Rafael shrugged, neither confirming nor denying my words. My next question hung in silence. We both knew what I wanted to ask. Was this goodbye? Would I ever see Rafael again? The words remained stuck in my throat, and instead I turned away, listening to the storm pound against the shuttered windows.
“Four Days, Maribella. That’s when the contract is being fulfilled.” Rafael strode past me, heading toward the door. What in the gods was he thinking right now?
“Wait. Where are you going?” I cried out, his words finally sinking in. Oh gods, four days. It took a good five to six days to get to the city at a normal horse’s pace. Four days would be pushing it. Running over to Rafael, I thrust my hands out at the door which he was about to open.
“The thunderstorm, Rafael. You can’t go out there.” My voice was breathless.
Rafael looked back at me. “This is nothing for me in Dragon form.” He hesitated before continuing, “I’m going to try and stop this madness.”
“Rafael, please don’t do anything irrational. This... my fate was inevitable. We both knew this.”
My heart skipped a beat as Rafael leaned down, lips slightly caressing my temple, and whispered something in his native tongue. He pulled me away from the door, and I staggered backwards. Rafael slipped on his coat and grabbed his bag. My mind screamed for me to stop him. There had to be another way. The heavy crack of the door shutting against the wind, moved me forward on instinct, and I laid the door bar down. Rafael was gone, and my heart shattered into a million pieces.
Chapter Two
Rafael
Wind howled mercilessly around Rafael, whipping his travel worn coat violently around his legs as he stepped away from the cabin. His heart clenched, cold anger filling his chest. Rafael’s mind told him to go to the clearing to shift into his Dragon form, but his feet obeyed a different master. Swift strides had him headed toward the woods, ducking into the shelter of a huge, twisted, and knotted tree. It stood still, strong against the wind unlike many of its counter parts. Rafael ducked under the thick branches and sat, settling his back against the tree trunk.
“What are you doing?” Rafael murmured. He wasn’t one hundred percent sure who he was talking to. Himself or his Dragon.
“Waiting.” The words rasped in the back of his mind, Rafael’s Dragon rising to speak to him.
“Waiting for what? We need to leave.”
His Dragon growled low in his mind. “No, we wait. We do not leave our mate.”
Rafael shook his head at his Dragon’s words. “No. She must do this on her own. She will hate us either way. At least this way her hate will be less.”
His Dragon snorted. “Hate you, maybe. I never deceived her.”
Rafael rolled his eyes at the absurdity. “She sees us as the same. You are me at my most primal.”
He could almost see his Dragon pacing in his minds eye. “Humans do not understand the nature between the Dragon and the man. We are the same but different.”
“Maribella is a human.”
“She will understand. Give her time and she will love me while still hating you.” Rafael’s Dragon was smug in his words. They made no sense except maybe to his Dragon.
“Either way, we need to leave. Go back to the Stronghold and see who leaked Maribella’s identity. Appeal to the Queen.”
Rafael’s Dragon sulked like a child. “Our queen is stubborn.”
He waited for his Dragon to continue, but instead he faded back into the cage of his mind, allowing the man to be fully in control once more. Taking the small victory, Rafael stood, pushing back against the wind and made his way to the large clearing. Looking over his shoulder, he scanned the cabin, standing small against the backdrop of the forest. He desperately wanted to walk right back in, right back into Maribella’s home, take her into his arms, and spill all his secrets. Instead, Rafael pushed back his desire, knowing it wouldn’t fix a damn thing. No, the only way to fix this was to speak to the Queen of the Mountain Dragon Stronghold. Distorting his mind, Rafael inwardly dove down to the core of his being and gripped the magic pulsating throughout his entire body. The change flexed around his frame, morphing the man into beast. Smoke accumulated only to be stolen away by the howling storm surrounding Rafael.
