by Donna Grant
What was going on? The council conversing in such quiet tones while she stood there waiting to give her report told her that whatever they were discussing involved her or Varek. Her stomach tightened at the thought. Had they found out she was withholding information? Had they learned about her questions? Or worse, did they know she was the one who had captured Varek by crossing their border?
Jeyra’s hands grew clammy, and she felt nauseous. She needed to sit down to combat the roiling of her stomach, but the only chairs in the room were for the council members. Her other option was the floor. And, quite frankly, at that moment, it sounded like a great choice if she didn’t wish to be sick in front of everyone.
She parted her lips and breathed through her mouth as sweat broke out across her forehead. Her eyes darted about, trying to find escape routes if guards came for her. She might not have any weapons, but the warriors in the room did. Granted, they were more highly trained than she was, but she wasn’t without tricks. She could get a weapon off them, and the moment she did, it would even things considerably.
That was only if the three warriors in the room came at her. If the guards joined in, she wouldn’t last long against those odds.
She’d realized sometime last night during another fitful sleep that things couldn’t continue as they were. The gossip about her had drawn more attention than she wanted, making it more difficult for her to gain answers. The fact that she couldn’t find anything meant that she had to ask more people, bringing more attention to herself. And all without learning anything relevant.
Suddenly, the door behind her opened, causing her to jump in surprise. Jeyra saw the warriors near the council table watching her. Her surprise showed them that she was lost in thought instead of focused on things in the room.
The guard walking past her caught her attention. She followed him with her eyes to the council table as all five stopped talking and listened raptly as the guard leaned forward over the table and whispered something to Arn. The council leader gave a nod to the guard, who turned on his heel and strode out. But not before cutting his eyes to her with a smirk.
Jeyra frowned, wondering what the guard was sneering at. Whatever it was, it didn’t bode well for her. The nausea returned with a vengeance. She had never dealt well when she thought she might be punished. It’s why she rarely broke the rules. She had only done it to capture a Dragon King because she had wanted justice.
Arn cleared his throat. “Jeyra.”
She forced her fingers to remain loose instead of curling into fists that always showed her apprehension. “Yes.”
“The Dragon King, Varek, has been in our dungeon for ten days now. You are making strides, but not nearly enough. We need more.”
Her gaze skimmed each of the members’ faces before returning to Arn. “You make it sound as if you want something in particular.”
Arn smiled, causing a chill to race down her back. “We want to know if he has a spouse.”
“What?” she asked before she could think. She was so shocked.
Arn shrugged, his lips turning down at the corners. “Our two species have long been in conflict. Perhaps it’s time that changes.”
“How would that even work? They’re dragons.”
Palmira snorted loudly, chewing on a sweet. “You know perfectly well how it would work since you’ve been speaking with Varek. Had you not seen him in his dragon form, you wouldn’t even know he was a Dragon King.”
“That begs the question,” Sateen said, “what color dragon is Varek?”
Jeyra’s gaze slid to the eldest of the council. Sateen was petite with a frail frame, her back hunched with age. She always wore a smile, but that belied that she was the most conniving and lethal of all the council. Sateen’s hair was completely white, her eyes a faded gray. She ruled her family and province with an iron fist. No one went up against her. The few who did and managed to win never lived long enough to enjoy it.
Of course, it would be Sateen who asked something Jeyra didn’t know. Then she remembered that Varek had mentioned it in one of his stories. She lifted her chin and locked gazes with the councilwoman. “Lichen.”
“Lichen?”
This from the only other male on the council. Alvin was a buffoon. Jeyra had long thought the pudgy, middle-aged man with his round face and narrow-set brown eyes was simply a pawn. Everyone knew his domineering wife ran things in their marriage. Alvin’s hair was always falling into his face, despite the heaps of pomade he used to control it.
Fu cut him a side-eye since he was beside her. “It’s a grayish-green.”
Alvin put his hands over his rounded stomach and lowered his eyes, properly put in place.
Jeyra’s heart raced. Why was the council asking such questions? These didn’t seem particularly important. Shouldn’t they want to know his power? How big he was? How many dragons he commanded?
“Let’s get back to the original discussion,” Arn said in his most chastising voice. He focused on Jeyra. “We would like for you to see if Varek might be interested in brokering peace between our species—with marriage.”
Jeyra was horrified on Varek’s behalf. Why did anyone think that marriage could resolve things? It might if two people who loved each other got to spend the rest of their lives together, but those who did it merely because they were forced to… No. It was wrong.
“Be sure and tell him that if he agrees, it will speed up his release.”
All the breath left Jeyra as she blinked at Arn, not sure she’d heard him right. “I-I thought Varek was going to trial to pay for what was done to us.”
“We decided on an alternative plan,” Arn told her. “In part because of how much information Varek has given you. We realized his capture could bring us something more.”
