Dragon Ashes: Dragon Guard Book 3, page 14
“We have no idea where the hell we are,” Helgi pointed out as we hurried down the passage.
“We’ll find out soon enough,” Vesper said.
I cradled Anara’s heart to my chest as we hurried through the tunnel until the smooth floors and walls were behind us and we were walking on hard-packed earth. Wooden beams held the tunnel together here. The construction had obviously not gotten this far.
“Where do you think the others will go?” Helgi asked.
“Another safe house,” Vesper said.
He was right. “I doubt they have just the one.”
The air grew heavier, and it was harder to breathe. We hit a slight incline and picked up speed, eager to get above ground.
“Ladder up ahead,” Vesper said.
Sure enough, a metal ladder was bolted to the wall up ahead.
The tunnel stopped here.
Vesper went up first, pushing open a hatch to let in some light. “Clear.”
Shit, I was going to have to climb the ladder with one hand. The cushioned pouch had fabric handles. I tied them to my belt so the pouch hung down my leg.
“Careful,” Helgi warned.
“Yeah. I know.” I climbed slowly, not wanting the pouch to be bumped and jostled too much.
Vesper waited above, his face in shadow, his dark hair tipped in moonlight. He held out his hand and I grasped it, allowing him to haul me up.
Helgi emerged a moment later and closed the hatch, rendering it invisible to the naked eye. It looked like it was part of the ground, like it belonged, because the outside was made of the same earth and rock as the rest of the Outlands. It was as if someone had simply cut a hole in the ground.
We stood surveying the moonlit Outlands, nothing but rocky ground and bushes as far as the eye could see.
I exhaled and looked up at the sky, tracking the constellations. “Where the fuck are we?”
“Far from Draco City,” Vesper said. “The stars are bright.”
Good catch. The stars were always brighter far from Draco City because there was no artificial light to drown them.
“I say we fly,” Vesper said.
“Are you sure?” I looked down at the cargo in my hands. “What about drones?”
“They’ll be busy rooting out the resistance.”
I nodded. “Let’s do it.”
Vesper jogged away to give himself space to shift, and in the next moment we were standing face to face with a huge black dragon. He lowered his head, eyes gleaming with urgency.
Get on.
It was time to take the dragon queen home.
* * *
No drones attacked. The world was silent and peaceful beneath us, and once we were high up in the air, Vesper quickly got his bearings. We flew for what felt like hours, long enough for the night sky to turn gray, signaling the approach of dawn.
The peaks of the fortress appeared in the distance and my heart leapt. We were almost home.
“You okay, Helgi?”
“Peachy.”
Her grip on me was like a vise. I guess heights weren’t her favorite thing.
We need somewhere safe to keep Anara while she’s reborn, Vesper said. Somewhere the deceivers can’t find her.
The deceivers could be anywhere. Hiding Anara would be no easy feat. My gaze drifted over the spires in the distance. Unless… “Cornelia!”
“What?” Helgi asked.
“Sorry, that was for Vesper.”
Anara’s wyvern? He sounded confused.
He didn’t know what had happened to me. I filled him in on Cornelia’s reaction to me, and the hidden nest. If anyone can keep her warm and protect her, it’s Cornelia.
Agreed. Now to find her nest.
I can guide you. I remember where it was.
The sun was still cresting the horizon when we flew over the compound. I scanned the fortress until I spotted the crumbling tower.
Far east, do you see it?
That part of the fortress is unstable, Vesper said.
Which is why my mother hid me there. No one will go there. We’ll do the same for her now. “Helgi, hold on, we’re going to dip.”
“Fuck,” Helgi bit out through gritted teeth.
“It’ll be over soon, promise.”
Vesper swerved toward the battered part of the compound, swooping lower, wings outstretched in a glide. We were almost above the broken tower when the rose-gold wyvern burst up into the sky, brown eyes blazing with rage at our intrusion.
Whoa! Vesper reared back, and I almost lost my grip on Anara.
Cornelia lunged at us, her golden wings tipped in black ripping at the air.
She hadn’t seen me yet. I needed her to see me. Vesper, turn away.
What?
I need her to see me.
Good plan.
He swung his huge body to the side, wings beating the air to stay airborne.
“Cornelia!” I called her name, desperate for her attention. “It’s me. Anya.”
She paused mid-hiss and swung her head toward me. Her brown eyes widened, nostrils flaring. She was taking in my scent.
“Yes, girl, it’s me.”
The tension in her body shifted. No longer in attack mode, she rose higher, peering down at me, and I realized it was an invitation.
Take me down.
You sure? Vesper asked.
Yes.
“Helgi, I’m gonna drop into the tower. You need to stay on Vesper, okay?”
“Ah, fuck. Okay.”
Vesper turned back toward the tower, his huge body sliding under Cornelia to get me close to the hole in the roof.
“Anya, are you sure about this?” Helgi asked.
