by Bianca D’Arc
Gareth was Kelvan’s knight and Lars was partnered with the dragon’s mate, Rohtina. Belora was wife to both men in the tradition of the Lair, since there were so few females able to live and communicate with dragons. That Belora was also able to heal dragons was a relatively new discovery and one that still had her puzzled.
The knights insisted she must be of royal blood, but she had been raised simply in the forest. Belora had never been rich, but had always been happy with her mother and the simple life they led. Her mother, Adora, was a powerful healer and they made their living off the land and from the herbal remedies they had traded with the people in the small village near their home. The place had been overrun by the first wave of the enemy invasion. Venomous skiths had decimated the village and destroyed the women’s tiny house in the forest.
Belora’s mates had helped rescue her mother from the skiths. For that she would be forever grateful. When the dragoness, Rohtina, was mortally wounded, Belora’s own latent healing ability seemed to come to life. Never before had she tried to heal a dragon, and suddenly all the power she had ever wanted was hers to command.
She’d used the magic to heal the beautiful golden Rohtina and discovered she was pregnant with a dragonet at the same time. It was a double miracle as far as Belora was concerned. She was so happy. Life couldn’t get much better.
“Uh, sorry to wake you all.” Kelvan’s voice sounded through all three human minds with some degree of urgency. “But you’ll very shortly have a visitor.”
“Tell them to go away.” Gareth threw a pillow out of the bedchamber toward the general direction of the dragons’ wallow.
“I can’t.” Kelvan sounded rather pained this time. “You have to get up and get dressed.”
“Who is it?” Lars asked, raising up on one elbow and scratching at his muscular chest.
“And what’s the bloody rush? It’s not even dawn,” Gareth grumbled while Belora giggled.
She climbed over Lars, pausing to kiss him good morning before she headed first for the wardrobe and then small bathroom next to their bedchamber. She was just too happy to be grumpy in the morning. Her mates had made her the happiest woman in the world—repeatedly—last night. Humming a light tune, she dressed and moved into the small kitchen area to heat water for the tea she liked to drink in the morning.
The small fire she used for heating water had gone out, but with a quick look at the dragons, she got their help in lighting it once more. They were handy to have around, she thought with a grin, when one needed a light. She was still chuckling when Gareth came into the room, stretching and yawning. He grabbed her in a fierce hug, kissing the breath out of her as was his custom first thing in the morning.
Lars was just a bit more conservative. He stumbled in—still a little bleary eyed, but his usual calm, quiet self. She knew well by now that still waters ran very deep indeed when it came to Lars. His steadiness warmed her as she set mugs of the strong tea she blended especially for them in front of her mates.
Belora noticed some activity out near the entrance to their suite and saw the dragons bowing their heads to a newcomer dressed all in black leather. He was a striking man, and more than a little scary. He moved with such self-possession, as did all the knights, but this was something more. This man prowled. It was as if there was a caged beast inside him, just waiting to be let out. She shook her head, smiling at her fanciful imagination as she nodded to Lars and Gareth.
“Looks like our guest is here. Do you know him?”
Both men turned and their eyes widened before they stood hastily. They bowed in respect as the man approached and he took it as his due while Belora stood dumbfounded.
“Your majesty.” Gareth spoke for them all. “Welcome to our home.”
“What do you know? Gareth and Lars, together again, I see. The Mother of All must have been sleeping on the job to allow this sort of pairing.” The man’s hazel eyes flashed, obviously teasing, and the knights relaxed in his presence.
Belora was intrigued.
“Congratulations on your wedding.” The black-clad man stepped forward, offering his hand in warrior fashion, indicating he thought of her men more as contemporaries than underlings.
She liked that and found herself liking the tall man with the dancing hazel eyes almost immediately.
Both of her knights shook the man’s hand with broad smiles, thanking him for his good wishes. They turned to her. Her mouth went dry for no reason she could discern. Again, Gareth spoke for them all.