The storm matched his mood in this moment, he mused, before launching his Dragon form into the sky. The wind gripped at his wings, wanting to spiral him uncontrollably throughout the air. He let out a deafening roar against the wind, matching the turmoil deep within his heart. Rafael pushed back until the wind finally gave way, turning into the bitter cold air of the mountains. Angling his wings, he rode the soft current for some time, allowing his body to rest while still airborne. Rafael would need to conserve as much energy as he could if he was going to go toe to toe with his Queen. Under any other circumstances, Rafael would have taken in the view, the stars painted bright against the midnight blue night sky. Jagged mountain peaks reached skyward, and he glanced down to the long pass which intersected the entire mountain range. Rafael was able to briefly make out small forms moving in a pack before they disappeared. He was too high in the sky to make out specifics, but from this height, the forms had to be a Goliath pack. They reigned over the Midnight Mountains, rarely ever venturing out.
Maribella would have loved the sight.
Ire blossomed at his thinking, and Rafael stopped riding the air current, beating his wings hard and picking up speed. The jagged mountains below turned from stone to wood as a flood of dark green foliage spread out below Rafael. The Endless Forest spanned far and wide taking up almost half of the realm, hence the name. It was fully run by the Elves, broken into seven different fractions. The part Rafael flew over butted up against two mountains, the Midnight Mountains he just flew over and the Strongholds.
The Mountain Elves were some of the fiercest in all the realm, persecuting any intruders infiltrating their territory swiftly and without mercy. The Mountain Elves and Mountain Dragon Stronghold held a steady truce: Don’t bother us, and we won’t bother you. It had held for centuries.
Angling up, Rafael took himself higher into the sky to avoid any misunderstandings if any Elven sentries were on watch. He didn’t need them to think the Stronghold was surveying the land for a possible takeover.
Night slowly turned to day, dark skies turning soft against the rising sun cascading out in pink and orange hues, glinting across Rafael’s wings. The Mountain Dragon Stronghold slowly came into view, stone and wood structures seemingly growing straight out of the mountain. The castle rose tall against the other buildings, sprawled out against a cliff backdrop on one side, the other more deserted side butted up against the sparse mountain forest. A stone tower spiraled a story higher, a lookout point situated to take in the entire Stronghold. A Dragon sentry was curled up on the tower roof, standing watch to any danger approaching from the front gates. Rafael angled around the Stronghold, coming in from the cliff side. The castle training grounds provided for a landing platform for all incoming Dragons. Rafael didn’t search for the sentries guarding this particular entry point. He knew they were hidden from sight. Any suspicious Dragons coming in would be noted and the information would be sent back to the guard’s outpost. Lucky for Rafael, he was not a suspicious Dragon. His deep blue scales and soot colored wings were rare among dragons, only owned by few. The way his blackened horns grew spiraling back around his skull, tips matching the color of his scales were his own. The sentries knew his Dragon form.
Rafael’s landing was hard, shaking the hardened dirt of the courtyard training grounds. It warranted a few looks from the castle staff and guards sparring in the early morning light, but they went back to their business after a few seconds. Dragon changed to man between one step and the next. Rafael marched towards the courtyard doors which would bring him into the castle. The guard on duty glanced his way but didn’t say anything to the way Rafael had his jaw set or the clenching of his fists. Opening the heavy wooden door, he picked up his pace, all but charging down the hallway leadin
g to the multi-purposed throne room. The queen could always be found there this early in the morning, taking petitions from the people of the Stronghold. Rafael reached forward, turbulent energy smashing into the doors flinging them open in his wake and startling the few people milling around waiting to speak to the queen.
Rafael would not be waiting.
Anger flared across his face; fists clenched so hard his bones ground against each other. Crashing to a halt, travel worn coat flaring out around his body like wings before falling flat, the queen took in Rafael’s figure before rising two fingers to a guard and motioning her head to the side. Rafael continued to fume, never taking his eyes off the queen as she gave her apologizes to the petitioners still waiting before the interruption, and a guard escorted them out. Within minutes of his entrance, the throne room was empty, leaving only Rafael and the queen.
Clenching her jaw to match Rafael’s, she lifted her chin staring him down, fire seeming to alight behind her eyes. Anyone watching would see the resemblance in the cut of their cheekbones, the slope of their nose, their rigid and unmoving stance as they stood tall waiting for the other to speak first.