“And those of us who are looking for justice? Who need it?” Jeyra heard her voice rising, but she couldn’t seem to stop it. “I watched my family be slaughtered. Now, you’re talking about taking one of our women and giving her to a Dragon King in the hopes it brings peace?”
Fu raised her brows as she set her hands carefully on the table. “What would you have us do? Continue on as we are? Kill a Dragon King for your justice? Do you honestly think they wouldn’t find out? The dragons would retaliate. Then we will. Then they will. It’s how it’s been done for as far back as I can remember. It’s time for a change.”
“The dragons’ land is four times the size of ours. With the babies constantly arriving, we need more land,” Palmira said.
Land? This came down to land? How could they think more was needed? Jeyra rode across huge swaths of land that weren’t being farmed or used. Held by the likes of Fu, Sateen, and other wealthy individuals, just to say they had it. When, in fact, it could be used. And should be used before even thinking of brokering any kind of peace with the dragons.
Arn caught her attention. “We’ll wait for his response in the morning.”
Jeyra was so furious she shook. She turned and walked out on wooden legs, anger churning like a violent storm within her. She couldn’t wait to get to Varek and tell him what had occurred here. The audacity of even the thought of a treaty with the dragons.
She suddenly drew up short outside the council building as it hit her that her hatred for dragons didn’t seem to extend to Varek anymore. Could it be because she knew that he wasn’t from their realm, and therefore hadn’t been responsible for the deaths? She wasn’t sure she wanted to delve into that particular thought to find out more.
When she finally made her way to the dungeon, it was just past noon. Her footsteps quickened the closer she got to him. She even felt a small bit of excitement at the prospect of seeing Varek. Telling him what all had transpired.
Her subconscious gave a very loud snort.
The smile froze on Jeyra’s face when she saw Varek sitting on the stool wearing a brown tunic. The sleeveless top accentuated his muscular arms. As her gaze drifted downward, she realized there was another change—his chains had been removed.
She jerked her gaze to his face. “I see you had a visitor.”
“Aye. Same silent man who brought me the stool and water bucket some days ago.”
Jeyra slowly made her way to the prison bars and stuck her arm through to give Varek the bag of food. When he took it from her, their fingers brushed. A shock went through her and made her breath catch. She refused to look at him in case he noticed.
“You appear troubled,” Varek said.
She nodded and sat down to lean to the side and brace herself against the bars. “It’s been an interesting morning.”
“I know you’re a capable woman, but I feel the need to warn you. You’re delving into things that others want quiet. That could mean you might come to harm if you are no’ careful.”
Jeyra stared into his dark eyes, wondering why she felt better now that she was with him. All morning, she had wanted to rush to him. And now that she was here, she could breathe easier. It was probably because she didn’t have to worry about others watching her as they did when she was on the streets.
She slowly released a breath. “I was followed last night.”
Varek had the food halfway to his mouth when he stopped, his brow furrowing. “You were no’ harmed, were you?”
“You make it sound as if you would go after them if I were.”
“Were you harmed?” he repeated, his voice lowering dangerously.
Jeyra stared in silent surprise because she honestly thought Varek would do exactly that. “I wasn’t.”
“Good.” He nodded. “What happened?”
She brushed some dirt off her boot. “I was looking for Rankin again while also carefully digging into the past. I found someone who remembered the attack on my family. I didn’t get much out of him, though. The minute I brought it up, he started drinking heavily.”
“Do you think he knows something?”
“I’m going to track him down later and hopefully find out.”
Varek gave her a stern look. “You were followed after talking to that man, aye?”
“How did you know?” she asked.
“Lass, they’ll be waiting for you to go find him again. You can no’.”
“But he has answers.”
“Find someone else.”
She rolled her eyes. “There isn’t anyone else.”
“You’re telling me a village as large as Orgate has no one who remembers when your family was killed? That could only have been about twenty years ago.”
Jeyra looked away and silently begged him not to go down that road of questioning.
“Lass?” Varek pressed. “What are you no’ telling me?”
Chapter Twelve
The longer it took Jeyra to meet his gaze, the more Varek knew her age was something he should’ve asked about much sooner. He had been taking her at face value, and as an immortal—or someone who had been immortal—he knew that was something he should never do.
“What does it matter?” she asked.
Varek remained silent, waiting for her amber eyes to meet his. It took several minutes, but she finally gave in and looked at him. “How old are you?”
“It depends on how you measure time. You might count it differently than we do.”
“Jeyra,” he said, talking over her.
She swallowed. “Two hundred seventy-seven.”
Now, that wasn’t something he’d been prepared to hear. He drew in a breath as he let the news settle. “Does everyone here have such a long life?”
Jeyra pressed her lips together and glanced at her hands folded in her lap. “About half. Some only live to be in their seventies, while others live hundreds of years.”
“The oldest?” he asked.
She thought about that for a moment. “That I can remember? A little over nine hundred.”
“When do you find out how you’ll age?”
“We usually begin to get a sense of things in our early thirties.” She shrugged. “No one knows why some of us live longer than others.”
