Northern Realm Royal Dragons Shifter Boxset Bks 2-5

by Lisa Daneils

  “We are about to make plans for our departure. The men who are injured will stay here, but the rest of us should be able to leave tomorrow morning. We’ve procured another carriage and more horses to draw it.”

  “Could I ask you to procure a horse for me? That’s two carriages in the last two years, and I’m getting a bit superstitious about my odds in one.”

  He tilted his head to the side. “I don’t think it will be safe for you to travel on horseback.”

  “I did not ask for your opinion on the matter, I asked if you would procure an additional horse.”

  Clark frowned at her. The queen was clearly agitated about something, but a male voice spoke up before he could respond.

  “Can’t go disappointing your queen now, can you?” Greyson approached them, his eyes never once looking at Rhionnan. “Get her a horse to shut her up. Otherwise, you are just spinning your wheels.”

  Clark’s arm shot out to grab Greyson. To his shock, his hand was easily batted away, then the queen stepped between him and the strange man who dared to say something so rude about the queen. Rhionnan shook her head, “Leave it, Sir Newman. Just please procure me a horse.”

  He glowered at Greyson, his eyes flashing. “I’m sorry, Your Majesty, but I cannot just leave that kind of insult.”

  “You can. And you will. Show some self-restraint.” Her eyebrows knitted together.

  Giving her a small nod, he stepped back. “I will see what I can do. But I need to know who this is and if he is going to be sticking around here for much longer. Since I am responsible for getting us home safely, I will not allow some interloper to put us in danger. Also, I don’t think I will be able to find two horses on such short notice.”

  Greyson waved him off, “No need to worry, my boy. I’m not so weak that I need a horse to carry me.”

  It was obviously an insult to him, but that put the knight on better footing. “Good,” Clark said, his hands still clenched in fists. Then it clicked that there would have been no reason for him to get the man a horse anyway. He wasn’t traveling with them. “Don’t let us stop you from whatever business you are on.”

  “Oh, I’m not going anywhere.”

  Both the knight and the queen exchanged a look before Clark asked, “And what do you mean by that?”

  “I’ve had a request from a… friend. I’ll be escorting you the rest of the way to the palace.”

  Rhionnan’s heart stopped at the idea. “Why… what friend of yours would care about us?”

  Greyson didn’t even look at her—his eyes were trained on the knight. “Notice that she didn’t say no to me. Oh, how will the man respond to such a curious acceptance?”

  The knight looked at the queen, then back at the stranger. “She didn’t say yes either. That means she hasn’t accepted your presence.”

  Rhionnan felt the world stand still as two paths opened in front of her. It was obvious that the shape shifters were again after her. If it had been just her, she would have told Greyson to leave, but the idea of Cinthia being in danger again was enough to make her reject the idea that they should travel without his help. No matter how much he pretended, it was obvious that he was not happy with helping. Yet he was doing it. Rhionnan could not fathom that there was anyone that they both knew who could persuade him. “He will travel with us.”

  She began to walk away from them, her head down.

  When she was out of earshot, Greyson gave a cold laugh, “You are going to have a long, difficult road if you think you can marry her.”

  “I have no such designs on my queen.”

  “Oh, really. Do tell.” Greyson’s voice was mocking, but Clark couldn’t help but speak honestly.

  “Would you look at a bride on her wedding day and think, ‘That’s the girl for me’?” Sir Newman asked, his arms folded across his chest. His eyes looked over the stranger, and the knight began to take in some strange aspects of the man, from his startling red hair to the eyes that looked like they were on fire. Obviously he and the queen knew each other, but he didn’t feel he could ask how the queen knew the stranger.

  Greyson laughed, but his response was not what the knight expected. “Of course not. I’ve been to the only wedding I will ever attend, and, well, let’s just say that my interest in taking a human as a bride is about as high as my interest in taking a dung beetle to bed.”

