Chapter 31

EIRWYN SMILED WIDEas she walked to the kitchen door. "Knox, there you are! Just in time for lunch too."

He smiled as he settled the saddlebags on Ryder, cinching them in place. It was good to see him so relaxed in this place. He"d not put his hood on today at all, and his shoulders remained relaxed.

"Leopol doesn"t want us to leave," he said.

Eirwyn sighed and went into the kitchen, spying Leopol leaning against the table. "I don"t want to leave either, Leopol. I like it here."

"You do?" Knox sounded so vulnerable as he came inside behind her, and her heart melted.

She nodded, washing the berries and then adding them to a pan to boil. "I do. It"s peaceful here, and the company"s pretty good."

She winked at them both, and Leopol grinned. It made him appear less the stuffy manservant and more the noble rake. He"d been very vague about his background, and she had a feeling there was more to him than met the eye.

But she hadn"t wanted to pry too much. Most of his time was spent talking with Knox and searching for answers. So she"d cooked, cleaned, and explored one room at a time. After she"d tidied the kitchen, she"d gone to work on the parlor then the foyer.

Leopol crossed his arms and stroked his chin thoughtfully. "I like the company too. Now that I"m awake, do you think once you leave, I"ll go back to sleep? Or will I just be wandering around this old place alone until you come back?"

Eirwyn frowned and shook her head. "I don"t know. I didn"t pay attention to the necromancy classes. My brother spent a lot of time in them, and I preferred avoiding him. You"re the only ghost I"ve ever seen actually, but I don"t like the idea of you being alone."

Leopol snorted. "Me neither."

They sat down to eat, the conversation flowing smoothly between the three of them. Eirwyn had just served the berries and honey for dessert when the ground rumbled. The table and chairs began to shake, growing more and more until the pan on the counter crashed to the floor.

"Shit," Eirwyn said, leaping up and heart racing. Knox stood, his feet widening as the ground continued to shake.

"What"s happening?" Leopol asked, a frown marring his ethereal face.

A crash sounded in the foyer, and Knox walked unsteadily to the kitchen door. Eirwyn followed close behind, her hand on the small of his back.

When they rounded the stairs, Eirwyn gasped. Knox" spine tensed under her hand. A complete and animated dragon skeleton now stood in the foyer, a cloud of dust and debris settling around him. Eirwyn recognized the necklace around its neck.

She shook her head. "By the gods, the necklace. It"s him!"

Terror shot through her spine, and she stepped closer to Knox" back.

She wasn"t a weak helpless princess anymore, but this dragon was huge. It stood tall, its head barely grazing the two story ceiling. Its head bent, and Eirwyn shivered as it looked at them through empty eye sockets.

Leopol whispered in awe, "The king."

Knox" head dipped down as he glanced around the foyer. The front door had been ripped off its hinges. One wrong move, and it would rip her in two. A wave of apprehension washed over her, twisting in her gut.

It was a skeleton, yet the chandeliers and walls rattled as it breathed. Knox kept Eirwyn behind him and inched back toward the kitchen. She hoped it hadn"t seen them, wasn"t sure how skeletons could see without eyes, but held her breath anyway as she stepped back.

The great dragon"s head lowered, and it opened its mouth. A red glowing flame where the heart should be began to glow brighter as it inexplicably drew air inside, pulling energy into its core. Eirwyn felt the air sweep toward it as it breathed in, and her body froze.

She was all too familiar with that type of energy core, the flaming orb, the sudden rush of air toward it.

Eirwyn screamed, "Run! Fire breath!"

The air shimmered like a wave and a stream of fire slammed into them. They hit the wall of the hallway. Eirwyn fell to her backside, and she cried out as the back of her shirt caught fire. Flashbacks of her brother"s temper tantrums from when she was a child threatened to choke her.

Terror came gasping up her throat in a cold, panting fear. She fought against it, but it seemed hopeless. Still, she rolled to put out the fire just like she"d done all her life.

Knox stumbled and grabbed her hand, pulling her up and shielding her from the dragon. She took a deep breath, finding strength in his arms to battle the fear. If she gave into it, who would help Knox, who would defeat her brother?

She choked as smoke filled the air, the old tapestries blazing on the wall.

