Chapter 2
2
Isavelle
I have my arms around my little sister, and I’m holding her tight.
Though just fourteen, Anise is nearly as tall as I am. Tendrils of her hair, the color of summer wheat, dance in the breeze. She feels so slight in my arms. So small. She’s cold, no doubt from being locked away in the ethereal plane for weeks and weeks, and her heartbeat flutters against my chest.
Out of the corner of my eye, I can see her looking with terror at the man looming behind me. A very tall man. An Alpha with white hair and a cold, ruthless demeanor.
I thought I’d killed you with the ritual.
Stesha really just said that.
I reach out to Dad and grip his hand, steadying him as much as he’s steadying me. I can’t imagine what they both must be feeling, being dragged out of what must seem like a dream to be told that Ma and Waylen are dead, and now they’re surrounded by armed strangers.
On either side of me, my bodyguards Fiala and Dusan are brandishing their halberds to protect me. They’re wingrunners, soldiers who fly on whip-fast wyverns and wear a uniform of black and silver. I trust them with my life almost as much as I trust Zabriel.
However, the other three men…
There’s Stesha, a white-haired Alpha; Captain Ashton, the curly-haired Beta who leads the wingrunners; and Godric, an older, stocky Beta, and Zabriel’s right-hand man. Just before they surrounded me, I had a vision. A rare, true vision that my life is in danger from someone I couldn’t discern. Esmeral is not here to protect me, and Zabriel isn’t either.
No mate and no dragon, and I don’t know who I can trust.
Captain Ashton approached me with a forlorn manner, asking me why we haven’t rescued the witch Ravenna from her captor. She was taken away by a cruel Alpha called Kane, a former witchfinder who hates witches but who is paradoxically her mate. They are fated to each other, but Ravenna doesn’t feel one shred of the love or esteem for Kane. She agreed to be with him only because Kane claims he can use his warlock powers to weaken or destroy the magical southern barrier protecting Emmeric long enough for Zabriel’s dragon army to pass through it and kill Emmeric. Ravenna’s sacrifice makes me admire her and fear for her, and apparently I’m not the only one. It seems as though the captain has fallen for the beautiful Omega in the short time he knew her. Ashton holds no weapon in his hands, and he’s not armed except for the knife strapped to his thigh, but a knife is more than enough to kill me for the crime of being a witch. If he wants to kill me.
Then there’s Godric, a man I’ve spoken with on only a handful of occasions. Zabriel confides in him about all matters about protecting and defending Maledin, and my mate trusts him completely. Godric was one of several people who convinced me and Zabriel to participate in the Ritual of the First Heat. The ritual separated us, and we both suffered. I nearly died from dehydration and exhaustion brought on by one of the Hratha’len , and when my former High Priest found me, he nearly finished me off. It was only because my mate defied the ritual to rescue me that I survived.
Does Godric harbor a hatred of witches or of me personally? He’s barely spoken to me. A man so loyal to Maledin and his king could despise an outsider of different blood.
Finally, there’s Stesha. The dragonmaster has never bothered to conceal his dislike of me, though I’m yet to see him approve of anyone or anything except his beautiful white Alpha dragon, Nilak. He’s loyal to the flare, and to Zabriel, most of the time. Right at this moment he’s brandishing a sword, the tip pointed toward the ground rather than at me. I’ve witnessed how fast and fiercely he fights. If he wished it, he could have already killed me. So if he’s the traitor, what is he waiting for?
Anise is shaking in my arms as she gazes up at the enormous, white-haired man. Alphas are intimidating. They’re just made that way. Tall, muscular, broad, and fierce.
“Are you going to kill me or not?” I ask him. “Or are you afraid that my bodyguards will attack you, or my family will witness your treachery?”
I watch Ashton’s and Godric’s faces because I’m not entirely convinced that Stesha is the traitor. If only my vision had given me a clearer view of the person who wishes to cause me harm.
“I’m not here to kill you, Lady Isavelle. I’d rather not be here at all.”
“Then why are you?”
“I blade swore with your mate. He protects mine, and I protect his.”
