by Ann Gimpel
Raene bowed her head and stood for long moments over the ashes. Once she looked up, she offered a wan smile. “We can go now. I’m sorry I never got to know the Selkies who died today.” She took a measured breath. “Let’s hope you still feel like I’m a treasure after I get through picking your brain for all the things I should have learned growing up.”
“We’ve time, lassie. All the time we’ll need. I’m curious what Tarika has to say that requires all of us. Do ye know?”
She shook her head. “We’ll find out together.”
They reached his parents. Krise nodded crisply. “I’ve released everyone to return home.”
“I figured as much.” Aegir nodded back. “Shall we?”
“I already called up a pathway for us,” Gretta said and pointed at a sector of dirt that had taken on a definite glow. She sent a penetrating look at her son, and Aegir muffled a snort. It was her way of reminding him she’d been right about remaining by Krise’s side through the battle.
“I’m thankful ye were here to alert me about Da.”
“What happened?” Raene’s smile faded. “Are you hurt?” She turned to Krise.
“Nay, lassie. A flesh wound. We have to get moving.” Taking Gretta’s hand, he trotted briskly along the shining path.
Aegir draped an arm around Raene’s waist before following after them. “What really happened?” she whispered.
“I’ll tell you later.”
“He looks like he’s none the worse for wear.”
Aegir chuckled. “He’s a tough old bastard.”
“That’s no way to talk about your father.” She tried for serious, but giggled, ruining the effect.
“I’m grateful so many of us survived today,” he murmured.
“I was a hell of a lot safer than you and your parents, but I’m glad too. I told Tarika we had to keep an eye on you and run interference if anything bad happened.”
Surprise rolled through him. “Och, lass. Ye were watching out for me the whole time?”
“Of course. It’s what lovers do, isn’t it?” She cast a sidelong glance his way, and he stopped long enough to close his mouth over hers, cherishing the feel of her lips beneath his. If it made them a wee bit late, who would complain about it?
Everyone was drunk on victory. Surely, it would have a mellowing effect on the dragons and the Druids, both sticklers for following orders and being on time.
Chapter 18
Raene fell headlong into Aegir’s kiss. Time dripped past while their lips were glued together, tongues sparring. Desire was so near the surface, it was all she could do not to rip their clothing off, but then they’d be even later than they already were.
The ruby pulsed, quietly at first, but it was definitely upping the ante on what felt like nagging. Finally, reluctantly, she pulled away. “I don’t want to, but we—”
He placed two fingers across her mouth. “I ken, lassie. I dinna mean for things to wander quite so far afield, but ye’re quite the fetching one. And now, we must hurry.”
She trotted beside him. The stone had quieted as soon as she got moving. “You’re pretty damned fetching yourself, Selkie king.”
He laughed. “Doona say I dinna warn you. About how we Selkie men can get under your skin.”
“Ha! And other places too.”
The shining trail took a hard right, followed by a left around ancient tree trunks. The buzz of conversation told Raene they didn’t have far to go.
“There they are!” Tarika punctuated her words with trumpeting so loud it hurt Raene’s ears.
She and Aegir hustled into the courtyard in front of the Druids’ castle. Dee and Gerald were there, along with the Arch Druid, flanked by two Druids she’d seen before. Aegir nodded at a Witch with long silver-and-black hair. Must be one of the ones he’d chivied off the field after the dragons had ordered it cleared. Other Shifters she didn’t recognize stood at their ease. Everyone’s relief was palpable. No matter what came next, they’d saved Arcadia—and their own magic.
“We can begin now,” Uroborus said. “Each of you will step forward and state your name and affiliation. I will begin. I am Uroborus, First Born Dragon and the symbol that life on Earth shall never fail.”
“Why did you leave Fire Mountain?” Raene asked.
Tarika huffed smoke her way, but Uroborus said, “I choose to answer her. The others here need to know as well.” He straightened amid the clanking of scales. “Dragons are a rather, ahem, insular lot.” He angled a pointed look at Tarika from beneath hooded lids.
