17. Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Sixteen

Garrick

T he noise woke me, and at first, I thought it was only Sylra coming back from the bathroom, but something in the air didn't feel right. It felt off… sinister.

Slowly, I reached under the bed to grab my broadsword that I'd taken to keeping there since Oakley was born, just in case. I needed a way to protect my family if the need should ever arise.

And it seemed like it had.

I felt the air above my head move, and I rolled onto my back, slashing out with my sword at my assailant, dodging the incoming blow and forcing them back. I continued my roll toward Sylra, grabbed her, and rolled us off the bed. I made sure she landed on top of me so I didn't hurt her.

As I pushed her back, I whispered, "Get your dagger and scale yourself." She kept a small dagger in the nightstand, and she knew how to use it, so I knew I could count on her to fight anyone off and have my back.

I knew she'd partially shift so her scales covered her most vulnerable parts. Mine had already hardened in place, automatically forming as soon as I was attacked after centuries of practice.

I jumped to my feet just in time to parry another blow from a second assailant. I finally got a good look around the room and realized there were nine of them. Mother of Scales. How had nine assassins made it all the way to the top of the tower without being seen? Surely someone would've warned me if they'd known they were here.

Did they fly in?

No, they weren't dragons, so they couldn't have.

A ball of red magic filled with little pieces of glass—made of magic—came flying at me, and I used my dragonscale broadsword to swipe through it and turn the magic into ash. Another ball flew at me, this one red and filled with magical thorn-covered vines. I swiped that one away too.

But then all nine witches aimed their magic at me at the same time, and I suddenly had vine, poison, oil, and glass-filled red orbs flying from every direction. I tried to hit every one of them with my sword, but two got through, and a vine wrapped its way around my thigh as glass pieces tried to cut at my skin. Luckily my dragon scales were covering much of my skin, so I only came away with a few nicks and cuts—nothing that would bleed out.

But that damn vine knew just how to find the edge where my scales met my human skin, and it was burrowing its way in.

Before I could catch my breath, more orbs were flying at me. I used my dragon speed to cut as many of them down as I could, but more and more got through until half my body was covered in vines.

The worst thing about them was that they kept growing deeper the longer they were there, so I had to pause my fighting to pull some off before they could reach an internal organ. Yes, my scales were covering my vulnerabilities, but the thorns grew so long, they could reach organs from different angles—and they had good aim. My distraction gave the witches—blood witches from the look and feel of them—time to throw more spells at me.

I was bleeding heavily from my leg because the thorns had gone so deep there, but I wasn't about to give up.

Where was Sylra? Why wasn't she fighting with me? Was she hurt? I couldn't risk turning around, not until I took a few of the intruders out.

With a yell, I ran at the closest witch, chopped through their shield, and went right for their head. I'd surprised them enough that they didn't have time to counter the move, and their head went flying.

Another vine wrapped its way around my arm, but I ignored it and rushed to another witch. All of them started throwing more and more spells at me, and I did my best to dodge or knock them away.

I sliced through their shield and chopped off another witch's head, and as I ran for a third, a loud voice called out, "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

I almost ignored them, but all the witches stopped their attacks. And then I heard a cry. A baby's cry.

Oakley .

My heart leapt into my throat, and I turned around to find where the sound was coming from, praying that Sylra had run to our son's room to keep him safe. He was only next door, through a room that connected to ours. I'd wanted to keep him in our room in the bassinet where he'd been sleeping before, but for the last few nights, Sylra had insisted that he sleep in his own room. I'd argued, but in the end, I'd agreed, if only to keep the peace.

Mother of Scales, my son. My poor, innocent baby.

In the doorway to my bedroom, another blood witch stood with my one-month-old son in his arms. Oakley was screaming, and the sound tore a hole in my heart. He was so scared and didn't understand why this terrible man was holding him. I'd never heard him cry like that.

"Don't hurt him," I said, my voice rough.

The blood witch grinned at me. He was the only one showing his face since the others had masks, and I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad one. "As long as you listen, your son will be perfectly fine."

"Please don't hurt him. Put him down on the bed, and I'll do anything you want."

The grin didn't leave his face as he stepped closer. "Tie him up."

His smile made me fear for my child's life, so I didn't fight back when the other witches sat me in a chair in the middle of the room and wrapped my body and arms in thick metal chains. I could feel magic on the chains, although I didn't know what the magic did. Luckily, the vines were only on my lower legs and arms, so even though they hurt, they weren't in a place that could kill me.

