35. Chapter 33 Arden

Chapter thirty-five

Chapter 33: Arden

W e enter the throne room and approach the dias. Cyndair stares daggers at me. She never expected that I would do as well with her ridiculous little challenge as I have been, so her animosity doesn't surprise me in the slightest.

Gormon, Ursa, one of Ursa's minions, two of the council members, and a handful of guards are all present.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of having you two visit me?" she asks as Camus and I each offer a bow.

"Arden wishes to have a word with you in private."

"It's about my sister," I add, glancing at Gormon whose face has gone pale.

"I'm sure that whatever it is that you need to say can be said here."

"And I assure you that it cannot ," I urge.

"Fine," Cyndair concedes. "Let's go to my quarters, and have this discussion there."

One of her guards moves to follow, and Camus holds up his hand. "I've got it."

Gormon stands and shifts toward us.

"I think it's best if you stay here," I say, and rage flashes across his face.

Cyndair eyes Gormon and me both suspiciously. "What is it about your sister that you cannot say in front of the man who is interested in courting her."

I lean toward Cyndair and whisper, "I'll tell you as soon as we're not in front of him any longer. It also pertains to him."

Cyndair's brow furrows, and she glances at her grandson. "Very well. This way."

She glides across the floor toward the large wooden doors. Camus and I walk side-by-side behind her. He tosses a sad glance over his shoulder at the throne, and I'm reminded once again of just how much he's sacrificing for me.

As soon as the doors shut behind us, Cyndair says, "You don't smell like you're in heat yet."

"Not quite, but it's coming. I can feel it."

Of course the guard told her that I had gone into heat. Or Dira told Gormon who told her. Regardless, word got back to her.

"Perhaps. Or perhaps you were lying to get out of the dungeons."

Fuck . She's already on guard. My anxiety spikes, and I'm certain she hears it in my heart rate.

"She is close, Grandmother. If you would like to check for yourself, you're welcome to."

"What are you proposing?" I ask in horror.

"That she find out the same way I did."

"Absolutely not!"

We reach the door to her chambers and she stops and faces us. "How exactly did you find out?"

My face is red, and I swear I'm about to break out in hives from embarrassment.

"I went down on her."

I cover my face with my hands and will myself to melt into a puddle on the floor. Evil Queen or not, Cyndair is basically my in-law.

"Can we please stop talking about this?" I ask, the question muffled by my hands.

Then something happens that I never once anticipated. Cyndair laughs. Ever so slowly, I slide my hands down my face and peek through my eyes at her. The smile on her face is genuine.

"I've never seen a fae—let alone a shifter—so embarrassed by sex before. It's endearing. And refreshing after being around this one for so long," she says and jerks her thumb toward Camus.

"I knew you'd like her if you just got to know her," Camus says, squeezing my hand.

"That may be taking it a step too far," Cyndair says with a scowl. She opens her door and leads me inside.

Camus pauses at the threshold. "I'm going to wait and watch out here. This is sort of private for Arden."

"And it shouldn't take too long," I say.

"Alright, let's get to it," Cyndair says as she shuts the door.

She escorts me to a small table and gestures for me to sit. "Wine?" she asks, pouring some for herself.

"Yes, please," I say. I'm not going to drink the whole thing, but I do plan to have a few sips to calm my nerves.

As she's pouring the wine, I take in the room. It's as regal as you'd expect. The room we're in is more of a sitting room with a serving cart with alcohol, large fluffy couches, and the large mahogany colored table that I'm stationed at. Through a far door I can see a bed with red satin sheets with gold stitching. A lot of this room has gold accents. It's gaudy and I hate it.

I hope that what I'm about to do doesn't get Dira in too much trouble. I keep reminding myself that it's for the greater good. My heart rate accelerates as Cyndair brings the wine and sets it in front of me.

"Why are you so nervous, girl?" she asks. "Your heart never beats that fast."

"Because...as much as I believe this is for the best," I take a sip of my wine, "it still feels like a betrayal."

