“No way,” said Megan. “That’s way to dangerous!”
Lou put both her hands on Megan’s shoulders. “I came here to help, not hide,” she said. “I can use a spell to make myself very hard to see, and all I’m going to do is keep watch. I won’t put myself in any real danger, I promise.”
Megan wasn’t sure she could handle letting another important person in her life risk their skin to protect her. Lou, however, didn’t give her the option to argue. With one final squeeze of Megan’s shoulders, she walked out the back door of the kitchen and into the early morning sun.
* * *
Two agonizing hours of quiet unknowing passed.
People’s muscles were cramping from crouching underneath tables or standing behind shelves. Megan and her family were crowded in the supply closet, the same one Megan had changed in the first day working in the castle. Amara and Esma were in there as well. Megan was standing with her ear pressed against the door, listening for any sounds of trouble. Even though her body ached and her bones kept begging her to lie down and take a nap, her mind was awake with a sickening, jittery anticipation.
The sound of pots and pans crashing and a young woman screaming brought the rest of the poor souls hiding in the closet out of the complacent, exhausted stupor they had fallen into and back to reality. Megan lifted up the frying pan and readied herself at the door. Somebody tried the handle, but didn’t force it.
“Megan, it’s me.” It was Lou.
Megan unlocked the door, which was immediately thrust open. “They are in the castle,” she said. “One of them came through the kitchen door, I saw him and was able to take him out.” Megan got on her tip-toes to see over Lou’s head, where an impossibly huge werewolf was laying, unconscious, in a pile of disarrayed kitchenware. Everyone else who was hiding in the kitchen must’ve ran off and found new places to evade the enemy. At least, Megan hoped they did. “Only a few wolves broke the line, that I could see, and they were followed into the castle by an onslaught of draaks. If we stay in here, be quiet and––”
The kitchen sound of the back door being slammed shut emanated through the kitchen and into the closet. Something was stalking across the room, sniffing and snarling. Megan could tell it was getting closer. She thought about closing and locking the closet door, but the sound would immediately give away their location and the lock would definitely not hold against an angry wolf.
She reached out and quietly grabbed Lou’s hand, pulling her by the hand deeper into the closet and away from the doorway. She waited until the footsteps seemed impossibly close and the wolf’s growls seemed to be ringing inside her ear, then she leaped into the doorway, and with both arms, swung the frying pan to her left and slightly upwards, nailing the dog right in the face. The blow sent him backwards and he stumbled over the mess his friend had made. He tripped over something and fell, the back of his head hitting the marble countertop on the way down, knocking him out cold.
Everyone in the closet was silent for a moment, then somebody laughed. “That,” Esma said through her stifled giggles. “Was awesome.”
“Quick thinking,” added Lou. “Now I say we get out of here before someone else realized the lock on that back door is busted.”
The group filed, one by one, out of the closet, through the kitchen and dining room, and the hallway where most of the kitchen staff bedrooms were located. Halfway down the hallway, one of the doors opened and Trint stuck his head out. “In here,” he whispered and motioned for them to hurry inside.
He closed the door behind Megan, who had opted to take up the back of the line, and entered a code into the keypad, locking it. “Are you guys okay?”
“Yeah,” said Megan. “We’re fine.” Three other people were in the room. “Where’s everyone else?”
“After the first wolf came in the kitchen,” said Trint. “Everyone scattered. Some people went to the basement, some to their own rooms. We came in here.”
“What happened to him?” asked the woman Megan recognized as Amara’s mentor. “I thought for sure he was chasing us.”
“I took care of him,” said Lou. “For now anyway. He could wake up any minute.”
“What I still don’t understand,” said Ollie. “Was how the lock on the back door got busted. We checked it multiple times before the fight started.”
Lou bit her lip for a moment and avoided eye contact with Megan. “That may have been my fault,” she said. “The spell I used to teleport here was incredibly powerful. Sometimes spells like that can mess with the electricity and power sources in the surrounding areas. I’m sorry. I should’ve––”
“Wait a minute,” said Trint. “You did this?”
