“Unless he wanted us to find the clues. Everett is the king of riddles. That happens when you live thousands of years. You find ways to keep life amusing. We should definitely scour the rest of the cabin in case there is something he wants us to find.” Skye had enjoyed her time with Everett. He was frustrating but entertaining. With him she had even forgotten she was supposed to be upset because of Sid. When Everett told her it was time to go, she hadn’t wanted to leave. Three weeks hadn’t been long enough.
“Maybe we can find something to open that envelope with,” Rowan suggested.
Skye doubted they would find anything, but they might find another clue. “It’s not a big cabin. It won’t take long to search.”
And it didn’t. It took them maybe an hour to search the entire place, and they found nothing. There was a small bed in the bedroom, made up nicely, but nothing in the closet or the bathroom. The living room was basically empty except a couch and end table. The kitchen took the longest to search, but even it was void of clutter, containing only the bare necessities.
Skye collapsed on the couch after they were done, frustrated. Last time she was here, she couldn’t even find the couch. The cabin itself felt bigger than she remembered.
“This is impossible,” she said.
Rowan sank down next to her. “Someone else has to know where he is. Perhaps we’re in the wrong place.”
“Then why was the letter here?”
Rowan shrugged and blew at his hair. “Maybe it’s not time for you to open it.”
“What do you mean?” Skye leaned forward a little.
“Maybe you aren’t supposed to open it until something else has happened.”
She flung herself back. “I wish the envelope would’ve been more specific.”
Rowan laughed. “Me too. But we can’t dwell on that. You need to keep moving forward. I’m just along for the ride. Think. Where else might he be?”
She closed her eyes and thought. Exhaustion threatened to overwhelm her. She hadn’t slept well since her scales turned black. Perhaps she needed more sleep, and then things would come easier to her.
“I think I’m going to sleep. It’s been two very long days. I can’t think right now.” She wasn’t sure if they’d be heading out that night or not. There was no reason for them to stay here, but she didn’t know where else to go. Here they had shelter, and the cupboards had enough canned food to last them a week.
“Okay. I’ll sleep as well. You can take the bed. I’ll stay on the couch.”
“Don’t be silly. You can sleep in the bed with me.” They were friends and had cuddled plenty of times on the couch. The bed wasn’t that much different. Plus, she wanted him close. She’d almost forgotten what it was like to have that ache in her chest. The closer he was to her, the smaller it was.
He crossed his arms and looked away from her. “No, Skye, I can’t. It’s barely a double bed. I’ll sleep better if I stay out here. Go ahead and get some sleep, and we’ll talk later. If you want to go somewhere else, we’ll need to travel by night again anyway.”
Skye didn’t like leaving Rowan alone in the living room, but she couldn’t think of any way to convince him otherwise. Rowan could be super stubborn. Most of the time he talked to her, and she loved him for it, but when it came to anything serious, he clammed up. She supposed this would be one of those times. She frowned and tried to think what she could ask to get to the bottom of why he wouldn’t sleep in the same bed with her. But nothing came.
She sighed. There were so many unfinished conversations that she hoped someday he’d finish.
ROWAN TOSSED and turned. Every time he closed his eyes, all he saw was his parents shouting for him in the woods in subzero temps. He’d hoped by now that Aspen checked her phone. If she didn’t get the message, then his family all thought he was missing. Which he was, but he didn’t need them looking. Especially in the snow and cold of Yellowstone. If something happened to one of them, he’d never forgive himself. He tried to think of another way to get a message to them. All they had were cell phones, and he knew nobody’s number.
The couch was short and hard. Rowan should’ve taken Skye’s offer to sleep in the bed. Though he probably wouldn’t have slept any better having her that close to him. He wondered if she understood what she did to him. Probably not. Girls like her never did.
Girls like Tori knew how they affected boys like him, and took advantage of it, but girls like Skye were oblivious. Sweet to a fault. He was so head over heels. When she finally moved on from Sid and went out with someone else, he was going to be crushed. He’d stick with her through all the danger she promised, but the second she decided to date someone, he’d bail. He had no idea why he was torturing himself.
