Chapter 5
Chapter
Five
VANDER
Ishould’ve brought her to the keep right away, but I admit, I was curious about what she’d do in the cave. Plenty of others in the past made fatal mistakes in those first moments of freedom. They didn’t live to see the sunrise.
This girl, however, didn’t act rashly. Didn’t reach for a handful of treasure, didn’t pull out a hidden blade in a pathetic bid to end a DragonKin.
She picked her way across the cavern, looking for an escape.
It was foolish, of course. Oblivion is death for any mortal caught traipsing through its forests, glades, or towns.
She has plenty to fear here, not the least of which is me.
“What is it?” Fyan struts into the dining hall, a smirk already plastered on his face. “And is it still alive?”
I ignore him.
But Fyan, my youngest brother, isn’t the sort who lets me discount him for long. A blade flies past my ear, whistling faintly through the air as it embeds in the stone wall behind me.
“You don’t have to be here for this.” I glare at him. “Your presence is neither necessary nor requested.”
“Seriously? I wouldn’t miss it.” He saunters past me and yanks the bone dagger from the stone.
“The last time we had one, Rivon toasted it and ate it before he even made it across the border. I was disappointed. But I saw you this morning, flying with it. I know it’s here.
” He sniffs. “I can smell it.” He turns his nose up a bit more, his forked tongue darting out and tasting the air.
A grin spreads across his stupid face. “A female.”
“Don’t.” I give him an irritated glare.
“What? You won’t share?”
“You know this Bargain is mine. You had your chance, what was it, forty years ago?”
He smirks. “Yeah, they gave me a male who thought it was a good idea to wriggle free from my hold before we even made it to the border.” He shrugs and takes his seat at the long table. “So I let him.”
“And that’s why we’re cursed.” Rivon walks in and takes his seat, his dark skin lit by its usual inner glow, fire dancing in his irises.
“That’s not why.” Fyan rolls his eyes.
“It certainly didn’t help,” Rivon says with his usual unruffled tone.
“What are you chickens arguing about now?” Faraday’s ice blue gaze lands on me. “A female, eh? And she made it all the way to the keep? Maybe our chances are finally looking up.”
“Don’t get ahead of yourself.” I nod at the servant hovering in the doorway from the kitchen.
He scurries away and other servants show up bearing trays laden with food.
“She’s from that backwater village, Rainapple or something like that.
She barely speaks. It’ll be a wonder if she knows how to read or brush her teeth. ”
Fyan’s face falls the slightest bit though he tries to hide it with another knife throw that barely misses Faraday. “More of the same then, I guess.”
“It could be worse,” Rivon says. “We have the DragonKeep, and we’ll just keep trying with the mortals.”
As with every Bargain, at the very least I hope the mortal I’ve claimed will survive.
But that hope has been dashed again and again.
I picture this female’s heart-shaped face, the almond shade of her hair, and her pale skin.
She’s beautiful in her mortal way. Breakable, too.
I tried to be as careful as I could with her, her soft skin so easily shredded.
Keeping the mortals alive has always been difficult, and she will be no different.
Even so, I want her to survive. I’ll continue to treat her gently. No accidents. Not on my watch.
“The next Bargain is mine.” Faraday sits and brushes his long white hair from his shoulder. “I hope I get a young maiden with round tits and a fat bottom. She’ll be begging me to take her before we even make it back to the Keep.”
“Most likely they’ll trade you a leper,” Fyan cracks.
“Wouldn’t be the first time,” Rivon intones morosely.
They continue chattering as more plates are delivered to the long table. The Firefolk don’t disappoint when it comes to feasting, their longstanding service to the DragonKin giving them an insight held by no other creature—mortal or immortal.
Fyan and Faraday chatter about maidens and their recent visit to Hainton while Rivon hums some sort of dirge.
I’m trying to listen to my brothers, but I can’t, not when I’m straining past their voices to hear the noises in my chambers.
She’s out of the bath now, her tentative footsteps sounding as she investigates our rooms. I couldn’t read her when I showed her the bed and the bathing chamber.
She only gave off the acrid scent of fear, nothing more substantial than that.
But I could swear I saw curiosity in her eyes, though that may have been solely for the windows.
The little mortal is still looking for a way out of her Bargain.
I rub my chin, smirking at the thought of her ever escaping me.
I’m the fastest DragonKin in centuries. Fyan can track a pixie through a glitterstorm.
Rivon is unmatched in stealth. And Faraday’s sight can pick out a brownie coated in mud underneath a willow tree.
There’s nowhere for her to go. She either lives with me or she dies.