I hold Anise tight, wondering which way to run if someone lifts their sword. Can I stop them from hurting her? I keep talking in attempt to remain calm. “He swore to protect Zenevieve? Why do you care what happens to Zenevieve when you won’t even speak to her?”
Emmeric used Zenevieve to trick me into watching my mother and brother die. Zabriel was falling into a rut and so furious with her that he nearly had her executed, and Stesha offered himself to be punished instead. He was distraught, and yet he’s avoided Zenevieve ever since.
Stesha’s expression flickers with anger. “That’s not your concern, Lady Isavelle. Can we get on with this? Do you not know who’s trying to kill you?”
My gaze flickers between Stesha, Ashton, and Godric. Right now I don’t trust any of them.
The day is foggy, and all around us is gray. As I hold my family close to me, I see something shadowy moving toward us through the mist. Something huge.
Nilak, Stesha’s enormous white Alpha dragon, lowers her head just over Stesha’s shoulder, baring her teeth at us and protecting her rider.
Anise trembles harder, and Dad backs away, trying to keep us behind him.
“Isavelle,” Anise whispers. “How—are there two of them?”
I turn and see another dragon closing in on us from the other side, snarling and grunting with every step he takes. The ground trembles beneath his enormous, clawed feet, and his eyes glow red in the fog. Scourge is here, but where is Zabriel?
The black dragon comes to a halt, towering over us, his massive bulk blocking out what little sunlight there was. Both dragons bare dozens of huge, pointed white teeth. If either of them breathes fire, we will all burn to a crisp.
“Heavens protect us from these monsters,” Dad whispers.
“They’re not monsters, they’re dragons,” I tell him. “The black one belongs to my mate, but where is Zabriel?”
Dad and Anise seem to take little comfort from my words. Nothing about the enormous black dragon towering over us with his teeth bared says friend .
Stesha’s cold eyes move from me to my family, to Godric and Ashton, and back to me. “Lady Isavelle, take your family and get out of here. Allow Scourge and your bodyguards to protect you.”
Ashton nods in agreement. “Listen to the dragonmaster, Lady Isavelle. Scourge will protect you.”
Godric shakes his head and holds out his hand to me. “You must have better protection than that, Lady Isavelle. It’s what your mate would want. Come with me, and I will take you to Zabriel. You cannot trust the dragonmaster. He has always detested you. Ma’len hasn’t seen his hatred, but I have been watching him.”
“My personal feelings have nothing to do with this,” Stesha says coldly.
“I’m not who you want as Queen of Maledin, am I?” I ask Stesha.
“No,” he replies. “You have no idea of the place you are trying to fill. But it was never going to be my decision, and I’m not going to shed blood trying to change that.”
Stesha must have deeply respected Zabriel’s mother. From the way Zabriel has spoken about her, she seemed like a gracious queen. The perfect submissive Omega. Nothing like me.
“If I’m killed, Zabriel will take his own life. Do you understand that?”
“I’m an Alpha. Of course I understand that. The gods have driven you and the king together, and nothing but death can part you.”
“So by killing me, my murderer will also be killing the king.”
Godric implores me, “Lady Isavelle, please accept my protection. You must come with me to safety.”
Wind whips at Stesha’s long, loose hair, and with his gaze fixed on me, he says in a snarl, “Godric, you are very keen to separate Lady Isavelle from the rest of us and be alone with her.”
“Because she is safe with me.”
I thought I’d killed you with the ritual. Now that I think about it, Stesha’s words were filled with bitterness rather than venom. Everyone who spoke at that meeting condemned me to the Ritual of the First Heat. The Temple Crone. Godric. Ashton. The spellbreakers. They declared that I must take part in the ritual to prove I was worthy of sitting on the throne of Maledin. Everyone except Stesha. He was the only one who spoke about Zabriel’s responsibilities. An Alpha’s responsibilities to protect and lead.
“You said you have to do this,” I say to Stesha. “Draw your blade. Stand before me now. Do you mean…for Zabriel?”
“Of course for Zabriel. As much as you don’t hold a candle to the former Queen of Maledin, I swore to protect you. Zabriel will die without you.” Annoyance flickers over Stesha’s face as he glares at Godric. “So I must fight his enemies for you in his absence.”
