by Tara West
Feira broke into cackling laughter that startled Dianna. She slapped her knee, flashing a sideways smile. “Then they haven’t changed much these three hundred years.”
Her jaw dropped. “You are three hundred years old?”
“Child.” Fiera wagged a finger, laughter still twirling in her eyes. “Do you not know it’s rude to ask an old woman her age?”
“Forgive me.” She bowed her head. “I did not mean to offend.”
“No offense taken.” Fiera waved off her words with a flick of the wrist. “But how kind of you to worry.” She took another sip of wine, then wiped her red-stained lips with the back of her hand. “Are you sure you’re Madhea’s child?”
There was no mistaking the sarcastic humor in the old woman’s tone. It was then she realized how much she liked her cousin Feira.
“Unfortunately, yes.” She leaned back in her chair, the warmth from the wine seeping into her bones and making her feel more at ease than she had in weeks. “I was not raised by her and have only just learned she was my mother.”
“Who raised you then?”
She swallowed a lump of emotion as she thought of the kind mortals who’d raised her. They’d been killed two winters past, leaving Dianna alone to care for her brother. With no one else to rely on, her magic seemed to bloom out of necessity. If only she’d had magical powers when her parents were buried by that avalanche, she might have been able to save them.
She choked back tears of regret, clearing her throat. “My foster parents were villagers of Adolan, a city below Madhea’s ice mountain.”
Feira’s eyes widened. “I know of Adolan. I cannot believe Madhea would give a child of such magic to mortals.”
“She didn’t give me to them,” she explained. “The Elementals switched me at birth with a mortal child, tricking both my foster parents and Madhea, because they were afraid Madhea would use my power for evil.”
“They were right, and it bodes well that your sisters still try to contain your mother’s power. And what of this mortal child given to Madhea?”
“Her name was Jae.” Guilt washed over her as she twisted a strap of her worn leather vest around her finger. “Madhea has already killed her.”
“Sickening, but I’m not surprised.” Feira let out a heavy sigh and sank back in her chair. “Your mother has no respect for human life.”
Dianna agreed, though it took her a few moments to gather her composure, her throat still feeling constricted. Though she’d never had the opportunity to meet Jae, she knew the girl must have had a loving heart, like her birth parents, for she’d sacrificed her life to save Markus from Madhea. Had Jae survived, Dianna knew she would have loved the girl like a sister.
Feira tapped a finger to her lips, lost in reflection. “Why did she kill her? Was she a sacrifice?”
Was it a common thing for goddesses to sacrifice mortals? She certainly hoped not. The thought of one of her brothers on a sacrificial alter made her stomach sour.
“A sacrifice? No.” Dianna wished she could put distance between herself and the disturbing look in her cousin’s eyes. “My brother told me it was because Jae betrayed Madhea.”
“Ah, I see.” Feira rubbed her temples, her voice deflating like she’d run out of breath. “Tell me about Madhea’s pixies.”
Pixies? First human sacrifices and now pixies? She wondered where these questions had come from. “I know nothing of the pixies, other than they delivered Markus safely back to Adolan after his confrontation with Madhea.”
Feira’s jaw dropped. “Why would they do such a thing?”
This old woman’s questions were becoming more perplexing. Dianna tried to recall what Markus had told her. “Because the Elementals told them to.”
Feira clenched the gnarled armrests of her ornate chair, her knuckles cracking against the wood. “So these pixies obey both Madhea and the Elementals?”
“I believe so.” Dianna was unnerved when the gleam in Feira’s eyes intensified. “Why?”
Feira rubbed her hands together. “This gives me hope, child.”
“Hope for what?”
“Hope for humanity,” Feira said in a knowing tone. “Did you not try to control the pixies?”
“No.” She frowned. What would she have done with thousands of little winged demons with razor sharp teeth? “After they delivered Markus, they flew back up Ice Mountain.”
Feira’s thoughts seemingly wandered again as her eyes glazed over. “Tell me about the ice dragon.”
