Border Lair (4 page)

“It’s impossible.”

“No, I’m afraid it’s not. I did some research before I left the castle, and it seems there are quite a few members of the various royal lines unaccounted for through the years. The most likely scenario is that you are the Princess Amelia Jane, who was stolen from her home the same night the rest of her family was killed. The baby princess was never found, though the rest of her family was left where they were slain.”

Adora found herself reaching out for Jared, needing his strength as the prince relayed the sad facts.

“There was some talk at the time about a maidservant who’d gone missing as well, and many of the chroniclers believed the maid took the baby to safety, but she was never seen again.” Nico sat next to them on the long couch, taking her other hand in his. “You would be about the right age to be little Amelia Jane, I think, though you look much younger than your thirty-eight winters.”

Adora gasped. “How did you know my age?” Her eyes sought his, her confusion plain, then understanding dawned. “Oh, sweet Mother! The princess you mentioned. She would be thirty-eight?”

Nico nodded. “This year.”

Adora felt a tear slide down her cheek, followed by another and another.

Kelzy growled, crooning in her dragonish way as she had when Adora had been just a child, but it was Jared who pulled her close against his broad chest, comforting her with his warm strength.

“Do you have anything from your childhood, Adora? Anything that might tie you to your past?”

She sniffled, cuddling against Jared as if she belonged there. Turning slightly, she looked up at the handsome prince.

“Only one thing. It’s not much.” With shaking fingers, she reached into the front of her shirt, separating the seams she’d sewn between the layers, reaching for something only she knew was there, just under her heart. “I didn’t even realize what it was until recently when Kelzy gave me her shed scales.” She pulled out a gleaming black panel that was wafer thin and resilient as only true dragon scale could be. Nico went silent as she handed the evidence of her heritage to him. “But I’ve never seen a black dragon scale before.”

Jared’s arms tightened around her. Adora’s breath caught in her throat as the prince turned the gleaming black scale over in his hands, studying it with an odd sort of knowledge. Kelzy’s head loomed up over his shoulder, then suddenly, Nico spun to hold the deep black scale up to the dragon.

“Anybody you know?” Nico held up the scale like an offering as Kelzy reached out her long tongue, licking the black scale delicately with just the tip.

Not your direct line. Kelzy was more serious than Adora had ever seen her. I think it likely to be from the line of Kent, but we need a dragon who knew one of them personally. I think Sandor served Prince Fileas when he was just a dragonet. He arrived at this Lair recently. I’ll call him.

While they waited for one of the older male dragons to make his way to them, Adora moved away from Jared’s tempting strength. She sat up straight on the couch and tried to gather her scattered emotions. She felt shaky, but she knew Jared was there should she need him. It was a reassuring feeling.

“I never would have guessed you were over thirty, Adora.” She felt Jared’s hand stroking her hair softly and turned to look into his amazingly gentle eyes.

“I have a grown daughter, Jared. And I had twins before her.”

“You must have been a child bride.” Jared’s teasing lightened her heart.

“Twins?” The prince turned back to her. “Where are they now?”

“I don’t know. They were stolen from me when they were just little girls.”

After the revelations of the last moments, it was devastating to think about the little girls she’d lost so cruelly. Adora gripped the cushions of the couch until her knuckles turned white. Jared must have seen her distress. He pried one hand up from its death grip on the couch and grasped it firmly between his own rough fingers. His silent encouragement meant the world to her in that moment.

“Girls?” The prince ran a rough hand through his hair. “Merciful Mother.”

“What?” Adora’s gaze went from the prince to Jared to Kelzy.

It was Jared who finally answered. “Royals, probably because of the wizard blood, have more twin sets than is usual. Twin girls are a rarity though. Few girl children are born to any of the royal lines, and only very rarely in pairs.”

Sandor approaches.

A large, battle-scarred dragon with coppery brown coloring entered the archway leading to Kelzy’s suite. He started in surprise when he saw the prince and bowed his great head in respect.

How can I serve you, my prince? The newcomer’s voice boomed with resonance through the minds of all present.