I could feel Sedoba's anticipation, like it wanted to attack our enemies, but I was afraid Oakley would get hurt if it did.

Please don't do anything. Don't risk Oakley.

I glanced around the room, searching for my wife, but I didn't see her anywhere. Maybe she'd gone to get help. She'd come back with our guards and save Oakley. I knew she would.

"Please put my son down," I said, not taking my eyes off the witch and Oakley.

The witch had him cradled in one arm and was sort of petting his chest and belly with his other hand. It was like watching something out of a horror movie. Only this was real, and my poor child was in terrible danger.

And Oakley was still screaming his head off. It made my eyes water.

"Please. Please don't hurt him."

"Don't you worry, Your Highness, Oakley is perfectly safe with me." He winked.

For some reason, that made my terror rise. "Please, just put him down."

His grin disappeared, his face turning hard. "Now listen here, dragon, you have something I need, and you're going to give it to me."

"If I give it to you, will you let Oakley go? Will you promise not to hurt him in any way?"

"Of course."

I'd do anything to keep my son safe.

The witch looked me over with a sneer. "You're going to drop your dragonscale, and you're going to let my brother take your power."

A new terror overtook me. He didn't know. He couldn't know. It was a well-guarded secret. A secret that'd been kept by my family for centuries. How the hell did he know?

But he, at least, couldn't know where it was or how to get it, right?

I didn't know what to say or do, and when I took too long to reply, the witch stepped closer to me, pulled a knife out with his free hand, and held it to Oakley's throat.

"No! No! Please! Don't hurt him! Don't hurt him!"

"If you don't drop your scales, you'll give me no choice." He pushed the knife a little, and I saw a drop of red form at the tip. Oakley screamed in pain and terror, and I growled and fought against my chains as smoke poured from my mouth.

"Get your hands off my son," I growled out, my voice deeper than before. When the scent of Oakley's blood reached my nose, my dragon came forward enough to partially shift my arms and legs, breaking the chains.

I stood, ready to rush the man and snatch my son out of his arms.

But the witch grabbed Oakley by the back of his neck, letting him hang there with the knife against his throat as my poor baby screamed and cried and flailed. Fuck . He was going to hurt his head and spine holding him like that.

Mother of Scales, please help me. Save my son. Save Oakley.

The witch screamed, "Do you really think you can get to him before I slice his throat and let him fall to the ground? Sit your ass down. Right. Now."

"Don't you dare hurt him. If you hurt him, there's nothing stopping me from eating you alive, you fucking bastard!"

The man grinned at me, and when I let the others wrangle me back into the chair, he cradled my baby again. But he didn't put away his knife.

As soon as I'd settled, the man said quietly, "Now."

I thought he was talking to me at first, but then I realized it was a command to the other blood witches.

Suddenly, all six witches—I'd killed two, and the leader wasn't joining in—were holding onto me and pushing their magic against me, making it feel like I was trapped in concrete. One of them tried to open my mouth, but I clamped my jaw tight.

"Open up, or I'll cut your son again."

Glaring at the man holding Oakley, I opened up.

One of the others poured a vial down my throat, then covered my mouth with their hand and held my nose until I was forced to swallow the liquid. It burned going down, and the second it hit my belly, I knew I was in trouble—more trouble.

I groaned as pain and nausea rolled through me, but I did my best to ignore it because I needed to get to Oakley.

But no matter what I did, the oppressive magic didn't let up.

My skin kept rippling. Scales, then skin, scales, then skin. And I couldn't control it. My body quaked from the pain and the magic burning me from the inside.

One of them cut the skin on my cheek that wasn't covered in scales, then cut the inside of my mouth, forcing me to swallow my own blood as they carried a blood-covered knife over to the leader. They held it up to his lips, and he licked my blood off of it, then smeared it across his lips.

He nodded at the other witch. "Good. He has it. I can taste the power."

The witches started chanting together, and red magic filled the air.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sylra enter the room, and relief flooded me. She'd brought help. She'd had to have run for our guards. She would save our son. I would've smiled at her if I was able to move.

But confusion filled me when she walked right over to the head witch, and the man passed the baby over to her without hesitation. I blinked. What… what in the world?

Then Sylra faced me again, gave me a triumphant look, and said to the others, "I never have to look at his face again. Cut out his heart and be done with it."