“This is our mate, Belora. Sweetheart, this is Prince Nico.”
Belatedly, she remembered to curtsy, but the prince’s next words nearly threw her off balance.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, cousin.”
“Cousin?” Lars was startled into speaking, his turquoise eyes wide with the shock they all felt.
Nico nodded. “Shall we sit? I have much to say and I’d like a chance to get to know your mate a bit better as well.”
“By all means.” Gareth gave the prince his own chair, pulling over another for himself and one for Belora. She brought the teapot and another cup, setting it before the prince, all the while marveling that a prince should be sitting to morning tea with her, of all things.
“I met your mother just a short while ago,” the prince began. “I’m convinced that she is the daughter of Prince Fileas of Kent who was killed along with his entire family by our enemies many years ago. The only survivor of the massacre was his youngest daughter, the Princess Amelia Jane, who disappeared that day and was never seen again. Until now.”
“Bright stars!” Belora’s whisper reached the men, making them smile.
“I believe your mother is Princess Amelia Jane, though she will be known now as Princess Adora of Kent. That makes you Princess Belora of Kent and distant cousin to the royal line.” The prince leaned back, apparently enjoying the stunned stares of the people around him. “And that makes you two…” He eyed the knights. “Prince Consorts.”
“Holy shit.” Lars and Gareth spoke at the same moment, clearly stunned.
Belora was overwhelmed. Her mind seized and her stomach revolted. Jumping up so quickly her chair crashed to the floor behind her, she ran for the bathroom.
She had never been so sick in her life, grasping the seat of the commode for dear life as her stomach emptied itself over and over. Dimly, she realized the bathroom was crowded with her mates and—horrors—the prince. Gareth wiped her brow with a cool wet cloth, which felt very good, while Lars held her, tying her hair back with a stray piece of leather. That done, he rubbed her spine gently. The prince watched with a pitying look, but there was a light in his hazel eyes that was more than calculating. He made her feel a little uncomfortable as he moved forward to squat down next to her.
“May I?” he asked both her and her mates as he stretched his hand near to her forehead. She nodded hesitantly, uncertain of what he intended, but one didn’t say no to a prince, after all.
He touched her head and suddenly the knots in her stomach eased. She realized he was using his own healing energy to still her rebellious stomach. His touch soothed and within moments she felt much better, though still a bit too shaky to stand on her own. Lars helped her up, holding her against his chest as she faced the smiling prince. He had the most luminous look in his eyes as he regarded her.
“Congratulations, cousin.” His words were low, filled with emotion. “You carry twin boys and they will both be black dragons.”
“Praise the Mother,” Gareth whispered. He swayed for just a moment, seeking the stone wall for support.
Kelvan and Rohtina raised their heads in the archway and trumpeted their joy, nearly deafening all the humans present. Lars squeezed her close, his face buried in her neck as he kissed her.
“I don’t understand.” Belora looked up at the prince from within Lars’ strong hold.
The prince laughed gently. “I know. Forgive me, cousin. This is just such a momentous thing. There are so few of us left. Eve
ry birth is a miracle to our line. Black dragons even more so.”
“I still don’t get it. Why are you calling them black dragons? I know that’s the symbol of the king, but what has it to do with my…oh, sweet Mother, did you say I was pregnant?” Nico nodded and she felt tears gather in her eyes. “You felt them? Twins?”
“Yes, cousin. Two strong, healthy boys. One from each of your mates.”
“Sweet Mother of All!” She turned in Lars’ arms and hugged him hard, then reached for Gareth who still appeared stunned by the news. She embraced them both and her smile stretched from ear to ear.
“I take it the news is both happy and unexpected.” The prince spoke once their rejoicing had died down a bit.
“Rohtina’s pregnant too,” Belora said, tears of joy nearly overcoming her.
“Then double congratulations are in order.” The prince turned to the dragons and placed one hand, as if in benediction, on the young female dragon’s head.
