by Terry Spear
When he had the audience with Queen Viviana—he thought the world of Princess Alicia ignoring her grandfather's wishes and wanting her mother to rule instead—Brett was surprised to see the turnout in the Great Hall. It appeared as though everybody in the kingdom was there.
The queen proclaimed that he would be Dragon at Arms, a prestigious position held by some of the most distinguished dragon shifters in ancient times. But Brett didn't feel he deserved such an honor for doing one heroic deed for the queen. Most of all, he wanted to work for Ena, but he wasn't going to give the reason why—in that she needed payment for his clothes—just as a jest now. He wanted to work for her, be close to her, and if he was being honest with himself, he wanted in the worst way the chance to court her.
"After all that Halloran has done in acting as the spokesman for the dragon shifter kind, I believe he should have the honor of being Dragon at Arms, with all due respect, my lady," Brett said.
"Despite being raised by humans, and according to you and Freya you are a phantom fae, you still seem to have some common dragon fae sense. If Halloran wishes the position, so be it, and I will be happy to have him take on that job. It has not be filled for way too many years. But I will still bestow a title on you as it is my duty and my utmost desire to do so. In that regard, you will be given the royal title of duke and you may have any job in my employ that you wish."
"Master Gardener to Duchess Ena?"
The queen glanced at Ena who was blushing furiously. He smiled a little at her. The color in her cheeks turned redder. His smile broadened. He loved it when he made her blush.
The queen, and everyone who was close enough to see, watched the exchange. Then the queen smiled and nodded sagely. "If you ever need a different position, the offer to work for me remains open."
Then she asked Halloran to step forward.
He looked so serious, much more like the man who should hold the position.
He knelt before the queen. Shoot, Brett always forgot that part. He was still a human at heart who hadn't lived around royal persons of importance.
"Will you accept the honor of serving as Dragon of Arms, Halloran?"
"With the utmost honor and with my undivided loyalty, I will, my lady."
Well, at least Brett remembered the "my lady" part. Though he seemed to have the queen's favor, and she didn't seem to be bothered by his lack of proper royal courtesy.
After Halloran proudly accepted the position, she named others to serve as her staff, including Countess Saliness, who had freed Princess Alicia from a fae prison earlier.
Then the celebrating began in earnest, but Brett noticed right away that Freya wasn't there. He needed to fulfill his promise to her.
Ena was eyeing him with a look that he couldn't quite comprehend. He moved toward her, surprised none of her suitors were anywhere near her. Most were congratulating Halloran and telling him he needed a second in command, and vying for the position. He realized they were always intrigued with something else. Except for the one time that Alton transported her from her keep when Brett was dining with them as her prisoner, Brett hadn't once seen him act affectionate in any manner toward her. Maybe dragon shifters weren't much for dating. What did he know?
Brett made his way through the crowd of courtiers and though he noticed several turned to see where he was headed. He didn't care if anyone knew how much he cared about Ena as long as she was aware of it.
As soon as he stood in front of her, she folded her arms and looked cross. "You don't have any gardening skills. You turned down a prestige job to weed the garden?"
"I will be rewarded richly in treasures untold."
She raised a brow.
"I've heard dragon shifters pay a lot of money to merchants and the like."
"Ah, but you are also a dragon shifter—of a sort."
"Yes, but I'm a gardener. Which means I don't go on high-risk missions to earn my gold. I doubt anyone would want to pay a mage-created dragon the kind of treasures you get."
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Princess Alicia approaching. "Duke Brett." She curtsied.
He laughed. He hadn't thought how it would sound to be called that. "Princess Alicia." He gave her a low bow. "I heard that you shot Prince Grotto with three arrows, all on target. How did you ever learn to be that accurate a shot?"
"She is a dragon fae," Ena said for her. "When Prince Deveron learned how well she could use a bow, he challenged her to a contest. She was so good, he realized she had to be a dragon fae."
Suddenly both Ena and Alicia's eyes widened as they cast each other startled looks.
Ena said to Brett, "How well do you shoot a bow?"
***
Ena couldn't help feeling the excitement thrumming through her veins as she prayed to every god and goddess that Brett was truly a dragon fae. He might have had one parent who was phantom fae. But what if his ability to shift into the dragon had nothing to do with being a mage?
It was dark out as archers set up torches to help light the targets in the area.
Brett was adamant he'd never held a bow before, let alone used one. Ena showed him the rudiments. Yes, not all dragon fae excelled at the task in the beginning, but they had a natural talent for doing well with the bow. With practice, they were better than nearly any fae in other realms.
Brett said to Ena in private, "I don't want to disappoint you."
She frowned at him. "I'm just curious, is all." More than curious. Hopeful. But she would try her best not to be disappointed if he didn't have any skill with the bow.
"I would do anything to please you, you know," Brett said, with his usual charming smile.
"I bet you broke girls' hearts all over the place back home."
"Not me."
And then she realized he'd probably worried he'd get a girl into trouble with him being a fae seer and how dangerous that was. She didn't want to even bring that issue up.
"Okay. Are you ready?"
