“So you’re leaving?” The dragon lowered himself into a chair across from mine at the smaller breakfast table. It was just past dawn and Wyn’s drawn expression told me he’d had a tough night. None of the other dragons were here.
“Yes. Do you need more time to decide?” I’d already helped myself to a plate of eggs, sausage and fresh-baked bread. I might not have slept for long, but that didn’t make my digestive system lazy. I filled another fork and sighed in ecstasy as the spicy meat melted in my mouth. I’d be up for seconds in a few minutes.
And you never knew with Khent. He might lock us up for popping in unexpectedly.
Maybe thirds was a good idea.
“I’ll do what I can.” Wyn smiled, then leaned forward. “As long as you remember you’re in our debt.”
“As long as you keep to your bargain.” Isaiah took a seat next to me. His plate was heaped as high as mine. “No flying off when things heat up.”
“We’ll be doing the heatin’ up. Watch where you step, brat.”
“Cool down. We’re leaving soon. Get another helping. Khent won’t be so generous.”
Isaiah scowled but rose to his feet for a second helping. Jay was working on his third.
I pulled my plate back. No reason to waste yummy food. “Is it acceptable if we return tomorrow?”
“I can’t guarantee things will go as I’ve planned, but yes.”
“I understand completely, but my family needs help now. I have another ally who—”
“Not Khent,” Wyn said.
“Why not Khent?”
“He’s unstable.”
“He likes to make people think he’s unstable, but he’s as sharp as one of your claws.” I wiggled my own claws around, my hand taking on the spots of my cat.
Wyn smiled approvingly. “Much softer and prettier than dragon scales.”
“Your scales are more suited to battle. Hard to pierce.”
“They shine under moonlight,” Wyn added.
Isaiah, who stood behind Wyn’s back, pretended to stick his finger down his throat.
I laughed as I pushed the hair out of my face. They’d left their doors open and the breeze from the vestibule was continuous in this part of the cave.
“You should cut your locks.” Wyn held up a very sharp claw. “I can assist you.”
“Thanks for the offer, but no. My dad says the same thing. He thinks it’ll cause problems in a fight. He forgets I can do this.” A moment later, my hair was tied back with a leather strap.
“And this is better?” In a flash he was behind me, yanking on the tail I’d just created. Isaiah pulled his dagger but Wyn only laughed and walked around to face me. “Your enemies will use every weapon at their disposal.” Wyn patted his military cut. “Hair does get in the way. Makes you vulnerable. I don’t suppose your trainer ever told you that?” He smirked at Isaiah.
“Charles doesn’t respond well to lectures,” Isaiah said.
I almost choked on my eggs. Isaiah glared at me. I made the zipping motion in front of my mouth and kept eating. Not the time to tell Wyn that Isaiah gave more lectures than a college professor.
“Is Khent thinking of raising an army?”
“He pledged his loyalty, so he’s already assembled and trained his army.”
“He’ll let you down. He lets everyone down. The only way you can trust him to do what he says he’ll do is to trick him into it,” Wyn said. He speared two sausages and shoved both in his mouth.
“You’re joking, right?” I glanced at Isaiah, grinning. He shrugged in response.
“He’s a coward,” Wyn said.
“I didn’t find him to be a coward,” I said. “But he does love to gamble. Bets on everything. All the goblins do.”
“If he gives you a hard time, try to win him over with a wager.”
“Been there done that. Never worked out well.” Isaiah’s frown disappeared when he took another bite of a buttery pastry.
“They’re masters at working the odds. You’ve spent quality time with the unseelie?” Wyn asked.
I leaned forward. “Unseelie are no different than demons or fae or drow elves or witches or—”
Wyn held up a large hand. “I understand your point, although you need not mention every single species.”
“Did you know Naberia considers dragons unseelie? Common as corvo.” I smiled.
Wyn’s irises spun. I grasped my dagger in case my big mouth had gone too far.
“Our species is pure and ancient.” He laughed roughly as he took in my fae eyes and body along with the fuller features that broadcast my shifter/demon bloodline. “You have enough mixed blood to be called worse than that.”
He probably thought I’d bristle, but it took a lot more than words these days. “I’m a prime example of how the magic of different species grows more powerful when blended together.”
“Are ya now?” The dragon snarled. “You have balls of dragon bone, Charles Cuvier, to talk to me so frankly.”
“Your scales ruffle too easily. We’re on the same side, Wyn.”
He arched a brow in a slowly dramatic gesture. “Dragon scales do not ruffle. But I bet I can get your bones to rattle.”
I was pretty sure he was playing with me now. “You’d have to strip off the juicy parts and dry the rest. Then maybe you could use what’s left of my skeleton in a percussion section.”
His twisted grin had snarky written all over it. “Ah, but we break apart our instruments after a performance. The crowd goes wild every time.”