Rafael’s Dragon was correct. The Queen might be stubborn, but her son was even more so.
THE QUEEN SPOKE FIRST, snuffing out the building tension in the room. “I take it you found out.”
Rafael’s teeth groaned under the pressure of his jaw. He had to take a deep breath before answering, fearing he would breathe fire instead of words. “Was it you?”
The Queen arched her eyebrow before gliding away, dress scraping against the worn-down stone floor of the castle. Rafael followed her out of the throne room. “Yes, I sent the courier to Sheharla, setting everything in motion.”
Rafael halted, resisting the urge to snap his hands out to strangle his mother. He was not prone to violence, even under the most stressful of times, but this, what his mother had done, was really pushing it. The Queen continued ahead, entering the stairwell and heading up.
Rafael hurried forward, catching up with her. “Why, Mother?” He reached out gripping the queen’s arm, both of them standing on the second-floor landing.
Her face was impassive, showing no hint of emotion as she looked down at his hand. Rafael released her arm, and she resumed climbing the stairs. “It had to be done, Rafael, my son.”
Deafening silence filled the stairwell as they continued up, reaching the third floor before moving down the hall toward the private wing and into the queen’s study chamber. Rafael was at her heels, slamming the door shut behind them. “Why?” He sighed in aggravation. “Why did you do this?”
The Queen padded over to her monstrosity of a beaten and battered old work desk, a map of the realm taking up most of it, along with ink stained papers scattered about at random. Books of Dragon History and the Old Lands were holding open scrolls from the early days written in the Mountain language. Rafael spied the contract with Sheharla scattered within the catastrophe that was the queens work desk.
“Simply put, your father and I want to retire. You must take over the Stronghold, and you can’t be flying off monthly to see your runaway princess,” the queen muttered before leaning over a scroll and making a note on it.
Rafael’s anger surged forward at his mother’s matter of fact attitude towards his life.
“Oh must I, Mother? How about I don’t. Isa can take the throne,” he yelled.
The queen looked up at Rafael, not in the least startled by his outburst. It made him want to lose control and rampage through the room, tearing it apart stone by stone.
“Do you want to have an active war with the Floating City Dragons? If so, then by all means let your sister take the throne.”
Rafael bared his teeth. “Give them the Stronghold then. I don’t care. I will not force Maribella to marry me, and I will not take the throne.”
The Queen sighed in exasperation and rubbed at her temples. “Rafael, really? Stop being a child. You might still be young, but you know better.”
“Young? Mother, I am over five decades old.”
“And I’m over three centuries old. Do not push me.”
Rafael turned, slamming his hands against the wall as despair washed over him in waves. Head hanging low, he whispered, “She will hate me.”
He flinched as the Queens hand gently gripped his shoulder from behind. “It is better to have her hate you at first then to lose her completely.”
Rafael shook his head. “I still don’t understand. How did it come to this?”
The Queen tsked at his words before walking back to her desk. Rafael turned, slumping against the wall, all but defeated in his soul.
“The variables in this path are less likely to backfire.”
“What do you mean?”
“Something is coming. I don’t know what quite yet, but the Mystic’s work force have become more active in these last few years than ever before. I’ve also...”
Rafael glanced up, narrowing his eyes at his mother as she bit off her last sentence not finishing it. She shook her head giving Rafael a soft smile. “Trust me on this. It might be hard for a while and you might be correct, she might hate you at first but if what you’ve said in the past about Maribella was true, then she will forgive you.”
“I pray you are correct, Mother,” Rafael whispered head hanging low, before leaving the chamber needing to be anywhere other than his mother’s presence.
