Song of Smoke and Fire (Song of Dragonfire Book 1)

by Megan Linski

  What am I thinking? A dragon and a slave girl? It would never work. Smok’s sensible. He realizes that, and wants to stop what we’re doing before we get too carried away.

  My freedom is the most important thing. I must focus on that and ignore my silly feelings.

  It strikes me that if we find the queen, this could be my last day with Smok. The thought makes me want to cry. I want to ask him to stay, but after last night’s disaster I doubt he will. I’ll only be making a fool of myself.

  The rest of the way there I’m miserably contemplating how to say goodbye. These depressing thoughts are broken when I witness a strange sight upon the ocean floor.

  Buildings carved out from collections of boulders and towers made of rocks piled on top of each other create a messy and disorganized city, several leagues wide.

  From within them, strange creatures emerge. They have the upper halves of men and women, but the bottom halves of fish, with scales and large fins. All have gills on the sides of their necks. Their skin is a hazy-green color, like the turquoise gleam of the sea. Some wear clothes of algae, though most have opted to go topless.

  There are children and grown adults among the population. They stare at us as we pass by, but don’t do anything. They do not appear to be scared, nor offended. They simply watch as Smok sails lower and lower through the underwater city, until he’s slithering through the wide streets.

  “Smok, what are they?” I ask.

  “Merpeople,” Smok says. “Mermen, and mermaids.”

  “They’re not sirens?”

  “No. Sirens are different.” He glances backwards. “Don’t be afraid. They won’t harm you, not when you’re with me. They know who I am.”

  A group of mermen, who I assume are guards, close in around us on all four sides. Smok does nothing, only follows them silently as they maneuver us in a different direction, one that heads to the middle of the city.

  When I see where they’re escorting us to, I gasp. A palace created out of a sunken ship gleams in the middle of the city, decorated with wares of buried treasure.

  We cross into a hole within the sunken ship. The water disappears. Smok is no longer swimming, but walking upon a floor made of stone. Everything is dry inside the palace, like it is on land.

  This must be some strange magic. I get off of Smok’s back, and he changes into a man.

  The mermen have developed legs. They wear nothing but thin loincloths made of sea grass. Their strong arms point forward, into the belly of the ship.

  Meekly, I follow Smok. The farther in we head, the brighter the ship becomes. Statues of mermaids stand erect next to chests pouring with treasure. Smok notices none of it, but has his eyes fixed ahead.

  At the end of the hall, a woman sits upon a glass throne. She wears a dress of rocks, pebbles, and sea plants, a crown of driftwood upon her head. Her skin is green, like the other merpeople, but it shimmers with an emerald glow that makes her appear beautiful. She’s tall, her hair rippling down her back in long, black waves. Thin fish netting makes a veil beneath her driftwood crown. Her jade green eyes fall coldly upon us as we come before her throne.

  The Queen of the Baltic.

  Although her appearance is demure, I’m certain this enchantress has more power than Smok’s ever imagined having. Even Zirnitra would be afraid of her. I certainly am.

  “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you, Smok.” The queen’s voice ripples like a thunderous wave. I shudder. “Tell me. What brings you to me now, after all these years you’ve spent in hiding?”

  Smok opens his mouth to answer. But before he can, the queen’s green gaze falls on me. “Ah. Yes. So you’ve finally found the courage to do it.” Her voice becomes cruel and deep. “Or the cowardice.”

  Smok doesn’t say anything. Shamefully, he gazes toward the floor.

  The queen gets off her throne and starts trailing around him, in circles. Her pebble dress drags on the floor in a train, making noise behind her. “I knew it. Once a coward, always a coward. I had hoped your years in solitude would cure you of your selfishness, but it appears I was foolish to hope. You’ve proven me right, and shown your true self once more.”

  Smok dares to speak. “I know of my faults, your majesty,” he says. His voice is shaking. “But a lifetime of loneliness has broken me. I just wish to go home.”

  The queen throws back her head and laughs. “Home? Home was lost to you long ago. The sea took it for her own. You can never go home.”

