by Maia Starr
“I had a weird conversation tonight,” she began, but seemed to think better of it, and her lips snapped shut.
“You’ve got my interest,” I said with a bemused laugh. It looked like she would be telling me about Zaphira after all. I traced my fingers along her arm to tickle it lightly, hoping to put her at ease with me. She thinned her lips and closed her eyes, thinking on it. When her eyes opened, she was ready to talk.
“At first I thought this was a random choosing,” she started slowly.
“It was,” I said honestly. “I was never told to choose you. I wasn’t lying when I said–”
“The connection, right,” she interrupted in a hushed tone. “But see, I was told to get your attention.”
My heart sank.
“I see.”
“By Zaphira,” she offered genuinely, then shrugged. “Usually she’ll tell the girls to try and seem approachable, blah, blah, blah. You know, try and make the choosings go smoothly and put the best matches together. I thought that’s what she was doing. Then after tonight, I thought maybe…” She paused and then hastily corrected, “I mean, obviously this was a political move.”
“Right,” I agreed. “But?”
“But it was brought to my attention that… there’s something I’m supposed to be looking into? I think it might be what you had mentioned earlier. The mystery I was going to love?”
“Rerdig,” I confirmed.
So Zaphira was onto me. I smiled internally at this and couldn’t believe my luck. It looked like I would be able to get Sarra to look into this, after all. This way I would be able to send back whatever information I chose to Riddell. This was, in fact, much easier than I thought it was going to be.
“I think you’re right. I’m a little surprised she knows about him, though. Not even all of the Koth know what happened.” It was true. While her knowledge of the situation, or of a situation, certainly worked in my favor, I was still surprised she had wind of it at all. “Zaphira is nothing if not perceptive, I suppose.”
“I’m not sure she even knows, really,” she offered genuinely. “She just gets these hunches and just sort of rolls with it.”
“Or makes you roll with it,” I teased.
“Right?” She giggled. “It seems brilliant to outsiders, but really she just tends to stumble into these things.”
“Still, if that’s her hunch, then she has amazing instincts. So…” I started, my brows rising ever so slightly. “You want to meet him?”
“I think I have to.”
“Tomorrow then, late. And don’t tell anyone you’re going, not even Zaphira.”
She peered at me shyly for a moment and then leaned in for one last soft kiss for the evening. “That I can do.”
Chapter Seven
Sarra
Sex had a way of changing things between a couple, or whatever Haden and I were considered these days.
We’d spent the morning making love again and the rest of the day was devoted to my work. We were in a precarious position, Haden and me.
Zaphira had told me he had something worth looking into, which I could only assume was the locked up traitor. In reality, I wasn’t sure if Zaphira really cared what the drama had been between the Koth and Rerdig, or if she was simply on a mission to find her son.
It wouldn’t have been the first time we’d delved into the mysteries of Udora to find him, though she would never say as much. I scrolled through various documents on a handful of tablets and signed off on
“I’ve been thinking about you all day,” he whispered, his hushed tone sending tingles through every inch of my body.
I looked up at him without moving my head and continue to sign the digital documents. Still, he lingered there. “I’m working,” I whispered back with a smile. The room was filled with a handful of other dignitaries whose attention we were quickly catching. “And you should be, too,” I giggled.
“Ah, but could anything compete with the alluring curve of your neck, your raven hair, or… ah, but I've said too much in this all too public space. Though if you'd bless me with another visit, I would love to whisper the rest in of your delicate ears...”
“You love yourself,” I said wryly. “You must study your thesaurus every night hoping for the chance to burst into a monolog.”
He wrinkled his nose at me and kissed my forehead, never once denying it.
“Well, you certainly have quite the way with words, don't you? You may just be in luck for some one-on-one whisper time with me later tonight, though you now have me all geared up for a boatload of compliments. I'd start your list now, were I you.”
“Is that right?” he dared.
“Yes, it is. I know you'd hate to see me disappointed. I pout. I'm snippy. It's a bad scene.”
The room seemed to watch us with fascination but said nothing when he finally left our company. I didn’t know whether to feel proud of myself or simply embarrassed. I wasn’t usually the type to bring romances to work.
The rest of the day wore on in long blurs of time. Time that I wasn’t with him or pursuing the prisoner.
As per his instruction, I didn’t say anything to Zaphira. Nothing more than telling her I had a lead, at least. I couldn’t very well send her back to Earth with no news.
I desperately wanted her to be happy with the work that I was doing on this mission. I wanted to find her son and renew her faith in our alliance. I wanted her to like and approve of my match with Haden beyond political appearance. I wanted to make her proud of me. And this time, I thought, I was going to do it.
Haden told me we wouldn’t be able to head to the old country until well past midnight. He said the prison was kept under wraps for a reason, and that even the chosen one of a Koth advisor wouldn’t be welcome in their private lands.
My heart thumped with excitement all day thinking that I would finally get to see the old world he had spoken so fondly of. I got as much of my work done as possible during the day and well into the evening. I returned home to make dinner for Haden, and then before I knew it, it was time.