Midafternoon he got up and threw a few more logs on the embers. It was cold in the room, but not frigid. Once he had it roaring again, he sat down and pulled his blanket around him.
“Oh, it’s freezing.” Skye plopped herself next to him and tugged at his blanket.
“What are you doing?” Normally he was fine with her, but when she pulled things like this, he had no idea how to react. They did cuddle a lot, but his insides still turned into fireworks when they did. He could hear his heartbeat in his ears.
“I’m so cold. There was no heat in that room.” She curled up next to him, and he tentatively put his arm around her shivering body. She was practically in his lap. He tucked the blanket around her and held her close. She gripped his shirt and pressed herself into him. Yep, she was going to slay him. Though maybe if she understood what she was doing, she might stop. He sighed. He didn’t want that either, so he kept his mouth shut.
Rowan wasn’t sure how long they sat there, cuddled together like a couple in love. But he relished every second. He rubbed her arms as they watched the fire flicker and didn’t say a word. It was so unbelievably comfortable, and Rowan nearly forgot they were on a mission that could get them both killed. When her shivering stopped, she didn’t move.
“Can I ask you something?” she mumbled into his shoulder.
“Sure,” he said, stroking her hair and forgetting for a few seconds that she was only a friend. She didn’t seem to mind.
“When you found out I was a dragon, you didn’t talk to me for a couple of days. Why?”
Oh, hell no. There were a lot of things she could ask him, but that was one question he wasn’t answering. He didn’t want to tell her the story about what happened to him when he was a child. He’d told no one, not even his family or the thousands of therapists they sent him to. It was too scary. Even thinking about it made his stomach tie in knots. “I’m not talking about that.”
Skye pulled away a little bit and looked at him with those gorgeous baby blues. “Come on. We’re stuck here in this stupid cabin with no plan on how we’re going to get out of this. You know all my secrets. Give me this one. Please.”
“I don’t know all your secrets. Ask me anything else, and I’ll be totally honest with you. But not this.” Rowan wanted nothing but to pull her into his arms again and not think about the fact that if Skye’s scales had been blue when she changed into a dragon two days ago, he would’ve never climbed up on her back.
“Something bad happened to you. Right?”
Rowan rubbed at the scar on his side. It wasn’t very big, but it was evidence of the most horrific thing he’d ever seen. It was the first time in his life that he thought he might die. Aspen had told him to talk to Skye about it. And Aspen was usually right. Maybe it would be good to get it off his chest. He took a couple of deep breaths.
“You do realize I haven’t told anyone this story. Not my mom. Not Aspen. Not Sissy. No one.” Even as a child he couldn’t physically talk about it. It fueled his anxiety for years. Living near the dragons his whole life had been agony. Every time he stepped out his front door, he looked up, frightened that it would happen again.
She tucked her face into his shoulder again and fiddled with one of the buttons on his shirt. He didn’t know how to tell her to stop beca
use she was driving him crazy. If she wasn’t careful, he was going to forget that he was afraid of rejection and kiss her. “I’m a sea dragon. We’re good at keeping secrets. Come on. I want to know.”
“No.” He wasn’t going to talk about this. Ever. It was too traumatic.
She continued to play with his buttons. He was conflicted. His stomach was in knots, but his heart raced with desire. He wanted to get up from that couch and as far away from her as possible, but he couldn’t bring himself to let go of her. A crazy part of him wanted to kiss her, but he didn’t know if he’d have the courage to follow through.
She pouted. “Now my curiosity is piqued. I wish I were one of those canyon dragons. Then I could read your mind.”
“That wouldn’t be very fair. Besides you’d learn things you don’t want to know.” Like how much he really loved her. Or how he couldn’t stop thinking about what it would take for her to love him too. This was impossible.
Her fingers grasped at the fabric of his shirt. “Maybe I do want to know.”
