by Maia Starr
The orange dragon looked around nervously and gripped the bars in front of him with his hands; long fingers with prominent claws white from the pressure he extended toward his cell.
“Go ahead,” Haden instructed gently.
“There was a fight in the Koth counsel. There’s a traitor in our midst.”
My heart dropped out at the sentiment. Zaphira was right. I leaned in as close as I could possibly get and furrowed my brows. “Do you know who?” I asked.
“No. But they’re said to be starting a rebellion. They want to overthrow the Koth and take over as rulers.”
“So it’s a group of rebels, not just one? Do they actually have the power to do that? The Koth is quite the force to overthrow.”
He bit his lip and then shrugged helplessly. “They have a great force behind them.”
“What’s their problem with how the Koth rules?” I asked, begging my mind not to forget a single detail, as Haden insisted I not bring a recording device or tablet to write on.
“Well, you, to be honest.”
“Be specific,” I said, all business. “Literally me, or humans?”
“Humans,” he relented. “They think you have stringent rules about choosing ceremonies, for one. They want to go back to choosing who they want.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose in frustration. I hated that argument on behalf of shifters. They said we were trying to take over Udora when all we were trying to do was help them. The downfall of the human race, I supposed. Wanting to help.
“That’s what I don’t get,” I blurted in annoyance. “All we’ve tried to do is better Udora. We’ve brought you medicine, we’re this close to healing your fire-breathers, we helped breed a new generation of red dragons that were thought to be dying out. We send breeders and scientists to ensure your planet keeps thriving. What, exactly, are they annoyed with?”
“It’s not just that,” he said, seeming taken aback. “They feel humans don’t share their research. Also, the Koth makes deals with humans that goes unreported.”
“Like what?”
He shrugged again. “Deals with Zaphira.”
“Do you know her?” I asked quietly, reaching his eyes with mine and trying to read his answer.
“Everybody knows of her,” he said quietly; confused. “Why?”
“How old are you?” I said, almost demanded. I didn’t know how long we would have in the prison, and wanted to make the best use of my time as possible.
“Almost thirty,” he offered with a frown. “Why?”
I couldn’t believe my ears. Maybe he was Zaphira’s son after all. It was extremely rare to see a dragon so close to Koth dealings who was younger than 100. The timeline would certainly have matched up for him to be Zaphira’s son. Though his belief system wouldn’t exactly make her happy. Especially if he thought she was the enemy.
I shook my head and focused my attention back on the shifter. “I was just wondering how informed you were about the relationship between the Koth and Riddell,” I lied.
My lie seemed to catch Haden off guard, and he took a step back. I thought he was going to question me on it, but he simply pursed his lips and walked away from the cell.
“So, you got in a disagreement with the Koth on the matter? Do they think you’re one of the rebels?” I asked, jumping to the big questions.
“Yes,” he softened.
“Are you?” I asked with a blink. “And do you know who the rest of them are?”
The shifter loosened his grip on the bars in front of him and bit his lip. He seemed to think on this with some distress. “I want to be offered asylum,” he insisted desperately. “On Earth. If I tell you this, you have to get me out of here and give me your word that I will be protected.”
I thought on the request and wondered if I actually had the authority to make that deal. I was second to Zaphira, so part of me naturally assumed that so long as it was for the safety of the Earth, I was allowed to broker any deals I like.
Still, something seemed wrong about this. I nodded reluctantly and grabbed his cold hand into mind. “You have my word.”
Chapter Eight
Haden
I could hear Sarra splashing in the tub, alluring and elegant. I’d spent the day in meetings, both professional and personal. At work, I talked the Koth through potential administrative buildings on the Earth and told them the ramifications that having dual embassies may have for our dealings with Riddell. Privately, I was trying to find a way to get Rerdig out of prison.
I kicked the bathroom door closed behind me and sat on the cold tile floor beside Sarra. I watched as she bathed and smiled at me, sinking deeper into the water as she raised her feet to the side of the tub. “Your water is smoother than ours is,” she said simply. “It just… feels better.”
“Lucky us,” I laughed. “You know what? I’ve been thinking about these feet all day,” I grinned as I grabbed her feet and kissed each individual toe. She closed her eyes tightly as the light shone throughout the room. We sat in silence for only a moment, and I listened to her breathing and swishing the water.
It had been exactly three weeks since we had spoken to Rerdig. I had assured Sarra that we would be able to get him out, but it would take time. Unfortunately for me, Sarra had already told Zaphira of her encounter, and the whole ordeal now had to go through both our governments.
Before I had a chance to speak, Sarra began talking about her day, her mission, and how Zaphira would be proud of the work she was doing. She also implied that Riddell wished for Rerdig to be taken back to the Earth as a prisoner, not as a refugee.
In just over an hour we would be at my last council meeting for the day, discussing what to do with the traitor. I hated her proposal, though knew I would be better to grit my teeth and show support. If only to avoid raising suspicions from the Koth.
Why should he be taken back to Earth instead of being dealt with by the Koth? Yet another sign of Zaphira’s power and the deals she’d been able to garner in her favor.
