| |
ERIK
I woke to a sore back and a crick in my neck.
Groaning, I pulled myself up out of the rocking chair that had been my bed for the night and grimaced as I folded the quilt.
I’d had worse nights.
Marienne was stretched out on the little cot, fast asleep. Her dark hair feathered out over the pillow, framing her peaceful face.
I had a crazy impulse to lean down and place a kiss on her sleeping mouth, like a prince in a fairytale. After a minute, I snorted to myself and shook away the thought, moving to the window.
Last night had been strange, to say the least. I was glad we were on friendly terms again, even if my heart wouldn’t stop racing every time she came near.
Now I knew about the bond between us, I could rationalize it to myself. It must be the dragon that slumbered under my skin that hungered for her, not me. Every urge I had, every impulse to wrap my hands around her hips and pull her against me... it was all down to him. My dragon.
I glanced at her sleeping form.
I had to admit, though, our relationship was more complicated now. It wasn’t lust crowding everything else out of my mind.
I actually liked her.
Gods, I had to focus. Like it or not, we had more pressing matters to deal with than my idiotic feelings.
Outside, the world was a bright, sparkling white. Mercifully, it hadn’t snowed much more in the night, which would ease our journey considerably.
Sleepy murmurs sounded from across the room, and I looked over my shoulder to find Marienne staring at me shyly.
“Good morning.” Her mouth curled upwards, sweet, pink, and tempting as sin.
I mumbled something in reply as I fumbled for my jacket and boots and shoved them on. She watched me as I trudged out the door, but I didn’t look back.
Everything in me wanted to sweep her up into my arms and ravish her completely.
I had to get out of there before I did something I wasn’t certain she wanted.
The horses whinnied in greeting as I checked them over, tending to them in preparation for the day ahead. If we made good progress, we should reach our destination by nightfall.
I stroked my hand down a horse’s flank, gentling it. Truth be told, I was more at home out here than I was in the castle. This was the life in which I had been raised. It might be simple, but it was what I knew.
I glanced back toward the mountain pass. Behind us lay my castle. More council meetings, more jargon I couldn’t get my head around. More petty power struggles and diplomatic entanglements.
I looked the other way, down the road we were traveling. I had no idea what lay around the corner, but it couldn’t be good.
Marienne appeared at my side. She had changed into a thick fur coat and hat, and her hair hung in a long braid over her shoulder.
Her eyes traveled to my hands, as I went over the horses’ tack again.
“You’re good at that.” She nodded in the direction of the horse, fiddling with the end of her braid.
I smiled. “It’s what I know.”
“Animals have always been nervous around me.” Despite her words, she drew closer, like she couldn’t help herself. “It’s because of my magic, I think. They can sense it.”
The horse huffed when Marienne came up alongside me. I hushed it until it calmed down and held out my hand.
Her eyes flicked up at me, long lashes shadowing her cheeks. I wiggled my fingers, and with a sigh she slid her palm against mine.
Gently, I turned her hand around and shadowed it with mine. We approached the horse together.
“If you’re scared,” I said, my voice ruffling the soft strands of hair around her ear, “they can tell. But if you’re nice and calm... there, see?”
Her hand stroked along the horse’s mane. The horse shuffled its feet a little but remained calm, allowing her to pet it without complaint. Marienne breathed out in amazement and my heart swelled in my chest.
Eventually, she drew away and gazed up at me. Her eyes were even more striking in contrast with the snow, but it was her expression that made her truly radiant. She looked so happy, all of a sudden.
“Thank you.” She reached out and squeezed my hand, and I squeezed back before I could think better of it.
“We should make a move,” I muttered, pulling away from her and heading back to the cabin to grab our supplies.
She bobbed along by my side.
“Not before I get some food into you.” She nudged me out of the way at the door, batting her eyelashes at me over her shoulder. “Sire.”
“Has anyone ever told you,” I called after her, “for a royal subject, you’re quite cheeky?”
“I think you’d be the first, Your Highness!”
I laughed, shaking my head. “I find that hard to believe.”
***
THE BUOYANT MOOD DRAINED away once we were on the road again.
Once the snowstorm cleared, we made good progress, but the further we journeyed, the closer we were to enemy territory.
Around mid-morning, we made it through the mountains. They loomed up behind us, stretching into the pale sky. For the first time, I sensed how truly vulnerable we were, just two people, heading into the vast unknown.