She made shooing motions with her forelegs. “Och. Ye always did have a taste for the dramatic. If ye’d wait a moment, I would hear who stands with us in this courtyard, and then ye can continue. I am Tarika, First Born Dragon, I am also bonded to Britta Kilkerran, dragon shifter and Countess of Cumbria.”
Four dragons ranged between her and Uroborus—a gold, a blue, and two greens—rattled off what were probably their names in something that sounded like Gaelic, but it might have been a language unique to dragons. Regardless, Raene would have been hard-pressed to repeat their names since they all ran together in a mellifluous blend of sound.
Dee stepped forward. “Delia, leader of the wolf Shifters.” She shook blonde braids behind her shoulders.
“Gerald, head of the bear Shifters and Delia’s mate.”
A tall, rangy man with gray hair and keen dark eyes stepped forward. “Marko, leader of all varieties of bird Shifter.”
“Susannah, head Witch in the British Isles,” the woman with long black-and-silver hair murmured.
“Aegir, Selkie king, and this is my mate, Raene.”
“Krise, retired Selkie king and my mate, Gretta.”
The Arch Druid stepped forward. “I am Brother Loran, and these monks are Stephen and Richard. They are who shall return to Fire Mountain per my promise to dragonkind to provide two Druids in exchange for today’s assistance saving Arcadia.”
He took another step toward Tarika and fell to one knee. “Thank ye, First Born. From the bottom of my heart, I am so grateful, I doona have adequate words.”
“Get up,” Tarika said briskly. “No one with magic bows to me. Besides, once we stopped playing at war and settled in, no enemy could have withstood us. Dragon fury is a force of nature. Had Satan and his princes been on the field, we’d have chased them back to Hell in the midst of the carnage.” She scanned the group. “Ye three.” She puffed steam toward the back of the assemblage. “Come forward and name yourselves.”
A white-haired man and two younger women, one blonde and one red-haired walked closer to Tarika, stopping a respectful distance away. Like the Shifters, they wore formfitting leather clothing. Bows hung from their shoulders along with quivers full of arrows. The man inclined his head. “We are White Fae. We are few, but loyal to Arcadia and White Magic. We fought alongside you this day and sustained losses.”
He stopped to draw a breath. “We considered leaving, not attending this council, yet we decided not to let our dark cousins taint what we are.”
The Arch Druid raised a hand. Magic shot from it and traveled lazily, examining the Fae from head to toe. “Humph. Ye speak true.”
“Not much point in lying. Not in the midst of a group such as this,” the man retorted.
The White Fae stood their ground. They seemed edgy, but no one made a move to teleport out of the courtyard.
“We welcome you into our midst. Any who fight dark magic are our allies,” Tarika said and glanced at Uroborus. “Make it snappy. I have information I wish to impart.”
The black-and-gold dragon inclined his head. “I shall do my best long-lost sister.”
Tarika rolled her golden eyes. “Reminders willna buy you additional time.”
“Such a taskmistress.” The dragon’s golden eyes danced with mischief that didn’t match his words. “As I was saying, dragons are a bit on the stuffy side. Millennia ago, I set off to explore the world beyond Fire Mountain. Earth was verra young then, and men dwelt
mostly in caves. I spent long years in many different forms, culling through the world of men. They lacked purpose, meaning. Many were cruel, others merely pathetic.
“A verra long time afore Christ’s birth—and wasna it intriguing how he went from man to god for no apparent reason?—I discovered that my snake’s body inspired both fear and hope. Religious groups accepted me as a symbol of the divine, and their adulation augmented my power.
“Years passed. My desire to return to Fire Mountain first grew smaller and finally frittered to naught. Dragons no longer sought me out. I assumed my brethren had forgotten all about me, and I was comfortable with that outcome.”
“We never forgot about you,” Tarika cut in dryly. “Generations of young dragons turned you into a legend.”
Uroborus tilted his head back and blew a gout of flames high into the skies. “I am not proud of what happened next, but one day Azazael and Beelzebub paid me a visit. They brought rich gifts and sat and chatted for hours. It had been such a long while since I’d spent time in the company of magic, I rather enjoyed the attention and the companionship.”
