Bound to the Dragon King

Bound

to the

Dragon

King

Caroline Hale

Copyright © 2014 by Caroline Hale

This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or actual events, is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author except in the case of brief quotation embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Chapter One

My head spins and my stomach churns as the portal closes behind us. That was a lot more disorienting than I expected, I don’t think I’ll be using this bracelet for fun anytime soon.

Asher’s jaw hangs open at the sight of the tranquil park before us. You’d never know we were in a giant cave right now. I grew up down here, so the idea of a massive Underground Forest is completely normal to me, but it is pretty incredible.

I never quite understood how incredible though. I’ve seen this place a thousand times, but never like this.

When I look at Asher now, I can see the ancient, powerful barrier that keeps magic from flowing to him. Not really with my eyes, it’s like an extra layer of vapor and energy sitting on top of what I’m really seeing. I thought it was just him. I was wrong.

Now it’s everywhere. The curse on Ash is black and heavy, with an oily texture that I hope he can’t feel. It’s a stark contrast from all the intense and sparkling colors I’m seeing now, swirling rapidly amongst the trees and the happy Fae families enjoying their refuge.

Seeing with my new witchsight illuminates all the little bits and pieces of magic holding everything together in a dazzling display of lights, colors, and even words shifting over every plant and rock in sight. I thought the park was beautiful before but this is spectacular! I drink it all up with my eyes, trying to understand how it all works. The Fae may be vile creatures but they can work impressive magic. 

We’re on the outskirts of the park. Although technically all magicfolk are allowed here, the fairies aren’t exactly welcoming and have essentially made it too uncomfortable for others to enjoy the nicer parts of the Underground Forest. I was always lucky in that sense. My father is too powerful and close to Arralt to mess with, so I always got to play on the lake shore with the Fae children. It seems like a lifetime ago.

My dragon lover looks upward, raising his hand to his brow to shield his eyes from the artificial sun. “Is that the real sky?”

“No. ” I squint and concentrate on the blue surrounding the bright orb. I can almost see through it to the rocky cave ceiling you’d never think was there. “It’s not exactly an illusion. The sun is basically a giant Light spell that the Fae king controls. That’s the story anyway.” Now that I see it, I’m not so sure. It could be another one of Arralt’s lies he uses to control the people.

“And the trees?”

“The plants are real.” I’ve always wondered, but there’s no magic in them, just all around them, supporting them in hidden little ways. I stoop down near a massive oak to look at the barrier between it’s trunk and the soil. “I don’t think the dirt is natural though. Or the breeze.”

“This is a lot bigger than I expected,” he murmurs.

“Right? I didn’t think I’d be able to handle it at first, but it was actually incredibly enjoyable,” I tease. Asher cocks his head to the side in confusion. I glance down to his groin and wink at him.

“You are so bad, Lindy,” he laughs, shaking his head. “I’ll never get you to fall in line, will I?”

“You wouldn’t love me nearly as much if you could.”

“That’s probably true.” He smacks my ass playfully and my eyes widen. Feigning outrage, I scamper away from him when he tries to wrap his arms around my waist, inspiring a quick game of chase that I’m all too happy to lose.

I take a deep breath as we round a corner of thicket, wondering how he’ll react to the castle we’re about to see. His castle.

It’s off in the distance, a gleaming white beacon of fairy power. I always knew it was protected, but the giant shield surrounding it is astonishing. So many layers of magic, so many colors. I’d love to get a closer look at it.

Asher stops suddenly when he lifts his gaze, but he seems more surprised than angered. “Is that Arralt’s fortress?”

“Sorry,” I murmur. “I should have warned you.”

Asher huffs out a curl of steam from his nostrils. “That monstrosity is absolutely hideous.”

“Oh.” That wasn’t exactly the reaction I was expecting. Plus, I always thought it was pretty. A little gaudy, sure, but that’s just the way fairies are. “I’m sure we could put it back to the way it was, Ash. For the most part.”

“My father’s castle was above ground. Which is where mine will be rebuilt,
if
I decide to reclaim the throne.”

“Asher…” I trail off. That’s just not possible. The human world will never be able to accept magic, but there’s no use arguing about it now. At least he’s considering all the options.

“These fairies are so strange.” Asher’s brow furrows as we watch a shirtless, navy blue skinned Fae crack off the cap of a bright red and white speckled mushroom and toss it to his friend like a frisbee. The Fae girls watching them play are so beautiful, even the one with the deer antlers.

“Strange how?” I ask, my insecurity rearing its ugly head.

“I don’t know how to explain it.” Asher inhales deeply. “They smell different, too. Almost like humans.”

“Well, they aren’t human, Ash. Most are still malicious and deceptive, like they’ve always been.”

Asher shakes his head, his eyes narrowing. Something red flashes past in my peripheral vision. I whip my head around to follow it, but I can’t find anything unusual. When I turn around, the little lion maned Fae boy we were watching is running straight at us.

He crashes into Asher’s shins and looks up at him, wiping a tear away. The corner of Ash’s mouth lifts into a grin and he dips down to pick the boy up as his parents look on in horror. Shit.

“Put him down, Ash,” I whisper, keeping my eyes on the Fae. The last thing we need is to look suspicious.

