‘Like hell you win.’ I lifted a hand and a bolt of lightning flew out, crackling into the little rowboat and exploding it into tiny pieces. I watched just long enough to make sure there were no survivors.
Lance and Emerald were in the process of finishing off the ship. Tearing it to pieces and barbequing it at the same time.
I looked back at Turos. ‘I win.’
He stared at me with his mouth open wide.
‘Oh what?’ I said. ‘Now you’re speechless?’
He swallowed a couple of times. ‘I’m not speechless. I’m just not sure what to say.’
‘That’s fine,’ I said, grasping his wet shirt in my fists, ‘because I’ve got something else I’d prefer you to do with your mouth.’ I pulled his head down.
I had a moment to admire the beauty of his ice-blue eyes, staring at me with an unnerving intensity, and then his lips were upon me. He licked my neck and nipped my ear, teasing me with his hands and his mouth as they made their way over my body. I squirmed against him, wanting more, needing more.
He moaned and arched against me as my hands slipped over the hardness of his chest. He lifted me up, pushing me back against the palm as I wrapped my legs around him and then his mouth finally found mine. I lost myself within his kiss, my mind arcing up into the sky as fireworks exploded inside my skull.
***
Erhherm. It was the equivalent of a dragon mentally clearing its throat.
Turos’s lips left mine but he didn’t release his hold on me. He looked into my eyes, pinning me against that tree with his gaze as much as his body. And then he shifted back, letting me slide to the ground. Regret and desire fought for dominance in his stare.
I licked my lips and broke the eye contact, looking over to the beach where Emerald and Lance were sitting. Scruffy floated next to them, his tongue hanging out in a doggy grin.
You brought us down here to do your dirty work so you could make out?
I blushed. We killed the ones on shore.
Emerald snorted and shook her head.
‘What’s she saying?’ Turos asked.
‘She’s expressing her displeasure. Lance?’
‘Just gave me a mental high five.’
‘Oh.’ I looked over at him. The urge to take up the kiss where it had left off was almost overwhelming but I had a feeling I would regret it later. I was still totally confused where he was involved, and it wasn’t fair of me to start kissing anyone until I had my emotions sorted out. I was going to blame that one on the adrenaline. ‘We’d better get back.’
He nodded. ‘Isla will be worried.’
Scooping up my shirt from where he had dropped it, I dragged the heavy, wet material over my head. Then I watched out of the corner of my eye as he struggled into his clothing. Dark Sky, his body was perfect. My fingers itched to explore it.
I pushed all thoughts of kissing him out of my mind and walked over to Emerald. The tip of the ship jutted above the waterline, wisps of smoke curling off it. I climbed onto Emerald’s neck, grabbing Scruffy out of the air and tucking him safely in front of me.
We were silent as we flew up the side of the mountain. We breached the top, the two dragons tucking in tight to race each other down the other side into the valley. For a brief moment I set my worries aside – Santanas, Galanta, Aethan, the invaders, being stuck in a foreign land, my confusion over my feelings toward Turos – I forgot all about them, revelling instead in the feel of the wind whipping by as the ground rushed past at break-neck speed.
We pulled out of the dive and headed straight up to circle over the city. Turos waved an arm at me and then he and Lance headed towards the buildings while Emerald turned toward the entry to the breeding cavern.
Isla was standing with her hands on her hips when we returned. I was guessing by the smooth path amongst the rock-strewn ground that she had been pacing. ‘What happened? Where’s Lance and Turos?’
‘I’m guessing they’ve gone to report to King Bladimir. And we got attacked.’ I slid off Emerald’s neck and set Scruffy down on the ground.
‘You’re okay?’ Her gaze swept over me, searching for injuries.
‘Oh please.’ I said. ‘There was only, what, twenty of them.’
‘One of these days your cockiness is going to get knocked right out of you.’
‘Well, today was not that day.’
She closed the gap between us and grasped my chin in her hand, turning my head from side-to-side as she stared at it. ‘What happened to your face? If I didn’t know differently I’d say you got very thoroughly kissed.’
