Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
SERAFINA
“Stupid dragons and their scaley man-trums?”
While Thorne and his brother bellowed at each other, I headed for the bathing chamber, cooling my bare feet in the shallow end of the pool. I didn’t dare submerge my body and risk drowning, but the water still felt good on my legs.
The timing of their argument couldn’t be worse. Alaric needed mending, and Speck was prisoner to some dark force. Now that I knew what had happened to him and the others, I wanted to act, not sit around waiting for the stubborn shifters to finish their pissing contest.
Speck had survived the attack only to be captured. If we didn’t rescue him soon, would he end up like Cookie? My stomach twisted at the thought.
Next, there were Yaga’s revelations about my past as well as my future. What did the goddess want from me? If I really was her handmaiden and sent here for some purpose, then once again my life wasn’t my own. Would I ever truly be free?
“Sera?” Thorne’s deep voice drew me from my thoughts. I turned to find him approaching with his usual lumbering gait—shirtless and barefoot. Something warm flickered within my chest at the sight.
I tipped my chin in greeting. “I take it Alaric didn’t incinerate you?”
His lips tugged into a smirk. “Were you worried about me, Princess?”
“Hardly,” I scoffed.
“Mind if I join you?”
I patted the stone beside me, trying not to notice the way my blood sang as he drew near. He sat with one leg curled in, his elbow propped on the other.
“Where is the grumpy beast?” I asked.
“Off sulking like a petulant child in the healing waters.”
I kicked, splashing turquoise water. “I’m afraid he’ll do more than sulk when I tell him I cannot break his curse.”
“Yaga confirmed there is no way to break it, did she?”
“In so many words. Now that I have what I need, I can heal the dragon but not the man. She said he is being punished, and it isn’t my place to interfere.” I studied his face for a reaction. “Do you have any idea what she meant?”
His expression smoothed into a careful mask. “What do I know about the ways of seers? Regardless, it doesn’t matter to Alaric. He’s convinced you’re the one.”
I heaved a sigh. “I was afraid of that. And when I fail?”
“He won’t harm you.”
“How can you be so—”
“He won’t,” Thorne declared, a low rumble deep in his throat.
I circled my ankles, churning bubbles while silence settled thick between us.
Finally, Thorne turned to me. “What else did Yaga say?”
“About what?” I said, stalling.
“Oh, I don’t know. About the flowers that bloom around you. The explosion of power in the warehouse with Mortis. The monsters who seem to have targeted you above all others.”
“Oh, that,” I said in a breezy tone.
He snorted. “Yeah, that.”
Should I tell him? Yaga hadn’t told me to keep silent. And gods, the burden of it—of being marked, of being used, of not knowing why—pressed too heavily against my ribs. I couldn’t carry it alone anymore.
I dragged in a breath, then another, until the words finally broke free. “She claims I’m Goddess Hathor’s handmaiden.”
“Interesting,” Thorne stated, tone calm. Too calm.
“Interesting?” I kicked water at him. “Is that all you have to say? Interesting?”
He swiped a droplet from his nose. “You forget I am a man who can shift into a dragon and breathe fire, and so, not easily shocked by the supernatural. I’d think you’d be relieved to have an answer.”
He did have a point.
“But you’re not.”
“No.” I wasn’t. Not even a little. “Yaga said Hathor erased my childhood memories because my parents were a couple of religious zealots who sacrificed me to the goddess.” That explained the nightmares that had plagued me for years. Dreams of being tied to an altar, blood and flames. I shivered.
“Ouch.”
“Yes. Ouch. Then the goddess, in her divine wisdom, abandoned me in the woods. Left me alone and afraid, my memories gone. All to fulfill some mystical purpose that I must sort out for myself.”
“Sounds rather goddess-like.”
“Doesn’t it?” I twisted, tucking my wet foot under my knee to face him. “I’ve been sacrificed, abandoned, sold, and enslaved. Tell me, Thorne, will I ever be free? Or was I born to serve one tyrant after another?”
For once, he didn’t smirk, his rugged features remaining somber, as if my words struck some place deep in him, too.
“I guess we’re all destined to serve in one way or another,” he said quietly.
“That doesn’t mean we don’t get to choose what we make of it.
The world will try to write your story for you, mark you with its cruelty.
It’s in the quiet, when it’s only you and the choices you’ve made, that you have to face yourself.
In the end, the only one you really answer to is… you.”
His words washed over me, touching places only a handful of others had ever reached. Who was the stranger sitting before me?
“Thorne,” I whispered, setting my hand on his knee.
