by ERIN BEDFORD
Getting irritated at the direction of the conversation, in the whole thing really, I barely held back the bite in my voice. “I hope you have a point to this in there somewhere?”
“Good,” Lady Nariko patted on the table. “You are finally getting serious.”
This time I kept my mouth shut and just waited for her to tell me what the hell she wanted.
“Seeing as we already established that true love didn’t create those astounding new powers your men have, I don’t see why you couldn’t give them to my other two sons.” A nasty sort of laughter covered her face making her eyes crinkle at the sides.
“Excuse me?” I didn’t know why I asked. I knew what she meant, who she meant, but I needed to hear it from her lips. To solidify the kind of woman I thought her to be.
“Dreq and Aido, of course.” She rolled her eyes. “Those are their real names, if you didn’t know.”
“I did, but I still don’t know what you mean,” I replied, looking down at my cup.
“What I mean is this. You already gave those powers to Raiden,” she explained like I was an idiot. “You can do the same for my other two boys. They will take some convincing, but you are a lovely woman, and I’m sure they will come around once they find out the benefits.” She gestured up and down my person as if having sex with me would be a job they would have to grin and bear to get the big payout.
“No,” I clipped with a shake of my head. “Absolutely not.”
A flash of irritation filled Lady Nariko’s eyes before it was gone. Sighing, she stood from her seat and reached over the table to take my hands.
“I understand. You are worried about what your men will think. But the way I see it, if they were willing to share you with two other men, they should be willing to do this. Of course.” She let me go and sat back down. “I will provide ample compensation. I hear your Firestar is quite in need of the money.” An evil glint twinkled in her eyes as a smug grin covered her lips. “I have lots of money at my disposal.”
How did she know all this? Did she have spies all over Waesigar? She even knew what was going on in my own bedroom. I was half-tempted to make sure there wasn’t a bug in my pants.
“Listen,” she sighed after I didn’t immediately jump on her offer. “Take a few days to think about it. It’s a big decision. I understand. Nevertheless, don’t take too long deciding or a letter disclosing all your secrets might just find its way to every Lord in Waesigar, including your father.”
Hot fury filled me at her threat. If she thought I would just lay back and spread my legs because she said so, she had another thing coming. I didn’t care if she told my father about my lies. I’d tell him my damned self before I’d ever consider doing her other two sons.
Hands balled into fists, I prepared myself to tell her exactly that, but then a dragon messenger came shooting through the balcony doors. Out of breath and covered in dirt, the messenger turned to Lady Nariko. “The attack.”
“What of it?” Lady Nariko asked, impatient to send him away.
“There were more raiders than they anticipated and...”
“You are saying they are outnumbered?” I finished for him, my heart pounding in my chest. The messenger nodded quickly. The world spun around me as I tried to comprehend what the dragon before me had said. All three of my men were out there right now fighting for this horrid woman’s kingdom, and here she was demanding I screw her sons.
All my rage funneled through my body and my magic built with it. I knew if I didn’t let it out, it would end up hurting me or someone else. I knew one person I’d love to use it on, but I also knew if Raiden survived that he would never forgive me.
So, with nowhere else to go, the power built in my chest until it found an outlet. Through my back.
14
Wings, I had wings. They spread out of my back and lifted me slightly into the air.
I angled my head to see over my shoulder but could barely take in the pale green of my newfound wings. Excitement replaced my anger, and I searched the room for a mirror. When my eyes landed on a long mirror decorating the wall, I rushed over to it before I could stop myself. Or rather flew.
Without me thinking about it, my wings had moved on their own, flapping up and down and blowing my hair slightly as I moved. When I stopped in front of the mirror, I got an eyeful of them. Green as the bushes in my favorite garden back home, the veins of them looked like the vines I used to train with. Between each vein lay a spiral that could have been a flower blooming. They were remarkable, and I couldn’t have asked for better.
Instantly, I wished for a full-length mirror, but knew I wouldn’t be able to get to one until I got back to my room. Spinning around, I turned back to the other two people in the room. My face fell when I remembered why I had finally gotten my wings.
So, astounded by my new wings I didn’t even notice Lady Nariko or the messenger staring at me like I’d lost my mind. My lighter than air feeling sunk, and so did my body. My feet hit the floor as I made my way back to the tea table.
“I have to go,” I said, bypassing them and going to the balcony.
Lady Nariko and the messenger followed after me as I exited the palace and walked into the light sprinkle of rain.
“What are you doing?” Lady Nariko asked absolute horror on her face. “You can’t mean to go after them?”
“I do,” I said without apology. “I can’t stand by while they fight. They could be dying right now or worse.”
“But what will people say?” she argued, grabbing my arm her nails digging into my arm. “You’re pregnant, you can’t be seen going out there. People will talk.”
“They’ll say I care about the fathers of my child.” I jerked my arm out of her grasp and took to the sky, leaving a screeching Lady of the East behind me.
Moving through the sky, the rain sprinkling down on me, it seemed like a dream. Of course, I’d hoped I’d be in the training yard or even better among my suitors when I finally got my wings. Sprouting them because of my worry for their safety seemed a tad bit too selfless for me. Finally getting them to spite my father? Sure. Even getting them to save me from a sudden fall off a cliff sounded more plausible.