The flare of his nostrils and the icy derision in his eyes are testament to how much he’d rather be anywhere but here. I never thought I’d feel so grateful for his annoyance.
I seize Dad’s and Anise’s hands and run behind Stesha.
“Fiala, Dusan, he’s an ally,” I call to my bewildered bodyguards. “You can trust Stesha.”
Gods, I hope we can trust Stesha.
Cautiously, they move to the white-haired Alpha’s side, brandishing their weapons at Godric and Ashton.
As soon as I’m behind Stesha with my family, the Alpha shifts on his feet to protect us with his body, and he levels his sword at Godric and Ashton. “Disarm yourselves.”
Ashton takes his dagger out and throws it away. The weapon clatters over some rocks and comes to rest far out of reach. Showing Stesha his empty hands, he says, “I would never harm the king’s mate. I am disarmed and am no threat to you, dragonmaster.”
Stesha turns his attention to Godric, who has turned pale, his gaze fixed on the point of Stesha’s sword.
In a tight, angry voice, the dragonmaster addresses him. “Godric. This morning, I saw you in furtive conversation with a wingrunner and a Hratha’len priestess. Two people who failed to protect Lady Isavelle during the Ritual of the First Heat. Why did the king’s second-in-command meet with them? What did all of you have to say to one another?”
“Am I not allowed to consult with a fellow soldier? Seek spiritual comfort before a mission?” Godric asks indignantly.
“I have been watching you today,” Stesha continues. “You state that Lady Isavelle is in great danger, but you have called out no danger. The only danger is you, skulking about following the king’s mate, waiting for a chance to approach the lady while she’s separated from Zabriel. Why?”
“It is you who is the traitor, Stesha,” Godric accuses. “You have never liked Lady Isavelle. You have acted inappropriately with her.”
“Something which I have already explained, dueled, and apologized for. Now it is your turn to explain your strange behavior, and we are all waiting.”
“I will explain nothing to you, dragonmaster. I am here to protect Lady Isavelle, and I tell you that Ma’len is in danger. It’s unthinkable that we are all standing around talking while he suffers.”
“So now it is Zabriel who is in danger?”
Over Stesha’s shoulder, Nilak growls threateningly.
Maybe Zabriel is in danger. He could be injured at this moment, even dying. I must find him and my dragon. “Captain Ashton, will you please put Godric in bindings and keep guard over him until we can find my mate?”
“Of course, Lady Isavelle.” Using some of the bindings on his uniform, the captain ties Godric’s hands behind his back.
All this time, Godric has been beseeching me in the sincerest manner. As soon as I give the order, he seems to give up. His expression changes to pure venom. “You will burn, witch. You have no right to sit upon the throne.” He addresses Ashton and Stesha with as much disgust and hatred. “You are both traitors to our kind. The humans will rise up against us once more, and we will all perish. The purity of Maledinni blood is—”
Dusan rips a strip from Godric’s cloak and stuffs it in his mouth. “Nobody cares what you think, you hateful bastard.”
“Go find your mate, Lady Isavelle,” Stesha tells me, holding his sword to Godric’s throat. “I do not wish to lose a good king because of you.”
How complimentary. I suppose I should be grateful that Stesha loves the king at least.
Fiala puffs a strand of hair out of her eyes and glares at Stesha. “Dragonmaster, Lady Isavelle and her dragon saved the flare’s fledglings from Auryn. She has been a friend to Zenevieve. She makes the king happier than we have ever seen him before, worked tirelessly in villages full of slaughtered Maledinni, and saved hundreds of lives today. I hope you see all that in our queen as well as finding fault with her.”
“Why do you think I am here holding this sword? I am loyal to those who are loyal to Maledin. Do you wish to scold me more, or do you wish to save the king?”
I would sooner expect Scourge to breathe ice than Stesha to speak a kind word to me, but his loyalty is worth its weight in gold. My sister and father are able to shelter in his protection so I can find my mate, and I am grateful for it.
“Thank you for your loyalty, Stesha. You have earned mine.”
Stesha glances at me before nodding sharply, and then he turns back to watch over our prisoner.