Chapter Three
Dawn caressed the sky, hues of dusty pink and soft blue fighting back the night as I stepped out of my cabin, rubbing at my tired eyes. My sleep had been fitful to say the least. I’d woke to every heavy gust of wind pounding against the sides of the cabin. I had dreamt of Rafael urging me to stay, that he could fix everything if I just let him. In my dream I stopped him from leaving, wrapping my arms around his waist only to have him fade out into my sister sitting in the tower palace. Small and thin, she was a waif of a girl with short dark brown hair and eyes that matched my own—eyes of dark emerald cascading into midnight blue. She was whispering for the gods to save her, a single tear sliding down her cheek. Spinning away, mist licked at my feet as I sprinted toward the city of Sheharla, never getting closer, hands outstretched. Reaching. Out of the mist rose the head of a snarling Dragon, smoke and fire erupting under my feet as it grabbed me; sharp talons dug into my clothes and flesh. I had awoken then, wind throwing all sorts of debris from the forest against my cabin. Stumbling out of my room knowing I wouldn’t get another wink of sleep; I had sat at the table waiting until the wind died down leaving only eerie silence behind in its wake. Opening the door, I found dawn fast approaching and decided now was the time for me to head out. Shrugging my small travel bag onto my shoulder, I turned grasping the handle and firmly shut the cabin door. I wouldn’t be back, not in this lifetime. Panic blossomed and I so desperately wanted to run right back inside. Nothing was forcing me to leave. This was not the only choice I had, but it was the only right choice. I was not the same girl from twelve years ago. When the fates have a plan for you, no matter how hard or fast you run they will always come knocking, I knew this now. They had interwoven my future with that of a Dragon Prince and they were determined to keep me on my path. Steeling my resolve, I took a step forward, a second one, then the third. One foot in front of the other. People always said it was the first step that was the hardest. For me though, it was always the second and third. Those were the steps committing you to your path. My path would take me up the mountain, past the Shadowed Caves which I vowed never to enter into in any lifetime, and through the surrounding forest. If I made good time it would be a full day walk to my first destination. A Rover camp, which I had spent many years living in and which if the fates were on my side, I would be borrowing a horse from.
TIME PASSED SLOWLY, cool wind nipping at my face and hands as I kept a steady pace. The birds whistled sweetly, and my ears picked up a crashing in the woods, the noise fading away slowly. Dismissing it as most likely a startled deer, I swung m
y pack around to my front and riffled through it. If I were to make it to the camp in time to barter for a horse, I would be taking no breaks. My fingers grazed across the small wrapped package at the top, pulling out a small bag of nuts and dried fruits. Munching away on those for a bit, I took the time to enjoy the scenery. The snowy season had finally dissipated a month ago, and in its absence the forest was flourishing. The soft earth gave way slightly under my feet, and when I looked closely enough, I could make out the small off-white mushrooms beginning to grow low on the trees. Lush green moss had exploded overnight on many of the rocks along the trail, and soon I encountered the shadowed caves. Pausing, curiosity took over, and before I knew it, I was hesitantly stepping closer to the cave’s entrance. I leaned forward, held my breath, and listened. The only things my ears picked up were the birds singing at my back and the soft whisper of wind escaping the cave.
A cold shiver ran down my spine and I quickly stumbled backwards. I swore I heard a noise coming from inside the cave, low and gravely. Curiosity firmly dissipated, I bolted, gait almost that of a slow jog. The hairs on my neck prickled, but when I looked over my shoulder there was nothing but the forest path. The Rovers had many stories about the caves, told mostly to the younger children as cautionary tales. Years later, we were informed the majority of the tales about ghosts and creatures inhabiting the Shadowed Caves weren’t true. The tales were spun to keep young ones from wondering off and getting lost. The problem was, only a few rovers had ever mapped a clear way through the caves and those rovers would tell you there was definitely something different, something not quite right that permeated the darkness within. Some even swore the stories were true.
Putting some distance between the caves and myself, I finally relaxed, mind fixated on the forest surrounding me. This forest was a place I knew intimately and couldn’t be afraid of even if I tried. Thinking back to my first few days with the Rovers after I’d stumbled across their camp over a decade ago, I almost missed the whisper in the wind. Halting, I looked around quickly. The whisper came again, sweet as sugar and honey. Someone or something was whispering my name. Shaking my head, I focused on the trail in front of me. From my peripheral, I could just make out the bordering of a small meadow, one that shouldn’t be there. Just as I’d expected, a shimmer began to form and a small cottage appeared out of nowhere.
The Rover Princess Page 2
