Chapter 27

EIRWYN CHECKED THEhandle on the door and turned it. Her brows rose in surprise as it creaked open. "Not locked."

Knox snorted behind her. "Who would dare to rob this place? No one even knows it"s here."

She shrugged, looking around the dark room. Sheets covered the furniture, but it appeared to be a sitting room. The curtains were nothing but a pile of dust on the floor, and when she touched a sheet to remove it from the couch, it too turned to dust.

He coughed, waving his hand in front of his face. "Darkling hells, this place is old."

"Excuse me?" a voice screeched. "How dare you say it"s old. I"ll have you know this is the finest place in all the land."

A flash of light lit the room, and Eirwyn covered her eyes as Knox jumped in front of her, hiding her behind him.

"Who are you? Show yourself," Knox demanded.

The light faded, but an ethereal figure remained floating above the dusty floor. A man, almost as big and broad as Knox jumped at them, his hands open as he screamed and tackled them.

Except he fell through them. Eirwyn felt the cold and shivered, Knox spinning them so he was facing the figure.

"Who am I? Who are you and why are you here? Get out, get out, get out," the figure yelled, trying to punch Knox.

Knox looked at him incredulously and said, "Sorry to disturb you. We just need to get to Hartsgrove to fetch a magic apple and then we"ll be on our way."

The figure stopped and stood tall, his brow furrowed. He raked his hand through his long hair and looked around in confusion. Then he looked at his hands.

"What–alright, there has to be some logical explanation for this," the figure mumbled, turning to pace in front of the glass doors.

Eirwyn peeked from behind Knox" shoulder, her hand gripping his bicep and said, "Um, do you not know that you"re a ghost?"

The figure whirled on her, his square jaw dropping in surprise. He glanced between the two of them, then back to his hands before striding to the mirror above the fireplace.

He seemed to startle, then peered closer, turning this way and that. He raked his hands through his hair and straightened his cravat.

"You"re a noble, aren"t you?" Eirwyn asked. His clothing shimmered, and she could see through him as if there was a haze of smoke. It was obviously well-cut fabric and the only thing in the room that appeared in good condition.

The figure turned, his face grave as he looked down his nose at them. He snorted, "A noble? My dear girl, I am the valet to the king of this forest. It was decreed by his father, the great Xander the Red, that I would protect his favorite son, Feralt."

Knox stiffened. "Never heard of them," he said.

Eirwyn looked at him in surprise. "Are you serious? Didn"t you read the great historical records?"

Knox shrugged. "My access to books has been limited, and I didn"t have all the best teachers and schools, princess."

The figure drew himself up to his full height and demanded, "Excuse me, but did you say princess?"

Eirwyn stepped around Knox to face the ghost and dipped her deepest curtsy. "Yes, sir. I"m Princess Eirwyn of Busparia."

The man sniffed, his head tilting up before he gave a formal bow. "I am Leopol. It"s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, princess. However, this is all superfluous. It has no bearing on the fact that I"m a bloody ghost."

He yelled the last part and the chandelier overhead rattled, making them all jump. Knox held out his hands in a placating gesture.

"Well, I wouldn"t say bloody," Eirwyn said.

Knox" lips twitched as he tried to take control of the situation. "Alright, alright. Take it easy, and we"ll figure this out."

The figure whipped around, his face a mask of fury that made his features sharper. "Take it easy? What the hells does that mean?"

He began to pace, waving his hands as he continued, "My master was under attack from some group calling themselves the Hunters. His weak watered cousins, the drakins, were in the middle of a coup. I was tasked with protecting Hartsgrove. King Feralt cast a spell over the place to protect it, leaving me in charge of protecting the queen and heir. I–I don"t remember anything after watching him ride away, the helroses closing the path behind him."

Knox slowly shook his head, answering a question with a question. "So this is your first time–uh, awake?"

The man nodded, his face troubled with worry as he looked back out the window. "Yes, I believe so. Why now? I assume from the state of the parlor that quite some time has passed."

Knox took a deep breath and shook his head, but Eirwyn slipped her hand into his.

"The dragons have been gone for hundreds of years now, including Feralt," Eirwyn said softly. The poor man had lost everything.

Somehow, he blanched whiter. "What happened? Did the drakins win then?"

Eirwyn nodded. "They did, yes. The drakins seized power in Busparia and Glathen and have reigned ever since."

The man rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. "Then I have failed. We"ve all lost, and the king is dead. They"re all dead."

Knox shifted on his feet and gave Eirwyn a quick, worried glance. Then he turned back to Leopol.

"Not all of them," he said, pushing back his hood and revealing the scales on his head.

Leopol gasped and stepped closer. "By the gods, you"re a dragon."

Knox nodded slowly. "I believe so, but that"s why we"re here. To find answers of who I am."

Leopol walked around him slowly, and Eirwyn saw his ghostly hand hovering over Knox" head. "This changes everything," Leopol said softly. Then he turned on his heel and ran out the door. "The egg."

Eirwyn looked at Knox who, frowned. "We have to follow him but stay on guard." Then Knox ran after Leopol into the hallway.

****

Knox" stomach flippedas they turned and followed the ghost up the marble stairs. Dust swirled at their feet, and he sneezed.

Eirwyn stumbled, and he grabbed her elbow. Together they went round and round up the stairs, barely able to see the ghost"s glow ahead.

"Where are we?" he finally asked as the ghost stopped at a closed door at the very top of the castle. Both he and Eirwyn panted. A glance out of the small narrow window showed nothing but blackness. No trees, clouds, nothing.

Leopol waved to the door impatiently. "The nursery. Quick, open it."

Knox turned the latch, but it didn"t budge. Then he leaned his shoulder on the heavy oak door and shoved. Finally, it opened with a long creak.

