Chapter 6
AUDERLEY, DYTHNAL
THREE DAYS LATER
T anis bit her lip as she found herself alone on the edge of the human town she’d been so desperate to find. How she despised being here.
Years ago, she’d sworn to never venture near a human village again. To never even fly over one of their settlements.
Over and over, she could hear them cheering for her defeat. Or worse, cheering whenever she’d been forced to kill another so that she could live.
Those who’d made bets on her life.
Bets on her death.
How I hate you all.
For some unknown reason, fate had brought her back to them. Why? She couldn’t imagine. Had she not suffered enough in her life? What more would they take from her?
They’d already taken everything that mattered.
Her dignity.
Her honor.
Davin’s life.
Having suffered at their hands, she refused to allow her brother to know her degradations. Even in death, he deserved better.
I promise, I’ll take care of you. His words echoed in her head. He’d always kept that promise. In a royal court filled with those out to betray her family, it’d always been the two of them against the world. She had her brother’s back, and he had hers.
Until she hadn’t.
I’m so sorry I failed you.
Davin should have died at a ripe old age with hatchlings and great-great-great-grand-hatchlings by his side. This was not how it was supposed to end for one so kind - hearted.
I will make this right.
If it was the last thing she ever did, she would return his skull to their kingdom.
Dash and Halla had gone on ahead of her after she’d told them that she needed a few minutes to gather herself together. Her panic attack had been absolute. Even now, she still wasn’t completely recovered.
She wanted to return to her island home.
No, she needed to go home and hide.
But it was too late. Even if she was still in her dragon’s body, her father wouldn’t welcome her back—he hadn’t wanted her to begin with. He’d ordered her not to do this.
Her sisters would most likely kill her for leaving. Definitely kill her for being human.
You would endanger us for a fool’s quest? If Davin allowed a human to kill him even while sleeping, then he should be dead for his weakness!
Dragons were completely unforgiving. It was why she’d been shunned on her return after she’d been kidnapped.
You’re a dragon, Tanis. I don’t care what kind of magick he had. You let a unicorn capture you when you should have fought him with everything you had. If that’s as strong as you are, then you should have died in their world rather than come slinking back here, begging for mercy! For once in your life, have dignity. Go kill yourself!
And she’d been so tempted. Only Davin and Marla’s charity had kept her alive when she had absolutely no reason to live.
Her sisters’ cruelty still cut her all the way to her battered soul.Lucky them that no one had ever snuck up on them when they were distracted hatchlings, playing in a meadow. It was easy to be a sanctimonious asshole when fate hadn’t shit all over you, for no reason. But Tanis knew the horror and humiliation of being caught unawares. Not because she was stupid or careless. Not because she was weak.
Because she’d had no concept of evil back then.
What that wretched unicorn had done to her could have happened to anyone.
Anyone. Even her sisters.
She had just been the unfortunate soul playing in the valley that afternoon.
It should have been her sister, Ragna, or her father, who suffered in her stead. Then maybe they would have had some compassion for others.
They needed the lesson in humility.
Not her.
She would never understand why fate or the gods or whatever it was that had dealt this to her had chosen her that day. Because she had never been callous toward others. Unlike them, she’d always tried to be fair and kind.
Yet she was the one who had been punished for trusting a stranger. The one her clan had branded pariah.
But not Davin.
He and Marla had welcomed her home after her captivity. They, alone, had helped her to heal and had given her shelter when no one else would even look at her because they’d labeled her tainted.
Now Davin was gone.
How was that fair or right?
Damn you, universe! Damn you straight to hell!
Tears choked her, but she refused to let them fall. No one would ever see her cry.
Taking a breath for courage, she forced herself to head toward the gate where two very stout men stood guard to watch over the steady stream of people who were going and coming through their town.
Her legs shook so badly that she wasn’t even sure how she could walk. How did humans handle this? Emotions were horrible as a dragon, but as a human...
They were so much worse. She couldn’t remember her body wobbling like this before. Her heart pounding so ferociously. Truly, it was terrifying.
She was even sweating in places she’d forgotten people could sweat. Ew! How did they stand it?