‘Ahhh.’ I squirmed and pulled my head out of her grip.
‘Izzy?’ Her voice was full of delighted shock.
‘What?’
‘Did Turos finally get around to kissing you?’
‘Look,’ I said, struggling to maintain a self-important voice. ‘That’s not important. What is important is that we were attacked. By dragon hunters. And it’s not the first time they’ve come sniffing around.’ Where was my cockiness when I needed it the most?
‘He did.’ She clapped her hands together and jumped up and down. ‘Dark Sky, was it good? Cause he looks like he knows how to kiss a girl senseless. And with those big hands of his….’ She stopped talking and took a deep sigh. Her eyes had a far off look as she said, ‘I love a man with big hands.’
‘It’s not important right now.’ I was floundering for ways to change the subject.
‘Oh…Yes…It…Is.’ She poked me in the chest in time with each word. ‘It can’t always be about saving the world. Sometimes it has to be about us.’
‘Really? ‘Cause I thought….’ My mouth flopped open and shut while I thought about that, because as far as I was concerned I was in this highfaluting emotional mess exactly because we had to save the world and not think about personal matters.
I let out a huff and decided to braid my hair. It was easier than thinking about everything else.
She joined me on the cavern floor a few minutes later. Arthur was fast asleep in an orange pile of scales, his little rumbles a cross between cute and annoying. Scruffy joined him, turning circles a few times before pressing his back against the hatchling.
Without easing his snores, one of Arthur’s wings popped out and scooped Scruffy in closer, till he was hugged against Arthur’s chest like a teddy bear. As Scruffy closed his eyes and snuggled in even closer to the little dragon, I decided Arthur’s snores were far more cute than annoying.
‘Aren’t they adorable,’ Isla sighed. She pulled her knees up to her chest as she watched them. ‘I keep thinking I couldn’t love the little fella anymore and then he does something like that.’
‘What kid doesn’t want a little dog?’
‘To eat?’ A smile flashed over her face and she slapped my leg. ‘Just kidding. Believe me, he has no intentions of eating Scruffy.’
I let out my breath and took up braiding my hair again. The water and fighting had put some serious snarls into it.
‘Do you think this is what it feels like?’
I looked over at her. ‘You’re going to have to give me more information than that.’
‘To, you know…have a baby? This love, it’s more intense than I could ever have imagined.’
I was going to tell her that I was only eighteen, and what would I know about having a baby, but the look on her face stopped me.
Crystalline tears stood poised in her eyes and her face was absolutely still. I could feel sadness radiating off her, and I reminded myself that although she only ever showed us the surface, her emotional pool was rich and deep.
She had wanted more than she had. She had wanted a husband and children, but fate and circumstance had stripped that all away.
So instead, I reached over and took her hand. ‘I’m sure this is exactly what it feels like,’ I said.
6
Stories
It felt like forever before Turos and Lance returned. In reality it probably wasn’t that long, but it was enoug
h time for my hair and shirt to dry in the warmth of the cavern.
His face was sombre as he dismounted from Lance, which wasn’t a great sign, but I must admit I was more interested in the food he’d brought with him at that immediate moment than why he looked so serious.
‘Hey Stud.’ Isla uncurled from her position next to Arthur and danced over to take the heavy cooking pot from him.
It smelt like a lamb casserole. Or maybe beef. It didn’t matter which it was, they were both delicious. I really needed to visit the kitchen before I left to find out what the delicate blend of spices they were using was.
‘I thought you might be hungry,’ Turos said, tossing me a bundle of fresh clothing. ‘I know I was.’
‘Kissing can do that,’ Isla said.
I groaned and covered my face with my hands.
‘Yes it can,’ he agreed, a smile in his voice. ‘Of course fighting can do that too. Although I’d rather work up an appetite through kissing. ’
‘Oh, you’re a lover not a fighter. I like that in a man. Wilfred is a lover.’
