Chapter 13

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

" M aelena, wake up."

"No!" I fight the arms trying to pull me awake as I stare down at my parents' burned faces. Ash swirls in the air around me, falling to a black, scorched earth engulfed in flames. "NO!"

An enormous shadow stretches over me, devouring the sunlight.

I know this dream. I have dreamt it a thousand times over; it always starts and ends with fire. But this time the dream is different. When I fall to the ground, I'm not burned alive by the dragon circling the clouds above. This time my hands fall into an icy sea of roses, and they're pulling me under, dragging my whole body in until I'm almost frozen in place. I use what strength I have to claw my way through them, grasping petal after petal, my hands scratched and bleeding from the shards, but nothing brings me back to the surface. I'm drowning.

" Maelena !"

I open my eyes with a quick breath. Erax hangs over me, his features etched with worry. Tears sting my eyes but for some reason I can't hold them back anymore.

"Why did you do it?" I ask, my voice barely audible even to my ears.

Erax pauses for a moment before he moves back. "Do what?"

My heart clenches with an abrupt pain that stabs me in the chest.

"Kill my parents." I turn my head to look at him, my tears sliding into the silk pillow. "Why did you kill them?"

For a long moment Erax is silent. He holds my stare and there is a glow in his eyes from the dying firelight that reminds me of the flames from that very night. He drags a hand through his hair and shakes his head, then, with a glance at me, he eases out of the bed. I hold the coverlet to my chest and watch him pull on his trousers and shirt, followed by his boots. He picks up his cloak from the back of a chair and offers it to me.

"I'll show you," he says, "but I don't want to kill every guard we pass on the way." He nods to the ottoman where he… my cheeks flush as I recall him between my legs and the moans, he made me cry out. "There are clothes and boots in there. Gloves too. You'll need them."

With a curious nod, I slide out of the bed with the cover still draped over me, and tiptoe to the ottoman. I somehow manage to open the lid without dropping the cover to the floor. A feat that seems to amuse my shameless spectator.

"Why do you still hide from me, Mist?" He tosses the cloak on the bed and helps keep the ottoman open for me. "It's not like I haven't seen your gorgeous body. Or licked every square inch of it. Stop hiding."

Damn him! My blush increases tenfold. I try to focus hard on pulling out several items of clothing, and a pair of black boots that appear to be my side. I wish I'd thought about checking the ottoman earlier. It might have saved me from having to wear that embarrassing nightgown. I find the very item on the floor, and I stuff it inside the ottoman before closing it over. Hopefully I won't need to wear it again anytime soon.

"Pity," Erax sighs. "I rather liked that on you, but I won't have anyone else seeing you wearing it. It's not really fitting for where we're going anyway."

I hate the way my heart jumps at the possessiveness in his tone.

"Where are we going?" I ask, pulling a light pale blue tunic over my shoulders.

"Somewhere I should've taken you weeks ago."

The tunic falls low enough that I don't need to wear leggings. I tie the straps at my waist and then pull on the boots. Erax holds the cloak out for me. I turn around and let him drape it over my shoulders. His fingers brushing my neck sends a shiver through me.

"You're not going to give me another gift again, are you?" I follow him out of the room. "Your gifts really are starting to frighten me."

He laughs, and my heart does that stupid jump again. "I'm going to give you something better than a gift. The truth."

Outside of the chamber, he pulls a torch from the wall, and takes my hand in his. With a nod to his guards, bidding them to stay, he then leads the way again. The palace is eerily quiet as we walk. I remain just a step behind him, and I use the opportunity to trail my eyes over his towering body. His hair is tousled, and his skin looks like burnished gold in the firelight. His white shirt is only half tucked into his trousers, but his sleeves are rolled to the elbow, like I've seen him do a few times. And yet, as he holds the torch in his hand, the muscles in his forearm ripple and flex, and I don't know why I find that so attractive. I need to get a hold of myself.

Erax said he's going to show me the truth and that's what I need to focus on.

Not his forearm. Or the way his back muscles are straining that shirt. Or his?—

Dead parents, stolen kingdom, brutal captivity. Remember those things, Maelena?

