Forgotten Crown (The Two Hunters Book 1)

by Kara Jaynes

  The dragon's heads laughed, and I shivered at the sound. It stepped forward, two of the heads swinging close. I pulled at my bonds, cursing myself for my stupidity. Silvan had been right. What a terrible idea.

  “Stop.”

  The beast and I both turned toward the voice. Taloos stepped out of the shadows, his face pale, his body visibly shaking, but he held his head high, his gaze trained on the dragon. “Yes, I called you, Beast, but you can’t take this girl. You already took my mother.” Taloos’s voice cracked. “My friends. Everyone that was close to me. What more do you want?”

  The dragon was silent for a moment, all seven heads regarding the boy, then it spoke. I didn't understand the clicks, whistles and snarls, but Taloos did. He listened, his head tilted to the side a little, his gaze unfocused. His expression hardened.

  “A life spared for countless lives taken.” Taloos’ gaze flashed with anger. “It wasn't Jett’s choice to make.”

  All the pieces of the puzzle fell in place, confirming my suspicions. Jett had done this. He'd encountered the terrible beast in the forest and offered his village in exchange for his own life.

  The dragon considered Taloos’s words, obviously understanding common tongue before speaking again.

  Taloos’s eyes widened. “The village elders know about this?” His voice rose higher in his outrage. “To save themselves? They've turned the rest of us into fodder!”

  I stared at the dragon, horrified by what I heard. Who would do this? Why? How could people live with such little love for others? I couldn't fathom it.

  But my parents could.

  I shuddered, shaking my head to banish them from my memory.

  When my vision cleared, the dragon's tone had changed. It was lower and more urgent. Only two of the heads looked at Taloos, the other five were staring at me, one licking its lips. Time was up.

  “You spare me because of my gift,” the boy said. I looked back at him, startled by the animosity in his voice. “Yet you take countless others. What about their gifts? What about their potential?” He was shouting. At some point he'd lost his fear, and I stared at the boy, going toe-to-toe with a seven-headed dragon. “Don't touch another soul from this village, Beast. Not another soul!”

  The dragon lunged toward me, seven jaws gaping.

  “No!” Taloos leaped at the dragon, pulling a dagger from his belt.

  The dragon jerked around to face him, mirroring the surprise I felt. The dagger made contact with its leg, the blade snapping, unable to pierce the dragon's scales.

  The dragon screamed, its red eyes sparking in outrage at the boy's impudence.

  I shrieked when one of the heads swooped down on its long, sinuous neck, its jaws clamping around the boy's middle.

  Taloos gasped, his face contorting in agony. I watched in horror as the dragon worried the boy like a dog on a bone, and flung Taloos away.

  The boy flew through the air, his broken body landing in a tangled heap. I couldn't see him clearly anymore in the deep shadows of night.

  “Taloos,” I whispered, feeling tears spring to my eyes. “Taloos.”

  The dragon turned its gaze back on me, and advanced. I stared up balefully into the red eyes nearest to me. It was over. The dragon had won. But I wouldn't show fear. I refused to show fear. My plan had failed, and had gotten Taloos killed, and possibly Silvan. But at least they wouldn't die alone. I closed my eyes, and accepted my fate.

  “Glacia!” I opened my eyes at the sound of my name, my heart soaring as a young man tore from the trees at a dead run, his silver hair catching the firelight. He leaped into the air and transformed, wings sprouting from his back, his limbs and body lengthening, covered in scales.

  Silvan hurtled over the dragon to land directly in front of me, the earth shuddering with the impact. He flared his wings out for balance, and roared at the seven-headed beast. Silver scales rippled as his muscles bunched.

  My heart leaped into my mouth as Silvan launched himself at the dragon, fire billowing from his jaws.

  The black dragon stood on its hind legs, its front claws tearing at Silvan as the two dragons collided.

  Jaws snapping, claws rending and tearing, they fought. I stared in horrified fascination as the dragons battled with animalistic fury.

  Silvan was nearly as large at the black dragon, but he only had one head. The Beast used this to its advantage, its head swooping in from several sides to bite. One head sunk its teeth into Silvan’s shoulder and hung on with the determination of my tutor's terrier.