  This pricked at the knight, and he frowned at the man beside him. “Are you suggesting that you aren’t human, then?”

  “You’ve seen me in action, my good man.” Something in the way he said it let the knight know that Greyson meant that more as an insult than anything. He was thrown off balance as Greyson slammed a hand against his back in a machismo move that let the knight know who had more strength. “You know that I’m not a human.” With that, Greyson began to walk away.

  “When did I see you in action?” he called out to the retreating back.

  Without turning, Greyson shouted, “Ask that woman you’re so in love with.”

  An image of the queen passed through his mind, and Clark began to blush. As if to hide this, he said, “What exactly are you suggesting about the queen? That she is in league with those loathsome shifters?”

  Greyson stopped and turned back around, his eyes flashing dangerously for a second. Then a smile tweaked up half of his mouth. “So you admit that you are in love with the queen? They say it is always best to be honest.”

  “I never said—” Too late, Clark realized his mistake.

  “You know exactly what you did.” Greyson’s expression was like that of a cat who had cornered its prey. “But don’t worry. They are also quite wrong.”

  “What?” Clark had lost the thread of the conversation between his shame and rising anger.

  “Being honest is about as advisable as cutting off your arm to cure a papercut. If you have a secret, keep it to yourself. All honesty will get you is ridicule and pain. Especially where she is concerned.”

  Clark clenched his teeth, “Exactly what are you trying to say?”

  “Such simple-minded creatures,” Greyson rolled his eyes. “I’m saying that what you feel for her, you are going about it the right way. Keep hiding it. All that woman can bring is pain and misery.”

  “You know nothing about her if you can say that.”

  “I dare say I know far more about that human than you know. And I’m trying to give you helpful advice because you seem like a decent human. You are welcome to ignore it if you want. It matters not to me.” He threw a hand up as if to dismiss the whole thing, then turned to leave.

  “What are you if you aren’t human? What else is there besides human and shifter?”

  “Ask your queen,” was Greyson’s response as he walked into the darkness.

  Clark was considering if he should chase the stranger when a cheery voice behind him interrupted his musings.

  “Let him be. Poor Greyson has been through more than his share of pain, and when it comes to the queen, his knowledge is beyond what anyone else understands about her. Give him some space, and show compassion. He has loved the queen far longer than you.” With that, Cinthia reached up and patted Clark’s shoulder. “Now, let’s go get something to drink. Two days of this kind of drama reminds me why I have stayed so close to the palace all of these years.”

  The knight looked down at her and couldn’t help but smile. “Isn’t the palace all about drama?”

  “Of course. But they are far less clever. It’s like watching kittens and puppies playing. And the stakes are insignificant.”

  “I definitely agree with you there, Lady Cinthia.” Holding out an arm, he escorted the lady back to the inn.

  Chapter 4

  Prologue

  Greyson had arrived in the room long before his friends or brother. Pacing around the edges, he was more like a tiger trapped in a cage. Liam was forcing him—all of them—to do something that Greyson had already proven was a bad idea. Perhaps he had never gone as far as their fathers were now forcing them,
but Greyson had gone far enough to know that none of the princes would ever be happy with what they were being forced to do. The eldest prince of the Golden Kingdom was even more concerned about what it would do to his brother. Liam was always trying to do what was right, constantly sacrificing himself. Greyson had seen it time and time again, but nothing he said or did ever convinced his brother that something was a terrible idea. Everyone knew that Liam would make a better king, but for that to happen, Greyson would have to die.

  It had been clear for a while now that the land was trying to bond with Liam, and Greyson could feel it drain some of his power and life. Of course his brother didn’t know, and neither Greyson nor his father would ever tell the younger prince just how detrimental to his brother the dual bonding was. It was bad enough that Liam already knew that it was bad for the lands as there were obvious signs of problems in the lands themselves. What he didn’t know was that for every action he took in an attempt to be responsible, that action drew life from his brother. The lands would bond to the king and an heir—it was never meant to bond between two princes while still being bonded to the king.

