Into a Dragon's Soul: A Reverse Harem Fantasy (Chronicles of the Four Book 3)

by Marissa Farrar

  “Look, there!” Orergon cried, pointing below them.

  Dela leaned out, peering down.

  It was impossible not to spot the army curving like a human river through the Southern Pass. Even from this massive distance, it was easy to see they were weary. The Norcs, however, though unprepared for the attack, would be well rested and on their own territory. But the human numbers were vast, and they might overpower the Norcs purely on that basis. Either way, if the two sides were to meet, the bloodshed would be unthinkable.

  It was impossible to tell if they’d been seen. The army didn’t have any reason to look up, and she didn’t intend to give them one. She wanted to reach the Southern Trough and speak with the Norcs before anything else.

  “How far do you think they have left to travel?” she asked Warsgra. The Norc knew this area far better than any of them.

  “A big convoy like that, probably a day or more,” he replied.

  “So, we have enough time to reach your people and warn them?”

  Warsgra nodded. “Aye, I believe so.”

  “And how will they react to the news?”

  His lips twisted. “They’ll want to fight.”

  “Will you be able to talk them down?”

  He nodded. “With your help, and the presence of the dragon, I hope so, but they’re going to need to know the human army won’t attack, and I’ll need to be sure of the same thing. I won’t leave my people unprotected.”

  “They won’t be unprotected,” she said. “We have the dragon.”

  Chapter 4

  Warsgra

  A part of Warsgra hadn’t believed he would ever see his homeland again, yet here he was, seeing the mountains from a viewpoint he’d never considered possible. It was a strange sensation, and though he wasn’t a man who suffered from nerves, his stomach roiled in anticipation. How would his clansmen react when he arrived in the Southern Trough, not only on the back of a dragon, but with a human mate he shared with a Moerian and an Elvish prince?

  The Norcs were set in their ways; he knew that. He’d been, too, not so long ago. He was going to be asking them to change the way they lived, should they want to. No one was going to force them out of the mountains, if Dela had her way. The whole point was that of choice—that they could remain in the Southern Trough if they wanted to, or they could roam to the Inverlands, or cross the Great Dividing Range to live on the Eastern coast to farm and provide crops for their people. Things weren’t going to be easy, and, if Dela managed to end this war, there would be a time of adjustment where people would butt heads. The idea of all the different races living side by side was a good one, especially if it brought the end of the Passover and meant their people would no longer go hungry, but he couldn’t exactly see the Elvish being happy if a clan of Norcs suddenly turned up on their doorstep and decided to set up home. The Norcs probably wouldn’t be pleased if the Elvish turned up in the Southern Trough either—not that they’d want to live here. This place was far too rugged for their delicate sensibilities.

  Warsgra grinned to himself at the thought. He’d thought the same thing about Vehel when they’d first met, but that had changed now. Maybe that was all they needed—some time to get used to being around each other. Change was hard, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t for the best in the end. He trusted Dela, and if freedom to live wherever they wanted in these lands was what she thought was right, then he’d follow her quite literally to the end of the earth to make it happen.

  The size of the human army worried him, however. There were ten times as many humans as there were Norcs, and the Norc clans were spread out across the side of the mountain. It wasn’t as though vast numbers could be pulled together quickly to protect themselves. They’d put up a good fight, as all Norcs did, but many would be slaughtered if Dela and her dragon weren’t able to convince the human army not to fight. It would be difficult for her if she was forced to choose between the humans and the Norcs. If she wanted peace, she may be forced to turn her dragon on her own kind.

  He recognized the mountain ranges ahead. “We’re almost there!”

  Dela glanced over at him and gave him a tight smile. There were ice crystals caught on her eyebrows and eyelashes and frosted in her hair. Even with the cold wind battering against them as the dragon flew, the crystals remained. He wondered if the tight smile was because of the cold, or because she was nervous about meeting his people. The time she’d met some of them before had been in the Southern Pass when the Long White Cloud had descended. They must have appeared rough and fearsome to her, especially after growing up sheltered by the walls of Anthoinia. She was allowed to feel nervous.

