Chapter 5
Chapter Five
They were there. Right there. They saw her. Why weren’t they letting her out?
Fedra released a scream filled with despair, torment, and rage, but it never passed her lips.
The emotions rose from the depths of her soul—feelings on an ever-rising tide that she could no longer fight against. She’d once feared that she would forget why she was there in the first place if she let those feelings consume her, but she was past caring now.
She couldn’t move, couldn’t open her eyes, couldn’t give voice to her words.
It was worse than the years she had spent on her own, because at least she’d had control of her body then.
She screamed and screamed, unleashing a torrent of emotions—many she had no name for.
They swelled inside her, suffusing every fiber before emerging into a crushing, violent tempest. Fedra didn’t shy away from it.
Nay, she welcomed it. Embraced it. When she got out—because she would get out—she would wreak hav—
“I’ll be back.”
Marcus’s softly spoken words cut into her thoughts, instantly silencing the storm churning within her.
There was no reason for her to believe him, but for some inexplicable reason, she did.
The riot of feelings settled and faded into their respective corners, but they wouldn’t be as easy to control now that she had finally let them loose.
She listened as he and the other male retreated, their movements growing fainter with every beat of her heart.
To her surprise, she found herself drifting into slumber.
She should fight it while listening to see if she could pick up any other voices, but she was too drained to do anything but give in to her body’s needs.
It took far too long to bring the rest of the Kings up to speed on what was happening at the atrium.
Marcus had wanted to remain with the woman.
And he should have. Then he would’ve gotten a better look at her.
All he remembered was her inky black hair.
He couldn’t even say what she wore. The last thing he had thought to find was a stasis pod on a realm where humans still drove carriages.
There was magic everywhere on Zora, from the dragons to the Star People to the elves, Banshees, and so many others.
Yet none of the cultures had advanced technologically as the humans on Earth had done.
There was a reason for that, and her name was Villette.
She was a Star Person, one of the most powerful beings in all the universe, able to move about the cosmos with merely a thought—and even able to strike down a Dragon King.
Yet, for all Villette’s attempts to keep Zora in the Dark Ages, there was tech beyond even Ryder’s comprehension in a chamber with unique markings, along with a stasis pod. The woman within would have answers. They just had to release her.
Marcus returned his attention to those around him.
Con had gathered everyone in the great hall for the discussion.
There were larger rooms in the city, but this was the hub.
It was the place where everyone naturally gathered, much like a town square.
And given the care they’d taken in not only the design but also the layout and ornamentation, the builders must have realized that would be the case.
The city’s floor was made of smooth, perfectly rectangular stones that naturally glowed from within.
Four enormous heads had been carved out of the rock, each one facing a direction: north, south, east, and west. North and south had their eyes open, while east and west had their eyes closed and small smiles on their lips.
The faces had been crafted with an androgynous look, so they had both feminine and masculine characteristics.
While they certainly garnered attention, the real focus was the colossal tree with its thick tangle of roots hanging precariously several hundred feet overhead.
Light filtered softly through the roots, while water dripped from the complex system into the large, circular pool in the center of the room.
The water was contained by two-foot-high stones.
And branching off in various directions were several stairways leading to various sections of the city.
Several Kings and their mates sat along the edge of the pool, listening as Ryder explained the tech they had found. Even Hector had returned from Highvale to tell them what he had seen before he touched the blinking light that transported him to the magical island.
Once everyone had finished speaking, there were questions.
Loads of them. Marcus understood that everyone wanted answers, but he didn’t need to be here for that.
He turned on his heel and got two steps before Con said his name.
He halted and slowly turned back around.
Every eye was on him now, but he directed his attention to Constantine.
“Cullen asked if the corridor and chamber beyond were safe now,” Con said.
Marcus glanced at the ground, trying to contain his irritation. No one understood his need to return to the woman, and he didn’t care to explain it. “I wouldna want to have too many crawling through the hole I dug until I can properly shore up the passageway and begin removing the debris.”
“How many can go in?” Con pressed.
Marcus would be one of them. No matter what he had to do or say, he would be inside the chamber when the woman woke. But he was the only one who could stabilize the corridor, which meant he wouldn’t be involved in deciphering the markings inside the chamber. “I’d say six, at the most.”
“Let’s keep it to four,” Eurwen stated before her father, Con, could answer.
Con might be the leader on Earth, but the twins, Eurwen and Brandr, governed the dragons of Zora. The arrival of the Dragon Kings had muddied the waters.