Apparently, my dragoness decided I wasn’t worthy of them until someone I loved really needed me. Too bad those someones were miles away, and I had no idea where I was going.
Just outside the city gates, I tried to pause in mid-air to figure out where I was going, but instead of pausing, my wings quit flapping altogether. Plunging out of the air, a scream ripped from my throat as the ground came closer and closer to my view.
“Up, up!” I commanded my wings. When they didn’t so much as flutter, I covered my face with my arms and called on my magic seeking something out of the earth to make a cushion for my fall. The ground billowed up into a mound of thick grass, but before I could land on it, my wings suddenly came back to life, jerking me back up into the air.
Grumbling about stupid wings, I almost fell again before I cried out, “I’m sorry all right. Stop.”
My wings were a sensitive bunch, much like my inner dragoness. She never let me do anything I wanted without my rolling over and begging. Even when we were in extreme danger. Just another pain in the butt to add to my long list of people to please other than myself.
Now that my wings were listening to me, I searched around the perimeter, looking for some sign of where the guys had gone off to. I remembered Firestar pointing at the large replica of the area. There had been a village not too far from the castle, small and near a small river.
I spun in a circle lifting myself higher and higher until I could see the barest glimpse of water. I followed the line of the river until it hit a bundle of trees. If I squinted my eyes, I could make out the tops of a few houses and what’s more smoke.
There. That had to be it.
My pulse sped up as I focused on flying in that direction. My still new wings ached from overuse. My breathing came in hard pants, and I gritted my teeth, determi
ned to make it there in time. I wouldn’t lose them like this. I couldn’t.
As if knowing my plight, the sky opened, and a downpour of rain hit me. Not prepared for the weather’s onslaught, I lost my momentum as the water hit my fresh baby wings. The ground came closer to me as I lost altitude. If I landed, I wasn’t sure I’d make it back up again.
Pushing forward, I barely hovered above the ground as I shoved through the trees surrounding the village. Clashing of swords and the prickle of magic hit me minutes before I cleared the tree line. My feet hit the ground as my wings gave out on me, followed by my heart.
The sight before me had my blood running cold. Bodies littered the ground, lightning dragons and ones I didn’t recognize. Blood became streams as the rain mixed with it as it flowed downhill toward the river. The only positive side was none of the bodies I could see were familiar to me.
“Jack! He’s getting away.” My head whipped toward the voice. Firestar. And Jack if his words had anything to say about it. But what about Raiden?
My feet began to move on their own, the need to know they were okay overwhelming any survival instinct I might have had. Rounding a burning house, I found myself in the thick of battle. Magic and steel flew through the air, and I almost ended up with my head chopped off for my negligence.
Grabbing the dagger I’d taken from Jack’s things, I dodged an attack and slashed out, catching the raider who had attacked me in the stomach. He fell to the ground clutching his wound, but I didn’t stay to see if he died. My focus was entirely on finding my men.
A fireball shot out, and I rolled sideways away from it. I searched for the thrower, but Firestar was nowhere in sight. Fire dragons? That didn’t make sense. Why were they all the way over here?
Before I could contemplate where to go next, the ground shifted beneath me. I braced myself and tried to counter the magic with my own but wasn’t fast enough. Thrown off my feet, the ground rolled until it shoved me against an abandoned home. Breath knocked out of me but free of the ground’s attack, I placed my hand on the wall as I tried to regain control of my lungs.
Not just fire dragons. Earth dragons. Immediately my father came to mind. My mother and sister had said something about making it so there were no more raids. Had this been what they were talking about? But that didn’t explain why there were fire dragons here.
While I was lost in thought, I didn’t sense the newcomer until the hand was on my shoulder. My hand instantly grabbed hold of it as I swung my leg out to hit whomever my attacker was.
“Stop,” Raiden said, stepping back and avoiding my attack.
“Raiden!” I practically cried and relaxed my stance. Mud and blood covered, I’d never been happier to see the lightning dragon. Raiden’s expression though didn’t say the same.
“Maya, what are you doing here?” he growled, pulling me close to him as a flying bolt of lightning charred the ground beside us. “You were supposed to wait at home.”
“I know, I know.” I shook my head, my hands clutching his dirty shirt. “But a messenger came saying you guys were losing, and I couldn’t stay behind. I just had to come to help.”
“Well, we’re pretty fucked. The earth dragons are canceling out most of our lightning powers. If it hadn’t been for Jack and Firestar, we’d all be dead.” His eyes went to the fighting men who were throwing bolts of lightning that dissipated harmlessly against the earth.
Scanning the area, I searched for the earth dragons. I might not be able to do much, but I could stop them. Then Raiden and his brothers could take the rest of them out. My magic sought out like magic. In an instant, my magic zeroed in on three men standing off to the side.
“There!” I pointed a finger at them, drawing Raiden’s attention. “We have to take out those three. They’re the earth dragons hindering your powers.”