  Physically, Silvan was at a slight disadvantage. And as red liquid mixed with silver scales in the firelight, I realized with alarm that Silvan was bleeding freely. But it didn't deter him as he clawed and snapped at his opponent with equal ferocity.

  The beast was bleeding, too, where Silvan’s teeth and claws had rent it, but not as badly.

  I tugged at my ropes, feeling horrendously useless. If I could perhaps find a way to distract the beast, maybe Silvan would be able to end it quickly.

  Except I was still tied to the tree, making any distracting hard to do. And what if I distracted Silvan, instead? The thought filled me with icy dread, and I watched the battle, my stomach a knot of frozen nerves.

  Just as my hope began to dwindle, the black dragon turned away, attempting to escape. Using its wings for balance, it began kicking and slashing at Silvan. Not to fight, though—to get away, to flee.

  Why? Why would it run when it was clearly at a physical advantage over Silvan?

  Power. Ability. Magic. It emanated from both, but I knew Silvan was stronger in pure, raw magic.

  With a final roar, Silvan’s arm shot forward, claws plunging into the black dragon's chest.

  The beast shrieked its death-cry and fell, body convulsing.

  Silvan didn't move, his claws still gripped around the other dragon's heart, ignoring the fire and steel-like teeth as the black dragon's heads continued to fight.

  In moments, the creature was still, Silvan standing over it. His sides heaved, and smoke billowed from his nostrils. He gazed down at his kill.

  “Silvan?” I whispered. I jumped when he heaved a terrific snort, his head swiveling around to look at me.

  I stared back, my heart thumping painfully in my chest.

  Silvan's eyes had turned blood-red. I stared up at the man-made-monster, wondering what this change meant. “Silvan?” I said, his name coming out a whisper. “Are you going to be okay?”

  Silvan blinked, and suddenly his eyes were blue. I squinted hard at them, wondering if I'd imagined the red.

  I bit my lip, fighting back a smile.

  It’d been a close gamble, but my dragon had won.

  38

  Silvan

  I stared down at Glacia, my chest heaving like a bellows, dragon blood dripping from my jaws and coating my claws. My whole body trembled.

  I'd almost lost her. She'd almost died. I could feel fire raging inside of me, screaming for release. How could I have let her come this close to death? Fear mixed with blistering anger, and I shuddered. My tail lashed, and I arched my neck. It physically hurt to contain such rage.

  Glacia gazed up at me, her gray eyes shining in the firelight. Where was the unbridled terror, the near-veiled disgust?

  “Thank you,” she said.

  I shifted, turning back into my human form. “The beast almost killed you,” I snarled. I almost killed you.

  “But it didn't,” she replied, her voice cool and calm as a winter pool. She glanced down at the ropes that still bound her. “Release me, please.”

  I strode forward to comply, and with shaking, bloodied fingers, loosened her bonds. In the close proximity, she rested her head on my chest, and I knew she could feel the pounding of my heart.

  “You're right, though,” she said suddenly, and I drew back to look at her, unsure of what she meant.

  “That was close,” she continued. She froze me in place with her steely stare. “It was a foolish risk. I almost died. I was complete
ly helpless and at the mercy of a merciless monster. If you hadn't come when you had—”

  “It won't happen again,” I interrupted sharply, my voice harsh. “I'll keep you safe.”

  “And what happens when you can't?” she asked. “What happens when the beast reaches me first?”

  “I just killed him,” I said stubbornly. “And I'll kill any in the future.”

  “You can't keep me safe me forever, Silvan,” she said. “Tonight proved that.”

  “Yes, I can.”

  “Teach me,” she said. “Teach me how to protect myself. How to protect others.”

  I scoffed. “You're a woman. You're too weak to defend yourself.”

  She glowered darkly at me, and I took an involuntary step back. I frowned.

  “That's debatable,” she snapped. “But I'm not talking about strength of arm, or skill with the sword. Teach me magic.”

