“As Queen.” Was I imagining things, or did she put more emphasis than necessary on the word queen? “It is my great honor to announce that the arranged alliance between the Dragon-Clan and the Avians will take place tomorrow. To my everlasting pleasure, Lord Rhysander Blaque will be bound to Princess Elena Darkmoore.”
She preened under the raucous reply from her captive audience; Seleste was always so much more gifted at commanding the attention of a group than me. Once the furor died down, she nodded and pressed a hand over her heart. “Not only will Princess Elena be joining the Dragon-Clan, but the Ursine alpha, Lord Darius, and I will also be bound. These alliances will further strengthen the shifters against the growing threats from the humans. In these dark times, know that we will stop at nothing to keep our people safe!”
My mouth had gone dry. I longed for a glass of wine, a sip of water, but the guards who tested my food for poisons had yet to appear. Lord Blaque was silent at my side and I was doing my best to ignore him. Did he dislike the humans as much as the rest of the Immortals in Acasia? Having spent so much time surrounded by them, healing them, I realized over the past three years that we weren’t so different.
Most other Immortals didn’t agree. The worst of us thought of them like pests that needed to be exterminated, or pets for entertainment. The vampires to the west saw them as cattle, something to feed on. It made me shiver to think about how they had great labyrinthine tunnels underneath the desert floors with human blood slaves shackled to feed on. I’d heard they used them for sport, setting them free to chase and capture.
Even the Fae, who kept to their easterly territory called the Vale, thought themselves above the humans. Like the vampires, they considered humans as playthings and loved to experiment on them with their ancient magick. I’d even heard of the Fae who thought it funny to trick humans into twisted contracts even more frightening than my own. My thoughts on humans, like my inability to shift, was something I didn’t discuss with other Immortals.
Lord Blaque didn’t seem like he’d disagree with the rest of the Immortals. He clapped along with the rest of those in the dining hall, his face as impassive as ever. What had he done that had let Seleste be rid of him without much of a fight? Knowing what I do of her, I would have thought she’d draw blood at the thought of losing something she considered hers. As Queen, it would have been a priority for her to marry the male from the next powerful line to beget more powerful queens.
Instead, she fawned over a man on her other side—Lord Darius—I presumed. He was a big, beefy man with palms the size of dinner plates and a brown beard threaded with red that was longer than my hair. Seleste twined her fingers in it and murmured to him in a low, seductive voice. It was no wonder she had so many suitors. Unlike me, she was glamorous, sensual, and vivacious. Again, my thoughts went back to the man at my side. Why had he so easily agreed to be bound to me instead, all those years ago?
“Something on your mind?” he asked, as though he could read my mind.
Before I answered, I took my time ordering my thoughts under the pretense of observing my surroundings as though checking for eavesdroppers. “Why did you agree to it?” I asked. “Being bound to me. You could have married the Queen. Become the King. You’re wealthy, I know, but you could have had power. Connections. She’s a powerful shifter and no one would have held you to the agreement you made with Father.” The last may have betrayed more of my own insecurities than I would have liked.
“I’ve no need for more power, and no interest in being King. What I need is a wife who can produce an heir.”
My tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth at his candor. “An h-heir?” I stammered. Whatever I had expected him to say, it wasn’t that.
“You’re of good breeding and despite your lack of a shifter form, you’d be a credit to the Dragon line.” His gaze shifted from studying the court to me, and I wished I hadn’t encouraged his conversation. “With the confirmed alliance between our two clans, it should stem the threat of uprising from the humans.”
“So, you agree with my cousin, then? About humans being lesser than Immortals.” I would worry about the heir comment later… much later.
“Those responsible for the baseless deaths of Immortals will be dealt with, but I don’t hold an entire race responsible for the actions of a few.” He positioned an arm behind me on my chair, effectively imprisoning me. Even though he wasn’t touching me, I could feel the warmth emanating from his skin. “What about you, Elena? You could have stayed in the human temple, out of sight and out of mind and refused to be bound. You know the ceremony requires the agreement from both parties to prevent an unwilling union.”
