Throne of Oak (Maggie's Grove)

by Dana Marie Bell

  They flew in formation, taking their cues from each other as they’d trained to do all their lives. When Vasile’s left wing twitched, they veered, following his silent signals flawlessly.

  Some of the clutch paused upon seeing the three brothers flying as one. Warriors long used to taking orders from either Vasile or Trajan broke away from the shifters and vampires. They were seeing the impossible, and responding with confusion.

  The Ibanescus were fighting together instead of each other.

  * * *

  Mina strained to see anything in the blackness of the night, but unfortunately all that came clear was the occasional flash of flame.

  “I’m going back up.”

  Amara growled at her mate. “I don’t think so.”

  “Love, they need me.”

  “Parker, just stay...parked.” His laughter had Mina rolling her eyes. “You’re injured, and you don’t know how many dragons are in the sky. Let the others fight.” She squinted.

  Nope. That wasn’t Dragos. She wasn’t sure what it was, but it was white—a brilliant streak in the night sky, covered in a nimbus of light that made it difficult to see. Whatever it was, it wasn’t a dragon, so she let it pass without drawing her bow.

  And that was a problem, wasn’t it? There were dragons up there who were allies—Dragos and his brothers—and she didn’t want to risk hitting them. She needed light.

  Mina blinked, staring around the Throne. She needed light.

  Digging deep into her connection with the Throne, she summoned forth the same magic that lit their homes. The Throne lit with a pale light, growing in strength until it illuminated the sky above them, showing the battle in all its horrible glory.

  Dragons danced in the night sky, tiny forms flinging themselves in and out of the fray. She realized the owls were darting at the dragons’ heads—attacking vulnerable eyes and nostrils—distracting the clutch. Vampires took advantage of the owls’ antics, going after dragon throats and bellies. Dragos, his red scales glinting like rubies, was leading the charge with his brothers—the three of them in a tight formation that even Mina could tell had been practiced over and over until it became second nature. Violet, blue and red, they attacked as one, taking on a lighter blue opponent who viciously went after the dark blue dragon.

  The brothers Ibanescu were ready to kick some ass.

  “Whoa.”

  Mina turned away from the battle at the reverence in Amara’s tone.

  Dominic, glowing bright white, entered the Throne. He walked right through the protections as if they weren’t even there. In fact, the trees themselves bowed their branches in an homage reserved only for...

  For...

  “Holy shit.” She almost dropped the bow in shock.

  Dominic held up his finger to his lips and winked at her.

  Well. If one of them was in Maggie’s Grove and wanted to keep it quiet, who the fuck was she to argue? And how the fuck had she not known that Dom was...

  Ho-lee shit.

  She had to bite back the urge to bow before him, now that she knew what he was. But Dom had never been the kind of man who seemed to want attention, so she held herself still.

  “Parker. Got yourself an ouchie?” Dom knelt before the vampire and waved his hand over Parker’s leg. “Small break, nothing to be concerned about.”

  “Um. Thanks.” Parker stood, testing his leg, then grinned when it appeared to hold his weight. “Thanks, Dom.”

  Dom stood and gave Parker a slight bow. “Not a problem, my friend.”

  “Well, then. Off I go!” He took off into the night, completely ignoring Amara’s renewed protests.

  “Seems my work here is done.” Dom brushed off his slacks. “Amara, Mina.”

  “Dominic.” It was so hard not to add the honorific, to give him his due.

  The look he shot her was friendly, the same Dominic they all knew and loved. “It’s all right, Mina. I’m just another resident of the Grove.”

  She nodded. Yeah, right. And my oak is just another tree.

  The branches of the great oak swayed above them as Dominic sauntered out of the Throne, bowing before one of the rarest of the rare.

  “Is he really—”

  “Yup.” Mina wasn’t going into any further detail than that. If Dominic wanted her to keep her mouth shut, she’d superglue her lips together.

  “Okay.”

  Mina almost laughed. She’d never heard that particular squeak in Amara’s voice before.

  An angry howl rent the night air—answered by every wolf in the forest. “Noah’s here.”

