Chapter 8
The next morning, I wake up feeling much better. I get dressed and make my way to the kitchen. “Good morning, Elowen.”
Elowen turns towards me with a big smile on her face. “Good morning, Harper. How did you sleep?”
“Great. That bed is something else.”
“Good. Are you hungry?”
“Starved.”
She smiles again. “Good.”
“Do you need help? I feel like it’s only fair for me to warn you that I’m terrible in the kitchen."
“Well, when you put it that way,” she starts with a smile.
“I mean I can do a few things.”
“I’m sure you’re not that bad in the kitchen, Harper. Did your mom not like to cook?”
Her question has me freezing up. I look down a moment as my heart squeezes in my chest, but then it’s over. “I don’t remember,” I tell her without looking at her. She doesn’t say anything, and I push forward so it’s not an awkward moment. “So, tell me about the Dragon Kingdom.”
“Well, that’s quite a task first thing this morning,” she teases as she slides a plate of food my way.
“Thank you.” I take a bite and shake my head; her food really is the best. And that’s saying a lot because Hector’s an amazing cook. “Tell me what it’s like to have a spirit dragon. If you’re here, you must have one, right?”
She smiles. “Yes, I have a spirit dragon. Her name is Lumira.”
“What color is she?”
“Soft purple.”
“How’s that work exactly?” I lean forward.
“How does what work?”
“The whole spirit dragon thing?”
She gives me her full attention then. “I would assume it works similar to the way your bond with your dragon works. Our dragon is a part of us. Our dragons give us incredible strength, heightened senses, increased vision, an internal heater.” She smiles at that one.
“That helps here in the northern tundra. We feel our dragons all the time, and they come to our aid when we need them. But they are still, in essence, a part of us. That’s how they’re different than what you and Rauk have.
Our dragons are an extension of us, and yours are not. ”
"It makes sense. I’ve been around the spirt wolves and jaguars. I guess it’s just different to look up and see them flying in the sky.”
“Oh that?” Elowen says with a smile. “That is simply for show.”
“I knew it.” I lean back in my chair and cross my arms over my chest.
“You have to admit, it’s pretty incredible to watch.”
“I suppose.” She eyes me, and I cave. “It is. What do you all do? Have a schedule for when you release your spirit dragon to soar through the sky?”
“No, although that’s not a bad idea,” she tells me with a grin.
I’m starting to feel antsy sitting here, so I stand and take my plate over to the sink and wash it. “So.” I lean against the counter and face her.
“Yes?” she asks with an eyebrow raised.
“I need your help.”
She keeps working. “With what?”
“I need to convince Rauk to join the Wolf and Jaguar Kingdoms in their fight against the guivres.”
She frowns. “The guivres? Are they still causing problems?”
I stare at her. “You’re kidding, right?”
Her eyes meet mine over the top of the bowl she’s stirring. “No.”
“The guivres attack all the time, and the attacks are getting worse. Add to that, they’ve started changing back into humans.”
“No, that’s not possible. They were cursed into their corporal forms.”
“Yes,” I agree. “But when Terron and his gryphon died, the curse keeping them bound—”
“Terron is dead?”
I see the shock on her face and don’t know how to handle this. “Yes. Did you really not know that?”
Her face is pale. “No.” She takes a step back. “Does Rauk know?”
My frown increases. “Yes. How do you not know? It’s been nearly a—”
“He can’t be dead.”
Now, I’m starting to worry. “Hey, maybe you should sit down or something. You look pretty pale.” I walk over to the table and grab a chair and bring it over to her and help her sit. “Are you okay?” My voice is stiff; I’m not really sure what to do.
“I need to talk to Rauk,” she says, pushing to her feet.
“About what?”
I whirl around. “Good grief. Where’d you come from?”
Rauk doesn’t even look at me as he strides into the kitchen. “What’s wrong?” he asks, stopping next to Elowen.
“Is it true?” she asks, staring up at him.
“Is what true?”
I make a mental note that he isn’t as harsh to her as he is to me. “Are they really changing back?” I shift uneasily; there’s so much fear on her face.
Rauk straightens and looks over his shoulder at me. If looks could kill...yeah, I’d be a goner. “Everything is fine.”
“But she said—”
“She needs to learn to keep her mouth shut.”
“Seriously?” I ask in a droll voice.
I push off the counter and stand to my full height. “Is that how you get away with it?”
“What are you talking about?” he demands.
“With not helping. Do you just not tell your people what’s going on outside your precious kingdom?
Do they even know that people are dying?
The other kingdoms are under constant attack, especially in the Jaguar Kingdom.
Do any of you know or even care that the guivres are probably preparing to gather forces and attack? ”
“Enough.”
I ignore Rauk’s command. “While you all sit up here in your hideaway kingdom, people are dying. You could—”
“Enough,” Rauk all but yells at me.
I eye him. “Seriously?”
“Rauk, is she telling the truth?” Elowen asks.
I frown. “Why would I lie?”
But she doesn’t look at me; she just stares at Rauk.
