Authors: G. A. Aiken
Tags: #Science Fiction & Fantasy, #Romance, #dragons
She handled each male—and some females—easily, though. With a smile and a wave or a shake of her head or by yanking someone naked and good looking in front of herself to distract those who wanted her attention.
She dismissed another eager male from her presence and looked around the large first-floor ballroom they’d reached. If she saw all the sex going on around her, she certainly didn’t show it. Instead her brow furrowed over eyes that studied everything.
That’s when Ragnar recognized something in Keita’s gaze that he’d only seen in a few others. His mother, Dagmar, and a few of his cousins.
And that something was cold, ruthless calculation.
“What are you hoping to find?” he asked.
“My aunt.”
Perhaps, but Keita wasn’t merely searching for her aunt—she was searching for answers. Answers about her aunt, yes, but more than that. It was a subtle difference, but still enormous in its complexity.
Ragnar looked around him. “Here? You hope to find Esyld
here
?”
She huffed, hands going on her hips. “And what’s
that
supposed to mean?” Although Ragnar had no intention of walking into that trap, Keita held her hand up as if he’d been about to. “Oh, no. I bet I can guess. Only a whore would come here, right? And unlike me, my aunt is not a whore.”
“I never said that.”
“So my aunt
is
a whore?”
Wait.
“And I never said that.”
“So then only
I
am a whore and Esyld is a saint?”
“I didn’t say that either.”
Keita “humphed” at him and walked off. Ragnar moved to follow, but a young woman dropped to her knees in front of him.
“A monk,” she purred, leering at him. “What a naughty treat.”
She reached for his robes, and Ragnar caught her hands, terrified he wouldn’t make her stop once she got her hands on him. He was just a dragon—not a saint.
“No, no,” he said quickly. “No touching.”
“Are you shy?” she teased.
Shyness wasn’t his issue—and something told him he’d never leave this room if he told this woman he was a shy monk—but losing sight of Keita as she went around a corner definitely was.
“Not shy. Cursed.” Her eyes lit up over that, too, so he quickly added, “Cursed with disease. A contagious one.” She jerked her hands away, and Ragnar stepped around her and followed Keita.
He could see her down at the end of the hall, where a naked male had hold of her arm. But unlike before, where Keita had eased her way out of those awkward situations, this male wasn’t releasing her. And, even more disturbing, he yanked her toward and out the back exit door.
Head lowering, Ragnar followed and burst through the same door, but he stopped short—had to with all those swords pointed at him.
“And who’s this then?” Lord Sinclair DeLaval demanded when Ragnar came charging out that back door like an angry bull. “Another lover?”
“An innocent monk,” Keita soothed. “Nothing more.”
Gods, what a mistake DeLaval had been. Twelve years and the human still hadn’t let their one night go. She didn’t see him often, but when she did, he tried cajoling, gifts, and charm to get her back. Anything to get her to return to his bed. But one night had been enough. It wasn’t that it was bad. In truth, it had been an enjoyable night—if she remembered correctly. Yet the ones who insisted on clinging after it was over always made her nervous.
And this was why.
Keita smiled at Sinclair, but her gaze was focused on the gate behind him. Right now neither she nor Ragnar could return to their true forms or use any of their natural gifts. Athol ensured that because he didn’t like any surprises at his manor. Yet once past that gate, nothing could hold the two dragons back. The problem, however, was getting to the gate. DeLaval, as a noble, was allowed by Athol to bring his small contingent of guards inside the manor as protection. And because DeLaval paid so well, he had free run of the place. Now that she thought about it, Keita realized one of the many reasons she’d stopped coming to Castle Moor was because of DeLaval, and his needy, desperate ways. But she’d been so focused on her aunt, her mother, and the damn Lightning, she’d forgotten about DeLaval altogether. Now both she and Ragnar were trapped.
True, she still wasn’t talking to Ragnar—few had pissed her off as he had and he’d done it twice!—but getting the dragonlord of the Northlands killed while on Southland territory would not help Keita’s relationship with her mother. And, she’d admit to herself, she didn’t want him dead. Groveling perhaps, but not dead.
“Return with me, Keita,” DeLaval told her. “Come home with me. Just to talk.”
The man stood there, naked, his cock hard and still covered in someone else’s bodily fluids, and he just wanted to talk. Really, all he was doing was once again showing Keita why she hated the clingy ones!