“Not as original as you might think.” Isaiah winked at me.
Wyn snorted and a puff of smoke swirled in the air between us. “I might have to take the archdemon to task for her comments about my race.”
“Why do you care what she says?” Isaiah asked. He’d finished eating and was now leaning nonchalantly against the stone wall near the fireplace. “The dozen unseelies I know and work with have more honor than my mother and her courtiers combined.”
“Your point is well taken, but when the archdemon we have bargained with in good faith speaks thusly behind our backs, my gut begins to burn.”
I winced when Wyn’s eyes flickered with flame. But despite the possibility I might end up a living torch, I straightened my shoulders and took a few long strides. After meeting his dangerous gaze, I breathed in and out for courage, focusing on my center and the power stored at my core.
This was not the time to use magic, but it sure felt good knowing it was within reach.
“Help me protect my family and Faerie. Help me destroy the female who tortured my mother and killed my grandmother and grandfather as she’s killed so many others. Help me make the demon realm a place of growth instead of desolation. The residents of this realm deserve better.”
“You speak from your heart. Rare in these times.”
“I’m risking my life and the lives of my companions by coming to you. You could have killed us easily as we trudged through your obstacle course. Or told Naberia our location and handed us over. We make valuable hostages. Brina and I are grandchildren of the King of Faerie. Naberia has branded Isaiah a traitor.”
“You dragons would probably serve me for dinner,” Jay piped in, not wanting to feel left out.
Isaiah shook his head. “He’s tough and gamey.”
“Hey!”
“Just trying to save your life, kid.” Isaiah punched Jay in the shoulder then wiggled his hand in pain.
Wyn was still staring at me. “For some odd reason I find I trust you more than I have trusted most males not of my species. But I also sense you have an advantage. A gift to coerce. To control with your mind. Makes my scales prickle.”
The so-called gift of forcing your victim’s body to do your will even when his mind is screaming out in protest was the very darkest kind of magic. It could turn the wielder into a monster. I’d inherited the ability from my birth father, Lord Kennet. He was a monster in every sense and my mother had been one of his victims. Now Naberia, with her blood-spelled neck torcs, had leveled up even higher in the monster division. She’d used my mother, taking away her ability to shift and sending her out to assassinate me. If it wasn’t for our strong bond as mother and son, it might have worked.
When I slept I often imagined clamping a torc on Naberia’s neck, of forcing her to do my will, of making her suffer the way Mom has. The morning light usually had my dark thoughts dissolving, but not always.
As Wyn turned his gaze in my direction once more, I nodded, shaking off the memories. I’d give Wyn the full truth of the monster who lurked in the magic I could wield. “There are always other options in every situation, but I chose to use Influence when fighting criminals. Every time I raped a mind it became easier.” I lifted my head to meet his gaze. “I won’t use it again except in battle to save the lives of the people I love and those who fight beside me to preserve the Mortal Realm.”
“Not to preserve Faerie?”
“I’ve done what I can for Faerie. If they intend to betray me to Naberia and have turned their backs on our alliance, then I fight for my home and the citizens who will die if I don’t step up. If all supernaturals who are able to fight don’t step up.”
“You could have used Influence to gain our cooperation.”
“I’ve been honest with you. We’re here to negotiate a peaceful alliance in the hopes that a group of you will join our side and fight with us. Using force of any kind would not encourage you to help us.”
“The opposite, truly.”
“If you fought on Naberia’s side in the war and you aimed your fire at one of us, then I’d use whatever magical, mental or physical gifts I had at my disposal to stop you, including Influence.”
“Charlie’s kick-ass,” Jay added.
Wyn smiled. “I will send a brother with you now to visit Khent and then travel back to us. If he desires to stay in your party, I will allow it.
“When the war begins, more will arrive to join our cause. I call it that to remind you we have a stake in the outcome. You, Charles Liam William Cuvier, have pledged a year of service. Isaiah, a new beginning in a new and sovereign territory. If we fight beside you, we will expect you and the heir apparent to keep your word.”
Relief flooded every muscle in my stressed-out body. I placed my hand over my heart and bowed deeply, kind of a combo demon/fae gesture of respect. “I swear on my blood and my magic, my promise will be fulfilled.”
Wyn walked toward the entrance. “Vantor! I know you’re lurking behind the pillar and have overheard everything.”
The male shifter shuffled out cautiously. He peered into the face of the larger male, then bowed his head. “I am sorry to have listened.”
Vantor ’s Fae was excellent, which would make traveling with him a lot easier if that’s what Wyn had in mind.
“I am not angry and you are not sorry in the least.” Vantor shrugged as Wyn continued. “This makes things easier. Now I don’t have to explain. Would you like to go?”