Raiden’s trident flickered as he swung it through the air. Then he spat in anger. “I can’t do it. Hell, I can’t even get close to them. Their magic is pushing me back. You’ll have to do it, Maya.” He gave me a meaningful look, and I shook my head. “I know you can do it.”
“I can’t take on all three of those guys at once, they’ll demolish me!”
Hands on my shoulders, Raiden hushed me. “You don’t have to. Just take them out one at a time, but you’ll have to be quick about it before the others notice. I’ll provide backup so you can get to them without worry.”
Taking a deep breath, I held the dagger tight in my hand and followed after Raiden. He led me around a house, until we were behind the earth dragons, bypassing the thickest part of the fighting. When we were only a few feet from the first one, Raiden motioned me to stop.
“All right, love.” He waved me forward. “It’s all you.”
Dagger at the ready, I crept along the wall of the house until I came to the edge. The fighting wasn’t as thick here so it would be hard for my movements to go unnoticed. I needed some kind of distraction.
“Raiden,” I hissed, getting the lightning dragons attention. “See those two fighting over there? Right in front of my first guy?”
Raiden followed my gaze and nodded. “Say no more.”
Shooting out from behind the house, he darted into the fray. The earth dragon near me saw Raiden as he thrust his trident into a raider. He focused his attention on him, giving me the chance to run out. Dagger poised, I reached into the earth. Pulling the roots up, I directed them to wrap about the earth dragon like a boa constrictor with its prey. The roots squeezed the man until his eyeballs bulged in his head. Before he could use his own powers to release himself, I shoved my dagger through his back and into his heart.
Jerking it free in a spray of blood, I watched his corpse collapse to the ground. Part of me was sickened by what I’d done, but most of me was satisfied.
One down, two to go.
Sprinting across the battlefield, I leapt through the air, calling upon my legs to give me a little bounce in my step. They burst from my back, flapping once, twice, three times, and giving me enough lift to carry me above the closest earth dragon as he turned toward where I’d been.
His eyes settled on his fallen friend, and as his face hardened, I slammed into him, smashing my knees into his collarbones. The bones snapped as he crashed to the ground beneath my weight, and as his head smacked against the earth with a wet smack, I drove the dagger into his eye, killing him.
I rose as his body twitched and spasmed, fastening my eyes on the last of the earth dragons. Only, as I saw him, my confidence fell away. The guy was looking right at me. Worse, Raiden was way too busy fighting off a horde of raiders to help.
The ground pulled out from beneath me, and I landed flat on my back. As I hurried to get back to my feet, the man charged at me. Shoving my powers into a nearby tree, I tried to get it to swing a limb out and knock him over. I must have overdone it though because the whole tree ripped from the earth, slamming into the earth dragon just as he reached me. The sound of snapping bone and breaking branches filled my ears as the weight of the huge tree turned him into a pancake.
Leaping to my feet, I called upon my powers to ensure the guy was dead.
“Raiden!” I shouted when I was sure the guy was dead. “You can use your powers now.”
At the sound of my words, the air thickened and a huge bolt of lightning shot down from the sky, slamming into the men attacking Raiden. The men shuddered and screamed as they were fried from the inside out. Then one by one they fell to the ground as charred, smoking husks.
“You got them,” I cried, running to his side.
Raiden pulled me into his arms, his mouth covering mine in a hard kiss before he leaned back and smiled. “No, you did it.”
My own lips spreading out into a goofy grin, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride. I had done it. Despite my doubts, I’d helped them!
The battle ended pretty quickly after that since the earth dragons were no longer dampening the majority of our fighters’ magic. As we moved through the village, breaking up p
ockets of resistance, and helping our allies, I scanned the horizon for Firestar and Jack, but unfortunately, I didn’t see them anywhere.
“What now? Should we look for the others?” I asked, searching around for a white or red head of hair.
Raiden’s head shook from side to side, making his wet hair plastered to his face. Kissing my forehead, he smiled. “Well, nothing to be done now. Jack and Firestar had a bunch of them cornered over by the bridge, but these aren’t the normal kind of raiders.”
“I noticed,” I admitted. “But I don’t understand why they would come together to attack your people.”
Raiden swung his trident and shoved it through an attacker behind me even before I knew he was there. “Unaligned is all we can figure, but we’ll assess it more thoroughly after they’re all dead.”
Ducking and dodging attacks left and right we fought our way through the dwindling group of raiders. The few dozen Raiden’s brothers had talked about were not even close to how many littered the village ground. There had to be fifty or more raiders, not counting those the lightning brothers had brought with them.
Worse, I knew they’d have been slaughtered by my men’s new powers had they not been on the brothers’ side.
“Firestar! Jack!” Raiden called out when we finally got out of the middle of the fray and to the bridge. The two dragons glanced away from their prisoners to Raiden. When their gazes landed on me, my blood froze. They were even less happy to see me than Raiden had been. I expected a lecture coming later, but now they were too busy with staying alive.
“What’s she doing here?” Firestar snarled as he shoved his kusarigamas through one of the attackers. Blood splattered over him, and the others fell back. Raiden’s brothers sat on the other side of the bridge keeping the others from getting away.
