by Susan Illene
He opened the door. A young warrior Aidan had only seen in passing stood outside it. His expression was blank, but there was a nervous tick in his jaw. Whatever this was about, it couldn’t be good.
“What?” Aidan bit out.
“Zoran wants you out in the courtyard.”
He put a hand on the doorframe. “What for?”
“He hasn’t said yet, but it’s not just you he wants out there,” the young warrior replied.
“I’ll be there in a minute.”
Aidan slammed the door. For Zorya’s sake, his oldest brother was up to something. He’d felt it in the way Zoran acted the last time he saw him. Too much restless energy. Aidan knew from experience that always resulted in battles and death. The only questions remaining were the who, what, where, and when.
He went to the basin to wash his face. Aidan wasn’t dirty, but he needed the cool water against his skin to calm his dragon. The beast clawed at his mind, suspecting whatever was going on in the courtyard would send his temper rising—and he’d need to hide the anger as he always did.
Once he felt calm and collected he headed out, passing through the maze of corridors and down the stairs. Just before Aidan reached the great hall, Kayla stopped him. He waved her over to an empty antechamber.
“I’ve been watching Ruari like you asked,” she said.
Aidan nodded. “Has he done anything suspicious?”
Her brows drew together. “Not that I can tell. The only people he’s spoken to have been Zoran and that woman he was with when you pointed him out to me.”
“You mean Ember?”
“Yeah, that’s her,” Kayla agreed.
Ruari’s involvement with that particular shape-shifter woman had been a recent development. She came from one of the lesser respected families—meaning they had few warriors among them or professions useful to the clan. Several of her relatives, including her father, were known to be lazy or to gain their coin by ill-gotten ways. Ember must have kept a low profile since Aidan hadn’t even known her name until he discovered Ruari’s interest in her. That had been enough incentive to find out.
“How often is he with her?” he asked.
“Most of his free time and she spends the mornings with him.”
He stared up at the ceiling, considering Kayla’s report. What would cause a pendragon’s son to sleep with one of the lowest women in the clan? Was there something special about her or was he using her?
“Thank you, Kayla.” Aidan smiled at her. “You’ve been helpful.”
Her brows drew together. “Should I keep watching him?”
“I wouldn’t want you to risk yourself further.”
Her face fell. “But I wouldn’t mind. He doesn’t pay any attention to humans.”
Aidan didn’t like using the young woman. It was dangerous and it felt wrong. Why did she persist in wanting to help him? Did she actually enjoy it?
“If you have the time and do not fear for your safety, then you can continue watching him. The moment he notices you, though, you stop. Do you understand me?” Aidan gave her a stern look.
She bobbed her head. “Absolutely.”
“Good. Now go.”
Kayla gave him a bright smile before rushing off. Aidan shook his head, mystified by the young woman’s behavior. Did humans enjoy spying? Perhaps he should have befriended some of the older ones if they could be this eager to help.
Aidan made his way out to the courtyard and found twenty warriors waiting there, as well as his brother. Zoran stood before them with his hands on his hips, scowling in his usual fashion. His brother spotted him a moment later and his expression hardened.
“Good of you to join us, Aidan. We wouldn’t want the clan hero to miss the biggest battle yet since our return to Earth,” Zoran said, speaking loud enough for half the fortress to hear him.
Inside his head, Aidan’s dragon roared. He tamped the creature down and moved to stand beside the other warriors. He was sick to death of his brother’s taunts about his recent show of prowess. If only he could dissuade him from the idea he’d done anything all that notable.
“I’m here—in whatever way you need me,” he responded, giving a courteous bow of his head. A few of the nearest warriors cast Aidan curious glances. He pretended not to notice.
Zoran folded his arms. “That’s rather generous of you, considering what we are about to do. It is time for us to expand our territory. Today we will take the eastern part of the city the humans call Norman and claim it for ourselves—freeing it of the pure dragons.”