Brett fired the shot and hit the farthest stake out. The archers had set them up at various distances and gave him free reign to shoot the one farthest away that he felt comfortable with. There were gasps because if it was true that he had never used a bow before, he truly had a gift.
"Beginner's luck." Brett sounded like he couldn't believe it himself.
Everyone waited to see what Princess Alicia wanted to do. "Set up another farther out."
If he could hit another even farther away, he had a rare talent. But did it make him a dragon shifter?
"Do not miss this one on purpose," Ena said low for his ears only.
He glanced at her. He should have been surprised that she said that to him if he had not planned to miss the target. Instead, he looked like he'd been caught.
"Why do you think I would do that?"
"Just a hunch. Do it right, Brett. Do what you know in your heart you can do."
"I want to court you, but I don't want you to court me if the only reason is that I have dragon shifter genes."
She snorted. "What if you are related to me?"
"Kissing cousins?" He grinned. "I'm not fond of the cousin part, but…"
"You want to court me?" she finally said, sounding surprised.
"Ever since you took me prisoner, I've wanted to be as lucky as Alton or any of your other suitors who were eligible to win your heart. Except I wanted to show you how much I really care about you."
"Oh?" Ena's voice had challenge and he loved it.
"But I don't want my being one of you the only reason you would consider it."
"I don't date my hired help."
"I'm a duke in my own right. And you're a duchess." He smiled. "No one else is qualified to court you."
She chuckled. "You think you have it all figured out. You don't even know courting protocol."
"I believe we can work out something that's mutually agreeable."
She smiled. "Take the shot. And hit it."
"Yes, my lady."
She snorted. He'd never called
her lady yet. It sounded funny coming from him.
Then he took the shot and hit the target. Silence, then cheers.
If he truly was a dragon shifter and not just good at archery without some prior knowledge, she had to know his family roots. She had to, because if she was going to court him, she couldn't be related to him.
Before she was ready for it, he turned and smiled. "Farther?"
Princess Alicia laughed. "Show off. And yes, make him keep shooting until he can't make the target."
He hit the stake so far out, three of the archers whistled. One said, "Don't let Queen Viviana hear of this or she'll make you the Master of the Archers. You really want to be a Master Gardener?"
"It's what I pledged to do. And I'm bound by duty to do the job."
The men cast a look in Ena's direction.
"Aye, duty," the one said, grinning.
***
Brett was glad when he was headed back to the hawk fae kingdom where Freya had gone while he was healing up. He hadn't wanted to delay aiding her even this long, but with his strength back, he was ready to help her end this curse.
It took several hours on the flight to Edinburgh, Scotland before they arrived, and then they transported to the hawk fae kingdom from there.
"You can do this." Ena assured Brett as Freya had turned into her raven from and landed on the castle wall walk.
They had moved Zane into the stable, and Freya flew off to tell Elorian they had returned and needed his help.
Elorian was in the stable in a heartbeat with a book of spells in hand. Freya shifted and sat on top of a haystack, looking hopeful.
"I know how to do it," Brett said, a flash of clarity that suddenly swept the fog out of his thoughts. It was like taking a test in high school and knowing the answer to a question, yet it eluded him no matter how hard he wracked his brain to come up with it. Suddenly, it was like the clouds parted and the shone through and he had the answer.
He thought back to how he had made flames surround the sword. He didn't just wish it. He had to call on the power to aid him in a case that meant life or death. Maybe it would work on just imagining something equally as important. Freezing the wizard, yes, because the action had saved Brett and his friends from whatever fate would have awaited them when the soldiers were on their way. But unfreezing him, no, unless Brett thought of it as being crucial to end Freya's curse.
This time, he thought of how much he needed to unfreeze Zane so that he could force him, in some way, to remove the curse on Freya.
Frozen solid still, Zane stood there in his regal mage robes as if clothes made the man, or in his case, mage. Brett waited a little longer, while everyone else watched to see the great miracle.
Nothing happened. Not one drop of water sliding down the frozen figure. No sign of melting at all.
Brett frowned at Zane. "I was certain I had it figured out." He explained his reasoning.
"I've never heard of casting magic in such a way. Either you know how to do it, or you don't." Elorian began flipping through his spell book to a page where he had inserted a feather to mark his place. "I did find a spell I thought might work though."
Brett hated that he couldn't do this on his own. He'd botched the situation with Freya, and he felt bad that Ena would see him as a failure. He glanced at her.
Ena was watching Freya, her arms folded, her dark brows knit together. "Freya, turn into a raven," Ena suddenly said.
But Zane was still frozen to the core. The spell hadn't worked.
Freya let out her breath and nodded. When she didn't do anything, Brett said, "Are you trying?" He couldn't help sounding both astonished and hopeful that this had worked.
Freya's lower lip dropped. "Oh…my…goddess."
Ena smiled. "Try again."
Everyone watched as they heard the hawk fae warriors returning after the battle to the royal castle a half mile away.
"Are you sure you can't change?" Brett asked, astounded. He thought thawing Zane out and forcing him to revoke the curse of Freya was the only way to manage this. No way did he believe he could reverse the curse another mage invoked. At least in all the PC games he played, it wasn't possible.