The procession would catch up with us once they found a way through the snow. But they were probably half a day behind us.
Marienne’s hand found mine in the space between us, and our fingers tangled together.
Just yesterday, I had been terrified for her safety. I couldn’t help but be glad she was here now. Whatever we found at Winter Castle, we would face it together.
Small farmsteads appeared on the horizon. The landscape was flat and sparse, and the settlements were bleak places without trees, or crops, or even signs of fire or life.
I shuddered to think of the life of pure survival the people in this place must live. Dragon shifters were a tall, proud people, and they needed a lot of food to survive.
How does this clan manage?
The snow drifted around us as we trundled through the frozen wasteland. We were nearing our checkpoint, where we would meet with the members of the expedition we had been forced to abandon in yesterday’s snowstorm.
There was a rocky ridge up ahead. The back of my neck prickled as I drew the sleigh to a standstill.
Beside me, Marienne tensed. We exchanged glances and emerged from the sleigh together, sticking close to each other as we inched forward through the snow.
I didn’t bother telling her to stay put. I would be wasting my breath.
I glanced up, something glinting in the sunlight on the ridge catching my eye. It was the shiny edge of an axe. The blood froze in my veins. These weren’t our men. This was an ambush.
A raven wheeled in the sky overhead. Its sharp cry pierced through my chest. My heart thumped, and my head filled with white noise. Marienne whispered something to me in an urgent voice, but I didn’t catch it. I had failed before the game had even started. I’d led us both into a trap, and we were about to pay the price.
“Put up your hands!” A male voice from behind me sounded, low and guttural. “Both of you!”
Slowly, I raised my hands. One glance via my peripheral vision told me that there were more soldiers behind us, bristling with weapons.
We were surrounded by the toughest men I’d ever seen. They were all huge, wearing long coats of fur suitable for their weather and they carried large weapons. Axes and swords aplenty.
Beside me, Marienne’s eyes glowed with magic. I knew she was waiting for my signal. One look from me, and she would start throwing fireballs. Some buried instinct told me to wait.
They haven’t attacked us. There’s a reason for that; there has to be.
Instead, the men simply stood, tensed for action. But still, they didn’t approach.
“I am King Bravadik of the Black Mountains. I’ve come here with Dowager Queen Marienne,” I said, with all the confidence I didn’t feel. “I wish to speak with King Damon.”
If they so much as looked sideways at Marienne, I would transform into my dragon and fight our way out of here. But at the moment, my instincts were telling me to go along with the guards and find out exactly what was going on in this strange kingdom to the north.
Only time would tell if I’d been right to follow those instincts, or not.
***
MARIENNE
For the rest of the journey to Damon’s castle, we traveled under armed guard.
Or, as I tried to think of it, a royal escort.
I held my head high, pretending for all the world that we’d been expecting this. If my years as Magnik’s queen had taught me one thing, it was never to show fear in front of your enemy.
My response didn’t seem to matter either way. Our captors barely glanced at me. They surrounded us on all sides, stone-faced, their focus purely on Erik. They were covered in thick furs, and their massive, hulking frames made it difficult for me to see the castle up ahead as we approached it.
By my side, Erik’s profile was firm, unmoving, but his jaw was clenched tight. I could tell that it was taking every ounce of his concentration not to shift and fly us both out of there.
My magic simmered through my veins, sensing the threat that dragged us further and further into dangerous territory. But I knew better than to strike out at our captors. If I lost control, it would spell disaster for us all. War would break out between our clans, and all my visions—all the fire, bloodshed, and death—would come true. And it would be all my fault.
A huge black shape loomed out of the snowdrifts, dominating the skyline. Tall towers spiked upward, and the heavy iron gates of the drawbridge clanked open as we approached. Ravens perched along the high stone walls. They watched our progress with beady, inquisitive eyes.
I shivered. I could feel it in my bones; the birds were a bad omen.
As we trundled over the drawbridge, I caught flickers of movement from the parapets. How many people were hidden beyond these high walls? An army?
More to the point, the guards were totally silent. Almost sullen. Not what I expected from men who had captured such a powerful enemy.
As we climbed the uneven steps up to the entrance, Erik offered me his arm. I took it, half-amused that he was finally remembering court etiquette at a time like this, half-grateful I wouldn’t slip and lose my footing on the icy stone.