“Thank you for telling me! And for making me feel better too. My own small healing gift never works on myself.”
The prince shook his head with a smile. “Such is the pity for most healers. But I understand your power is better suited to dragons anyway, which is a wonderful thing.”
“Yes.” She moved out of her mates’ arms to face the strange prince. “We discovered it only a few days ago.”
“So your mother told me.”
“Oh! Mama’s going to be so happy! And Kelzy!”
“All the dragons in this Lair will undoubtedly be happy to hear the news that your sons will soon be joining them.”
Belora was puzzled by his wording. “Joining the dragons?”
“It’s a gift of the royal blood we share, Belora. We are both human and dragon. That’s why the females of our line can heal dragons when few other human healers can do so effectively. The males of our line take that one step further.”
“How?” She was afraid to breathe.
The prince stepped back from her toward the dragons. Kelvan and Rohtina welcomed him with respect and a kind of deference she had never seen them display before.
“We are dragons.”
So saying, the prince faded for a moment, a thick black mist swirling around his body. Belora recognized the tug of powerful magic on her senses. A moment later, a compact but still huge black dragon stood outside the archway between the other two dragons. The prince was nowhere to be seen. Or rather, he was there—incredibly—but in dragon form.
“Sweet Mother of All!” Belora strode forward, entranced by the gleaming black dragon. He was somewhat smaller than the other dragons, but he looked just as lethal, just as beautiful. She reached out to him and he craned his neck forward into her touch, allowing her to feel the shiny black scale of his neck and face.
“Do you understand now, cousin?”
Belora gasped as she felt the presence of the prince within the striking black dragon with the tourmaline eyes. No, that wasn’t quite right. The prince wasn’t inside the dragon, the prince was the dragon, and the dragon was the prince. It was simply amazing.
“My babies—?”
“Your sons will be as I am, able to shift from human to dragon at will. I show you this so you will be prepared when they are ready. They’ll probably begin to shift shortly after they learn to walk. They’ll start flying around the same time Rohtina’s dragonet will, I think, so they can all learn together. The Mother certainly knows what She’s doing, doesn’t She?”
“I can’t believe it.”
“Believe it. Your sons will bring hope to the dragons here in this Lair, which will shortly become key in our battle with Skithdron, if I’m not mistaken. Just their presence will bring renewed hope for our land to the dragon population and the knights as well. I tell you this from my own experience. I’ve felt the power and the responsibility that comes with being of two worlds.”
“Is it hard? I mean, it’s such a responsibility. I was raised simply. You can call me a princess all you want, but I’m still just a peasant really. I always will be.”
“Then you might understand what it’s like to live in two worlds as well, for you are a princess and apparently a peasant too. And to answer your question, no, it’s not hard at all. It’s the most amazing blessing of my life and I thank the Mother every day for allowing me such gifts. She was wise when She allowed the last of the wizards to form the pact between the dragons of our land and our ancestor, Draneth the Wise. He was the first black dragon, forged by magic and his own wizard blood, but each of us since has been truly of both races. It’s how we can understand the needs of both humans and dragons and continue to guide both races in harmony and cooperation. It’s a gift, Belora, a precious one.”
His words touched her so deeply she felt a tear trickle down her cheek. The prince moved back and the black mist swirled once more, leaving him clad in black leather, human once again.
“Whatever doubt remained is now gone. You carry royal black dragons in your womb. There can be no doubt you are of the royal line.” The prince moved forward, kissing her on both cheeks. “Welcome back, cousin, to our family. It’s a happy day to have found you and your mother once again.”
This time, she did cry—her emotions all over the place with the shocking news of her bloodlines and her pregnancy. Gareth and Lars came up behind her, their supportive arms around her, there for her.
“There’s one other thing I have to discuss with you, Belora, if you think you’re up to it.” The prince looked uncertain for a moment in the face of her turbulent emotions and she smiled to reassure him.
“Anything, Prince Nico. You’ve given me such happy news.”
