Dragonmark (28 page)

Illarion snorted at the Sumerian god's effed-up humor. They'd unleashed them centuries ago. Not for this particular misadventure.

Savitar rolled his eyes. “Sit your punk ass down and shut up. You and I will talk later.”

Zakar laughed good-naturedly. “Hope you take your Abilify first, old man.”

Yeah, only a god could get away with that.

Or Acheron.

Savitar started to wag his finger at Zakar, then gave up and waved him away. “Shut up.” He returned his attention to Sera. “You were saying?”

“Just that my mate is innocent. The gallu came after him first. And neither of us have a clue about Apollo. We don't even know what you're talking about.” She tucked her marked hand into Max's.

He winced before he laced his fingers with hers and clutched her hand tightly in his.

Savitar watched that single gesture closely for several heartbeats without comment.

“I demand he pay for his crimes!” Ermon Kattalakis—one of the Arcadian dragons—demanded. “It was the blood of my grandfather he spilled!”

Like hell—Illarion barely kept that explosion to himself as he met Savitar's gaze through the crowded room.

Without a word, Savitar stood and closed the distance between him and Max. “It occurs to me, Maxis, that with our historian, Nicolette Peltier, gone, there's no one here who knows the history of this council. She died before she could pass the origins along to her only daughter, Aimee.” He turned toward Tanya. “I suppose you should inherit that part of her job as well, no?”

Tanya looked as frightened to be under that fierce scrutiny as Sera had been. “It would be my honor to record it, my lord.”

Savitar glanced back to Max. “What do you say, drakomas? Have I your permission to break our pact?”

Illarion saw the indecision in Max's golden eyes as he debated. He glanced to Illarion, then to his mate and their children.

It's time.
Illarion inclined his head to him.
Tell the truth, brother. Let them decide for themselves.

With an audible gulp, Max nodded. “Although, I would remind you both that when the truth was told last time, it didn't help. No one cared.”

Ignoring that, Savitar stepped back then so that he could walk a circle around the table. “Some of you have been coming here for centuries. You occupy seats you inherited from your family or won through combat. All of you know what an honor it is to sit here and represent your independent species. Both those who hold human-Apollite hearts and those born with animal hearts. Two halves of a single whole. Both sentient, and forever condemned by the gods to war against each other for no real reason, other than the fact that the gods are assholes. Everyone knows that part of the story. What none of you know is why you answer to me. Why you answer to this council specifically…”

Savitar gestured to Max. “You blame the Dragonbane for the war that divides your two branches of the same species, but he didn't do this to you. That belongs to the three bitches who cursed your race in the beginning. To Zeus and Apollo and their childish tantrums that made them cry to the Fates to do something because they felt cheated that you were spared the Apollite curse that would have required all of you to die horribly at age twenty-seven over an event you had no part in. But as with all history, that is only one tiny, bit part that you've been told, which was colored by those seeking to sway your opinion and make you hate for no real reason. To keep you divided when you should be whole and focused on the real tragedies you have in common. The ones that unite you as a single, sentient species. Follow me, children, and let me show you what you've never seen, but what you need to know.”

With that he threw his hands out. The doors crashed closed and darkness fell into the room so completely that for a moment, Illarion felt as blind as Blaise.

When the light finally came up, he winced at the sight of a much younger Max.

Of a much younger him. It brought back forgotten memories and emotions that he'd intentionally buried. Now, those old wounds bled anew.

The two of them were locked in a cage, starved and ragged. Filthy. Damned to remain in human form by the collars Dagon had fastened around their necks. Collars that were humiliating and choking. And as they sat starving and freezing in their misery, another man stared in at them. Unlike them, he was impeccably groomed and wore royal princely garb.

An identical copy of Illarion.

It was the face he despised most. A face he wore only to please Edilyn, because of how much he hated it and because of the bitter, hated memories like this that it stirred within him.

Half the room turned to stare agape at him as they realized that Illarion was the prince and not Max, as they'd all assumed before this.

Max had been created from the son of the prince's bastard half brother. A slave.

And beside that despised prince stood an elegant dark-haired lady. While they'd seen the prince numerous times since they'd been caged here, the woman was a new addition to their drab, dingy home.

“Eumon?” she whined, trying to pull the prince away by his arm. “Why did you bring me here? Don't you grow weary of looking at them all the time? It's so creepy!”

They were creepy? Really? Personally, he'd much rather be an immortal dragon than one of those disgusting creatures who'd been cursed by Apollo to die painfully on their twenty-seventh birthday. There was nothing
creepy
about being a dragon.

Human-Apollite bodies?

That was the stuff of nightmares. They were weak and pathetic. And smelled to the highest level of Olympus.

The prince smiled at his beautiful, petite wife, but his gaze never wavered from the two inside the cage. “Look at them, Helena. But for the fact that he doesn't speak, you'd never know he wasn't me. And the other … he is the very image of Pherus. It's as if I'm still looking my brother in the eye.”

She wrinkled her nose in distaste. “Pherus was never your brother. He was the son of a slave.”

“Slave or not, he was my brother through my father. And I loved him as such.” And he'd died as soon as they'd tied his life force to Max's. Eumon licked his lips. “Do you think they can understand us?”

“No. They're animals and you're lucky you survived the merging your uncle did to you. Now, can we go? I don't like it here. It smells.” She pressed her dainty hand to her nose to illustrate her point.

Only thing that smells, bitch, is you.

Instead of leaving, Eumon knelt down and held his hand out to Illarion. “Here, boy … come to me.”

Tempted to bite him, Illarion scooted closer to Max before he gave in to that urge.

Eumon lowered his hand and sighed. “It seems like we should be able to train them. Doesn't it?”

