make you see the truth soon.”
I laughed. “See the truth. I’ve already seen the truth.”
“Oh c’mon she has blinded you with her magic. It will disappear and you will return to me. Your hatred will come.”
“My hatred is already here. It will never shift to her, father. It will always be for you. You are the monster, not them. I will never forgive you for what happened here today.”
He saw it in my eyes and broke eye contact first. “Where is Albert?” He looked around.
I laughed again. “Far away from you. He will return after you are dead and he will know the monster his grandfather was. What you did. He will love dragons, because I will tell him how good their are. Rule the way you want to for now. You can’t live forever, but know this, your hatred for them will die with you.”
Chapter 11
TWENTY ONE YEARS LATER
* * *
I stayed true to my word, but the curse had lay heavily on me. Without my true love’s touch, I couldn’t keep it at bay, but the love I had for our son, made me hold on longer.
And then he was taken away, by the rebellion.
I hunted each night for the beast that took him from us.
The acid spitter.
I had killed many already but nothing, nothing made me feel better.
Tonight it was going to end.
They found the rebellion and I would kill them all on the back of my trusted dragon.
Paegeia had changed after father’s death. The Metallics ruled with us, became a part of us, and we signed a treaty making all Metallics equal.
The dragons that refused to embrace their human form, they were still beasts. Untamable with no soul.
We still needed to protect the people of Paegeia from them.
I would avenge my son’s death. Tonight it would end.
The rebellion had Chromatic dragons. I couldn’t believe they had found a way to tame the beasts.
Magnus, the king of Tith and Normand, the king of Areeth both had sons to avenge.
None of us had crown princes anymore to take over from us.
I saw the Night Villain that had taken my son away. The scar over his one eye stood out as it was pure white.
Jako took to the sky, we had a plan before coming here, nets had been set up.
He was going to die a slow death.
My hatred for that beast was consuming the curse.
He needed to die, and he would pay for what he did.
Jako flew hard and fast and I looked over my shoulder.
The beast followed.
None of us said a single word about the trap that was lying ahead but when we reached the mark, the nets were released and the beast didn’t have time to duck them.
They took him down.
Jako flew in behind. To make sure we struck when it was weak. After that, it would wake up in the dungeons.
I saw the place he went down and he took a few trees with him.
He was a heap of darkness, grunting and growling, trapped in the net.
Jako landed and I slid off his wing.
I took off my helmut and wanted to strike the beast. I wanted to kill him right here and right now.
Darkness and pure hatred consumed me. It fueled the curse and I could already feel in my mind how the blade was going to penetrate his skull, the deadly blow.
“My lord stop!” Jako growled but I didn’t stop.
A pair of arms grabbed me from behind and I couldn’t strike the beast.
“Let me go.”
“Stop,” Jako’s human voice said. “Look, it’s your son.”
My darkness faded immediately and I could see.
“Albert.” I said softly.
He was crushed by the beast.
Jako went to his body and felt for his pulse.
“He’s alive, but barely,” Jako said.
“He needs a Swallow Annex.”
“No, he has me. Let me heal him,” the beast said.
“You don’t have healing abilities.”
“A Swallow Annex’s touch won’t heal him. I can.” The beast roared and he started to disappear.
Shock flew over me as they embraced their human forms. No, it can’t be. Gwen had told me that when they refused, the human forms disappeared.
“Hold on,” he said, and I saw how he cut his chest. What the hell was he doing?
He screamed as his hand dipped
into his chest and grunted as he let it out.
He had some bloody piece of flesh in his hands. It was beating.
“Jako what is that?”
I tried to stop him as he went over to Albert with a dagger in his hand but Jako stopped me.
His eyes grave with shock, horror.
“He is going to kill him.”
“No, he isn’t. I’ve never seen this done in my entire life.”
“What is he doing?”
“Calm down my Lord, your son will be fine. Just let him do what he needs to do.”