I let out a snort.
‘What?’ She peered at me and tilted her head to the side.
‘Oh nothing. Just that he’s a pretty good fighter.’ I shook the shirt out of the bundle Turos had given me. It was the same colour as my eyes.
‘Of course he is. Do you think I’d settle for a wimp? But he has these ginormous hands. The things he can do with those hands.’ She paused for a moment, no doubt contemplating what those hands could do. ‘And his mouth.’ She let out a little moan. ‘I really miss his mouth.
‘And there goes my appetite.’ I moved till I was behind Emerald before stripping off my salt-stiffened shirt.
When I returned in my clean clothing, Isla had thankfully stopped her reminiscing. Instead, she delicately sank a piece of bread into her stew before placing it into her mouth.
I picked up the bowl she had filled for me and took a seat next to her. ‘So what’s going on?’ I asked Turos.
He spread his arms and leant back against a boulder. ‘What do you mean?’
I stopped with my spoon halfway to my mouth and stared at him. ‘What do you mean, what do you mean?’
‘I’m not sure I know this game,’ Isla said. ‘If I say what do you mean, three times in a row, am I winning?’
I had an urge to smack Turos hard enough to make sure his smile would dislodge. I couldn’t believe I had let the smug bastard kiss me. ‘I demand to know what is going on.’ I felt strongly enough about it that I put my bowl and spoon down and advanced on him.
‘Lover, not a fighter,’ Isla crooned.
‘Don’t care,’ I spat from between clenched teeth.
He stood up and flexed his head from side-to-side while shaking out his limbs.
‘You know he’s going to beat you,’ Isla said. ‘He’s a trillion times faster than you.’
I was going to take offence at her use of the word trillion after I had whipped his butt. ‘It’s not all about speed.’
‘Normally I would say not. But these guys take speed to a whole new level.’
I put my hands on my hips and spun to face her. ‘Whose side are you on? I know you want to know what’s going on as well.’
‘I’m on yours. Which is why I am stopping you from getting hurt.’
‘You don’t know he’ll win. I do have strengths he doesn’t.’
‘You willing to blow him up?’ She met me stare-for-stare.
Damn it. It wasn’t a risk I was willing to take. While I was betting it would feel really good for the second it took to do it, I knew I would regret it as soon as his body parts had finished hitting the ground. Well, perhaps regret wasn’t a big enough word to cover what I would feel. ‘No.’ I took my hands off my hips and stalked back to my bowl.
You know anything? I asked Emerald.
They’ve been hiding things from me as well. Her thoughts bubbled with angst.
I took pleasure in the thought that she would be giving Lance a mental tongue-lashing as I ate the rest of my meal in silence.
When I had finished, I placed my bowl on top of Isla’s and faked a yawn. Then I cleared an area and lay down with my old bundle of clothes under my head. I was suddenly overwhelmed with home sickness. I mean I know I had Isla, Emerald and Scruffy, but I missed Grams and Sabby and Mia. And I missed my room and my bed, but most of all, I missed my Mum.
I squeezed my eyes tight; partly to block out the light, but mostly to keep in the tears. It wasn’t long before my fake tiredness became real and sleep took me from the cavern.
***
Well, when I say sleep took me from the cavern, that wasn’t entirely true. I was still in the cavern, but in a twilight that would never naturally reach the innards of the giant volcano.
Trillania. I was in Trillania. The thirty days were over.
Would I be able to reach my home from where I was? Or was I trapped in the Millenia version?
The thought had barely flashed across my mind and I was standing in the field below my house.
Well, I never. So even though I was in a totally different world, we still shared the same dreamland. I couldn’t wait to tell Wolfgang. And Radismus. No doubt when all of this was over, the two of them would secrete themselves in a library for a few months while they nutted out all the possible metaphysical probabilities that the knowledge brought.
So now that I was here, what was I going to do?