"Come on," Knox gasped, turning to look behind them.

The dragon"s mouth was wide open as he drew in more air, gearing up for another attack. Eirwyn"s heart jumped as Knox dragged her by the hand down the hall. She pulled air from the walls as she ran away, snuffing out the fire and trying to preserve as much of the building as possible.

The walls rattled and Knox jerked on the handle of the nearest door, but it came off in his hand. "Damn it," he grunted.

She hadn"t explored this far down the hallway yet. The frantic fear pulsed through her like a living thing, making her sweat. Shadows and light swirled around her.

"What now?" Eirwyn gasped, turning to look around them as he shoved with his shoulder at the door. She desperately looked for a way to safety.

"It"s not budging. Come on, back to the kitchen."

They ran toward the back through the hallway. A chandelier crashed to the floor in front of them, and they dove into a glass door to their left.

It shattered as they fell through. Eirwyn felt tiny scrapes and cuts sting her skin. Her heart raced, but she lay there groaning as she tried to catch her breath.

She"d been terrified in the forest with the spiders, adder, and all the things that could kill them. But this skeletal dragon was bigger than all the others, and its only goal was her death. She could feel it in her soul. Her eyes frantically looked around the room as she sat up.

Knox pushed to his feet and took her elbow to help her.

"Are you alright? I see a door. Come on," he practically yelled to be heard over the whoosh of liquid fire behind them.

She stood on shaky legs. One entire wall was nothing but floor to ceiling glass with several glass doors leading outside.

He gripped her hand tightly as they raced across the floor toward the glass doors. Frightened beyond measure, she ran, refusing to let go of Knox" hand.

The walls shook, and another chandelier crashed. Knox jerked them to the side and out of the way, knocking her to the floor once more as she screamed.

She landed, her head bouncing as she stared at the ballroom. A stabbing pain shot down her neck, similar to when Gastone had broken her clavicle as a kid. She blinked past the tears, pulling protective shadows around her.

In the center of the marble floor grew a giant tree with pink and white flowers. As she stared and Knox helped her up, she cried out in pain. But in the center of each flower was a golden apple.

She blinked past the tears, feeling her body go weaker from using so much magic to protect herself. Hope warred with fear in her chest.

She tugged on Knox" hand and pointed with her other. "Look, the apple! You need the apple!"

They ran to the tree, but the apple was just out of reach. "We can"t get the apple and run from the dragon," he panted.

The floor rumbled beneath them, and the dragon"s skeleton crashed inside, tearing out part of the wall. They had to widen their stance to remain standing as the floor shook with his every step. Eirwyn"s hand grabbed Knox" shirt as he tugged her toward the doors.

"We"ll come back for it. Hurry, outside where we can fight."

She shook her head and bit her lip, feeling the shakiness, the hunger clawing at her as she reached her magic limit. "No, give me a boost. Quick, while he"s gathering more steam."

She wouldn"t give in to fear. She couldn"t stop. Knox needed the apple.

Knox linked his fingers together, and Eirwyn stepped into his hands, careful not to jar her injured shoulder. He lifted her into the air. She grabbed a branch to steady herself with one hand, holding her other hurt hand to Knox" head, and reached for the apple.

Just as her hand closed around it, she felt his mouth at the juncture of her thighs. His nose rubbed her clit, and she gasped, her hand tightening around the apple and jerking in surprise.

The apple came free from the tree, but the glittering gold shimmered in her hand. She brought it to her face, her mind blanking to anything other than the need to eat it. She forgot about Knox below. She forgot about the dragon intent on destroying them.

She opened her mouth. It was just so beautiful. She had to eat it and suck on its juicy flesh. Her mouth watered, she licked her lips, and then she bit it. A sharp, tangy juice rushed into her mouth, flooding her senses with pleasure.

A surge of magical energy shot through her, and Knox grunted. The floor shook with the roar of the dragon, and Knox lost his footing at the combined sudden movements. She screamed as she went sprawling onto the marble.

She landed on her arm with a bone-jarring crunch and hit her head. The combination of pleasure from the fruit and the pain in her head and arm made her scream. Her magic flared and flickered as she approached the Edge.

The apple fell from her limp fingers as everything went black around her.