We entered a huge, dark hallway. I shook the snow from my hair, glad to be out of the elements. My eyes struggled to adjust to the gloom; the man who seemed to lead the others held up a lantern, and in the soft light I could make out vague, dark shapes.
There were long, jagged cracks in the wooden beams that held up the ceiling. Cobwebs trailed from heavy candelabras above our heads, and all along the wall, pale squares suggested that paintings and tapestries had been torn down.
Huh.
All in all, it wasn’t that different from our castle, or Stavrok’s, but...
This one looked abandoned. Lifeless.
I frowned as we were led deeper inside the castle, through a high archway into a smaller antechamber. The lack of any sign of life didn’t make sense. All the fireplaces were dark and empty, and a chilling wind howled through them, giving the place a desolate air.
I shuddered. I was no warmer now that we were inside. I puffed out a few breaths, noting the white clouds that formed.
“Something’s wrong,” I murmured to Erik. He tilted his head down so I could whisper directly into his ear. “Why is it so dark?”
We reached a set of ornately carved doors. Wolves and dragons intertwined in the dark grain, and I leaned in, impressed by the beauty of the artwork. But even here, once I got closer, I noted the scratches and cuts that marred the surface of the wood.
Dragon claws?
Erik pressed me further into his side and I tried to muffle the automatic sigh of relief at the feel of his strong body against mine.
Even now, when we were literally about to brave the lair of the beast, it felt so right to be with Erik.
Without a word or a backward glance at us, the guard strode forward and knocked on the door.
“Your Majesty. You have guests. King Bravadik of the Black Mountains, and Dowager Queen Marienne.”
My chest tingled at the sound of our names. Spoken together like that, they sounded... good.
I hung my head, feeling foolish for having such a thought at a time like this.
“Enter.”
The voice behind the door was low, but it pierced through the wooden door clear as crystal. The fear that I had managed to quell rose again, stronger than ever.
We were nudged forward by the guards, and the doors opened on either side of us, revealing a small room. Thankfully, this one had a small fire burning in the grate.
If we’re about to be murdered, at least it’ll be somewhere marginally warm.
Erik and I inched forward. The doors shut behind us with a final rush of cold air. We were both on high alert for any sign of sudden movement.
But none came. The room was just... a perfectly ordinary room. Half-office, half-sitting room, with a large oil painting over the fireplace and messy stacks of paperwork scattered over every available surface.
A lived-in room, unlike the rest of the castle.
We glanced at each other. Erik looked as puzzled as I did.
“Hello?” I called out, cautiously.
Something stirred at the large desk, behind stacks of papers. As one, we whirled to face it. Erik closed his hand over my arm, firm and protective.
Damon sat in a chair by the desk. I’d met him at several king’s council dinners, but never truly spoken to him. He was tall and broad, like Erik, and his eyes were like ice. He wasn’t old, and yet his hair was threaded with silver.
King Damon stared at us, and we stared back, too much in shock at his ravaged appearance to speak.
This was the man who had haunted my nightmares for days. And yet...
He didn’t look like someone planning an attack. Dark shadows circled his eyes, and his huge frame was bowed inwards, like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. He looked exhausted, almost ill.
What was going on here?
“Marienne.” His voice was gravelly, like he didn’t use it all that much these days. “It’s nice to see you again.”
I chose my words carefully. Even if it didn’t seem like we were in immediate danger, we couldn’t relax. I had lived through my entire marriage to Magnik on the edge of a tightrope. The threat of the dungeons always lurked in the back of my mind. I knew how to play the game.
Inclining my head, I emerged slightly from Erik’s side so I could address Damon properly. “Your Majesty. It’s been too long.”
“And you decided to pay me a visit, it seems.” Damon’s eyes flicked to Erik. “With your new king. You’re Magnik’s half-brother?”
“That’s right.” Erik spoke evenly, but the forearm I was still gripping was tense. “They crowned me a week ago.”
“Congratulations.” Damon bowed his head. When he looked up, his pale eyes regarded us with an unreadable expression. “I’m sorry I couldn’t make it to the ceremony.”
“I won’t hold it against you,” Erik said, indicating the mess spread over the desk. “It looks like you have your hands full here.”
His voice was conversational, diplomatic. I was impressed. This was a strange and unsettling place, and the odds were not stacked in our favor, but Erik was leading the conversation like we were chatting with friends over dinner.
The ghost of a smile crept over Damon’s face. He looked down at the chaos, and then back up to us, arching a brow.
