“Why do you think he’s down here?”
“The prophecy.”
“What prophecy?” His teeth chattered a little as he asked.
“It was given at the end of the dragon wars. Three kings will rise and kill the white witch from the north. The arctic dragons are trying to gain allies. The canyons are good fighters, not friends with us, and they can read minds. I’d rather have them on our side, except a deal with them is never worth it. They’re tricky and will often twist words to make it seem like you promised them more than you did. We’ve got the fire dragons though. The woodlands will side with us, which means they can heal us of everything but death. When the final battle happens, there’s no telling who will win.”
Rowan’s eyes widened. “And when do you think that will happen?”
Skye shrugged. “A few years, a few weeks, maybe a hundred years. No idea. What I’m more worried about is that they are killing those who are loyal to Sid. I expect they’d kill him if they got their hands on him, but for now, there’s a price on my head. We’ve got to stay hidden.”
It could be a long time before she returned to Sid. This wasn’t something that would last for a couple of days. They could be on the run for weeks or months or maybe even years. Skye wasn’t going back until she understood her place in all this. She was a girl and a girl had never been king.
Twenty-four hours ago, her life was peaceful. Now she was being hunted for having a loyalty seal, and if she was discovered as a king, she’d be dead more quickly than a dragon let out flame. She shivered. She might not survive. Rowan either. She let out a deep breath as they neared the town. For now, they had to find a place to crash.
Skye looked at the buildings. “So, um, this may seem like a strange question, but where are we sleeping? Humans don’t sleep on the ground, and our house is nowhere near here. It’s cold, and I don’t like the thought of sleeping outside.”
Rowan gave her a funny look. She felt like an idiot, but she had no idea what they were going to do. She’d never slept anywhere but Sid’s house.
“We’ll stay in a hotel. Like that one.” He pointed to a building with a “Holiday Inn” sign.
“If you’re hungry, we can eat first.” She wanted to ask how he knew they could sleep there, but she didn’t want to risk looking dumb again.
“Not really. I’d rather sleep.”
She hoped he was right about the hotel because she was very tired. The stress was getting to her. She hadn’t been prepared for the human experience, so she didn’t know half of what she should as a human.
“Okay, let’s sleep for a few hours, then we can eat and plan our next step.” If he hadn’t been around, she wouldn’t have been able to find a place to stay. She supposed she probably could’ve stayed as a dragon, but she was safer as a human than dragon these days. Depending on someone else to help her felt strange though. She’d always been so independent.
ROWAN HELPED Skye book a hotel room. They were only going to be sleeping, but his nerves got the better of him anyway. He could use his anxiety meds right about now. He hadn’t been taking them since he started hanging out at Sid’s house. This trip with Skye was bound to be dangerous. He needed to be prepared so he didn’t have a nervous breakdown in the middle of a fight. Not to mention that he was alone with the girl of his dreams.
The hotel room was small, but clean and modern. It had two beds that were tightly made up. Thank goodness. Rowan didn’t know how he would react if he had to actually share a bed with her. Probably not in any way she would appreciate.
“I’m going to shower,” Skye said as she fidgeted with the edge of her shirt. Then she went in the bathroom and came out again. She rummaged through her bag and then returned to the bathroom without grabbing anything. She shut the door. She was so antsy. He supposed she’d never stayed at a hotel before, but he didn’t think that would make her nervous.
He dropped his backpack on the bed near the window and dug through it. No phone. He dumped everything out and searched again. Still no phone. Some clothes, his toothbrush and razor. His stomach tied up in knots. He didn’t remember his parents’ numbers. Nobody memorized numbers anymore. If Skye had her phone, he could message Aspen.
Rowan sat on the bed and thought about what he was doing. His parents were going to flip out. But they’d probably buy his eloping story, but only because Aspen would play along. She would see through it of course. He wondered what she would think. It didn’t matter as long as she convinced his parents that it was the truth. She wouldn’t care that it wasn’t true. She was always pushing him to get out of his comfort zone. This was pretty damn far out of that. She’d probably figure Skye needed to get away and he just tagged along.
His head buzzed, and his palms grew clammy. Damn anxiety. Without his meds there was only one way to help that. He changed into a pair of sweats, grabbed a hotel key, and knocked on the bathroom door.
“Yeah?” Skye yelled from the shower. Thinking of her in there did nothing for his nerves.
“I’m going to go workout. I’ll be back in a half hour or so.”
The workout room was pretty pathetic. A few bikes and a treadmill. He supposed he could do some push-ups or something to build his upper body. He’d made a lot of progress at Sid’s house and didn’t want to lose the muscle he gained. He wanted to get his cardio in first, so he got on the treadmill and turned it up as far as he could handle. As soon as his heart started pumping, he felt the knot in his stomach loosen, and his head cleared.
A few months ago he’d been surprised that his anxiety disappeared when he worked out with Sid and Theo. He wished he’d known about this a long time ago. He could’ve avoided years of foggy medication. Nothing would cure his anxiety, but it’d be nice to only take meds when things were bad.
The effects of a workout were unpredictable. Sometimes it would last twelve hours, sometimes two full days, but he didn’t know what kind of dangers this adventure with Skye would bring, so his workout might only take his anxiety away for a few hours, and he had no meds.