Nico walked up to the huge copper dragon and held out the black scale.

“Do you recognize this? Can you tell us who it may have belonged to?”

This new dragon repeated Kelzy’s odd licking gesture and then his garnet eyes opened wide. Fileas! This scale belonged to Prince Fileas.

Adora was confused. “Fileas was a dragon?”

Nico turned back to her, his hazel eyes shining. “Yes, he was. As am I.”

Jared stood at Adora’s back, his presence reassuring as a black mist began to form in front of their eyes. Between one moment and the next the prince was gone and a sleek black dragon stood in his place. He was somewhat smaller than the other dragons, but obviously built for speed. He also had sparkling tourmaline eyes—eerily like the hazel gaze of Prince Nico.

The only black dragons are of the royal line. We alone have the ability to shift our shape from human to dragon, and it is that dual nature that solidifies this land’s ties with dragons and humans alike.

“Prince Nico?”

“It’s him, Adora,” Jared assured her. She walked up to the prince and reached out hesitantly, but the black dragon moved forward into her touch with his sleek black-scaled head.

“Incredible.” Her voice was a breath of a whisper. “You’re dragon and human? Half and half?”

The dragon lifted one shoulder as if to shrug. That’s one way of looking at it. But Adora, if you are the daughter of Fileas as we believe, then half of you is dragon too.

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

Kelzy claimed her attention. Think about it, child. Why did you seek me out when you were just a baby? How did you even know where to find me? My lair was well hidden. None of the humans in the area knew I was even there until you toddled off to find me.

“I can’t shift into dragon form and fly away with you, Mama Kelzy.” Her sarcastic tone was laced with shock and a bit of fear.

The very idea of Prince Nico being able to shift into dragon form tantalized her, though Adora knew in her heart it was impossible for her.

Surely if that kind of power existed inside her, it would have made itself known long before now. Sure, she had a little healing talent, but most of the healing she did relied on skills learned through hard work and trial and error, not dragon magic. Or any other kind of magic at all, for that matter.

The black dragon moved closer. Royal females generally can’t shift, but they are usually healers of great skill and ability. Their dragon magic manifests itself in the healing arts—the Dragon’s Breath made human, if you will. I understand your daughter is a dragon healer.

The prince stepped back from her and the black mist swirled, leaving him human again, clothed all in black leather, before her. That was some powerful magic indeed.

“Sweet Mother! Belora.” Adora’s legs gave out and she found herself hoisted back onto the couch, wrapped securely in Jared’s strong arms.

“She healed Rohtina,” he reminded her gently.

At this point, the huge copper dragon craned his neck forward to lay his great head at Adora’s feet. A rare tear sparkled in his deep garnet eyes. His tongue flicked out to touch the back of her hand and she started.

You are Fileas’ daughter. You’re little Amelia Jane. Thank the Mother that you’ve finally found your way home to us. The tear leaked out of his eye and tumbled onto her hand, a sparkling magical gem showing the great extent of emotion he was feeling. I served your father when I was just a youngster. I was away when the attack came, on a quest issued by your sire, but if I’d been there, I would have given my life for his. He was a great man. You have his eyes, though you have your mother’s smile and her beautiful hair. I stand by my pledge to your sire and I will serve you and your line all my days, if you will have me.

Adora was moved to tears by the dragon’s solemn pledge. She reached forward and touched his long snout, rubbing gently and feeling the magic inside her tingle in a way it never had before.

You’re hurt, she thought, surprised when the dragon answered her.

An old wound, my princess. Nothing to worry over.

Wait. Adora felt the healing energy gather and suddenly overflow from her into the dragon, shining light all around them as her energy came alive as never before. She looked at the dragon’s left foreleg and the awkward angle at which it was held. It had been broken sometime in the recent past and set badly.

He hid it well, but Sandor was in a great deal of pain that communicated itself to her when she touched him. Sometimes it was like that for her with human patients, but never had Adora felt such a response with a dragon.

Then again, the only dragon she’d ever known before now was Kelzy and she’d always been quite healthy.