It made her entire body itchy.
“Halt!”
She froze at the fierce bellow. Had she done something wrong? Her hand wanted to pull her sword, but that didn’t seem like a wise idea. Not in a crowd of this size.
Aggression bred aggression. That was the one thing she remembered most from being human before. Stay calm or they’d hurt her.
One of the burly men came storming in her direction.
Her stomach tightened to the point of pain as she rested her hand on the sword hilt. Wait for it...
She was sure he was going to grab her and yank her with him.
If he dared...
She’d slit him from gullet to beard.
Instead of grabbing her, he brushed rudely past her with a sneer on his face. Following him with her gaze, she saw that he was glaring at a group behind her.
Oh, thank the gods.
She let out a relieved breath as he began yelling at them for reasons she didn’t understand. Using that distraction, she quickly swept into town before someone else stopped her for real.
That was the easy part.
The hard? She had no idea where to go. There were people everywhere.
Literally everywhere.
They swarmed through the streets like a colony of ants, heading in all directions with no rhyme or reason. There were buildings all around, but she didn’t know what they were. Some had signs, but the pictures on them made no sense to her.
Where in the world had Halla and Dash gone? The stables? A barn?
Why hadn’t she asked them where they’d be?
Because I’m an idiot.
No, she’d been panicking and not thinking clearly.
“Move, girl!”
A man brushed past her, with his arms full of bloody hides.
Bile rose in her throat. She felt terrible for those poor, butchered animals. Humans were monsters! Did they respect nothing? Why kill so indiscriminately and so many? Had there been a purpose for it?
Were the animals rabid?
Suddenly, she wished she’d stayed in her dragon body and had just torched this entire place. It would have been a courtesy to the world to rid it of the vermin rustling around her.
Horrible memories flooded her of her days in captivity, and she didn’t want to be here, especially not alone.
Worse, she felt as if she were being watched. But she didn’t see anyone in the crowd that was paying her any heed. Still, that feeling persisted. It made her skin crawl...
“Where are you, Dash?” she breathed.
She silently kicked herself for letting them go on ahead. As bad as the panic attack had been, she should have forced herself to stay with them.
The one she had now was making the old one look like a hiccup.
“Are you a huntress?”
She turned around with a frown, expecting to see one of the nasty men.
Instead, it was a young boy who barely reached her hip. The sight of him there, with a bruise on his cheek and tears in his pale eyes caught her off guard. “Pardon?”
He gestured at her sword and bag that she wore across her back. “Are you a huntress, my lady?”
“Uh...” Tanis wanted to say no, but technically, that was what she was and how Dash had dressed her. The only question was why this boy asked her that. “Yes?”
The boy hesitated, then swallowed audibly. “Have you any meat I can buy?”
She scowled at his odd question. “What?”
He held his grimy hand out to her to show her a small silver coin there. “Me pa’s passed out again from his drink, but he said for me to fetch some meat. He said that huntresses usually give more meat for the coin, and if I don’t have meat when he comes to, he’ll beat me. Do you have any meat I can buy from you?”
Those words infuriated her. Even if the child was human, he didn’t deserve to be hit.
Especially not by the man who was supposed to love and protect him.
A strange tenderness rose up inside her, making her want to keep the boy safe. “Sorry, little one. I don’t have any.”
With one grimy fist, he wiped away the tears in his eyes as he turned to leave.
It’s none of your business...
No doubt that little human would grow into a man who would one day hunt down her kind for sport or trophy.
Yet as she watched him wander through the crowd, all she saw was a lost little boy who needed help.
Like her brother’s hatchlings.
Hating herself for the weakness, she went after him. “Boy?”
He turned to show her the tears that were streaking down his cheeks again.
That succeeded in breaking her. Kneeling down, she lifted his shirt to wipe his cheeks. “I’m new to this place. Where do you normally go to buy meat?”
“There’s a market, but me pa said that they’d rob me there. He told me to look in the crowd for a huntress or to seek a cart with carcasses.”
“Where’s this market?”
He pointed toward the huge tower in the center of town.
Tanis considered her options. There weren’t many, and she wasn’t about to chase down the man with those hides. Not unless she could legally beat him.
