Chapter 41

Forty-One

“Watch out,Jake! One’s getting away!” Coin cackled from its vantage point on the garden wall.

You know that energy grandparents have when they say things like, “Having a little trouble with that one, Son?” That was Coin’s mood right now. It was having a grand time watching me try to keep up with four dragonlings who had just figured out their wings functioned.

“Dammit, Coin,” I panted even as I (barely) caught Cole before he could try launching himself off the wall (again). “You didn’t say they were going to be hyperactive!”

Coin laughed some more. “Should have kept at least one wolf with you!”

Dammit, I should have. What the hell had I been thinking earlier?

I’d sent most of the wolves out to the Wall this morning, to see if the miasma was actually shrinking or if it was just becoming more translucent. I mean, it was visible from the castle that the miasma had died down a lot in the past week, but I wanted to know if it was still lingering past what I could perceive with my eyes. Theon had gone with them on a quick check because if that was the case, he wanted to go past the Wall briefly as well to scope things out. It had been so long since anyone had seen the actual landscape past the Wall, no one had any idea of what it looked like. The oldest maps suggested there were mountains and a lake, but whether any of that was still there was a wild guess.

Anyway, for some reason I couldn’t currently fathom, I’d thought it was a good idea to send Theon off with the wolves while I watched the kids.

Don’t do this at home.

I reached and managed to snag Ashe before he could tumble right off the wall. He wasn’t quite as coordinated as his older brother. Cole seemed to be the most naturally athletic of them all, hence why he’d hatched first, I guess. That said, the one you really had to keep an eye on was?—

Oh shit.

“Where’s Flame?” I cast about, panic already rising because Flame was an escape artist, and oh my god could she find trouble faster than I could blink.

There she was, climbing over the garden gate with one leg and wing already out. Shit.

I sprinted in her direction, failed to catch her before she leapt off the gate, and swore even as I yanked the gate open. She hadn’t gotten far, only a whole two steps, thank god. I bent and scooped her up. Thankfully, she was the size of a corgi, so even with her wiggling I could keep a grip on her.

When she got bigger, though, that was when the problems were sure to start.

Fucking hell, why hadn’t I kept at least one wolf nearby? Seriously, had my brain just left for vacation without me this morning? I’d volunteered to take the babies while my in-laws ate. Rather hard to eat with them in your lap, for obvious reasons.

“Excuse me? Are you the…er, holy maiden?”

I got that confused question a lot because, well, obviously I was male and not a maiden. It was fine, I felt sure the confusion would last at least another decade until word got properly around.

I glanced up, expecting a merchant of some sort here to bargain for tonics and potions, but instead saw a man dressed in a temple uniform in front of me. Creamy white robes, golden necklace with the temple’s star emblem, a self-important vibe like a cloak around his shoulders. It only took a glance to recognize his type. The holier-than-thou paper pusher who thought he was god’s favorite and acted accordingly.

Hard pass.

Without waiting for my response, he looked down at Flame. “What is that?”

“A baby dragon.”

He snorted as if I’d just told a joke. Then again, dragons were supposed to be extinct, so I guess I couldn’t blame him for his reaction.

“If you say so. Are you the holy maiden?”

“Yeah, that’s me. Jake Alexander.” It was not nice to meet you. You smelled of drama and headache. “Who might you be?”

“I am Eudes Rotbertus, Deacon of the High Temple.”

He said his name and all I heard was “Rot.” Which was bad of me, but again, he smelled of trouble. “And what can I do for you, Deacon?”

“Why, I am here for you. To escort you to your proper place.”

Instincts, you were dead on with this guy. Good job. Also, how to politely phrase “go to hell?” I usually used per my last email, but sadly that joke wouldn’t fly here.

“Deacon. I assure you I am in the right place?—”

He did that dismissive snort again. “My dear sir, you were brought here from another world and kept in this backwater place. You have no idea of what you’re turning down.”