I met his gaze straight on. “My father is ill, my brother’s position at court is tenuous at best, and my own life would be at stake unprotected. Either I accept you as a mate or fail my family again. There are no other options.”
For some reason, instead of infuriating him, my answer pleased him. Though there was no hint of it on his lips, his eyes seemed to smile. “Then we have an understanding,” he said with a nod as though my response answered all his questions.
I, however, was left with more questions than when I started. Servants appeared in the hall, their arms loaded with platters heavily laden with food. The scents of buttered vegetables and roast pig wafted throughout the hall. My mouth watered as the first course was served and wine poured. Even Lord Blaque’s presence didn’t dull my appetite.
The routine of food tasting was so ingrained I barely paid any mind to the men who were tasked with ensuring my food wasn’t poisoned. I didn’t know the identity of the castle guard who stepped forward to test my plate. He sipped my fresh glass of wine and tasted the course of roast pig and vegetables. When nothing happened, I took the glass of wine greedily, hoping to calm my nerves. As I brought it to my lips, I felt Lord Blaque tense beside me.
Before the wine could bathe my tongue, he ripped the goblet from my grasp, knocking the cup against my teeth and splitting my lip. Wine spilled, staining my dress and soaking my plate of food. I frowned at the ruined meal for a moment. Gasps went up from the tables closest to us and murmurs broke out.
Puzzled, I turned to Lord Blaque who’d gotten to his feet, his blue eyes brightening unnaturally as though he were filled with lightning. Recognition speared through me and before I knew it, I was on my feet and putting distance between us, reacting purely on instinct.
But he wasn’t focused on me. His gaze was on the guard who’d tasted my food. “Who sent you?” he demanded.
Confused, I glanced to the guard whose face had gone pure white. The first strains of unease trickled through me.
Lord Blaque vaulted over the high chair with staggering ease and slammed the guard to the ground with one hand on his throat. With his other, he reached for my goblet of wine and looked inside. A small swallow remained in the bottom. Beneath him, the guard gulped convulsively.
“Who sent you?” Lord Blaque repeated.
The guard could only shake his head. With his face set in an impassive mask, Lord Blaque brought my wine goblet to the guard’s lips and forced him to swallow. Within seconds, blood poured from the guard’s ears and nose. White froth bubbled from his lips.
Lord Blaque got to his feet and looked to me. “We complete the binding ceremony immediately,” he said. “Before the person who tried to assassinate you succeeds, and I bury my mate instead of bedding her.”
6
Rhysander
“Skip the ceremony, it’s all a façade anyway. All you need is a couple incantations from a priest. Return to the North before it’s too late,” Alaric said.
It wasn’t Alaric himself, but a magicked replica I’d summoned. It required powerful magick, even for me, to produce the spell, but it was a useful one. Called mirroring the spell allowed one to summon another to speak with, even over long distances, and show their visage on any reflective surface nearby. In this instance, Alaric’s mirror appeared in a basin full of water at the side table in my
quarters. Even as a replica, Alaric looked gravely worried after I relayed the story of what happened at dinner.
“I won’t have one threat scare me away, Alaric. If I ran every time someone tried, I’d be running forever. I’ll go through with the ceremony tomorrow, bed my mate, then I’ll head for the Northlands and never return to this Goddess-forsaken place again.”
Alaric frowned even more. “This isn’t only your life anymore. You have a mate now you have to think about. Do you think she’ll want you dashing off to battle at every spare moment?”
I prowled about my rooms wishing for my caves, for the mountain, my castle. The capital keep was too stuffy, full to the brim of useless things, and despite the wintery air outside, it was stifling hot. All I wanted was to leap from the balcony and soar the skies for a few hours, but I didn’t dare leave the castle with my future mate sharing walls with the person who tried to kill her.