  I have no idea what’s going on, but the queen’s insults are making me angry. Smok can see my face getting red. He shakes his head, telling me to stand down.

  Not likely. I am a Polish girl. We are foolish enough to refuse to back down, no matter what the circumstance.

  “Who are you to mock and berate him, after he’s suffered for years under your curse?” I say hatefully. “He’s brought me here. Cure him, and fulfill your promise! Or do you not have the power that you claim?”

  Smok falls before the queen on his knees. “My lady, please forgive her,” he says. “She doesn’t understand.”

  He’s begging, a sickening sight for me. The queen’s eyes turn coldly on me, and I freeze. It was probably the wrong move for me to speak out of turn, but I don’t regret it. Her penetrating stare goes right through me.

  “I find it odd you’re so willing to defend him after he brought you here,” the queen says. “Can’t you comprehend what he’s doing to you?”

  “Excuse me?” I straighten up, raising an eyebrow. “I’m not willing to stand here and be manipulated by the words of an enchantress, so explain.”

  The queen straightens her shoulders and rears back. Her expression is surprised.

  “You do not deserve her, Smok.” The queen clicks her tongue, and shakes her head. “A girl like her is a marvel. It’s a shame for you to sell her to me.”

  “Sell?” My throat has tightened considerably. It’s hard to breathe.

  “I told Smok the only way to break the curse would be to bring me a virgin, pure and innocent, as a sacrifice,” she explains. “He never had the heart to until now, it seems. The years of living as a monster, hated by all, have been hard on him. As I predicted.”

  “What?” Tears are sparking in my eyes, hot and stifling.

  “Didn’t you know?” the queen asks in astonishment. She looks at Smok. “No. I suppose not. It would’ve been too much to ask of him to be honest.”

  My head whips around to gaze at Smok. He’s still on his knees. Softly, he whispers, “I’m so sorry.”

  I knew it. I knew there was something he was hiding. All this time I thought he liked me as a person, as a friend. Maybe even a lover.

  Now I see that it was all a lie. He was simply willing to do whatever it took to get me here so he could break the curse. My freedom, a life outside chains… those were promises he never intended to fulfill.

  My only worth lies in being a slave.

  I put a hand over my mouth. I can’t help it; I start crying. Tears begin running down my cheeks. They splash on the floor over my bare feet. I try to stifle the sobs, but they’re loud and crushing. The guards don’t move. The queen is emotionless.

  The only one who shows any sort of care is Smok. He’s crestfallen, his body drooping. There are tears in his own eyes as he watches me break.

  “Enough of this. I am eager to accept tribute,” the queen says. “Guards, deposit the girl within my quarters. I’ll make use of her there.”

  “No!” Smok says abruptly. He shakes his head, and gets off his knees. My tears have spurred him to action. “No, I… I’ve changed my mind. I don’t want to go through with this.”

  Shock vibrates through my core. I stop crying. My hand drops away from my open mouth as Smok crosses the room in a few short strides and shoves me behind him protectively. He crouches down, and a thick growl emerges from his throat. I draw my hands away from his skin. It’s so hot. It feels like burning coals.

  “You’ve brought her here, Smok. It is t
oo late to go back on your promise now. Payment has to be made.” The queen’s eyes narrow. “Bring the girl to me.”

  The queen snaps her fingers, and the guards stride forward. Smok throws me onto his back, and in an instant, he changes.

  I have to scramble for a hold as his back begins lengthening and his body widens. I find myself tucked firmly into my usual spot between the shoulders of my red dragon as he roars his fury to the queen.

  Smok stretches his neck forward and breathes the largest plume of fire I’ve ever seen. The guards scream and run for cover. Merpeople, it would appear, are terrified of fire. The queen raises her hands and a thin, watery orb encompasses her entire body. Smok’s fire bounces off of it easily and dissipates.

  The shield falls with the queen’s arms. She lifts her head. Thick blue chains appear on the floor, wrapping Smok’s legs within them.

