Chapter 19
Chapter
Nineteen
Notice the fire in their eyes. That spark is yours.
-Humaning for Beginners: A Dragon’s Tale of Human Management
DAY SEVEN
We spent the day cloistered together, locked inside my chambers, waiting for the potion. Taron sat at the foot of my bed, hands braced on his knees, his gaze shadowed but steady. I perched atop the dresser, one knee drawn to my chest. Every once in a while, our gazes met, then darted away.
The tension, however, never eased. It thickened the air, stretched the seconds, and wrapped tight around my ribs. The words he’d spoken continued to echo in the quiet places of me:
It’s my life to risk.
I’ve trained for this my whole life. I know what it means, yet I choose you.
I hated dragons, past tense. Then, a redheaded beauty flew into my life and made everything else irrelevant.
They might think I’m a weakness at first, but I promise you, they won’t keep such a falsehood for long.
I understand better now. The power of an ancient bond. The cost of what was demanded of you. The terrible things asked of you.
I want to be with you too much to die.
I couldn’t stop turning the proclamations over and over in my mind, each as sharp as a blade and just as dangerous.
If we broke the bond, and he no longer wanted to face my fire without it, I would lose him.
If we didn’t break the bond, and I burned him like all the others, and he didn’t rise from the ashes, I would lose him.
The shadows of Cedric and Lorik still loomed at the edges of it all, their purpose more ominous than war drums.
Were those traps and border skirmishes real—or misdirection?
Was I running headfirst into their trap?
What was their ultimate plan?
Finally, the door flung open. “It’s ready, it’s ready!” Adelaide burst in, holding a vial of dark liquid aloft like a trophy. My other sisters trailed behind her, faces bright with both excitement and caution. All but Bronwyn, who was logging in her retraining hours before heading for kraken lands.
Taron blinked at the sudden influx of feminine energy. “There’s so many of you.”
Despite everything, my lips twitched. “Imagine holidays.”
He stood. So did I. Without uttering a word, we found each other and clasped hands, our fingers weaving. His grip was firm, grounding. A lifeline in a storm. I clung as if I could anchor myself to him rather than fate.
My heart pounded harder as the girls encircled us.
“You each drink half,” Adelaide explained, beaming. She passed me the vial with reverence. “We’re staying to make sure nothing untoward happens, so don’t even think of kicking us out.”
I stared at the vial before uncorking it with a shaking thumb. An acrid scent rose from it, and that twist in my gut kicked up. Nerves again? Or more?
Taron’s gaze met mine. Not a flicker of hesitation, only steady strength and something I dared not name aloud. Not yet. Not when it might be the last time I ever saw him looking back at me with affection. Longing and hope tangled together and pressed hard against my chest.
I drew in a breath so deep it scraped my lungs. Should I? Shouldn’t I? Was I stepping straight into my father’s plan or shattering it?
Did it even matter? The false bond must be broken. If we didn’t do this, we’d never know if our feelings for each other were genuine or manipulated.
Exhale. I drank. The taste was sharper than poison and bitter as ash, clawing its way down my throat. I shuddered and handed Taron the vial. Without pause, he emptied it and met my gaze again.
We waited. One heartbeat. Two. Ten.
The tonic scorched a hole in my stomach, but nothing else happened.
No shift.
No spark.
Only rising dread that maybe it hadn’t worked.
“Did the recipe say how long it takes to kick in?” I asked Emma, my voice low, wary.
A stricken look crossed her face. “I assumed immediately. But maybe—”
A sudden scream barreled from me, and there was no stopping it as a slicing, rending hurt cleaved straight through my soul.
Blood gushed from my eye sockets, ears and nose.
The fire in my veins? Snuffed in an instant.
My body went cold, wrong, like every cell froze.
My knees buckled, the floor rushing up to meet me.
At the same time, Taron was suddenly yanked off his feet, his limbs stretched by invisible strings. His body arched, head thrown to the side, spine bowed unnaturally. And then—he exploded.
Smokewings burst from his back. The blast wasn’t aimed, just instinct, power venting with nowhere to go, sending my sisters hurtling into the walls with bone-shaking force.
Stone cracked, and dust billowed. Dragonglass oozed from his skin, hardening into jagged scarlet scales.
Claws pushed through his nail beds. His irises blazed with colorful flame.
His mouth split open in a snarl, revealing rows of dagger-sharp teeth.
He landed before me, not broken or dazed but crouched. Ready for battle, every muscle tense, his breath heavy and ragged. Smoke coiled from his nostrils. The ground cracked beneath his feet. And I… I couldn’t feel my dragon.