  If Liam had been allowed to marry Ethan’s sister, things could have been resolved. Liam loved her, and Greyson knew that she felt the same way. Liam would have left the Golden Kingdom, and his new home wouldn’t have made any attempt to bond with him since he was not of the blood of the current bond. Then the princess had gone and agreed to another marriage, and Liam was now looking for a way to escape. Never once did he complain or say that it bothered him, but Greyson knew that it did. Whatever his father had offered Liam was irrelevant—Liam was doing this to forget a hope that he had been harboring most of his life.

  Gods damn you, Father. It’s like you are trying to tear apart the kingdom. Greyson slammed a fist down on the table. Realizing that he was too emotional, he tried to collect his thoughts. Running his hands through his thick, red hair, Greyson knew that he was going to keep doing what he always did, and he didn’t want anyone to be the wiser for it. A quick reflection of his expression reminded the heir to the Golden Kingdom that he had never been good at controlling his emotions, though. Narrowing his eyes, Greyson glared intently into the reflection of his golden-red eyes.

  There were more important things to worry about, and Greyson really did not like that he was now having to deal with one more thing. Liam was again forcing things to move faster than was healthy.

  Long before anyone else had realized that the shape shifters had started attacking again, Greyson had known. He had known because he had once been in love with a human, and it was her kingdom that they had first started attacking. Greyson had his first encounter with the vile hybrid humans when he had first met the princess. He had not been entirely kind during that first meeting, but the princess had still been entirely gracious, perhaps out of shock. From that first day, she had known what he was because it had been impossible to hide how he had literally come bursting into view as her carriage was being attacked. That encounter had made him curious about her because she had not reacted as he had expected. Then things began to change, but he never knew why. Her acceptance of him had changed over a year’s time, and she grew increasingly distant. Finally, she had refused to see him at all.

  Greyson had made the mistake of confiding in Liam about the relationship, and his brother had told their father. The betrayal that Greyson had felt had never entirely faded either, though he never brought it up—even after their father had insisted that they both marry humans. Following the announcement that all of the heirs were to wed humans, Greyson had actually attacked the king. It was the only time that had happened, and Liam’s intervention was the sole reason that Greyson had not ended up killing the king. Since then, Greyson had seen little of his family, choosing instead to fight the shapeshifters abroad than to deal with a kingdom that seemed to neither want nor need him.

  He hadn’t been back for more than a few minutes when Liam had barged into his room and told Greyson that the other princes were coming. It was the only way that Greyson would listen to him—bring the other princes around, and the heir to the Golden Kingdom’s throne would at least attend. It was important to keep up family appearances.

  Even sadder, it was evident that Liam wasn’t entirely aware of how Greyson felt. To the young prince, his actions had been entirely necessary to keep Greyson from marrying a human. All Liam had needed to do was to wait for the relationship to end as it was certain to, and the king would never have needed to know. Greyson had tried to forgive his brother; Liam never meant to harm him. But Greyson had never been able to trust him since the day Liam had told their father about Greyson’s affair with a human.

  So Greyson had been fighting the shape shifters on his own for more than a decade now with no one seeming to know that they had returned, capable of imitating the dragon shifters. Greyson had been trying to figure out how they had managed to learn it, but he also knew that they weren’t all that threatening when they succeeded. Not unless the person they were facing was a human, and then it really didn’t matter what form they took. Humans were so fragile.

  After all, shape shifters were just magically mutated humans—their small forms were incapable of such a drastic change without doing themselves irreparable harm. It was not a weakness of a real shifter.

  But somehow the kings had learned that the human realms had been dealing with them, and now the dragon shifter kings were using the return of the shape shifters to justify something that was taboo—marrying humans. Worse still, they were forcing the heirs to the throne to do it. A dragon shifter coupling with a human was reckless enough, but to force it on the heirs made it seem like the kings were trying to undermine their kingdoms.