That last thought sits ill with me. She made it all the way to the keep.
It would be a shame for her to give up now.
Fyan turns to me sharply, gaining my attention. “What’s her name?”
“Hmm?”
“Her name.” He tosses his dagger in the air and catches it. “Did you even ask her what her name is?”
Damn the gods. I didn’t. After chiding her about her mortal manners, I failed to even get the most basic details.
“Making a Bargain is draining. Flying through the non-magic lands and having to deal with the mortals—” Rivon shrugs. “—you can’t be on top of everything all at once, especially not after we’ve been spending all our time defending the eastern border. Sela is relentless.”
“Sela.” Fyan says her name like a curse. “Our cousin is always testing her limits. One of these times, she’s going to take it too far.”
Faraday nods. “Agreed, but the combat keeps us sharp, no matter how unnecessary it is.”
“She thinks she’ll be the one to retake the Realm.” Fyan scowls. “Snatching whatever foolish mortals she can. It’s a shock she hasn’t ruined the Bargain for all, given the way she flouts the Peace. If the Arbiter were to ever find out …”
“She’ll keep taking mortals with or without a true Bargain,” Rivon says solemnly. “The mortals don’t value the lives of their brethren. They’ll continue giving away their brothers and sisters as long as it comes with a hefty payment of treasure.”
“The DaySilver clan won’t take the Realm. We will.” I’ll never give up on reclaiming our homeland.
Perhaps this mortal female could be the one.
It’s a foolish hope but one I must entertain, because this woman could be the key to everything.
If nothing else, she’s mine to protect, to keep close.
The woman who even now is creeping along the hallway outside our chambers is my responsibility.
Her life or death is in my hands, and plenty more rides on these Bargains—but I can’t think about all of that right now.
Not when I hear her feet padding down the stairway, each step soft as a whisper.
“She’s coming.” Faraday leans back in his chair, his ice blue eyes gleaming with interest. “Does she perchance have large breasts and a round backside?”
“She’s mine,” I remind him.
He and Rivon exchange a look.
“What?” I roll my shoulders, trying to relax.
“Are you sure we’re the ones who shouldn’t be getting our hopes up?” Fyan asks.
“Yes. I’m sure. She may have made it here, but that doesn’t mean much, not when she could die at any second.”
“That’s a bit of a stretch.” Rivon shakes his head. “Unless she’s ill or prone to accidents—”
She coughs. The slightest squeak of sound, as if she was trying to hold it in.
“Or maybe she’s already come down with something. Mortals have such a weak constitution.” Fyan throws his knife into the wall she’s hiding behind.
I glare at him, then say, “Come along, little human. It’s feasting time.”
Her breath catches.
We all stare at the doorway. I count the rapid beats of her heart. She’s spiraling.
“We aren’t going to harm you,” I add in what I hope is a convincing tone.
Faraday gives me a look that says I fell rather short in that respect.
She swallows hard and still doesn’t move.
I grit my teeth. “If you don’t get in here, I’ll drag you in.”
This draws a look of reproach from Rivon.
I roll my shoulders again. Damn the gods, I’m on edge. Irritated. Bothered. Far more so than usual.
Shuffling steps, and then she appears. Now clean and dressed in a simple shift spun by the Firefolk, she doesn’t seem too much the worse for wear. No injuries that I can see. Good.
Her eyes wide, she stares around the table at the four of us.
When a Firefolk enters from the kitchen, she jumps back. “Don’t!” She holds up her hands as if to ward them off.
Lenka simply places a platter of roasted meat on the table, gives her a confused look, and returns to the kitchen.
“She was on fire.” She presses her back to the wall beside the door. “Sh-she was burning alive.”
“They’re Firefolk,” Fyan says. “What else would they be doing? Ice skating?”
“Fyan.” I shoot him a stern look.
He shrugs and tosses another knife in the air.
She flinches when he catches it.
“Put that away. You’re scaring her.” Rivon forks some meat onto his plate.
“Am I?” Fyan stares at her. “Do I scare you, mortal?”
Something itches under my skin. I don’t like his gaze on her. Not at all.
“Come. Sit.” I stand and pull out the chair beside me. “Here.”
She moves slowly, as if ready to bolt at any moment.
“She thinks we bite.” Faraday grins. “And maybe we do.”
She stops, her fingers tangling together in front of her.
“Brother,” I warn, a growl beneath my word.
He turns to me, smugness written on his face. “Yes, brother?”
“Shut your mouth.”
He smirks and leans back in his chair.
Fyan grins at him, happy to see his elder brother getting a rebuke.