Looking back at my love, I picked her up out of the tub and took to kissing her for moments that were far too short. In time, we both began to get ready for our meeting, and before long were in a transportation unit that moved along the skyline on rails. We ended up at one of the Koth buildings. Another glass dome with intricate statues of shifters set outside in a circle; statues of our fallen ones; of past Koth’s.
Much to her dismay, only three advisors, including myself, and a mere two members of the Koth attended the meeting. We sat in line at a black glass table that stretched down the narrow room. On the other side of the table, looking professional as ever, was my Sarra.
She was all business with her skirt suit and her stern face. It was only then that I could see the influence of Zaphira on her; could see how they worked together. Zaphira was the bad cop, and Sarra was the naughty, flirtatious one who just wanted to make light to smooth over Zaphira’s harsh demands. She seemed so unlike the girl I knew, it was almost unbelievable that just earlier I had her sprawled out naked on my bed, burying my body in hers.
I snapped out of my daydream long enough to wonder what the rest of the council must be thinking. ‘This is strange,' was probably a good guess. To be having an uncomfortable conversation with a Riddell representative who also happened to be my choosing.
Eddrys, also an advisor, gave me a look of surprise and delight as his eyes glanced back and forth from Sarra and myself. ‘Trouble in paradise?’ he mouthed, and I frowned in his direction, a silent request for him to shut up and be professional.
“So, I understand we have a problem?” said Bromis, a gray dragon overloaded with scales who also sat on council. He was the oldest among us and had a terrible bedside manner about him. When asked exactly how old he was, he would simply purse his lips and shake his head. With a jovial tone, he would laugh and say, “I haven’t a clue.”
“Yes. I have come to understand that a shifter is being held in suspicion of a potential rebellion and Riddell
believes we have the right to question him.”
Eddrys looked my way and offered me a deep frown; betrayal. His eyes relentlessly followed mine until
I finally met his stare. There was a shift between us that only I could feel and I quickly averted my eyes.
“I see,” Bromis nodded slowly and stared down at the tablet in front of him. Eddrys and I both had bets on whether or not he could actually use the device. We’d never even seen him so much as turn it on before.
“Is this something that you’ve known about?” she asked brazenly.
“It’s something we were hoping to curb, if possible.”
“By keeping him in a cell?” she frowned and fiddled with her pen.
“It’s how you see fit to do it on Earth, as I understand.”
Sarra gave a charming laugh and smiled at the gray shifter. “I suppose you have me there.”
“Is Zaphira filing a formal complaint?” Ikar, the white dragon asked. His white hair was long and mane-like as it fell down his shoulders and down his back. His wings were broad and seemed to sparkle. If there were a shifter who didn’t envy Ikar, I had yet to meet him.
“Ah, and here it is,” she smiled and leaned back in her chair. “Gentlemen, I have no interest in shelling out complaints. I’ve neither the time, patience, nor interest in cajoling you all to meet her comfort levels. All we’re asking is for a fair opportunity to interrogate the prisoner on Earth to follow up on some rumors we have heard that makes us feel,” she drew out her words carefully, “unsettled, in our alliance.”
Bromis gave a hearty chuckle and slowly turned in his chair to look out the windowed walls and take in the view of the city below us. He gave a slight nod before turning back to Sarra. “Sarra, I like you, my dear. And the fact that you’ve been chosen by one of our most trusted advisors is most certainly a boon for you. But the Koth deals with its own. We don’t ask for your prisoners and interfere with your justice system.”
“Maybe if you did, we’d have better luck with them,” she retorted with a wry smile.
Her lips caused a worked up Bromis to give pause. His lips curved up ever so slightly into a grin, which he quickly pushed away. “Miss Hayes, do we ask for access to Earth’s prisoners? No, we do not.”
“Our prisoners don’t threaten you or your government. In fact, none of our people can. But your prisoners do threaten us. Besides, wouldn’t you want the help in uncovering a potential plot against you and your council, Bromis?”
“As you said,” he said, now stepping away from his chair, “there is nothing that threatens us. We deal with our prisoners in our own time and in our own way. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m taking my leave.”
“Bromis,” Sarra said firmly. “This is part of our alliance, and you know as well as I that Zaphira won’t take kindly to being looked over.”
“My dear,” he said with a breath, “whatever authority Zaphira thinks she has is false. I will not humor this council or you by pretending this warning of yours bears any weight for a man in my position.”
With that, the gray dragon stood, prompting all of us to rise from our seats. It took time for him to fully exit the room on account of his long tail, making a slippery leave. When he was finally out of sight, Eddrys stood and shut the door before we all took our seats once more.
“Well, that didn’t go very well,” my friend said with a raise of both brows.
“I’m sorry,” Sarra said, her first sign of backing down. “I didn’t mean to upset anyone. We just want what is fair and what was promised to us in our alliance. I’m speaking for Riddell, as you are speaking for your Koth. I’m sure we all want to get what’s fair.”
Ikar, as the only remaining Koth in the room, now took center stage as our leader in this meeting. He folded his hands into a steeple, staring down at the shapes he’d created before darting his eyes up toward Sarra. “I assume you spoke to Zaphira and this is going to be an officially sanctioned investigation?”
