by Ivy Clyde
“There’s another thing…” He hesitated, averting his gaze from me. “It’s about Helena.”
I waited for him to continue, already knowing he wanted me to help her.
“Do you have to force her into banishment?” he asked.
“Should I kill her instead?”
“Couldn’t she stay in the dungeons for the rest of her life?”
“What?” I took a closer look at Ren. “I can’t believe you’d say that. You want her to rot away in the dungeons when she could have a free life somewhere else?”
“It’s not what I want,” he said through gritted teeth. “It’s just…Helena’s mind has broken. I went to see her yesterday and she was deliriously talking about arranging a banquet for Ivan’s return. She believes he will come back any day now.”
“Are you sure staying in the dungeons isn’t having that effect on her?” I asked. The dungeons underneath the palace of Fuvaros were cold and dark. Not a single ray of the sun shone down in its depths. It was a lonely, miserable place to be confined in.
“It’s not the dungeons, Daria. Everything that’s happened since last week has played havoc with her mind. She can’t even differentiate the fact she’s in a cell and not in her chambers.”
I got to my feet, collecting my thoughts as I considered Helena’s circumstance. The burning anger I felt towards her had cooled by now. There was nothing she could do to me anymore. No way she could hurt my princes or my people.
“I will meet her,” I said, turning to face Ren. “Let me decide whether she is faking her mental breakdown or whether she is really ill. In the meantime, prepare the cremation grounds. I will be there shortly.”
He nodded and walked out of the room.
Straightening my skirt, I strode out of my chambers and into the corridor. A pair of guards bowed to me as I passed by. Every maid and servant that came on my path, bowed to me. It was a new unnerving feeling for a person who hid from plain view. Now, I was placing myself in full display in my regal gowns and jewels.
I made my way down to the dungeons. The security was stricter here.
To my surprise, most of the cells were full of prisoners. Were they really criminals or innocent people captured to be sold as slaves? I made up my mind to inquire about them.
For now, I had to meet Helena.
She was being held in one of the furthest cells. The temperature dropped considerably low. The flicker of flames from torches at the gates didn’t reach that part. As much as I hated her, it was punishment enough to spend days in that dark, desolate corner of the dungeon.
Coming to stand before her cell, I looked out at the figure that sat against the wall.
“Helena.”
The sound of my voice stirred her. Raising her head, she stared at me with wild eyes.
With a cry, she jumped to her feet and lunged at me, stretching her arms through the bars of the cell. Her long fingers clutched onto empty air instead of my throat as I stepped back in time.
“I will kill you!” she screamed. “My father will burn you to ashes. My brothers will peel the skin off you. Just you wait!”
There were dark hollows under her eyes. She’d gone gaunt and the coarse woolen dress they gave her hung off her bony shoulders. In the matter of a week, she’d wasted away.
“Your father and brothers are dead,” I told her. “Only Ren is alive.”
“Ren!” Tears streamed down her cheeks. “He brought in the healer who cured my burn. He made me beautiful again.”
“He is the only person who cares for you now.”
Suddenly, she burst into tears and fell against the bars. Sliding down to the ground, she wept, ignoring me completely. I was beginning to see why Ren thought she was losing her mind.
Turning away from her, I walked out of the underground prison.
Helena didn’t have any more strength to hurt anyone. I’d wanted her far from Fuvaros but it looked like sending her into the wild would certainly kill her. I needed more time to think about what to do with her. In the meantime, she could stay locked up as Ren had requested.
Leaving behind the damp and cold dungeon, I made my way outside the palace, reaching the spot where the cremation for Ivan and his sons would take place.
Ren stood with a group of soldiers. They each carried torches in their hands even though it was close to noon and the sun was shining brightly. Bowing to me in unison, they chorused, “Your Highness.”
I glanced at the three pyres set up there. The bodies were buried under the pile of logs and twigs, making it look like a mound for a bonfire.