He shook his head, casting off the sincerity like he cast off his shirts. “What you need is to take a piece of your power back. Do something for yourself of your own volition. What you need is a win.”
“And how exactly am I to do that?”
He fell silent, pondering the question. “Let me teach you to swim.”
I stiffened. “Learning to swim will not fix my problems.”
“Nor will it hurt.”
“This is crazy.”
“Come.” He pushed to his feet and then helped me up—and immediately began unbuttoning his pants.
“Hold on a minute.” I caught his hand, ignoring the jolt that shot up my arm. “You didn’t say anything about undressing.”
His heavy-lidded gaze turned sultry. “We can’t very well swim in our clothing.”
I poked my finger into his bare chest. “Thorne Blackwing. Is this some trick to get me naked with you?”
He held up his hands, his expression innocent while those blue eyes of his continued to gleam. “I solemnly swear to be on my best behavior.”
“That oath, coming from your lips, is not reassuring.”
“Afraid you’ll find me irresistible, Princess?” He unfastened his pants and shoved them down his legs.
“Not at all,” I scoffed. Don’t look down. Don’t you dare—Goddess, too late.
He was gloriously, infuriatingly naked as he hopped into the pool. “I’m waiting,” he sang, gliding onto his back, kicking.
I bit my lip, watching him float away. Was I actually going to do this? My lack of skills in the water had almost killed me twice. First, when I could run no further because of the lake. Second, when my eager instructor tossed me in.
I stiffened at the memory—sinking, lungs screaming. How powerless I’d felt. Well, I’d been powerless for far too long.
Yes. Yes, I was doing this. With Thorne, of all people.
With my back to the water, I quickly undressed, casting nervous glances over my shoulder to make sure he didn’t watch. In only a camisole and briefs, I perched on the edge and slid into the shallow end.
A sharp breath hissed through my teeth at the chill. I peered out into the pool—only to find I was alone.
“Thorne?” Worry seeped into my gut. Surely my swimming instructor hadn’t drowned. “Where are—”
Directly before me, a dark head surfaced. I shrieked as gleaming blue eyes appeared, mirth in their depths.
“Got you.” He grinned, water dripping from his nose.
I splashed him in the face, and he flinched with a bark of laughter.
“Ha. Ha.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “Can we get on with the lesson?”
“Certainly. First, you need to learn how to float. On your back now.”
“I bet you say that to all the girls.” I floated as instructed, gently moving my arms and legs. Easy enough. “Who taught you how to swim?” I asked, forgetting my ears were underwater.
I surfaced to find Thorne gazing at me, his sky-blue eyes heavily lidded, chest glowing. The expression on his face almost predatory.
Heat pooled low in my belly, answering the hunger in his gaze. I fought the urge to dunk my head back under to cool my cheeks.
“So.” I cleared my throat. “Who taught you? Was it Alaric?”
“Alaric?” He scoffed. “No. He was always occupied with royal business. My parents, too. It was a servant who taught me.”
Right. Thorne and Alaric were royalty. At times, it was easy to forget when surrounded by so much destruction. This mountain kingdom had been their home.
“What was it like?”
“What’s that?” He canted his head in a dragon-like gesture.
“Pyrrhus in all her glory.”
His half-smile tightened, a flash of pain darkening his eyes, which he quickly masked. “Pyrrhus was a place of wealth and prosperity. With the trogg’s help, we mined beneath the mountain, exporting valuable crystals. Our citizens flourished here.”
“What was your role as prince?”
“My role was a stifling one. Alaric, being firstborn, was groomed from birth to inherit the throne. While I, being second, was expected to serve in whatever capacity the kingdom demanded. Once our sire died, Alaric ruled, and I performed my royal duties, attending meetings, overseeing the mines. It was all terribly boring, frankly.”
“Come now. It couldn’t have been any worse than scrubbing Lady Penelope’s bedpan.”
He hitched a shoulder. “I longed for adventure, not government. Often, I’d shirk my responsibilities to find it.”
I pursed my lips. “Let me guess. Women, drink, and debauchery.”
“Not necessarily in that order.”
I laughed, floating on my stomach now with his help. This I managed with only a bit of coughing and sputtering.
Again, I surfaced to find that sultry gleam in his eyes. The one that sent a jolt of electric straight down my center.
“What did Alaric think of your exploring?” I asked to cover my reaction.
“He believed I was the bane of his existence. Unlike me, it was far more difficult for him to slip away. Father…” he hesitated, “was strict about Alaric’s training.”
“Ah, sibling rivalry,” I said in a sage voice Yaga would have been proud of. “So, what exactly happened to this kingdom of plenty?”