23. A Dragon’s Refuge

23

A DRAGON’S REFUGE

(RIVEN)

M y mind is stuck on my father’s confession about Morgath being the reason for my curse. The elves had directed me to her, but I thought it was because she had the solution. I didn’t know she was the reason!

“The curse was a gift, Faelor,” Morgath laughs. “It was supposed to be my ticket into fae power and a reminder that your bloodline isn’t untouchable.”

My father growls in response, but just before he responds, a swirling ball of energy appears a few feet away, halting the fight between him and Morgath.

The energy pulses for a moment before steadying itself. A tall figure steps out of this rippling energy, his skin white and his eyes bright blue. It’s Auren.

Morgath is relieved to see him. “Auren, thank goodness you’re here.” She drops her arms. “Strike them down.”

Auren ignores her, his gaze firmly on Rowena. “You both come with me. If you stay here for one minute longer, you’ll die.”

Morgath gasps, her eyes wide as she realizes Auren’s betrayal. “Auren! You’re on her side?”

“Rowena,” Auren stresses. “Come with me. Now.”

“I should have known I could not trust you,” Morgath spits at him. “You were too close to her. It’s no surprise you’re helping her daughter.”

Auren turns to Morgath then, but he doesn’t speak. He simply stares with eyes as blue as the skies.

“Let’s go,” Rowena takes my arm. “Please, Riven. It’s our only chance.”

My feet stay stuck to the ground as my father turns to look at me. For the first time, there’s no disappointment in his eyes, but I don’t understand the emotions in them either. I never imagined that he would show up to fight for me when I was in trouble, but he proved me wrong. He has stormed into the coven, challenging Morgath for raising her hand to me, and even chose to face her in a fight to defend me.

A part of me wants to stay and talk it out with him, but a bigger part knows that he will not accept Rowena, and there’s no life for me without her. I turn away from my father just as Morgath raises her arms to create a ball of energy. With one pull, Auren drags us into the portal, and the coven vanishes from our sight.

When the light fades, we find ourselves standing in front of Rowena’s hut in the Forest of Herbs.

“Oh, Auren.” Rowena throws her arms around him. “Thank you so much. You have no idea how relieved I am. You really saved us.”

Auren shakes his head at her, even though there’s affection in his eyes. “You just have a penchant for trouble, don’t you child?”

Rowena laughs. “I love him, Auren.”

“Your mother said the same thing.” His gaze drifts up to mine. “Thandor gave up his life to keep Rowena and her mother safe. Are you willing to do the same?”

“Auren!” Rowena shrieks.

“He’s right.” I take Rowena’s arm and pull her toward me. “And I will die to keep you safe, Rowena. There’s no point living if you’re not here.”

Rowena shakes her head, but Auren looks impressed and relieved. “Get ready to defend your words soon, Prince Riven, because Queen Morgath has already sent out a signal against you both.”

Rowena panics. “What does that mean?”

“It means you’re free game,” he answers. “It also means that whoever can bring you back to her will forever be in her good graces. Trust me, that’s enough incentive to make you a a serious target.”

“What do we do?” Rowena asks. “The witches can’t come here. We’re in the Forest of Herbs.”

“I won’t count on that,” he says. “Run away. Go somewhere you’re safe. I’ll help out when I can, but for now, this is where I say goodbye.”

“Auren.” Rowena takes a step toward him.

“Run,” Auren stresses. “They’re coming.” He disappears.

“We have to get out of here.” I grab Rowena and pull her into the safety of the house. “Pack a bag. Let’s go.”

“But where do we go?” She cries, snatching a satchel from the shelf and stuffing it with amulets, vials, a map, and other important stuff.

“I don’t know. We have to keep moving.”

When Rowena is done packing, I take the satchel from her and swing it over her shoulders.

“There’s no food to take with us,” she says. “I planned on going to pluck some fruits when?—”

I’m interrupted by a hauntingly familiar sound. It’s the flapping of the wing of a great animal. The ground trembles and a vibration sweeps through the room, falling the books from the shelf. Rowena and I exchange glances before hurrying toward the window to peek outside.

There’s a dragon outside, with a figure perched on it. His back eyes are trained on the front door, and his golden scales gleam under the evening sun.

“It’s Draco,” I say. “Stay here. I’ll talk to him.”

When Rowena nods, I push the door open and step outside, wrinkling my nose from the acrid smoke emanating from the dragon’s nose. Draco smiles and slides down the animal’s back. He takes a few steps toward me.

