Dragon of Eriden - The Complete Collection

by Samantha Jacobey

  “No. As much as I hate to admit it, I can’t,” she hesitated, searching for the right words. “I can’t help it. I brought Bally here with my longing. I hid on his ship, and it cost him his life.”

  “It is not your fault,” the dragon growled.

  “It is!” she insisted. “Everything in my life is skewed, and I have cursed my friends with my company. I belong here, but I don’t. I brought my friends here, but I didn’t mean to. I married Rey and I shouldn’t ha–” she stopped short. “I mean, I love him, but that’s not why I did it.” Her lips blue from the chill in the air, tears dripped from her jaw. “I was afraid I would lose all my chances, and now I can’t take it back. I have ruined everything, and I don’t even know why.”

  “Because you are a dragon,” Lamwen slapped her with the words he had come to say, glaring at her without blinking.

  Her lips drawn into a pucker, the veins in Amicia’s neck bulged. “Stop it. I thought you were my friend.”

  “Oh, my sweet princess,” he replied with a loud gasp. Lowering his head, his warm air surrounded her as he breathed. “I wish I could hold you and remove the pain from your broken heart, but I dare not in your current mortal form.”

  Her hand shaking, she reached for him, resting it against his jaw. “Do you really mean that? If I were born a dragon, we could have been lovers,” she dared to suggest, torn with the knowing she could not have them both and probably would not have either soon enough. Her face scrunched, she added, “But I’m not really a dragon, Lamwen.”

  “You are a dragon, Kaliwyn,” he insisted, pushing against her palm.

  “How?” she sobbed. Tears streaming over her flushed cheeks, she recalled his telling her when they met that it was her real name. Closing her eyes, she waited, certain her heart would burst with the weight of his words. “I’m ready for the truth.”

  “The truth,” he agreed, puffing warm air over her again before he began. “You were forced into the form of a mortal child the night Gwirwen claimed the throne. Your father was stripped of his crown and title as the Supreme Dragon; forced to live in a stone prison atop Adiarwen. He remains there to this day, where he mourns the loss of his only living child… you, my princess.”

  Blinking rapidly, then staring into his burning orbs, Ami searched her mind. Somewhere, in the depths of her memories, she could feel the flame of her past smoldering like an ember within her chest. “Ziradon is my father.”

  “Yes,” he hissed. “You were born to be the queen of our kind, ruler of all of Eriden.”

  Swallowing, she studied him, dropping her arm, then rubbing the fingers against her pant leg. “That hardly seems possible.”

  “You have seen the power of the dragons,” he insisted, stepping towards her and sitting upon the rough stones. His warm breath surrounding her, it held the cool air of the ocean at bay, and she leaned into it, drinking it in as she knelt to press herself against him.

  “I have seen,” she whispered, her heart aching. “Lamwen, you have become so dear to me. I feared you were gone, and only then did I realize how deeply I had come to love you.”

  “Love me?” he faltered, his heart beating out of control. “Before you say too much, princess, I should warn you. Female dragons are rare, and –”

  On her feet, she backed away. “Don’t.” He glared at her, so she pushed, “Don’t pretend like you don’t feel it. I know that you do,” she spat, her voice cracking.

  “As I was saying,” he replied, clearing his throat, “my feelings and even yours are irrelevant. Even if you are able to sever your union with the mortal when you regain your dragon form, you and I would never be allowed to mate. Females are rare, and as the queen, you will be expected to choose a member of the council, that the bloodline would remain pure.”

  Closing her eyes, more streams coated her cheeks. Wiping at them angrily, the girl felt broken, as if all the light had gone from the world, leaving her only darkness and sorrow. “You will be by my side, Lamwen. If I live all my days in this body, or if I somehow regain that which you claim is mine, I will never lose you again.” Her green eyes opening slowly, she glared at him through the narrow slits. “Do you understand?” she whispered.

  Feeling the depth of her emotions, he nodded, pushing himself up to tower above her. “I will be your faithful servant for all the days that remain, my queen.”

  “That’s not what I meant,” she clipped, crossing her arms angrily.