“Not on purpose,” said Lou.
“It wasn’t her fault.” Megan stepped in between Trint and Lou, making it clear that no one was to mess with her friend. “She came here to help us, which she did by the way.”
“How do we know she’s not working with them?” the woman in the corner asked. “She is a supernatural, why should we trust her?”
“They all have similar agendas,” Trint added. “Whether it’s mages, wolves, or dragons, they all want to control humans. Why should we believe she’s any different.”
Cal and Ollie were on either side of Megan, making a sort of barricade between Lou and the two-person mob. “I’ve known Lou all my life,” said Megan, her voice steady and strong. “She has more humanity in her pinky toe than you do in your entire body. For years, she has been risking everything to send me and my family food, to keep us informed, and now she’s here, breaking god knows how many of her district’s laws, to protect us. So if you think for one second I am going to let you lay a finger on her, you have another thing coming.” She pulled the knife from her belt, held it tight, but kept the point facing down. “What’s it going to be, Trint?”
The head chef pursed his lips, obviously annoyed and unconvinced. He looked behind him to see that the woman who was previously backing him up, had retreated from the action and was holding her hands in the air, as if surrendering. He let out a short, frustrated breath. “Fine. If you want to vouch for her, go right ahead. But this is my room and I don’t want her here. She has to go. You can all go with her if you like.”
“You can’t force us out,” said Ollie. “There’s five of us and one of you.”
“Six,” said Amara, joining the group forming in front of Lou.
“Seven.” Esma joined as well.
“Either you leave, or I unlock the door.” Trint moved to the keypad on the wall. “Only I have the code to lock it again. I will leave it unlocked, and all of us vulnerable, unless you agree to leave.”
“You can’t be serious.” Iris pushed past Megan and was inches from Trint’s face. “You are going to put all of our lives in danger because you have some deep seeded, misguided prejudice against a woman who just saved your sorry ass?” She stuck a finger against his chest and shoved him back on his heels. “The way I see it, that makes you the only monster in this room. Not her.”
Trint opened his mouth but whatever half-assed, illogical argument he was about to start spewing was cut off by a ruckus coming from the hallway. A group of people were running outside, banging on doors, and telling everyone it was safe to come out and to report to the dining hall immediately.
Somebody pounded on Trint’s door and repeated the message. Megan gave him a dirty look as she walked passed him, but he didn’t see. He was staring at the ground, his face flushed with shame, suddenly speechless.
In the dining room, the draaks set up stations based on the different jobs in the district. Since each department leader already had a list of all the citizens working for him or her, it was easy to check people off and figure out who was missing. People were flooding in from every entrance of the castle. Kidam was the department leader for kitchen duty. She was standing in the back corner of the room, her shirt blood stained and her brow still sweaty.
She grunted as Megan, Amara, and Esma stated their names for h
er and she put a small check mark next to their spot on the list. Megan tried to scan the room for sight of the prince, but she couldn’t see anything through the crowd. She pulled out a chair from a nearby table and stood on top of it, but he wasn’t there.
“Ms. Zandle.” Rekk was standing next to the chair. He offered her a hand and helped her back to the ground. “He is in his bedroom, being treated by a team of doctors.”
It felt as if an ice cold hand had gripped Megan’s heart. “Is he okay?”
“He’ll be fine,” said Rekk. “He suffered a pretty nasty bite, on his shoulder, and some substantial blood loss, but the doctors expect he will make a full and quick recovery. He asked to see you, but the doctor’s have since given him some drugs which knocked him out.”
“Can I still go?”
“Of course.” Rekk smiled. “I’m sure he would love for you to be the first thing he sees when he wakes up.”
