Dragon Wish (14 page)

that ran the length of the hearth.

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Shocked, Seren stared at him, taking in his words. “But

they don’t have the right to keep me here. I want to go home.

Wouldn’t it also be better for my baby if I went back to

Earth?”

“I cannot say.”

“There has to be a way.”

“Do not give up hope. I will research the matter more.

With luck, I will discover some useful information.”

Before she had the opportunity to thank him for his help,

footsteps came from the hall outside the room. Seren’s gaze

flew to the door. Standing there, framed within the opening

was the reason for her coming to this island.

Sparkling white teeth flashed in an ebony face. Gray

salted the wiry short hair. Seren’s heart skipped a beat then

pounded double time. Built like an aging linebacker, he filled

the entire doorway.

Food forgotten, she set her plate down and stared at the

tall stranger. She wanted to run across the room and throw

her arms around the man’s tapered waist just to make sure

he was real. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Paladin

grinning at the new arrival.

Heart in her throat, she stood there unable to move.

“You’re real. You’re from Earth.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

She stopped a sob from escaping and stared at the face

which reminded her of those she’d left behind on Earth. High

cheek bones, long face, full lips, and his eyes, so gentle and

the color of rich chocolate, brimmed with joy. “Come on,

darlin’, come sit. I know how upsetting this must be for you.”

With a small nod, she allowed him to lead her to one of

the arm chairs. Tears mixed with the need to laugh

threatened to take control of her, but she managed to

overcome them. She sat, never looking away from his face.

“How did you come to be here?” She closed her eyes,

collecting her thoughts. “Oh, God, there’s so much I want to

ask you.”

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Leo patted her hands where she clasped them in her lap.

“Take your time. I’m here for the duration.”

From the doorway, Largin interrupted them. “Well, we’ll

leave you two to visit. Come, Captain, there is a matter I want

to discuss with you.”

The older man waited, and from his stance, Seren

guessed he wouldn’t allow Paladin to argue. She glanced over

at where he stood. Eyes narrowed and focused on Largin, he

seemed about to refuse. Tension swelled while she waited,

holding her breath.

With a curt nod at the old man, he looked at her. “I will

not be far. Call if you have need.”

Nostrils flaring, she drew in a deep breath, holding it as

she nodded. Seren was relieved he’d decided to go. She

wanted to speak to Leo, but with Paladin in the room, she’d

fail to devote her full attention to the questions she wanted

to ask. The man distracted her far too much.

* * * *

Largin down the hall to a room on the opposite side of the

one they had just left. Overflowing with tables and

astronomical instruments, the room stretched half the length

of the house. Papers towered on the surfaces. Some of the

papers were bright and crisp, nothing marring them, yet

others were so coated with dust the writing laid obscured,

preventing him from reading them.

He had wanted to remain with Seren, but the wizard left

little room for him to argue. Now, he trailed behind the old

man without the least bit of curiosity about why he wanted to

speak to him. Instead, his thoughts were centered on her.

The warmth of her kiss drove him to complete and utter

mindlessness. He wanted...no, needed her. An ache settled in

his chest. His life would never be the same. The woman from

Earth had seeped into the crevices in his heart created by his

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wife’s betrayal and touched him like no other.

He strode past a low counter and slowed. Dragon skulls

amid a multitude of other bones lay on the surface. A shiver

crawled up his back.

“Not to worry, none of those are from your bloodline.

Rogues all, special ones at that.” Largin commented over his

shoulder. “Similar to the one which attacked Rylen when he

was younger.”

This bit of information caught Paladin’s attention,

diverting his thoughts. Memories of his brother’s agony after

the incident Largin spoke of came to life.

Younger than Paladin by ten years, Rylen had wandered

away from the family during a holiday to the shore. Everyone

in the party had searched most of the day for the young boy

to no avail. Paladin had refused to give up. After hours

combing the beach, he had found his brother unconscious in

the sand. The boy had been severely wounded by the breath

from a rogue dragon. Rylen had lived in a fevered, delirious

state for several weeks before the mystic healers were able to

pull him back to awareness. Paladin never forgot his

brother’s agony. Those memories brought forth a rush of

newer ones.

An image of Seren writhing under his son’s dragon fire

flashed through his mind. He shut his eyes. The pain she had

suffered because of his carelessness was inexcusable. He

shouldn’t have touched her. Even now he should leave her

alone, but his need for her wouldn’t let him go. He shoved

these thoughts to the back of his mind, concentrating instead

on his brother.

Every one of the great dragon guardian wizards had

named the rogue that had attacked his brother Arcane. The

dragon’s strange coloring and bearing set him apart from the

normal clans. His scales had reflected every color of the

different dragons on a smoky charcoal background. A mystic

dragon—a new breed. Even his magic differed from what the

inhabitants on Avaris were accustomed to.

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Paladin moved closer to Largin. “What do you mean?

Similar? I thought none had lived from the clutch of eggs he

came from. None but him.”

“True, true...but these are from the joining of the gold

and black dragon. Thus, they are similar, but not the same as

when the white and black mated.” Largin stopped at a longer

table, riffling through several sheets of parchment. Not

finding what he sought, he moved further down. He did the

same with more stacks of the papers. “The great Lior should

never have mated with that black demon, Sinimal. All the

hatchlings revealed this to the guardian wizards. Too much

unstable magic in the wee fledglings. All of the guardians and

wizards involved counted the fledglings’ deaths a true

blessing.”