He makes a sound that doesn’t sound like he’s very happy.
“It’s not that big a deal,” he tells her.
I open my mouth to argue, but he shoots me a look.
“It’s nothing for you to worry about.” Elowen looks over at me, and I promptly close my mouth, not allowing the argument I was ready to make spill out.
She suddenly looks like she’s aged ten years.
“You.” My head jerks to Rauk. “With me.” Then he strides out of the kitchen. I stare after him flabbergasted.
“Is he for real?” I ask Elowen in disbelief. She doesn’t say anything, and I walk over to her. “Hey, you good?”
“Yeah.” Her voice sounds far away, and I wonder what’s going through her head.
“Harper!”
I close my eyes and will Rauk to just disappear, but that doesn’t seem to be happening. I turn around and leave the kitchen, ready to give him a piece of my mind. “Are you for real?” I start in.
“Not here.”
He walks away, and I stare after him. I’m going to murder him.
Maybe don’t because Noxlyn would probably not be happy about that,” Redara says.
Despite being so incredibly irritated, I smile at the sound of my dragon’s voice in my head.
I follow Rauk to a closed door that he promptly opens.
I debate not going in but finally cave. When I step into the room, I'm surprised at how big it is.
This castle just keeps getting bigger and bigger.
Rauk nods at the chairs around the long table. “Sit.”
I shake my head. “Do you have like any manners? Never mind; I already know the answer to that question.”
He stares me down, and I return his gaze.
It’s not lost on me that he’s trying to intimidate me.
Well, he’s got another thing coming to him if he thinks he can so easily do that.
I cross my arms and continue the staring contest. “Is there a reason you’re telling my housekeeper about what’s going on in the other kingdoms? ” he finally asks.
“Yes, there is.”
He waits, but I don’t say anything. I’m not going to make this easy on him. His scowl deepens. “And that is?”
“She needs to know.”
“No, she doesn’t,” he argues in return.
“Yes, she does. You can’t just sit up here in your kingdom in ignorant bliss while the other kingdoms—”
“Ignorant bliss,” he cuts in. “Is that what you think this is?”
“Uh, yeah. That’s exactly what it is. Elowen needs to know what’s going on, and so does everybody else here.”
He takes steps towards me, and I have to look up to keep my eyes on his.
When he gets close, I get a feel for just how big he is.
My head tips back, and I resist the urge to take a step back.
“You know why Elowen looked so scared in there?” he nods his chin back towards the kitchen.
He doesn’t wait for me to say anything before he continues.
“Because she knows the stories. She knows the stories of before.”
“Before what?” I ask in confusion.
“Before they were cursed.” His face hardens. “There’s a reason why they were cursed—why Terron was so hard on them.”
“I know; everybody does. They tried to take over, wanted more power; so the gryphons cursed them.”
“Gryphons. Ever wonder where the rest of them went?”
I shrug. “I knew there used to be more. I figure they died off over time.”
He scoffs. “Sounds like you really know your history.”
I level a look at him. “Is there a point to this conversation?”
“Yes, there is if you’d take a moment to listen.”
I roll my eyes at him. “You’re full of yourself.”
“And you’re difficult to get along with.”
“Could we move along with the history lesson please?” A muscle in his jaw jumps, and I can tell I’ve gotten under his skin. Good. He needs to be brought down a peg...or twenty.
“When you say they tried to take over, it makes it sound clean and neat. They tried, the gryphons stopped them, end of story. That’s so far from the truth.” He turns away and walks over to the head of the table, but he doesn’t sit. He crosses his powerful arms and leans against the table.
“I’m assuming you’re going to tell me the truth.” I can’t decide if I appreciate that or not.
His eyes meet mine, and I shudder inwardly at the darkness there. “I am. One of the,” he pauses, “downsides of having our dragons is the craving for power that comes from them.”
“And the desire to hoard,” I add, repeating what I know to be true.
He continues as if I didn’t speak. “A small group of men started stirring up the people in our kingdom. They were greedy for power and control. The group grew and became a real problem. But it wasn’t until the king learned that they were planning on attacking the other kingdoms that he got involved.
He stepped in and shut down their plans.
He had the backing of our soldiers, and it started to get messy.
It turned into a full-blown hostile take-over.
They stormed the palace and went after the royal family.
The guards held them off at first, but there were too many of them.
The king sent messengers to the other kingdoms to request help.
None came.” His voice is hard. “The entire royal family was slaughtered, save one young boy. Those men, now in control of the Dragon Kingdom, set their sights on their next conquest. They marched towards the Wolf Kingdom, killing any human communities they found along the way. When they got there, Terron and his gryphon along with the other gryphons were there to stop them. It didn’t go as planned, and too many gryphons and their bonded died from the spirit dragons attacking.
Those who remained combined their power to curse the uprisers into guivre form, forever to stay that way.
The curse was so powerful and used so much magic, it claimed the lives of the remaining gryphons.
Only Terron and his gryphon stood after that battle, and the guivres were released into our world. ”