  Magic. I hadn't told her about the ability I sensed in her. Did she already know about it?

  “Did anyone in your old home talk to you about magic?”

  “You mean the Hall of the Chosen,” she corrected, a line of irritation creasing her pale brow. “It was never my home. Not really. And to answer your question, no, they didn't. My tutor sometimes spoke of it, but only to say that it was evil and not to be trusted.” A shadow crossed her face and she looked away. “The demons wield magic,” she whispered, “so I thought it was evil.” She glanced back at me, her gray eyes full of fire. “But you wield magic, too. You, Silvan, last of the Elite, are anything, but evil. So, teach me. Teach me how to harness magic. How to use it.”

  “You don't have to harness it,” I replied, affection threading through me at her words. I could feel my rage cooling, trickling away like smoke on a breeze. “You already have enchantment.”

  Confusion clouded her delicate features. “I don't understand.”

  Hesitating, my gut squirmed with guilt. “I should have told you sooner, but I don't understand it fully myself. The magic is . . . different from my own. I don't know how to explain it.”

  “But it's magic, right?”

  I grinned at the eagerness that lit her eyes. “Yes, Glacia. It's magic.”

  “And you will teach me.”

  “Yes.”

  Glacia edged closer, her eyes luminous in the flickering light. My breath quickened. I needed to keep my mind and body untarnished by a woman's beauty. They were weak, and unclean. I'd been taught that all my life.

  But in this moment, this breath of time, gazing down at this girl, this slip of a thing, I couldn't believe she was unclean. That she was wrong, weak. That she was somehow unworthy of me.

  I exhaled heavily and took another step back, widening the distance between us. “Your first lesson,” I whispered, hating myself for breaking the moment, “is knowing that if you learn this, this ability to wield magic, you will have an irrevocable duty to take care of those around you. To protect them. To nurture them.”

  “Oh.” Glacia blinked. Something flickered across her face and was gone. Surprise? I couldn't tell. “I already know what I want to do.”

  “And what's that?”

  “I want to grow food,” she said, simply. She crouched down, and dug the pale fingers of one hand into the dirt. “Lots of food.”

  I snorted. “Really? You don't want to learn how to control the elements? To shoot fire from your fingertips or weave shadow?”

  “Maybe later,” she admitted. “But I want to grow food, first.” She inhaled. “I don't want people to go without. The children in this village have pale, pinched, hungry faces, and we're in the heart of summer. What happens when the first frost comes? What will happen when they reach the heart of winter?” She glanced over her shoulder at the houses. “I heard the villagers talk. There are several towns, scattered about these woods, and I doubt they are faring any better. I want to fill this forest with food.”

  “We can’t stay here,” I said. “But I could teach you the basics of gardening, if you want to learn, but not here.” Not in this secretive, scheming village.

  Glacia shook her head, blonde waves dancing about her shoulders. “I don’t want to stay here, either, but I’m not talking about gardening. I want to make things grow with my enchantment. Make healthier, stronger plants. Ones that resist extreme cold and heat.”

  “All right.” I didn't tell her that I didn't know how to do that. “We'll start with the basics. How to actually seize the magic.”

  She beamed at me, and my soul was undone. Would I have the strength to withstand her?

  I didn't know.

  And part of me didn't care.

  39

  Glacia

  A pained groan reached my ears.

  “Taloos!” I said, guilt slamming into me as I remembered. “Oh, no!” I turned and darted away from Silvan. I couldn’t see the beast tamer in the dark, but I knew precisely where the dragon had thrown him. “No, no, no.” I knelt down in the dirt beside him, and reached for his limp hand, my fingers curling around his. “Taloos, I am so sorry,” I whispered. “I'm sorry.” Tears gathered on my lashes.

  Taloos cracked open one eye, a smirk spreading across his face. “How sorry?” he asked in a teasing manner.

  I stared at him, elation mingling with wonder. “How are you . . . How could you . . .”

  “Magic.” Taloos winked at me and his smile turned into a wince. “Fire have mercy, my whole body hurts,” he groaned.

