A Shade of Dragon 2(9)

Lethe’s brow knitted. “Theon promised a country you have not yet seen,” he deduced. “The former prince had not yet seen what he would surely have construed as its devastation.”

“There is a secret beauty in everything, for those willing to see it,” I told Lethe, reaching forward and boldly placing my hand over his own frigid one. In the light of the fire, he had begun to flush. “I do love the snow.” And it was true, even if I also loved the sun which refused to shine here now.

Lethe stared at my hand on his, and then raised his eyes to meet mine. They had changed, darkening to a more soulful blue—like a deep lake.

Who was Prince Lethe Eraeus, truly?

My eyes fell to the spines and swirls of the book’s cover.





Theon





Just as I had promised Michelle, the watchtowers, barely visible through the screen of driving snow, came into view. We trudged on through snow which hardened under our feet as the sun lowered into the horizon. This meant that somewhere nearby—

“Halt!” I called, throwing my hand out and catching Michelle on the shoulder. Having everything bleached into tones of white, gray, or blue made differentiation of the landscape very difficult. “It’s our moat.” Snow fluttered across the river of ice. I could only assume that the alligators were dead.

Naturally, the drawbridge was up. Not that it mattered now that the water and animals were frozen solid.

I extended my arm for Michelle to take. In those high-heeled boots, she would fall and hurt herself. Crossing the moat arm in arm with Michelle, I found my moccasins skated easily, and I remembered the carefree evening Penelope had all but forced me to have at Goose Pond. A wistful, bittersweet smile turned up one corner of my lip.

The gatehouse was deserted. There was no purpose to posting a man at its window, for the weather would certainly debilitate us. We were standing, but we could not fight. The snow stung our flesh and made us stiff and slow. By contrast, ice dragons thrived in frozen temperatures. It gave them vigor and stamina. They were doubtlessly certain that they would never again lose control of The Hearthlands—if they could maintain this witchcraft over the island.

If we could transform into fire dragons, the castle could have been retaken. But not only would we be dangerously conspicuous in our dragon forms in this environment, we could not bear to be nude. It would be crippling. For the first time in our lives, transforming into fire dragons would not help.

Each entry point along the gate was sealed with the criss-crossing bars which lowered from slats in the stone. I grimaced at the sight.

“If they’ve retaken the guard and locked even the exterior gates,” I murmured, “we have no hope of entry. They hold the keys.”

“Oh, please,” Michelle scoffed. “How complicated are your locks?”

She pulled a silver pin from the depths of her curls and marched to the nearest gate. I frowned after her. Was she about to—help someone? I decided not to get excited about it, just in case she used it as leverage for a favor later.

“I used to always pick the lock on my dad’s liquor cabinet, and it… Oh, this is primitive,” she muttered, glaring through its wide hole. “I’ve never seen a lock this big before.” She thrust her silver pin inside and fished around, face screwed to one side, then sighed. “Tumblers are frozen into place,” she informed us, rearing onto one leg and using the other to kick the lock with the spike of her heel. Its guts busted and sprayed, but the gate didn’t budge. “Well, dammit,” she muttered, settling with a pout.

“Not so fast,” I warned her, stepping forward and heaving at the gate. It reluctantly wheezed and crunched into the stone slats overhead, ice chips showering into my hair as it went. I turned back to Michelle and offered her a reassuring smile. “You did it. Thank you.”

Michelle shrugged. “I’m sure one of you was about to think of that.” She flounced past me and through the exterior gate as if we were back at the Emporium at Shoreside, returning unwanted Christmas robots, or whatever it was that the people of Earth purchased in droves during their holiday season.

I gazed after her in wonder, then lunged forward and gripped her arm. “By the mercy of the gods, woman,” I hissed, “keep to the wall!”





Theon





The town seemed completely deserted. I cupped my hands around my eyes and peered through frosty windows. Inside were dark quarters, kitchens, libraries, offices, all void of life.

And the sun had set.

Shuddering, I relinquished my dream of reconnaissance today. Our time had been spent in travel, and as the temperatures plummeted further still, it was a matter of urgency to find shelter.