“You’re not much like him, are you?”
Erik took half a step forward. “Who?”
“Your brother. Magnik.” Damon glanced at me, then returned his gaze to Erik. “You don’t seem very much like your father, either.”
“I wouldn’t know,” Erik said. “I never met either of them, beyond having them pointed out to me by my mother.”
King Damon circled around the desk, moving toward us with his hands behind his back. He walked slowly, casually, like we’d been invited here. Like we hadn’t been marched to this room under guard.
I couldn’t let myself forget that fact, no matter how friendly his manner. I squeezed Erik’s arm, and he flicked a glance my way. His mouth was tight, and he gave me a tiny nod.
“I wish I could say I’d never met my father...” Damon trailed off with a sigh. I followed the line of his gaze, up to the painting that hung over the fireplace.
A fearsome-looking man stared back. He had Damon’s pale, ice-blue eyes, but that was where the resemblance ended. His face was longer, and his jawline narrower. His expression was pinched, and his mouth had been painted with a cruel, foreboding twist.
The northern kings were known to be reclusive. They kept to themselves all year round. Nobody thought anything of it.
When Damon inherited the throne, none of the other clans had been present.
Were Erik and I the first outsiders to visit his court?
Erik strode forward, moving to stand beside Damon in front of the fireplace. Subtly, I crept away so I could study the documents that lay on the desk.
At a glance, they looked normal enough. Balance sheets. Payment notices.
“Did you not get along with your father?” Erik asked.
There was a long pause as Damon seemed to ponder his answer.
“My father ruled this clan like the tyrant he was.” He spoke into the fireplace, gazing at the flames like they might reveal their secrets to him. “He drove my mother into an early grave. He cut off our clan from all outside influences. In his eyes, every other kingdom was a threat to his power.”
Damon’s words made me shiver. Memories of all the long years I’d spent at Magnik’s side, helpless to stop his cruel nature, stirred up inside me. I may have been his wife, but to all intents and purposes I had been a prisoner in a gilded cage in my tower, subject like all of us in the kingdom to the whims of a power-hungry king...
Had Magnik been a tyrant, like Damon’s father? Not quite, perhaps, but certainly close enough.
“Toward the end, his gambling got worse and worse.” Damon practically spat out the words. “We lost so much. The castle fell to ruin, as you’ve probably already noticed, but even that wasn’t enough for him. He raised taxes and drained the wealth from our land, all to feed his addiction.”
He whirled around and strode over to the window, looking out at the barren, wintery landscape. “But all the money in the north couldn’t settle the debts he racked up. Our whole clan is starving. Debtors took our entire crop yield, and it wasn’t enough. They want blood and will be back for our heads by the end of the month. We are done for. The whole clan. There is nothing left.”
My mind spiraled with the shock of his words. I stared blankly at the whirling snowflakes outside, a new realization dawning.
The visions hadn’t been wrong, but they hadn’t shown the full picture.
A burning castle. People dead in the street.
All this time, I had thought that it was our castle under siege. Our people in mortal danger.
I had been given fragments of a puzzle and put the pieces together as best I could. But I’d been wrong. And I had led Erik here, right into the heart of the danger.
Damon turned, standing framed in the window. From this angle he looked like a young, grim reflection of his father’s painting.
“When my guards spotted you in the distance, I thought the other kingdoms had heard of our misfortune. We feared you had sent spies to check our defenses for weaknesses before sending in your army.” He spread out his hands,. “Imagine my surprise when I was told it was the king and queen themselves, in the flesh.”
“Why are you telling us this?” Erik asked, uncertainty in his tone.
Damon shrugged, his eyes hollow and blank. “Why not? I don’t know why you’ve come, but it doesn’t matter much to me, either way. Our clan is finished.” His mouth twisted as he looked up at his father’s portrait. “My father never thought much of my chances after I took the throne. It seems he was right. I’ll forever be known as the king who destroyed the royal line of Ice Dragons.”
“But...” I burst out.
The two men turned to look at me, and my cheeks heated.
“With respect, Your Majesty,” I said, “we are only here because we thought you were planning to wage war on us.”
Damon’s brow furrowed. “Why would you... ah.” His face cleared as comprehension dawned. “The sorceress of the Black Mountains. The rumors of your skill at sorcery were not exaggerated, then.”
“They weren’t,” Erik said. He spared a glance at me, then moved to stand beside me so he could also study the documents on the desk.