  But Smok is a powerful force that cannot be contained. He rips his legs free of the chains, and the magic breaks. Smok rears up on his back legs and lashes out at the queen with his claws. She backs away, pulling back her palm and aiming it in Smok’s direction. A glittering blue stream of magic swirls, until it creates a vortex within the ship. A water spout spins in our direction, threatening to pull us inward.

  Smok digs his claws into the stone and grits his fangs. “Fliss, hold on tight!”

  He barrels forward, head down and horns pointed at the wall of the ship. I duck down behind one of his large spikes and brace.

  Smok goes straight though the palace wall, and the enchantment breaks. Water begins flooding into the inside of the ship, and the guards scream in panic. Smok squeezes himself through the hole, using his claws to make the gap bigger. I take a deep breath before he pulls us free and starts swimming upward.

  I dare to look back at the palace as it shrinks behind us. For a moment… I could’ve been imagining it… I thought I saw the queen smiling as we escaped.

  Merpeople grab spears and head after us, but they’re afraid to get close. Smok growls. His large teeth are enough to send most of them running. The brave ones come after us, but Smok is faster. The city becomes a distant smudge within the sea as he climbs higher and higher.

  I can’t breathe. The surface is so far away still, though Smok is desperately swimming toward it. I need air. He needs air...

  We aren’t going to make it. We’re going to die…

  Finally, the sun becomes clear. Smok and I both take a deep breath as we break the surface and head into twilight.

  Smok chances flying. He takes flight and flies us back to shore, to the safety of the mainland.

  His heat dries us off as we hurtle downward toward the plains. He crashes onto the beach, and doesn’t get up when he lands.

  He doesn’t even bother to move.

  I slide off his back so he can change. Then I wipe my wet hair out of my eyes, and take a deep breath. “Well, I suppose I’m glad that’s over with. I wasn’t too keen on being food for the fishes. Right, Smok? Smok?”

  When I turn around, he’s a man again. Yet my heart stops, and leaps into my throat at the sight of his face. Smok is crying, and they’re not little tears. He’s completely lost himself.

  “Fliss, I’m so sorry.” Smok’s tear-streaked face is more than I can bear. “I need to tell you everything.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  My heart is pounding so hard against my ribcage it’s almost painful.

  “Everything? The queen already told me everything,” I say quickly. “She was going to break the curse, but you had to give her a virgin to enslave. Yet it’s all right. You changed your mind. You saved me.”

  “No.” He shakes his head. “That’s not everything. That doesn’t even come close to being the entirety of the truth.”

  Silence. Smok takes a shaking breath. “She despises me, as you clearly saw,” he starts. “The queen. Though I don’t blame her. She has good reason.”

  “I don’t care what her reasons were.” The thought of hating Smok seems like something only a terrible person could do. “She still cursed you.”

  “How can you be so forgiving?” Smok asks in shock. “I betrayed you.”

  “You were going to betray me, but you changed your mind. That makes everything forgivable,” I say.

  I can’t help but feel a little naïve, but at the same time, it’s not possible for me to harness the effort to hate Smok for what he did. I was madder at him last night for the kiss than this. Shows you how smart I am, doesn’t it?

  Smok stares. “You said you’d tell me everything,” I say. “Well, I’m ready.”

  He runs a hand through his hair. “You know the story of Lech and the firebird.”

  “Yes. The man who led the Poles to our home.” My heartbeat picks up even more.

  “That was me. It was my name, long ago.”

  “What?” I gasp in surprise. “That was you?”

  “Yes.” He nods. “My brothers were Czech and Rus. I was the one who wandered away from my tribe in search of adventure. It was I who saw the firebird. I settled Poland.”

  I stare at him. Smok takes another deep breath.

  “After we settled Gniezno, I went off in search of more adventure. When I came to the edge of the Baltic Sea and could travel no more, I met a girl. We fell in love, and became engaged. I built a cottage for her by the sea where we could live.”

  Smok swallows. He’s talking slowly… his voice dissolves deeper into pain with each word.

  “That’s when Zirnitra came. The village my girl lived in worshipped him. That year they hadn’t offered him proper tribute, and he came to the town seeking vengeance. He destroyed everything. My girl, my Oleska, tried to get away, but Zirnitra wanted her. He chased her through the lowlands, and—”

  “—Into the Baltic Sea.” I finish for him. My voice has become little more than a whisper; my mind has almost dissolved into a trance.

