More Secrets Revealed
The wind rushed past me as I plummeted, drawing closer and closer to the ground below.
Oddly, my mind was calm as I kept my eyes on Vasin, watching as he was locked in battle with the brown dragon.
He kept trying to break away to get to me, but the other dragon would get in his way, clawing at him, trying to tear into his wings.
Then, beyond all reason, the rider leaped off the brown dragon’s back and shot toward me like an arrow.
Nothing about this made any sense. Why would this person try to come after me when they clearly wanted to kill me?
A roar burst from the darkness as a red dragon shot toward me.
Tahir shot flames at the brown dragon as he passed before tucking his large red wings at his side as he dove, chasing after me.
There was Jade on his back, strapped into the saddle he’d formed, so situations like mine didn’t happen.
Tahir shifted so he streaked past me to the right, allowing Jade to reach out and snag my arm, yanking me to him.
Jade trapped me against his chest and Tahir’s neck as they rolled into the turn, avoiding the ground growing ever nearer.
Tahir snapped out his wings and headed back to Vasin, who had the brown dragon’s neck in his jaws and the talons of his back legs deep in its belly.
The brown dragon let out a cry of pain as it thrashed, clawing at Vasin, trying to get him to release him.
I gasped as the brown dragon’s mind slammed into my own, begging me to stop Vasin from killing him.
Its panic and fear were overwhelming, but the strange part was the fact that regret was just as intermixed.
“Stop. Don’t kill him. He’ll speak to you now.”
Hearing my plea, Vasin released the brown dragon and pulled away from him but didn’t go far.
I watched as the two dragons circled each other like two fighters in the ring, watching and waiting for the other to make a move.
Jade kept Tahir farther back, watching the whole thing in case we needed to act.
Vasin let out a mighty roar that shook my bones as Tahir joined in flames burst from his mouth, lighting up the night sky for a moment.
“Follow me. His rider has landed below us and has a lot to explain for himself.”
“He survived jumping off his dragon?”
“Apparently, but if his answers are not good enough, he won’t live too much longer.”
I turned my face up so it was more or less nestled in Jade’s neck. “Follow Vasin. He is going to lead us to the dragon rider.”
Jade didn’t answer me. He just caressed my cheek with his own, and Tahir banked to the left, falling in behind Vasin.
I breathed in the comforting scent of Jade, reminding me I was still alive.
I was probably handling this so well because I was in shock, and my brain refused to let me deal with the fact I almost died.
His warmth seeped into my skin, letting me know just how cold I must be right now.
How did a simple outing with Vasin turn into a life-or-death altercation with a rogue dragon?
Finally, we landed in a small valley with a river trickling through, shimmering in the full moon’s light.
There, checking over his dragon, was the rider, dressed in some strange leather outfit that looked almost like it had bat wings attached to it between the arms and legs.
The moment we landed, the rider turned, brandishing a sword, which Vasin promptly ripped out of his hand, tossing it into the woods and roaring at him, once again knocking the man on his ass.
The man refused to back down from Vasin, his handsome face calm with only a slight jut of the chin.
His bronze-colored hair was in disarray from his leap off his dragon, but it only gave him an even more roguish look.
He might have been trying to kill me, but watching him guard his dragon from mine was impressive.
Tahir hunkered down low, making it easier for Jade to slide me off his back while he unbuckled himself from his saddle.
Slowly using Tahir’s shoulder, I stood, wobbling as if the ground under my feet was shaking, but it was just my body that was doing the trembling.
It seemed the shock was starting to wear off some.
Jade vaulted off Tahir and grabbed me around the waist as I almost tripped over a rock.
“Seriously, how many times are you going to play with your life tonight?” Jade growled quietly. “I don’t think my heart could take much more after seeing you free-falling, about to splatter on the ground below.”
I looked him in the eyes for the first time since he rescued me, and they were ablaze with his fear—fear of almost losing me.