She coughed into her fist, then gazed upon the swirling mists on the floor. “Madhea turned Lydra upon the people of Adolan, which is why I had to steal her away.”
Feira arched a pale brow. “So you left your family behind to bring the dragon here?”
“My parents are dead. One brother has returned to his friends in Ice Kingdom, and my other two brothers travel to Aloa-Shay in search of a safe place for our people.” Her stomach churned, making her feel as if she’d swallowed a bucket of rocks. She worried over her brothers, especially Desryn, who was barely ten summers old.
Feira shook her head, clucking her tongue. “My dear, Aloa-Shay is no safer. Madhea’s cruel sister Eris rules those waters.”
She jumped from her seat, the wine swimming in her head nearly making her topple forward. She pressed a hand against her spinning skull. “I must fly to them.” She’d never be able to live with herself if her brothers perished.
Feira rose, latching onto Dianna’s wrist with a firm grip. “And risk Eris capturing your dragon?”
She pulled away from Feira and paced, the mist swallowing up her feet. “Then what do I do?” She turned to Feira, throwing up her hands. “I can’t do nothing.”
Feira leaned against her chair, groaning as her knees made sickening popping sounds. “My dear, I didn’t expect you’d do nothing, but you will need training if you are to defeat two goddesses.”
The food roiling in her stomach practically catapulted into her throat. Was Feira in earnest? Did she expect Dianna to wage war against two powerful and vindictive goddesses? “I’m not trying to defeat them, only to find safety for my family and friends.”
Feira smoothed her hands over her knees, seemingly oblivious to Dianna’s dilemma. “They shall never be safe as long as evil rules our earth.”
Oh, heavenly Elements, Feira has to be mad! “My magic is not strong enough to take on two goddesses.”
Feira flashed a crooked smile. “Perhaps not your magic, but you have another power at your disposal that they do not.”
She froze. Had Feira known about Dianna’s magic stone all along? “W-What?” she asked, though she feared she already knew the answer.
She flinched when Feira placed a hand over her heart.
“This,” the old woman said with a wink. “As long as you have love in your heart, there is hope for humanity.”
She stepped back as the stone warmed her chest. “Love will not overcome Madhea’s thunderbolts.”
Feira opened her mouth as if to speak, but then she smiled at something beyond Dianna’s shoulder.
“Grandmother, is it true Madhea has come with her ice dragon?”
When Dianna turned at the sound of a man’s booming voice, the rocks in her stomach turned to butterflies, spinning circles before fluttering all the way to her heart.
The bronze-skinned man approaching them had to be the handsomest person she’d ever seen. He was tall and muscular, like the other sand dwellers, and his dark hair was woven into a thick braid that hung down his back. But whereas their faces were made of severe, hard angles, he had a mischievous tilt to his full lips and a wicked gleam in his golden eyes that turned Dianna’s knees to jelly.
“No, not Madhea.” Feira heaved herself into her chair, her knees cracking again. She waved at Dianna with a casual flick of the wrist. “Her daughter, Dianna. She means us no harm. She is a guest here and will be treated as such.”
Something flashed in his eyes before the man broke into a wide grin. “Yes,
Grandmother.”
He turned to Dianna with a graceful bow, and she thought she heard her heart hit the floor. Why did he have this effect on her? She had many suitors in Adolan and the neighboring village, but no other man had made her heart race and her knees weaken before.
Feira raised her chin. “Simeon, my grandson many times removed.” The old woman’s pride in him shone through a toothless grin that nearly stretched ear-to-ear.
She straightened her shoulders and cleared her throat, doing her best not to sound like a cooing, love-struck bird. “Hello, Simeon.”
“Welcome to the Shifting Sands, my lady.” He bowed, reaching for her hand.
She instinctively stepped back, putting enough distance between them that he couldn’t touch her, despite how badly she wanted him to take her hand. “Dianna will do.”
He straightened, flashing a grin that would rival the wickedness of Madhea’s pixies. “Very well, Dianna.”
When her name rolled off his tongue in a soft purr, she knew this man was trouble. But her brothers were in danger, and she had no time for flirting, no matter how much those butterflies in her heart revolted.