It was taking all of my restraint to keep from roosting on her balcony, and watching her as she slept, to make sure there wasn’t another attempt made on her life during the night. The thought pleased my dragon. It wanted me to shift and take her in my arms while he kept her safe. Maybe the beast wasn’t half wrong. If they were bold enough to assassinate her in front of the whole court, what would happen to her when she was alone without protection?
“Prince Gideon secured a guard watch for her rooms. No one but her maid will go in or out for the next twenty-four hours. Tomorrow afternoon we’ll be bound in front of the entire capital, and then she’ll be under my personal protection. I may not be an enthusiastic mate, but I won’t let anything happen to her.” Not when I needed her. My clan needed her.
Alaric’s mirror looked like he wanted to argue, but he wisely bit his tongue. “And the guard gave no indication about who put him up to it?”
Smoke curled from my nose in a delicate filigree. “Not before he choked on his own poison. He refused to talk, but it could be one of my many enemies, or any of the enemies against the crown.” Or both. There were many, Immortal and human alike.
The mirror image of Alaric opened his mouth to speak, but a flash from the corner of my eye distracted me. I rushed to the balcony doors and flung them open, thinking I’d catch a thief or an assassin scaling the walls of the castle, but no. Instead, I caught the flash of a cloak disappearing into the forest beyond the castle. Then, the sliver of a face—one I recognized. One who made my dragon quiver with excitement at the thrill of a chase.
“Excuse me, Alaric,” I said over my shoulder, as I allowed my wings to form. I extinguished the magick that conjured the mirror and jumped from the balcony into the obsidian blanket of sky. My dragon hummed his approval, enjoying unleashing even a modicum of his power, relishing the endless dark that swallowed us up and carried us away from the cloistering oppression of the castle. It wasn’t the Northlands, but it was an acceptable substitute for now.
I found her by the marshy bank of a creek, deep in the woods. Her skin blue from sitting in the freezing night air, but there was a smile on her lips and she reclined against a tree on the banks, her eyes closed and completely unaware of her surroundings. How easy it would be to kill her here. I could slit her throat with one claw and watch her blood stain the snow. Did she not realize how dangerous it was to be on her own?
I landed behind her, the sound muffled by the thick dusting of snow. As much as I wanted to wring her neck for risking her safety, I kept back and watched her, like I had in her father’s room. It seemed I had a penchant for watching her, an urge I’d have to curb once we’re bound and living together under one roof. It wouldn’t do to be so consumed by her. I’d let it happen to me once, and I’d never fall victim to such idiocy again.
At first, I considered the possibility she was meeting a spurned lover for one last night of passion, but no one came. She merely sat and watched the water ripple over the rocks, seemingly enjoying the peace and quiet away from the castle. She wasn’t the only one. Already the open spaces and the promise of the sky above were calming my nerves.
My dragon seemed content after the short flight, but I knew that wasn’t the only reason. He felt her presence and reveled in the knowledge that she was nearby. If I had any control of the beast, I’d leash him up and give him a muzzle. Clearly he didn’t have any common sense. This girl was trouble. The sooner she was bound and bred, the sooner she’d no longer be my problem.
She grew aware of my presence in increments. Because I was watching her so closely, I noticed when her shoulders inched up toward her ears and her muscles tightened. As she was readying herself to flee, I took a step forward, the frosted snow on the creek banks crunching under my boots. At the sound, she whirled around as though prepared to fight, her hand going to an impressive dagger sheathed at her side. Strange, considering most women abhorred violence.
“No need for that,” I said smoothly, holding my hands up in supplication. “It’s just me, Princess. Although I doubt that dagger would be much protection if your would-be assassin came back for a second try with friends in tow.”
Before answering, Elena glanced back over my shoulder toward the castle. “What are you doing here?” she asked. Her hand was still resting on the dagger. It made me want to smile to think of her trying to use it on me. I wondered if she knew how to use the damn thing. She’d probably end up hurting us both.