Illarion slid a snide grimace to Max. He'd like to learn the prince a few things himself.

“Maybe so as not to wet the rugs or their beds, but I wouldn't hold out hope for any more than that. As I said, they're stupid animals, incapable of thought or civilization.”

Oh yeah,
they
were the problem in this equation.…

“You are terrible, Helena!” he teased.

All of a sudden, a large number of guards stormed into the dungeon. Illarion narrowed his gaze on them.
That
never boded well for those kept in cages.

Anytime that many came in like that …

One of the prisoners got seriously hurt.

Or seriously dead.

Prince Eumon shot to his feet to confront the stone-faced soldiers. “What's the meaning of this?”

“Orders from the king, Highness. We're to destroy all the experiments to placate the gods.”

Oh like hell …

The prince's face went white. “What?”

The guard nodded. “The dictate came from the head priest this afternoon. The gods are demanding that all the abominations be put down. Otherwise, they'll kill your father and you, and your brother.”

Illarion exchanged a furious glower with Max.

Never fear, brother. I won't let them take you,
Max promised.

But that wasn't Illarion's fear. No, he wasn't going out without a fight.

By the gods, he'd take them with him. As many as he could.

With a mighty roar, Max rushed at the bars.

The prince stumbled back with a fierce gasp, dragging his wife with him.

Screaming, she fell to the floor. “I told you! He's an animal! Kill him! Kill him now!”

Fury tore through Max with such ferocity that he lost complete control of his magick, even with the collar on to control it. The howls and screams of the others filled Illarion's ears as the soldiers set about carrying out their orders to murder them while they were helpless and caged.

This was utter bullshit! Illarion threw himself against the bars, over and over. When that wasn't enough, he and Max summoned every bit of magick they could and held their concentration. Then they sent it out into the air around them.

Like a thermal shock, it rolled and released a pulsating wave. One that shattered the cage and sent the guards, prince, and princess tumbling.

Weak, but determined, Max grabbed Illarion. “Free the others. Be damned if those bitches are going to take their lives for this!”

It's not our place!
He had no interest in risking his life for them. Not after the way they'd treated them.

But Max misunderstood his protest. “I don't answer to the Greek gods. They can kiss my scaly ass.” He grabbed the keys from the guard who was closest to him. Baring his fangs, he took the man's sword, then moved to free the Arcadians and Katagaria. “Illarion! Move! Save everyone you can!”

Disgusted by his brother's Arel ways, Illarion finally conceded. This would come to no good. He knew it.

Max always got them into trouble with shit like this.

Always!

As soon as they had the doors open and had started to leave, the guards moved to stop them.

“We have to talk to the king first. No one can leave here.”

To his complete shock, Eumon stepped forward. “Let them pass.”

“Highness—”

“Do it!”

Reluctantly, the guard stepped aside and ordered his men to stand down.

Max inclined his head to the prince. “Can you show us the way out, Highness?”

The prince narrowed an evil glare at him. “I knew you could speak! I need you to show that to my father.”

“And we need a guide before your father learns of this and kills us.… Please. My brother and I have always been overtaken whenever we've tried to escape. I know there's a way to the forest, but we haven't been able to locate it.”

Without hesitation, he nodded. “Follow me.”

“Eumon!” his wife breathed. “You can't do this. If the gods have spoken—”

“They're sentient, Helena. Look at them.” He gestured at Max and Illarion. “Half of them are Apollite. I can't condemn them to die, and especially not by execution in a cage after everything else we've done. It would be wrong. I'm their prince. It's my place to protect them.”

“And what of your son I carry? Who will protect him when the gods kill you for this hubris?”

He kissed her lightly on the forehead. “Relax, precious wife. No one's going to kill me.” Pulling away, he led Illarion and the others through the dark cavern. “Follow me and I'll see you to your freedom.”

Illarion knew in his gut that this was going to be a disaster. He could feel it with every drakomas instinct he had.

Helena glared at Max as they started filing out of the dungeon. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

As the last Apollite animal filed past them, Illarion began to breathe a little easier. They were almost out of here.

True to his word, Eumon helped them relocate to a small campground in the forest, where he and Max made sure everyone had a place to sleep and something to eat.

As Max started away, Eumon stopped him. “All these weeks and you've said nothing. You've pretended to be mute. Why?”

“There was nothing to say. Your uncle ripped us from our homes and lives for you. Both Apollite and animal. No regard for what we thought or wanted. And then we were turned into this?” He gestured angrily at his human body. “You may have desired the dragon in you, Highness, but I promise you, neither Illarion nor I wanted
this
. Nor did any of the others. Now that you have some of my brother's genetics inside you, you should know exactly how we think. What we feel.”

“You have a fierce code of honor and kinship. That's where this comes from?”

Max inclined his head. “And now you tell me that your gods have decreed our death for
your
deeds. How do you think that makes me feel?”

“I will talk to my father. He's a reasonable man.”

Illarion scoffed at his blind stupidity.

“He loves us.”

“That just makes him highly unreasonable.”

The prince nodded. “If you and your brother come with me … Let my father see that you're capable of rational thought and speech. It will change everything. I promise. Come and help me to set this right.”

Illarion wended his way through the others to approach Max.
Surely you don't believe his lies.

“We have to try.”

Illarion wanted to beat him for that. The last thing he wanted to do was participate in this madness. But he loved his brother too much to let him go about his stupidity alone. Besides, he owed Max.

So together, they headed back toward the palace, with Eumon in the lead.

For the first time ever, they emerged out of the dungeon and into the palace grounds that led to the immaculate rooms the royal family called home.

They had just reached the gardens when a man who appeared eerily similar to Vane approached them.

“What is this?”

“We're going to see Father.”