“Of course,” she said. “And sanctioned or not, this is still of importance to our alliance.”
“Well, roll up the flag boss,” Edrysss said with a laugh. “She’s on a patriotic mission! Now, I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say Riddell’s definitions of patriotism are going to differ widely between us and them.”
“Edryss,” Ikar warned before turning his attention back to my chosen one. “As you can see, the entire Koth, nor our council, is present. Would you like to take a guess at why that is?”
Sarra looked to me and then back to Ikar as she guessed, “Because not everybody knows about this.”
“Precisely. We don’t want to stir anything up between the Koth and our people unnecessarily. So, as long as Zaphira is comfortable keeping this a private matter between those in this room, you, and herself, then I believe we can come to an agreement.”
Luckily for Sarra, Ikar had an especially soft spot for the alliance between Earth and Riddell, and an even softer spot for Zaphira. There had been rumors over the last 20 years that the two of them had something going off and on. This was never proven, however, and Zaphira’s disdain for shifters made most brush the rumor off as nothing more than bar talk.
“We are very comfortable keeping this private,” Sarra grinned with a satisfaction that said she believed she’d won. “But, may I ask why you’re keeping a matter of Udorian security private?”
“What do you mean?”
“This is a shifter who wants to overthrow your government and the odds that he stands alone in his mission is statistically low. Why keep it under wraps?”
“Rerdig is not the first rebel to want to fight against the Koth or its alliance with Earth, nor will he be the last. Why stir up commotion for something that, in the end, means very little?”
“Because it’s part of your contract with the earth,” she said with a frown. “It’s in our contract. We have an alliance, and as much as you think you are looking out for your own people, you’re breaking our contract, not to mention putting your security at risk.”
Finally, Ikar put his firm hand up as a sign for her to stop. “We understand. We will be taking this under council’s advice and get back to you with our answer.” He gave pause and looked directly at me. “Though, something tells me you’ll have at least one vote on your side, Sarra.”
He didn’t know how wrong he was.
It had been a week since our meeting with the Koth. Council meetings had been troublesome, to say the least. I was fighting against Sarra’s suggestion in our meetings with Ikar, though I tried not to be too aggressive about it. The truth was, I didn’t think it was the Earth’s business to deal with our prisoners.
I’d hoped that Sarra would have kept it private and listened to Rerdig’s request for asylum. That she would feel sympathy for him, even. But no, she had to go and make things difficult.
I watched Sarra as she fingered the top of my dresser as she walked by; rolling the dust between her index finger and thumb absent-mindedly as she passed the window again.
There were shifter soldiers posted outside my apartment, as per Ikar’s request. They were ever vigilant in keeping watch for Sarra’s protection. She’d been on ‘house arrest’ for the time being, though that wasn’t the way the Koth phrased it. The guards patrolled the length of the building for days. Sarra looked out the window at the swaying lights and peeked at an establishment nearby.
She sat on the bed and rested her chin hard on her fist, setting her teeth on her knuckles. She looked across the bed at the purple light that had bled into the room from the lantern outside. I scooped her up in my arms and helped her onto my chest, kissing her and holding her until she fell asleep.
Hours rolled by and every so often I could feel her stir beneath me. Finally, after hours of rest, she stood from her bed and pulled her boots on. She checked her hair in the mirror and gave a distasteful glance at her face before slipping on her cloak and stepping out onto my balcony.
I stood in the doorframe, armed, alert, and startle
d at her emerging from her room. Looking over the edge of the iron railings made her fingers damp with sweat as she clenched the rail harder.
“Everything alright?” I asked cautiously, extending my hand to her arm in a gesture of concern.
“Yes, everything’s fine.”
I raised a brow and smiled at her, knowing better.
“I thought I could use a walk,” she shrugged. “Being cooped up hasn’t exactly been ideal. I’m sick of staring at the walls.”
Since our meeting with the Koth, Sarra had been instructed to stay in my quarters for her own safety. The Koth would be using their own soldiers for Rerdig’s extraction. Of course, they didn’t want her knowing where he was being kept. Little did they know I’d taken her there myself.”
I gave an over-exaggerated shiver and rubbed my arms at the chill. “Tell me about it. This whole thing makes me feel uneasy, especially without you by my side.”
“Aw, and he’s being sweet.”
“He is,” I grinned. “I am ever intrigued and beguiled to have you next to me, especially when dealing with a situation as precarious and–”
“Easy, boy!” She began to giggle. “I don’t need a speech at four in the morning. Charming as you are.”
“I miss you,” I said with a smile. “That’s all I was trying to say.” The two of us paused, and she seemed to be studying me hard. “It’s not as effective without the flowery speech, is it?”
“No, actually, it’s not,” she said, slipping her hand over her mouth as her laugh turned into a yawn.
“Better them for submitting to your help, my lady,” I paused, perhaps for too long. “But in truth, I can’t wait to go back to Earth with you. Get away from all of this upheaval.”
She nodded ruefully. “Do you really think they’re better for submitting to our help, or are you just saying that?”
I paused and raised a brow, my expression clear that I wasn’t sure what to say to the green-eyed woman before me. “Of course. Why would you even ask?”