She knew she had to get out of this and get out of it quickly. Unable to shift, she and Ragnar were awfully vulnerable to those sharp weapons.
“Sinclair, luv.” She pressed her palm to his cheek. “I’d adore doing that, but I must return home first. We can meet later.”
DeLaval’s jaw clenched, and Keita realized too late that she should have lied outright to him, if only to get him to take her beyond the damn gate. But instead of just another incident of DeLaval begging, groveling, and giving gifts until Keita walked away from him—which was what had always happened before—this would be very different. Especially with his men watching.
DeLaval’s grip tightened on her bicep, making Keita wince from the bite of it.
“Let’s discuss this inside,” he said, pulling her back toward the door while Athol watched and did nothing.
Keita quickly glanced around to see if there was an easy way out of this, but except for Athol’s assistant—who seemed quite concerned, but feared his master so much that he’d never intervene—she saw no one else willing to help a lone female and her monk companion, which was exactly what DeLaval thought she and Ragnar were. The noble had never known the truth about her—many human nobles didn’t. And they rarely connected her with the royal dragons living with the human queen of Dark Plains. Still, would no one in this damn place help her?
Then again, this
was
the kind of entertainment she’d heard that many of Athol’s guests lived for. Rumors she’d always dismissed because she’d never seen the proof of it—until this moment. Until she saw the look on Athol’s face as he coldly watched DeLaval try to drag her back inside.
Unlike DeLaval, Athol knew exactly who and what she was. Knew what Ragnar was, too, even if he didn’t know his title or bloodline. And Athol knew that this situation could easily go either way, depending on how well Ragnar could fight as human and how fast DeLaval could get chains on her.
If she’d known the truth about Athol, she would have taken delight in burning the building down around the elf’s head long ago. But it was too late for that now. Too late for regrets.
“Keita?” She heard the question in Ragnar’s voice; saw what lay behind the pious folding of his hands and bowed head. A dragonmage he might be, but one who knew how to use a sword, a battle ax, a pike—as dragon
and
as human. Knowing she wouldn’t have to worry too much about the Lightning did ease things up for her slightly. But only slightly.
“My men will keep you company, monk,” DeLaval told Ragnar. He yanked Keita again, but she’d dug her bare feet into the ground and refused to be moved. For she knew that once she was in that house, DeLaval would have all the help he needed to get her chained to one of Athol’s many performance stages.
DeLaval stepped toward her, his breath hot on her face. “I’ll kill your monk, my lady. And I’ll let my men have such fun with him before they do.”
And sighing heavily, Keita knew what she had to do to end this—although she hated the thought of it.
Ragnar kept his eyes on the men holding weapons on him and on Keita. She refused to be moved, but that wouldn’t last long. Even more appalling, the lord of the manor stood by and did nothing. That would make sense if Keita could shift back to her dragon form and easily save herself, but Athol had already ensured that wasn’t possible. Leaving them both with only one option.
Keita lowered her eyes, her head dipping, and her body pressing into the noble who held her. Raising one hand from her waist, she pressed her palm to the noble’s face, fingers slowly trailing along his jaw, forefinger pressing against his lips until he sucked it into his mouth.
“I’m sorry,” Keita said, her voice very soft. “But I don’t like to be forced to do anything. You used to know that about me—and respect it.”
She pulled her finger out of his mouth, and DeLaval blinked down at her, groaned, took a step back. Then his entire body began to shake, and he dropped to his knees, his hands around his throat.
His men turned toward their lord, and Ragnar caught hold of the arm of the guard closest to him. He twisted the wrist holding the sword until the weapon dropped into his free hand; then he twisted harder until he heard bone breaking from the wrist straight through to the shoulder.
DeLaval’s men returned their focus to Ragnar, but it was too late now. He had a weapon and nearly two centuries more training than the ones who’d been ready to kill him on order. He tossed the man with the destroyed arm out of his way and gutted the male in front of him. Internal organs spilled on the ground, and Ragnar pulled the blade out, spun and took a head, spun back, went low—successfully avoiding the short sword aimed for his neck—and brought his blade up and into another guard’s groin. Ripping the sword out, he used his free hand to grab the throat of another guard coming toward him and crushed all those small neck bones until the man could no longer breathe.
