Chapter 9
9
Zabriel
T he last of my rut’s fever still clings to me two days later when I assemble with my council in the War Room. Isavelle is by my side, and I crave my Omega’s scent so much that I can’t resist dipping my head down to press my nose into the nape of her neck now and then. I wish for nothing more than to take her to bed, but my chest is no longer aching, and my head is clear, and there are things that must be done. If we are to defeat Emmeric, there is no time to lose.
Around the war table are my most trusted allies who proved themselves to me when we liberated the villagers of western Maledin. These are the men and women who followed Isavelle’s orders to the letter while I was recovering. Sundra, Ashton, and Stesha, each representing the guards, the wingrunners, and the dragons. Zenevieve is also here, standing back against one wall. She asked Isavelle permission to be present at the next meeting that concerns the southern barrier, though I’m not sure why.
The four of us talk through the best placement for the army at the southern barrier, and Isavelle relays to everyone what she saw when she fled Emmeric’s castle.
But all of this is mere conjecture if the southern barrier isn’t brought down.
“Someone must speak with the Alpha of the wild flare and let him know the time when we will need his assistance is almost upon us,” I say.
The Alpha of the wild flare is a polite way of saying Kane, the former witchfinder no one likes, trusts, or wishes to see ever again. All the former witchfinders in Maledin have been pardoned for what they were forced to do to witches under the Brethren, and though Kane hates the Brethren, he acts as though he was personally victimized by witches, and he seems to miss torturing and killing them.
“I will go, Ma’len ,” Ashton volunteers.
“No, allow me.” Stesha’s voice is casual, but there’s flint in his pale blue eyes.
It would be a wonderful idea to send either of them if I wished for blood to be spilled. Unfortunately, I need Kane in one piece for now. “Thank you for the offer, but I will go myself.”
Sundra looks uncertain. “ Ma’len , surely that is too great a compliment to pay the man who attacked our flare. If you wish for someone neutral to speak with Kane, send me. I have no desire to shred scales.”
There’s merit in what she says, but I shake my head. “I don’t like the man, but unless his dragon tears him to pieces, we have to find a way to live alongside him. Kane will have one more chance to prove he can be an ally, or at the least, a neutral presence in the west.”
This time, no one is going to take Ravenna from him, and with his Omega by his side, maybe the man will be able to think rationally. I know I would want nothing but bloodshed if someone stole Isavelle from me, even if I deserved it.
Isavelle touches my sleeve and gazes up at me with worried eyes. “Can I come with you? I wish to see Ravenna.”
My refusal leaps to my tongue. It drives me crazy whenever Isavelle leaves my side or my bed, but automatically refusing her request makes me feel like my tyrant father. I hesitate, and then swallow down my impulse. Besides, Isavelle probably won’t see Ravenna, but Kane will see how another Alpha treats his witch Omega with protection and adoration.
“I doubt you will see her,” I say gently. “A threatened Alpha prefers to hide his precious Omega away.”
Isavelle nods sadly. “You are probably right, but I would like to come all the same. Perhaps she’ll sense that a friend is close, and it will give her comfort.”
“You may come with me, but you must stay atop Scourge. I can’t protect you from Auryn. Scourge is the only one who can do that. Do you swear it?”
She nods. “I swear it, Zabriel.”
The urge to kiss her is strong, and I give in to it, pressing my mouth to hers in a swift kiss. Everyone should know that the king honors and adores his Omega. This is the Maledin I’m building.
“All right,” I murmur, facing the others and turning my thoughts away from bedding Isavelle and back to the business at hand. “Presuming Kane keeps his word—” Stesha makes a tch sound. “—we will attack Emmeric’s stronghold in a matter of days.”
“And if he doesn’t?”
I don’t believe in mincing words. “Then we’re fucked. For now. But we’ll by no means be out of options. Kane isn’t the only warlock in Maledin, and we have other powerful allies. Is the army prepared? Are the dragons in good wing? The wyverns?” I look from Sundra to Stesha and then to Ashton. Each of them nods sharply.
“We are ready, Ma’len ,” Sundra says.
“Then I want a group of dragons and two units of wingrunners to lead the attack. I will lead the dragons and we will lay fire. The wyverns will swiftly take out the mages before they can begin casting spells on the dragons. Esmeral was incapacitated by a lightning spell once, so we must expect such things again, and more. Once the army has made it through the barrier, we will regroup and push forward. What do we think of the plan?”
Everyone nods in agreement, and we decide which dragons should lead the attack.
Zenevieve has been silent throughout the meeting, but now she speaks up. “ Ma’len , I wish to speak with you of Shar, Emmeric’s dragon.” For a moment she seems to flounder and nearly lose her nerve. “My memories are still in pieces, but I think I saw him when I was Emmeric’s prisoner. Isavelle described what she saw when Emmeric kidnapped her, and it hurts every day thinking of Shar locked away in chains and suffering. He’s a prisoner, cut off from the flare, and he needs to come home.”
