Chapter 17

CHAPTER17

Abraxas surveyed the outfit the dwarf had brought, and he had to admit, he had thought it wouldn’t be a good one. The dwarves were so much smaller than the elves, and Lore was already quite tall. He’d expected the dress to be like a skirt and a cropped top on Lore. But they had made it work in a way that turned Lore from a grubby traveler into someone who looked like a royal.

The pale white fabric tumbled off her shoulders in a false robe with gold embellishments at her shoulders. The fabric parted around her legs as she moved, revealing pale skin in only glimpses that tantalized the senses. She looked every inch a woman who should be presented to a king.

Of course, she still had wet hair. But Beauty had slicked that back from her face in a way that seemed intentional. And perhaps in a way that Lore would never have been able to do herself.

Beauty also looked stunning, although a bit more like he’d expected dwarven clothing to fit her. They still complimented her broad shoulders and wider hips. She looked... Well a bit like she belonged down here. No wonder Mirin was absolutely head over heels for the girl. Beauty could walk through these corridors, and none would be the wiser.

Except then they all walked past a group of giggling women, and he realized that Beauty absolutely did stick out. She didn’t have a beard.

That image wouldn’t get out of his head for a while. Abraxas had thought Goliath exaggerated when he claimed female dwarfs had beards, but they did. Long beards they had braided and twisted around their torsos to somehow intermingle with the clothing they wore. Like the bodice of a dress but made of beard hair.

No, he never would get that image out of his head.

Sighing, Abraxas trailed along behind the rest of them. He stuck out like a sore thumb. He’d tried to wash his travel clothes in the hot springs and had been horrified by the dark brown cloud that had spread around them. Had he been that dirty?

A single wash would not get enough out of these clothes so they could truly be worn in front of a king. But he’d seen his fair share of them in his lifetime, and Abraxas cared very little for their kind. This dwarven king might be better than Zander, or he might not. Either way, Abraxas wanted none of it.

He would be here for moral support. As the shadow behind Lore so she never had to fear what would happen while she stood before a group of people who were ready to judge her.

If it was his choice, they would never have left the dragon isles and their children. But alas, here they were. Saving the kingdom yet again.

Mirin paused in front of a giant opening that led out into a golden room that stretched much higher than Abraxas could see. “The king is just beyond. He’s been waiting for your arrival for quite some time, so please be patient with him.”

Abraxas narrowed his gaze on the young man and let Lore say what he was thinking.

She straightened her shoulders and asked, “Why should we need to be patient with him?”

“The king is a very exuberant person.” Mirin’s hands twisted in the bottom of his shirt. “I shouldn’t say anything at all, but I wished to warn you in case you were surprised. He has a lot more... energy? Yes, more energy than most kings.”

What in the world did that mean?

Abraxas was tired of surprises, and he wanted little more than to rest. Instead, they strode into a gilded room made out of gold that even he was impressed. A dragon, impressed with how much gold someone else had amassed. He stared up at the molten gold ceiling and felt something inside him click into place. The dragon knew how much this was worth. He knew how long it had taken to get every single coin that then melted down under temperatures that rivaled the breath inside him.

Oh, everything in this room eased a torment in his chest. He’d been so busy running around, trying to save the entire world, that he’d forgotten the simple pleasure of a hoard.

Being in this room forced him to remember. He had to feel the joy bursting in his heart at the wealth of it, and battle against the desire to take it.

The dwarves would stand no chance. They could try to beat him off, but they would never move his great bulk as he destroyed every entrance but one. He would take this gold, and it would be his forever.

Oh, it was an old desire. A need that came from being a dragon and living as he had for so many years. His thoughts danced back to when he’d had a hoard. All the gold in the kingdom had rested underneath his belly, and he had been so blissfully happy with that knowledge. Now? His hoard came in the form of people, and they were difficult to control or manipulate.

They did not understand a dragon had to see his hoard regularly. They did not understand his desire to keep them safe.