  Amara nodded and ran for the trees. “I have an idea.”

  “What?” Mina prepared to fire at a dragon high above her.

  Amara’s eyes glowed so brightly Mina could barely look at them. The leaves floating around her head picked up speed. “I’m going to pull some weeds.” Amara darted toward Ash’s ash, climbing the branches as nimbly as Greer ever had.

  The hamadryad was learning. Soon, she would be able to do utilize each of their fighting styles, using them to protect and defend. As it should be.

  Damn it. If only Glinda had allowed the dryads access to Amara, she wouldn’t have to be learning this stuff on the fly. She would have been properly trained. Instead, she was watching them constantly, studying them, finding ways to make their gifts her own.

  Amara was incredible, even for a hamadryad, and Mina couldn’t be prouder of her.

  Noah howled again, and Mina winced. There was something in his cry, something she recognized—Queen to Alpha, ruler to ruler. He was commanding all of the shifters to respond, to return to the ground and face him.

  And damn if the dragons didn’t do just that.

  The call continued to ring out, Noah demanding that the shifters come to him, face him on his ground. Mina granted him some of her power, as was her right as Queen, giving his call wing until there was no doubt that it reached every draconic ear. Dragons began to head for a particular spot just outside the Throne. She had to assume they changed once they landed. That many dragons would take up far too much room, would decimate the trees around them, but none broke or cracked.

  She grounded her bow. The majority of the enemy was no longer in the sky—Noah’s calling too powerful for even dragon shifters to resist. There was a reason he ruled the United States, and he was proving it.

  He’d have some words for the dragons, ones they might not be willing to hear. They’d stepped onto his territory, begun a war with an alpha who had done nothing to warrant it.

  Oh, yeah. They were in big trouble. Size didn’t matter when it came to shifters, only the inner strength.

  Now there was only Laurentiu to deal with. If they could kill the Prince, the rest of the clutch would give in. There would be a new Prince, and unless the clutch fought against it violently it would be Vasile, Trajan or Dragos.

  Mina couldn’t care less who ruled the dragons so long as they stopped attacking her mate.

  * * *

  Those loyal to Laurentiu continued the battle, their focus solely on destroying the Throne. They dodged the owl shifters, swatted at the vampires, even tried to take out the shining white figure as it broke through the treetops, heading toward another injured combatant. They would not stop until either Laurentiu was defeated or the order was given to retreat.

  His father had only done that once before. Laurentiu still refused to speak of it.

  Off to his right a pale blue dragon roared, flame spouting from between his lips. Vasile didn’t hesitate, attacking the dragon with a fierce determination that led Dragos to believe there was some bad blood between the two.

  “Lezeu. He fought Vasssili for hisss posssition, cheated and earned Father’s approval. He almossst killed our brother. He’sss now one of Father’ss generalssss.”

  Of course Laurentiu had approved. If Vasile had died in the ring, he would have been viewed as weak, unworthy of the title of Prince. It would also have eliminated a rival of his blood, a successor the clut
ch would accept without question. “Then by all meanssss, let’ss kick hisss asssssss.”

  The two banked, flying toward where Vasile battled Lezeu. Dragos flamed the pale blue dragon, trying to avoid striking Vasile. His brother was caught in Lezeu’s jaws, his forearm cracking audibly. Vasile shrieked in agony, pulling away from the sharp teeth embedded in his arm.

  Trajan raked Lezeu with his claws, trying to get the dragon to release his brother. Dragos flew above and tried to force Lezeu down, but Lezeu dodged, tagging Trajan and making him bleed.

  But they accomplished what they’d set out to do. Lezeu released Vasile, and their brother renewed his attack, dripping blood but undeterred.

  Dragos flinched away as something dove at him, biting into his tail. Another dragon—this one so dark a blue he appeared almost black—had latched onto him and tried to shake him like a terrier with a rope.

  I don’t think so.

  Dragos shifted to his human form so quickly he doubted the other dragon even saw the change. Without a tail, he was free to move, diving under the rival dragon then switching back to dragon form. He drove his horns into the dragon’s belly.