“We won’t hurt you.” I pat the back of the chair. “Come, sit.”
After what seems like an eternity of slow, frightened movements, she makes it to the chair and sinks down. She’s dwarfed by it, barely taking up a third of the seat.
Her scent is all over the place. Morning dew and honeysuckle now intertwined with my soap. That sweetness, though, is the same bit of delicious honey I caught when I found her chained to the rock. It’s all her.
She shrinks back, her arms wrapped around her middle. Bony, she looks as if she hasn’t been well fed. No DragonKin would’ve tried to make a meal of her.
“Come, you must eat.” I drag a plate in front of her and fill it with three different kinds of meat, then I stab a fork into it and sit back down.
I watch her.
She doesn’t move.
“Mortal.” I gesture toward the food. “Eat.”
“Mortals eat, don’t they?” Fyan chews thoughtfully. “I feel like they do. It’s been a while, though. Maybe they’ve stopped doing that? Hey, mortal person, do you eat?”
“She doesn’t eat enough,” Rivon grumbles into his plate.
“Is that why you’re so thin?” Faraday ponders. “Humans have somehow found a way to survive without eating? Magick?”
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Of course mortals eat.”
“You don’t know that,” Faraday challenges. “Not for sure. Not until she eats.”
“I think they have to eat, right?” Fyan scratches his chin.
“Ten gold says mortals don’t eat,” Faraday offers.
“I’ll take that bet.” Fyan leans forward. “Now, mortal, show us you know how to eat.”
“I’m telling you, they don’t eat.” Faraday grabs a meaty rib bone from his plate and chews on the end. “Just look at her.”
She shrinks farther back in her seat, her eyes down.
“You owe me the gold,” Faraday chuckles.
“Give her a chance.” Fyan elbows him. “Maybe if she—”
“Get out!” I bellow.
All three brothers stare at me, and the mortal jumps.
“All of you. Out.” I bare my teeth. “Now.”
Fyan and Faraday exchange a look as Rivon picks up his plate and wine and heads for the door.
“Rude,” Fyan chides and grabs his own plate and drink. “Tell me if she eats,” he calls from the hall as Faraday follows him.
“I’m telling you the mortals don’t eat anymore. Pay up, little brother. That’s ten gold you…”
Their voices fade until it’s silent in the room. Not even the Firefolk bustle about, my yell likely keeping them at bay. I crack my neck. I’m tense all over in a way that’s new to me. This Bargain is far more stressful than any of the others I remember.
“I know humans eat.” At least I think I know they do. I turn to her. “So eat.”
She still looks down, her shoulders shaking, her hair hiding her face.
I growl with frustration.
She leans away from me.
I’m screwing this up. The gods are probably laughing at me right along with my asshole brothers.
“Let’s try again, mortal. What do they call you?” I speak as softly as I can without whispering. It somehow still comes out gruff.
Silence. Her heartbeat has slowed a little though. Now it’s just galloping instead of full out running.
“How about this? I am called Vander. This is my home. You are welcome here.” I speak the common tongue as slowly and clearly as I can.
She finally turns her head the slightest bit, her brown eyes shining behind the ribbons of her hair.
“Now, what is it you are called by the mortals?” My patience is thinning, not that I had much to begin with, but I force myself to go slowly with her.
“I—” her voice catches in her throat. She coughs a little, then starts again. “I am Larellin.”
Progress.
“Larellin.” I like the way it sounds and tastes. Sweet, like the honeysuckle scent of her.
She straightens, her face turning fully toward me. With the dirt scrubbed from it, she looks … beautiful. Even for a mortal. No scales or wings or even horns to adorn her. She’s a mortal, but a lovely one.
“Do you serve the dragon?” she asks, her gaze darting around the room. “Is that why you bear its marks? You look like it.” The last word is a whisper.
Have the mortals forgotten so much of the world that they don’t recognize a DragonKin in their various forms? How is that even possible?
“Did I miss supper? I’m starving.” Brin pushes into the dining room from the antechamber, a light coat of frost on his fur. “Is it—”
A sharp, piercing scream cuts through the air, and the mortal scrambles up from her seat.
I grab her arm, an instinctive movement. The moment prey tries to flee from me, I can’t help but engage in the chase.
She screams again and tries to wrest her arm free.
Brin moves closer, his form already changing, growing a bit less wolf-like. “What in the gods’ eleven hells is—”
She screams again, this time the sound of a dying animal, her eyes wide with fear. Then they roll back.
I catch her before she falls, her weight nothing in my arms, her body limp.