Those dragons were hunting Skye. He could never protect her from a dragon. If they were human, he might stand a chance. He snorted. He was delirious. If someone attacked Skye, either dragon or human, he didn’t have a prayer.
Rowan finished his workout and headed to the room, feeling pitiful. He had absolutely nothing to offer her. He was just a nerd who got lucky. He opened the door and saw Skye sitting on the bed.
His breath caught in his throat. Her wet hair hung down her back and dripped onto a tank top and short shorts. His heart raced. He should just turn around and go back to the gym. He didn’t know how he would be able to be with her.
She gave him a million-watt smile, which did nothing for his racing heart. He was about to hyperventilate.
“Did you enjoy your workout?” Her smile faltered, and Rowan thought she saw the desire in his eyes.
He nodded, his words lost. She used to render him speechless all the time, but lately it’d been easier. But usually she was fully dressed.
“Why don’t you shower, and then we should sleep. We’ll probably be up all night.”
He nodded again, feeling stupid. He didn’t want her to think he was an imbecile, but he literally could not open his mouth and force words out. He grabbed his clothes and stepped into the bathroom. Maybe when he got out, she’d be asleep, and he wouldn’t have to worry about talking.
SKYE WAITED until Rowan was in the bathroom with the door locked before she flung herself onto the bed. This would be impossible. Most of the time Rowan was okay, but he was infatuated with her. She felt him oozing love and desire. She didn’t know what this would mean for them while they were on the run, other than she could hurt him. He was sweet, but he was only her friend. Best friend really since she’d lost Sid to Aspen.
Not that she cared that Sid and Aspen were together. She didn’t love Sid anymore. Everett had seen to that. Plus, Aspen was good for him. Skye couldn’t think of a better girl to be his queen. Skye a
nd Sid had been together so long they’d pretty much shut out other dragons. Particularly because most of them had not approved of their relationship. Sure, Sid had his group of potential kings he hung out with when he had to, but Theo was the only one that liked him. So for the past one hundred and sixty-two years, Sid had been her best and only friend. And she missed that. She hadn’t meant to replace him with Rowan, but it sort of happened.
Part of her wanted to love Rowan the way he loved her. But she couldn’t. Everett had removed that possibility and replaced it with an ache that wouldn’t go away. She envied Rowan’s ability to love her. She saw it in his eyes. She’d never be able to look at anyone like that ever again. The ache yawned open and filled the cavity in her chest. She curled in on herself.
Rowan. Think about Rowan. For some reason, she could tell him anything. He was a great listener and always helped her process what she was thinking. She wanted to keep him that way. As a friend. His feelings were not something she had planned on. Maybe she could talk to him about the way he felt and convince him to see her only as a friend.
She snorted. It didn’t work like that. She knew it all too well with her former feelings toward Sid. Rowan liked her, and no amount of talking would change that.
She slid under the sheets and breathed into them. They weren’t silky smooth like the ones at Sid’s house, but at least they weren’t terribly scratchy. They smelled a little like bleach.
Sleep would be hard to come by. Her life had been turned upside down. Thinking about Rowan and the ache in her heart had made it easier to not think about her real issue.
She couldn’t even fathom that she was the dragon king. Sure, she was part royal dragon, but no female had ever been king before. Or did that mean she was a queen? Queens served a very different purpose in their world. They were all human. But her scales had very clearly turned black. Everett would have answers like he did last time.
She’d found him quite by accident. After Sid became king, she was devastated. She’d been flying out to the coast, wanting to sink herself in the ocean and not come out for a long time. Her soul felt like it’d been ripped to shreds. She spent a great deal of time seeking out dragons who had gotten rid of their sealing. The answers they gave meant she’d mourn the loss of Sid for years. Maybe even hundreds of years. She didn’t like that answer. Which is why she tried to find Everett.
His home was near a lake in Oregon. He was the most interesting dragon she’d ever met, and it was almost as if he’d been expecting her. He already knew of her problems and offered to help get rid of her sealing before she even asked.
Removing the sealing came with a cost. Everett warned her about that. Even made her wait several days before he removed it and spent most of those days attempting to talk her out of it. She didn’t care. She was ready to pay any price to stop feeling so wretched over losing Sid. So Everett removed the sealing along with her ability to ever love anyone again. At the time it seemed like such a good idea, but now she felt so empty and hurt. She wanted to take it back.
Skye studied the swirls in the ceiling. When she was a dragon, she often fell asleep staring at the stars. She missed that. A longing for her old life slammed into her. She squeezed her eyes shut. She couldn’t think about that anymore. She was a king now. There would be no changing that or her pain. She’d be one of three who led the dragons into the deadliest war the world had ever seen. Every species would be involved. Though, the prophecy didn’t reveal who they’d be fighting. Skye hoped the humans would be on their side. She’d come to like them. She couldn’t imagine a world where they didn’t exist. Because if it came down to the humans versus the dragons, the dragons would win.