“No, he is going to kill my son.”
Jako blocked my view and held me back.
“Albert. Albert.” I screamed.
My punches were useless against my dragon and then it was over.
We had been fighting against our sons.
None of them had perished. They were the rebellion.
Why, why had he done this to me?
“We need to warn the others.” Jako said, in tune with what I was thinking.
He grabbed me and changed while running. He flipped me on to his back and we flew toward the ground where the fight was taking place.
“Stop,” Jako roared. He roared a few times and landed hard.
“We are fighting against the crown princes.” I screamed. “Magnus, Normand, it’s Caleb and Helmut. Please, we need to stop.”
Everyone stopped. Most of the Chromatics in their human forms shifted back to dragons and fled into the night sky.
It was over. But it wasn’t what I expected at all.
My son was alive, fighting for the rebellion. Why?
I felt something in me I had never felt before. Betrayal, anger, relief.
I stared at both of them, the acid spitter’s human form and my son, laying on opposite beds.
Jako was sitting with me.
“I don’t understand, what did he do to Albert?”
“Your son isn’t dead, my lord. It’s an old myth. One we never thought was real or would even work.”
“What myth?”
“The essence of the dragon shared with a human. Or in this case, his rider.”
“Oh, c’mon Jako, you can’t mean that the acid spitter is Albert’s dragon.”
“My lord, may I speak truthfully?”
“Always.”
“The crown prince has told you many times about his beliefs. Yet you didn’t want to listen. The acid spitter didn’t kill him, he was part of Albert’s plan.”
“No,” I shook my head. “I can’t believe it. He was abducted, captured by the rebellion. Brainwashed. My son would never do this to me.”
“He would if he felt there was no other way. You raised him to believe that there can be no true peace without war.”
“We had peace, Jako. You said it yourself, Chromatics can’t be negotiated with. They can’t be trusted.”
“I was wrong.”
“No. I refuse to believe that.”
“He gave your son a piece of his heart. Do you know what that truly means? It’s not a small gesture my lord. It’s an act of sacrifice in dragon eyes. Meaning he can’t live without the crown prince.”
“No, he was brainwashed. That wasn’t his plan. That dragon used magic on him. That is it. As soon as he wakes up, you throw him in with the others and he better hope that my son will wake up.”
I got up and went to the door, but not without stopping to look at Albert. He looked healthier, better. None of this was making any sense, but he must wake up. That acid spitter wasn’t his dragon. Albert knew, going against the king was treason. He wouldn’t dare.
It took a few more days before the acid spitter woke up. He refused to answer any of my questions and I took him to the dungeons.
Delilah came and I needed to know if she knew anything about this. She too didn’t answer me.
But I saw it in her eyes. She knew. Albert shared everything with her. He would have told her about his plans. No, he was abducted, brainwashed.
Normand came to the castle.
He needed a word and we went to the meeting room.
He was ashen. Helmut must be dead.
“What happened?”
“He woke up.”
“Helmut?” I asked.
Normand nodded and looked at me. His jaw muscles pumped.
“He was abducted, brainwashed just like Albert, wasn’t he?”
He didn’t answer, just had tears in his eyes. Then he shifted his gaze toward me. “What?”
“They abducted all of them, didn’t they?”
“No, Louie. They were the rebellion. Our sons went against us to free all dragons, not just Metallics. They have Chromatic dragons. Helmut has a fire breather, calls it something else completely and that acid spitter belongs to your son.”
“That’s blasphemous.”
“No, we didn’t listen. You went through this with your father, to make him see was an impossible task. We were the same with the Chromatics.”
“I won’t sign a treaty with those things. Look what Paegeia looks like.”
“We did that, not them.”
“No, they attacked under our sons’ commands. I don’t understand any of this. Why, why would they do this to us?”
“When he wakes up, you need to listen, Louie. That’s all I’m going to say.” He got up and walked out.
I stayed in my seat.