  They were all cold, but Dela and Orergon seemed to be suffering the most. They weren’t used to these surroundings. He vowed to get them both wrapped up in fur as soon as they reached his clan.

  On the mountain range ahead, the shapes of his clansmen’s stone homes began to take shape. Thin lines of smoke from several campfires wound into the crisp mountain air. Jultu Leafwalker, who’d traveled with him into the Southern Pass, hadn’t survived the Long White Cloud, but there were plenty of others he was looking forward to seeing. Though it had only been a matter of weeks since he’d last been here, it felt like longer. Who would have stepped into his place as clan leader? It wasn’t a position he was going to challenge, as his place was at Dela’s side now, but he was curious as to who it would be.

  The dragon began to descend, and he leaned forward, trying to get a better view over Vehel’s shoulder. Dots of people were already gathering, and he knew without needing to see them that their arms would be raised, pointing toward the sky. They had no way of knowing their old leader was riding the dragon, and they would more than likely arm themselves with axes. The Norcs were brave people, and they’d stay and protect their homes, even if they thought they were at risk from a giant, fire-breathing dragon that was supposed to be extinct. He wished he had a way to communicate with them, but he wouldn’t be able to until they were on the ground.

  They grew closer, and he was able to make out the faces of his people. Both the men and the women stood ready to fight, while the children were pressed behind the adults’ bodies, but didn’t hide, gawping in amazement instead. Warsgra lifted himself as high as he was able to on the dragon’s back, raising his arm in a wave to try to get noticed. The dragon swept down to land, and people were forced to retreat before they were crushed by his clawed feet. Cries of shock and awe rose from the crowd of Norcs, and they stumbled away, giving the dragon room.

  The dragon gave out a huff of smoke, followed by a warning billow of flames, keeping the Norcs back.

  Warsgra scanned the gathering. He recognized most of the faces—Mudurt Bruiser, Negres Pillanger, Gazzorg Horge—all strong males who appeared to be leading the way. Their females stood at their sides—Eruga Vanguard, Lurazo Griper, Tazuga Flem—appearing equally as fierce. It was not custom for their kind to take the family names of their mates. They were all focused on the magnificence and terror of the dragon, and paying little attention to the dragon riders. Only when Warsgra got to his feet and jumped down from the dragon’s back did his clansmen’s eyes turn to him.

  The strongest of the males, Mudurt, took a risky step forward. “Warsgra Tuskeye? Tell me my eyes aren’t deceiving me?”

  He moved to greet his old clansman. “They’re not, Mudurt. I’m truly here.”

  “With a dragon?” His mouth gawped at the great beast.

  “Aye, and with others, too.” He turned to extend a hand to Dela and help her from the dragon’s back. After so long sitting in one position in the cold, their limbs were stiff. Dela clutched the dragon’s egg against her body with her other hand.

  “This is Dela Stonebridge, and she’s the reason we have the dragon with us.”

  People had started to realize the dragon wasn’t an immediate threat to them, and crept forward. Children peeped out from behind their parents’ legs, their eyes wide as they took in the incredible sight. He heard his name p
icked up by the gathering crowd as well, and sent back with gossiping whispers, one to the other.

  “Warsgra Tuskeye …”

  “It’s Warsgra Tuskeye …”

  “Thought he was dead …”

  “Never came back from the Southern Pass …”

  Mudurt hadn’t finished. “But … but dragons are supposed to be extinct.”

  Dela stepped forward, taking her place as their leader. Vehel and Orergon had also disembarked, and she turned to hand the dragon egg to Vehel.

  “My name is Dela Stonebridge, and I am the only living Dragonsayer that we know of,” she called out, raising her voice so those farther away could hear her. “I come with news. You may have heard the Treaty has been broken.”

  Warsgra couldn’t help glancing back to where Vehel lowered his head as though in shame. He wanted to punch the Elvish prince in the arm. Vehel had nothing to be ashamed of. If he hadn’t done what he had, they’d all be dead right now, and they’d never have discovered Dela or the dragon. The Treaty was formed by human rules that their forefathers had been forced to sign or else starve. Things were changing now, and that wasn’t something to be ashamed of.