“Wondering why you thought it a good idea to travel outside the protection of the castle walls on the same night someone tried to end your life.” If my tone was harsh, so be it. Maybe she needed someone to frighten sense into her. We weren’t bound yet, but as far as I was concerned, she’d become mine the day her family had promised her to me. And I didn’t take well to someone trying to harm what was mine.
“There’s still another sunrise before we’re bound together, Lord Blaque, so I’d say the answer to your question is none of your business.” Despite the chill, her cheeks blazed with fire. Her hand fisted over the butt of the dagger, but her gaze was steady, which surprised me. Princess Elena had some fight in her after all. In another lifetime, I would have enjoyed having a woman like her at my side. I had enjoyed having a woman like her at my side.
And look where it had gotten me.
“And I would say that making sure you stay alive until we’re bound is precisely my business. Considering I’ve spent the last twenty years providing for the crown, it seems the least you could do to make sure to hold up your end of the bargain.”
She colored even more, her jaw working in barely contained rage. I wondered if she’d been so passionate when she’d held court before her dismissal. The stuffy Council wouldn’t have approved, I was sure.
“I appreciate the sentiment, but I can take care of myself,” she answered, as she wrapped her cloak around her waist. “I want to be alone, if it’s all the same to you. You’ll have the rest of our lives to smother me, I’m sure.”
I wanted to dip into her mind then, scent her thoughts, but I restrained myself. I knew all too well how easy it would be to drown in her. Opening a mental connection between us would make it easier to know what she was thinking, but harder to know where she ended and I began. Not all shifters could blend minds the way dragons could, and for good reason. It wasn’t always safe. The mental connection was chaotic at best and psychotic at worst.
Forcing myself to turn my thoughts back to her, I said, “Unfortunately, that’s a wish I can’t grant, but I can wait with you until you’re ready to return to the castle.”
With a toss of her hair, Elena turned back to the water and plopped back down. I took that to mean she didn’t object… or at least knew when she couldn’t win. Good. That lesson would serve her well. I meant to get what I wanted. It would be easier on all of us if she wouldn’t fight me.
Much as I didn’t want to be intrigued by my soon-to-be-mate, I found myself amused by her irritation. I spent the next hour or so enjoying being away from the castle and listening to the sounds of the forest. My little mate spent it shivering and starin
g determinedly in the other direction. Her refusal to pay me any mind didn’t bother me until I realized her mouth and the tips of her fingers had turned blue from the chill.
She glanced up, her face full of apprehension, when I stepped forward.
“No doubt you’d rather freeze to death than let me touch you,” I said, “but allow me the small liberty of making sure you make it to the mating bed.”
She scooted away from me. “What are you doing?” she asked. My dragon purred at her retreat. He liked it when she made him work for it.
I placed a hand on her ankle, and she gasped from the difference in temperature. “I’m going to make sure you don’t turn into an ice block. Easy,” I murmured. I felt my mind reaching for hers without bidding. Cursing myself, I tried to get it under control. The beast inside me wanted to know her, though. Wanted to feel her as I did, but I couldn’t let that happen. When I had it under control, I gritted out, “I’m not going to hurt you.”
She snorted, but let me wrap my arms around her waist, her body as stiff as stone. At first, she didn’t seem to understand what I was doing, aside from the fact I was wrapping my own thin cloak around her. I could tell by the apprehensive look on her face that she didn’t think the material was enough to do much good. Body heat would do little when the temperature was so low and her dress was damp from the snow on the ground.
“What are…” she asked again then surprise stole the words right from her lips. Her eyes were level at my throat and she rubbed them when she caught sight of the scales there. No matter how many times she blinked, the scales didn’t go away.
Like most shifters, I could phase into different degrees of my animal form. In this form, the scales provided a shield against weapons and the elements. I was also able to increase or decrease my body temperature to suit the environment. Which I did until Elena groaned and pressed closer to my warmth.
Deal with the Dragon (Immortals Ever After Book 1) Page 5