Shock rippled through me as I finally understood what was going on. Sylra had betrayed me. She'd let these evil people into our home. She'd told them my secret. She'd let them use our son against me.

She'd put Oakley in danger

She'd let them hurt my baby.

"I'll fucking kill you," I managed to growl out. It was quiet because I couldn't move, but I knew she understood.

She smirked. "Good luck with that, Garrick. I'll have your heart, and this entire kingdom will be begging on their knees before your body goes cold."

I closed my eyes. Anger, betrayal, and fear for my son were all fighting for dominance inside of me.

I needed to save Oakley. No matter what happened to me, I needed to get him away from her before she decided she needed his heart too.

"Don't hurt Oakley."

"I have other uses for him." She laughed at that and waved the other witches on. But then her head jerked to the side, and annoyance filled her features. "The guards are coming. Hurry. Set the curse. Now!"

The chanting quickened, and I felt the suppressive magic sort of wrap around my entire body. Then it started seeping into me, and I felt my scales retreating. Part of my soul felt like it was pushed away and hiding behind a closed door.

It hurt. Mother of Scales, did it hurt.

Every part of my body felt like it was on fire.

I screamed in agony as the realization of what they were doing finally became clear.

My dragon. Where did my dragon go?

I couldn't… I couldn't feel my dragon.

Mother of Scales, my entire body felt like it'd lost half its muscle mass in one go. What the hell was happening to me?

The ground under my feet started to rumble, and I knew the tower was ready to attack. The land of Sedoba was waking to help protect its king.

Please don't hurt Oakley.

The ground continued to rumble, but I knew it understood my plea.

Sylra started cursing up a storm and yelled, "Get it now! The guards are coming. They know what this means."

Before I could get smug about that, a knife was thrust into the center of my chest, and I screamed in pain. It burned like someone had dipped the knife in lava before shoving it into my body. Dragons couldn't burn from fire, but we sure as hell could hurt like we were on fire. My body had already been ripped apart when they'd stolen my dragon from me, and now they were trying to pry my chest open while I was still alive.

My vision started to fade, from the panic or the pain, I didn't know. They were going to kill me. This was how I died.

After everything, this was how I died.

And I wasn't even strong enough to save my son.

It was agony as the witch moved the knife, trying to open up my chest, and all I could do was grasp at the knowledge that if I passed out, no one would be there to save Oakley.

Don't pass out. Don't pass out.

I had to save him. I had to get these witches off of me so I could save my son.

I couldn't even move. The blood loss was making me weak. But I didn't care. I had to push through and get to Oakley.

Oakley, please be okay, sweet boy. Papa's coming for you.

I could hear him screaming, and it was like he was echoing my pain back to me.

I couldn't decide what hurt worse—the physical pain or the knowledge that my son was in danger.

The ground rumbled more forcefully.

No! You'll hurt Oakley. Please don't let Sedoba hurt my son. Please.

My guards stormed into the room, but I was blind from my pain and my panic. I couldn't focus my eyes on anything. But one thing kept running through my mind.

Save Oakley.

I said it out loud. "S-s-save Oakley." Then I said it louder. "S-save Oak-ley." Then I used my panic as strength and yelled it loud enough for all of my guards to hear. "Save Oakley! Save my son!"

But they didn't understand. They just kept fighting off the blood witches and trying to get to me.

Sylra rushed over to me, holding Oakley, and the guards allowed it because they didn't know yet that she was with the blood witches. They didn't know that she'd betrayed me and our kingdom. They didn't know that Oakley was in danger being in her arms.

"G-give me Oakley."

She scoffed, leaned in, and whispered into my ear, "You will never see your precious son ever again, Garrick. The only way to break the curse is to make your son love you. So now you can suffer the way I've suffered for years." Then she scratched her nails down my cheek, turned for the secret passageway behind the wardrobe, and made a run for it.

"No! No! C-come back! G-give me Oakley." To everyone else, I yelled again, "Save Oakley!"

Roman came into view, saying, "Oh fuck. Garrick. Don't you dare die on me."

"S-save Oakley." I blinked my eyes open enough to meet Roman's gaze. "S-Sylra is… enemy."

"I know."

"P-please, Rome. Get my s-son back. P-please."