His breath caught in his throat, unsure of what she meant. He lifted her chin and looked into her eyes. He saw the torment there. Maybe she could read his thoughts more than she let on. He leaned down. Watched her eyes for any sign that she objected to what he was doing. He found none. He closed his eyes and could feel her breath on his lips when the ground shook and the shutters on the house rattled with the wind. Rowan jerked back, glad something had interrupted the moment. Because if she didn’t want him to kiss her, that would’ve ruined everything. Then again, it could’ve been the moment when everything changed for the better.
Skye jumped up, and the spot at his side was instantly cold. She didn’t even look at him as she raced for the door.
“Finally,” she said before opening it. “I knew he’d come back.” She flew out of the door with Rowan on her heels. But standing in front of them wasn’t a giant gold dragon at all. But a white one.
SKYE WAS ABOUT to die. And so was Rowan. It would be all her fault. She should’ve at least looked outside first before opening the door. If she had, the dragon might not have even known anyone was here. This was the second arctic dragon she’d seen. She wasn’t sure if it was the same one as before. Either way, arctic dragons were not a good sign.
Hello, pretty girl. Who are you, and what are you doing in that cabin?
Instinctively, she shielded both her and Rowan’s mind. White dragons couldn’t read minds, but if this was the same one with the canyon dragon, she didn’t want to take any chances. If a canyon dragon got into her mind, she’d be dead in seconds.
Skye thought fast. She didn’t know who this was or what they wanted. But she guessed he was looking for Everett, which meant he was possibly no threat to her. She wondered if this a friendly visit. Unlikely. She didn’t want to alert him to who she really was, so she made up a name on the spot. Something that he would think was a royal dragon.
My name is Ariana, and this is Orvil. We were looking for Everett, but he’s not here. We’ll be going now. She looked around for an exit strategy. For the most part, the cabin was surrounded by pines. This was good. If they ran into the woods, the arctic dragon wouldn’t be able to follow them. Though he could incinerate them.
The gigantic white dragon cocked his head. Where are you going?
Skye shrugged. She needed to play this cool, but her palms were already starting to sweat.
Home. He’s not here, so he can’t help us.
What did you need his help for? The dragon crept closer. Skye thought about going in the house and slamming the door, but considering the arctic dragon could take it out it in one breath, that wouldn’t be the best idea. The woods were safer.
My friend here sealed himself to the wrong girl, and rumor has it Everett can remove it.
Do you have any other leads on where he might be? It’s important that I find him. He didn’t seem to be suspicious of them at all. If she could get away from him without raising any alarm bells, they’d be home free. She had no idea where they were going to go next, but at least they wouldn’t die at the hands of an arctic dragon.
Sorry. No. Good luck.
She grabbed Rowan’s hand and pulled him onto a path into the woods away from the white dragon. His hand was clammy in hers, and he stumbled a little as they took off. She took deep breaths, hoping she’d get away. But the dragon shook his wings.
I think you lie.
Skye didn’t even have time to react as she saw the giant wing swing toward them. She flew through the air and landed hard on the ground. Her head hit a rock, and everything went black.
ROWAN WOKE several hours later. At least he thought it was several hours later. He looked around the unfamiliar cave. It was large and wide and well lit. His head was killing him, but he had no other pain. He flexed his fingers and stretched out his legs. His mind flashed to the moments before he lost consciousness. A white dragon had hit them with his wings and sent them flying. Skye. He had to find her.
He lifted his head and saw one white dragon and three orange dragons. They weren’t paying attention to him. He could make out Skye in the middle, and his heart tightened. He didn’t want to think about what they might do to her.
Rowan was good at hiding. He had been since he was a young child. He always won at hide-and-seek. He noticed a small crevice a few feet away and slid into it so they couldn’t see him.
Voices projected out across the cave. Stupid really, because that meant he heard everything the dragons were saying. Good for him though. They probably underestimated humans.
This is not Everett. We agreed to align with you only if you brought him to us. Rowan couldn’t tell which dragon had spoken.
You’re not in a position to negotiate. I was going to bring Everett to you as a token of goodwill. He was not at his home. The girl probably has information on how to find him. You can probe her mind. I can’t.
