Chapter 19
T anis knew she didn’t have long. The spell that Marthen had cast to make her a dragon again would burn out quickly. But she couldn’t breathe.
Couldn’t think.
Her father was dead.
Pain and agony burned deep inside her, and all she could see was her sister’s smug face when they’d spoken before the fighting began.
Ragna had done this. She’d murdered her own father and had known what she’d done while pretending to be on her side.
She lied to me! The fury inside her was absolute.
Even now, Tanis could see the little elfin girl Dash had brought into the tunnels... Alys. She’d been sobbing.
“It was awful! They had a huge dragon head they threw over wall that almost landed on me. They said the king dragon was dead, and that the dragons and centaurs are united against us! We’re all going to die!”
The king dragon was dead. Those words kept echoing in her ears.
Ragna had killed their father. Which meant the bitch must have killed Davin, too. And for what? A fucking throne?
For power?
Tanis was sick to her stomach. How could Ragna do such a thing? Nothing was worth the life of their family. Nothing!
None of this made sense. Their father had actually loved Ragna. Had treated her with respect. He’d never said the horrible things to her sister that he’d said to Tanis, and she would never have considered killing him. She’d never even said a hateful or disrespectful word in his presence. How could Ragna be such a bitch?
She’d never understand this.
And Davin?
He’d loved Ragna. Had doted on Ragna as much as he’d doted on her and Reva. His sisters had been his world.
What is wrong with you, Ragna?
Why had she played this game with all of them? Acting like she cared? Like she’d come here to fetch Tanis home, when clearly, she had no intention of doing so?
Had she planned to kill her, too?
Or was there something else?
At least now she understood why none of it had seemed right. It hadn’t been.
Ragna had come here to kill the elves and kill Dash. To take their kingdoms.
Now, all Tanis wanted from Ragna was blood and vengeance.
Flying up to the sky, she headed straight for the older sister she’d once worshiped and thought the world of. The same sister whose throat she now wanted to claim.
Shocked to see her there, Ragna pulled back. “Tanis?”
“You... fucking bitch! How could you!” Tanis rammed straight into her side and sent her flying sideways.
Ragna righted herself , then glared at her. “What are you doing?”
Tanis spit fire at her sister. “You killed our father and brother!”
Ragna rolled, trying to catch her with her claws.
Tanis slapped her aside with her tail. “How could you?”
When her soldiers tried to assist Ragna, Tanis sprayed her hottest fire at them. “Stay out of this,” she warned them as she turned a small circle. “This is between me and Ragna.”
Ragna glared at her. “I thought you were human?”
“You wish!” She slapped her again with her tail, then caught her with her claws. “You killed my brother!”
Ragna twisted out of her hold. “He deserved it. He was weak.”
Tanis screamed , then released a steady stream of bitter fire spray at her. It was the kind that burned to the core of whatever it touched.
Ragna ducked then caught her with a vicious blow.
Her rage was so great that she barely felt it. Instead, she wrapped her body around her sister and pulled her down to the ground where she slammed Ragna so hard that it left a crater in the earth.
Ragna groaned in pain.
Pulling her back up into the air, Tanis again rammed her into the ground with as much force as she could muster. Given how much larger she was than Ragna, it was no small amount.
She repeated that four more times. And still she wasn’t appeased. Tanis wanted to feel her sister’s blood spray all over her.
When she lifted her up to do it again, Ragna screamed. “Stop!”
“Why should I?”
“You’re killing me.”
“Good. You deserve to die.” Tanis meant those words with every fiber of her being. In that moment, nothing would please her more than to see Ragna in pieces. It was what she deserved.
If you weren’t dragon enough to stop them, then you deserve what they did to you. How many times had Ragna said those cruel, vicious words to her?
Ragna had laughed over the brutality of what the humans and Brutus had done to her. Had relished in the death of their brother at the hands of a dragon slayer.
You don’t want to be Ragna...
Tanis froze as that one reality sank in.
It was true. She didn’t want to be the monster her sister had become. Unable to feel for others. Unable to be kind or caring.
The monster who’d killed her own brother.
Their father.
One who’d mocked her little sister for being raped.
No, she didn’t want to be Ragna. Not for anything.