The old world was well past the mossy fields we used for research. In fact, it was hours away. Three hours, to be exact. The area was made up of well-preserved stone homes, large enough to... well, to fit a dragon in. It was strange to see all the elegant stone buildings in such decay. Many of them had intricate, carved designs that seemed to flow from one building to the next in perfect unison, with large pillars and fences. Yet the majority of them were unkempt; some were even crumbling.
Haden led me to a stone building he called the tower. He unlatched the massive door as discreetly as possible, his furtive manner making me nervous even when I knew we were the only souls around for miles.
Still, I couldn’t help but wonder why a high-caliber prisoner like Rerdig would have been left alone in his prison without any guards nearby.
Candles and torches lit up the venue with a passionate blaze. The flames on the giant torches flickered as the doors rushed open before the fire found a comfortable standing once more.
The great hall was hardly archaic. Legendary dragon tales lined the walls in the form of beautiful tapestries that told their story. The display depicted full dragons and partial shifters gathered together in the mossy fields, a vision of other planets off in the background. A female dragon of white took center stage in the stitched illustration. I had never heard of a female dragon up until this point.
The female was ghostly white. Looking up at her, I could imagine the females somehow more frightening than their male counterparts. I imagined their frail stature and wide, watchful eyes. I imagined the way one might regard me with a hiss or with silent hatred for the way my body felt around their protectors. ‘That’s not for you,' I imagined one saying to me with a knowing tone as I stood close to Haden.
The legend of how shifters came to be had been lost to time. The Weredragons say they had always been, while humans say a woman must have mated with a dragon and created a powerful shifter hybrid. I was
puzzled thinking of the first human female who had her way with a fully formed dragon and why she would ever think that was a good, or safe, idea.
In fact, I cringed at the thought.
My eyes drew away from the display and lingered a while longer on the intricate architecture of the castle. The hall stretched on forever. There were six towers that lined the outside of the fortress we were in, with one large, black, stone tower that sat in the middle of the courtyard.
There were high walls that circled the fortress to ensure absolute protection. It looked more like the garrison was set up for war than a small private prison.
“Down here,” Haden whispered, and I eagerly followed him down a damp corridor. He held a torch in front of him, and after a long distance, we arrived at a series of small cells. The cells were so tiny that the dragon barely had room to lay down.
The Weredragon shifter inside was small in stature, smaller than most of the dragons, who boasted extreme height and breadth. His wings were long and thin; trailing on the ground behind him. The scales across his face looked ragged, somehow, and he wore white prison garb that made the orange scales on his skin seem illuminated somehow. He had fangs even as a partial shifter, and long red hair.
His small, yellow eyes followed me across the room, and I couldn’t help but study him and wonder if there were any way to tell if he looked like Zaphira.
Surely, she would have mentioned his curious eyes or the bright scales he had. But when I thought back on it, she’d given no information about his appearance at all. Maybe she didn’t even know.
“Hello,” I offered as I approached the cell door. “My name is–”
Before I could finish the sentence, Haden put his hand on my arm and shook his head. No names, got it. I breathed audibly and looked back at Rerdig. “I’m a reporter.”
The shifter’s face was then overcome with an expression I couldn’t make out. Worry, maybe? His eyes shifted to Haden, who nodded to the scared creature, and then he turned his attention back to me.
“I’m Rerdig,” he said with a young, callow tone. “Have you come to break me out or just hear my story?” he asked curiously.
“Well,” I shrugged and looked up at Haden. “Maybe both, actually.”
Haden cleared his throat with surprise but said nothing. I hadn’t told him that part of my plan, but I wasn’t about to back down now.
“Please, tell me why you’re in here. There may be something I can do to help you get out of here.”
The orange dragon looked around nervously and gripped the bars in front of him with his hands; long fingers with prominent claws white from the pressure he extended toward his cell.
“Go ahead,” Haden instructed gently.
“There was a fight in the Koth counsel. There’s a traitor in our midst.”
My heart dropped out at the sentiment. Zaphira was right. I leaned in as close as I could possibly get and furrowed my brows. “Do you know who?” I asked.
“No. But they’re said to be starting a rebellion. They want to overthrow the Koth and take over as rulers.”
“So it’s a group of rebels, not just one? Do they actually have the power to do that? The Koth is quite the force to overthrow.”
He bit his lip and then shrugged helplessly. “They have a great force behind them.”
“What’s their problem with how the Koth rules?” I asked, begging my mind not to forget a single detail, as Haden insisted I not bring a recording device or tablet to write on.
“Well, you, to be honest.”
“Be specific,” I said, all business. “Literally me, or humans?”
“Humans,” he relented. “They think you have stringent rules about choosing ceremonies, for one. They want to go back to choosing who they want.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose in frustration. I hated that argument on behalf of shifters. They said we were trying to take over Udora when all we were trying to do was help them. The downfall of the human race, I supposed. Wanting to help.