Marcus’s impatience grew as he waited to see who would venture into the new chamber with him. Eventually, it was decided that Ryder, Brandr, Cullen, and Con would go inside.
His name hadn’t been one of the four. Marcus curled his hands into fists and clenched them tightly. They could try to keep him out, but it wouldn’t do any good. He was the one she had called to by whispering his name. He should be the one she saw first.
“You’re stuck with me again,” Evander said as he walked up beside him.
Marcus was done waiting. He pivoted and headed back to the atrium. Evander kept pace with him. Marcus glanced over to see his friend frowning. “You didna speak up. Did you no’ want to see her?”
“I do.”
“Then why did you no’ say something?”
Evander glanced over at him. “I get the feeling Con is trying to keep both of us out.”
“He can try.”
“Con doesna do anything without a reason.”
The anger within Marcus swirled viciously. “He isna always right, however.”
“Can you honestly tell me you are no’ bothered by the fact that you heard a voice?”
No one knew she had called his name, and Marcus didn’t intend to tell them. If Evander heard his name, he would’ve said something. Or would he? Marcus was keeping that a secret. Maybe Evander was, too.
“You’ll get a chance to speak to her eventually,” Evander said.
Marcus would be the one to unseal the pod, but no one else needed to know that. “I know.”
“You are no’ acting like it. What is it about the corridor and the new chamber that has you in knots?”
Because she’d spoken to him. Because the unknown woman had reached out to him, asking him for help. “I feel a connection to it,” he answered.
Evander grunted. “You should tell Con.”
“He knows.”
“You doona plan to do anything reckless, do you?”
If going against Con meant he was being rash, then so be it.
Marcus had done everything Con had demanded of the Kings these long, long years.
It rankled him that Con knew Marcus wanted to be in the chamber and still left him out.
Con might be the strongest of all the Dragon Kings, but Marcus was still a King.
Maybe it was time to flex his wings and remember why the magic of Earth had chosen him to lead his clan.
“Your silence is concerning,” Evander murmured.
Thankfully, he didn’t say anything more on the matter.
Marcus hurried to the atrium. He intended to have one more look at the woman before the others arrived.
But no sooner had he entered the corridor than Con and the others showed up.
Marcus almost ignored them and crawled through the opening, but he glanced up at the rubble.
No matter how much he wished to be inside, he couldn’t chance the area coming down on any of them. He grudgingly pressed his back to the wall and let Brandr move past him. Marcus watched him go through, followed by Cullen and then Ryder.
Con stepped up beside him and caught his gaze. “We willna do anything until you’re with us.”
Marcus didn’t mask his surprise.
“I may be uneasy about the connection you feel after what happened to Hector, but I’m no’ unsympathetic. I’m also aware that you would ignore everything I said and proceed on your own,” Con stated.
“In other words, you want to keep an eye on me.”
“I wish to protect everyone.”
Marcus stared into Con’s black eyes. “You can no’. It’s unfeasible.”
“That doesna mean I willna try.”
“We’re Dragon Kings. The only ones we need to be worried about are the Star People.”
Con sighed and glanced toward the opening into the chamber. “I hope that’s true, but it’s better to be safe all the same. Can you no’ agree?”
Marcus dipped his chin. The one thing Con had done from the minute the dragons left Earth was protect the Kings. He had even sacrificed his own happiness for millennia doing it. The feeling of ownership over the chamber—and the woman—had never happened to Marcus before, and he was shaken by it.
“Good. Be safe out here. We’ll await you inside,” Con said before crawling through the opening.
There was a sound behind Marcus, and when he turned, he saw Evander standing there. He thought Evander might add something to what Con had said, but instead, he simply put his hands on his hips and stared at the wall of rubble.
Marcus realized then how unreasonable he had been acting.
The woman had been found and would be freed.
It wasn’t as if she—or the chamber—belonged to him.
He needed to remember that from now on. He cleared his throat.
“This should go easily if we do it correctly, but it’ll take longer than I’d like. ”
“Just tell me what you need me to do,” Evander replied.
Marcus squatted and put his hand on the wall of debris.
The opening he’d created would hold. The chamber on the other side had seemed stable enough, as did the hallways on either side.
What worried him was the floor above and below.
“I need you here with me, but I need others above and below us, just in case I make a wrong move.”
“You willna.”
He exchanged a look with Evander. “For my peace of mind, then.”