More flames blasted skyward. “My seduction at the hands of evil dinna happen quickly. I venture as much as three or four centuries passed afore my first trip to Satan’s halls. The lord of Hell planned well. He set traps, snares. Once I was within his kingdom, my mind and my will werena truly mine again. I wandered in darkness, living on crumbs from Satan and his princes, until earlier today when these two women”—he pointed at Raene and Dee with a foreleg—“reminded me who and what I am.”
Even though Raene had known he was one of the First Born, she’d had no inkling of his fall from wisdom and grace. She squared her shoulders. “I am honored to have played a role in returning you to your rightful heritage.”
“As am I,” Dee chimed in. She shook her head. “I was playing long odds. I had no idea they’d yield such rich fruit.”
Tarika leveled her spinning gaze on Uroborus. “Ye are returning to Fire Mountain?”
“Aye, sister. Epiphany may have been a long time coming, but I’ll not stray again.”
Tarika raked her eyes over the other dragons. “Ye heard him.”
“Aye, we did,” they replied almost in unison. “And we shall hold him to his word.”
“That was unnecessary.” Uroborus managed to sound hurt and angry at the same time.
“Ah, but in my estimation ’twas,” Tarika replied.
The black-and-gold dragon opened his mouth, but shut it with a clack Raene felt in the pit of her stomach. Dragons had a mouthful of teeth. Maybe hundreds from the sound of things.
Tarika huffed smoke and steam. “One thing out of the way.” She glanced at Brother Loran. “Do your monks agree to abide by all of our laws and customs in Fire Mountain?”
Stephan and Richard bowed their heads and murmured. “Aye, of course.”
“Will ye release them at intervals to return to Arcadia?” the Arch Druid asked.
“So long as they serve well and faithfully, they will be released after six years. At that point, we will expect two more of your order to replace them.”
“Agreed,” Brother Loran said.
“Two things down,” Tarika muttered and folded her wings more firmly across her back. “Listen well, all of you. We did strong work today. We dealt a significant blow against evil, but we are not done. Ye canna let your guard down. Not today. Not tomorrow. Not ever. The battle against darkness willna go away. It is something that will always be with us, lurking in shadows and ready to crop up if we relax our vigilance.
“I willna lie to you. Dragonkind were quite contentious regarding our part in today’s victory. Many counseled we should stay out of anything that dinna directly impact Fire Mountain. They needed reminding, in clear and absolute terms, that if Arcadia fails, Fire Mountain will be at grave risk.”
Tarika balanced from one large hind leg to the other and back again as she pushed her curved spine straighter amid cracking bones and rustling scales. She extended her forelegs and made a circle with her curved talons. The sphere is our magic. Everything is interconnected.”
She moved one foreleg until her talons were offset by ninety degrees. “This”—she waggled one forefoot—“represents dark magic. Like ours, yet not. All power sprang from the same roots. Magic can trace its beginnings to before Earth formed from the sun. Long afore Fire Mountain was more than a gleam in some dragon’s eye, magic was brewing. Rich and heady and pure. How good and evil magic split from one another isna important. The vital part is ye never forget our power has common elements with that which we fight.”
“It’s bound to make things harder,” Aegir muttered.
“Aye, and ’tis how Uroborus was snared by Hell’s minions.”
The black dragon looked away, his earlier defiance absent. He might have been embarrassed. Raene couldn’t tell.
“What are ye proposing, Madame Dragon?” Brother Loran asked.
“’Tisn’t a proposal so much as a stipulation,” Tarika retorted. “Many dragons willna approve, but from today forth, we shall work together. If ye—any of ye—are threatened by dark magic, we would know about it. And we will do likewise. I hope battles such as today’s willna become frequent, but today cemented our commitment as associates. As allies.”
The dragon folded her forelegs across her scaled chest. “I would have your oath afore ye leave.” Rather creakily, she settled to the ground.
“Oath as in olden times where ye take our blood?” Krise asked.
Tarika nodded. “Exactly, Selkie. Will ye be the first?”