Which was probably a bad idea. The last thing she wanted was to be arrested or beaten, or whatever it was that humans did to punish those who broke their laws.
So, she focused on the little boy’s needs. “Let’s try your market and see if I have better luck negotiating for meat.”
What she knew about people was that they liked to prey on those who were weaker. If she was with the boy, maybe she could keep him from being victimized.
And if they were really lucky, she might run into Dash and Halla there. They would definitely help them.
He hesitated , then took her hand. She allowed him to lead her through the crowd until they came to an area where merchants gathered.
It seemed harmless enough. Until she saw two thieves steal a man’s purse. Laughing, the one who cut the strings tossed the small bag to his companion, who pocketed it and then dodged madly into the crowd.
The man they’d robbed shouted , then took off running after them.
Humans...
Things such as that never happened in Indara. Her father’s watch would have a thief roasted alive. It explained why humans weren’t allowed in their kingdom without an escort. And even then, only for a limited time.
“You’d best clutch your coin tight, boy.”
He let go of her to hold his coin in both hands, under his chin. “Me name’s Arthur.”
She smiled at him. “I like your name. It’s very regal, Arthur. My name’s Tanis.”
That made him smile back at her. He was rather pleasant. Very sweet. She’d had no idea that human children could be so adorable. Or cute.
“Wart!”
The boy cringed at the loud shout. “Me father calls me Wart ’cause he says I’m a useless wart on his arse.”
Tanis saw the stout, angry man storming in their direction. She could tell by the anger lines that were permanently seared into his skin that this was a man who seldom smiled. Scowling was his natural state. And he rubbed her the wrong way completely.
Without a word, he grabbed Arthur and backhanded him. “Where’s the meat I told you to get?”
“P-p-please, Father.” Arthur tried to break free.
“I’m not your father, brat! I’m just the one who got stuck raising you.”
When he moved to strike the boy again, Tanis caught his arm. “Enough!”
He turned on her with a sneer. “You need a slap, too?” he snarled at her.
A deep, resonant voice spoke before she had a chance. “Not if you want to keep your arm attached to your body.”
Only one creature growled like that.
Dash.
Her gaze went past the bitter man to...
Whoa. She couldn’t breathe or move as she beheld the handsomest, most splendid male she’d ever seen. With long, wavy, black hair that reached to his shoulders, he towered over Arthur’s father. Power and lethal strength bled from every pore of his body.
He was fierce and massive. A natural predator.
The dragon in her recognized his kind. This one was a true dragon slayer. A warrior of unparalleled skill and cunning.
That was her thought, until she met his eyes.
A vibrant, unholy green, filled with fury. A most unusual color she’d seen only one other time...
Her unicorn.
So... dragons weren’t the only ones unicorns could turn human. And it explained so much. It made her wonder if that was why her father had always been opposed to their kind.
Did all dragons know the unicorns could shift, or was she the only one ignorant of it?
“Who do you think you are?” the human sneered at Dash.
A wicked smile spread across the unicorn’s sharp, chiseled human features. “The one who will rip your arm off and beat you with it if you don’t find another place to assault with your stench.”
Arthur’s father bristled. It was obvious he wanted to argue. But his common sense prevailed. He was no match for the unicorn, and they all knew it.
When he started away with Arthur in tow, Dash stopped him. “You won’t be needing that .”
“He’s me boy.”
“You said he wasn’t,” Dash reminded him.
That sneer returned as he flung Arthur away from him. “Fine. Take him. He’s useless, anyway.”
Dash caught the befuddled boy and waited until the old man had vanished in the crowd.
Tears streaked down Arthur’s face. “What am I to do now?”
“Live.” Dash ruffled his hair. “I know someone who’ll care for you and not beat you.”
Arthur looked up with hopeful eyes. “Really?”
With a tender smile, Dash nodded. “You shouldn’t have to pay for your life with pain, little one. Never let anyone make you feel that you’re less.” He set the boy on his feet. “Hally?” Tanis smiled at the nickname Dash used for Halla whenever he asked her to do something for him. He always said it like an endearment.