They walked back toward the kitchen area and sat down once more. Nico reached out a finger to each cold cup of tea and warmed them with his inner fire. Apparently he didn’t have to be in dragon form to call on his fire. She would have to remember that for when her boys started to experiment with their own abilities.
“I don’t mean to bring up bad memories, but I need to know everything you can remember about your sisters.”
Belora gasped at the sudden change of topic. She had not expected it but realized it made sense that the prince would want to account for all the members of her line. The kidnapping of her sisters suddenly took on an even more sinister light in her mind. Had the kidnappers known their true identities? Is that why they had been targeted? She shivered and Lars and Gareth were there, putting one arm each around her at shoulders and waist, silent and supportive. Stars! How she loved them.
“As I told my mates, all I remember is that we were in a big town, at a market. My mother could tell you where exactly. A bunch of men rushed us. Big men. I remember one had a jagged scar on his face and was missing the two little fingers on his left hand. He hit my mother and the others grabbed my sisters. They were very strong and no one would help us. The scarred man tried to grab me, but my mother held me tight and started running. She ran and ran. They pursued us but didn’t catch her.” Gareth and Lars moved their chairs closer. “My mother and I went back later and tried to find my sisters, but they were long gone. We left that day and never went back. We walked and walked, through forest mostly, and when we came upon the cottage, we watched it for a few days before my mother would approach.”
“Sounds like your mother was taking wise precautions.” The prince’s voice held respect and admiration, which warmed Belora’s heart.
“We didn’t have any money or much to trade except my mother’s healing skills. No one claimed ownership of the cottage when my mother asked in the village and they welcomed the idea of having a healer move in nearby. Some of them helped Mama in the early days, bringing her food and household items to trade for her herbal remedies. That’s how we’ve lived for the past decade and more.”
“How old were your sisters when they were taken?”
“I was about five, so I guess they were about ten.”
“Then they’d be in their early twenties now.”
“Yes,
I think so.”
The prince stood. “Thank you, cousin. I want you to know that I’ll do everything in my power to find your sisters.”
Nico went back to speak at length with Adora while Belora and her new family celebrated the two pregnancies—both human and dragon. Adora, after she woke, was able to fill in the blank spaces in what Belora remembered about the day her sisters were snatched.
It was a cold trail, over ten years old, but Nico was a man who prided himself on his ability to learn things that others could not. He wasn’t known as the Prince of Spies for nothing. He now had a place to start at least, knowing the town from which the children had been snatched. He would start there.
The black dragon winged away from the new Lair under cover of darkness, off on his quest.
Everything was not as it seemed in the royal palace of Skithdron. While on the outside, things looked much as they had during old King Gorin’s time, on the inside, an evil pestilence roamed freely through the new king’s chambers. Lord Venerai knew his friend and sometime lover, King Lucan, dabbled in magics not of this land—perhaps not of this world—and paid a high price for such power, but Venerai understood. He too, would do anything for power.
When Venerai received the royal summons to present himself in the king’s private bedchamber, he prepared himself for a night of serving the young king’s rather rapacious desires. But he found quite a different evening awaited upon entering the king’s chambers. For one thing, Lucan was not as he had seen him last. Lucan greeted Venerai with inhuman, slitted eyes that reminded him of the reptilian gaze of a skith. Then, as Lucan shrugged off his robe, Venerai saw the changes that had been made to Lucan’s once soft and pampered skin. Gone was the almost boyish pudginess, replaced by a sleek, scaled, lithe musculature that was startling to say the least.
Lucan’s skin had an earthy cast and it rippled like a snake—like a skith—in the candlelight. Venerai didn’t know what to make of it and for once in his life of political intrigues and power struggles was at a total loss for words. The young king noted all with his new eyes and laughed, but Venerai didn’t care. Lucan was dangerous now. Let him laugh. As long as King Lucan wasn’t ordering his death, Venerai was pleased to serve as the king’s fool.