Blowing out a long breath, he shook his head to clear the thoughts from his mind. They’d already walked past a majority of the golden pillars holding up the massive ceiling and approached a gilded throne that seemed to melt out of the ceiling and land in a thick drop where the dwarven king sat.

The man was young. His dark hair billowed around his shoulders. He wore his beard short, a strange choice for someone with so much power in this kingdom. But his bright blue eyes and hawkish nose gave him an air of aristocracy that commanded attention.

So, the king was young then.

“This is her?” the dwarven king asked. His eyes danced over Lore’s form. “Are you certain?”

“She mourned at the grave of the fallen.” Mirin dipped into a low bow. “She is who she says she is.”

What a strange way to convince themselves that Lore was their “Fallen Star”. Just because she had paid respects to Goliath, apparently that was enough? These creatures were far too young.

The king’s eyes strayed to Abraxas next, and he lit up like a child who was given a new toy. “So, you are the dragon?”

Abraxas inclined his head. “Indeed. I am.”

“Well.” With a burst of energy, the king surged from his seat and stalked toward them. His deep blue robes billowed around him, the golden edges flashing in the torchlight as he approached. “I’ve heard nightmarish stories about dragons from our people. We did not get along for many years.”

“That depends on who you ask.” Abraxas flashed him a toothy grin. “The dragons always liked the dwarves. You did most of the hard work for us.”

Lore gave him a look that was warning him to behave, but he didn’t have to be worried about what he’d said. The king tilted his head back and laughed with a gusto that would have made stalactites rain from the ceiling if they’d been in a normal cave.

“I’m sure we did!” he thundered, then clapped a hand hard to Abraxas’s bicep. “You may call me Algor, friend. You are welcome in this kingdom for as long as you can keep your hands to yourself. I’d ask you to show me your draconic form, but I fear you’d take the entire cavern down with you! To see a dragon in his true scales, however, that would be quite the sight.”

It was. Although he was certain half of the people in this kingdom would claim that he was a menace and a terror that should have been killed a long time ago.

Abraxas lifted a brow. “You are not what I expected.”

“You didn’t expect a dwarf who has spent his entire life studying the lives of dragons?”

“I did not expect a young man. I certainly did not expect a man who has spent most of his days sitting on a golden throne waiting for people to come to him.” The last bit was perhaps more of an insult than he intended.

But Algor took it on the chin and merely shook his head. “When waiting for a goddess, one does not rush.” He turned toward Lore and held out his hands for her to take. “My life’s purpose was to see you here. To know that a goddess walked these halls and that the dwarves did everything possible to assist. You, Fallen Star, Lady of Starlight, Savior of Umbra, have finally returned to the dwarves.”

“Returned?” she asked, her voice echoing in the chamber. “I have never been here before.”

“Not in this form,” he said with a nod. “But in another? Yes, you have.”

Abraxas met Beauty’s confused expression, and he shrugged in return. He assumed it had something to do with Lore’s powers. She’d been given this magic through generations of women in her family, all gathering their power together through a single person. But he didn’t know what else that would mean.

Perhaps one of her ancestors had been here before. Maybe that was how the dwarves had known her, and how they knew she would return.

It made sense. Lore had always drifted toward the dwarves and assisted them with what they needed. She’d taken Goliath as almost family when he gave her but a little attention. Few elves would do that. Even half elves.

Lore hummed and nodded. “So it is that way, then. I did not know that my coming here was foretold, or that your people were familiar with me.”

“Few know that history of the dwarves. But it is ancient, and I have spent many years studying all the old texts. Some would say it was a waste of time.” Algor shrugged. “I say it was the perfect amount of attention and exactly what we all needed.”

A loud clanking filled the room, and a small portion of the gold shifted away. A door, it appeared, although Abraxas had no idea how it had been summoned to open. The dwarves were always working on the next great project.

“Ah, perfect.” Algor cast a bright smile upon all of them and then gestured to the door. “Would you be so kind as to follow me? I have a surprise for you all. I’ll admit, I wasn’t expecting so many of you. But I intended on following through with my ancestors’ plans. Part of the surprise is quite ancient.”

