A Shade of Dragon 2(2)

But Lethe shook his head, breaking my spell.

“You’re a woman, and a lover of the fire dragons. You cannot be trusted. You will say anything to emerge victorious. My father has warned me of your kind: humans and women alike. You are aware of your beauty, your softness, your comely sweetness—and you use it like a hook. I must go tell my father.” Lethe stood to vacate the room, but then turned back to me, and his cool blue eyes relaxed. “Don’t leave this room,” he commanded me, turning and sweeping from the premises.

Throughout the night, I had been watched, by the witch Thalissa and by Lethe, but I had not seen Thalissa in hours… and Lethe was leaving.

His words gave me pause. He had commanded me to not leave the room. As if I had some control over that.

I crept toward the heavy oak door. Was it possible that there was no one watching this door? Was it possible that, for whatever reason, Lethe had kept my existence a secret?

Drawing in a breath, I allowed my fingers to wrap around the brass doorknob and gave it a turn. The door fell open, and I poked my head into the hall.

A carpet in tones of brown, burgundy and gold lined the corridor; iron shields hung from the wall, chiseled with the insignias of noble houses. All was quiet.

No one was there.

I took a tentative step forward.

In my singed dress and no shoes, I would be unable to escape the castle and survive. But if I could find some shoes… a coat… Would I be able to find my way to that portal? Even if I did, I would be stranded on the freezing seas.

I was trapped.

“Hey, you there—what are you doing in the west wing?” a gruff voice called from behind me. I whirled, startled; a guard approached, clattering with armor, face hidden behind a blue fabric mask. “The chamber maids are scheduled to the guest—Hey! What happened to your frock there? Ya get too close…”

As he trod closer, his eyes widened with realization, and my shoulders tensed; my throat closed. He knew. He knew I was no ice dragon, much less a chamber maid. The mask came away from his face, and his mouth fell open, shards of ice and snow peeling out at me, sinking into my skin and coating my face.

I went flying onto my back, gasping up at the ceiling. I was frozen. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t move!

I was still stiff as the guard collected me into his arms, muttering about the perfect place for the likes of fire spies.





Theon





While Michelle took a nap on a cot in the sleeping quarters, I roamed the packed underground shelter. We had fire dragon allies away from The Hearthlands who could have come to help us in our plight, but what help could they offer? Besides the fact that their arrival would end up attracting unwanted attention from the ice dragons, we could barely shelter and feed those we already had here.

I turned my thoughts to the venture ahead of us: several days of travel through a hostile environment, then risky reconnaissance in the castle. We would need heavy layers of furs and leathers, enough food to last for two days—one for the trip in this tundra, and one for infiltrating the walls and finding safe houses—and naturally, weaponry.

I had only just arrived here—barely had the time to check that my mother was alive, my father was only imprisoned, my brother was missing, presumed amongst the many dead—and already, I was raiding the labyrinthian storage areas of the shelter in search of the pelt depository.

After loading up my leather satchel, I headed lower, into the arsenals. An ax for my back holster. A whip for my left shoulder. A shield for my exposed left forearm. A sword for my right hand. I turned to exit, wondering what the manpower at the castle was, and came up short at the sight of Einhen, one of the spiritual advisors who had lived in the palace itself.

His tired eyes swept over me and he summoned a smile. Patches of red and brown scruff were beginning to disguise his face. “Prince Theon, my friend.” He extended a hand and I shook it. “The last I knew of you, you were unaccounted for, somewhere in the lands beyond.”

“I came back last night,” I answered him. “I had gone to Earth to search for a future queen. I found the one—but, in my attempt to return with her, she was kidnapped by Lethe, the grandchild of the rebel, Bram.”

“Oh, gods, what have we done to offend you so?” he whispered, tilting his eyes upward.

“All is not lost.” I refused to acknowledge the possibility that this was, of all things, fate. “I have seen her since, in Lethe’s clutches at the castle. I must go to retrieve her and return her to her own land, away from this conflict. Then I will come back—and we shall have our kingdom returned. We have done nothing to offend the gods. They fight on our side, Einhen; I know it.”