ROWAN FELL ASLEEP watching Skye. He couldn’t quite believe he was here with her. He’d run away from home to be with a girl. He chuckled softly at the thought. A year ago, that would’ve been completely unbelievable. Skye wasn’t just any girl though. She was the one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. Which was silly.
First off, she was a dragon. That wasn’t in his plans at all. Not that any of this was in his plans. He’d hoped by the time he went to college he’d be able to at least talk to girls. Even if they weren’t Hollywood beautiful.
Skye exceeded every expectation he had. Which led to problem number two. Skye was way out of his league. Even if she ended up with a human, it wouldn’t be him. But he loved her anyway. And it wasn’t just that she was beautiful, she was also kind, smart, funny, and loyal.
He drifted off with her on his mind.
When he blinked his eyes open, he found her staring at him. At least that’s what he thought. It was hard to tell through the fuzz. He fumbled for his glasses and shoved them on his face. Two days in a row he woke to her sitting on his bed. He’d never get used to that.
Skye smiled down at him. Hopefully, he wasn’t drooling. She was stunning all the time. He supposed other girls would be insanely jealous of her. As it was, he wished he could look as put together as she did.
“What time is it?” Sleep fogged his brain, and he couldn’t process her watching him. He rubbed at his hair.
“About six. I figured we could grab some dinner, and by then it should be dark enough to fly. Did you call your parents?”
“No. I don’t have my phone. Can I use yours? I’ll send Aspen a message.”
Skye nodded. “Then we need to ditch my phone. I don’t want anyone to track us.”
He sat up, and she handed him her phone.
“How is it that you know we should ditch the phone but not what a hotel is?”
She shrugged. “Saw it on TV. I don’t know. Every time I feel like I’m getting the hang of this human thing, something throws me for a loop. I’m glad you’re here with me.”
Rowan tried not to think too much about that statement. He’d never thought of himself as useful in much of anything, but he’d take it. He needed to be on this trip with her. He’d feel so lost if he never saw her again.
With Skye. Tell Mom and Dad not to worry. We’re running off to Vegas to elope, then we’re going to honeymoon in Fiji. Don’t know when we’ll be back. Maybe a week, maybe a year.
He could always dream. Skye sat down next to him and read his message. “You know Aspen’s not going to buy that.”
He wanted to ask, “Why the hell not?” but he kept his thoughts to himself. Mostly because Skye was right. “Maybe not. But if anyone can convince Mom and Dad that it’s a possibility, it will be Aspen. Come on, I’m starving.”
They cleaned up, gathered all their stuff, and ate dinner at a Denny’s next to the hotel. It was pretty empty. One table was full of truckers and another had a young family with a baby that had a mess around his chair. That was it. They took a table far from the other two. A television played in the background, and the whole place smelled like bacon.
Skye ordered a hamburger and fries, but Rowan went with the Grand Slam breakfast. He was hungry enough to eat it all, and the bacon smell got to him.
Both he and Skye were quiet while they ate, which was rare for them. They usually never stopped talking. It was one of the things he loved about her. There was never any awkwardness. But now, everything felt wrong.
“You okay?” he finally asked, not sure what else to say.
She dipped a fry in her ketchup and ate it before answering. “No. I’m not.”
“Why?” His stomach clenched. Maybe she was going to try to ditch him again.
“Because we’re on the run. Because I had to leave all my friends behind. Because I don’t know what’s happening to me. I need answers.”
“Isn’t that what we’re going to find?” Rowan took a bite of his pancakes, relieved that her issues weren’t with him.
“Yeah. But what if I don’t get the answers I want?”
“What do you want those answers to be?”
Skye let out a snort. “I want my life to go back to normal. I want my scales to be blue instead of black. I want to know that Sid and Aspen are going to be okay and I don’t
want the stupid prophecy to come true in my lifetime.”
Rowan cocked his head. “What do you know about the prophecy? You mentioned it, but I still don’t quite get why it’s important.”
“The prophecy given several thousand years ago said there would be a massive war when three dragon kings rose up at once. An arctic dragon will start it. She’ll have powers we won’t understand, and she’s always been referred to as the white witch.”
Rowan marveled at her words. He felt like he should be in the middle of an epic fantasy movie. Instead, he was sitting inside Denny’s eating bacon. It didn’t feel real. If what she was saying was true, then they were about to be in the middle of a war. Rowan was surprised his hives weren’t coming out. This was a big deal. Even more so than the dragons that wanted to kill Skye for her loyalty to Sid. “Sounds scary.”
“Yep. But I can’t think of any other reason for my scales to turn black.”
Rowan fiddled with his food, trying to put everything together.
“So how does Everett fall into this? That’s who we are going to see, right?”
“He’s the oldest dragon in the world. He helped me when I had to leave Sid.”
That was a story she never talked about and one he’d love to hear. “Why did you leave Sid anyway?” He was morbidly fascinated by the fact that when he met her, she was living with the man she’d been in love with for a very long time, but could no longer be with.
“Because he became king, and I couldn’t be his queen.”
That wasn’t much of an explanation. “Were you sealed to him?”
She frowned and looked out into the distance. “Yeah, I was. Everett helped me get rid of it.”
Skye: The Dragon Kings Book 4 Page 3