My breath hitched. My limbs trembled. I reached inward, seeking calm the way I always had, but this time, I found desperation. Nein, nein, nein. Where was the spark that had always been mine? A spark that had come before thought, even breath.
My dragon had never required a harsh summoning before. She was my constant companion. A living flame heating my blood. A promise as constant as the sky.
I reached inward once more, certain I’d find her.
But the fire was just… gone. The connection severed. My dragon remained still. There was no ember. No answering coil of power. Only quiet. A silence that pressed heavy against my heart.
Whatever the tonic had done, it had ripped something vital from me—and awakened a monster in him.
Dread punched my every cell all at once. It was true. The undeniable proof stood breathing smoke before me.
Only one explanation made sense. I’d given my beast to him. The very core of my being.
Realization burrowed deep. I did this to him. Me. I’d pushed for this.
So had he, ja, but facts didn’t dilute consequences. Looking at Taron now, the agony of it all ripped me to shreds. I’d destroyed yet another Locke, just in a different way. I’d gambled and lost, but this time, the price was the professor’s humanity.
Horror bubbled up, choking me. I’d been so certain of our success, I’d missed Cedric and Lorik’s ultimate plan. I hadn’t outsmarted or outmaneuvered my enemies. I’d turned myself into a weapon they used to bring down the man I loved. And myself.
“Nein,” I whispered. “Nein, nein, nein.”
My sisters recovered and rushed toward us, but the now powerful and feral Taron saw only danger, not allies. He launched into attack mode, a flash of smoke and scale. One after the other, my sisters fell around me. Not dead. Injured. And increasingly ticked off.
I didn’t know if he lashed out to protect me, or to destroy anything that dared come near him.
Maybe both. “Stop,” I cried, voice ragged.
“Please!” Somehow, I found the strength to hurl myself into the chaos, throwing my body in front of Adelaide just as she rose, fists clenched, ready to launch an attack of her own.
Too late.
Taron’s new claws sliced across my midsection. The pain was blinding and all-consuming, but this time, it wasn’t soul-deep or symbolic. This was real. Raw. Human.
This body I lived in now could break. No fire waited at the ready. No supernatural healing or wings to catch me when I fell.
Another scream tore from my throat as I hit the ground again, warmth blooming through my shirt. Blood gurgled up my windpipe, choking me. My vision blurred. And then—
He stopped.
Taron loomed over me, his chest heaving. When my gaze met his, confusion flickered. Then horror. Bit by bit, shame overtook him, snuffing out his fire. His smokewings disintegrated into ash. His scales began to rain over the ground.
He dropped to his knees beside me, reaching out with trembling hands. A broken sound rumbled from his chest. A sound, not quite a roar, not quite a sob, but something in between, shattered and soul-sick.
My sisters didn’t hesitate. They seized him from behind and wrestled him to the floor. Adelaide retrieved the Chains of O from my safe because, of course, she knew the code.
“They’re gone,” she bellowed.
Nein! Dark spots were weaving through my mind, stealing my thoughts. The girls fought to secure Taron’s wrists.
Frieda, ever the healer, dropped to her knees beside me and got to work.
Time fractured as I slipped in and out of consciousness, Taron’s guttural roars dragged me back each time I floated too far. As a warrior queen, I’d known pain, but this was different. Always before, I’d had hope.
This might be my end.
Still, I fought. Eventually, blackness won.
A dream plagued me. My father, laughing, proclaiming, “The Yrnblade Dagger doesn’t create bonds, daughter. It never did. It amplifies what already exists. What is fated. Aligned. Inevitable.”
I shook my head. That couldn’t be right. Except, my feelings for Taron remained. They hadn’t gone away with my dragon. Which meant they were real. They’d always been real. Heartbreakingly so. Not forged by the Yrnblade but revealed by it.
A new laugh echoed, sharp and satisfied. “As the primordial, I took measures to protect my crown. Manipulated the blade’s mythology to ensure you and your man had an excuse to adventure together. To hasten what was already there and make it impossible to ignore. Lorik helped.”
He paused, waiting as my mind tried to comprehend the sheer cruelty of his plan.
“I sense your confusion. Let me help you understand,” he said, smooth satisfaction lacing every word. “The Chains of O only answer to your dragon. Your blood and your tears. Roland swiped them for me. So I can summon you when the time is right.”
Oh, ja, I’d begun to see. Revenge. Thirst for power. My father got both in a single swipe.