One of the orange dragons bared his teeth. No. I can’t. She’s not a royal dragon. She’s sea.
All of the dragons in the circle shuffled around. Sea dragons cannot take human forms.
An orange dragon snorted. One can. She was Obsidian’s mate before he became king. Rowan froze. This would not be good for Skye. Rowan didn’t know how he would rescue her. They knew who she was, which meant she was the one they hunted. He felt so helpless. He couldn’t stand there and watch her die. The white dragon backed up a few feet and stood up straighter.
Then I have brought you a gift more valuable than Everett. You’re the one who wanted to get to Obsidian through his known associates. Plus, she should have the loyalty seal.
The three orange dragons all fluttered their wings. Obsidian was in danger. So was Skye for that matter. Rowan wondered if these were the same dragons he and Skye had seen in the clearing. If so, the gold one was missing.
After a few beats of silence, the voices began again. I still don’t understand what we have to gain by aligning with you. The voice was male and tense. Now would be Rowan’s opportunity to rescue Skye if he was going to. Though he didn’t see how it would be possible for him to sneak into the middle of all of them.
Gain? You should be thinking about what you have to lose if you don’t align with us. The second voice responded with exasperation. It was the same one who said Obsidian had to die. Probably the white dragon. His voice was slightly different than the others.
Did you really think we’d all align with you? According to the prophecy, you lose. It was the first voice. There was that word again. Prophecy. Rowan listened even harder now. If they were talking about the prophecy, Skye would want to know when she woke up.
Silly fool, you’ve never read the real prophecy, have you? The stories that developed out of the prophecy became bedtime stories. Good triumphs over evil and all that nonsense. But in reality, the prophecy doesn’t declare who wins. It’s why we didn’t hesitate when you asked for Everett. We want him as well, but for the prophecy. He knows it in its entirety. We expect you to share any informa
tion you get from the girl.
Rowan let out a breath of relief. At least they weren’t planning on killing Skye yet. One of the orange dragons scooted forward so he was nose to nose with the white dragon. No one knows what the prophecy says.
The white dragon backed up a few feet. We have an early copy of it, but it isn’t complete. It’s more accurate than ninety percent of the rumors that float around. All we know is that for us to win, we need the canyon dragons by our side.
I don’t speak for our race. That was obviously one of the orange dragons.
No, but you do hold a place of honor among them. We won’t get Anasazi on our side. He’s too entrenched in the council.
The three orange dragons exchanged glances with each other. Say we do decide to follow you. How long before things start?
The white dragon stood taller. We declare war on the humans next week. Rumor has it that the three kings have emerged. If that’s the case, then we need to strike before they’ve had time train. When this is all over, the humans will no longer rule the earth, and we will strip the royal dragons of their thrones. Our witch will see to that.
Rowan tried to make sense of their words. Human war? The dragons were going to go after them. His friends and family would be in danger as well. He squeezed his eyes shut. He couldn’t do anything about the humans. It also sounded like they were going to declare war on the dragon kings. Skye was one of them now. That meant if they knew who she was, they’d kill her. Rowan needed to make sure he warned her before she turned into a dragon. She had to wake up first. He hoped she would soon. He wiped his sweating palms on his jeans.
One of the orange dragons bowed low to the white dragon. You have our allegiance. What do you need from us?
Rowan tried to still his breathing. Everyone he cared about was now in danger. Skye had said they would have allies as well, but no one else even knew the war was upon them.
Wait two weeks, then go after the woodland dragons. They don’t know how to fight and will be the easiest to take out before the real war starts. They have been closely aligned with the royal dragons for years, so we know they won’t help us. Plus, if you get rid of them, the royal dragons won’t have anyone to heal them when we slaughter them. Rowan’s heart raced, and he had to fight the tightening of his chest. He took deep breaths. None of this sounded good. From what Skye told him, if they didn’t have help from the woodland dragons, they’d be easily killed.
Skye: The Dragon Kings Book 4 Page 5
