Dragon Revealed: A Dragon Kings Novella

by Donna Grant

  “Then the hidden doorway will be near her residence.”

  “We can’t go onto the property,” Jeyra replied in agitation.

  Varek quirked a brow at her. “You wanted a battle with the guards. We need that door. And if they willna let us in, I doona see another way around it.”

  She smiled then and paused to bend down and retrieve a long knife from her boot. “Good thing I picked this up, then.”

  Varek winked. She didn’t return the weapon to her boot. Instead, she flipped the handle around so the blade rested against her forearm.

  “Sateen’s personal guards are the most vicious of all the families. They show no mercy. If you’re on her property, they’ll kill you first and ask questions later.”

  “Sounds verra much like some of the Dark Fae I know.”

  They grew quiet as they approached the mansion. The iron gate allowed them a glimpse of the impressive grounds. There was no guardhouse. In fact, the property didn’t appear to be guarded at all, but Varek suspected that was all a ruse. Since the district wasn’t gated, and anyone could come to it, the few idiots who thought they could steal something from Sateen’s house would have another thing coming.

  Varek drew them to a halt. He looked for a way around the side of the walled boundary, but since the houses on either side of Sateen’s also had fences, there was no going around. The only way to find what he wanted was to go through.

  “I’m ready,” Jeyra said.

  He glanced at her and grinned as he dropped his bag. “We need to move fast.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  The moment Varek gave her a boost over the wall and Jeyra landed on the other side, she was met by a melee of fists and feet. She defended herself as best she could and didn’t have time to look for Varek as she fought to stay alive. The guards had weapons, and while she dodged a spear, she came close to being skewered by a sword. The dagger she picked up was quickly knocked from her hand, preventing her from using it.

  One moment, she was in a whirlwind of battle. The next, she was standing with Varek as the six guards lay unmoving on the ground. She retrieved her knife, noting that she didn’t see any wounds on them, so she wasn’t sure if they were dead or unconscious. Suddenly, and before she could retrieve any more weapons, Varek unceremoniously jerked her out of her thoughts and pulled her after him as he began running toward the side of the estate. They just reached it when seven warriors came rushing toward them. Jeyra cocked her arm back, ready to release the knife and send it sailing into one of them when Varek stopped her.

  “Doona kill them,” he cautioned.

  She didn’t have time to argue the matter as the guards reached them. The only female came right at her. Jeyra eagerly met her opponent, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw the blur that was Varek. He fought with a speed she’d never seen before, used moves she hadn’t known were possible. He took a few hits, but only so he could get close enough to knock the warriors out.

  Jeyra motioned the woman toward her. The confidence in the female’s eyes didn’t frighten her. Jeyra had grown up fighting Rankin and other seasoned warriors. While this woman must be exceptional to have been hired by Sateen, Jeyra let the female’s overconfidence work in her favor.

  When the woman came at her with a kick, Jeyra ducked and then came up and rammed her elbow into the woman’s jaw. It stunned her, giving Jeyra the opportunity she needed to sweep the guard’s legs out from beneath her. A perfectly aimed hit on the jaw knocked the female out.

  Jeyra looked around for Varek. He had continued on and was even now fighting two more warriors. Jeyra jumped up and started running. When she reached the group, she dropped down, sliding on the grass between the man’s legs, punching him in the groin as she passed.

  “Great move,” Varek said as she slid to a halt and jumped to her feet.

  They shared a smile as they started to the back of the lawn. Plants were everywhere, making it difficult to find anything.

  “It’ll be hidden but easily accessible,” Varek said.

  Jeyra gazed around the estate. More guards were probably on their way. With the battle, she and Varek hadn’t had long to search. She went some distance before she realized that Varek wasn’t with her. She turned to find him staring at the manor. When she followed his gaze, she found Sateen walking toward them. Alone.

  The councilwoman used a cane, her gaze locked on Varek. Sateen all but ignored Jeyra and went to the Dragon King. Jeyra glanced around her, hoping to find the hidden door so she and Varek could get away before Sateen arrived.

  “A Dragon King,” the elderly councilwoman said as she approached, her voice strong but wobbling slightly with age.

  Varek bowed his head to her. “And you must be the great Sateen I’ve heard about.”

  Sateen snorted but smiled. “I’m sure nothing you heard was great.”

  “I apologize that we’ve been forced to come onto your property. None of your guards are dead, merely unconscious.”

  Jeyra looked to the sky in frustration. It was unfathomable that Varek would talk to a councilmember when they could be leaving. To her shock, he then met Sateen so she didn’t have to walk any farther.

  “I appreciate you not killing them,” the councilwoman said. “Good ones are hard to come by. I’m not shocked that you escaped. I made certain it was possible.”

  That caused Jeyra to frown. “You?”

  “Yes,” Sateen said with a flat look in her direction. The smile returned as she slid her gaze back to Varek. “I have been playing in politics from an early age. I’m good at it. Very good. There is much wrong with my city, many things that need to change. I feared that the only way to bring about that change was a civil war.”

  Jeyra found her mouth hanging open as she blinked at Sateen, unsure if she should believe her.