He dropped the struggling man and stepped away, the blade low at his side but ready. There were four guards left, moving out around him. Keita stood off to the side and watched him while the noble writhed at her feet. If only the human had realized earlier that she’d lost interest in him—and accepted that fact—he probably wouldn’t be dying now.
Ragnar raised his gaze to the remaining guards. “Come for me,” he said. And, when they only stared at him, “
Come for me!
”
Keita jumped a little at the Northlander’s bellow. She didn’t know the snobby bastard was capable of being so…barbaric.
She liked it.
Too bad about those poor, stupid guards. Had they really been fooled by the monk’s robes? Even worse, once Ragnar had gutted and beheaded several of their comrades, they still didn’t run. Why, she couldn’t fathom. What with their lord shaking and rolling on the ground at her feet, foam pouring from his mouth—it would soon be blood, though—he’d be dead any moment now, so what was the point of continuing to fight?
Perhaps it was a male thing, because Keita never had qualms about walking away from any dangerous situation when she had to. Then again, neither did her brother—and Gwenvael was male…mostly.
And, as stupid males will do, they ignored logic and charged Ragnar. Keita, wincing a little, watched the Northlander tear into them with absolutely no mercy and no regret. A head rolled by, and Keita quickly wrapped her cape around her body to protect her gown from stray splashes of blood.
The second guard was cut in two. The third lost both his arms. The fourth got the back of Ragnar’s fist. Just once, but it was enough to completely decimate the man’s face.
With all the guards dead, dying, or incapacitated, Ragnar focused his attention on Athol.
Keita ran on her tiptoes—and around an endless amount of blood—over to Ragnar, sliding in front of him, her hands pressing into his chest.
“Leave it.”
“He did nothing to help you,” Ragnar said.
“Leave it.”
She watched the Dragonlord, covered in blood and bits of human, pull back his rage and gain complete control of his emotions. When he was calm, he nodded, and Keita motioned to the gate. He headed out, and Keita walked over to Athol.
As if nothing had happened, she said, “Well, I must be off.”
“So soon?”
Keita controlled her urge to bite the elf’s face off. “Unfortunately. I do need my beauty sleep, and we have an early start tomorrow.”
“And did you find who you were looking for, my beautiful Keita?”
“No. But perhaps I can return at another time and search again?”
“Any time you’d like, old friend. You know that.”
Friend? Really?
But Keita would say nothing about that either. Someone like Athol had his uses. Plus, he wasn’t like the humans. He wouldn’t be an easy kill for her or Ragnar, not here on his territory.
Athol kissed the back of Keita’s hand, winked at her.
Bastard.
But Keita did give his assistant a small nod of respect because she could see the true regret in the youngster’s face. She knew he’d wanted to help, and understood why he couldn’t. He might not wear a collar and leash like some of Athol’s guests did, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t just as yoked into submission.
She walked out of the gate and onto the road. She immediately felt the loss of Athol’s power, and it shocked her that she’d never realized how oppressive that power was until now. When the gate closed behind her, she let out a shaky breath and rubbed her forehead.
“Are you all right?”
And what she didn’t need right now was for Ragnar to be nice to her. She still had no idea where her aunt was or if she’d betrayed the throne; and there was also at least another day of flying ahead and her mother to face at the end of it.
Lashing out at the Dragonlord was one option, one she briefly considered, but she simply wasn’t in the mood to do that either.
“I’m fine,” she said.
“What did you do to him?”
“DeLaval?” She raised the forefinger she’d let him suck on. “Loeiz herb. I always keep a little in my pockets.”
“To poison people?”
“When they get pushy…yes.”
Ragnar studied the dragoness before him, realization slowly creeping upon him.
She’d handled that noble and the elf without a bit of panic or fear, although she was essentially trapped in her human form. And she not only knew about the rare Loeiz herb, but had some hidden on her and understood how to use it. He knew this because putting Loeiz in food or drink made it completely ineffectual. It needed to interact directly with saliva or mucus to kill quickly, or be put in a small bleeding cut if one needed time to leave before death occurred. And very few knew the poisonous uses of the herb because it was hard to find and could only be plucked moments before blooming. Too early and it was a wonderful smoking weed. Plucked too late and it was a delicious herb on cooked meats.