He was on the verge of tears himself, but he nodded, turned to another guard, and said, "Get a healer up here. Cover and put pressure on his wounds. He's lost a lot of blood. And get some healing tonics in him right the fuck now." He leaned down and pressed his forehead to mine. "I'll get him back. Don't worry." And then he was gone, and all I could do was close my eyes and pray that he could.

Oakley's crying and terrified little face flashed in my mind's eye, and a sob came out of me. It hurt so fucking much because of the hole in my chest.

But even that horrific pain couldn't match the hole in my heart from his absence.

I whispered, "My guards didn't know she was a threat, not at first. They didn't know to stop her until it was too late. She got away, taking my baby boy with her."

A tear ran down my cheek, and Tan wrapped his arms around me in a hug. It wasn't the best position since I was sitting beside him, but it was exactly what I needed.

After a few beats, I figured I needed to get it all out in one go, so I added, "It was a full-blown attack. Everyone in my clan thought Sylra's clan members were friends. None of us suspected a thing. We'd been together for so long. We trusted them. So when they showed up at their doors, they let them in. And then they killed nearly all of my clan. Only some of my guards survived the slaughter." I took a shaky breath. "Although Roman is the only one left now. The others lost their lives in the years since, trying to find my son and fight off Sylra's clan. They've been ruthless, hunting us down and picking us off one by one."

"Mother of All, Garrick. I…"

I leaned into him, and he rubbed my arm with his hand as I quietly said, "You don't have to say anything. This is helping."

He nodded against me and squeezed me tighter.

I didn't move away when I spoke again. "That's the mission Roman's been on for so long. He's been searching for Oakley. We've had leads over the years, but we've never been able to save him."

And then, to my surprise, I let out a small sob. I tried to hold it in, but it came anyway.

"Th-the last time I laid eyes on him, he was… twelve. I-I s-saw him from a distance. I went with Roman to try and s-save him, but they almost killed me. I yelled for him, and he… he looked so angry at me. I can only imagine the hate she's been filling his ears with for the last twenty-five years."

"Oh, Gar, I'm so fucking sorry."

He pulled me in tighter, then did some weird maneuver where he shifted us on the couch until I was half lying down with my head on his chest, my arms around his waist with his arms around me. I cried into his shirt, and Tan held me, ran his hand over my hair, arms, and back, and pressed small kisses to the top of my head as he whispered comforting words into my ear.

"Mother of All, I don't even know what to say. How the hell can I possibly help him?"

My brow furrowed for a moment, confused until I realized Tan hadn't spoken out loud. I'd heard his thoughts. Holy shit, I'd heard his thoughts.

"I'm going to find a way." I heard him think before he whispered out loud, "I'm here. I'm not going anywhere."

My chin quivered a bit because I believed him. Even after everything, I knew Tan wouldn't lie to me. I knew he wouldn't hurt me. He was my viramore. I could trust him.

It took a long time for me to get myself under control, and when I did, I still didn't move away. In his arms felt like the only truly safe place left.

But I kept hearing random thoughts from him. Just a few words here and there. I was half shocked, half curious why our viramore bond chose this moment to grow strong enough for me to hear him.

"It's okay to ask me," I said eventually.

"Huh?"

"I know you're wondering about Sedoba knowing about what happened."

He hesitated. "I don't want to make this harder on you."

I nuzzled into his chest. "You won't." Then I just decided to address his thoughts without waiting. "My citizens were told that Oakley and Sylva died in a tragic car accident."

"Why in the world did you lie about that?"

I sighed and scooted down until my head was on his lap, and I could look up at him. "It wasn't my idea, but I was so distraught that I followed along with whatever the council thought was best. They didn't want anyone going after Oakley, and if they found out he was still out there, they would. It was too dangerous, and honestly, I agree with that. And I think they were afraid to admit that we'd been betrayed because it would make us look weak. Honestly, it's a bunch of bullshit."

His eyebrows rose, staring at me before he gave a nod. "I… guess I get that, but I don't like that they lied."

"I don't like it either. Our leaders shouldn't lie. And yes, I know I'm being hypocritical, but I wasn't in my right mind back then, and I'm trying to fix everything now."

"I know you are."

Since I was sure he was curious and too kind to ask, I answered another unasked question. "The slaughter of my clan isn't listed anywhere in Sedoba's history. We kept it quiet so we didn't incite a panic. Roman and I gave them all proper burials, but we never released the information to the public."

"Aren't they, uh… or their deaths listed in your records?"

