Truth in the Illusions
When my eyes adjusted, I found myself not in a chokehold out in the fields but tied to a chair in a small stone-walled room with one torch and Payson sitting in front of me.
His hands were on either side of my head near my temples.
Sweat was pouring off his body, and he tried to force me back into the illusion, but it didn’t work for some reason.
His eyes snapped open, and he met my gaze with hatred glaring back at me.
“How the hell did you break out of my trap? There should have been an endless loop of changes when you caught onto something not being right,” he ranted, dropping his hands. “It couldn’t have happened. It shouldn’t have been possible!”
A look of fear passed over his face, and he shot up from his seat and looked around the room wildly.
“No, no, no, no, no, no. He can’t be here.
We got rid of him so this wouldn’t happen!
Where are you hiding, you bastard? I know you’re near…
there’s no other explanation. No dragon can get through my guard. I’ve trained myself too well for that.”
“A dragon didn’t get in, I got out,” I whispered, my throat sore from the illusion of being choked out. “There are things that happen between a black dragon and their pair-bond that nobody knows. I know what’s really going on in the castle, that we are under attack.”
Payson whirled back around to me. “You know nothing! There’s no way you could have bested me!
” He slammed his hands on either side of my head once again and dug his fingers into my scalp.
“There is no one more powerful than the Lost King. He is the only one who has ever been able to free himself. You, a stupid noble woman, could never match the like of a god-made man.”
The roar of a dragon could be heard overhead, and Payson gave me a maniacal grin. “See, he comes for you, little queen. He’s been waiting for the day he could crush the one who is fated to kill him. Just wait, you will become his puppet and beg for death, only to be denied time and time again.”
A creaking noise came from above as someone pulled open the trap door I hadn’t noticed in the gloom.
A figure dressed in all black with a wide hood covering his face dropped down, landing in a crouch.
With the flick of a wrist, he tossed back the hood, and there stood a man who resembled Payson almost identically.
There were subtle differences, like his hair was a slightly darker blond than his brother’s as was his skin, but the piercing light-blue eyes gave him away.
They matched his father’s along with his twin brother.
“How? I killed you. I watched as your body was pulled under the current of the Darsor River. No one could survive the stab wound I gave you to the heart,” Payson screeched as he backed himself as far away from him as he could.
This could only be Paxton, Payson’s missing twin, or so he and their father would lead you to believe.
“Too bad for you that my heart wasn’t in the same place as yours, brother, if you even have one,” Paxton sneered.
“I see that I’ve stayed away for far too long.
Once I heard the Dragon Queen was found, I knew I’d have to come back, seeing as I’m her guardian and all.
” Yanking back his shirt sleeve, there on his arm was my guardian mark.
“Hurt like a bitch and almost cost me my life as I was flying on my dragon at the time.”
“Why do you always take everything away from me? What have I ever done to deserve this kind of life? All I wanted was to be valued, but instead, I was never trusted because of my Birthright. The Lost King saw the gift I could give him… only I could do this job,” Payson snarled as he shoved off the stone wall, lunging at his twin.
Paxton drew a short, slightly curved sword and met his brother head-on. “I will show you one last moment of mercy and end your miserable life quickly. Something you neglected to do for me. But I’ll make sure you don’t come back from the dead.”
With a swift and practiced movement, Paxton sliced his brother’s throat, causing blood to spray all over the room.
Payson’s hot blood burned on my face where it landed, telling me that what my eyes were seeing was not an illusion.
Payson was dead. He’d betrayed me, our people, and tried to hand me over to the Lost King, all for someone to tell him he was valued.
“My Queen, I’m sorry you had to see that,” Paxton said as he sat in the chair across from me and used his cloak to wipe my face. “Are you hurt? Do you know what’s going on?”
Numbly, I blinked at him. I heard what he said, but I couldn’t seem to find the ability to answer.
“We need to get you out of here. The castle has been overrun, and we can’t save it,” Paxton explained as he cut away the ropes holding me.
I reached out, grasped his left arm, pushed back his sleeve, and ran my fingers over his mark. I could feel the raised skin that was like my own before I met his gaze. “How did you find me? Vasin, my dragon couldn’t do that, but you did…”
“My Birthright is to stop others from using theirs. To me, each Birthright feels different, and having known Payson all my life, I could tell it was him. He was trying so hard to break into your mind that he became a beacon, so I followed it. I had no idea you were here, but I’m glad I got to you in time.
I don’t know that anyone else would have found you tucked away in here,” Paxton shared, giving me a tentative smile.
“I know this is a lot to take in, and I want to give you that time, but we can’t wait.
You need to get to safety. If we lose you, we lose all hope of beating that crazy bastard who calls himself king. ”
Gently but firmly, he pulled me up out of the chair.
Once I was standing, he tossed me over his shoulder, causing me to let out a squeak of surprise as he started to climb the ladder.
Out of what I could only guess was once a cellar, Paxton set me down, giving me a chance to look around and see that I was in the barn.
All the horses were gone, but the stalls gave it away.
“Ninnat is waiting right outside. She’ll take us to where the others are,” Paxton coaxed, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. After a few steps, he noticed my limp and scooped me up in his arms. “We’ll have to look at that later, but it doesn’t seem to be bleeding so that’s a good sign.”
“It’s nothing to worry about, just an old injury that’s not quite healed yet,” I murmured as Paxton kicked open the barn door, revealing the chaos of battle.
The glow of the castle was just as real as it had been in the illusion, which made me think that not all of what I’d been seeing was fake.
Paxton turned to the left, and I found myself face-to-face with a stunning golden dragon.