I stepped away from him, drawing Damon’s attention, and drew my arms around my waist, suddenly self-conscious.
“I don’t know about that. The visions, they’re not always under my control. A few days ago, I saw... you.” I glanced around at the desolate room, then out at the snowstorm. “I saw horrors I can’t even explain. I thought...”
The memory of Erik in my arms, the life leaving his body, filled me with a wave of grief that almost choked me.
“Forgive me, Your Majesty,” I said. “I thought you were responsible. We traveled here because we had to know for sure. We had to at least try to avert war, if we could.”
“It was brave of you to come all this way.” Damon’s eyes softened as he stared between us. “So far from everything you know. The southern clans don’t usually bother themselves with us. It’s a rare thing, to venture this far north beyond the mountains.”
All these years, the northern kingdom had been the stuff of legend. Spoken about in whispers, in dark tales full of ice monsters with sharp claws and sharper teeth.
I now saw the loner king in a different light. Up close, he was just another young man thrust under the burden of leadership, trying to follow in the footsteps of a tyrant.
Damon and Erik had more in common than any of us had realized.
“Well.” Damon clapped his hands together, interrupting my train of thought. “Now that you know the truth, I expect you’ll want to begin the journey home.”
I frowned and glanced at Erik, who was looking determined and resolute.
“Home?” I repeated.
Damon looked uncertain. “It’s a long way, if I’m not mistaken. You’ll want to set off before dark so that you may put as much distance between yourselves and my kingdom as possible.”
“Damon.” Erik cleared his throat. “With respect, I think I speak for both of us when I say that we’d like to stay here a little longer.”
I nodded, moving back to stand beside Erik. Outside, the wind picked up again, howling so loudly it almost drowned out my words.
“We won’t abandon you to your fate,” I said. “Your people don’t deserve to suffer for the sins of the past, and neither do you.”
Damon’s eyes widened as Erik approached him, moving with authority and grace. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought he’d spent his whole life doing this. He didn’t seem to know it, but Erik had stepped into the role of king quickly and already presented as a natural-born ruler.
Erik placed a hand over his heart and inclined his head. “I pledge allegiance to the northern dragon clan. I will send for my army at once. You won’t fight this battle against your debtors alone.”
Damon’s mouth flattened into a hard line and his jaw tightened as he considered the proposal. Then, he reached out and grabbed Erik by the forearm. Erik grabbed Damon’s arm, and they shook on it in the way of dragon kings, sealing the pact between our kingdoms.
A smile played at the corners of my mouth as I regarded them. This trip had taken an unexpected turn, but the terror that had plagued me for days melted away with the look on Erik’s face.
He was capable. Confident. Righteous.
And sexy as hell.
I bit my lip, my thoughts veering off in a direction wholly inappropriate to the situation. Damon and Erik conversed in low voices, and I struggled to keep my thoughts on track when I heard my name.
“Hmm?” I blinked, coming back to the world to find the two men regarding me with amusement.
“We’ve been traveling for days.” Erik turned to Damon. “My—Marienne—is a little tired.”
I glared at him, and he threw me a smirk the moment Damon turned away. “I’m listening.”
“I was saying that we should go to Stavrok, too. There’s strength in numbers.” Erik paced over the worn carpet. “I’m certain he will help your cause, Damon.”
King Damon looked awe-struck. His mouth was open, his eyes wide. And he was barely blinking. Then he started to shake his head, as though Erik’s plan was flawed.
“Stavrok is a good man,” I added gently. “He spared my life, once. He will do what’s right. I know it.”
Damon sighed, and ran a frazzled hand through his hair.
“In that case, your journey will be longer by some distance.” Damon glanced out of the window. “And the weather will only get worse, I’m afraid.”
“Oh.” Erik sauntered toward me, and I couldn’t help but grin back. “We won’t be traveling back the way we came. Right, Mari?”
We’d taken the carriage to hide from Damon, assuming he was the one responsible for the devastation I saw in my vision. We didn’t need to hide Erik’s dragon any longer.
My heart raced as I absorbed his use of the nickname Lucy had given me, and the confident way he held himself. Something smoldered behind his eyes, blazing through his body. I felt the pull toward him, always there just under the surface, intensify even further.
My grin widened and I nodded. I wouldn’t miss this experience for anything.
Erik’s dragon was waking up, and I was about to ride him.