“Yes. Yes, Wyn. I want to see more of the realms. To learn more of the species who live there.” He knelt on the ground before his dragon alpha. “Please send me.”
“Are you willing to fight for the cause Charles has spoken of?”
“Yes, on scales and wing I pledge this to be true. My skills have improved daily. I will not disgrace our race.”
“You could never disgrace our race.” Wyn extended his hand and helped Vantor up, then turned to me. “Vantor is as he says. An excellent fighter in shifter or dragon form. He is enthusiastic but needs to learn not to jump into the fire the moment it blazes.” He faced Vantor once more. “Charles is an example of a young supernatural male who has learned to control his magic and his ego. I expect you to take note and follow his orders. While you are a member of his party, he is the alpha. You will do as he says. Do you understand?”
“What about…” Vantor tilted his head in Isaiah’s direction.
I stepped forward. “Isaiah is my trainer, my friend, and a member of my family. He knows his way around this part of the universe much better than I do.”
“But he is not your alpha?”
“Definitely not. Think of him as a high-level advisor.”
“And the…” We all turned to look as Jay poured honey on his toast.
“Bear. I’m a bear shifter. A grizzly.”
“A grizz?”
“Grizz-leee.” Jay shifted his gaze to me. “Am I gonna have to go through this everywhere? Doesn’t anybody here watch movies or nature shows or…”
“It’s okay. He’ll get it when he needs to get it.”
Jay nodded. “Right. Cool.” He folded his toast in half and downed the large slice with two bites. His sticky smile was one I’d seen a thousand times. It still made me laugh.
Brina strolled into the room, dressed in traveling gear and patting her wet hair with a cloth. “Are we leaving? Are we staying? What have I missed?”
“Have something to eat. We’re leaving in an hour. Vantor is accompanying us to unseelie territory.”
She didn’t even glance his way. “Oh, good. Another male to deal with.” Brina’s features remained neutral as she wandered over to the buffet table.
Vantor, who’d frozen in place when she’d first arrived, followed her as she perused the buffet. “May I assist you in any way?”
“Sure.” She gave him a plate. “Three serving spoons of eggs, two sausages, a small chunk of grilled corvo, medium rare, and a bowl of fruit. I’ll get my own tea. Thanks.”
Vantor stood there slack-jawed for a moment, then bustled around getting Brina exactly what she’d ordered.
Tea in hand, she slid in next to me at the table and kissed my cheek. “Morning.”
“You’re in a fun mood today.”
“I get to meet the king of the unseelie races. I’ve heard so much about him.”
Together we glanced at Vantor, who was humming. “I believe he’s smitten,” I sent.
“He’s a handsome male. His shoulders are so broad I could probably sit on one side with room to spare.”
“Your ass…”
“Don’t you dare.”
“I happen to admire that part of your anatomy.” Even though we were speaking mind to mind, I leaned closer, laying my hand on her leg right above the knee. “I can’t think of a part of your body I don’t admire. And I’m familiar with every—”
She moved my hand back to my own lap. “He’ll get over his crush fast enough.” Brina was not the easiest traveling companion. “Might as well take advantage while I can.”
Vantor was my height but broader, similar to Rick. His long hair was that shade of black that sometimes looked blue and his large eyes were navy to match. His nose was largish, but I’d noticed that all the dragon shifters I’d met had nostrils that could shift to be large enough to accommodate taking in huge amounts of air. I imagined Vantor spouting fire in his demon form. Wyn had sent out a few curls of smoke. Maybe it was possible.
Wyn had also been watching his younger clan member filling up Brina’s plates. “Vantor will not be your personal attendant, Lady Brina.” Wyn’s lowered brows and chiseled frown had me shifting closer to my mate. “He will be representing our clan and our race on your journey and should be treated with respect.”
“No worries. I can take care of myself. His offer was just so sweet.” Her over-the-top smile was not lost on Vantor.
The bowl and the plate dropped loudly into the space in front of her. “Your breakfast, Lady Brina.”
“Thanks. Only I forgot something.”
“Get it yourself,” he growled.
And snap. Fastest dying crush in the three realms.
I opened my mouth to calm the mood, but Brina beat me to it. “I apologize if I offended you, Vantor. I am not a lady by any stretch of the imagination and am known by all to be…difficult. You are forewarned.”
“Duly noted.” The tension in the room dissipated with her apology and Vantor strolled over to get his own food.
We spent a few more minutes eating and chatting. Wyn sighed. “I almost wish I could travel with you, but my work is here. Vantor, pack what you can carry in this form and meet us here.” Vantor ran toward the double door that led to the bedrooms. “Tell the cooks to pack food.” Wyn shouted after him.
I took my warrior lady’s hand. “You set to go?”
She held up her sock-covered foot. “Bootless.”