  “It is all I can offer,” he sighed, ready to take her back to the others. “Come. We must return to Falconmarsh and form our plans. Now that you are aware of your true self, you must be ready for the battle when it comes.”

  “Only if you promise me that we will one day be as one. Otherwise, I would rather remain a human and spend my life with Rey. He has done nothing to deserve this loss,” she observed. “I have taken my vow with him, and it would take much to persuade me to break it.”

  “I can make no such promise, princess,” he insisted, growing weary of her obstinance. “Besides, all of Eriden is at stake. We will do what we must to save it.”

  Her heart skipping a beat, Amicia’s mind turned to the story of the creator, the destroyer, and the legends many of those of Eriden believed to be true. “The prophecy,” she whispered.

  Glaring at her, he barked, “Do not be distracted by fables. We have one moon to set things right, maybe two, and then all will be lost. The elves have turned against us, and if they are to be defeated, we must move quickly.”

  “The elves,” she stammered, her face scrunched in confusion. “What can they possibly do?”

  “I’ll explain when we have rejoined the others. For now, I have said what I brought you to hear. Climb upon my shoulders once more and allow me to carry you back,” he commanded.

  “Fine,” she grunted, knowing he would not divulge his tale until she had obeyed. “But first, you must prove this to me.”

  “Prove it how?” the dragon snarled, angry at her impetuous denial.

  “I want to see my father. Take me to the cliffs that I may look upon him.”

  “Have you any idea how dangerous that would be?” Lamwen laughed at the suggestion. “I am wanted, hunted by the king’s guard, and you are a fugitive as well. We would be seen, and you would be burned to a smoldering heap upon my back.”

  “I’m not going with you unless you take me to see Ziradon!” she spat, crossing her arms over her chest.

  Staring at her small frame, a calm washed over Lamwen. “Very well, my queen.” Bowing before her, he waited for her to mount him and take her seat at the back of his neck.

  “And no tricks!” she shouted as she adjusted her position. “I’m ready.”

  “I would never deceive you,” he replied. “I promise I will fly you over that you may see him, but I cannot guarantee that we will be able to land.”

  “Fly us over then, but I want to speak with him if we are able.”

  “I’m not sure if that is wise, princess. Your father may not recognize you in your current form.”

  “I don’t care,” she growled. “I will have words with him if I am able.”

  “As you wish,” Lamwen sighed, leaping from the cold wet stones and heading north, towards the giant cliffs of the dragons.

  Unspoken

  Staring into the sky, Rey watched the dragon fly into the morning sun. It bothered him deeply that Lamwen had returned, especially as his bride had confessed the depths of her love for him only the day before. Recalling her admission to be private, at least the others would not know of her unspoken desires.

  “She’ll be ok. Lamwen would never allow her to be harmed,” Animir soothed, clamping his friend on the shoulder.

  “Aye,” Reynard breathed, hardly above a whisper. “Still, I am concerned. What could he possibly need to share?”

  Shaking his head, the rest of their group remained frozen in place as his mind turned.

  “He is a dragon,” Lin observed. “Dragons have secrets, Rey Daye.”

&nbs
p; “Secrets,” he repeated, frowning. “Yes, I have wondered why in the hell he has followed her all this time. Like they’ve been spying on us but he can speak to her. It’s not right.”

  Sharing a glance with his wife, Piers could almost see the reasoning unfolding within the younger man’s mind. “Don’t let it trouble you,” he offered.

  “But it bothers me,” Rey scowled. “It bothers me a lot. Doesn’t it bother any of you?” he growled. Losing sight of the speck in the distance, he turned, taking each of them in turn.

  “It’s ok,” Meena soothed.

  “Why is it ok?” he countered, studying her with a small pout. He could tell the return of the dragon had disturbed them as well, but they seemed to be pretending it away. “What’s going on?”

  The anxious looks they shared with one another did nothing to quiet his churning thoughts. “Anyone?” he bit more loudly, offering his open palms as persuasion to divulge what they knew.