I fondle the powder in my pocket, and the thought crosses my mind that it may not even work. Cyndair is so old and powerful, she may be immune to it.

"My sister..." This is my chance.

I pull my hand out of my pocket with a fist full of the dust and with lightning speed, I throw it at Cyndair's face.

She shrieks with rage, and pushes back from the table, toppling her chair. "You little bitch!" she screams.

I push away from the table and stumble back several feet toward another door that I'm assuming leads to an office. Maybe there's a window I can leap out of . As soon as the thought crosses my mind, I dismiss it. I would fall to my death, or be severely wounded.

The door to her chambers flies open and Camus comes in, shutting the door behind him. Cyndair finally clears the dust from her eyes, and they land on me. I lose control of my body and begin walking toward Cyndair.

My heart sinks. It didn't work. I'm going to die here, and she's going to kill Camus right along with me. All of this was for nothing, and she's going to win. I'm a foot away and she snaps her hand out and grabs a hold of the front of my dress, pulling me into her. Her fangs extend, and Camus rushes forward, but Cyndair holds up a hand and forces him backward.

"I will destroy you where you stand if you make one more move, Camus." She turns her attention back to me. "What was your plan?"

I'm about to lie, but a squeezing sensation in my heart knocks the wind out of me. I gasp for air, and Cyndair laughs.

"The truth. You cannot physically tell me a lie."

"You slipped a truth drought into the wine," I say.

"Yes. Now what was your plan?"

I feel compelled to answer her. But I know I can leave parts out. She doesn't need the whole plan. "To put you to sleep, and run away together."

"Why would you want to run away with him?"

"Because he loves me, and I love him." I try to pull the words back in but it's too late.

Cyndair asks, " What ?" at the same time that Camus asks, "You do?"

"I do," I say, turning my head to look him in the eye. "Not sure how, but I fell completely in love with you."

"I knew I could make it happen." Camus snorts in amusement.

Cyndair's grip on my dress slackens and I think she's about to let me go until she collapses on the floor.

"It worked," I say with a gasp. "It just took a minute to kick in. Let's go!" I say and begin looking around her rooms for the blood. I pull the glove off my hand that I had used to handle the powder.

Camus heads to the closed door on the right side of the room, and opens it. I glance past him into the room. It is, indeed, an office. He pulls open a drawer and grabs a small key from the drawer. Then on the far side of the office, there's a metal door sunk into the wall. It's about two feet by two feet.

"A safe?" I ask.

"Something like that."

He pushes the key into the lock and twists. Then he pulls out a long drawer that is full of vials of blood. Each has a small label on it with a name. We begin pulling them out and looking at them one-by-one.

I've pulled out about fifteen when I find one with Camus' name on it. "Here," I say and hand him the vial.

"Found Solina's," he says and passes that vial to me.

"Llewellyn's" I say and pocket another vial.

"Yours!" he says and grabs a last vial. "Let's get out of here."

"Wait!" I say.

I pull handfuls of vials out of the drawer and begin smashing them on the floor until it's painted with blood and glass. Tiny brown corks are the only things breaking up the glittering red puddle.

Camus tosses Cyndair over his shoulder and takes her into her bedroom and tucks her into bed. He sets a glass of wine on her end table, and then we dash out the door and down the hall to his room.

I slip out of my heels and into my flats that I had waiting by the door, grab my bag, and we leave, walking as fast as we can without looking suspicious to the guards we pass.

While we walk, Camus pulls something out of his pocket. It's a small leather pouch with a drawstring. "I don't know how many you'll need, but these are the pills I gave you to try to bring on your heat."

Once it's in my hand I pull it open and pull out one of the little pills and pop it into my mouth, swallowing it without water.

Camus takes me the back way out of the castle, through the door that leads to the gardens. Just as we step outside, a voice calls. "Wait!"

I stop briefly and glance behind me. "Not now, Gormon!"