"Their records are sealed. The only ones with access are Roman and myself. When people asked what happened to a specific person, they were told that they moved away."

"Oh."

"I know. More lies, but… like I said before, I wasn't in my right mind." I cleared my throat.

He nodded, gave me a quick squeeze, and kissed the top of my head. I decided I was just going to live here now.

"Thank you, little pretty."

"I didn't do anything, but thank you for telling me. I… I don't even know what to say. I'm so fucking sorry."

"You don't have to say anything at all." I turned enough to hug his waist, and he wrapped his arms around me. "Just keep… just keep holding me. Please."

"I will, Gar. I'm not letting you go."

I sucked in a breath, trying to calm myself so I could tell him my last secret. "I told you I was guarding an artifact, but that's not exactly true. I'm guarding my heart."

"What do you mean?"

I lay my head back on his lap, staring into his silver eyes. "The land itself—Sedoba—is linked to me, to my bloodline. I'm the king here because the land itself wants me to be. It allows it. My family made a blood promise to protect it centuries ago, one that cannot be broken. The land even built this tower for our family and our people—"

"The land built this tower?"

"Yes."

Tan blinked at me, his eyes slowly widening as he absorbed that information. "Wow."

"Yeah, it's incredible. The bond to the land is something I've had my entire life, so I don't really know how to explain it. It grew stronger when I was crowned king, but it's always been there, even when I was a prince. And I suppose it has some sentience because it's felt sad since Oakley was kidnapped. It tried to help that night, but… but Sylra's a dragon. She can fly, and she jumped out a window before the tower, or any of my guards, could catch her." I swallowed hard.

"I…I'm—"

"I know. You don't have to keep saying it."

Tan ran his fingers through my hair, then lightly across my forehead. Little frissons of pleasure soaked into my skin, relaxing me further.

"Anyway, it's sort of a buzzing behind my heart, an awareness." I shrugged because I didn't know what else to say.

"Sort of the same way having magic feels?"

"That's a good explanation."

He nodded. "Okay, got it. Sorry, continue."

I sent him a soft smile and sighed, getting more comfortable without moving away from him in the least. "If someone else tries to rule Sedoba without my blood—without my heart—the land will fight back. Ruling a land that's actively trying to kill you wouldn't end very well for that person."

He was quiet for a beat, then said, "That's… a lot to take in."

"I know. The spell they used to connect our family to the land has a loophole, though. I can pass the kingdom over to my heir at any time without issue because they essentially have the same blood promise in their blood. But if I decided to pass it to a non-blood relation, I can do so during that loophole phase that happens every five years. I can share some of my blood with that person, and as long as my intentions are clear, the magic will transfer over. But it can also be stolen—"

"By taking your heart?" He practically squeaked that out, sounding absolutely horrified. I couldn't blame him.

"Yes. That's why they're always trying to kill me. They have Oakley, though, so eventually, the kingdom will fall to him anyway, but I suppose they don't want to wait for me to die—"

"You're not dying anytime soon." I felt his magic rise with his statement, and even though I was emotionally wrung out, knowing how much he cared helped heal a little of the hurt.

"I'm not. But that's why they're trying to kill me."

"I won't let them."

"I know you won't." And I did. He'd protect me with everything he was, which was a terrifying notion. After a few moments, I added, "I can add a mate to my rule."

"What?"

"I… I'm not sure why, but I never… I never added Sylra to the bloodline spell. I didn't even tell her about it, so I'm not even sure she knows I could've done it. Maybe subconsciously, I knew she didn't care about me the way I did her, but I just… Anyway, if I want, I can add my mate so they can rule with me. I suppose I never found the right person." Until now.

He didn't say anything for a few seconds, then he brushed his fingers through my hair and quietly said, "Thank you for telling me everything, Gar. I know that was difficult."

"It was, but I'm glad I told you." I took a shaky breath and nuzzled into his belly. "Can we… can you tell me something about your life? Something happy?"

He paused for only a second before he nodded. "I can handle that. Do you want to hear about the time I accidentally ate a nugerluut? Or when I learned how to swim?"

"How the hell do you accidentally eat a nugerluut?" Those things were not small bugs. Ew .

"Well… when you're hanging out with Ellwoods all the time, anything can happen."

I closed my eyes and listened to his silly stories, letting my sweet little witch comfort me until I fell asleep. This time with my head in his lap.