But Varek did. At least, he thought he might. His thoughts had immediately turned to the Fae, but no Halflings on Earth lived long lives like the Fae. And the Fae he knew lived thousands of years, not hundreds. Could this be some other species he didn’t know about? Or was it something about the realm?
“The attack on your family happened some time ago,” Varek concluded.
Jeyra shrugged. “Yes.”
Varek rubbed his hands up and down his face as he sighed. “Now I understand your need to speak to the man from last night. I still doona think it wise.”
“I need answers, and I’m running out of time.”
That got his attention. “Why do you say that?”
“The reason I was late. The council wants something from you.”
Varek chuckled. “Something other than information?”
“They want to broker a deal of marriage.”
He was so taken aback that he couldn’t respond.
Jeyra shrugged. “It would mean your freedom. They said they’re tired of the constant war. They want peace. If you want my opinion, I think it’s ridiculous.”
“War? You’re at war with the dragons?”
“That might be too harsh of a word. We’re at…odds.”
“Dragons mate for life.”
“You said that.”
He gave a little shake of his head, his mind still trying to grasp what these humans—or whatever they were—wanted from him. “When a King takes a mate, she becomes immortal, as well. The only way she dies is if her dragon is killed.”
“What?” Jeyra asked with wide eyes. “You actually mean they’re immortal? Like you? You’ve lived… How long have you lived?”
Varek leaned forward and braced his forearms on his knees. “Bloody hell. This is a mess. I’ve lived millions of years.”
“More than one million?”
He nodded once.
“Damn. If you had taken a mate, then she would have lived all those years with you, then?”
“Indeed.”
“Do any dragons get it wrong? Do they take the wrong mate?”
“It’s a rare thing. As I said, we tend to know when we’ve found our mates.”
Her brows drew together. “If you say yes to their offer, you’ll be free. The council will release you.”
“But I’ll have to take someone that isna my mate as mine. I’ll be stuck with them forever.”
“So, you can’t set them aside?”
He gave her a dry look. “We mate for life.”
“So you’ve said several times,” she murmured, wrinkling her nose. “Freedom, or you can remain in here.”
He had no intention of remaining in the dungeon. He would get out one way or another, but it wouldn’t be by marrying some female he didn’t know, who wasn’t his mate. Now he knew why they’d given him a shirt and taken off the manacles.
“How was I captured?” he asked.
Jeyra’s gaze swung to him. “What?”
“How was I captured? I have no memories of the event. I remember being with my friend, and then I woke here.”
She shrugged and reached through the bars for the sack to rummage through it for the food he had set aside. Varek watched her, wondering who he could speak with to get that question answered. He wanted to know who’d taken him and why. That huge piece of the puzzle was still elusive.
“Do you think you could find out?” he asked.
Jeyra glanced away while putting food into her mouth.
“I know you don’t owe me anything, but I feel if I can find out who trapped me, that will help me figure out how to get out. Do you think it was someone from the council?”
She swallowed before answering. “They’re capable of anything. I know that for a fact.”
“Tell me again how you knew about the Dragon Kings? Have you met one before me? Has one been here?”
“A very long time ago, a Dragon King was here. It was before my t
ime. The border isn’t supposed to be crossed by them or us,” Jeyra explained.
Interesting. “Who put the border in place?”
“I don’t know. I don’t think I ever asked.”
“That isn’t part of your history?” he asked, confused that something like that wouldn’t have been shared.
She shrugged once more. “I don’t remember learning that.”
“Do you no’ find that odd? Unless you doona want to tell me.”
She lowered the food and shot him a flat look. “If I knew, I’d tell you.”
“There are simple things that you should know. Who decided on the border, when it was put in place. Things of that nature that everyone should know. Unless that information is purposefully being kept from you.”
Jeyra snorted and rolled her eyes. “Now that’s silly. Why would it be kept from us?”
“There are many reasons. See if you can find out. If the answer is easily attained, then it’s something they didna feel merited being passed on. However, if there is a war between your kind and the dragons, as you said, it seems the border and everything involving that should be something told to the young so they never forget.”
Jeyra tossed the uneaten food into the sack and twisted her lips. “You say sound things, and I’m appalled that I’ve never thought about any of it before.”
“Is there really a war? Is there a battle going on somewhere right now?”
“I might have exaggerated that,” she admitted with a twist of her lips. “There has always been a back and forth. A dragon will occasionally venture over the border and kill someone. We retaliate, and the cycle continues. The council thinks a marriage between the species will halt that.”
Varek had to admit the idea had merit. “Perhaps for your village, but I doubt that would apply to every human. You said yourself, there are more.”
“Many more. I believe we have land aplenty, but the council said today that the marriage would also be about getting the dragons to give up some of their land. The council claims the dragons have four times what we have.”
Varek shook his head and straightened in his seat. “Ah. History repeating itself, except on another planet.”