“Draco.” Something about him is friendly and relaxing.

“Prince Riven,” he says. “You seem to be in a lot of trouble. You and the Nightshade witch.”

“Did the forest tell you that?”

“Yes,” he chuckles. “The forest and I are great friends, and you’ll be surprised by how much the forest knows. They tell me everything.”

I sigh. “What do you want? You’re far from home.”

“Not really.” He pats the dragon’s face affectionately. “These things are quite fast.”

I glance at the animal, and it releases another spurt of smoke in my face.

“I told you the curse you sought to break is deeper than you think,” Draco says.

“We didn’t break it.”

“Are you sure?”

I narrow my eyes at him. Rowena’s magic had freed me from the stone back in the coven, but I’m not so sure about the curse entirely. When midnight comes, I’ll know if I’m truly freed.

Draco cocks his head. “A clowder of cats are on their way here,” he says seriously. “And they’re bringing a very dark magic that even Thandor’s magic will have a hard time overpowering.”

Rowena is suddenly beside me. “The cats are Morgath’s assistants,” she says hurriedly. “They’re not animals at all. They’re shapeshifters.”

“Hello, Rowena.” Draco’s smile widens. “I’m glad you’ve tapped into your fae side.”

“Can you help us? Please?”

“That’s why I’m here.” He nods at the dragon. “Both of you climb on. We don’t have much time.”

“Climb the dragon?” Roqena gasps.

“It won’t hurt you,” Draco says. “Come.”

I take Rowena’s hand, and slowly, we approach the dragon. The animal coughs and spits, but it doesn’t protest when we are near it.

“Climb,” Draco says to me.

I grab the edges of the dragon’s scale, surprised by how warm and soft it is to my touch as I heft myself onto its back. I reach for Rowena’s arms and help her, sitting her before me. She’s a little stiff, but the dragon stays calm beneath us. I didn’t realize how tall a dragon is until I was sitting on its back.

Draco whispers into the dragon’s ear, and the animal flaps its wings, lifting its giant body into the air. Rowena gasps and grasps onto its scales.

“Won’t you ride with us?” I ask Draco, who is still standing on the ground.

He laughs. “Have you forgotten I’m the dragon prince?” He asks, and before our eyes, he shifts into a dragon twice the size of the one we’re currently riding. He flaps his mighty wings, sending a gust of wind that almost knocks us down. We watch in awe as he flies into the sky, and our dragon follows.

I glance down at Rowena’s house and feel goosebumps over my skin when I see the house surrounded by scary black cats almost the size of wolves. Their heads are upturned, watching us fly away, and I can imagine what would have happened if Draco hadn’t come. He saved us before, and he’s saved us again. As much as I don’t fully trust him, I owe him a lot.

Rowena starts to turn her head, but I prevent her from looking downwards. The last thing I want is for her to see what we left behind.

“Keep your eye ahead, Rowena. We’re safe now.”

When we arrived in Draco’s city, Rowena and I let out collective gaps. It’s a beautifully modern town, with houses as tall as roses and roads built with molten gold, the color of their scales. There are dragons everywhere we look, but none is as big as Draco, who flies ahead.

“It’s beautiful, Riven,” Rowena laughs. “So beautiful.”

“Yes, it is.”

We soak in every nook and cranny of the city until we arrive at the heart of the massive building with towers rising higher than our eyes can see. Draco lands on the ground and immediately morphs back into a humanoid. Our dragon touches the ground, and I half expect it to turn into a humanoid, too, but it doesn’t.

“I hope you enjoyed your ride,” Draco says when we alight.

Rowena and I nod. “Your city is beautiful.”

“Thank you.” He nods at the building. “This is my home. The palace. Come with me.”

He leads us up the front steps and toward the front door. When we’re almost there, he stops and turns to us again. “Be aware that my mom might not take too well to seeing you two,” he says. “But be assured that I’ll ensure you’re safe tonight.”

In his words, I don’t hear an assurance for tomorrow, but I’m grateful he’s helping us tonight. I still get goosebumps thinking about the black cats I saw at the house. I don’t know who is scarier: Queen Zahira or those cats? I always see Queen Zahira during the Alliance festivals, and she’s honestly a scary woman.

Draco leads us through the front door, and to our surprise, Queen Zahira is standing there, waiting. Draco pauses, his eyes widening with shock. One glance at Zahira and Rowena inches close to me. Her scales are molten gold like her second, but they have an iridescent shimmer. I briefly wonder what her dragon will look like.

