“The first time I met Aaron Drake,” he said, “was when my royal person was threatened by a dragon. When Aaron appeared before me, insisting he could chase the dragon away, I must admit I was disinclined to believe him. But he walked right up to that monster, said something to the creature, and it left.” He turned to face Aaron.
“Tell me, Aaron, what did you say to the beast?”
“I can no longer recollect the words, Your Highness,” Aaron said.
Prince Alfred turned back to the other guests. “That is what he has been saying since the day I met him. Very well, Aaron, keep your secrets. Just don’t fail me now when I need you the most.”
“I won’t, Your Highness,” Aaron replied.
Keira knew it was customary in large households for the women to leave the table first, allowing the men to their conversations, and it was with relief that Keira finally rose from the table and followed the women from the dining room. Being at the far end, she was the last to leave, and the other women were already seated when Keira entered the parlor once more. Elizabeth beckoned to her and patted the empty seat at her side.
“Don’t be shy, my dear.” Keira sat down next to her, listening in silence to conversations that meant nothing to her. Who the father of Katherine’s child could be, how Lord Harris had beaten his wife for talking to Lord Snow, the terrible shade of purple Martha had been wearing at the last ball. How long, she wondered, had Aaron been part of this world? Eventually the conversation turned to her.
“How long does Aaron plan to remain in the city?” Elizabeth asked her.
“Just until he has dealt with the dragon,” she replied.
“What a shame,” Joan said. “We will all be distraught when he abandons us again.”
“Why?” Keira asked. Her question was met with blank stares for a moment.
“Aaron was always a favorite at court,” the princess finally said. “Especially,” she added with a significant look at Joan, “amongst the women. But of course he is married now, so I suppose we should expect things to be different.” An awkward silence hung in the air as Keira looked down at her hands.
“Did I hear Max traveled with you?” Elizabeth said. Keira looked up in surprise.
“You know Max?”
“Yes, indeed, we all know Max,” Elizabeth replied as the women laughed. “I understand he spent Christmastide with you.”
“That’s right. He and Aaron are distantly related.”
“Of course they are,” Blanche said. “And I’m sure they had plenty of shared experiences to reminisce over.” Again, the women laughed, glancing at each other in amusement. Keira looked down at her hands.
“Do you have any family?” Princess Matilda asked.
“Yes. My parents are still in the village, but my sister traveled to the city with us.”
“Your sister? And is she older or younger?” Elizabeth asked.
“She’s seventeen.”
“Seventeen? A bit young, then,” Blanche said with a snigger.
“That will do, Blanche,” Elizabeth said, patting Keira’s hand soothingly. She looked up at the sound of the door being opened. “How marvelous. Here are the men,” she said.
Keira looked up to seeing Aaron walking towards her, a slight frown marring his forehead.
“I’m afraid we need to leave this pleasant gathering,” he said as he drew near. He turned with a bow towards the princess. “I’m afraid other business calls me away.”
“There’s no need for Keira to leave,” she said. “We can send someone to escort her home, or we will order chambers prepared and she can stay the night.”
“Yes,” added Blanche, “I’m sure there is plenty for us to discuss.”
But Keira had already risen to her feet. “Thank you so much for your kind offer, Your Highness, but I must return with Aaron. My sister will be wondering where I am.”
“Yes, of course. Your sister. Perhaps I will have the pleasure of making her acquaintance sometime.”
“Thank you, Your Highness,” she said, dropping a low curtsey. She nodded to the other ladies as Aaron made his own bows, and a moment later they were out the door.
“That,” she said as they walked towards the ferry, “was the most awful evening I have ever endured.”
“As bad as that?” Aaron said with a slight smile, but it quickly disappeared. “I’m sorry. I heard some of their insinuations, and took my leave as soon as I could.” Keira looked at him curiously.
“How many years did you remain at court?” she asked.
“Three,” he said.
“Three years? Really? I didn’t think you could endure it for more than a few weeks.”
“I was a different man, then,” he said, “and there were complications.”
Keira was quiet for a moment. “Did that complication involve a woman named Elise?”
There was a moment of silence. “Keira,” he finally said, “what happened before is of no concern. All that matters to me now is you. And you know I love you.”
Keira stopped, turning on the path to face him. “Yes, I know you love me. But I also know that you are distancing yourself from me. And the women I met this evening know more about you than I do. I may be a simple country girl, but I am not so naïve as to think that nothing happened in the hundred or so years before you met me. For all I know, the things those women were referring to happened before I was even born. But the thing is, I don’t know!”
“That’s because they are of no importance.”
“If they are of no importance, why are you hiding them from me? Do you think I will run away screaming when I hear what you did? I can handle the fact that you are a man-eating, fire-breathing dragon, but you think you need to protect me from your life as a man. I would rather hear about these things from you, than learn about them from a group of mean and malicious women who use the knowledge to taunt me.”