“I would be honored.” Krise walked to where the dragon towered above him, despite her sitting on the ground. He reached an arm upward. Tarika slashed a fingertip with her razor-sharp talons and bent her head to lick the drops of blood onto her tongue.
One by one, everyone in the courtyard mirrored Krise’s actions. When it was Raene’s turn, Tarika smiled at her. “Little Selkie, who is now my little dragon-rider. Come visit Britta and me anytime.”
“Aegir and I would be delighted to return to Fire Mountain.” Raene smiled. “Next time, I’ll make sure not to wear winter clothing.”
“Next time, ye’ll be our guests inside our caves. They’re quite a bit cooler than where ye waited while we argued how to proceed.”
Night was falling, the sky streaked with purples and pinks, when the last of them offered blood to the dragon. She sighed and pushed her bulk out of the dirt. “Only one last item, and then my dragons and I shall go home.”
Raene waited, wondering what it might be. She was weary but filled with wonder at Arcadia’s power pulsing beneath her feet. The magical land had done nothing but grow stronger the longer they remained in the Druids’ courtyard.
Tarika shuffled until she stood in front of Raene and Aegir. “Ye are mated, but not officially wed.” She puffed steam around them, warm and soothing. “Your nuptials will take place in Fire Mountain one month from today.” Tarika turned in a full circle. “Everyone here shall attend.”
“We may not have enough magic to trip the time travel tunnel,” the White Fae male said.
“It will work for you,” Tarika reassured him. “I shall have a discussion with the Guardian. He owes me a favor or two—or ten.” She laughed, puffing smoke and turned back to Raene and Aegir, quirking a scaly brow. “Well?”
“We are honored,” Aegir said.
“And touched,” Raene added. “Thank you so much for offering to host our wedding.”
“It’s not entirely altruistic, little Selkie. I wish to be there, and this is the easiest way.”
“I want to be there too.” Uroborus jumped into the conversation. “Which makes Fire Mountain a perfect location. Hell, I wanted to marry her myself. Would have if she weren’t taken.” His whirling gaze sought Dee out of the group. “Guess ye’re mated too?”
Laughing, she stepped forward. “Yup. That I am, but I appreciate the offer. It’s quite a compliment.”
The black-an
d-gold dragon puffed smoke. “I owe both of you—everything. And I shall never forget. It ye ever need aught, ye’ve only to call on me.”
Tarika’s golden eyes whirled faster. “’Tis quite a commitment…brother.”
“I mean every word.”
She nodded slowly. “I believe ye do. Come, dragons. Time for us to be gone.”
Amid a flurry of magic and brilliance, all six dragons vanished, leaving fiery contrails and residual smoke.
Raene stared after them. “Even after everything, it’s still hard to believe they’re real.”
“It is, isn’t it?” Dee walked closer and held out her arms. Raene hugged her. “Thanks for trusting me on short notice.”
“It wasn’t as if we had a whole lot of options,” Raene said. She stepped out of Dee’s embrace. “The hard truth is I’ve spent most of my life as a human. I don’t know how to take full advantage of my magic, so I have to trust others who do.”
“Hard to argue with success.” Gerald joined them. “Congratulations on your upcoming nuptials.” He smiled and extended a hand.
Raene shook it; so did Aegir.
Krise and Gretta moved closer. “It would be my pleasure to give the bride away,” he told Raene. “I knew your da afore evil took him. He wasna such a bad sort. Verra old school and strict in his younger years.”
“Aye, and I shall be your matron of honor,” Gretta said. Smiles wreathed her face. “Never thought I’d see my son married. I have to be close enough to make certain he doesna change his mind.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence, Mum.” Aegir looked askance at her.
“The best predictor of future actions—”
“Is past performance,” Aegir finished for her, adding, “I’m scarcely a lad in short pants anymore. I adore Raene. All will be well.”
Gretta gave him a quick hug. “I’m certain it will, but I want to be close by just the same.”
“That’s very kind of both of you,” Raene said and cast a pointed look Aegir’s way.
“What? First Mum and now you. Did I do something wrong?” He gazed fondly at her.