Ancient? Abraxas felt like he’d been transported into another timeline. This dwarf wasn’t worried at all about what was happening above ground.

So much so that Abraxas had to ask, “Are you aware of the current state of the surface?”

“Oh, yes. Margaret has been sniffing around here for ages. Obviously, a partnership with the dwarves would give her a certain advantage over anyone who wanted to oppose her. But the dwarves aren’t all that interested in working with elves, you see. Or anyone else after that horrible deal with the Shadow King.” He shuddered. “That was a terrible idea. Anyway, this one is much better, I think you’ll find. Why don’t you follow me?”

And then the dwarf started off as if they had no choice but to follow him.

Abraxas met Lore’s surprised gaze, but then she shrugged and started after the dwarf. Did the woman have no self preservation at all? Everything Algor had just said were rather blaring concerns that they needed to clarify before waltzing off into a dark room where they might never get out of.

Dwarves were the only creatures that made dragons nervous. The two species had centuries of fighting between them, and certainly enough bad blood that they would know how to trap him.

It would take a long time for Abraxas to free himself.

“Lore, shouldn’t we talk about this?” he asked as she meandered away from him.

“I’m done talking about dangerous things, Abraxas. I think what I want most is to see what the dwarves have made for me.” She flashed a devious grin over her shoulder. “Are you coming? The door might close behind us.”

The damned woman was going to be the death of him. He needed her to take better care of herself, and she needed to annoy him beyond reckoning.

At least Beauty patted his back. “It’ll get easier the more you do it.”

“Do what?”

“Watch her risk her life. She won’t stop, you know.”

Of course, she wouldn’t stop. If he had thought she would, then he could have finally relaxed for the first time since meeting her. Grumbling under his breath, he followed behind all of them and stood in the doorway with his feet just over... nothing.

The giant room was dark beyond the doorway, but he could see the cliff that disappeared below his feet. It kept going and going until he could see nothing other than the darkness beyond it. Perhaps it fell all the way through the earth. He knew the dwarves had mines, but he hadn’t realized just how dangerous they were.

The others stood on a small ledge that overhung to his right. Just enough for their feet to rest on while they pressed their backs against the stone wall. Algor looked all too happy, and suddenly Abraxas wondered if the dwarves had been feeding something in that pit.

What monstrous being waited for them in the depths?

“Wonderful! You’ve made it this far,” Algor said, his voice echoing in the vast chamber. “Now is the hard part. You have to trust me.”

“Trust you?” Abraxas barked. He wasn’t afraid of heights, but he feared what waited for them in the shadows. “What is the game here, dwarf?”

“No game at all. It’s a trust exercise. I’m certain you’ve heard of it.”

Beauty weaved a little too close to the edge. Abraxas leaned over her and pressed his arm over her shoulders, forcing her back against the wall.

“Dwarf,” he snarled.

Lore seemed all too happy to be where she was. With a bright tone, she asked, “What do we have to trust you about?”

Algor slapped a hand to the wall and the sound of rushing water filled the chamber. He could hear it, but couldn’t see it. Abraxas looked up, expected a waterfall to open above their head. But no, it was below their feet.

He stared down as the water rose toward them and felt his stomach twist at the shadows that swam through the depths. The dwarves were feeding something in this cavern. Those dark shadows twisted and wove like coiling eels, just too large to be anything natural.

“What have you been feeding down here?” he asked.

“Oh, I’m not sure, really. I’ve always called them ‘the creatures’. My grandfather found them when he was mining this area for the first time. Kept them because they weren’t bothering anyone but us.” Algor shrugged. “Nasty things, though.”

The water was getting closer and closer. Abraxas could almost feel it licking their feet. Surely Algor had an escape plan for himself. Creatures like that weren’t picky about who they consumed. Now he just had to find the escape plan.

“Here’s the part where you trust me,” Algor called out, his voice ringing over the rushing water. “Take a step forward.”

“A what?” Abraxas shouted.

And then, to his horror, he saw Lore do just that.