“All of you stand as witnesses,” I said, walking towards the closest pyre.
A soldier moved forward to hand me the torch but I waved him off. I didn’t need it for the purpose of setting the wood on fire.
Conjuring my magic, I made the logs on all three pyres flame up at once. The dry wood combined with the breeze blowing by lit up the mound. Within hours, the bodies of Ivan and his sons would be reduced to ashes and scattered to the wind.
While some may think it was a somber funeral for the dead emperor and his sons, the dragonborns knew it to be the greatest insult to be burned in death. That was the way I was sending the man away who’d murdered the royal dragons of all four kingdoms. No one was going to be sorry for him.
Except for the filthy nobles of Drakhaven. They would be drowning in their tears as soon as they heard their emperor had been reduced to ashes.
“Come away,” I said. “Have the servants clean up the remains tomorrow morning.”
I was going to make sure no trace of these evil traitors would be left in Drakhaven.
15
Daria
Ren nibbled on a piece of fruit he’d picked up from a platter. He’d come in at the same time Jarina was laying the table with dishes for my dinner. I knew he wanted to talk about Helena, so I waited for him to start the conversation.
“Tasher is conspiring with the other nobles,” he said, popping a piece of melon in his mouth. “You’ll have to watch your back.”
That was surprising.
“Are they daft?” I asked. “Don’t they know better than to go up against a dragon?”
He shrugged, spearing a piece of roasted potato and eating it. “They are dead either way. Once your people come in and tell you their reports are full of horse dung, you’ll take away their titles at the very least. It’s their last stab at keeping their power. They don’t mind the risk.”
“I’ll be away from the palace over the next two days,” I said, taking a sip of wine. “It would be a good time to burn the entire field of dragonsbane weeds while I’m gone. I suspect the ashes and smoke to be poisonous too.”
He nodded. “Where will you go?”
“I am planning on visiting Norvin and Cain.”
“Baledonia is closest,” he remarked. “Why not go there first?” I hid the flush creeping up my cheeks by pretending to drink my wine. Ren caught on it immediately. “Unless, you’ve already been to Baledonia.”
I nodded sheepishly.
He grinned. “Even I didn’t suspect a thing. You’re great with stealth.”
We ate for a while before a new thought struck me. “I think we should re-start the scholar competitions, except this time, most of the government posts will be open to them. Since the nobles won’t last long, it’s best we start recruiting people who will do the jobs the noble were meant to.”
“That’s a good idea. You’re getting better at this job.”
I threw a sugared cherry at him and settled back in my chair with my goblet of wine.
“You didn’t want to talk about Helena?” I asked after a while.
“I did but didn’t know how to broach the matter.” A grim look settled over him. “She won’t last long. Let her stay here so I can at least watch over her.”
The image of Helena’s gaunt face rose up in my mind. While she hadn’t let go off the hatred she’d felt for me, it was easy to tell she was wasting away.
&nbs
p; “All right, then,” I said with a small sigh. “I’ll leave her in your hands but if she causes any trouble, it’s your head that will be rolling.”
“My head is already yours,” he said in a serious tone.
We sat a while longer, eating and drinking through the spread before us.
Once dinner was cleared away by Jarina and a handful of her trusted maids, I turned my attention back to Ren.
“Burn those weeds and tell the workers to break that damn wall. Get some gardeners to plant some rose bushes there. I want all memory of those weeds obliterated.”
“It will be done tomorrow,” he said, getting to his feet. “I’m guessing this is goodbye for now?”
I nodded. “I’ll leave for Redfall tonight.”
“Be careful on your way there as well as presenting yourself to the foreign courts. You’re not crowned as queen yet, so be aware of technicalities when they address you.”
“I’ll take care.”
When Ren left the room, I walked inside the bathing chamber where the maids had placed a full-length mirror. It was the only space to put it because my room was already crammed with stacks of ledgers and rolls of parchment.