“Me too. Are you finished?” She nodded and we rose.
A few of the dragon shifters I’d met the night before passed us in the hallway, nodding a solemn greeting as their irises spun with colors. I wondered if any of them would volunteer to help. If they saw me as someone capable of leading them in battle or if their more intense acknowledgement this morning meant nothing at all.
Back in our room we pulled on boots, strapped on weapons and shouldered our bags and cloaks. The hall outside our room was growing noisier by the minute as dragons traveled to the breakfast room.
“Khent will be difficult.” I grasped Brina’s hand. “Try not to… try not to provoke him.” Her only reply was an arched eyebrow and tilt of her head. Shit. “Look, I love that you’re honest about how you feel, but in certain situations…“
“A diplomat such as yourself will serve our cause more efficiently.” Brina shifted toward me, laying her hand on my cheek. “I’ve asked for your honesty in all things and you give it freely. Never think you must walk on glass when you speak to me. It is true I can be ungracious if I am confronted with someone equally as rude, but I will not do or say anything to anger the King of the Unseelie or to endanger our mission.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Stop.” She covered my lips with a finger. “You are right to warn me. Make sure to warn the demon and the dragon. Their egos in combination will surpass even a king’s, I fear.”
I lowered her hand, threading my fingers with hers. “And Jay?”
“I tease your second, but his nature is to observe and not to interfere unless danger rears its head. He chooses to distract, to appear less than he is. Most see him as weak. How can a playful, foolish shifter without magic be a serious threat in a war between fae and demon?”
“Jay has his own brand of magic.”
“Please do not tell him I see through his ploy. I enjoy our snippy banter.”
“I do too.”
Brina brushed her lips against my cheek. “From you I want truth and… and much more.”
Her smile made the rest of the room fade away. All the chatter between shifters in the hallway quieted. “When you smile at me, everything makes sense and the rest of the world disappears.” I pulled her in for a gentle kiss and she yielded.
Brina placed one of her hands flat on my chest, right above my heart. Her cheeks flushed with pleasure; her eyes shined with a touch of possessiveness. “You belong to me.”
“Always.”
Vantor and Wyn waited for us on the ledge outside the cave entrance. “Your demon and grizzly are late.” Wyn glanced past the entryway and toward the double doors that led to the bedroom area.
“They shared a room. Jay’s a bit of a slob and Isaiah is a neat freak, at home at least. Isaiah’s probably lecturing Jay about the proper habits for a warrior.”
Brina sipped at a mug of mint tea she’d conjured, giving Vantor the once-over. “Impressive, dragon.”
Vantor wore a combo of fighting gear, including a corvo skin breastplate and a set of half gauntlets that covered his lower arm, but left his fingers free. The dark red embroidered tunic fit his form as if it were hand-tailored and his breeches were tucked into finely made corvo skinned boots. Vantor carried a dagger in a sheath at his waist and a sword in a long metal scabbard carved with intricate designs. His relaxed stance hinted that our war was not going to be his first time in battle.
He met Brina’s gaze with a cool expression. “Thank you.”
“I’m glad to have you as a companion, Vantor,” I said, feeling it needed to be spoken out loud.
“Thank you, Charles.” This smile held real warmth.
“Charlie is fine too. It’s what my friends call me.”
“I will not be a burden. I can hunt.”
Isaiah arrived with Jay in tow. “Hunting in the unseelie realm could be a difficult prospect for a dragon such as yourself.”
Isaiah’s patronizing tone was one I’d heard many times. Brina was right. I needed to lay down a few rules with my advisor.
“In what way difficult?” Vantor widened his stance, placing a hand on the hilt of his sword.
Isaiah continued, “Are you familiar with all the sentient unseelie species? What if you chew and swallow someone’s brother or mother or—”
“Or uncle.” I tilted my head in Isaiah’s direction, not really joking.
“I am certain the king or his servants will inform me of the beasts I am allowed to hunt.” Vantor tugged at his leather breastplate, not looking quite so self-assured.
“Yes, if you can get a straight answer from any of them. One species may have a grudge against another and could send you off to wipe out an entire family.” Isaiah winked in my direction. “You might start a civil war. Then Charles would have to leave without his promised soldiers.”
Wyn embraced his clan member then stepped aside. “Remember who you represent, Vantor.”
“Yes, Alpha.” The younger dragon bowed.
“Van’s gonna fit in just fine, Wyn.” Jay patted his fellow shifter on the back. “I’ll show him the ropes, no prob.”
Before Wyn or Vantor could comment, Isaiah stepped forward, waving his hands around in an elaborate system of gestures and chanting in Ancient Rux. A smoky portal opened in front of us, startling even Wyn.
“Two days and thank you!” I managed to call out before being urged into the void by my drama queen uncle. The world turned upside down a moment later.