Instead, she flew to her sister’s guard and did what she’d never dared before. She held her head high. “I am your Crown Princess Tanis Dragomir and by all sovereign rights of my birth, I relieve my sister of her command due to her acts of treason against our beloved king and crown prince. All of you are to immediately stand down and return to Indara where you are to lock her up until the Regent Queen Marla and the Elder Council determines Princess Ragna’s fate.”
Tanis turned her attention to Erstl, Ragna’s second-in-command. “Understood?”
He inclined his head to her. “Yes, princess.”
Ragna started toward her, but Erstl caught Ragna and pushed her back. “You think this is over?” she snarled at Tanis.
“Until I get home, I do.”
Growling, she struggled against Erstl. “Let me go! I command you!”
He held her fast. “Sorry, princess. I can’t do that.” He met Tanis’s gaze, then inclined his head to her. “I’m under orders that I can’t break.”
Ragna continued to curse her as he hauled her away. “She’s not your commander. I am!”
For once, they didn’t listen to Ragna.
Tanis scowled as she saw one of the smaller dragons in their group. With purple and gold ombre scales, and a beautiful yellow tail, she was one Tanis hadn’t seen in a long time. “Keegan?”
Keegan paused before she came back toward her. “Princess?”
“I didn’t realize you flew with my sister.”
Back in the day, Keegan had been one of Tanis’s closest friends. But after her return, Keegan’s father had refused to allow Keegan near her. No one wanted her taint to adhere to them by association.
Keegan nodded bashfully. “I didn’t know about His Majesty. I’m so sorry.”
“Are you loyal to the High King?”
Her black wings fluttered. “I’m loyal to Indara.”
Tanis would accept that as a yes. “Then you’ll follow my orders?”
“Of course, Highness.”
“Without question?”
Keegan frowned. “I don’t understand.”
“I’m under a spell, Keegan. When it ends, I’ll need protection. Will you give it to me?”
“Absolutely. It would be my honor to protect you, princess.”
“Even if my form offends you?”
Keegan reared her head back and, in that moment, her formality slipped. “What aren’t you saying to me, Tanny? I know you. What did you do?”
“Something you’ll find offensive. But I need you as a sister. Stick with me, and I’ll see you rewarded.”
Keegan looked back over her shoulder. “I’m going to regret this, aren’t I?”
“You just joined my sister in a rebellion where my father was beheaded. One where my sister killed my brother. This may be the only chance you have to save your life.” And it was only because of their friendship when they were hatchlings that she was offering it to Keegan.
In spite of everything, they had been close. It wasn’t Keegan’s fault that she’d been too afraid to stand up to her father. Tanis wouldn’t fault her for that.
Tanis held her tail up. “Sisters again?”
Tears misted in Keegan’s eyes. “I’ve missed you.” She wrapped her tail around Tanis’s so that she could shake it. “And I will protect you. Even if you offend me.”
Her heart pounding, Tanis hovered in the air with Keegan until they were sure the rest of the dragons were returning to Indara. Then, they turned their attention to the gryphons who’d pulled back from the battle out of confusion.
Without the dragons to lead them, they were hesitant to attack for either side.
Tanis arched a brow. “Who leads the gryphons?”
To her surprise, it wasn’t one of the older gryphons. He was much younger. “I’m General Brychan. Who are we fighting for, Commander?”
Commander... there was a title Tanis had never held before. Strangely, she liked it. “Protect the High King and elves. Destroy the centaurs and their allies.”
“Fair enough.” He nodded. “Gryphons! Feast!”
Keegan clicked her teeth. “Never fought for an elf before. Bet they roast up nicely.”
“Let’s not try them out. Please.”
She actually pouted. “But they look so edible.”
Tanis was so glad Dash couldn’t hear those words. “Roast the centaurs instead. I hear they have leaner meat.”
“Oh. Why didn’t you say so?” Keegan took off after the gryphons.
Scared of what she might have just unleashed, Tanis turned her attention back to their allies below. There were bodies everywhere. So much for joking with Keegan. That sight made her sick to her stomach.
How she hated war.
And her heart remained lodged in her throat until she finally saw the one person she was looking for.
Dash. Still in human form, he was standing beside Dove, Tora and Viggo.
Relief poured through her as she headed for them.