Standing before the mirror, I took in the length of my skirt made of lush green silk. The hem was richly embroidered with silver threads. Silver jewelry studded with emeralds glittered at my throat and ears. A smile rose up on my lips. My days of being a vagabond were over. I had a permanent home now and I was going to be the queen of my nation.
Pride and gratitude swelled inside me, making my heart feel lighter than ever before.
There were a lot of things to be done before my child arrived in this world. I was willing to work hard to make it a better place for her with loyal aides surrounding our family instead of the corrupt, venomous nobles.
Walking back to the main chamber room, I closed the door.
It was time to fly to Edard, the capital of Redfall.
Opening one of the tall windows in my room, I climbed onto the ledge and jumped down, shifting in mid-air. With a few rapid beats of my massive wings, I rose higher and within a minute I was soaring over the palace grounds and towards my destination in the west.
It would be my first time to visit the kingdom of Redfall in the west. From the texts I’d read, the country was full of mountain cliffs and raging waterfalls. In fact, most of the rivers in the four kingdoms had their origin in the mountains of Redfall. It also happened to be the wettest place in the whole realm, causing hundreds of smaller waterfalls to build up during spring.
My heart soared as I flew towards my destination, hoping to surprise Norvin.
It was a while before I was able to locate Edard, the capital city of Redfall. While Huadu appeared in plain sight, Edard was hidden by peaks of mountains all around it. A large river gushed through it, winding its way from one of the high cliffs. It was there that I noticed the tall towers rising up against the horizon.
I’d had a glimpse of the palace once in Norvin’s psyche.
A whiff of cold slithered down my spine. It was the spot where he’d been forced to jump from into the churning river down below. Mekhi had made him choose between his life and the lives of his people.
It had been an easy decision for Norvin.
He’d chosen his people, allowing Makhi to torture him and then, throw his body into the river.
Mekhi thought it was enough to kill him but somehow, Norvin shifted into the form of a small water snake and drifted down the river to reach the stream flowing through Linmoor Valley where I’d picked him up as a pet.
The memories of our first meeting flashed in my mind as I flew over the palace of Redfall.
Another problem surfaced up. I had no idea where Norvin’s quarters were.
Your surprise will be a little bigger than I intended, I decided, flying lower over the grounds. It wasn’t long before some of the soldiers spotted me and created a ruckus. That should get his attention, I thought with a smile.
As I continued to circuit around the palace towers, the crowd of guards swelled all around me.
A high-pitched growl erupted behind me. Turning around, I saw a gigantic water dragon circling all around me, its blue-tinted scales glittering in the moonlight.
“Daria,” Norvin’s voice sounded in my mind. “I can’t believe it’s really you. These stupid soldiers thought it was Ivan and raised an alarm.”
“Unfortunately, my dragon resembles his,” I thought back, hoping he would hear me too.
“Let me get you out of here,” he said, leading the way towards the tallest tower of the palace.
I flew after him, coming to hover over a small, rounded terrace on the roof of the tower. Norvin shifted back to his human self. I followed suit.
My gaze lingered on Norvin, noticing how different he looked from his usual self.
He was dressed in long robes of maroon velvet, richly decorated with threads of gold. The henna was washed away from his hair, restoring it to their usual midnight-blue. His hair was tied up high on his head and a band of solid gold held it in place. Sapphire-encrusted jewels glittered at his neck and ears.
Norvin looked regal. He’d changed from the exiled prince to a king in the time we’d been parted.
I noticed him staring at me too, taking in my royal robes and jewelry with the same kind of awed interest.
“You look beautiful,” he said in a soft voice. Stepping closer, he pulled me into a hug and held me to his chest. “I’ve been so anxious for news from Drakhaven. Is everything all right?”
“Everything’s complicated,” I said, holding onto him. “But I’m not here to talk about that. I came to spend the night with you and listen to news from you. After all the disgusting politics of my court, I sorely needed a break.”