We can't let a gorgeous thief make us forget them. Even if he is our husband.

Even if he is the king. Even if I can still feel where he was inside me, making me feel more alive than I ever have before.

We pass several guards on the way to the keep. I'm only certain we're headed there when we reach the familiar gold door, and the distinct burning smell invades my nostrils. My pulse instantly increases. Okay, now I'm really getting nervous. The last time I was brought down here, Erax killed people in my name. Granted they were terrible, awful people, but I can still hear their screams lurking in the shadows around me. It's like they're echoing with my every step.

Erax squeezes my hand, almost like he's trying to offer me comfort. I squeeze him back, even though I can still hear my parents' screams too. They're fresh in my memory again thanks to the dream. Not that they ever leave. I didn't see them die or even hear them die but my imagination makes something up. It always does.

When we emerge into the beginning of the Den, the place appears to be empty. Only the sound of our boots echoing on the steps leading down fills the silence. And then a robed figure steps out of the shadows and stands on the centre of the platform—the same platform where those dead bodies had lain. They weren't good people, and they got the ending they deserved. I try to remind myself of that and not think about them as I climb onto the platform with Erax. He's still holding my hand.

"This is Zepheira," he says, nodding to the other person. "Grand dragonmeyer to the realm, protector of our dragons. Royal pain in the ass some days."

"And other days, grandmother to my delightful grandson."

The woman drops her hood, revealing a head of thick braided silver hair with gold clasps woven in them. They fall over her dark face when she bows, and they briefly shadow her features. "Your Majesties, it is truly an honour to see you both together." Then to Erax, she adds, "It is about time you brought your beautiful wife to meet me. I have been waiting."

Oh, Zepheira is definitely related to Erax.

She's mastered that sharp, slightly disappointed, admonishing tone perfectly.

Once she straightens, the light catches her face and I'm finally able to get a clear look at her. Zepheira is a lot older than Erax, perhaps in her late sixties, but I don't see any resemblance between them. At least not at first glance. Her skin is darker and her bone structure sharper. I'd kill to have her high cheekbones. Her hooded eyes are a deep, ocean blue that seem to glitter in the firelight, and they have a kindness about them that reminds me of my uncle. The only similarity I see them sharing is their gold eyes. They each have one on them, both on the same side.

"You both have a gold eye," I point out, glancing up at Erax. While the woman's scar begins at the side of her nose and runs all the way over her temple, threading with her wrinkles, Erax's starts at the inner corner of his eye and falls down his cheek to the edge of his face, stopping just below his ear. "Is it an inherited defect?"

Before Erax can answer me, his grandmother lets out a choking sound.

"You mean to say the queen does not know? "

Erax lets go of my hand and crosses his arms, his jaw ticking. "The queen wasn't ready."

"Well, the queen is standing right here, and I have no idea what you're talking about."

Zepheira gives her grandson what I can only assume to be a scolding look.

"Come," the old woman says to me. She loops her arm through mine and pulls me from Erax. "Let us take a walk together. You have much to see and learn, my young queen, but tonight I have something special for you. Spectacular, really. Did you know the king comes from a long line of dragonmeyers?"

"No," I say, glancing back at Erax. "I didn't."

Erax follows us closely, although he stays several steps behind. He doesn't look happy to have brought me here. I think he's definitely reconsidering. But I want to know the truth. I want to know why Erax invaded our kingdom and killed my parents when we hadn't been at war with them. In fact, I hadn't even heard of Erax until that night.

I also didn't know that his bloodline consists of dragonmeyers. I only knew that he was the one who brought them back into existence. Prior to that, dragons simply… disappeared. One moment they were there, and the next, they were gone.

Sister Gabriella said the dragons abandoned us because of our sins and that we were resisting the will of the gods. I could never find anything to confirm that in my research though but pointing it out got a slapped cheek in front of everyone.

"A very long line of them," Zepheira continues. "It was our ancestors who witnessed the first ever documented hatching. Nightix, Cyrsí's great-great-great-great-grandfather, was said to be the child of Nytar himself. It is why all of Cyrsí's line breathe black fire that looks like it has stars within it, and they all have gold eyes."