“Simeon, will you kindly show our honored guest to a chamber?” Feira batted her eyes, biting her lip like a love-struck girl. “I’m sure she would appreciate a bath and fresh clothes.”
“Of course, Grandmother.” He bowed to the old woman, then held out his arm to Dianna, the gleam in his eyes reminding her of a hungry snow bear stalking his prey.
“Do not fret, child. You will be safe with Simeon,” Feira said with a knowing smirk.
She wasn’t so sure, but she joined him anyway.
“Certainly she will be. I do not bite.” He flashed a sideways smile before whispering in her ear. “Unless you ask me to.”
She jerked away, scowling even as his smile widened.
He let out a low chuckle and held out his arm, obviously unnerved by her scowl. “Come with me, please.”
When Dianna hesitantly slipped her hand through the crook of his arm, she felt as if she was being pulled into her own, personal hell. What power did this man have over her, and how had her foolish heart easily succumbed to his command? Simeon was far more lethal than any dragon.
* * *
Simeon led Dianna through a winding maze into the bowels of the underground caverns. The farther they descended, the cooler the dark air became, for which Dianna was grateful. Though she was impervious to the Elements, she preferred the feel of a soft breeze tickling her nape to the trickle of sweat. She managed to touch a few stones along the the way. They were damp and cool. There must be a water source nearby. Their route had twisted and turned so many times, perhaps they were now under the pond where she and Lydra had played.
Men and women walked past them, some balancing baskets laden with food and wine jugs on their heads. They were dark-skinned like Simeon. The women had long, lean legs and beautiful, smooth skin. The men had broad backs and barrel chests. They were built like warriors, which was good should the evil goddesses ever send her army to attack.
As she and Simeon walked arm in arm, Dianna couldn’t help but be unnerved by the glares from the sand dwellers. The women were the worst. Though they bowed their heads, they glowered at her from under their lashes, their mouths tight, as if they’d just eaten sour meat.
Did they despise her for her lineage or something else? When the women alternated between scowling at Dianna and swooning over Simeon, she realized they were jealous of her.
“Hello, Simeon.” A group of girls giggled behind their hands before shooting mean looks at Dianna. One girl even spit precariously close to Dianna’s feet.
She did her best to ignore them. It was too soon to make enemies, though it took all of her restraint not to lash out when magic tickled her palms. How she’d love to knock the girls back on their arses, like she’d done with Tan’yi’na.
“Ladies,” Simeon said to another group of girls who stood in their way.
They swooned, then shot eye daggers at Dianna. What did she care about them anyway? She had powerful magic and her own ice dragon. She could freeze them in blocks of ice should they look at her sideways again.
Careful, Dianna. You sound like your mother.
She flinched and nearly tripped over her own feet at the sound of Sindri’s admonition echoing in her head.
“Easy.” Simeon laughed, tightening his hold on her arm. He led her toward an open archway carved into the stone walls.
Dianna paid Simeon and her surroundings little heed. Sindri was right. She had sounded like the evil sky goddess. What had come over her?
A pretty, slender girl with skin the color of polished onyx ducked under an overhang of jagged rocks and smiled brightly when she saw Simeon approaching.
Dianna tensed, squeezing Simeon’s arm harder and feeling the barbs of jealousy pierce her heart.
The girl strode up to them, swaying her hips, a basket of brightly painted fabric balanced on her head. “Is that a new tattoo, Simeon?” she asked, ignoring Dianna and running a palm down Simeon’s thick biceps.
He released Dianna to flex his arm for the girl. “It is. Do you like it?”
She couldn’t help but gawk at the gold ink that formed a seven-pointed star over the bulge in his arm. She stood aside, instantly missing the smell of Simeon’s warm musk. When the girl ran long fingers down his arm, Dianna repressed a curse.
“Eris and her daughters, I love it. I have a new tattoo as well,” the girl whispered loud enough for Dianna to hear, smirking at her before turning her doe eyes back to Simeon. “I cannot show you here.” She trailed fingers down his arm. “Perhaps if you visit my chamber later.”