When Isavelle was kidnapped by Emmeric, she found the beautiful black and midnight blue dragon unconscious but alive in the castle. I agree, it’s abhorrent that a dragon be treated in such a way.
Stesha has his arms folded as he watches Zenevieve speak. “If Lady Isavelle describes to me the place where Shar is imprisoned, I can wait for an opening in the battle, find the dragon, and assess his condition.”
“He is on the south side of the castle beneath a tower, and he’s in chains,” Isavelle tells him. “Magical chains. But even if you managed to unlock them, I didn’t see any way out of that tower for a dragon.”
He thinks on this a moment. “Nilak and I have destroyed a few buildings in our time. We can find a safe place to break the tower open, though the chains are another matter. If I can’t release Shar, I will guard him until the battle is over and the warlock can free him. Assuming the warlock is still around.” Stesha sneers slightly as he mentions Kane.
“All right,” I say with a nod. Shar belongs here with us, and it will mean Emmeric has one less ally and one less source of power if he’s using dragon magic to support the lich’s necromancy.
Zenevieve turns to the dragonmaster. “Please, let me come with you, dragonmaster. Minta is dead, and I… Shar always trusted me. I can calm him if he panics.”
Zenevieve’s dragon Minta and Emmeric’s dragon Shar were nestmates. She wants to save her dragon’s brother, and when she brings him home, she no doubt wants to bond with him. If she does, her hair will turn black again, and she’ll look more like the Zenevieve we knew and adored. The Zenevieve who was happy and carefree, though instead of Minta’s emerald green, her eyes will darken to Shar’s midnight blue with a golden ring around her irises.
Stesha watches her in silence. Finally, he nods.
All the tension in Zenevieve’s shoulders unclench, and she steps back, murmuring in relief, “Thank you, dragonmaster.”
The far east of Maledin is a windswept landscape of hills, valleys, and rocky outcrops. Sparse woodlands are scattered here and there, but the land is too bleak and remote for farmers. Wild dragons have favored this place over the centuries, hiding in the canyons and attacking riders unawares. Kane’s dragon, Auryn, is a descendant of Golden Terror, one of the most vicious wild dragons in Old Maledin.
As we fly over on Scourge, I hold Isavelle tight in my arms and search the ground for the place that Stesha described. I feel little difference in her body with my arm wrapped around her waist, but her scent is rich with new life. The child growing inside her is barely noticeable to anyone except me.
I asked Isavelle this morning if she truly wished to make this journey with me and face an Alpha who despises her existence, and her pretty face was troubled but resolute.
“When I think of Ravenna, there’s the same sadness inside me that I carried knowing my father and sister were trapped by Emmeric. She’s not blood family, but a fellow witch feels like a sister, and I want her to come home as soon as possible. If she can’t do that yet, I want to see for myself how Kane is treating her, or at least for Ravenna to know that she hasn’t been forgotten.”
I recognized that need she has, and though it makes my Alpha snarl and rage to put my mate in peril, I carried her up onto my dragon.
Below, I spy a clearing shaped like a waxing crescent moon, the place close to the wild flare that Stesha described, and I realize we have arrived. There’s no sign of Auryn, but I can feel the piercing sensation of dragine eyes on us as my enormous black dragon alights on the ground.
“What happens now?” Isavelle asks, gazing around.
“We wait.” Searching for Kane or the wild flare would be a mistake. It takes little to offend those who are protective about their territory, and no one is more protective than a dragon.
“What if he doesn’t come?”
“He’ll come.” Kane will have seen us in the skies and his curiosity will get the better of him. I haven’t forgotten the first time I encountered him. He was hungry to meet another Alpha and understand what he was.
From the west, there’s the sudden, angry bellow of a dragon, and a moment later, the screams of several more. Scourge raises his head and snorts in warning.
“Kane knows we’re here,” I tell my mate, stroking the nape of her neck with my gloved hands. “He’ll be here soon.”
We don’t have to wait long before an enormous shape rushes over our heads. A dragon with his wings spread and flying low. He dives behind some cliffs, but not before I catch the flick of a yellow tail.
We’re watching the spot where he disappeared when a voice speaks behind us.
“Do I smell the stench of a witch?”
Kane has entered the clearing on foot, dressed in his usual severe black attire with dirty-blond hair falling into his flat dark eyes. Isavelle stiffens with dislike in my arms, and as much as I hate the man for speaking of my mate in such a manner, I make my scent soothing for her.
Behind Kane, three dragons raise their heads above the trees and spread their wings, jaws parted to show off their razor-sharp teeth. They are all shades of yellow and golden brown, all Alpha females, and I would wager my kingdom that they are Auryn’s nestmates. Their liquid black eyes dart from me to my mate to my dragon, jostling each other to get a better view and seemingly a hairsbreadth from breaking free of what tenuous control Kane might have over them.