  But, to his own shame, the other Norcs weren’t listening to the human woman.

  Mudurt turned to Warsgra again. “Warsgra, what by the Gods is all this? We thought you were dead, and there’s rumors of a war starting.”

  “Clearly, I’m not dead, and aye, there is a war starting. That’s what Dela is trying to tell you, if you’d only listen. In fact, the human army is almost here. That’s why we’ve come.”

  A frown deepened the lines on Mudurt’s already haggard face. “What do you mean, they’re almost here?”

  Dela stepped in again. “They’re already marching through the Southern Pass. We saw them from the sky on our way here. There are probably a thousand men.”

  His bushy eyebrows lifted. “A thousand men? And we’re supposed to fight them?”

  “No,” she said. “I don’t want any fighting. That’s why I’ve come.”

  He wrinkled his nose at Dela in disbelief. “I’m not sure what you’re going to do about it, little lady.”

  Warsgra didn’t hesitate. Since he’d lost his own axe, he moved quickly, swiping Mudurt’s axe from his hand, and, in one swift movement, held the sharp edge of the blade to the Norc’s hairy throat. “Do not disrespect her. She will be our ruler one day, and you should speak to her as such.”

  He sensed the other Norcs hesitate behind Mudurt. Warsgra had been their leader for many years, and though it now looked as though Mudurt was speaking for them, Warsgra’s return confused matters. Was Warsgra back in leadership now, and therefore they shouldn’t challenge him, or should they be defending Mudurt?

  But it was Dela who spoke up first. “Lower the weapon, Warsgra. That’s not why we’ve come here.”

  He glanced over at her. There was fire in her eyes, and she stood tall, her chin raised, not appearing the slightest bit intimidated by the clan of Norcs before her. Any nerves she might have felt when it had just been them had been cast off for a more powerful, even regal, persona.

  She raised her voice again, and Warsgra scowled and lowered the axe, though he didn’t hand it back to Mudurt. He didn’t intend on giving the other Norc the opportunity to take off his head.

  “The Treaty has been broken, but it should never have been put in place. All it served to do was control us—not only the Norcs, and the Elvish, and the Moerians, but the humans, too. We’re being ruled by a selfish and greedy king and queen, and we want to see the end of it. No more Treaty. No more Passovers. The freedom to live where ever you wish, and for the Elvish to practice magic, too.”

  Mudurt looked between the other Norcs, his frown deepening. “You said a human army is marching toward us, yet you’re talking about freedom.”

  “I won’t let the army reach you,” she said, placing one hand on the neck of the dragon beside her. “The dragon and I will stop them.”

  “One thousand of them?”

  “I’ll give them two choices. Either they join us in the revolution, or they march back to Anthoinia and tell the king they couldn’t get past the dragon.”

  “What’s to stop them from telling you they’re going back to the city, and then turning back here the moment you’re not looking?”

  “Freedom,” she said, simply. “The king is only offering them death and fear. I’m offering them a different way of living. I’m offering them hope.”

  “Besides,” Warsgra stepped in. “The human army is big and slow. The dragon is fast. It is easy for us to check what they’re doing. They won’t be able to double cross us without us knowing about it.”

  “A thousand humans can overpower one dragon,” Mudurt insisted.

  “Only if they get close enough,” Dela said. “A dragon’s fire will disintegrate anyone who comes close.”

  Mudurt looked to Warsgra. “You led us for many years, Warsgra, and never once gave us reason to doubt you. If you wish to take over ruling the Norcs again, I’ll not stand in your way. We’ll follow your guidance.”

  But Warsgra shook his head. “That’s not the reason I’m here. The Southern Trough will always be my home, and you’ll always be my people, but I can no longer rule you. My place is at the Dragonsayer’s side now, and we won’t be able to stay here. Xantearos is a vast country and we need word of our plans to spread.”

  At news that Warsgra no longer intended to lead the Norcs, the fight seemed to go out of the other Norc. “Very well. What do you need from us?”

  “I need you to send out convoys to the other clans and tell them what has happened here today. They need to know that Dela Stonebridge the Dragonsayer is fighting for their freedom, and she will put an end to Passovers and allow the Norcs to live wherever they wish.”