  “Then you were brought in.” Sateen glanced at Jeyra. “They’re going to kill her if they find her.”

  Varek nodded slowly. “I know.”

  “You need to get her as far from here as possible.”

  “That’s my plan.”

  “There is more you need to kno—”

  A shout interrupted Sateen. All three turned to see Rankin running their way.

  Jeyra rushed to Varek and took his hand. “We’ve got to go.”

  “Behind the lavender,” Sateen whispered. Then she turned to Rankin and called to him, “Stop the intruders!”

  Jeyra spun around as she and Varek rushed to the lavender. There was a slight break in the plants. Varek was the first through. He found the door and shoved it open before he thrust her through.

  She spun around at the sound of Rankin yelling her name. He skidded to a halt and looked between her and Varek. Then Rankin said, “She’s the one who trapped you, the one responsible for your capture.”

  Jeyra’s stomach plummeted to her feet as she stared in disbelief at the man who had been her friend.

  “I know,” Varek replied and slammed the door closed.

  Jeyra struggled to find something to say to Varek when he suddenly dropped to his knees, holding his head in his hands, pure anguish contorting his face. She rushed to him but hesitated to touch him since she wasn’t sure what was wrong with him.

  “Varek? What is it? What can I do?”

  His lips were peeled back, his eyes closed. He sat like that, unmoving for what felt like an eternity. Finally, he sucked in a breath and dropped his hands, but the agony still creased his visage.

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I should’ve told you it was me.”

  He got to his feet and shook his head. “I need to get across the border. Now.”

  She nodded and started running. He kept up with her, not talking. The entire time, Jeyra went through different conversations on how she might explain herself to Varek, but nothing could make up for what she had done. An apology would never undo the damage she had caused, but she had to try.

  They quickly ran across the open area of rolling hills into the forest. It took anoth
er hour before they reached the brook. She paused long enough to get a drink and catch her breath. Varek dropped to one knee and used his hand to cup water to his lips. She glanced his way, but he was looking around the area.

  He used the rocks in the water to cross. She was halfway across the stream when he threw out his arms and shouted with happiness. Sweat covered his face and matted his blond hair to his head, but she’d never seen anyone look as handsome as he did.

  Varek spun around to face her and dropped his arms. She met his dark gaze and waited for him to tell her that she was no longer welcome around him. Instead, he walked toward her and held out his hand. She hesitated, but he merely smiled in response.

  “Do you really think I didna figure out it was you? I suspected after I heard the story about your family, and you told me the council ordered you to interrogate me. You made a point of telling me later that you’re no’ trained in such tactics. It was a fair puzzle to solve, but I did solve it.”

  Jeyra shook her head in confusion. “But…if you knew, why did you want me to come? Is it to take me prisoner?”

  “Nay, lass,” he replied, never taking his gaze from hers.

  “Then…why?”

  “Because we have a connection.”

  There was a good chance he was lying, but Jeyra didn’t think that was the case. She slid her hand into his waiting one as he helped her across the stream. She didn’t need his aid, but she was glad he gave it. “I’m sorry.”

  “Doona be,” he told her. “Had you no’ captured me, I wouldna have met you. Or learned dragons are being tortured.”

  Her head snapped to him. “Tortured? Are you sure?”

  His face was grim, his lips pinched. “I heard them. Their screams are…terrible.”

  “Where are they? Can you help them?”

  He drew in a breath and looked at her, sadness in his brown depths. “In your city. And, aye, lass, I will help them.”

  She was so shocked that she didn’t know what to say. “That can’t be possible. We would’ve heard dragons. I know their roars. Nothing could stop something that loud from penetrating every building in Orgate.”

  “Nothing but magic.”

  She started to argue but realized there was nothing she could say.

  “I believe that was what drew me in the dungeons. When I wanted to go lower.”

  Jeyra found a boulder and sat. “I feel sick to my stomach. We might hate dragons, but we wouldn’t torture one. Mostly because we would never be able to hold it.”

  “As I told you, there are many different-sized dragons.”

  She looked up at him. “And what size are you?”

  “I doona think you’re ready to see that.”

  “I… Maybe not.” She swallowed, her mind racing with too many thoughts. “Had we gone down deeper into the dungeons, you wouldn’t have been able to free them without your magic or strength.”

  “I should’ve tried. I’m a Dragon King, lass. It is my duty to protect. I spent years safeguarding my clan, and I’ve spent eons looking after humans.”

  She got to her feet, nodded. “I want to help.”

  “You detest dragons.”

  “I need answers. To everything. I’ve been told all my life that dragons don’t come near us because of the barrier, yet dragons have crossed it and killed. I’ve always believed that they cross the border simply because they want to kill us for pleasure. What if…what if I’ve been wrong? What if they’re coming because they’re looking for the dragons you heard?”

  His lips flattened as he glanced at the ground. “I think that’s exactly why the dragons have been coming.”

  “M-maybe we captured a dragon to stop it from killing. Perhaps they intend to let it go. Or maybe it’s to make sure no more dragons attack us.”

  Varek said nothing to her comments. She knew her words were wishful thinking. “My whole world is blowing up.”

  “We doona know anything yet,” he cautioned her. “Keep an open mind.”