Norvin stepped back to take in my frown. Grinning, he said, “You’ve come to the right person.” Giving my hand a tug, he said, “Come on!”
He led me through a narrow staircase that took us to the depths of the palace. My gaze took in the beautiful sandstone that built up the walls. They were a natural shade of red. Lit torches lined our way.
“Where are we going?” I whispered after a while. “Why aren’t there any guards around?”
“These are my private quarters,” he said with a squeeze of my hand. “The guards are stationed outside.”
Pushing open a pair of tall doors, he led me inside a vast bedchamber.
Canopies of gossamer curtains flowed around the bed. Sheets of golden silk lay over the thick mattress. If possible, the royal chambers of Redfall were even more impressive than the ones in Baledonia.
“What are we doing here?” I asked, looking up at him.
“I am tying you up here tonight,” he said with a sudden darkening of his eyes.
“What?”
He grinned evilly, tightening the hold over my wrist. With a sudden move, he swept me off my feet and into his arms. A cry of surprise escaped me as he rushed to get me onto the bed.
Throwing me onto the mattress, he proceeded to tie up my wrists with a long length of a silken handkerchief he’d conjured from the folds of his sash.
“What are you doing?” I shouted as he raised my arms over my head and started tying the spare length of the cloth to the headboard. He pushed down my shoulders, making me lie on the bed.
“There,” he said in a satisfied tone. “All tied up and mine.”
A giggle rose up in my throat. “Seriously, Norvin. What are you thinking of doing? You know it won’t take much for me to get out of these flimsy bonds.”
He cocked an eyebrow at me, coming to position himself over me. “Don’t spoil my fun.”
“Fun?” The word barely left me when Norvin swooped down on me and captured my lips. The kiss seared my skin, drawing out a sliver of heat from deep within me. I moved my hands to hold him but a tug at my wrists reminded me how he’d tied me up.
Heat spread through me as Norvin’s hands trailed down my body. The slight bit of helplessness added to th
e “fun” as he teased me by lifting the hem of my skirt over my thighs.
“Be all mine tonight,” he said, raising his head to look into my eyes. “Be bound to me. For one night, let me pretend.”
Heart pounding in my chest, I gave a nod of my head.
My core throbbed in rhythm with my heartbeats as Norvin slowly began to undress me. The sense of helplessness that came with my wrists being bounded made a thrill shoot through me.
I moaned as Norvin closed his mouth over an exposed nipple and sucked gently. His hand roamed my naked body, marking a trail of heat. Raising his head, he glanced at me.
“I want to hold to you too,” I whispered.
“Not yet,” he replied, sensually kissing a line down the column of my throat. My skin felt extra sensitive as his warm breath spread across it. My entire body was coming alive with throbbing sensations.
Norvin’s exploring hand dipped down to my sex. His fingers swiped my slit, making me gasp out as they as my clit pulsed with the need to be touched.
“Touch me there,” I said through a choked-up breath.
Norvin obeyed, sliding two digits inside my slick channel. “You’re already so wet, darling,” he crooned, letting his thumb press on my clit. “And so very tight.”
I moaned, shifting my body while the length of cloth binding me tugged at my wrists. The desire to touch Norvin was so great, I kept pulling at the makeshift rope.
“Such impatience,” he whispered with laughter in his voice.
“Please, Norvin,” I begged, but next moment I was gasping as unbearable pleasure took control of me. My body went taut as he stroked my clit and continued to slide his fingers in and out of me.
My mouth opened wide in a silent shout as waves of ecstasy cascaded down my body. The bindings bit into my wrists as my body trembled with the effects of a massive orgasm.
I stared at Norvin with lust-glazed green eyes as he pulled his fingers out of me.
“I am going to take you this way,” he said in a measured tone.
The deep baritone of his voice left me breathless. Heart thudding with anticipation, I waited for him to get rid of his clothes. Mercifully, he was quick about it.