  Hot blood poured over his head and into his eyes, blinding him. The dark dragon howled, tugging free of Dragos’s horns before departing from the field of battle. It was a dire wound, one that would prove fatal if he didn’t seek medical attention.

  Dragos doubted the dragon would. His father had no tolerance for failure. That warrior would likely die, alone and in agony.

  Wiping the blood from his eyes revealed the clutch winning. More than half the town’s vampires were on the ground or dangling from trees, either dead or unconscious. The owl shifters had been decimated, the few left struggling to retreat.

  Of the night-time flyers only a few were left.

  Out of the corner of his eye he saw Parker take to the air once more as the forest flooded with light, startling the clutch. Mina was using her powers, giving herself an advantage.

  Arrows began to fly as the Queen of the Forest entered the battle once more. From below, the howl of the hamadryad sounded, the trees responding to her call. Amara was climbing, using Greer’s trick of gliding easily from branch to branch before latching onto a dragon and pulling him down under the canopy.

  From the ensuing screams, Amara’s tactic had been brutally effective.

  Water blasted into the sky like a cannon, shoving a violet dragon into a white one and knocking them both for a loop. Another floundered, gasping as a popping sound told Dragos that the air elementals had joined the fray. They alone of the elementals were capable of flight, joining their brethren in the sky and sending gale-force gusts at the clutch. Another dragon was pulled violently from the sky, his wings snapping like twigs under the force of a gravity no mortal could withstand.

  “About time they joined in the fun.” Parker, a cheeky grin on his face, waved to one of the air elementals as the woman dove by. “Hello, Mrs. Robinson! How’s your boy?”

  “Fine, thank you, Dr. Hollis.” The woman made a pulling motion, and a dragon floundered. “And Amara?”

  “Having far too much fun, I assure you.” Parker laughed as a brown-tinged hand rose from the forest canopy and pulled down another dragon. “You think she’ll want one as a pet?”

  Dragos needed to ignore their antics. The clutch would adapt, would begin to respond to the new, unexpected threat. They would—

  An angry howl rent the night air. A familiar one, answered by every wolf in the forest.

  Noah had arrived, and he was pissed. Dragos could feel that howl, deep in the part of himself that was still shifter, still wanted to bow before an alpha, pulling him to the ground to be judged.

  Dragos fought it. His vampiric half was the stronger of the two, but it was a struggle. It was the first time he’d felt the full force of Noah’s fury, and it tugged at his senses, demanding he obey.

  The alpha called, forcing the lesser shifters around him to submit, his strength greater than some of the clutch had ever faced before. Laurentiu was the only one capable of forcing the clutch to disobey so strong an alpha. Despite the difference of species, Noah was more than capable of ending the conflict simply by forcing his will upon the dragons.

  Trajan winced, descending to the forest floor, answering the call. Several of the clutch followed him down—more from Laurentiu’s side than he’d expected. Those who’d chosen to withdraw when Vasile and Trajan took the field succumbed more slowly, but they inevitably did, taking human form along with their brethren when their feet touched soil.

  Dragos looked around to see who was left, and blinked in shock.

  Vasile remained in the air, seemingly unaffected, his battle with Lezeu continuing unabated. The only other dragon left in the sky was—

  A terrible pain dug into his skull with white-hot claws, and Dragos knew no more.

  Chapter Eleven

  Mina looked back to the sky just as a dragon call trumpeted through the air, and cursed. A dragon was falling straight toward the Throne, changing in midair to...

  Mina ran. If Dragos hit the ground at that angle he’d break his neck. He might survive, but he’d never walk again. Not even vampires could sustain an injury like that and not be affected. Desperately calling on the forest for aid, she dashed toward where he would impact.

  She had to catch him.

  Soft moss grew at her command, twice its normal size—a cushion for her lover to break his fall. Branches moved out of his way, giving him a clear path to the ground. Vines moved, not under her power, breaking his fall, slowing him down.

  Amara was taking care of her friend.

