The Hidden Truth (Shadow Claw Book 7)

by Sarah J. Stone

  She couldn't wait to get to the park at four o'clock. Her curiosity was getting the best of her, it was true. But more than that, she wanted to get away from the dragons.

  Chapter 10

  “If I just Google pictures of herbs, will you recognize it?” she asked as they got onto the street. Peter looked at her like she had grown a third head.

  “I would appreciate it if you spoke dragon to me,” he said, looking her right in the eye.

  “I am speaking. There isn't a word that translates to that!” She fumed.

  “I would have expected Alexander's queen to have a better grasp of the dragon tongue,” he replied. She wanted to smack him across his angular face.

  “I do have a perfect grasp of dragon lore,” she replied. “But even if I didn't, I have no obligation to you or your people to learn it.”

  “You are the queen!” he roared at her. They weren't three feet from the hotel, and they were already fighting.

  “Why? Because my husband knew that marrying me was mutually convenient? That was all it was, Peter, a mutual convenience. I didn't marry him to become queen, and he certainly didn't marry me to make me one. And perhaps if you hadn’t run away, this wouldn't be so hard in the first place.”

  He practically breathed fire out of his ears, which would have been a sight to see. Instead, he glared at her so hard, she took a step backwards.

  “I did not run away,” he said, “as you are from your obligations now. You choose to leave your husband instead of dealing with his body, which is sick!”

  “I have no obligations to you or your people,” she repeated. She hurled her phone at him, not caring. “Figure it out yourself, or let Alexander throw up until his stomach falls out. I don't care!”

  Ariel stormed off, seeing red. How dare he act like this was her responsibility or her job? She didn't ask for any of it, and she certainly wasn't made aware of any the day they had said their vows.

  Although if she looked back over the years, she did see more and more that Alexander had been laying responsibility on her. She had dealt with Enya when Cole brought her back from Earth. She had sat on the throne beside Alexander, and she had occasionally even held throne duty on her own, while he was busy. They bowed to her wherever she walked, and she had taken advantage of the fact that they would do whatever she said on more than one occasion.

  For all intents and purposes, she was the queen. He had been treating her like the queen, slowly but surely luring her into the role. She didn't want that for her life. She was a dancer, a carefree spirit, and she didn't believe in such rigid systems of government. Yet, here she was, wearing a crown on her head and letting herself be lured in.

  She knew that without her phone, she would get anxious and lose track of time. Since she travelled so much when she was on Earth, her phone was her life line to her friends. But she didn't care as she wandered the city. Peter could keep her phone; Alexander could keep her crown. How did she manage to get lured into this? How had she not noticed when he said these things and let her react this way?

  It was as if he had tricked her. He had shown her a life she thought she wanted, and she hadn't noticed because of all the shiny distractions. The worse part of it now was that she wasn't even queen to a king. He was merely a Prince, second best. And Ariel didn't do second best.

  She was angry at Peter for all of this. How dare he be so cowardly and so weak as to disappear and leave this all up to his brother?

  She was angry at Cole for bringing Enya into all of this. Unlike Ariel, Enya was small and weak, and she would need Cole the rest of her life. There was no escape, not if she wanted to live.

  She was angry at Nicholas for being a prince in a position that could never be questioned. He was often light and carefree, coming and going as he chose. He had no weight on his shoulders, nor a crown to dictate his moves. That was the position she wanted to be in.

  By the time 4 p.m. rolled in, she was more than ready to go to the park. Her phone wasn't in her hand, so she couldn't tell if they had cancelled, or if plans had changed.

  Whatever police investigation had been going on with Peter's slaughter had cleared up. The tape was gone, but no one was venturing into the park. No one save her father, standing in the middle of it.

  Ariel lingered at the entrance, watching him. He was looking up at the sky as if it had all the answers to life's problems. Where had he been all these years? What had he been doing aside from abandoning her? She knew that she wouldn't be able to speak a polite word, not after this morning. So instead, she didn't say anything, choosing instead to stand beside him.

  “Have you ever looked at the clouds and been jealous of them?” he asked her after a quiet moment. Ariel raised an eyebrow.

  “That's an odd thing to say,” she replied.

  “Well, if you think about it, clouds can be anything that they want. One moment they could be fluffy, and the next, sleek. There's no one to tell them what to do or what to be like. No one who says they can't be one thing or another. It's an odd thought, but I've always had it.”

  She could have had so many biting remarks to that comment. She was used to being sarcastic and feeling nothing. But what he said struck a chord with her.

  “Oh,” she said, looking up. “I never realized. I guess you're right.”

  “You must have thought it, flying through the sky on your dragons,” he said, and then turned to her. “Or did they never allow you to even think for yourself?”

  Ariel said nothing, biting her lip. He smiled, gently.

  “Come with me. I promised you something, didn't I?”

  “You promised me something in return for controlling Peter,” she replied. “Instead, I threw my phone at him and stormed off.”

  “Ah,” his eyes twinkled. “And did you speak to him about the killing? About his presence?”