"No, I can't." Freya jumped off the haystack and wrapped her arms around Brett in a heartfelt squeeze and kissed him on the cheek. He gave her a hug back, not wanting to see how Ena was viewing this. But it was such a miracle that he could undo it, and he was as thrilled as she was.
"I can't believe it," Elorian said. "I have never heard of a mage being able to undo the curse of another." He slapped Brett on the back. "You will be much valued by any ruler to serve as the royal mage with an ability like that."
"Queen Viviana wanted him for her Dragon at Arms," Ena said. "I think it was because he rescued her from the dungeon no matter how injured he was."
"Halloran should have such an honor and now does," Brett said.
"I couldn't believe when you suggested it. Usually when a ruler makes a ruling, even if you're unhappy with it, you're stuck with it," Ena said.
"Like being made a duchess?" Brett asked.
"You know what happened then. I still can't believe you told her you wanted to be my gardener."
Then Brett remembered about his friends. That was his next mission—to locate them. "Where did my friends go?"
"We'll look into it. We'll probably be called on to celebrate with the hawk fae royal family before we settle in for the night. What are you going to do about the mage apprentice?"
Brett just smiled. Zane couldn't harm anyone as a frozen fae. He rather liked to keep him that way.
Ena shook her head. "I doubt anyone will want to store him on their property."
After celebrating with the hawk fae, Ena, Brett, and Freya finally retired for the night. Ena, out of kindness, offered her a job at her castle—since Freya was a weaver and Ena could use a good weaver. Freya could sell whatever she made extra to the merchants in town.
She hadn't immediately accepted the job, and Ena thought she might not like being a phantom fae in the dragon fae realm. On the other hand, Ena did consider Freya liked Brett a lot too, probably for his having rescued her from the curse. What was not to like about Brett? He was just too charming. Still, Ena had to offer because the phantom fae couldn't return to her own people.
She'd made inquiries into what had happened to Brett's friends, too. But they had just vanished without a word. As humans, they had nowhere to go on their own. That had her more than worried about them. And she would solicit everyone that she could tomorrow to help them locate the two teens.
***
Late that night, someone knocked at Brett's chamber door, waking him from a sound sleep. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he crossed the floor and opened the door. A servant was standing there, holding a note. "Sorry to disturb your sleep, my lord, but a messenger has left this for ye and said it was urgent that you receive it at once."
It was about five in the morning. Brett needed another three hours of sleep to get with the program. He opened the note and read: You will bring Zane back to me at once, bring no one else, and I will free your inconsequential human friends. Deviate from my command, and I will have them terminated. You will complete the mage trials. And then and only then will they be released.
His heart pounding, Brett thanked the servant, shut the door, and hastily dressed. He grabbed the guard's sword, his jeweled sword, and daggers and sheathed them. The guards who had come to take them hostage when he had frozen Zane and then taken him away must have immediately gone to the queen about it. Somehow, they had located Brett's friends, took them hostage, and waited until Brett was back in the hawk fae kingdom, where they must have suspected Zane was. Good thing they must have had fae trackers who couldn't track a frozen mage, no fae dust to leave behind like they did when they were fae traveling.
Brett had to do this now even though he knew the queen intended him to die this time around. He thought he had a good chance of proving her wrong.
He hadn't ev
en made it outside of the inner bailey when Ena in her dragon form dropped from the sky, landed in front of him, shifted, and said, "Where do you think you're going, armed for battle, and without a word to me?"
He handed her the note. "I'm going as a dragon and I'll shift in the woods and then walk to the castle. I have to do this."
She hastily read the note, then shook her head. "You can't go alone. And you can't go as a dragon."
"I seem to have that under control."
"No. Don't you see? Unless the queen got word, she probably doesn't know you can turn into a dragon. If anyone saw you, she would know. You have the advantage. We could leave a frozen Zane there, grab your friends, and return here."
"If they're not locked away."
Ena paced. "Right. That's why you're not going alone. Not all the dragons are here. Several have moved their treasure. But several more are here. I'll ask them to go with us."
"No. She said to go alone."
"She's not going to make this fair. She probably doesn't know that you've frozen Zane. She probably thinks you've only kept him hostage. She probably assumes he still can beat you at the trials or she wouldn't risk Zane's life. How can you trust that she'd release your friends? And where? In No Man's Land? In phantom fae territory? She's not going to have them escorted to the hawk fae or dragon fae kingdoms."
"She says she'll kill them if I bring anyone else."
"Believe me, she intends to get her mage back and kill you and your friends. End of story. Besides, you should have someone on your side cheering you on, don't you think?"
"What if archers try to take you out?"
"We burn the place down, free your friends, and that's the end of that."
"Somehow, I don't think this is going to be as easy as all that. But…I have to agree with you about Queen Everlee. I'll go with your plan. But we have to go quickly. If anyone wants to go, it has to be now."
"Halloran will kill me. But he will go. I'll be right back. Ask Freya."
"Yes," Freya said, joining them. "I will go."