  “Explain.” I sat back on my heels and held out a hand. Taloos gripped it, and allowed me to haul him to his feet. My amazement only grew when he stood, no signs of injury on his frame.

  Taloos swayed a little, and I put my hands on his shoulders to steady him. He fumbled a moment at his throat, pulling the chain of a necklace from his throat, a cracked charm at the end of it.

  “She wasn't lying,” he said, mild surprise in his voice. “Kali. Why would she give it to me if she knew it had such value?”

  I giggled. “She has a thing for beast tamers.”

  Taloos blushed, the corners of his lips twitching up in a smile, and I suddenly realized that if I hadn’t already loved Silvan, I might have found Taloos handsome.

  “Glacia.”

  Goosebumps ran up my arms at the sound of his voice. I turned around to look at Silvan. He stood by the slain beast, his face swathed in shadow. “It's time to leave.”

  I patted Taloos on the arm. “Goodbye,” I said, regret filling me. He was my first real friend aside from Silvan, and the idea of separating hurt.

  Alarm filled the beast tamer’s eyes. “Right now?” Alarm was replaced with determination, his chin jutting out stubbornly. “I'm coming with you.”

  “We don't need any more travelers in our group,” Silvan said. His voice sounded at ease, pleasant, even, but when I glanced back at him, I saw the rigidity in his stance.

  “There's strength in numbers,” Taloos said. “I can travel with you until we reach the city.”

  Silvan shrugged, but catching his expression in the firelight, we shared the same question in our gaze: what city?

  “I suppose,” Silvan said. “But I call the shots in this group, Taloos.”

  It was Taloos’s turn to shrug, unable to hide his grin. “Deal.”

  “Won't you miss the village?” I asked. “Your friends?”

  The beast tamer's smile slipped away, his look haunted. “Any friends I had, I lost when my mother was taken,” he mumbled. “I was marked. No one wanted to be around me.”

  Compassion welled in my heart. “Let's get to that city, then,” I said. “New place, new beginning.”

  “I hope so,” Taloos said. He tossed the cracked charm in the dirt—“Only works once,” and turned on his heel. “Let me get my pack. I thought you might decide to leave, so I’m all ready to go. I'll meet you on the west side of the clearing.”

  He hurried off, leaving Silvan and me alone. We gazed at each other. He looked tired, his youthful face haggard with exhaustion. “Do you want to sleep,
first?” I asked him. “We can leave in the morning.”

  Silvan shook his head. “I want to leave now.” His lip curled as he cast his eyes about the village. “Too many secrets here,” he muttered. “Honesty is scarce. I can feel it.”

  I cocked my head to the side. “You can feel it?” I asked. “Like, real emotions? How?”

  Silvan didn't answer. “Are you packed?” he asked.

  I grinned. “Yes.” I came to the village with nothing.

  He smiled back, but it looked forced. “Okay.”

  “Silvan, what's wrong?” I closed the distance between us, peering up into his face, my stomach giving a flutter of worry.

  Silvan exhaled heavily. “Nothing.” His gaze softened as he looked down at me, and he reached out, tucking a stray lock behind my ear. “And everything.”

  “Can I help?”

  Silvan's expression turned troubled. “I don't know.” His head snapped up. “I can hear Taloos coming.” His long fingers found mine. “He must have packed earlier, anticipating our departure. Sneaky devil. Let's go meet him at the west side.”

  I followed, my mind hazy with fatigue. Despite that, I felt happy. Silvan still wanted my friendship. Feeling his strength as he guided my steps through the night, I took comfort in that. Silvan. An all-powerful shapeshifter, wielder of magic, and a potential mind reader. He could certainly read emotions.

  Hopefully, it was just emotions. If he could actually read my mind . . .

  My face heated with embarrassment, and Silvan squeezed my hand briefly as he tugged me along.

  Silvan. My friend. My silver haired dragon-boy.

  My everything.

  The Adventure continues in book 2, Forbidden Light. Go to the author’s website, and sign up for her newsletter and get a notification when the book is released

  More books by Kara Jaynes

  The Fabled Hunters Series

  Unbreakable Force Series

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