  The others studied the ground at their feet, no longer able to look upon him or each other. Wringing her tiny hands, Oldrilin sniffed. Kneeling before her, Rey slipped a finger beneath her chin, lifting her tear-filled orbs to meet his.

  “Lin,” he breathed. “You are my special friend, are you not?”

  “Yes, Rey Daye,” she sang, a droplet of sorrow spilling over to stain her cheek.

  “Tell me then. What is it that you know?”

  Looking up at the others, she silently pled for help. Her bottom lip sticking out in a full pout, it trembled as she dug at her eye with a small fist.

  “Why is she crying?” he bellowed, standing and turning to face Piers.

  “Why are you asking me?” the Mate shouted back.

  “Because you’re in charge. That means it’s your job to know what’s going on, so I’ll ask again, why the hell is she crying?” His hands clenched into fists, he raised them slowly. If he didn’t get answers, his intent was clear.

  Closing his eyes, Piers exhaled loudly. “I see little point in hiding the truth any longer. There is something special about Amicia, Rey. There is a reason she has been drawn to this place. A reason she can use magic and merdoes.”

  “Ok, so what’s the reason?” Rey squirmed.

  “Well, it’s something special about her. I could see it almost as soon as we landed. She behaved differently, and everyone we have met has seen it, only at the time I didn’t know why,” the Mate elaborated, only frustrating the man before him further.

  Seeing the mess her husband was making of the tale, Meena intervened. “Amicia is a dragon.”

  Reynard stared at her in a state of disbelief, sputtering, “That’s absurd. How would she… ” He fumed, opening his hands and kneading them as if molding with clay. “She’s a girl,” he finished.

  “She was transformed, when and by whom we can only speculate,” Animir spoke up. “My guess is she is the lost princess, daughter of Ziradon.”

  “Lost princess,” Rey quipped. “You don’t say. I mean, we all mock her with the term. Why wouldn’t it be true?”

  Turning his back, he left the group and marched north along the edge of the trees. Arriving at the one that marked the path, he turned, fighting his way to the clearing where Baldwin’s memorial had been set. Not stopping until he stood within the clearing, he sank to his knees before it.

  The others had followed and filed into the area after him. “I’d like to be alone,” he informed them, his chin pressed against his chest.

  “We must speak, and then you may be as alone as you like,” Meena countered.

  “We must speak,” the boy growled, getting to his feet. Rage in his eyes, he fumed, “You knew of this, but you did not tell me.” Standing toe to toe with Piers, he shouted, “Admit it!”

  “I told you what I could, son. But you did not want to hear my warning,” the Mate explained, as this was the dark secret he had been alluding to when they talked about his performing the ceremony.

  Grinding his teeth, Rey’s chest heaved. “You all knew, but none of you would speak of it. And how could she herself do this? Taking my name with such a secret!”

  “Amicia does not know, or at least she didn’t,” Hayt spoke up. “I’m sure that is why the dragon has taken her away to enlighten her in private.” Glancing at the others, he breathed deeply, almost relieved that Lamwen would handle the chore none of her friends had wanted.

  “How could she not know?” Rey gasped. “I mean, she’s magic. She has powers,” he observed, wriggling his fingers to illustrate. “She brought you back from the dead for fuck’s sake,” he tossed at the Mate.

  “Aye, she is a powerful beast,” his leader nodded. “But she may never be freed from her mortal form. This is why we chose not to spoil your union. She will need you, Rey. Especially if she is trapped in her body forever. None could love her as you do.”

  Curling his tongue, Rey considered the notion. “I said that, didn’t I. There could be no secret so dark I would not love her.”

  “You did,” the older man agreed. “Was it not true?”

  “It was the truth,” Rey nodded, tears spilling once more. Glancing down at Bally’s stone, he wished more than ever that his best friend was there. “This is what he died for. Amicia is a dragon.”

  “He knew the magnitude of her secret,” Animir testified. “This is why he told me to flee, that I might help her fulfill her destiny.”

  “Her destiny.” Rey’s mind raced. “She is the destroyer, a lover of men and dragons.”

  “I believe so,” the elf agreed.