  “Of course, I…” she paused. “I did, actually, when I saw it on the news. It wasn't intentional; I just couldn't believe how stupid he was being.”

  “You accidentally matched our intentions?” His eyes sparkled. “I believe that you and I, Ariel, have more in common than you think.”

  “Argh,” she shook her head, not wanting to realize any of this. “Just take me. Show me what you mean.”

  “Very well,” he replied. “But only if you promise to have an open mind.”

  “My mind is wide open,” she answered. “At least, until 6 p.m., and then I have work.”

  “Yes, my glorious ballerina,” he said. “And what do your dragons think of that?”

  “That's how Alexander and I met, so I doubt he minds.”

  “Really?” he said. “He doesn't ever stop you from your craft?”

  “He...,” she bit her tongue as they walked. “He wishes I'd spend more time in the kingdom. But that is because he's addicted to me and the way I make him feel.”

  “Is it?” her father asked. “Or does he just wish to control Your Grace?”

  “What do you have to show me?” she asked again, not having patience for such heavy thoughts.

  They didn't have to walk far to get to a nondescript, brown apartment building. There were hundreds like it in the city. Ariel had even lived in one in her early days as a dancer. She didn't think that it was anything to comment on. But her father clearly had other ideas as he led her inside.

  “Not to be rude,” she said, looking around at the peeling paint and the hallway that could have used a cleaning months ago. “But if you are trying to impress me or make me feel closer to a carapace family of some kind, this isn't working.”

  “You were young,” he said. “I don't think you would remember.”

  “You don't think I would remember what?” she asked as he put a key in a lock on the first floor and pushed open the door.

  Inside was a one bedroom apartment. It looked like it hadn't been lived in for years. There was over-turned furniture and debris everywhere. Ariel was sure that she saw a rat scuttling across the floor.

  She was about to say s
omething biting when she noticed a faded picture still hanging on the wall.

  She recognized the shock of red hair the same as hers, even though the photo was of a child. There was her father, looking impossibly young, holding her. And beside him, a woman with the same eyes as she stood smiling at the camera. This woman could only be her mother.

  She reached up to touch the photo, her finger streaking through a layer of dust as she did.

  “This is where your mother and I spent the first two years of your life,” he said. “We were in hiding.”

  “In hiding?” she asked, sounding almost robotic.

  “You are the descendant of two clans, mixed carapace blood. And that is not allowed.”

  “Why?” she asked. “Are they racist?”

  “No. The clans know that mixed carapace blood would result in a carapace much more powerful than either clan’s leader. And when the mixed-blood child is the child of the heirs to both clans, things get much more complicated.”

  She processed the words quickly. “You and my mother?”

  “Were each the equal heirs to our clans. We weren't supposed to fall in love, but we spent so much time together with our parents in negotiations to keep the peace. She was my soul mate; it was inevitable. When we found out she was pregnant, we ran away from that life, afraid that they would kill you.” He paused, seemingly lost in his own memory for a brief moment. “For two years, this was our sanctuary; this was our paradise. We raised you as best we could, acting like we were like any other family and any other parents.”

  “But…” Ariel's stomach dropped. She felt like this story had a terrible end.

  “But we weren't,” her father said. “Eventually, they caught us. It was us who were stupid, staying in one place. But we were so content in our happiness; we had set up a little home. We tried to run, but the clans were wild. They were determined to destroy what threatened them.”

  “Me,” Ariel said. “I threatened them.”

  “Yes. So, we put you in hiding and put you in care where no one would know your name or what you were. We thought that you'd be safe, and you'd come back to us some day, but then the slaughter of carapaces began, thanks to the dragons. Your mother was a victim of that slaughter.” He smiled, tears in his eyes. “But it taught us a lesson we would never forget. It taught us that we are stronger united than divided. Those that were left banded together, and we went in search of you.”

  “And you found me,” she said. “Under a dragon's paw.”

  Chapter 11

  “We feared for you for so long,” her father said. “I thought that he was hurting you, that you were his prisoner. I was relieved to see that you had at least a little bit of freedom.”

  “You think I don't have freedom?” Ariel raised an eyebrow. “I have all the freedom. I come and go as I please. There is no issue with that.”

  “Ariel, please,” he smiled. “It's my job to be worried about you. And dragons are dangerous.”

  “They aren't dangerous.”

  “Today, somebody walked through the park without realizing this would be their last sunrise,” he pointed out to her. “But because of a dragon, it was.”

  She sucked in a breath, having nothing to say to that. She stared at the picture of her mother a bit longer, her heart hammering. She wasn't sure how to feel. She also wasn't sure whether she believed him or not. There had been so many people in her life who had misguided her and broken her trust.

  But it honestly seemed like she had no reason not to trust him. The photographic evidence was in her face. She had no reason to believe he was lying.

  “What was she like?” she asked, at last.

  “Your mother?” He smiled. “Feisty. Strong. A believer in a better future. I see her so much in you. She held her chin high like you do. And she laughed like you do.”

  “How do you know how I laugh?” she asked.