“I heard you brought a witch and a fae into the city, but I didn’t believe it,” Queen Zahira growls, her serpentine gaze landing on us. “What are they doing here?”

“They’re my friends.”

“That’s not what I asked you!” Queen Zahira snaps. “And these aren’t your friends; they’re fugitives!”

“They’re not fugitives, mother.” Draco’s voice remains calm, like he’s not arguing with the scariest person I’ve ever met. “I’ll explain everything later, but my friends are tired and need to rest for the night.”

Queen Zahira narrows her eyes. “Did anyone see you with them?”

“No.” Draco shakes his head.

I remember the cats back at the house and how they saw us fly away, but this may be the worst time to bring that up.

“We’ve minded our business all these while,” Queen Zahira says. “These are Morgath’s prisoners.”

“They’re innocent,” Draco insists. “You know Morgath is a liar.”

Queen Zahira doesn’t respond to that. Instead, she turns to walk up the stairs. “I want them gone in the morning.”

“Thanks, mother.”

When Queen Zahira disappears, Draco turns to us. “That went smoothly, trust me. It could have been a lot worse.”

“Why are you helping us?” Rowena frowns.

Draco sighs. “Because the forest says you’re good people,” he answers softly. “I’m the guardian of the magical forests; I wasn’t joking when I said the forest tells me things. There’s no better gossip than a tree.”

“How does the forest know these things?”

“Their roots. The root of a tree travels far and wide. Right where we’re standing, there’s a root beneath us, listening,” Draco smiles. “The trees told me everything I need to know about you two. I know you’re innocent, and I’ll help you as much as possible.” He turns away. “Follow me. I’ll take you to your room.”

When we reach the first floor, he says, “Would you like to be in the same room? Or?—?”

“Same room,” Rowena and I chorus.

“Ahh,” Draco chuckles. “Young love.”

He ushers us into a room with a large bed and quickly disappears with a promise to bring us food. Left alone, Rowena and I fall into each other’s arms.

“How are you?” I ask.

“It’s been a long day,” she sighs. “I’m exhausted.”

“After you eat, you can sleep.”

“No.” She shakes her head. “I want to stay up until midnight to be sure we broke the curse.”

I chuckle lightly and guide her to the bed. “Whether the curse is lifted or not, I’ll be fine.”

“No. The lunar eclipse is tomorrow,” she says. “I want to be sure you’ll be with me forever. What’s the point of all this if you don’t stay? I may as well return to Morgath.”

“That won’t happen.”

Draco returns with two trays of food and finally leaves after saying goodnight. Rowena and I hungrily wolf down the meal before laying back on the bed, sated but still worried.

“How did you find me?” Rowena asks me. “How did you know I was in the coven?”

“Kaelith.” I huff. “I’m going to make her pay for everything she’s done. She won’t go free.”

Rowena sighs. “Are we going to run forever?”

“I don’t plan to,” I answer truthfully. “I plan to find somewhere safe for you, then return to settle old scores.”

“That’s not going to happen,” Rowena argues. “It’s a few minutes to midnight,” she says, glancing outside the window and noting the position of the moon. “How do you feel?”

“Surprisingly good.” I frown. Usually, my body tells me when it’s a few minutes to midnight. It’s when my body starts slowly shutting down, and my magic begins to fade into the background. But right now, I feel normal, entirely in control of my body.

I flex my hands, smiling when my magic pulses in my blood. “I can still feel my magic,” I tell Rowena. “I think the curse is broken.”

We stay silent as each minute passes until finally, it’s midnight. Sweat breaks out on my face, and I wait and wait, but nothing happens. A moment later, it dawns on us that the curse is truly broken.

“Rowena, you did it!”

“Yes!” We hug each other tightly, our laughter ringing out around us. “I’m so happy. I can’t believe this.”

I pull away slightly from her. “You better believe it. You did this, Rowena. You’re powerful.”

She blushes, her lashes lowering demurely. In a moment of weakness, I lean forward and claim her lips with mine. She sighs into my arms, surrendering totally to me. As tempted as I am to pull her close, I let her go. We’re in enemy territory, and we don’t know what will happen tomorrow. We need our wits around us, not clouded by sex.

“I love you, Rowena,” I whisper. “Go to sleep; we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow.”

As for me, I sleep with a smile on my face because it’s the first night in my life that I can sleep or feel my body from dusk to dawn.