Warriors shifted on their feet, a few coughed, but none cheered. What Zoran proposed would require a good deal more fighters than twenty-two. Even fifty might not be enough.
“Do you have a plan for this?” Falcon asked in a gruff voice.
Aidan was relieved to see the warrior present. They’d need him if they were to have any chance of succeeding in the day’s battle. It was too bad Donar couldn’t join as well, but it was best not to bother him when his father needed his assistance.
“Yes,” Zoran answered, pacing before them. “I’ve sent scouts out over the last few days to locate all the dragon dens. There are only three we must strike to accomplish our goals. If we hit each one hard and swiftly, we can win this.”
“And how will we hold it after we’ve taken it?” an older warrior questioned.
Zoran’s yellow eyes darkened with annoyance. “The same way we’ve always held territory, by patrolling and defending it.”
While their clan was capable of holding a lot more land, they weren’t ready to do so. At least, not until the earth tremors stopped damaging the fortress and the human forces quit attacking them. Or bombing them, as Bailey had explained when he’d asked. Expanding their territory before they were ready was foolish. Aidan couldn’t imagine why the pendragon would authorize it.
“When do we leave?” Falcon asked.
“In half an hour. Everyone should meet outside the fortress gates.” Zoran gave them a few more instructions before dismissing them.
Aidan wished he could stop by Donar’s place and at least let him know where he was going, but he didn’t have time. Instead, he hurried to his father’s chambers. He had to find out for himself if the pendragon knew what his son planned. Throm usually made his presence known before a battle as big as this one, whether he joined it or not.
Going through the great hall, he caught sight of his sister. Aidan grabbed her arm and pulled her to the side. “Do you know what Zoran is up to?”
“You mean his idiotic idea for attacking pure dragon territory?” Her lips thinned. “I just heard.”
“Father can’t have authorized this.”
She shook her head. “I don’t know. No one has seen him today.”
That didn’t bode well.
“Do me a favor and let Donar know what is going on. He’s busy helping his father and probably hasn’t heard.” Not to mention they’d be expecting Aidan to come by.
“I can do that,” Phoebe agreed. Then she clasped his arm and gave him a solemn look. “Be careful, brother.”
He clasped her arm as well. “I will.”
Aidan continued his journey through the fortress to his father’s upstairs rooms. When he reached them, he found two guards outside the doors. He frowned. His father rarely bothered to keep guards around him. It was a dragon’s pride to need no help defending himself.
“I need to see the pendragon,” he said, stopping before them.
“He’s taken ill,” one guard informed him.
Aidan’s gut churned. Had Ruari poisoned him without Kayla knowing? The clan healer couldn’t use the stone’s magic on illness, only injuries. He had to rely on herbs and other remedies in the rare times shape-shifters became sick.
“I’ll see him, anyway.” He pushed through, ignoring the guards’ protests. As the son of the pendragon, they couldn’t stop him.
He entered the room and found his father lying on his bed. It was large and made entirely
of stone with stuffed camrium cloth for cushioning. Such a setup was not as comfortable as the human versions, but some shape-shifters were known to belch an occasional breath of fire in their sleep. They couldn’t risk lying on burnable materials since not everything could be made fireproof.
“Father, how are you?” Aidan came to the side of the bed.
Throm’s gaze moved toward him. “Just needing a little rest. Not to worry, son, I’m not dying yet.”
The pendragon went into a coughing fit. Aidan waited for him to finish, noting the sound of his breathing was raspy and his face was flushed. His father showed no signs of poison. Rather, he was exhibiting signs of the dragon version of the flu that went around each year. Some of the weight lifted from Aidan’s shoulders. It would take Throm a few days, but he’d recover from the illness.
“Are you aware of Zoran’s battle plans?” Aidan asked.
“Yes. He wishes to prove himself to the clan,” the pendragon answered, letting out another cough. “You’ve inspired him.”