Asher ignores me, appearing nearly hypnotized by the child’s cherubic face. Fae have that effect on people, magicfolk or otherwise. The little boy giggles and blows a puff of fairy dust into Asher’s face, making him sneeze loudly. Then the brat kicks Ash right in the chest and lets out a growl that sounds like it’s coming out of a lion cub.

He sets the child down and sneezes again, wiping his eyes. Maybe now he understands. Ash’s dragon snarl rumbles through his chest as he watches the fairy father jerk the boy up into the air by his arm while his mother casts a spell to grow a switch to beat him with. I have to get Ash out of here, I doubt a little fairy dust to the face will be enough to make him think the kid deserves what he’s about to get.

Asher takes a step forward, his hands clenched into fists. I don’t know what he’s planning to do but I can sense him pulling power from the forest. I notice a small white flower crumpling in on itself, as the magic keeping it alive is sucked out of it. There’s no way the Fae aren’t going to notice that! Ash’s fingers graze a bush and it shrivels, dying instantly. The Fae family looks up at us curiously, pulling the boy protectively into their arms. A strange sensation crawls across my skin and I see a spell fly into the air. From the look of it, we must have just triggered some kind of alarm. Fuck. 

“Wait!” I grab Ash’s arm and simultaneously a loud rumbling echoes through the trees and draws our attention skyward. The sky darkens ominously and the wind picks up in gale force.

“What’s going on?” Ash yells over the howling wind.

“I don’t know,” I yell back, trying to keep the panic out of my voice. “There was some kind of trigger spell back there…” Goosebumps break out over my arms.  “Something is coming.” I don’t know how I know this but I just do. I can feel the magic building up all around us. Ash looks worried. I gag at a strange tinge in my mouth...metal? That’s weird. It tastes like I just licked a penny.

Oh crap. I remember this happening in a show I saw once on TV about people getting hit by lightning. I grab Ash’s hand and pull him to the ground just as a blinding white bolt blasts the tree behind us to smithereens, covering us in tree branches and bits of bark. We brush off what we can and look around at the damage. The tree is almost completely gone! I pull us away from the burning embers and towards bushes that will make a decent hiding spot. I don’t want to wait around to find out if lightning really can strike the same place twice.

Dark figures appear from the woods, looking around the site of the blasted tree. At first glance they look an awful lot like Fae, except their appearance is sort of fuzzy around the edges. That’s odd. Maybe it’s an aftereffect of the lightning strike. I shake my head and rub my eyes in an attempt to clear my vision but nothing happens. They still look… wrong.

“Do those Fae look weird to you?” I whisper to Ash.

He peeks through the bushes at the half dozen figures. “What do you mean? They look like Fae to me.”

“They don’t look right…” I try to find the words to describe what I see and suddenly it clicks. They have Glamours. Once I figure this out, I can see through the spell. It’s SIGMA’s seekers. Their pale almost translucent skin glows as their red eyes search the area. I can’t hear what they’re saying, but I know it can’t be good.

“Ash we’ve gotta get out of here. Now! Those aren’t Fae, they’re using glamours. It’s SIGMA!” I can’t keep the panicked squeak of out my voice, but it doesn’t matter. If we don’t do something quickly they’re going to find us.

A low rumble escapes from Ash’s chest and a wisp of smoke trails from his nostril. His body starts to vibrate as he tries to shift.

“Ash no!” I can’t let him shift here. There’s no way Arralt won’t notice a huge Dragon attacking his forest. It would be an all-out war, and one that I’m not sure we’re ready to fight just yet! We were supposed to just come and look and then go back. We need a plan.

“I can’t shift!” he snarls. “Use the bracelet, Lindy.”

I twist the band around on my wrist, finding the gem that will take us back to his lair. I don’t feel the pulse of magic that was there earlier, but I try anyway. “Ash it’s not working!” I whisper. I want to scream in frustration, but I know that would give us away.

“Spread out and search the woods,” one of the Seekers shouts to the others. Oh crap, they’re headed straight for us! If we hang around much longer Ash will probably just try to kill them with his bare hands. I can’t think of a better plan than just turning to the dark forest and making a run for it, knowing that Ash will have no choice but to follow so I set off, hoping to the stars that I can run fast enough.

Leaves crunch noisily under my feet. There’s no way to run through a forest quietly but I’m optimistic that my head start will be enough to ditch the Seekers. Ash’s hand wraps around my own and he passes in front of me, pulling me along with him. Damn, I guess I wasn’t going as fast as I thought. This is a full out sprint.

The Seekers closest to us clamor to their comrades and chase after us. Ash navigates us deeper and deeper into the forest. The brush snags at my clothes and slows me down. I trip and stumble clumsily a few times, thankful that I don’t fall flat on my face. I know Ash would probably be a lot faster without me, but he would never leave me behind. The slight tug that he maintains on my wrist is urgent, but not painful. My chest heaves with the exertion and my lungs burn with every breath. I don’t know how long I can keep this up.

Chapter Two

Ducking around a rock formation, we find a slightly worn path and set off on it, trying to gain some speed. I can’t tell how long we’ve been running, but I am certain it’s not long enough to justify the sudden darkness. The trees are much larger than the ones we’ve been running past and they almost block out the Light spell completely. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a tree this big!