“That’s what I don’t get,” I blurted in annoyance. “All we’ve tried to do is better Udora. We’ve brought you medicine, we’re this close to healing your fire-breathers, we helped breed a new generation of red dragons that were thought to be dying out. We send breeders and scientists to ensure your planet keeps thriving. What, exactly, are they annoyed with?”
“It’s not just that,” he said, seeming taken aback. “They feel humans don’t share their research. Also, the Koth makes deals with humans that goes unreported.”
“Like what?”
He shrugged again. “Deals with Zaphira.”
“Do you know her?” I asked quietly, reaching his eyes with mine and trying to read his answer.
“Everybody knows of her,” he said quietly; confused. “Why?”
“How old are you?” I said, almost demanded. I didn’t know how long we would have in the prison, and wanted to make the best use of my time as possible.
“Almost thirty,” he offered with a frown. “Why?”
I couldn’t believe my ears. Maybe he was Zaphira’s son after all. It was extremely rare to see a dragon so close to Koth dealings who was younger than 100. The timeline would certainly have matched up for him to be Zaphira’s son. Though his belief system wouldn’t exactly make her happy. Especially if he thought she was the enemy.
I shook my head and focused my attention back on the shifter. “I was just wondering how informed you were about the relationship between the Koth and Riddell,” I lied.
My lie seemed to catch Haden off guard, and he took a step back. I thought he was going to question me on it, but he simply pursed his lips and walked away from the cell.
“So, you got in a disagreement with the Koth on the matter? Do they think you’re one of the rebels?” I asked, jumping to the big questions.
“Yes,” he softened.
“Are you?” I asked with a blink. “And do you know who the rest of them are?”
The shifter loosened his grip on the bars in front of him and bit his lip. He seemed to think on this with some distress. “I want to be offered asylum,” he insisted desperately. “On Earth. If I tell you this, you have to get me out of here and give me your word that I will be protected.”
I thought on the request and wondered if I actually had the authority to make that deal. I was second to Zaphira, so part of me naturally assumed that so long as it was for the safety of the Earth, I was allowed to broker any deals I like.
Still, something seemed wrong about this. I nodded reluctantly and grabbed his cold hand into mind. “You have my word.”
Chapter Eight
Haden
I could hear Sarra splashing in the tub, alluring and elegant. I’d spent the day in meetings, both professional and personal. At work, I talked the Koth through potential administrative buildings on the Earth and told them the ramifications that having dual embassies may have for our dealings with Riddell. Privately, I was trying to find a way to get Rerdig out of prison.
I kicked the bathroom door closed behind me and sat on the cold tile floor beside Sarra. I watched as she bathed and smiled at me, sinking deeper into the water as she raised her feet to the side of the tub. “Your water is smoother than ours is,” she said simply. “It just… feels better.”
“Lucky us,” I laughed. “You know what? I’ve been thinking about these feet all day,” I grinned as I grabbed her feet and kissed each individual toe. She closed her eyes tightly as the light shone throughout the room. We sat in silence for only a moment, and I listened to her breathing and swishing the water.
It had been exactly three weeks since we had spoken to Rerdig. I had assured Sarra that we would be able to get him out, but it would take time. Unfortunately for me, Sarra had already told Zaphira of her encounter, and the whole ordeal now had to go through both our governments.
Before I had a chance to speak, Sarra began talking about her day, her mission, and how Zaphira would be proud of the work she was doing. She also im
plied that Riddell wished for Rerdig to be taken back to the Earth as a prisoner, not as a refugee.
In just over an hour we would be at my last council meeting for the day, discussing what to do with the traitor. I hated her proposal, though knew I would be better to grit my teeth and show support. If only to avoid raising suspicions from the Koth.
Why should he be taken back to Earth instead of being dealt with by the Koth? Yet another sign of Zaphira’s power and the deals she’d been able to garner in her favor.
Looking back at my love, I picked her up out of the tub and took to kissing her for moments that were far too short. In time, we both began to get ready for our meeting, and before long were in a transportation unit that moved along the skyline on rails. We ended up at one of the Koth buildings. Another glass dome with intricate statues of shifters set outside in a circle; statues of our fallen ones; of past Koth’s.
Much to her dismay, only three advisors, including myself, and a mere two members of the Koth attended the meeting. We sat in line at a black glass table that stretched down the narrow room. On the other side of the table, looking professional as ever, was my Sarra.
She was all business with her skirt suit and her stern face. It was only then that I could see the influence of Zaphira on her; could see how they worked together. Zaphira was the bad cop, and Sarra was the naughty, flirtatious one who just wanted to make light to smooth over Zaphira’s harsh demands. She seemed so unlike the girl I knew, it was almost unbelievable that just earlier I had her sprawled out naked on my bed, burying my body in hers.
I snapped out of my daydream long enough to wonder what the rest of the council must be thinking. ‘This is strange,' was probably a good guess. To be having an uncomfortable conversation with a Riddell representative who also happened to be my choosing.
Eddrys, also an advisor, gave me a look of surprise and delight as his eyes glanced back and forth from Sarra and myself. ‘Trouble in paradise?’ he mouthed, and I frowned in his direction, a silent request for him to shut up and be professional.