I reached out and rested my hand on his chest over his heart, feeling how fast it was beating, even though his body didn’t betray his emotions.
“Thank you for saving my life once again, Jade. I wasn’t sure I was going to survive. ”
“Cass, you need to talk to this man right now,” Vasin snapped at me, causing me to flinch with the anger behind it. “I’m sorry, I’m not upset with you. It appears I’m having trouble controlling my emotions since this man almost killed you.”
“Can you help me over to Vasin so I can figure out what the hell is going on?” I asked.
Jade swung me into his arms, carried me over to Vasin, and set me down but didn’t budge from his place beside me. He was my guardian and clearly taking that role seriously, knowing I couldn’t defend myself very well right now.
“Who are you?” I called out to the man.
He cocked his head and turned to face me in my general direction. “Shouldn’t I be asking you that? What business do you have riding on the back of a black dragon?”
“He is my pair-bond. What reason would you have to harm him?” I demanded, utterly confused by the question.
A person didn’t ride a dragon unless they were bonded with each other. It simply wasn’t done. How else could you communicate with your dragon if you didn’t have the bond?
Hearing this, the man stood a little straighter and scowled at me, but there was still something off about how he looked at me. It was almost as if he was looking past me but not truly seeing me. “Pair-bond… does this mean you have a mental connection to this dragon? Your souls are one?”
“How do you not know what a pair-bond is? Don’t you have one with the brown dragon behind you?” Jade challenged.
“I asked first.”
“Yeah, sorry, asshole, but when you almost kill my queen, you lose all chances of getting anything out of us, let alone living for much longer,” Jade snarled, wrapping an arm around my waist. “You tell us who you are, or Vasin will slaughter you for hurting his pair-bond.”
Vasin backed up Jade’s words with a deep, rumbling growl you could feel in your bones.
Shocking us all, a small golden creature burst out of the forest around us, flying right into Vasin’s face, hissing and letting out a tiny burst of flame.
Vasin rose on his haunches and swiped at the tiny dragon, but it darted out of harm’s way.
The man let out a sharp whistle, causing the little dragon to let out a screech before settling on his shoulder. I watched as the tiny thing wrapped its tail around his neck while a little clawed hand gripped his ear.
“I humbly apologize for trying to harm your partner, Vasin, the black dragon, as well as the disrespect Ezzu has shown you. She is very protective of me,” he said, dropping to his knee. “It has been centuries since we have seen your kind in these parts.”
“What is he talking about?” I whispered to Jade.
“I’m not sure if the man’s all there. I mean, he jumped off his dragon, for fuck’s sake,” Jade muttered.
“Tell him that I will consider his apology when he explains who he is and where he comes from, but he is far from forgiven.”
I relayed the message to the man. He nodded his head and stood to face me once again.
“I am Zan, a soldier of the Sheca Kingdom. This is Ezzu… she is my eyes, and my partner, Ifra. I was on a scouting mission to find the reason why the dragons of our kingdom became agitated earlier today. I saw you and Vasin on the plateau. I assumed the worst, believing you were holding this dragon against his will.”
“What? How in the world would I be able to hold a dragon captive?” I blurted, shocked at his assumption. “Dragons do not bond with anyone unless they want to. They have the power in the relationship when it comes down to it.”
Zan shifted as if unsure of what to think of my answer. “Is this true, Vasin?”
Vasin’s answer was to nod and let out a grunt of agreement. “He needs to tell us more. He isn’t giving us the full story. Tell him Ifra already told me everything, and he needs to tell you. It’s your rightful inheritance.”
“What are you rambling about? None of this makes sense.”
“Ask him.”
I sighed, trying to control my frustration between these men being cryptic as hell with me. “Zan, Ifra has already told everything to Vasin. So if we could cut the crap and just tell me what the hell is going on, I would be forever grateful. It’s been a bit of a rough night if you didn’t notice.”