Once again in human form, the hobgoblin stepped forward. “Aye, lord?”
“Take the boy to Ector and ask him to squire him for me.”
Halla arched a pale brow. “You certain? Last time we were there, Ector wasn’t so kind. He rather took issue with you, as I recall.”
Dash snorted. “Ector will get over it. Besides, this one has a destiny. Ector will be grateful to have him in his household. Trust me. And if he gives you grief, remind the surly old bastard that he owes me a favor. Tell him to take care of our Arthur. Otherwise, he’ll answer to me.”
With a curt nod, Halla took Arthur and left.
Tanis glanced around to make sure no one else was paying attention to them. “So... I’m not the only one you can make human, I see.”
Dash started to lie to her, but what was the use? Lies weren’t a unicorn trait. And he had much more important things to do.
“It’s not something we talk about.”
“Understood... and thank you for helping Arthur.”
Her gratitude embarrassed him. He wasn’t used to people showing appreciation where he was concerned. Only anger, resentment and demands.
Even Halla.
No, especially Halla.
Her smile turned speculative. “So... my lord, thought you didn’t want to get involved with others. Why the sudden change for the boy?”
“No change. I didn’t want the boy hurt.”
“Or me?”
He sensed that she was teasing him. “That, too, would have been unfortunate. Especially before you’ve had a chance to wreak your vengeance.”
“Indeed. But may I ask why you care?”
Dash wished he had an answer for her. It wasn’t like him to care at all. He just didn’t like to see others suffering. Not after what they’d done to him when he’d been a colt.
And while she was beautiful, it was a fa?ade. This wasn’t her real body.
You know better.
The magick that allowed them to shape - shift didn’t naturally make someone beautiful. Like a unicorn horn, it echoed what was on the inside.
An ugly soul manifested as a hideous beast.
No one could hide their true nature from his spell. So, for the dragon to be so fair...
She was as naive inside as his sister had been.
And that naivete had killed Renata. She’d refused to see the ugliness that others hid so carefully. To believe darkness could devour all light. And that the goodness in her soul could become the ultimate weapon that an enemy would use against her.
Or him.
“You’ve yet to answer my question, Lord Unicorn.”
“What do you want me to say, Dragon? That I care for you?”
She burst out laughing.
He arched a brow.
“You were joking, were you not?” she asked.
In truth, he didn’t know. The last three days with her had been... he didn’t know how to describe it. He wanted to strangle her more times than not. She teased him when she shouldn’t and even took delight in it. Even more stunning, he’d teased her back.
And yet...
There was something about her that he found...
He had no words. Interesting didn’t explain it.
Quirky? No.
Beguiling? Definitely not.
She was under his skin in a way that was both chafing and pleasant. How that was possible, he didn’t know.
The dragon challenged him. Made him think of things he didn’t normally consider. Most of all, she wasn’t afraid of him, and he found that refreshing.
That’s because she has no idea who you are.
Probably. Those who knew him were terrified of his wrath. Well, most who knew him. Halla didn’t fear him because she’d been his father’s court jester. She foolishly believed her position protected her.
As for Ryper...
No one knew his mind. Ryper had a death wish and feared nothing and no one.
As for the other Outlaws, most of them were like Ryper and didn’t care if they lived or died. Therefore, they feared nothing.
Not even him.
But that wasn’t what drew him to the dragon. It had to be something else. Not that it mattered. Whatever it was, he was in a state of constant arousal around her, and it wasn’t just sexual.
Yes, he was physically attracted to her, but she stimulated much more than just his cock. She kept him on edge and sharp.
No one had ever done that before.
And he strangely liked it.
She was a unique creature and while he didn’t know what these feelings were that he had for her, they were unlike any he’d ever felt for anyone else. “Do you really value yourself so little, Dragon?”
Tanis paused at his peculiar question. “We don’t know each other. At all. It’s far more likely that my magick you took is playing havoc with you.”
That intrigued him. “How so?”
“Dragons are made of fire and venom. Unicorns are made of... well, unicorn magick, whatever that is... fluff and glitter.”
“Fluff and glitter?” Offended, he quirked one handsome brow at her. “You think I can’t handle your fire?”