  Smok is gaping. “How did you know?”

  I close my eyes. I can taste the sea on my tongue, smell the ocean waves as they crash upon the shore… feel the water as it fills my mouth… my nose… my lungs. “Zirnitra forced her into the ocean. She tried to swim to get away from him, but she was too weak, wasn’t she? And… and she cried for Lech to save her.”

  I open my eyes. Zirnitra’s laughs are still ringing in my ears. “She screamed for him as she was swept under the waves.”

  “That… that’s right,” Smok says. His body is quivering. “But that doesn’t explain how you knew.”

  “I don’t know,” I reply quietly. “But it’s not like I knew. Rather, it’s like… I remembered.”

  Smok’s face has gone pale white. His hand clutches at his heart.

  “Finish the story, Smok,” I say. “What happened next?”

  Smok crumples. “Here is the part of which I am most ashamed. I was out hunting the day Zirnitra came. I rode to defend the village, but at the sight of Zirnitra I lost heart to fight. He was a dragon, and I was a man. What chance had I? Fighting him would mean certain death. I stood on the shore and listened as Oleska called for me, watched as Zirnitra laughed as she drowned. But instead of risking my own life to save my true love, I turned my horse and rode away as fast as I could.”

  Smok turns away. The tears have started to fall down his face again. “I had a chance to save her, could’ve saved her, but I was too cowardly.” Smok’s voice drips with self-hatred. “Her cries of my name have echoed in my ears every night for years.”

  Smok looks toward the sea. “It wasn’t long before the Queen of the Baltic found me. She had heard Oleska’s unanswered pleas, and felt her lifeless body rolling on the waves of her domain. She sought me out, to make me pay for what I had done. She cursed me to become the very thing I hated, that which killed my love. She only promised to remove the curse if I sacrificed another woman to her. It was a cruel thing to do; I could never sacrifice another innocent girl like my Oleska, and the queen knew it. She believed I’d be stuck as a monster forever.”

  Smok dro
ps his head.

  “And so, the thing that I desired most to preserve became my biggest curse… my life. She cursed me to live forever, to linger on into eternity with the thought of what I had done haunting my every waking moment. If my own existence was so precious to me, she said, she would make it permanent.”

  Smok opens up his shirt. He exposes the markings I saw earlier, the scars laced across his middle and chest.

  “I’ve tried so many times.” Smok’s voice is thick with agony. “But nothing will end me. I’ve fought Zirnitra for vengeance, hoping he would end my suffering, but he’s beaten me every time and refuses to take my life, as my torment pleasures him so. I’ve attempted to give myself up to humans, but somehow, I always get scared and save myself at the last second, coward that I am. Despite everything, I’m still afraid of death.”

  “Smok…” I whisper. I step forward and place my fingers across the bumpy scars on his chest, tracing them. I feel like I’m going to be sick.

  A wave of anger wells up in my gut. “I hate this,” I spit. “I hate that you despise yourself so much.”

  “That’s all you can say?” Smok gapes. “After everything I’ve told you?”

  “Yes.” My voice is harsh, and stubborn. “If you really couldn’t bring a girl to sacrifice before, then why’d you take me now?” My eyes are sharp when I look up at him.

  Smok steps away… he doesn’t want me touching his scars anymore. “I tried, but they were half-hearted attempts. I never became desperate until rumors of Krakus taking my life swept around the village,” he says. “Then I met you. I tried to give you to the queen. I tried not to become close to you, but I failed even at that.”

  He shakes his head. “She’ll never remove the curse now. Not after I backed out of the bargain. I’m stuck as a monster forever.”

  “You’re not a monster to me, Smok,” I say painfully. “I only wish you could view yourself through my eyes.”

  “And how is that?” he asks. “If not a killer and a coward, then how do I appear to you?”

  “You have the ability to love, Smok. My dreams are full of hopes for what could be between us, if only you believed.”