“This is too dangerous. We are not ready to expand our territory.”
His father let out a ragged sigh. “If you believe that to be so, then point it out to him.”
“It should come from you,” Aidan insisted. They both knew if he questioned his brother it would cause problems.
“Son, you have one of two choices—lead or let someone else do it. You must decide which you prefer.” The pendragon waved a hand at him. “Now go and let me rest.”
Aidan tried to argue further, but Throm wouldn’t listen. With a heavy heart, he walked away. How could his father let Zoran make such a grave mistake? This was the time to fortify their defenses and study the new land where they now lived. Attacking the pure dragons this soon would only weaken them. Aidan knew it, even if his father and brother did not.
He found several men and women passing out drinks to the warriors gathered outside the gates. When he joined them, Ember brought a cup of mead for him. What was she doing here? Ruari wasn’t even taking part in the battle.
“Here.” She held the cup out.
He took it. “My thanks.”
There was something in her gaze when it met his—a flash of malevolence she quickly hid. He stared down at his cup and suspected drinking it would cause his death one way or another. His dragon roared in his head, cautioning him further.
It wouldn’t be a poison that killed him right away. No, it would be one that weakened him just before the battle so that he could not fight at full strength. Considering it further, Aidan wondered if that wasn’t how some of the other candidates for pendragon had died. It had also been in battles, but in ones where they should have prevailed against their enemies.
Aidan looked up and found that Ember had moved away, heading for the gates. He had no way of being certain the poison was in his cup. If he called her out for it, they’d require the mead be tested on someone less important. Either someone else would become sick or he’d look like a fool for being paranoid should the mead prove untainted.
“A toast for the upcoming battle!” Zoran announced, raising his cup.
It was a tradition for warriors to drink together before heading out. Aidan checked to be sure no one was watching and poured his in the grass. While everyone else gulped theirs down, he pretended to drink his. The superstitious part of him was bothered that he couldn’t drink with his clan members. It was considered bad luck to not do so. He gritted his teeth as he realized Ruari had won this round whether Aidan consumed the mead or not.
Servants took the cups away. The warriors spread out and let the fire consume them as they shifted to their dragon forms. There was no time to waste now that they’d had their pre-battle drink. The twenty-two of them headed into the sky in a “V” formation, going northwest. Zoran gave instructions telepathically, letting them know what to expect at their first stop.
Aidan recognized the den his brother described, having noted it before. It was near the area where Bailey had been attacked by humans and damaged her truck. He’d known there was a nest there, but with ten dragons living there he and Donar couldn’t take it out on their own.
They came upon two large green dragons shortly before they reached the den. Zoran and another warrior known for his prowess attacked them. The rest of the group kept watch in case more showed up. In the air, there was little else they could do to help them.
When one green dragon fell from the sky, Aidan hurried down to check on it. The dragon’s wings and stomach were cut badly, but it wasn’t dead yet. It lay there heaving for breath with its legs twitching. He bit into its neck and broke it. He didn’t believe in letting an opponent suffer through a slow death. Not when he could end it quickly.
Another dragon landed a handful of paces away—Zoran’s kill. Aidan didn’t need to finish it off. The dragon had landed at a bad angle and broken its neck. He flew back up and joined the formation as they finished the journey to the first dragon den. Six of them were already taking to the air, having seen the red dragons coming.
Their formation swooped low and they worked together to knock their targets to the earth. Zoran had been showing off by fighting in the air, but a shape-shifter’s advantage was below. Their bodies were better designed than pure dragons for ground combat since their arms and legs were shaped more like humans.
Aidan joined Falcon in tearing one opponent apart. They made quick work of him and searched for another after they were finished. Two more dragons were approaching from the west—the remaining two for the den. They hovered in the air over the battle and blew streams of fire below. It was meant to provide cover so that their brethren could attempt to get away.
“Let’s take them down,” Falcon said.