Landing as close to them as she could, she used her tail to knock a centaur flying. “Would you care for a ride out of here, Sire?”
He actually laughed. “There’s no saddle or bridle on you, Dragon.”
She sighed at something she’d forgotten. “True. That does make it rather hard to ride, doesn’t it?”
Turning around, she belched fire into another group of centaurs. “Is it wrong of me that I’ve missed being able to do this?”
Viggo pointed to another group. “Care to aim your fire that way?”
“Sure.” She quickly took care of them.
“Over here!” Tora directed.
Dove rested his axe over his shoulder. “I’m feeling a little useless now that you have a dragon.”
“Two of them, actually.” Tanis jerked her chin toward Keegan who was on the ground, chasing after an entire group of fleeing centaurs.
Dash wiped at the sweat on his forehead. “Have to admit I’m in agreement. But I like being useless in this case.”
In his unicorn form, Ryper came running and skidded to a halt beside them. “When did we get dragons?”
"Long story, but the important thing is we have them now."
Returning to his human body, Ryper winked at Tanis. "Finally, something went our way." No sooner had those words left his lips, then he cringed. “Did I just jinx us?”
“Yes,” Dove and Dash said simultaneously.
As if summoned by Ryper or some spell his spoken words had woven, they heard a resonant cry over the clash of battle.
"Deciel Coeur de Noir! You bastard son of a whore! Come out from hiding behind my inferiors and face me." Ferox fought his way past a group of elves who’d found themselves in the way between the twisted centaur prince and what he foolishly thought was his prey.
Without his contingency of dragons to do his dirty work, Ferox had become desperate. The low life knew it was only a matter of time before his hired mercs turned tail and ran. That was the problem with such soldiers. They were never loyal to the cause.
Only to the coin.
And having winged, fire-breathing soldiers on your side
tended to make even the most craven of creatures brave. But watching that advantage fly off in the middle of battle and abandon you to your enemies would shake the confidence of a loyal army. One that was made up of hired coin?
They weren’t keen on sticking around for a bloodbath. A prince couldn’t pay them if he was dead.
If Ferox didn’t finish this soon, they’d abandon him even faster than the dragons had, and the prince knew it.
It was time to end this.
Dash changed forms and rode out to meet the centaur in the middle of the bailey.
Recognition caused Ferox to snarl as he locked gazes with Dash. The gleam in those dark eyes was one Dash knew intimately.
He’d seen it a thousand times before as he faced his enemies on and off battlefields. That look of dazed bloodlust and maddened fury.
He’d felt it himself more times than he could count. Putrid self-hatred. A need to prove to the world that he wasn’t the shit stain everyone thought him to be. That he was done being kicked and pushed.
There was no sanity inside Ferox. He was only a maddened beast who smelled blood and wanted to tear apart the one he felt had done him wrong.
He didn’t see Dash as a sentient being. Only a target that had to be destroyed.
This wasn’t about honor. It was all about blood.
Ferox ran at him.
Tanis unleashed a stream of fire between them. Ferox pulled back and dodged it then shot an arrow at her.
Turning human, Dash used his powers to deflect the arrow away. The moment he did so, Ferox sneered. “That’s where you were hiding. Were you really that afraid of me?”
“Don’t flatter yourself, you matted up nag. I just didn’t want to catch your fleas.”
Dove sucked his breath in sharply. “He did not just say that.”
Ryper scoffed. “Better than the dart donkey he uses for me whenever I piss him off.”
Ignoring them, Tanis started forward, but before she could take more than a step, she turned human. Dove and Ryper immediately rushed to shield her.
Ferox tsked. “That explains that, doesn’t it?”
“She’s no concern of yours.”
“You’re right. It’s not her head I need to take to my mother. It’s yours.”
Dash stood still as Ferox walked a small circle around him. “I’m giving you one chance to surrender, Ferox. This isn’t your mother’s arena.” And he was no longer the angry colt he’d been there.
Fury no longer ruled him.
His red horn was long gone. Yes, that demon inside still salivated and still wanted to rip out the throat of this centaur or anyone dumb enough to challenge him, but Dash had learned how to cage that part of himself.
He no longer fought his demon. They now snuggled up close and cuddled.