There was a nest down there, soft and ready to cushion my fall. “Yep.” I tipped to the side, releasing my grip on Vesper’s neck, and fell.
Cornelia let out a screech as I shot down through the aperture. I twisted my body midfall, hugging Anara to me, and hit the nest with my back with an oomf that knocked the air from my lungs. No pain. No broken bones.
Anara? I sat up quickly, running my hands over the velvet case until I was sure she was intact.
A shadow fell over me, and a moment later Cornelia landed beside the nest. Her gaze dropped from my face to the bundle.
“Yes, Cornelia. It’s her.” I held out the bundle containing Anara’s heart and the wyvern’s head dipped to sniff it. Her eyes closed for a moment, then popped wide open. “This is Anara’s heart. I need you to keep it warm. I need you to protect it while she’s reborn. Can you do that?”
Cornelia dipped her head once.
Fuck, she really did understand me. “Thank you.”
Her head whipped up, a snarl pulling back her lips as Vesper landed beside the nest in human form.
“Easy.” He held up his hands.
She hissed at him.
“She never liked me,” he drawled.
“It’s okay, Cornelia. Vesper is my mate. We can trust him.” I glanced up at the hole in the tower to see Helgi peering down, her face pale and drawn.
Cornelia looked up and spotted her. Her thighs flexed.
“No! Helgi is my friend.” There was a snap to my tone and Cornelia responded instantly, dropping her lips back over her teeth and relaxing.
“You’ll need this.” Vesper passed me the silver box Royce had given him.
I carefully set Anara in the nest beside me and undid the velvet pouch. The cushioned fabric fell away to reveal her heart.
Cornelia let out a soft moan.
“It’s all right, we’re going to bring her back.” I opened the box and studied the instruments: a syringe to draw blood and a strip of elastic to wrap around my arm to find a vein.
“You need help?” Vesper asked.
“Nah, I got this.” I tapped a vein, drew blood, and then stared at Anara’s heart.
“Do it.”
“What if I do it wrong?” Damn, I wasn’t used to being uncertain, not about anything.
“I don’t think there is a wrong way.”
Okay, here went nothing. The needle slid into the heart easily, and I pushed down the plunger, infusing the static heart with my blood before sitting back on my heels.
Nothing happened for long, agonizing seconds, but then the crimson fractures began to glow. “It’s working. Now what?”
Cornelia nudged me with her nose. She wanted me to get out of the nest. I obliged and she climbed in and curled her body around the heart.
“Three days…” Vesper wrapped his arms around me. “I’ll check back tonight.”
* * *
“I need to see her,” Orion said.
“You will. As soon as she’s restored,” Vesper said. “It would be foolish to have too much traffic back and forth from that part of the castle.”
“We don’t want to tip anyone off,” Helgi added.
I hadn’t seen Orion this agitated since we’d met. He paced the floor of my quarters, hands clasped behind his back. “You’re sure she’s safe with the wyvern?”
“Yes.” I kicked off my boots and stretched my toes.
“I knew it was a possibility, but to have her here is a gift indeed.”
The radio Royce had given me sat on the table. “I hope they made it out with the EMP.”
“If I was incorporeal again, I’d be able to check for you,” Azazel said from his spot parked on my windowsill.
“It’s okay. Royce was confident they’d be fine. We need to have faith.”
There was a knock at the door.
Helgi answered, letting Illyrian into the room.
“Anya!” He rushed over and drew me into a hug. “Thank the gods you’re safe.”
I hugged him back. “We have Anara.”
He pulled away and stared at me in shock. “You do?”
“Yes. She’s safe. Cornelia has her.”
He let out a ragged sob, his eyes tearing up. “I must see her. Speak with her.”
“Yeah, about that…” I filled him in on Anara’s current state.
He dropped into the nearest available seat with a stunned expression. “Her heart… Of course. Of course, she’d retreat into her heart. That beautiful, clever woman.”
“What do we tell the Mageri?” Helgi asked.
“Good question,” Vesper said. Primian will want to know what happened. He’ll want to know where the humans are and if we found the EMP.”
“We tell them the humans are dead,” Orion said. “They were killed in the storm by monstrous creatures and that the coordinates were incorrect.”
I nodded. “Good call. Could have happened. I can say I’ll be focusing on retrieving the grimoire instead, although I have no clue where to start. Anara was the beacon, not me.”
“But Anara could never locate it,” Illyrian said. “She felt it from time to time, but she said it was as if something was blocking her.”
“Which means I’m probably useless in the search.”
“Not necessarily,” Illyrian said. “Before Anara was taken from us, Primian and I were working on a spell to amplify her connection to the grimoire. He should still have it. With a few tweaks we should be able to use it on you.”
I smiled at him. “You won’t need me. You’ll have Anara in a few days. All we need to do is stall.”
He smiled. “Of course. Yes. Then we stall. We play the part until we no longer have to.”
We had our queen back, and in a couple of days the world would know it. In a couple of days my responsibilities would be over. I’d be free.