“I would think it a burden, yes.”
He snorted. “As I said earlier, you don’t weigh enough to be a burden to me.”
She gave him a goofy look as she held her hands up to indicate her body. “Only in this form. If I were a dragon, my weight would crush you... and it would have been my foot on your rump to hold you down.”
“As long as you were keeping me from foolishness, I’d welcome it.”
His confession surprised her. “Truly?”
“Why do you think I haven’t speared Halla over her incessant digs and impudence?”
Tanis paused at that. “I hadn’t given it any thought.”
“Perhaps you should. I value prudence and intelligence, even when it’s not my own. And sometimes, especially because it’s not my own. And for the record, unicorns are not fluff and effing glitter. Contrary to popular opinion, we don’t fart or piss rainbows.” He actually shuddered.
Dumbfounded, she watched as he headed off into the crowd. How strange that she’d taken him as arrogant.
Now that she thought about it, he wasn’t. He did actually listen to Halla’s advice a great deal. And unlike her, he watched and weighed matters before he acted. He was very thoughtful. Circumspect.
There was something deeper inside him. Something...
He was vanishing! Oh, he was leaving!
Her heart skipped as she realized that fact.
Not wanting to be left alone again in this world that she really didn’t understand, she ran after him. It wasn’t weakness that made her follow. Just confusion. She hadn’t tried to live among human people, only to escape them.
Dash seemed to know a good deal about the human realm... like his friend he’d told Halla to take Arthur to. Unlike her, he wasn’t a stranger in these lands.
Prudence dictated that she at least remain friendly with Dash until she found her dragon slayer fraud.
So, she headed after him.
And as she followed, she noticed how much attention he drew from others. Men and women. Especially the women.
It wasn’t just that he was handsome and well-dressed in his black leather armor and cloak. It was how he carried himself. With the confident swagger of a beast well accustomed to respect and victory. To command.
By that cocky swagger, it was obvious his conquests weren’t just on the battlefield.
Yet he paid no attention to any of the people he passed. He strode forward with a determined stride that made her very curious about him. All the time she’d been held captive by her last unicorn master, she’d never cared to learn anything about unicorns or anyone else. She’d hated them all and wanted them dead.
This time, she was curious.
Baracus had never shifted forms around her. He’d been a gray, filthy horse with an equally gray horn. While he’d spoken to others, he’d never once deigned to speak to her.
Not even when she’d killed him for her freedom.
There had been nothing remotely appealing about him.
Unlike Dash, who bled sex appeal from every molecule of his body.
For the first time in her life, she felt attraction for someone, and it terrified her. It was so unexpected. Because of what Baracus had done to her, she’d never, ever looked at another male of any species and found them attractive.
Never looked at anyone.
She’d expected to live out the rest of her life alone and chaste.
But as she watched Dash, she wanted to touch his hair and see if it was as soft as his mane had been.
Don’t you dare!
Men were cruel and hateful. She knew that better than anyone. So were women. Sometimes even more so. No one could be trusted. Not for anything.
Her heart had been shattered and she would never trust anyone again.
They were enemies and they must remain so. She was nothing to Dash other than a servant he’d bargained for, and that was all she’d ever be. There was no need to ever delude herself with stupidity. Her days of dreaming and believing that the world was a kind and decent place were over.
He thought of her the same way he did Halla. A burden that followed him around.
She was no longer that little dragon in the valley who believed in fairytales. In the kindness of strangers. That one day she might find someone she could share her life with. A wonderful life partner who would value her and treasure her. Treat her with respect... like Davin did with Marla.
That would never be her life. And thinking about it would only lead to more heartbreak and sorrow.
Dash was here for the same reason she was.
Vengeance.
Her father had always called her an impetuous daydreamer. It was why he’d blamed her for running into the snare that had cost her two years of her life.
Get your head out of your ass, Tanis. Just because you can fly doesn’t mean you can keep your head in the clouds. You need to pay attention to what’s right in front of you!
But there had been nothing to pay attention to.
To this day, her father blamed her for everything that had happened. Blamed her for being taken against her will.
Don’t think about it.