  Greyson felt his blood beginning to pump faster, and he quickly worked to cool himself off. Moving to the window, he stared until he saw the familiar shape of Ethan nearing the palace. Of course Ethan would arrive before Aiden.

  The prince’s eyes were on the figure as it shifted into human form and entered through one of the doors a few rooms over. Behind him, Liam spoke, “Greyson.” His younger brother’s voice was as soft and calming as ever. And it made Greyson grit his teeth.

  Without turning around, the heir said, “What do you want, Liam?”

  “I just want things to work out well for all of us.”

  Greyson scoffed, then moved to a table in the shadow of the room. He had nothing to say to that and really did not want to be arguing with Liam when Ethan entered.

  Soon Ethan strode into the room, keeping Liam from saying whatever it was he had hoped to say. Ethan and Liam chatted, leaving Greyson to stare out at the night’s sky. It was clear that they were trying to give him space so as not to start off the discussion with an argument. Not too much later, Aiden shot through the window, rolling to a stop, then stretching more like a cat than anything else. Greyson couldn’t help but smile at the absurdity of it. Aiden gave him a look before greeting the other two princes.

  Of all of them, Greyson felt the closest to Aiden, despite the fact that they talked the least. There was an understanding between the two princes who both exhibited alarming amounts of indifference about the world around them. Whatever it was that Aiden was dealing with, Greyson knew that it was every bit as serious as what he was doing. And he was not about to ask. He had flown over Aiden’s future kingdom many times in the past few years, and it was clear there was something very wrong. If Aiden wanted help, he would ask for it. If not, Greyson was not about to force him to confide.

  Liam and Ethan never had any idea when something was seriously wrong, not unless they were told—they always expected people to inform them of issues. If Greyson and Aiden could have kept it that way, they would have. Liam and Ethan were so innocent, it was almost painful to see them learning the lessons that Greyson and Aiden had known for most of their lives.

  Taking a deep breath, Greyson’s eyes went to the window as the usual pleasantries were exchanged, then Liam made his “big” announcement. Greyso
n had already guessed what it was his brother was going to say, and he felt certain that the other princes were just as sure of what was coming. The difference was their reactions. Greyson barely paid any attention to the news and the reactions of his friends.

  None of it mattered. As soon as the day was over, he would prepare to leave again. All he needed was a few days to rest so that he could resume fighting. Perhaps if he died, Liam would be able to finally stop worrying about the Golden Kingdom and could assume the place everyone knew better suited him than Greyson.

  Lost in thought, Greyson missed a majority of the exchange. It was only when Ethan stood up and walked toward his brother that Greyson was pulled back into the present.

  Ethan’s voice had a forced friendliness to it. “Liam, you really don’t have to be doing this yet. We still have time, you know. I mean, a year is still a pretty long time, and you deserve your freedom for a bit longer.” To emphasize this, he gave Liam a firm slap on the back, causing the young prince to stumble forward a little. “I don’t even understand why you agreed to this. It’s not like you have any reason to marry one of them.”

  From his place away from the group, Greyson watched them with a sense of detachment.

  A laugh escaped Ethan, but Liam simply shook his head. “I’m not as afraid of it as you guys. As for my reasons…” He simply shrugged.

  Aiden displayed his usual feigned indifference, and for a moment Greyson was jealous of just how well he had mastered it. If only Greyson could hide his emotions half so well as Aiden.

  Ready to give up, Ethan muttered, “Here we go again,” and walked back to his seat, his hands clenched into fists.

  Liam’s brows knit together for a second before he let a small smile turn up the side of his mouth. “Feel free to keep fighting. I may not be happy with our options, but I like to think it might not be quite so bad as we’ve heard.”

  “Is that why you are doing this? To show us that it isn’t so bad, and hope that it will be convincing? You do realize that would mean overlooking the fact that they are human. How could it not be worse than we are expecting?” Aiden looked at him intently, his face still resting in his hand.