“It would be my pleasure,” he purred.
The girl giggled, then strode away, exaggerating the sway of her hips.
Stinking siren, she thought.
Easy, Dianna, Sindri warned.
She did her best to ignore her cousin, thinking perhaps she’d toss the stone in the pond when she visited her dragon. She inwardly smiled when Sindri’s gasp ricocheted in her head.
Simeon pushed open the heavy wooden door to a lavishly decorated chamber, and she paused on the threshold, amazed. Never before had she seen such a stunning room. It was far more extravagant than anything she was used to. The stone walls were hidden behind colorful tapestries, and rugs of the softest fur covered the floors. In the center was a canopy bed, decorated with dozens of fluffy pillows. Beside the bed was a beautiful dresser that appeared to be chiseled from white stone. But most impressive of all was the pool—a shallow well carved into the floor with steps that led to a deeper end where a waterfall cascaded down the uneven stone walls. Finely woven towels and bars of soap had been set at the edge of the pool. Was this some sort of heavenly bath? It was large enough to fit a dozen people.
She was so enamored with the room, she almost forgot her annoyance with Simeon’s admirers. Almost. The giggling outside her door was a nagging reminder that he was only a breath away from incessant flirting. She’d never seen girls with such lack of self-control. And the people of Adolan had chastised her for wearing men’s breeches. That was nothing compared to the wild behavior of Shifting Sands women. They acted as if Simeon had magically charmed them into behaving like fools.
A thought struck her. What if he had used magic to charm them? ’Twould explain Dianna’s jealousy, for she’d never felt so possessive of a man before. If Simeon had the magical ability to charm, he was indeed far more dangerous than Tan’yi’na.
I was wondering when you’d figure it out, cousin, Sindri echoed.
Dianna blew out a frustrated breath. Stay out of my head, Sindri.
The stone had been quiet for weeks, only making an appearance to chastise her or confirm she’d been acting like a fool. And now she felt like one, to have fallen for Simeon’s magical charms. Well, she wasn’t going to fall for him any longer.
“Do you find your chamber suitable?”
Simeon sat on the edge of her bed. He�
��d kicked off his sandals and was looking at her with that wicked gleam in his eyes.
She turned up her chin. “Yes, quite suitable.” She jutted a finger toward the door. “If you don’t mind, please leave.”
He patted the bed. “But we haven’t yet gotten acquainted.” He leaned back on his elbows, flexing chest muscles.
When he tossed a long braid behind a toned shoulder, winking up at her, her admiration for Simeon turned to irritation. He was preening like a bird ruffling his feathers. He must have taken her for a simpleton.
More nauseating giggles could be heard outside, followed by Simeon’s name being whispered over and over. Dianna tried to suppress her annoyance, ignoring the heat that flamed her chest and face. The laughter continued, and it took all of her willpower not to blast the heavy door off its hinges. She balled her hands into fists, magic pulsing in her fingers.
“You are quite popular among the ladies,” she said through clenched teeth, trying her best to sound indifferent and failing miserably.
He arched a thick brow, flashing a wolfish grin. “You noticed?”
“Even a blind woman would notice.” She frowned at the door. They were scratching on it now like mongrels, begging to be let inside. “They swarm you like flies to a rotting carcass.”
“A rotting carcass?” He shot up, his wide eyes reminding her of Desryn’s contrite dog after he’d been caught trying to steal her food. “Surely you could think of a better comparison than a pile of putrid meat.”
She jutted hands on her hips, blowing out a frustrated breath. “No, not really.” Sindri’s soft laughter reverberated in her head.
The door squeaked open, and a cluster of young women barged inside, carrying baskets of wine and richly colored fabrics.
“Who are they?” Dianna demanded as the women glared at her, then preened for Simeon.
One woman said, “We are here to attend you.”
She studied her. Unlike most of the other sand people, her eyes were dark. She had a long, jagged scar from ear to temple. Dianna wondered if the scar had been made by a powerful magic too strong for Feira or her healers to treat.