Leopol went inside, a soft light emanating from around him. In the middle of the room was a round fireplace. Above it hung a hammock, each end tied to a living tree that grew out of the walls.

Leopol searched the room, pointing and demanding, "Open the drawers. Move the bookshelf. What about here?"

Knox did as he asked, curious on what they were looking for. Finally, Leopol was on his hands and knees, searching each crack and brick on the fireplace.

"There," he said, moving back. "This brick is different. Move it."

Knox pulled the brick out and a small ring with a green emerald rolled onto the floor. He picked it up, turning it over in his hand.

"Put it on, dragon," Leopol said softly.

Knox frowned, the emerald and gold shining in the faint light. It was too small to fit his giant, calloused hands, but he did as instructed anyway. He slid the ring down his third finger, and it somehow grew to fit him.

"Tap the gem three times," Leopol said.

Knox tapped, and a brilliant flash of green light lit the room. Knox closed his eyes, and when he opened them, more ghosts were striding through the room. It was as if they had been transported back in time to observe the room.

Eirwyn"s hand found his, and she held him tightly as they watched.

"We don"t have time. We have to go now," a familiar old woman in a druid"s cloak said, holding his egg in her hands and rocking it gently. "We have to protect the heir."

A beautiful woman with long thick hair spun on her heels, her full silk skirt billowing around her ankles. "I will not abandon my home. I am duty bound to protect it while he"s gone. Feralt said he"ll return, and so I will wait for him."

"But the heir–"

"Take him with you. It"ll be safer that way."

"But my queen–"

"Do as I say," the woman"s green eyes shone with unshed tears as she took the egg into her arms. She leaned close to it and murmured, "I"m sorry, my love. But I might not be there when you come into this world. Your papa is off fighting for our people, and I might need to protect the forest while he"s gone. Grow strong and brave, my son."

Her voice broke on a sob, and she thrust the egg to the old druid woman. The figures sped up, and another flash of brilliant green filled the room.

Then the beautiful woman stood in a garden, staring up at the sky as figures fought above. Small dragons ridden by humans carrying spears and magic fireballs swarmed around a brilliant green dragon four times bigger than the others.

One spear struck through the throat of the big green dragon, narrowly avoiding a gold necklace with a single emerald in the center that hung around its neck. But the spear struck true, and the dragon fell to the ground. The woman screamed and rushed over to where he landed, tears streaming down her face.

The small dragons dove, but the woman stood over the green dragon and lifted her hands. Her cry of grief sent a green shock wave through the ground and sky. Magic wrapped around her and shot through the forest. Knox somehow knew that was the magic protections that had created all the dangers in the forest.

Her magic hit some eagles had been nesting nearby, and their chicks grew to a similar size as the small dragons with riders above. The eagles attacked the riders, easily maneuvering to avoid the spears.

The ground began to shake and lightning ripped through the sky. Trees around the castle grew twice as tall. Servants ran out of the castle and down the road, the thorns of the helroses closing the gap and tearing their clothing. The last of them stopped, turning to stare at the woman and dragon.

It was the old druid woman. She clutched the egg to her chest, then turned and raced into the forest. The helroses closed the gap behind her, then grew up, up, up to encircle the entire castle. The ground formed roots, and vines and they wrapped around the woman and the dragon, creating a cocoon around them.

Another flash of light left Knox blinking, grasping Eirwyn"s hand tightly just to have something to anchor to. When he looked around, he was outside the mansion near the front stairs. There was a circular drive that led to a road and the helrose hedge. In the center of the drive was an oak grove.

The largest oak in the middle of the circular grove stood over a massive boulder, the gold and emerald necklace embedded within it. He stared, and Leopol appeared next to him.

"Those are my parents. The egg that the old druid took away... that was me," Knox said, his throat closing with emotion.

"You really are a dragon," Eirwyn said in awe.

He nodded, his eyes taking in the grove. This was where he came from. This was his home.

Leopol said, "Those were the drakin and their riders, the Hunters. I saw–they killed me." His voice was shaky and upset as he stared toward a corner of the drive. Knox hadn"t seen that part of the vision, but maybe it only showed him what he was supposed to see.

Knox tensed at the mention of the Hunters, his mind going to Scarlet. He worried whether she was safe or if the king realized the heart was the wrong one.

Leopol interrupted his thoughts. "King Feralt kept meticulous records in his office. When you"re ready, find me there, your majesty."

Knox blinked. This was too unbelievable. He wasn"t a king. He"d told Olive as much. The forest didn"t need a king. It only needed a protector, and that was a job he could do.

Eirwyn leaned her head on his bicep and held his arm with her other hand.

"Are you alright?" she asked softly.

He nodded slowly. "I will be once I get used to the idea of it all. I mean, I was just a lumberjack a week ago, and now there"s a ghost calling me a king?"

He shook his head and walked with leaden feet to the front stairs of the castle. There was no need for a king. It"d just cause more political upheaval when the forest lay directly in between two warring countries.

He pushed the door open, creaking as he went. Eirwyn followed him down the hall to where a faint light shone under a door.

He pushed it open, and Leopol was leaning over a desk, reading an open book. He took a deep breath when Eirwyn"s hand on his back gave him pause.

She smiled up at him and looked at Leopol. "I"m going to go explore the kitchens and check on Ryder. Yell if you need me, alright?"

He nodded and frowned. "Same. If you see some beast that I need to slay, yell for me."

Her eyes twinkled as she tilted her head. "Like an adder? Will do, big guy."

Some of the tension in his shoulders eased at her teasing tone. If she wasn"t panicking over all this information, then he wouldn"t either. He went through the door to dig through the king"s records.

He paused just inside. His father"s records. He shook his head in disbelief.