“Are you truly the Queen of the Mercenaries?” Zan asked bluntly.
I pulled out the necklace Ballard gave me upon my coronation and held it up in the moonlight. “Yes, I am Queen Cassarah of the Raven Rose clan, ruler of all the mercenaries.”
Zan gave Vasin another look before he started closing the distance between us, causing Jade to pull out one of his knives, garnishing a hiss from Ezzu at his threat. When Zan got a foot away from me, he once again dropped to a knee, pulling out two daggers and setting them on the grass before him.
Taking his right hand, he placed it over his heart and bent his head. “I, Zandophen, soldier to the Sheca Kingdom, swear fealty to you, Queen Cassarah, ruler of all the mercenaries. Your people have been waiting for your return to the kingdom and the Dragon Castle.”
I looked down at the man, up at Jade, then back down at Zan, completely stunned at what was happening. “I-I don’t understand.”
Reaching out, I put my hand on his shoulder that wasn’t occupied to try and get him to stand. Instead, blue light from my Birthright surrounded us. Once again, I felt that same overwhelming pain mixed with power I’d experienced when I’d called my guardians to me.
No, this can’t be happening. Why would my powers choose a man who tried to kill me not moments ago? Just how much protection was I going to need to be queen?
Zan hissed as I knew the same mark that graced my forearm was now searing itself onto his, marking him forever as a member of my guardians.
Once the power subsided, I stumbled back from him, and Jade caught me before I tipped over, unsteady on my legs.
“No, no, this can’t be. I don’t understand.
Why you? Why would my Birthright do that? ”
I turned and buried my face in Jade’s chest, unwilling to deal with this, reaching the end of what I could emotionally handle.
Tears streamed down my face, and I clung to Jade, filled with anger, frustration, and panic at what this all could mean.
I knew that Zan represented something important, but so did everything else that had been brought to my attention the last few days.
“My Queen, I apologize for whatever I’ve done to upset you. I meant no such disrespect in offering up my oath as your subject,” Zan pleaded, and I heard him moving closer.
“Take another step, and I’ll drop you where you stand, guardian or not,” Jade snarled, his voice rumbling under my ear. “You might have been given her mark, but that does not make you one of us. Not until you prove yourself after almost killing her.”
“I didn’t know,” Zan shot back, his words sharp with his anger. “It’s been three hundred and fifty years since the last king left us behind to keep our kingdom safe. My people thought we were long forgotten and never to be found again.”
Wiping my eyes with my sleeve, I turned in Jade’s arms to face Zan. “Say that again?”
“Four hundred years ago, the last mercenary king we had sitting on the throne in the Dragon Castle took our best men and women to Norden. They were supposed to set up a new place for those going on missions for Norden’s king and queen.
He left behind a fair amount of us to keep our kingdom running as it always has until he called us to join the others, only that call never came,” Zan explained.
“Vasin, is this true?”
“Yes, the third King of the Mercenaries did separate from Sheca and returned to Norden. He never intended to return to the Dragon Castle, though, purposely leaving behind the weaker of his people. Only the strongest of his people were selected to form this new clan… the Raven Rose clan. When it got too large, and we needed to cover more area, he split it into the six clans we now have today.”
“How many of you are there still in Sheca, and why has no one ever heard of this country?”
“There are roughly over two thousand of us, and no one leaves the village. We have all the resources we need in our own country, so there’s no need to venture outside it. That and making sure the dragons are safe.”
Frowning, I glanced at Jade who just shrugged his shoulders. “What do the dragons have to do with anything? They are protected here in Norden, or they leave to live elsewhere.”
“I believe that tale will be best left for when you ascend your throne and return to Sheca,” Zan countered.
“Zan… I can’t leave. We are on the brink of war with Errit and Utros, with a mind-controlling bastard prince of Norden leading the charge. He wants to wipe out everyone and everything so he can rule it all.”
“So the time of the Dragon Queen has finally come.”