  She swallowed and shifted her feet. “I thought you were the enemy, but you aren’t. The dragons won’t feel the same way toward me. They’ll know I’m the enemy.”

  “You’ll be with me and under my protection.”

  “I don’t deserve it.”

  He pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head. “A lot has happened to you over a short period of time. Take it in, but doona pass judgment. All will sort itself out.”

  She wasn’t sure if that was possible, but she clung to the idea with everything she had. After a little while, Varek released her but took her hand as they started walking. The woods eventually faded away, and they came to a body of water.

  “A good place to make camp,” he said.

  Jeyra turned to look for wood, but he stopped her. In a blink, he had a fire started and food. There were also blankets and pillows and a thick piece of material held up by wooden stakes to provide shelter.

  “Eat,” Varek urged. “Rest.”

  The food smelled so good, she couldn’t resist. She sat and began to eat. The last thing she had consumed was a portion of Rankin’s soup the night before. She was famished and stuffed herself with the delicious food despite not really knowing what it was. Varek sat with her, and while he also sampled the fare, he did it much slower than she.

  With her belly full, a gentle breeze lulling her, and the water lapping, she soon found her eyes heavy. Unable to keep them open, she lay back on one of the large pillows with its bright colors to rest. The next thing she knew, she was asleep.

  Chapter Twenty

  The moment he knew Jeyra was asleep, Varek jumped to his feet and ran some distance away before he shifted and leapt into the sky, his wings taking him higher and higher. After fearing that he might never be in his true form again, it was exhilarating to fly once more. He drew in several deep breaths, letting the air rush over him, through him, while relishing the fact that everything he believed he’d lost was back.

  Varek wanted to spend more time simply taking in the fact that he was in dragon form once more, but there wasn’t time. He listened, hoping to hear the dragons. When he picked up nothing, he circled the loch and looked down at Jeyra. He wished he could take her with him, but she wasn’t ready. Not yet, at least. She needed time to accept everything he was.

  She had come a long way since trapping him, but he feared that forcing her would only cause her to backtrack. She was his mate, and he couldn’t lose her now that he’d found her. Therefore, he decided to leave her for the moment to see if he could find any dragons. Though he and Jeyra had walked some distance from the border, he suspected there likely wouldn’t be dragons anywhere close.

  Varek flapped his wings, propelling him faster through the sky, his eyes searching the air and the ground for any signs of his kin. He knew the dragons were there, but his need to see them warred with his desire to return to Jeyra. Her exhaustion would allow her to sleep for some time, but he didn’t want to chance her waking and finding him gone.

  No matter which way he traveled, the longer he went without seeing a dragon, the more anxious he became. For all he knew, they might be on the other side of the globe. It’s what any Dragon King would tell their dragons to do if humans had managed to capture some and torture them.

  Anger churned hotly within him. He had seen the mortals on his world do some despicable things to dragons and each other. He should no longer be shocked by their actions, but he was incensed. Affronted.

  Enraged.

  He was all of those things and more. And it reminded him why so many Dragon Kings—himself included—had joined Ulrik during their war with the mortals. Those thoughts made him think of the Pinks and their eradication. A clan of dragons was gone, simply because they had been easy to catch.

  He felt partly responsible for their demise. His lands had bordered the Pinks’. He’d known they’d been having issues with the humans. He should’ve checked in more with the King of Pinks. He should’ve done something. They might be alive now i
f he had.

  That line of thinking was never good. The past was over. What was done was done. Wishing it differently didn’t make it so. But he could—and would—do something about the dragons here. He wouldn’t sit by and allow more dragons to be harmed when he could stop it.

  He cleared his mind of Jeyra, the past, and his rage. Then he opened the mental link so he could speak to the dragons since he couldn’t find them. “I am Varek, King of Lichens. I’m from Earth and was brought to this realm. I’ve recently escaped Orgate. There are dragons there who need to be rescued. I intend to free them.”

  “We know who you are,” replied a male voice that didn’t seem at all happy to hear him.

  “Who are you?” he asked.

  The male sighed heavily in his mind. “Many have attempted to free our kin without success. Why do you think you’ll be any different?”

  “Because I’m no’ just going to storm in there thinking I can free them. I’m betting none of you have been in the city or know anything about the people there. I have, and I do. And I know where the dragons are.”

  “Have you seen them?” the male demanded.

  Varek was getting irritated, but he kept his temper in check. He had no idea what these dragons had been through. “I heard them. There’s only one place they could be. Now, are you going to help me or no’?”

  “Tell me where they are. This is none of your concern.”

  “They’re dragons. They are my concern. I’ll be around if you change your mind.”

  Varek severed the connection and dipped his wing to turn back toward Jeyra. Whoever he spoke with must be in charge. Was it Con and Rhi’s son? Varek had decided not to mention Con since the twins didn’t seem at all interested in their parents visiting.

  Everyone thought it was because the twins didn’t like their parents. He now wondered if it had something to do with the dragons being kept by the humans. Or a combination of the two. One way or another, Varek would sort it all out. And however Jeyra managed to get him here, he would get both of them back to Earth.

  But only after the dragons were saved.