“I had a few affairs, Keira, but as I said, they meant nothing. They are all in the past. You are the only one I care about.”
“Who is Elise?”
Aaron glanced away, looking out over the river. “She’s just one of many women I slept with,” he said.
Keira stared at him. “You know,” she finally said, “I think it is easier for you to be with women like that.”
Aaron turned a startled glance on her. “How can you say that?”
“They make no demands of you beyond physical pleasure, and you remain in control of your feelings, because you feel nothing for them. But Aaron, you chose to marry me. You say you love me, and I believe you, but love also means being open and vulnerable. It means trusting the other person enough to share your deepest secrets. It means letting go. I have trusted you in everything, Aaron. Don’t turn away from me now.”
“I’m not turning away from you. I love you. I choose you. I am giving up Mastership for you.”
“Aaron, that is not a choice! You are giving up Mastership because you feel compelled to. And you will hate me every day because of it. Because you know you are the Master. You, and no-one else.”
Aaron turned away as she spoke, his jaw set as he looked over the river. A soft splash sounded behind them, and Keira turned to see a light bobbing in the water, growing closer as the ferry pulled up beside the dock. She stepped into the craft without another word, and sat down. She felt Aaron settle next to her; but wrapping her arms around herself, she turned to look at the dark water lapping gently against the long boat.
Chapter 30
Anna looked at Max as he sat on the parlor floor next to the fire, while she sat on some cushions across from him. The stone floor was warm, but whether it was from the fire or the dragon, Anna wasn’t sure. Max was staring into the flames, his expression distant as the light of the fire flickered against his skin. He had barely said a word to Anna all evening. He’s probably frustrated at being left to babysit, Anna thought.
“You’re being terribly rude,” she finally said. Max looked up with a faint smile.
�
�My apologies, Anna. I was thinking about Jack.”
“Oh.” She watched as he turned back towards the fire, flipping a log with his bare hand. “Max,” she said, “why do you live in the city?”
“This is my home,” he said, looking over at her in surprise.
“How long have you lived here?” He shrugged.
“Oh, I don’t know. About twenty years.”
“Twenty years? How old are you?”
“Thirty-five,” he replied in amusement. “I’m a lot younger than Aaron,” he added when she stared at him in shock. Anna slowly closed her mouth.
“You must have been very young when you moved here. Did you come with your parents?”
“No. My mother lives in a small town on the moors, while my father lives” – he waved his hand vaguely – “somewhere else.”
“They aren’t married?”
“No. My father had a brief affair with my mother, then left her with a child to raise on her own. A child whose true nature she knew nothing about.”
“That’s … terrible.”
“It wasn’t so bad when I was small. He left her with enough money to buy a house and support herself and a child. It only became difficult when I turned twelve.”
“Twelve? Why then?”
“Because that was when I realized I was a monster.” Anna stared at him in horror, and he gave her a wry smile. “At least, that was how it felt to me.”
“You didn’t know what you were?”
“No. My father omitted that small detail about himself when he seduced my mother. She had no idea what manner of creature she had slept with, and I certainly had no idea what I was.”
“So what happened?”
Max sighed. “A dragon child only starts changing at the onset of puberty. I knew something was happening to me, but had no idea what it was.”
“What was happening?”
“My entire body was changing from flesh and bone to flame. I felt like a fire was raging through me, which of course it was. My skin itched from the scales forming beneath the surface. And then, instead of the fire being inside me, it was all around me. I started fires just by breathing, but the flames didn’t burn me. Fire would burst from my hands, but my skin was unsinged.” He opened his hand, and Anna’s eyes widened when she saw flames burning in the palm of his hand. “Other things were happening, too. I noticed ridges forming on my back. I could suddenly see better, could smell better. I could even smell people’s emotions. And then, one day …” His voice trailed off.
“One day?” Anna prompted gently. He looked up and met her gaze.
“Then one day I turned into a monster. I was with a girl. There was no warning. One moment I was myself, and then I was a beast, standing ten feet tall. All I was aware of was a ravenous hunger. And that there was something on the ground before me that could satisfy my appetite. I could hear her screaming, could smell her fear, and that just sharpened the hunger.”
“No,” Anna whispered.
“Now you know,” Max said softly. “A monster.” Anna could feel her heart pounding as she looked away. He was right; a monster. She glanced back at him. He had turned away and was looking into the flames, his expression sad. And for a moment she saw someone as adrift as herself. She reached out and placed her hand over his.
“Not a monster,” she said. Max swung a startled gaze around to look at her, then dropped it down to where her hand covered his. Slowly, he turned his hand over and he twisted his fingers around hers.
“What happened next?” she said softly.