Chapter Fifteen
Personal Battles
Rokkan’s wounds healed after only five days. He had multiple scars, from where the wolf’s teeth dug into his flesh and tore, which would be with him the rest of his life, but considering what the outcome could have been, he considered himself lucky.
Megan did not leave his side for his entire recovery. Most of the time, he was sleeping, because of all the medication, but when he was awake, they would talk non-stop. At first, they spent much of their time discussing how each of them had spent their time during the battle.
Rokkan’s decoy plan had gone better than expected. The wolves were totally baffled by all the different traces of his scent, and once they spotted the two other draaks dressed like him, their carefully laid plan quickly began to crumble. They all ran off in different directions, chasing down different leads, which made it incredibly easy for the draaks to take them down.
The wolf that bit Rokkan was the previous District One leader, Renduk. The battle was nearing its end. Most of the wolves had been killed or captured, nobody knew where the prince really was, and Renduk decided to call for a surrender. Rokkan happened to be hiding around the corner of the mess hall, waiting to pounce on the unexpected wolf, when Renduk walked to the middle of the courtyard, threw his head back and howled. This howl was low and somber, which Rokkan knew from his reading meant Renduk was calling for his army to pull back.
The prince walked out from his hiding place, slowly transforming back into his humanoid form, and addressed the previous leader. “Can I take that to mean you are surrendering?”
Renduk was still in full wolf form –– it would take a while for him to transform back.
“Smart move,” Rokkan said, approaching him slowly but confidently. “There are not many of you left. Most who are still breathing have already dropped their weapons and are currently being taken to our dungeon. I will spare them, and you, if you stop now.” He was only three or feet away from the wolf now. Renduk leaned down on his front legs and bowed his head, demonstrating he was done fighting. “Good.” Rokkan motioned for the two draaks at the far end of the courtyard to come over. “Come get him and tie him up. We will let the United District Council decide what to do with him.”
At that moment, Renduk pulled up from his submissive stance and leaped at Rokkan. The wolf aimed for the prince’s neck, but Rokkan was able to move slightly, forcing Renduk to clamp down on his shoulder instead. Crying out in pain, Rokkan tried to push the beast off, but to no avail. Renduk’s jaw was locked.
With horror, Rokkan realized what needed to be done. The pain and anger was welling up inside of him and he felt himself beginning to transform back into the dragon, and he succumbed to the firebreather within. As his limbs began to grow and contort, Renduk grip on him loosened. Rokkan didn’t hesitate. The second he felt the wolf’s jaw move, he grabbed Renduk by the skin of his sides and yanked him off, tearing much of his own flesh.
Renduk fell on his back, a few feet in front of Rokkan. Now in full dragon form, the prince flew to where the wolf lay, whimpering and trying to stand, but unable to put weight on his now broken front paw. The prince swam through the air and down towards the wolf, mouth open and salivating. He tried to offer him mercy, gave him a chance to save himself, and Renduk refused it. Rokkan wanted to be a fair, kind leader, who always did what was best for his people. He knew ripping Renduk’s throat out was only going to strengthen the idea many held that he was a violent, bloodthirsty monster, but he had no other choice.
For a moment, Rokkan considered just injuring Renduk and leaving the dirty work to one of his underlings, like he always did. Then he heard a voice in his head; Megan’s –– or at least, that was what he said when he tells the story, although Megan herself isn’t quite sure she believes it. The voice told him it was time he truly embrace his role as leader and, for once in his life, do what needs to be done.
He swooped down and clamped down on Renduk’s neck. Blood flowed from the wolf, into Rokkan’s mouth. Renduk didn’t even make a sound, not a whimper or a howl. His breathing simply became labored and then stopped.
At this point in the story, Rokkan, who had now repeated it multiple times to multiple people, would always get a little misty eyed. He wished it could have ended differently, that was evident. He was, at his core, good, and he hated more than anything to be the source of another being’s suffering. That much was obvious.
And luckily, that was how the story was told as it spread throughout the district. Rokkan offered Renduk mercy, but ultimately did what he had to in order to protect the people of District One.