Scourge growls in warning, and a shadow creeps over us. Auryn is at our backs. We’re surrounded.
I keep my expression neutral and my hand off my sword. I expected a welcome such as this. Kane is eager to prove himself, but a few dragons and nasty words don’t impress me.
“I’m graced by both the king and queen of our proud land,” Kane drawls, eyeing us both. “I’d be flattered if you weren’t so desperate.”
One of the benefits of having a cruel father with a barbed tongue is that remarks like these seem small and petty. Kane can sneer and shout and stomp if he wishes. I’m here on business. I place my hand on Isavelle’s nape and stroke the scars I have given her while I slowly and deliberately kiss her.
“Stay here on Scourge, sha’lenla ,” I murmur between kisses. “I won’t be long.”
After pressing my nose to her fragrant hair and taking a deep inhalation of her sweet scent, I swing my legs over to one side and slide down Scourge’s flank to the ground.
There’s a spiteful flicker in Kane’s eyes as he watches me approach.
Are things not so sweet between you and your own Omega?
What a surprise.
“What do you want?” Kane asks. “This is my territory.”
This land belongs to me. His dragons are my dragons. It’s with my grace that he has either, though to prove it’s with my grace, I’ll have to fight him, and I have no desire for pointless bloodshed.
“I want what benefits both of us. Peace for Maledin and safety for our dragons.” I glance behind me to Auryn, whose wings are spread and muscles are tightly corded with aggression. “How is your flare? I can provide you with people who can tend to your dragons if any of them are sick or injured.”
“You mean that white-haired prick who stole my woman? If I ever see his face again, I’ll slice off his knot.”
I smile faintly because I’d like to see Kane try. “It was an offer in good faith, but you needn’t accept. I’ll get to the point. I’m here to ask if you will keep your word.”
A smirk crosses Kane’s lips, and he relaxes slightly. “My word? Of what do you speak?”
I ignore the stupid question. Kane agreed to use his warlock abilities to disrupt the southern barrier to allow my dragon army to pass through. “Five days from now, the dawn after the half-moon, we will attack the southern stronghold where Emmeric is hiding.”
“Not without me, you won’t, or you’ll be battering your big stupid heads against that barrier while the Shadow King laughs at you.”
“Just as you say. Will you join the attack?”
“Why should I?”
“Because I believe you are a man of your word.”
Kane’s eyes widen briefly in goading. “Can’t the King of Maledin offer me any greater enticement?”
“Discuss your enticements with your Omega, as she was the one whose terms you agreed to. She will probably remind you that joining us is its own reward.”
“Is it?”
“We will kill Emmeric, the one who made your life a torment.”
Kane’s lips press together in anger. “Yes. There is that.” He casts a look over his shoulder, though there is no one there. I can only imagine that he is thinking of something. Or someone.
“May we count on your assistance?” I press Kane.
He turns back to me, and his lifeless black eyes seem colder than ever. “Bringing down that barrier is all I’m going to do. I’m not joining in your fight against that thing or his army.”
“Forcing a gateway in the barrier for my dragon army is all I ask of you. I may also request your help with freeing a dragon, but only after the battle is won.”
“Force a gateway? I’ll do better than that. I’ll bring the barrier down,” Kane snarls. “There isn’t a ward that can keep me out.”
Hatred for Emmeric and pride in his abilities is writ large on his face. This is a man who craves both vengeance and to prove himself.
“The dawn after the half-moon. We will watch for your dragon, Kane.” I turn and walk back to Scourge.
Kane calls after me, “Do you know he can raise the dead? I’ve had to kill some of his men several times over when they have strayed onto my territory.”
I turn back to him. “Yes, I know.”
“How is he doing that?”
I smile at him and cock my head to one side. “You’re very interested considering you won’t be fighting. Are you sure I can’t tempt you and Auryn to join in the battle?”
Kane glances at Isavelle. “I do love slaughtering magic users.”
The smile dies on my lips. Fuck this asshole.
Isavelle has remained silent the entire time, but she speaks up now. “Kane, you’re a magic user. You’re a warlock, and you know it. As painful as it may be to acknowledge, you are the same as the ones you were forced to hunt.”
Hatred and anger blaze in Kane’s face, and he snaps, “Tell your bitch to hold her tongue.”
Behind us, Auryn snarls, and the ground thunders beneath his forelegs as he rears and stomps. I feel heat blaze in Scourge’s scales, but he doesn’t so much as shift on his talons. On Kane’s far side, the Alpha females are growling and lashing their tails.
“Your dragon sees and feels everything that you do. It’s dangerous to always be losing control around him,” I tell Kane.
“I did not ask for your insincere advice,” Kane snarls. “You want nothing else but for my dragon to rip me apart.”