  Realizing the insight of his words, Rey half smiled. “I love her so deeply. I swore upon my soul to be there for her for the rest of my life.”

  “Hopefully it won’t come to that,” the Mate teased.

  “It very well may,” Animir countered. “The dragon has returned for a reason.”

  “It’s time,” Rey nodded. “Yes, she told me that he had not spoken to her since the night we fled the cabin. But she loved him very deeply,” he added, then amended, “Loves him very deeply.”

  “She loves you as well,” Piers challenged. “She would not have made such a vow if she had not.”

  “Do you forgive Oldrilin?” the mermaid asked, looking up at him sadly.

  “You know that I do,” he gasped, having forgotten about her suffering in the midst of his own. Kneeling before her, he wiped at her damp cheeks. “Cry no more. We must be strong, as our Ami needs us to be.”

  “How long do you think he will keep her?” Zaendra asked, observing the sun would approached midday. “If it is not soon, we will miss our meeting with the gnomes.”

  “She knows the way,” Rey nodded. “I’m sure he will bring her back.”

  “I could reach out to her,” Piers confessed. “We still share a connection, although we do not use it often.”

  “If the hour grows late, then we should,” Rey agreed. “For now, let them be. If she has half as much trouble understanding or accepting this news as I did, she will need time to process it.”

  “Then we will give it to her,” the Mate suggested, “but we should return to the camp and prepare our belongings. With so much up in the air between the dragons and the gnomes, we may have to leave in a hurry.”

  “And the elves,” Animir added.

  “What about them?” Meena asked in surprise.

  “They’ve been building an arsenal for years,” he shrugged. “If there is trouble, you can bet they won’t be taking anyone’s side but their own. It has been no secret the elves wish to rule all of Eriden and this could be their very chance to make that happen.”

  Swallowing, Rey nodded. There was a great deal at stake, and more than just a broken vow. “All right let’s follow the Mate’s orders and do our best to be ready to depart as soon as our girl and the dragon return.”

  “Are we going to tell her?” Hayt asked. “Or should we look surprised when she announces her big news.”

  “I hadn’t thought of that,” Piers sighed. “Perhaps we should hold our to
ngues and allow her to share when she is ready. Right, Rey?”

  “Right,” the younger man agreed, turning to stomp down the trail back to camp. “We’ll let her decide when and how she comes out with the truth.” Deep down, he hurt at what had transpired, but there was no one he could blame for the pain. “And if I get to keep her in the end, all this will only serve to make our connection all the more special,” he mused, mostly to himself as he led the way out.

  Rise of the Dragoness

  Sitting on Lamwen’s shoulders felt less exhilarating than her first flight, the one to Dragon Rock. Her fingers holding tightly to his rough scales, the cold air rushed over her, blasting her damp cheeks. She wanted to converse with him, but after his revelations, she decided to use the time to think.

  Collecting her memories of her childhood, she wondered if her father would want to know how she had been raised. It saddened her that he had been imprisoned the entire time she had been away, and she held that fact as a testament to the cruelty of Gwirwen.

  Thinking of the dragon who had done such horrid things to her family, she hated him. A loving and giving person at heart, saying that she hated anyone was hard to fathom; but she did. How could he be so unkind? Removing her from her home and placing her in a foreign land to be raised by strangers was bad enough; to make her father suffer with that knowledge – unbearable.

  Fresh tears spilling over onto her face, the girl wiped at them angrily. After doing so, she pondered if she cried because she was a mortal or if dragons also had tears within them. The thought gave her chills beyond the coolness of the air.

  “I’m a dragon,” she whispered. Her next thought of Rey, more drops of sadness gathered in her eyes. How can I tell him this? I gave him my hand and I took his name. We should spend our lives together, but how can we?

  Her emotions raw, she watched the land in the distance as it approached. A large cliff jutted out over the sea, bare rocks with caves that opened above the frothy waves below. My home, she sighed to herself, the one I remember. It was exactly like this, a cottage on a cliff hanging over the ocean. Her heart beat faster as they approached, and she could see a few brightly colored forms either sitting in the mouth of their caves or flying around above the stones.