“Well,” Megan said after she finished hearing his account for the first time. “My story is much less exciting. Oh, except for the fact that Lou showed up. Oh, and I knocked a wolf out with a frying pan. And we need to fire Trint because he’s a total bigot who almost got all of us killed. But besides that, nothing really happened.”
Once the battle stories got old, but Rokkan was still not allowed to leave the castle, the two of them had to find other ways to pass the time. They began telling each other about their respective childhoods, their hopes and dreams. It wasn’t always so deep and emotionally charged, however. Sometimes, they just talked about the weather or about what they wanted to have for dinner. Even those conversations Megan cherished, and she knew Rokkan did too. They were both just so happy that each other was alive to talk about the boring stuff.
On the fifth day, when Rokkan was becoming so stir crazy Megan thought he might actually make a run for it, she suggested they get out of the castle and go for a walk. The prince appeared to be feeling much better and there was no longer any risk of infection. The doctor had given her the okay the day before, when she asked about it one time while Rokkan was napping.
“That would be wonderful,” said the Prince. “But first.” He lifted up one of his arms and sniffed. “I really need to shower.”
Megan laughed. “I didn’t want to say anything, but yes, you do.” She stood up from the bed. “I will go get ready and meet you back here.” She leaned over and kissed his forehead. He grabbed her arm as she went to straighten up.
Sitting up in bed, he brought his lips to hers and kissed her deeply, desperately. A flurry of excitement went down her spine, quickly followed by a pagn of concern. She pulled out of the kiss. “Are you sure you’re feeling well enough to––” He answered her question by starting up again, this time using his tongue and wrapping his arms around her waist. Somehow, he managed to both slip himself out of the bed and slip Megan off her feet in the same smooth motion. He carried her to the bathroom and put her down for just enough time to turn the shower on and to get undressed.
“Your wound,” said Megan, not yet moving to take her own clothes off. “The doctor’s gave us really specific instructions for how it is to be washed. I don’t think this is a good idea.”
He stood in front of her, naked and aroused, but didn’t make a move towards her. “If you don’t feel comfortable,” he said. “I won’t pressure you. I’ve just really missed you and I wanted to
show you how much I appreciate all that you’ve done for me the past week. I feel fine, my wound doesn’t even hurt, and I promise I’ll be very careful.”
Megan looked down at her feet, no longer able to stand the sight of him, for fear she would tear her clothes off and leap into his arms if she had to look for even a second longer. “It’s just… I would feel terrible if I did anything to impede your healing, or god forbid, make anything worse.”
He stepped towards her, now only a few inches away. “And I would feel terrible if I couldn’t take you, if I couldn’t pleasure you, right here right now.” He was using his charming, clever voice –– the one he used when addressing a crowd of people he wanted to impress. Except, now it didn’t sound disingenuous, instead, it sounded personal and sexy. Megan brought her eyes from their feet, slowly scanning Rokkan’s muscular body and feeling her own excitement grow. He grabbed her and started kissing her neck. “Please,” he said. “Please, just let me make us both feel better. Let me love you.”
She relented, and nothing had ever felt so fantastic. The two of them fumbled, hands shaking and breath catching, to get Megan’s clothes off. Soon, they were both naked and Rokkan once again picked her up, this time allowing her legs to wrap around him. He opened the glass door of his shower and pushed Megan’s back against the far wall, gently but with passion. The hot water was hitting them at an angle, from the side, keeping their bodies warm and wet without getting in the way of their love making.
He kissed her neck and then pusher her body up further against the wall, he brought his mouth down to her breasts. Megan ran her hands through his hair and gently down the sides of his face, careful to avoid touching his wound. The water was making it hard to hold their position, and Megan’s body began to slide down his. For a moment, he was inside of her, and both of them gasped with surprised pleasure.
Lord Rokkan’s Private Toy Page 14