His tone struck a wrong chord in me. A chord my own father could hit with unerring accuracy. It got my back up with a hard snap.

Okay, change my tone. This time I made it hard and without politeness. “Listen, bub. I’ve had it up to here with men like you. Men who like to tell me how best to go about my life when you’re really just pushing your own agenda. If you think I’m some naive kid who doesn’t know what’s going on, understand I’ve bankrupted men better than you.”

His head jerked back in surprise, like he hadn’t expected this kind of anger.

Well, if he didn’t go around antagonizing people, maybe I wouldn’t have gotten short with him.

“I’ll say this precisely once. No.”

His brows snapped together. “We seem to have gotten off on the wrong foot. You have no idea how important you are?—”

I singsonged, “My name is no. My number is no. You need to let this go.”

Deacon Rot tried to get louder, drown me out. “You’re the holy maiden, you shouldn’t be stuck here in the middle of nowhere!”

I laughed because he was so ridiculous. Give me another five years, you douche canoe. I can promise you, I’ll make this place a prosperous metropolis in no time. I was already well on my way to securing the funds for that.

“Go,” I commanded. “I am going absolutely nowhere with you. You’re just wasting your time.”

This line would have been far more impactful if I hadn’t had Flame currently gnawing on my wrist. Deacon Rot looked at the baby in my arms, then back at me like I’d taken leave of my sanity.

Joke was on him. I hadn’t seen any sign of sanity in years.

“All right, clearly you’ve been manipulated into thinking this is the best place for you.” Deacon Rot’s voice got louder with each word, a vein popping in his forehead. “You are the holy maiden of this century, endowed with power you can’t find anywhere else in this world, and to leave you here would be a travesty of the highest?—”

Now, at this point, part of me remembered that I’d opened the gate. I hadn’t closed the gate behind me. A fact I’d just remembered because something small, blue, and scaly darted right past my ankles in a blur. I had no time to react or even yell before Cole found Deacon Rot’s ankle and bit it. Hard.

Deacon Rot yelped, yanking his foot out of the way, then turned tail and fled without even trying to fight Cole off. Fortunately. I didn’t want him hurting the baby. The deacon could bleed out for all I care, but he’d better not hurt my scaly baby.

I should probably have scolded Cole for going bite-bite, but honestly? Didn’t feel like it. I scooped him up in my other arm and dropped a kiss on his forehead. “Good job, Cole. He was a mean man, huh?”

Cole wagged his tail, eyes bright.

Oh dear. Yeah, I probably shouldn’t encourage this.

“How about we all go in for a snack?—”

From around the corner, there was a clinking sound, like armor on the move. I knew this sound, had heard it when our own knights were working, but this sounded heavier somehow? Like it wasn’t half plate, but full plate armor.

A second later, a group of knights rounded the garden wall, coming into the open courtyard and into full view. Leading the charge was Deacon Rot, but behind him were several knights in full armor of gleaming silver, white tunics on top, golden star of the High Temple prominent on tunic and shields.

He did not.

He did not just go get reinforcements to drag me away.

This rat bastard.

“Listen, I’ve killed men with vicious mockery, and while I don’t want to do it again, I can.” They didn’t even slow down. Shit. I couldn’t fight off fully armored people, especially barehanded.

This called for my own reinforcements.

Theon and I had worked out a song to call for help if I ever needed it. I’d thought him overprotective at the time. I owed him an apology for that, because holy hell did I need it now.

I immediately busted out into Snow Patrol’s“The Lightning Strike” in full voice.

Most people were out in the fields at this time of the day, hardly anyone was close by, so I knew it would take a few minutes to get someone here to help me. What I hadn’t expected was the shield I’d been practicing raising for myself to snap into being. Uh? I didn’t invite you to this party, but welcome!

The nearest knight to me, visor not even closed, strode right into the shield like he didn’t see it. Maybe he didn’t. It threw him back a foot and he stumbled into one of his colleagues. He seemed more surprised than hurt, but if it kept him from laying hands on me, I was okay with that.