Paladin stopped near Largin, watching the old wizard

search. “I agree. But the rogue was driven away. Last I heard

he occupied the lands to the farthest north.”

“So he does…Aha…Here it is.” Largin pulled a dusty, thick

tome from the farthest stack. The papers on top flew and

scattered across the table, knocking over several nearby

piles. A cloud of dust rose, surrounding the wizard.

Waving a hand in front of his face, Paladin took several

steps back to escape. Largin wheezed, then coughed.

Patience wearing thin, Paladin gritted his teeth. The

thought of Seren even this far from him sent a sensation of a

fist slamming into his chest over the spot where his heart

beat. . He had to see her, touch her, even if just for one

second more. “You called me here to speak with me. If all

you want to do is fumble amid dry parchments and speak of

rogues which are not a danger to me then I’ll return to Seren.

I do not care to leave her too long.”

“Ah, but that is exactly why I have asked you to join me,”

the wizard commented, brushing past him. “This way, the

lighting is always best on the other side of the room.”

With a shake of his head, Paladin moved behind Largin,

following him across the room. Paladin grunted. Of course,

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the area was better lit. The small torches, burning in their

holders, caught and held the glow of the many dragon stones

strewn over the counters.

The wizard set the tome on an uncluttered table, “Here

we are. Now let me find the place.” He pulled the book open

midway and glanced over the page. Several moments seemed

to slow to a crawl. Paladin counted each one with an

impatient tap of his toe. When the old man cried out,

marking a place with his finger, Paladin leaned forward,

looking over the wizard’s shoulder. “Here it is. Avaris’

prophecy.”

Another cold shiver spiraled up Paladin’s spine.

Largin shifted out of the way, motioning to his eyes.

“Here, you read it to me. My old eyes...”

He glared at the wizard. Old eyes indeed. Largin saw

better than he. The warning from his father sprang to life in

his mind. He stepped closer to the tome. With one last scowl,

he concentrated on the thin script. Elegant and narrow, the

words were written in an ancient language. Difficult to read,

he still managed to make out most of the letters.

“On thys day, Annual Fourteen, age of the Whyte Dragon,

a human accepted the most magycal of blood from the great

and glorious Lyor, thus opening the door for the upheaval

whych wyll over tyme and space expand across the whole of

Avaris. For from thys blood lyne, the one true Kyng wyll

come.”

A twinge of unease shot through his chest and stopped

Paladin from reading further. He glanced at Largin. The

wizard half-smiled and nodded toward the book. “Read all of

it.” With a deep breath, Paladin focused once more. “He

alone wyll hold Avaris’ future wythyn the folds of hys wyngs.”

He leaned on the edge of the table, unable to go on. The

ever present grain of fear sprouted into a clinging vine within

him and crept through his mind.

Largin touched his shoulder. The gentle weight helped to

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steady him.

“The child is the one. Your child—your bloodline.”

He faced the wizard. Seren’s answers to his questions

verified what Largin said. He desired to deny every measure

of the wizard’s comments, but...

With a finger pointing to the page in the tome, Largin

continued. “If you read further, the mother chosen to give

birth to this babe is spoken of. A woman from the cosmos.

The woman you have brought with you is from the cosmos, is

she not? From Avaris’ sister world—Earth.”

Paladin, heart pounding, fury overriding his normal calm,

gripped the front of Largin’s shirt, lifting the smaller man off

his feet. May the dragon’s fires destroy his father’s teachings.

“Stop playing with me. Speak openly and be quick about it.”

“She will be in great danger once word spreads that she

carries the prophesized king.”

“She is under my protection. None, beast, dragon, nor

human shall ever harm her. This I swear by all the magic of

the dragons.”

Largin’s eyes widened and his mouth fell open. A sudden

spark lit in the wizard’s eyes. He sent quick glances around

them. Paladin sensed his fear and in the sudden lowering of

the other man’s body heat. The older man pulled at his shirt.

Paladin opened his fingers, releasing him. Let Largin and all

who dared to harm what he held dear turn to ash under the

never ending stream of a dragon’s fire. Calmness returned in

slow measures as Paladin silently accepted that he would do

all in his power to keep Seren and his unborn child safe.

When the wizard spoke, his words crackled with alarm.

“Take back your oath, King of the White Dragon Clan.”

Determined, holding true to his desire to protect Seren,

Paladin retorted. “Never.”

The wind slammed against the small, unseen windows

situated high along the outside wall of the room. Their panes

rattled. The storm, having ebbed of power earlier, had

regained its strength. With it, Paladin’s own spirit to fight for

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Seren and his child’s safety built to a white hot boil. He drew

in a deep breath and shook his head, defying the growing

heaviness in the room. “No, I will never take them back. This

I have sworn and this I hold fast. My oath stands.”

Lightning slipped through one window, splintering glass

and wood. The bolt struck a dragonstone resting on top of a

table not far from where they stood. Sparks amid chunks of

stone hurled up, thrown out across the chamber. Flames

flared in the center of the table. The entire room vibrated