I know her fire well, I want to say, but I just managed to hold the words back.

"How old would that make Cyrsí?"

"Oh, that stubborn beast is still very young because she belongs to Erax. Dragons are hatched for their riders, and they begin their life with a rider or Dragonmeyer of their choosing. Not all Dragonmeyers are riders, but more caregivers, for riderless dragons. Dragons and riders are immortal together while the dragon is alive, and dragons tend to live for hundreds of years. It is painful for a rider to lose their dragon, but they can live after…just a shell of a life." Sadness lingers in her voice. "Now her grandmother, she was old. A truly magnificent beast until she died with her rider."

"What was her name?" I ask, my curiosity ripening.

"Venra. I was her rider for almost a hundred and two years. I was there when she hatched, and I was there when she took her last breath."

There's a shift in Zepheira's tone, an almost bitter note that tinges her words.

"Venra died protecting her kin. She gave her life so that her young could live on." Then, changing the subject, she says to me, "Would you like to meet Cyrsí's sister? Her brother I wouldn't introduce you to yet, but her sister can be agreeable. They're the only triplets of their kind."

I had no idea you could get twin dragons.

"I'd love to meet her."

"Splendid. Now, Fynra did lay her egg recently, but I just fed her, so she should be quite tame."

"Quite tame doesn't quite settle my nerves."

Zepheira laughs and pats my arm. "I like you already. Come, down this way."

I let her steer me towards a huge opening in the cave wall. It leads to a tunnel which is much wider and taller than I expected it to be. Glowworms and bioluminescent flowers hang low from the ceiling. I can feel the heat pulsing around me off the walls, and even through my boots on the floor. The air is thick with that burning smell, so much like Erax's scent, and it makes me a little dizzy.

I press my gloved fingers against the wall for support. Suddenly I feel Erax getting close to me. His body brushes against me as he slides around us and holds out his torch. He lifts it above his head, lighting the way. Not that we need more light. But then I realise why he's doing that. The heat from the torch causes the flowers and plants to move away.

The same vegetation covers what looks to be an exit of some kind. Erax holds his torch out to them, and the vegetation shrinks away. My breath leaves me when I take in the view of the dragon keep that I saw last night.

Across the cavern, Cyrsí flies over to us. She lands smoothly and pulls in her wings before lowering her head to her rider. Erax presses his hand and face against her nose and closes his eyes. He whispers something to her that I don't understand, yet deep inside I feel its meaning. Mutual respect and love for each other. A bond like no other.

"The day Cyrsí lost her grandmother, she lost her eggs too. So did her sister, and Evraas, and Shadowbane. So many eggs were lost that day. It was devastating." She looks over at Erax, and her eyes have glazed over. "You think you know grief until you see a dragon mourn her babies. There is no grief greater than that. Except, perhaps, when a rider grieves for their dragon. That I would not wish on anyone."

I follow her line of sight. Erax is stroking Cyrsí, who's grumbling softly, which I figure is the dragon equivalent to a cat purring. Except it sounds more like thunder splitting across the sky after a storm. It's still loud, but not as loud as her roars. There's a softness to it I never thought a dragon capable of.

"What happened to the eggs, if you don't mind my asking?"

Erax snaps at me, "You know what happened to them."

I stare over at him, my mouth hanging open in shock. "I don't. All I know about the dragons is that one day they were here and the next they were gone, until you found them again."

Now he's looking at me, and if I were close enough to the edge, I'm pretty sure he'd push me off. It's been a hot minute since I've seen that hateful look on his face. But unlike the last time, the look doesn't stay. Erax quickly softens his features and turns his attention back to the beast demanding pets from him.

"Erax brought me here for the truth," I say, turning back to Zepheira. "I'm ready for it. Tell me what happened."

Zepheira opens her mouth, but then an ice-cold wind blows through the cavern, followed by a deafening roar, and suddenly her mouth clamps shut again. Then her eyes widen, and she turns hastily away, her robes billowing behind her.

"The truth can wait," she says, waving us to follow. "We must go now,"

"Grandmother—"

"It is time!"