I think back to where I last saw my mate. Zabriel was gone when we emerged from my cottage in the ethereal plane, and I don’t know why. Emmeric was there instead, and he’d managed to unbind his magic that I had sealed earlier. Zabriel could be fighting him at this moment, the dragonriding king versus the man possessed by an undead sorcerer. Zabriel is strong and swift, but Emmeric is crafty and cruel, and he wields strange powers.
I move toward Scourge and place a hand on his scales. I can sense the coiled fury and tension in the dragon’s muscles, and fiery heat blazes rumble from his chest and up his long neck. I place a hand on his foreleg, wishing I could communicate with my mate’s dragon as I do with Esmeral.
I picture my little dragon with her gleaming turquoise scales flecked with gold. I say little , but that’s only compared to mountainous dragons like Scourge and Nilak. Esmeral is as big as a cottage now.
Esmeral. Where are you? I call to her with my mind. If she’s still in the ethereal plane, I don’t know if I’ll be able to reach her.
Esmeral . I’m here. We must find Zabriel.
The wind blows the mist around, but it does not reveal my dragon.
I turn to Dad and Anise, who are gazing in concern at how close I’m standing to Scourge. “We need to…” But I trail off as I see a dark shape in the sky, wings spread, and swiftly approaching. I feel that it’s her, and I joyfully call out to her.
Esmeral!
She’s not alone. Her greeting is filled with the important information that she’s carrying my mate. I call to the others, “Esmeral has Zabriel.” Thank the stars.
When my dragon lands, she crouches as low to the ground as possible, which I find strange as Zabriel is accustomed to leaping off a dragon several times her size. My mate dismounts with effort and slithers down Esmeral’s side, smothering a groan of pain as his feet hit the ground. He takes a moment with his face pressed against her scales before turning slowly toward us.
Zabriel’s teeth are bared in a grimace of fury and pain, and they’re stained with blood. His normally tanned skin is gray and pallid, and his long black hair is in snarls. His red eyes stand out starkly in his bloodless face, and his attention is focused on Godric as he limps toward him, one hand gripping his side.
Godric steps back, his wrists twisting as he tries to free himself, and small sounds of protestation escape from around his gag.
Zabriel takes out his dagger and slashes through Godric’s bindings. For a moment hope flares on Godric’s face, until Zabriel drives the dagger into the man’s belly and twists ruthlessly. The man’s eyes go wide, and he chokes and shudders.
Zabriel rips the gag from Godric’s mouth, and in a gravelly, labored voice, he growls, “Confess what you have done, and perhaps the gods will grant you the mercy that I will not.”
“Please, I was thinking of—”
“Confess, or die by my dragon, and I promise you he will make you suffer as you deserve.”
Blood spills from my mate’s lips as he speaks. I hold both my hands over my heart, filled with fear over Zabriel’s terrible injuries.
Godric grasps the hilt of the dagger, takes two bracing breaths, and pulls it out of his guts with an agonized scream. “I remain loyal to Maledin. I am the only one who is.”
He raises the dagger to attack Zabriel. My heart leaps in fear, but Scourge closes in with parted jaws and sinks his teeth into Godric’s shoulder. Nilak darts forward from the other direction and bites into the man’s waist.
I lunge for my sister and cover her eyes.
Godric screams as he’s ripped in two with a sickening crunch of bones and tearing of flesh. The two dragons turn, holding the dripping hunks of mangled flesh, and with swings of their massive heads, they fling them to opposite horizons.
Zabriel takes a step toward me, his head hanging low, every movement a painful effort.
“Who are the other traitors, Ma’len ?” Fiala asks in a hoarse voice. “Where are they?”
Zabriel falls to his knees at my feet. He struggles for breath, and manages to say, “ Sha —” before the rest is lost in a bout of coughing. Alarming quantities of blood spurt from his throat and run in crimson rivers down my skirt.
“Help me with him, please,” I implore the others.
“ Sha’len .” He presses his palm against the curve of my belly. “Thank the gods you’re both safe.”
My eyes widen. I stare at his hand pressed against my stomach, and he feels as icy as death through my clothes.
Both of us?
Zabriel’s eyes roll back in his head, and he crumples to the ground where he lies as still and as bloodless as a drained corpse.
I scream, and all the portals to the ethereal plane snap closed at once.