Deacon Rot went into a full-on conniption. He screamed, “Stop singing!”

Oh hell no, this was kinda fun now. I kept right on singing.

Pure white light emitted over my head, like a beacon into the clear blue sky. It grew in strength as I fed power into it. I wanted to show exactly where I was to anyone paying attention. Plus it was cool to send up a bat signal, not going to lie.

Now, where was my hero when I needed him?

Like the thought had summoned him, Theon appeared out of nowhere. His stallion was blowing hard, no doubt from the mad sprint they’d just done getting here, but Theon didn’t even slow down. He launched himself off the stallion with one foot aimed at the nearest knight. Poor knight barely knew what hit him. He got a shield up, but it wasn’t in time to stop the blow to his head, so he was out cold in two seconds.

Theon landed lightly on one foot, spinning with the grace of a martial artist, feet and fists flying so fast I couldn’t even track them. Despite the fact he wasn’t armored, and despite the fact his opponents were, he clearly had the upper hand. No one could even clear a sword from their scabbard—he didn’t give them the chance, blocking their hands from moving, striking under their armor’s weak points, and sending people down and out. I heard a few sharp crunches, saw people’s faces contort in pain, and knew Theon was breaking bones.

Through plate armor.

My god, that was hot. I might need to jump this man sooner rather than later because that was hella hot.

As abruptly as the fight started, it ended. Theon stopped dead, surrounded by fallen knights who cradled injuries or were knocked out cold. The only one of the temple’s party still standing was Deacon Rot, who had his holy symbol up in front of him like a shield. For all the good that would do. It certainly wouldn’t make Theon pause. He hated the temple. Well, the one in the capital, as that one was beyond corrupt from what he’d told me.

“What,” Theon ground out, more enraged than I’d ever seen him, “is going on right now?”

“They were trying to take me away,” I supplied quickly. “Deacon Rot over there was insistent I was in the wrong spot, and he was going to take me away by force after I gave him a firm no.”

Oh, Theon was mad. I’d thought he was mad before, but now he was super mad. It scared even me, and it wasn’t aimed in my direction.

Theon marched right up into the deacon’s face—like, two inches apart—and I watched all color drain from the man’s face. Yeah, fucker, you’re looking good in that corpse color. Keep that on.

“That man,” Theon breathed in a voice that was cold as death, “is my betrothed. If you ever attempt to take him from me again, hell’s wrath will seem like a picnic in comparison. Now go.”

The knights, known for their valor and intelligence, were quick to pick up the hint. They gathered up everyone and quickly skedaddled, or at least as fast as they could go while carrying the unconscious and wounded. Deacon Rot had to get his knees back in working order, and while they still quaked, he at least got himself moving and quickly scampered after the knights.

I blew out a relieved breath and dropped my shield. No need for it now the danger had passed. I checked on my babies first, found they were fine. I had one attached to each limb, in fact, rendering me dragon-trapped.

Theon turned on a heel and came to me, quickly taking me in with his eyes before hauling me in for a tight hug.

“Not a scratch on me,” I promised him, leaning into his embrace. He smelled of sun and cool wind, which wasn’t a surprise considering where he’d been all morning.

“It’s the only reason why they’re still breathing,” he growled next to my ear.

That growl did things to me. Not going to lie. I turned my head and kissed him, and while he did kiss back, I could tell he was mucho upset.

His eyes were full of anger and worry as he looked at me. “Jake. I don’t think this is over. The temple doesn’t usually take no for an answer.”

I was afraid he’d say that. Men in power hated the word no. “Um, does that mean I need protection from now on?”

“Better that and I’m wrong. Luk and Thigad are back to being your bodyguards.”

If some bodyguards lurking about put his mind at ease, I could put up with them. I really, really hoped we were both wrong, though, and that our precautions weren’t necessary.

Hoped, but honestly? I knew better.