And don’t think about Dash. He was definitely off limits.He slowed his pace as they neared a building with a white shield hanging outside. It had a red hand holding a gold cup painted on it.
To her surprise, he opened the door and allowed her to enter first.
Then, he took her arm.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Keeping you safe.”
Her first instinct was to be offended and to tell him that she could take care of herself. But as she noticed the attention on her from the building’s occupants, she was very grateful for his consideration. “Thank you.”
This was a den of thieves and cutthroats who made their living preying on others. There was no mistaking the nasty, barbaric clientele. As a fellow predator, she easily recognized their breed, and she wasn’t really looking for a bar fight with them.
They would have gladly challenged her, thinking they could overpower her and prove themselves at her expense. Some she could have taken in a fight.
Several, she’d have to work for.
But there were a number of them that would be very iffy and some she’d definitely lose to.
And that wasn’t counting the two in back who could quash her like a bug.
That being said, Dash was easily the deadliest creature here, and they all knew it, too. So, they stepped aside as he walked through them and gave him space, and her deference because she was with him.
He headed to the bar where the keeper stood with a nasty glower on his face. Even when they approached, he offered no greeting. Just a grim sneer that acknowledged their presence.
Dash pulled out a gold coin and placed it on the counter. “I’m looking for a man with a distinct spiral gold wand. I was told he was heading this way, and I’m hoping he came in here to run his mouth and brag.”
The keeper took the coin and examined it before he slid it into the pocket of his tunic. “Not a man. You’re looking for the Imp Peddler.”
Dash narrowed his gaze. “Pardon?”
“That’s the name he goes by. He was in here saying he was planning to auction off all kinds of items in a sennight. Wanted us to know where to go if we were interested. Told me to let my clients know about the auction. More the merrier, he said. He’s hoping to get enough money to be richer than a dragon in a gold mine.”
Tanis felt her heart race at something she hadn’t considered before. It sickened her to think about someone holding an auction to bid for her brother. “Did he have a dragon’s skull, too?”
He pointed to a hand-drawn poster on the wall beside the bar that had information written on it. “The so-called dragon slayer with him said he had one. But if you ask me, the boy looked more like a peasant farmer.”
The keeper wiped at his nose. “’Course, I think it’s all fake shite they either made or found. But if you want to waste your fool money on what they’re selling, be my guest. They’re holding their auction at the Sester castle in Pagos.”
There was a strange light in Dash’s emerald eyes as he looked at the list on the poster. Tanis moved closer to read it while the keeper kept talking.
“I don’t remember everything the drunkard was rambling on about. Golden wand stood out ’cause the imp was showing it off, threatening to use it. Said he could turn us into crickets or maggots. The boy braggart said he’d cleaved the skull from a dragon prince in a fierce battle when he’d gone to Indara to visit. As if anyone with sense would ever venture there.” He paused to think for a moment. “Seems like the imp said he had red fairy tears, supposedly from a queen what was in love with one of them. Penis from a virgin troll. Twelve feathers from a gray battle gryphon. Flayed skin of a murderer what was hanged on a rainy night. Crazy shite such as that. Other than the magic wand, I have no idea why anyone would want any of the rest of it.”
A man to the right of her started laughing. “I do. The imp swore you could combine the lot of them into a spell that he was selling with it.”
“Spell for what?” Tanis asked.
He took a deep swig from his mug before he answered. “They’re all the ingredients you’d need to kill the vilest bastard in this world.”
She still had no idea who that was.
Not until a man on her left spat on the floor and sneered. “Wish it was true. If I thought for one minute you could cast a spell to kill the unicorn king and take his place, I’d be the first to outbid them all for it.”
“Unicorn king?” she repeated.
The keeper looked at her wryly as if she was as daft as she felt. “Deciel Coeur de Noir. The bastard what rules all Thirteen Kingdoms. Who wouldn’t want to kill him?”
Tanis gasped as that name went through her head like a clap of thunder, and she turned to stare at the man who wasn’t really a man standing right beside her.
The black unicorn.
Deciel Coeur de Noir. Dashell ... Blackheart.
Dash.
Fuck me.