They flew up together with two other shape-shifters, going through the fire. Each warrior grabbed a green dragon leg and forcefully pulled the new arrivals to the ground. They struggled and fought the whole way. Once they had them on their backs, they tore into them with teeth and claws until no pure dragon moved.
“On to the next,” Zoran announced to the group.
The second target was farther to the north. Aidan had not spotted it before, having avoided that particular section of town because the pure dragon patrols were too numerous for him and Donar to circumvent.
“We don’t have an accurate account of the number who stay in this den, but we estimate it at about twenty,” his brother briefed them.
Aidan didn’t trust Zoran’s information. Based on what he’d seen by watching from the outskirts, the numbers had to be higher. He could only hope most of them were away.
They ran into a patrol of four well before reaching the den. A handful of warriors who had not fought yet surged ahead to prove their prowess. Aidan and Falcon watched as they took the dragons down. There had been no need for assistance.
Two more dragons appeared before they could move on. He and Falcon were the closest and flew to meet them. Aidan slashed at his opponent’s eyes and narrowly avoided getting bit in the neck. He went for his enemy’s wings next, tearing gashes into one of them. The green dragon flapped heavily trying to stay aloft. Aidan wasn’t large or strong enough to pull him down, but he kept slashing at the wings. His opponent sliced into his belly in return, sending fiery pain through him.
Aidan’s inner dragon roared with anger. He punched his opponent in the nose and went for his neck next, sinking his fangs deeply into the larger creature’s throat. Claws ripped at his back, but it didn’t damage his scales. Aidan eased his teeth, then bit down harder. Bones crunched as his jaw clamped tighter. His opponent went limp and he had to let go before getting dragged to the ground with him. There was no need to check, the dragon was dead.
Their formation flew on. Zoran’s head swung back, letting Aidan see the seething anger in his eyes. “Well done, brother. I hadn’t thought you could win a fight in the air.”
His tone had been mocking. Aidan had no doubt Zoran brought him on this mission thinking he couldn’t fight as well in his dragon for
m. He and his brother rarely fought battles together and Zoran never invited him on select missions such as this.
The den came up ahead—a set of large buildings where they’d burned holes for access. At least two dozen dragons came pouring out of the structures. The tension within Zoran’s formation grew heavy. There was no way they could fight that many without losing at least a few of their own, but it was too late to turn back.
Zoran shouted encouragements in their minds as they drew closer and met the dragons in the air. Roars and snarls rose up as green against red collided. Aidan took on a dragon at the edge of the formation. It was even larger than the last one he’d fought and better at dodging his attempts to slash at its wings. He went to punch it in the nose, but it used its stubby front legs to swipe his arm away.
Aidan leaned back and struck out with the claws at his feet, managing to get a tear in the dragon’s belly. It thrust forward, going for his neck. He grabbed the dragon’s mouth and held it open, then roared blue and purple fire down his throat. Aidan couldn’t have said why he used the flames that were meant to fire-proof. No one ever used them in battle, but it worked. The pure dragon gurgled and clawed at his throat as if he couldn’t catch his breath. Aidan took the opportunity to rip his opponent’s wings to shreds. The creature plummeted to the earth.
He headed to the ground and found the dragon still struggling for air. Perhaps it would recover with time, he didn’t know. Aidan avoided its flailing legs and ripped into its belly, tearing it wide open. He reached within and found the heart. With one claw, he pierced it. The light went out in the dragon’s eyes and his body slackened. Aidan’s inner beast growled in satisfaction at the kill.
He gazed around and found all his brethren caught up in battles. Three green dragons lay dead aside from his own kill, but he also caught sight of a red dragon down. It was one of the youngest warriors in his group.
Aidan searched for who needed his help the most, but movement in the sky caught his attention. Another twenty pure dragons headed toward them. Whether they came from the same den or another, Aidan couldn’t have said. They swooped toward the ground, roaring out red and orange flames that filled the air.