He wasn’t brainwashed. He was in the rebellion. Why, so that all dragons could be free?
His mother wouldn’t have not believed any of this, or maybe she would’ve. I was so confused that I didn’t know what to believe anymore.
I needed to speak to him, hear his voice. To know what the hell was going on.
Chapter 12
The news that Albert woke up just interrupted my meeting.
I excused myself and left.
The guard saw me coming and as I reached the infirmary’s door, he opened it.
Delilah was sitting with him. She saw me and Albert looked at me. Anger in his eyes.
“My king,” Delilah bowed and looked at me. After Gwen’s death, I couldn’t look at her. There was always that disappointment in me when I looked at her. She left.
I closed the door and I looked at Albert. He didn’t look back. Silence lingered.
“I don’t know where to begin,” I finally said.
“What about I understand why you did this?” Albert replied.
What? “I don’t, Albert. I thought you were dead. When I saw you were the leader of the rebellion I saw black. It was Jako who told me it was you. I could’ve killed you. Why, why did you do this?”
“Because they are dragons too. It was necessary.”
“Starting a war. Do you know what this war cost us, the people?”
“The people? What about the Chromatic children father, being hunted for the black market?”
The black market. What was he implying? That it was cruel? Without that market, I would’ve been dead a long time ago. Many would have died.
“You know I can’t stop the market, Albert. We need those potions.”
“No, you need them because of the curse.”
“It was treason.” I was losing my patience with him. He had no idea what he had done.
“There can’t be peace without war, you taught me that.”
“Peace, there was peace.”
“No, there wasn’t. You were too blind to see it. I thought you would have learned from your true love.”
“She was Metallic,” I growled.
“She was a dragon, father. Dragon is dragon. It doesn’t matter how you look at them. Some are just scarier than others, but they are all dragons.” He pleaded with me and for a split second I saw his mother.
“It was a Chromatic that cursed me.”
“Because you didn’t do anything when they executed his daughter.”
He knew the story? Delilah must have told him, but that wasn’t true. I couldn’t.
“That’s not true. I tried everything within m
y power, but I had to make a choice.”
“Make a choice?” He huffed and gave me his unbelieving laugh. “Do what you need to do? If there is going to be a trial, throw me in the dungeon too. I am the head of the rebellion. If my dragon dies, if any of my men die, then be prepared to execute me too.”
He was delusional. “Albert.”
“No, the law is the law, father. If you are not prepared to change it,” He got up and hit the door. The guard walked in.
“Take me to the dungeons.” He surrendered and presented his wrists to be cuffed.
“Don’t be absurd.” I said. “Leave us.”
The guard closed the doors.
“Albert you don’t understand. I lost so many men.”
“I lost many too.”
I closed my eyes. It was still so hard to comprehend that he was behind it all. I couldn’t treat this as treason because he was the future king of Paegeia.
“Then we will negotiate.” I opened my eyes.
He nodded.
“Rest, I need to consult with Jako first.” I left.
I had to find out what my dragon thought about all of this.
“His heart is in the right place, my lord.” Jako said. “I would hear him out, hear his beliefs. He must know something more about the Chromatics than we do.”
“Four years, Jako. I thought my son was dead for four whole years. And he was alive, leading the rebellion.” I had never felt this betrayed.
“Now is the time to put that past and hear him out. Try not to think about the betrayal and the heartache he put you through. Listen to him and come to an agreement.”
I nodded. I had to clear my head before seeing him again. Negotiating terms.
We parted ways and later that night Magdel sat me down. “Louie, he tried to talk to you about this so many times.”
“He’s just a boy that knows…”
“He knows a lot because you and Jako taught him a lot. He isn’t a boy anymore.”
I hated it when she stuck her nose in our business. She wasn’t his mother, even though he knew her as mother. Gwen would’ve been so disappointed with him. Running after Chromatic dragons. What was he thinking? They were monsters.
Playing With Fire Page 9