“When I realized what I had done, I fled. Or rather, I flew. I found a cave deep in the mountains and hid myself away. The following morning I was back in my human form. My first thought was that it was a terrible dream, but I just had to look around the cave to know it was real. And I felt different. Powerful. Invincible. And monstrous.” Max frowned. “The smell of blood excited me. Taking to the air thrilled me. I was a predator. The most dangerous hunter in the world. Just the thought of killing my prey, their hot blood spilling into my mouth, made me eager to do it. But my human emotions were horrified at what I had become.” He looked at Anna askance with a wry smile. “I think you are horrified, too.”
“No,” she said. “Not horrified.” She paused. “What did you do?”
“I stayed in the cave and learned how to control my hunger. The blood lust lessened as time went on. And I discovered I could control my transformations. I fed on wild animals in the woods, and found that they satisfied my appetite. And after about three weeks, I went home.”
“You went home? Why?”
“I had never met my father, but I was sure that he had the answers to what was happening to me. I found out all I could about him from my mother, then set off to find him.”
“And did you find him?”
“Eventually.”
“And did he tell you what you wanted to know?”
“He told me that I was a dragon, not a monster. But it was Beatrice who helped me the most.”
“Beatrice? Who’s that?”
“She’s my step-mother, and Aaron’s aunt. She’s also a dragon. James was married to her by then, and she was horrified to learn that he had left me without any way of discovering what was happening to me. She was even more horrified when she learned there was a younger daughter as well. She made James find her, and she also came to live with us. But I couldn’t bear to be near James, so I moved to the city as soon as I could. James tried to stop me, but he hadn’t been a father before, and I wasn’t about to let him start then.”
“And you’ve lived in the city ever since?”
“I have.”
“You must enjoy it here to have stayed so long.”
“I suppose I enjoy it well enough. But that isn’t what keeps me here.”
“Then what?”
Max looked down at their entwined hands. “A lack of purpose, I suppose. Nothing better to do.”
“Everyone has a purpose. You just have to find yours.”
“Really?” Max looked up at her with a grin. “And tell me, oh wise one, what is your purpose in life?”
“I’m still trying to figure it out. Maybe I will take holy orders.” Max grimaced.
“Definitely not.”
“No? Then perhaps I am meant to stay with Keira. Help her when the children come.”
“A kind, sweet, docile aunt? I don’t think so.”
“Why not?” Anna asked, a little piqued.
“You, darling Anna, were made to love. Passionately. Wildly. Completely.” Anna stared at him, trying to decide if she felt offended, or something else, but before she could say anything, a sound at the front of the house had her pulling her hand away from Max.
“Aaron and Keira must be back,” she said. Max just grinned, his eyes on her, as Keira walked into the room ahead of Aaron. She stopped at the sight of Anna and Max on the floor, her face registering her surprise.
“How was your evening?” Max asked, finally turning his gaze away from Anna.
“Fine,” Keira said. “Dreadful. What awful people.” Max laughed, then turned to Aaron.
“Did you learn anything of interest?”
“No. It seems like our mystery dragon killed three of the duke’s guards. The duke’s fortunate that they weren’t all killed.” He looked at Keira as he spoke, but she was examining a rip in her gown.
“Look at this, Anna,” she said, showing her the tear. “I wonder how I got that.”
“Probably a nail,” Max said. “Happens all the time.” Keira nodded, her attention still on the rip.
“I will be on my way, then,” Aaron said. He was still watching Keira, but she was preoccupied with the tear in her gown. He waited a moment, then with a nod in Max’s direction, left the house. At the sound of the door closing, Keira looked up.
“I am exhausted,” she said. “I think I will retire. Come with me, Anna,” she said, “and I will tell you about the dreadful women I met this evening.”
�
��All right,” said Anna. She rose to her feet, and linked her arm into her sister’s. “Good night, Max,”she said as they exited the room.
Chapter 31
The room was cold when Keira woke the next morning. She rolled over in the bed, seeking out Aaron’s warmth, before remembering the events of the previous night. Aaron had called a meeting of dragons at Drake Manor. And before that … Keira shivered, remembering the evening spent at court.
The fire had burned low in the grate during the night, and Keira stared at it for a moment, willing it to burn higher, before pushing back the quilts with a sigh and padding over to the hearth. Kneeling down on the stone floor, warmed by the glowing coals, she stoked the embers and added another log, watching as the flames slowly licked around the dry surface, lighting bits of loose bark, before finally spreading to the rest of the log. She rose to her feet and pulled a cloak around her shoulders, shivering as the cold fabric touched her bare arms. Pulling a pair of slippers onto her feet, she slowly opened the door to the chamber. The passage outside was quiet, but Keira could hear the household sounds wafting up the stairs. She left the room and made her way down the staircase, pausing to look into the hall. Hannah was sitting on one of the benches, Keira’s torn gown on her lap, plying a needle and thread. She looked up, catching sight of Keira, and quickly stood up.
“Mistress, you should be in your chambers, not wandering around the hall in your chemise and cloak. Let me help you back upstairs and see you dressed.”
“No.” Keira waved her hand in dismissal. “I was just looking for Master Drake. Has he returned?”
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