As they all watched, the magic flowed, and Sandor’s leg straightened out, the lines of pain just visible around the dragon’s eyes easing. Adora pulled away and felt the residual high of the magic already beginning to fade in her body. It felt much like it did when she did a complex human healing, but with so much more energy. It was very nearly overwhelming.

Adora sank back and Jared was there for her.

“Do you really have any more doubts about who you are, Adora? You’re my cousin,” the prince said, kneeling at her side. “You’re Princess Amelia Jane of the House of Kent.”

“That’s not my name.”

“It was.” Nico shook his head. “But you never knew it, did you? You’ll be Princess Adora from now on, of the House of Kent. Welcome back to the family, cousin.”

Adora tried to focus but was fast losing energy. It was a phenomenon she knew well. She had overextended herself in healing Sandor, but it was worth it to know he was whole again and no longer in pain. She just needed sleep to recover.

Thank you, my princess, Sandor said gravely in her mind. I’m only sorry you tired yourself so on my behalf.

“I’m fine. I just need sleep.”

Jared lifted her into his arms as she leaned back against him, cuddling close to his warmth. He felt so good. It was heaven to rely on his strength for just this short moment.

I’ll seek you out when you wake, princess. I have no knight partner at present, but I would be your guardian as I was your father’s before you.

“That’s nice,” she mumbled. “You’re such a pretty copper color.”

The dragon’s voice rumbled comfortingly through her mind as she drifted into unconsciousness. I match the lights in your hair, as I matched your mother’s.

Jared found himself again tucking Adora into the bed in the guest chamber that was now hers. Kelzy wanted her adopted human daughter close and Jared found himself wanting to keep Adora close for entirely different reasons. If he wasn’t very careful, he could easily lose his heart to such an amazing woman. But his heart was too badly damaged to take such a chance again.

He realized, despite his best intentions, he had spent a great deal of time in Adora’s room in the past few days, tucking the covers around this small, puzzling woman. No, he thought ruefully, make that this small, puzzling princess.

He could still hardly believe Adora was lost royalty. True, she was not in direct line for the throne. In fact, her family line was quite remote from the ruling line—only very distant cousins at best—but the fact they had bred true and the males of the House of Kent could shift to dragon form made them all princes and princesses of the realm. It was a closely guarded secret—and something of a legend now to the people of this land—that their kings were descended from dragons.

Few now knew how true the legend really was. Not only were they part dragon, but the males actually could become dragons when they chose. It was a very useful ability and one that allowed them to rule wisely over both human and dragon kind, giving them personal insight into both races.

Jared had been a knight for quite a few years, but before that had served in old King Jon's household. He knew the royal secret and had seen them shift back and forth from human to dragon many times. Each time though, it was still a bit of a shock. He could only imagine what Adora must have thought seeing the roguish Prince Nico shift not five feet from her.

Of the brothers, Nico was Jared’s favorite, though he’d be damned if he’d ever let that scamp know it. Nico had been the wild child—the one who constantly needed supervision—and more often than not, it fell to Jared to get the young prince out of whatever scrape he found himself in at the time. Over the years, Nico had come to respect Jared’s advice almost as a son would—or younger brother at least. Jared looked at Nico now and thought sadly of what might have been had his family not been torn apart by tragedy.

For years it had been hard to be in Nico’s presence, but now after time and distance from the horrific deaths of his family, Jared found he missed Nico’s peculiar brand of deviltry. He thought of the prince as he had thought of his son, with an almost fatherly regard and a fondness deeper than most.

“She’s quite a woman.” Nico’s voice drifted quietly from the archway as Jared straightened up and moved out of the small room.

“You haven’t met her daughter yet. She’s just like her mother, only younger.”

“Too bad she’s already mated.” Nico’s eyes flashed with humor.

“You’ve got to be kidding me, Nico. You, interested in a woman of substance? What? Have you gone through all the whores in the kingdom already?”

Nico laughed, but Jared noted the slight echo of hurt in his eyes with some amazement. Could it be the rascal really was starting to think about settling down?