"Dira and I have a right to know what you told Grandmother about us!" he demands, following us through the garden.

"I didn't tell her anything about you."

"I don't believe you!" he says as he grabs my arm.

"You're going to want to unhand my mate," Camus snarls at his brother, stepping into his space.

"She just needs to tell me what the fuck she said to Grandmother, and I'll go."

"She was telling you the truth. She didn't tell her anything. Grandmother gave her a truth serum. The only thing she could have told her was that you and Dira are fated. But she didn't get that far."

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing. But you need to unhand her and let us go, Gor."

"Gormon's gaze dances over the two of us, taking in my flat shoes, and the bags over both of our shoulders.

His eyes lock with mine, and I give him a silent plea to let us go.

"Hey!" a nearby guard shouts, "You over there!"

Fuck ! He's stalking toward us. He knows that something is happening. I wonder if there's been an alert put out for us already.

Camus also takes notice, "Don't do it, Arden. Please. It'll get you in even more trouble than you're already in."

"It's the only way." I rip my arm out of Gormon's grasp, pop another of the pills in my mouth. Then I toss the satchel into my bag and pass my bag to Camus.

I close my eyes and try to give way to my dragon, willing her to take over. But nothing happens. Come on! I know this is the first time I'm doing this, but it may be the only chance I get. Let's go! I urge her to take control and still nothing happens. I'm slowly backing away from Gormon and the guard.

They think I'm just going to run. I'm not that stupid. They're vampires and they would catch me immediately. Adrenaline begins to pump through me—then rage.

Thoughts of Dira, Nev, my mom and dad, and my grandmother all lying to me flit through my mind. Zorvan sending me away. Livarius not telling me the truth about The Sentinels. Todd working with Iona to sell me into sex slavery. Cyndair kidnapping me and taking my magic away all over again. Camus and his cousin forcing themselves on me. Gormon hitting my sister. All of it comes to a head, and my dragon feeds on my rage.

My muscles begin to ripple, my pale skin is replaced with row after row of iridescent periwinkle and turquoise scales. Spikes emerge from my arms and legs, and claws sprout from the ends of my fingers and toes. The guard in front of me lets out a shriek as my body begins to expand. My dress tears and my shoes bust apart.

A searing pain shoots through my body as my limbs elongate and my bones rearrange themselves. They grow and move and meld and change until no longer am I the chubby girl with no powers. Instead I'm a massive beautiful dragon. And I've gained the attention of everyone in the surrounding area.

The guard is crushed beneath me. He didn't move fast enough. Gormon doesn't move a muscle, frozen to the spot. Camus looks at me with pure awe in his eyes.

"Arden," he calls, his voice soft as he reaches toward me in a non-threatening manner. I can hear him and see him, but I'm no longer in control, and there's no way for me to warn him.

The piece of me that has been controlled and lied to and buried for the last thirty years has the reins; she wants blood, and she's going to get it.

All I can do is watch from within as the beast's powerful jaws reach out, take Gormon's arm in her massive teeth, and shake him like a rag doll until his arm is no longer attached to his body.

He lets out a shriek of terror and pain as his body is flung into the side of the castle. My dragon consumes his flesh, the first of many debts she expects to collect. If he survives he's going to be in a world of hurt for a very long time.

Camus approaches, and my dragon growls at him, and for a moment, I'm worried that she's going to dismember him too.

It's okay. He's okay. I urge my dragon. Please don't hurt him. She snorts in annoyance, but doesn't lash out.

Camus climbs up onto my back, and I can feel the irritation my dragon is experiencing. She doesn't like to be a pack mule, apparently.

To the edge of the woods. We have two more vampires to pick up.

To my surprise she listens, lumbering in the direction of the forest. Solina and Llewellyn are right where they said they would be. They each have one small bag, and they hop on.

Mates is the only other thing I think to my dragon, and she knows exactly what to do. Not wasting another second, she leaps into the air and takes to the sky. I just have to hope that she knows where she's going, because I certainly do not.