Cyrsí pulls back and Erax watches her fly away again before turning around. He's not glaring at me anymore, but he has that look in his eye again that says mine . How a look can make my heart beat faster and forget that we ever hated each other, I will never know. But it's beginning to really scare me.

"Time for what?"

Erax makes his way down again, and I follow carefully, mindful of my steps.

"An egg is about to hatch," he answers me. "When you're bonded to a dragon you can sense these things. It's rare without a rider. There are thirty-two riders in my army but no matter how many new people we bring in, none are drawn here and feel the pull anymore."

At the bottom of the stairs, he offers me his hand to help me cross the gap.

"I guess this is what Zepheira meant by something spectacular," I say, taking his hand.

He lifts me over effortlessly, but he doesn't put me down straight away. He holds me in his arms and stares deeply into my eyes, into my very soul.

"Yeah," he whispers, "I guess this is spectacular."

My breath catches in my lungs. The way Erax said that makes me think he wasn't talking about the dragon hatching. He was talking about me. He's said absurd things to me before but nothing that makes my whole body turn weak in his arms.

"ERAX!"

Slowly he sets me down and takes my hand. He then shakes his head at his grandmother's excited, albeit insistent, shouting of his name again. I have a feeling Zepheira is the only person in the entire kingdom allowed to talk to him this way. But then, she is his grandmother, and grandmothers are a different breed entirely.

"Let's go before she bursts a lung again."

"Again?" I repeat, and Erax chuckles.

I can't help but smile as I follow him down to where the dragon eggs are kept. We pass an arena on the way where the dragon riders go to train. I can hear them training as we pass by the entrance and move down towards the sound of rushing water of the waterfall near the back. Erax leads me to the left of it, to a large dug in hole.

"This is the nursery," he explains. "The most vital part of the keep."

"If the realm were alive this would be its heart," Zepheira says, appearing behind us. She pauses beside me and takes a moment to admire the view. "Isn't it spectacular?"

The word makes me look up at Erax, who winks at me.

"There is no time to waste. We have an egg to hatch!" Zepheira cuts through us carrying a steaming basin between her hands. "Ooh, I do hope this one makes it, Erax. It has been so long since one of its kind hatched. Your father, gods be with him, was a boy when it happened."

Erax snaps his attention to her. "It's an ice dragon?"

"Yes! Her mother returned just a few weeks ago, and would you believe it? She brought her egg with her. I found her swimming in a lake she had completely frozen over." Ummm… "Be warned, both of you, this mother is a feisty one."

"And by feisty do you mean?—"

"Three guards, all dead." Zepheira grabs several hot stones from the furnace and drops them into the basin. They hiss and sizzle when they hit the water, creating a cloud of steam. "I did warn them not to approach her, especially when she was still settling in. She seems to only let females come near her."

Erax turns to me. "You're not going near it."

"Of course, I am." I frown and cross my arms. "In case you haven't noticed, Erax, I'm female and quite capable of listening to whatever Zepheira tells me to do."

"Believe me, I have noticed my wife is female. More than noticed, in fact." His words make me blush. Damn him! "And you'll listen to a crazy old dragon lady but not your husband and king?" He glares at his grandmother. "I will not endanger my wife or put her at risk with an untamed dragon."

"I might be old, but I am quite capable of protecting our queen. Or do you not recall I had you down here before you could walk? We had several untamed dragons roaming the nest back then and you remained safe." Zepheira nods over at me. "Have faith in our queen. Her Majesty will be safe so long as she listens to me."

"I'll listen," I say, my body filling with a mixture of excitement and nerves. "As long as you just fed this dragon too."

Zepheira laughs at that, a loud booming sound. "Oh, I believe her appetite has been quite satiated, my queen."

"Maelena is fine."

Erax stares at me as if I've grown another head. "You are unbelievable."

"Thank you." I smile and return the wink he gave me before. "You're unbelievable too."

He drags his hand through his hair and gives a surprisingly loud, frustrated groan. "Un-fucking-believable," he says, peering through his fingers at me. "I think my wife is as crazy as I am."

I smile at that. "You have no idea, Erax."

For now, the truth can wait. I'm about to witness the birth of a dragon.