  A glow surrounded him, slowing him further as Selena hovered over him, her hand extended. The tree of life blazed on her forehead. She was healing him as he fell—Ash holding her steady as the broom wobbled. He would leap, taking the witch doctor with him if the strain became too much and the broom fell.

  Greer, his orange-and-blond hair soaked in sweat, dashed into the Throne, tugging Mollie behind him. “Watch her.”

  And Greer, deadly, silent, and swift, leapt into the air, snagging Dragos and rolling until he was on the bottom, taking the majority of the impact on himself. Mina could hear the snap of bone as they landed in the moss, Dragos’s dead weight breaking something in Greer.

  Mollie’s jaw dropped practically to her knees as everything in the Throne went silent. Even the continuing battle between one of the Ibanescu brothers and the pale blue dragon had broken off—the darker dragon drifting over the Throne and releasing a mournful cry that broke Mina’s heart.

  “No.” Mina raced forward. She couldn’t lose another, couldn’t lose Greer as well as Iva. Her heart couldn’t take it.

  Dragos was unconscious, barely breathing, bleeding from a wound on his head. His arm rested at a crooked angle, broken, his legs tangled with Greer.

  Bark-covered hands lifted Dragos away from her, off of Greer. Mina nodded her thanks to Amara. Dragos would live. His presence was a heartbeat in her mind, soft and slow from his injuries, but there. She looked down, and shattered.

  Greer wasn’t breathing.

  “Move, Mina.” That soft whisper barely reached her.

  Mina took a step back, distantly aware that she was obeying the one voice that could move her from Greer’s side, the one person who could save him. Already the leaves of the Throne’s Birch were dropping green tears, mourning the loss of its dryad.

  A glowing white figure stepped daintily into the moss next to Greer, its silver hooves silent and sure. His long white mane ruffled in a breeze only he felt. The tip of his horn—glittering with a magic Mina could barely understand—dipped down and touched Greer’s chest.

  Greer heaved in a breath as the light enveloped him. His brown eyes opened so wide she was afraid they’d pop right out of his skull. He thrashed as the light brightened around him, healing the damage he’d taken onto himself to save Dragos.

  The light gradually dimmed, and the unicorn stepped back, the swish
of his tail the only sound.

  Mina knelt before the unicorn, her head bowed, her hand on her heart. “My lord. Thank you.”

  The silver horn touched her cheek, came away from her with a single tear on its tip, one she hadn’t known she’d shed. She lifted her head and watched the unicorn majestically cross the grove, his head held high, the silver horn lighting his way. She refrained from calling out to him.

  She would keep his secret. None would know how Dominic had saved Greer. But she’d been unable to stop herself from offering her thanks in the only way she could, by honoring him. Not even before Dragos would the Queen of the Forest kneel, but before Dominic she would, and gladly. She only hoped Dominic understood.

  Something told her he would.

  When the last of the unicorn’s light had faded away she turned to Dragos. Selena was at his side, her own healing magic working its wonders on the vampire. He was already awake, aware, and from the look in his eyes he’d seen everything.

  Had Dragos known what lived in their midst? The rarest, most precious creature on earth, one of the last of his kind, and he hid here, in tiny Maggie’s Grove?

  Crap. If the Van Helsings found out about Dominic nothing would keep them out of Maggie’s Grove. The magic properties of a unicorn’s horn were legendary, even among humans. They would kill him and take it from him, believing it would hold Dominic’s magic long after the man was dead.

  They’d be wrong. Only a pure soul could wield the magic of a unicorn’s horn. If Dominic died, if his horn was taken, the only way to wield it then would be to place it in the hands of a creature even rarer than Dominic.

  A person with no darkness in their soul.

  No such person existed. The horn’s magic would quickly fade, but not before it acted, not before it performed some small magic that would make the humans believe it still worked. They’d try everything to get that magic back, but nothing would ever do so.

  Thus the hunt would begin again. Another unicorn slaughtered for his magic, another life lost to greed and a desire for power unearned. The unicorns had been hunted to near extinction for a magic that could not be passed on, no matter what the legends said.