Ferox scoffed at him. “Do you really think you’re going to survive? The kingdoms are at each other’s throats again. Even if you were to kill me, my mother will avenge my death. As will the sons and daughters of all those you’ve slaughtered for your crown. You’ve built your reign on blood and vengeance. Those families will not rest until you pay for your crimes.”
Those words...
Dash froze as they tugged at something in his memory. Something fleeting.
He’d heard them before.
Where?
He couldn’t remember, but it was there. Like a dream he could just barely recall. One that was...
Ferox ran at him.
Growling, Dash parried his sword stroke and drove him back with his powers. He wasn’t about to fall to a centaur. Not today. Not ever.
He might have been bastard born, but he wasn’t the inferior species.
Driving his shoulder into Ferox’s stomach, he forced his enemy to give ground. Ferox tried to slice at his spine, but Dash dodged the blow and landed a blast of ice into the centaur’s side.
It knocked Ferox sideways.
And before Dash could reach him, Ferox was surrounded by a bright light that held him immobile. Dash pulled up short and looked around for the source of it.
Marthen.
With his arm outstretched and palm aimed at the centaur, he held Ferox with his powers and used them to lift the centaur off his feet.
“What are you doing, Marthen?” Dash asked.
“Keeping you from killing him.”
“Why would you be so cruel?”
“You know why.”
Because it would begin the very thing Dash was trying to avoid. Unending war. Meara would use this as an excuse to rally the other kingdoms against him even more. He knew it.
As much as it galled him, Marthen was right, and he owed him for having the cooler head.
Hostages were power. He needed this rodent alive.
“Does he have to be returned intact?” Ryper asked.
Dove ran his thumb along the edge of his axe. “Surely, he could be a little worse for the wear?”
Marthen shook his head. “You’re better than that.”
Dove scoffed. “No. I’m really not.”
Neither was Dash. Not deep in his soul. Or even on the surface. He wanted to beat Ferox the way that monster had torn through them when they’d been unable to fight back.
Even now, he could hear the ringing laughter of Ferox and his friends as they tortured them when they’d been children, left in the care of enemies who’d wanted them dead.
He knew that same echoing laughter rang inside Dove’s and Ryper’s souls just as loudly.
They all wanted justice. They salivated for it. And yet again, it would be denied them.
It was insufferable really. When would they get to have their peace?
His gaze went to Tanis, and the fear on her brow as she watched him. It wasn’t fear of him being the demon he knew he could be. She was afraid for him because she cared. She didn’t want him hurt.
That was all that mattered.
Without warning, all that inner fury evaporated. Dash stood there, stunned as it was literally sucked out of every part of his body. He’d never felt anything like it.
After all this time, he had that elusive peace that he’d been seeking the whole of his life.
His friends were alive. Tanis was unharmed. Really, did anything else matter?
This was a victory. Ferox was routed. The centaur soldiers had either fled or thrown down their weapons.
It was over.
They were still standing. Yes, they’d lost some of the elves, but the vast majority of them were alive and unharmed. Their homes and the palace remained intact.
It was enough.
“Put him in chains,” Dash growled.
Ferox shrieked in anger. “You won’t be able to hold your kingdoms. You may wear a crown, but everyone knows that you’re nothing more than an unshodden, half breed dogger!”
There was a time when those words would have driven Dash into a feral rage. Indeed, when he’d been held in Meara’s court, he would have attacked like a mindless colt, intent on nothing more than driving his horn through Ferox’s dead heart.
But he was no longer that same angry unicorn who’d hated his father.
The same ’corn who’d denied his birth and wanted to scream out at the universe for what it’d done to him.
He was the High King.
With a calm, calculated smile, Dash approached Ferox. “I had no control over where and how I started out in this world. But I am High King, and when I march my army into Licordia, and I will, your mother is going to have a very bad day.”
He started to walk away, but he couldn’t quite manage it.
With a glance to Ryper, he turned back toward Ferox. “And I’d rather be an unshodden half-breed than a ridling botfly.”
Ryper shook his head as Dash headed for Tanis.
“Botfly?” she asked.
“You don’t want to know.” Ryper laughed.
It was Dash who answered. “They’re parasitic nasty things.”
She made a face. “So, what’s our plan now?”
“Same as before. I’m going to take back my kingdom.” Only now, he had a renewed purpose and determination.