Her scales glistened in the firelight as if they were gems, making her seem as if she was made of liquid metal.
The dragon snuffled me a moment then crooned a sad sound as she shifted so Paxton could hoist me up on her back.
“This is Ninnat, my pair-bond,” Paxton explained as he started to strap me in. “Are the clans at the hideout or still in their normal areas?”
“You know about the hideout?” I questioned, looking at him over my shoulder.
“That happens when your father is a clan leader.” He smirked. “By your reaction, I’m going to guess that’s where they are.”
“No, we can’t leave without the others,” I snapped, the fear of losing them snapping me out of my daze. “If I’m gone, they won’t know what happened to me, and they’ll get themselves killed looking for me.”
“How exactly do you suggest we go about finding them?”
“Give me a moment to reach out to Vasin. He’s been keeping an eye out for them,” I answered as I closed my eyes.
“Please tell me you found them.”
“Cass, what happened? I can feel you now. Are you safe?”
“Yes, it’s a long story that we don’t have time for. Have you found them?”
“I’ve found some. May, Dayson, and Becka got the king and queen out safely, but I haven’t been able to find the others.”
“Where are the ones who got out?”
“I led them away into the woods surrounding the city, but that won’t last long before they are discovered.”
“I’m safe and with a golden dragon myself, but I’m trusting you to keep looking for the others while I get people to safety. The king and queen have their own dragons, so I’ll work on getting a dragon rider to fly the other two out of the city.”
“Is the plan to regroup back at the hideout?”
“Yes, but we will need to evacuate them as well. The Lost King knows everything.”
“One thing at a time, Cass. We will find your men and then get the hell out of here.”
Opening my eyes, I turned slightly to see Paxton’s face. “I’m going to show Ninnat where some of my people are hiding and call over one of the dragon riders to help evacuate.”
“You can do that?”
Now, I smirked back at him. “Being queen gives you some extra perks.”
I settled deeper into my mind and reached out, feeling for one of the dragon riders.
Kormark, one of the Bronze Reapers, is who I found first on his dragon, Grim, who kindly opened up to me.
Then I took a moment to find the king and queen’s dragons, only to discover those two were already guarding the area around where they were hiding.
Satisfied with that, I returned my focus on Grim.
“I need you to come with me to this location. We need to get our people back home.” Grim sent back his acknowledgment and accepted the images of the location Vasin showed me.
I did the same thing to Ninnat, who was more than eager to help in any way she could.
Thankfully, I was strapped in because once she knew where to go, she took off running and leaped into the air.
The rush of wind had me opening my eyes, peering over the side, searching everywhere for any sign of my lost guardians.
“Ah, where exactly are we headed?” Paxton asked.
“The king and queen, along with some of my guardians, are hiding out in the woods. They need to leave the city before they get caught or killed,” I explained, not taking my eyes off the battle.
“You realize talking to different dragons like that isn’t normal, right? Guess if I had any doubt of who you’re supposed to be, that would clear things up for me.” Paxton laughed.
I elbowed him in the gut before I thought it through, causing him to let out a muffled grunt. “This is no time to be making jokes. People’s lives are at stake, and I would appreciate it if you took things more seriously. I will not lose more people than I have to. In my mind, even one is too many.”
“My apologies, Your Majesty. I just can’t believe this is really happening, but you’re right. That’s a conversation for another time.”
Ninnat nimbly sat down near the edge of the forest, and I was already ripping at the straps and tumbling off her back before she tucked her wings. “Dayson. May. Becka.”
I couldn’t see well in the darkness now that the glow of the fire wasn’t lighting everything up.
Dayson was the first to emerge from the forest, and I ran over to him the best I could and all but tumbled into his arms as he rushed toward me.
He swung me up so I could wrap myself around him and bury my face in his neck as he clutched me tightly.
“Thank God you’re safe, Cassy-bear,” he whispered as he kissed the side of my head.
I leaned back and grasped his face in my hands, searching his expression before I kissed him soundly on the mouth. Seeing we had an audience and were in the middle of a battle, it didn’t last long, but I couldn’t stop myself. “Are you all right?”
“I should be asking you that. What happened?” he demanded, his brow creased in worry. “Where is Payson? He was in charge of getting you out and to the meetup point. When we arrived outside the roost, there was no sign of either of you.”
“It’s a long story, and we don’t have time to get into it, but Payson is dead, and his twin, Paxton, rescued me,” I admitted, turning back to where he was still sitting on Ninnat’s back.
Dayson’s eyes grew wide as he set me down and looked up at Paxton. “Where the fuck have you been?”
“Nice to see you too, asshole,” Paxton called back with a grin. “As much as this reunion is lovely, we need to get the hell out of here.”
Gripping Dayson’s arm, I drew his attention back to me.
“Go with the king and queen back to the hideout. I’m going to look for the others.
Kormark will be here shortly to make sure everyone has a ride.
” Dayson looked like he wanted to argue, but I narrowed my eyes at him.
“This is an order from your queen. Get them back to the hideout. Once you’re there, collect the clan leaders, tell them what happened, and that we have to get our people ready to move.
Day… Porvan is a mole for the Lost King.
He will need to be dealt with. Can I trust you to make sure that happens? ”
Dayson’s face sobered, and his gaze grew hard. “As My Queen commands, it shall be done.”
“We will be right behind you once we find them, I promise.”
“You better be, Cassy-bear, or I’ll hunt you down to the ends of the earth,” Dayson promised as he leaned his head against mine, then kissed my forehead. “Go, find the others. I’ll deal with everything else.”