  “We have been watching you, just to make sure you are safe,” he said. “Just to make sure the dragons don't overcome you.”

  “Look,” she said, at last, “I don't know what you want me to do.”

  “I want revenge,” he replied. “Revenge for your mother. Revenge for our kind. Peter has killed before on a whim, just hours ago. He will do it again. The dragon world must be stopped. They must not return to Earth. They should lose their kingdom, as we did ours.”

  “That's a tall order,” Ariel replied, sternly.

  “There are enough of us in numbers to crush the dragon lords if we could get into their kingdom. With the princes dead, the rule would fall ultimately to you. You are their queen, as you are ours.”

  Ariel stopped even breathing at those words.

  “You have the same rule as the dragons,” she realized. “A 50-50 monarchy. My mother is dead–”

  “So, the kingdom is yours,” he said. “To share with me. And when I am gone, you will inherit my part as well. Two kingdoms–two separate rules–under your control.”

  She said nothing to that, again reaching to the photograph. The clock was ticking; she had to get to the theater. At that moment, all she wanted to do was dance. Dance was her solace–her comfort. She needed to let the music guide her.

  “Can I take this?” she asked. It embodied her every dream. A family photograph was the simplest thing to most people, and yet it was something she always dreamed of.

  “Of course,” he said. “I will meet with you tomorrow to discuss this further. You would have had 100 family photographs, an album full, had it not been for the dragon lords. Including the one you are married to.”

  She could hear no more of this. It felt like her ears were bleeding. Her heart certainly was. She took the photograph from the frame, tucking it in her pocket.

  “Yes,” she heard herself saying, as she backed away from the room. “I'll meet you.”

  She didn't establish a meeting place, because she knew he would get in touch with her.

  The theater was always her job, but today it was her solace. When she arrived, she threw herself into her work, her heart beating in time with the music that pumped onto the stage. She cried real tears during the sad scenes, and laughed until her chest hurt during the happy ones. She was desperate to feel something that wasn't the confusing emptiness she had felt today.

  Her family. Her dreams. Her hopes. They couldn't all be dead because of this mass slaughter? It couldn't have been taken away just because the dragons felt threatened?

  She had known about the slaughter, but she didn't care about the facts back then. It hadn't occurred to her that her family had wanted her.

  “Did you see this?” one of the girls said to her at intermission. She was waiving a phone at Ariel, a news article pulled up. “At the park, just across the street?”

  “The strange creature and the body?” Ariel asked. “Yeah, that's old news.”

  “No, not that,” the girl replied. “That was this morning. There were three more bodies found in the park just an hour ago. And another video of the same creature. What the hell is going on? This place is scary.”

  “What?” asked another girl, coming over to them. Soon, the entire stage-right area was filled with babbling, frightened ballerinas. Ariel backed away, pale against the wall. They were afraid of the unknown, of what lurked outside the gates.

  But she knew what creatures swarmed in the blackness and what killed in the dark of night.

  She could barely make it through the second half of the show, her mind whirling. What was she going to do? Who was she going to choose?

  She supposed she could have stayed in a different hotel, or perhaps chosen a different room. But her purse was back in the hotel room, and hopefully her phone as well. If she was going to get some space to think, she at least wanted her things.

  Her head was swirling as she rode the elevator to the top floor where they were staying. She had always known dragons were dangerous, and she didn't care. They had a reasonable moral compass, and she always thought it was comforting to be protected by the most
dangerous creatures that walked both planets.

  Except they weren't protecting her. They were the reason she was in the foster system; they were the reason her life had been harsh. The school of hard knocks didn't offer a degree that could match the heartache she had gone through.

  She was hoping that the room was going to be empty when she came in. It would save her the awkwardness of explaining why she was storming out. But as soon as she put the key in the lock, Alexander pulled it open.

  They had fought before. One of them storming out was nothing new. They were such different people that it was just something they had come to accept over the years. However, this time was different. She froze when he pulled open the door, and she took a half step back.

  His face was clouded in confusion.

  “What's the matter?” he asked. He looked a bit better, but certainly not top form. At another time, she could had expressed concern. But this time, all she wanted was her things.

  “You killed my mother,” she fixed him with a harsh stare. “And you knew about it, too.”

  From the way his shoulders deflated, she knew she was right. He went three shades of pale as she brushed past him.

  “Where's my phone?” she demanded, picking up the things she had left on the bedside table. “Alexander?”

  “Here. Peter had no idea what to do with it, although he did advise me to leave you,” Alexander handed it over gently.

  “That's it? You have nothing to say about the fact that you knew?”

  “I did know,” he said, softly. “But not right away. Not for years.”

  “That makes it better?” she spat at him.

  “No,” he admitted. “But by the time I found out that it was one of us, you and I were already deep into our relationship. And you looked me in the eye and said that you didn't care.”

  “Because I didn't know the truth!” she said. “I thought they abandoned me. I thought they left me! But it was you and your dragons! You've been lying to me this whole time! And now it's come crashing down, Alexander, and haven't you made the mistake? Because I am your queen now, you can't undo that.”