  Mudurt narrowed his eyes at Dela. “And what are you going to do about the current king and queen? You think they’re just going to step down from their thrones?”

  Dela stood taller. “If they refuse to step down, I will make them.”

  He looked at her in disbelief. “You and your dragon?”

  She reached into her pocket, and pulled out the piece of Dragonstone. Her slender fingers curled around the shiny rock and her eyes slipped shut. A moment later, the dragon rose to his feet.

  A murmur of alarm rose through the crowd, and the Norcs moved back, eyes widened in alarm. The dragon’s wings flapped, and he lifted into the air. Warsgra glanced at Dela, trying to figure out what she was doing. The dragon climbed higher, heading toward the mountain peaks. Dela’s lips moved though he couldn’t see what she was saying.

  Facing the side of the mountain, the dragon’s mouth opened wide, and a stream of white flames poured from his throat. The flames hit the side of the mountain, and a giant crack ricocheted around the range. People cried out in fear, staggering away and clutching each other, but the area the dragon had poured the fire against wasn’t anywhere near the Norc settlement. Ice and rock cracked from the heat and broke away from the mountainside, tumbling, slowly at first, and then picking up momentum, to crash into the valley below.

  Dela opened her eyes. “Yes,” she told Mudurt. “Me and my dragon. Any other questions?”

  The big Norc’s mouth had dropped open, his gaze fixed on the rock and ice that continued to plummet from the side of the mountain. “No.” He shook his head. “No more questions.”

  “I don’t care for gold and jewels and castles,” she said. “I will raze Castle Tearos to the ground if I have to. A true ruler can rule from a palace or a mud hut. It makes no difference. It’s not the wealth surrounding a great ruler that makes people listen to them, it’s their knowledge and beliefs and ability to get people to follow them that makes them a leader.”

  The dragon swept back across the sky toward them, and everyone cowered back. Even Vehel and Orergon appeared nervous, though Dela remained standing tall and didn’t even flinch when wind caused by the motion of the dragon’s wings swept her
hair away from her face. The dragon landed back beside her and ducked his head to allow Dela to place her hand on his nose.

  Warsgra marveled at how far she’d come with the dragon in such a short space of time. It seemed the dragon reacted to her in exactly the same way each of them had—wary at first, and then quickly falling in love with her.

  Chapter 5

  Dela

  Dela smoothed her hand down the dragon’s scaly nose. She had to stay strong in front of the Norc clan. Any sign of weakness would make them doubt her, and she couldn’t give them any reason to think she wasn’t the person to make their lives better.

  Asking Norcs to trust a human alone to lead them would have been impossible. However, she wasn’t alone. She had the dragon, and she had Warsgra, too, and those were her keys to getting the Norc clans behind her. She was relying on the same thing working with the other races, too, with having Orergon with her when she went to the Moerians, and Vehel for the Elvish. She hoped things would run smoothly with the Moerians, but things would be different with the Elvish. Even though Vehel was a prince, he wasn’t respected. His ability to do magic was what broke the Treaty, and his people might not thank him for that. They also had to think about how Vehel’s father and brothers would react to the news that they no longer ruled their small part of the kingdom and would have to open the Inverlands to the other races. She had the feeling they would end up putting up as much as a fight as King and Queen Crowmere. They certainly wouldn’t be happy to hear the news that their son would be regarded more highly across the kingdom than they were. Dela had no intention of kicking them off their throne or throwing them out of the castle, if they were to accept her vision of how Xantearos was to be under her power, but if they forced her hand, she’d have no choice but to cast them out.

  There was another thing that concerned her about the Elvish. It was impossible for her to forget that Vehel’s brother, Vehten, had taken Ridley prisoner for some reason. If they made it back to the Inverlands, and Ridley was thrown into the catacombs, she couldn’t just let it rest. She needed to find out what had happened. Vehel’s father and brother weren’t going to sit back and let Dela do whatever she wanted, even if she did have both Vehel and the dragon with her. In fact, from the things Vehel had told her, it seemed to her that being with Vehel may work against her more than anything else.