The most logical thing would be to try and make contact with someone. Mum would be beside herself by now and I would like to let her know we were safe. The problem with that was that the only other person I regularly met in Trillania was Aethan. He was the only other dreamwalker I knew. And I wasn’t willing to run into him. Not yet. My tongue got stuck to the roof of my mouth whenever I thought about what I would say when I saw him again.
My best bet was with one of the Border Guards on patrol in Trillania. Or even better yet, Rako.
I propelled myself to Isilvitania, to the castle. There were always Border Guards there. The place was empty except for a couple of dreaming faeries chasing each other through the gardens. The female was obviously dragging her heels, hoping to get caught. I listened to her bell-like laugh as her lover caught her, sweeping her up into his arms and his embrace. That looked like a nice dream to be having.
‘Izzy?’
I gasped and spun around, a dagger becoming solid in my hand. It dissolved again when I saw who was there, and it took all my being, all my pride to keep my voice steady as I said, ‘Hello Aethan.’
‘What are you…?’ He shook his head and stared at me. ‘How are you? I’ve missed you.’
A lump formed in my throat. ‘I’ve missed you too,’ I whispered. I was proud of the fact that I didn’t reach for him as the words left my mouth. ‘Where is everyone?’
He looked around. ‘It’s only mid-afternoon.’
My mouth made a soundless ‘O’. I guess it had only been afternoon. The lack of sunlight in the cavern made it hard to keep track of time. ‘So what are you…forget it,’ I said. He was probably sleeping in with his new bride.
‘I had the night shift.’ His face held confusion as he stared at me. ‘Want to go for a walk?’
I thought about all the other things I should be doing – watching an adorably overgrown hatchling play, putting up with Turos’s smug smile, working out how in the Great Dark Sky we were going to get home.
‘Sure,’ I said, turning away from the ardent lovers.
We walked in awkward silence. He didn’t remember a time when our hands were used to touching each other. But I did. I remembered it too well. It felt weird to let mine hang uselessly by my side.
‘How have you been?’ I was hoping he didn’t get all doe-eyed and lovey-dovey on me, telling me all about the joys of marriage cause I might be forced to accidentally stab him.
‘We’ve had a reprieve from goblin attacks.’
‘Oh.’ Not the answer I had been expecting, but a good answer an
yway.
‘We’ve managed to get a few scouts through and it appears that Santanas is still gravely wounded.’ He turned towards me. ‘Because of you.’
I shook my head. ‘I failed. I didn’t kill him.’
‘No-one can kill him.’
‘Then what are we doing? What are we trying to achieve? Do we just let him have the lands?’
‘That wouldn’t stop him Izzy?’
I shook my head. ‘But if we use your logic, we can’t win.’
‘We can always win. We just need to find a way.’
We stared at each other while I tried to work out if we were still talking about Santanas. I wrenched my eyes away from his and continued our walk. ‘What does he want?’
‘Who?’
‘Santanas? What does he want?’
‘I don’t know Izzy. I’m not sure he wants anything in particular. The only thing I know for sure is that he is crazy.’
I shuddered at the memory of Orion’s peaceful face wearing the mask of a man crazed with grief and power.
‘Aethan, I….’ I stopped.
‘What is it Izzy?’
‘I’m scared,’ I whispered. There was really no word big enough to describe the hard core of blackness that lived inside me.
He turned back to me, this time reaching out to me and pulling me into his arms. I know it was what he would have done for Isla, his sister, but I let him do it, imagining that the motion meant more to him than it did. I nestled my face into his chest and I breathed him in, knowing the whole time that it would probably be the last time I did.
When I pulled away I was crying and I hated myself for it.
‘Hey.’ He lifted a hand and brushed away a tear. ‘What’s this for?’
The last thing I wanted was him feeling sorry for me. ‘No, it’s not…I don’t…I want…Oh Dark Sky, I feel….’ I stopped and sniffed. ‘I’m not explaining this well at all.’
He rubbed a finger across my cheek as he stared down into my eyes. ‘The only thing that you need to know is….’
Faery Revenge Page 9