I waited for relief to wash over me. It never came. Instead, my stomach felt hollow. The same feeling that I got when the last of the dumplings was gone, or when Helgi couldn’t hang out with me.
Disappointment.
I guess being queen might not have been so bad after all.
Chapter Twenty-One
The rest of the day was uneventful. Probably because I spent it hiding in my quarters. I was tired, and my body ached as if I’d done a particularly grueling workout.
A bath helped to soothe some of the aches, and a short nap revitalized me somewhat. By the time the sun dipped, I was rested and antsy. My gaze kept going to the radio Royce had given me. What if it was broken? What if there was no reception?
“Staring at it won’t help,” Helgi said from her position on the couch, one hand thrown over her eyes. She’d kicked off her boots and her stockinged feet hung off the arm of the sofa.
She looked relaxed and at ease. Probably because she’d spent the afternoon training with the guards. I should have gone too. I should have pushed past the aches and trained. I dismissed the thought as soon as it formed. The way I’d felt earlier had left no energy to deliver or take a hit.
“How are you feeling now?” Helgi asked.
“Better. I’m not sure what the hell happened.” I flexed my biceps. “No aches now, though, and the lethargy has gone.”
She lowered her arm. “The suppressor is off. Your body has access to Mageri power and you’re feeding it to three Dreki lords. That’s enough to take a toll on anyone.” She pressed her lips together. “Hey, do you think that’s why Anara never went into battle?”
I sat up straighter. “You think being a conduit will weaken me?”
Helgi winced. “Forget I said anything.”
But I couldn’t forget it. It was a valid theory.
“You’re not full Dreki. You’re part human, and you have some of Illyrian’s power.”
“Which means I might end up worse off than Anara.”
She swung her legs off the sofa, planting her feet firmly on the ground. “Stop. There is no point getting stressed until we have more information.”
I exhaled. “You’re right. I’ll speak to Illyrian about it. We’ll figure it out.” We had to, because if I couldn’t be on the front lines of the fight, then I wasn’t sure what I’d do.
“There are other ways to protect those you love,” Helgi said.
“I know, but I feel most myself with Jezebel in my hand and adrenaline coursing through me.”
We lapsed into silence, long enough for me to shake off the blue mood. I’d worry about it when I was certain that was what would happen.
I sat back in my seat and Helgi relaxed. “Have you seen Azazel since this morning?”
“He came to check in on you while you were napping. Said he’d be back. I think Orion’s mentoring him.”
Mentoring him on how to be Dante? No, that wasn’t right. Azazel shouldn’t have to pretend to be someone he wasn’t. I needed to speak to him. I opened my mouth to call his name and snapped it shut.
Helgi frowned. “What?”
“All I usually have to do to summon Azazel is say his name. Things are different now.”
“Yeah, this has got to be weird for him.” She studied me with a shrewd expression. “For you too?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean your relationship has always been this spiritual thing, right? No touchy-touchy.” She wiggled her fingers.
“I know what you’re getting at, but being able to touch will only strengthen what we have.”
“With Dante’s body and face? Can you get past that? Can you look into Dante’s eyes and see Azazel?”
I smiled. “Yes. I feel him, Helgi. I’ve always been able to feel him in here.” I touched my chest. “Being able to touch him physically is simply a bonus.”
She returned my smile with a jagged one of her own. “You really do love him, don’t you?”
“Yeah, I really do.”
“Do you think you can love Vesper and Orion?”
“I wouldn’t have thought this when I met them, but now that I know them a little, falling in love with them wouldn’t be so hard.” I looked out at the setting sun, the antsy feeling growing inside me. “I need to hit stuff.”
“Okay.” Helgi stood and stretched. “Let’s go hit stuff.”
“You don’t have to come with me. You already trained.” I grinned at her, knowing what her answer would be.
“And leave you to have all the fun? Fuck that.”
* * *
Training had been just what I needed to feel like myself again. The rush of adrenaline, the clink of swords, the swish of blades cutting through the air was a symphony that resonated with my soul.
I checked in on the kids on the way back to the tower to find them in the nursery lounge having their pre-bedtime drinks. Two bedtimes stories and several goodnight kisses later I headed back to the lords’ tower, but instead of going back to my quarters I had Wex escort me to Dante’s.
Azazel answered when I knocked, his eyes lighting up at the sight of my grimy, disheveled state.
“Thank you, Wex,” he said. “I’ll escort Anya back to her chambers later.”
Wex inclined his head. “Very well, Lord Dante.”
It hit me that he didn’t know Dante was no longer Dante. No one aside from a small group of us did. Azazel would have to live a lie, a façade for…well, for as long as we lived here. Was that fair to him? Was I asking too much of him?
He took my hand and drew me inside, closing the door behind me before gathering me into his arms, burying his nose in the crook of my neck, and inhaling me.
“I love the way you smell after a brawl,” he said.
Shit, I hadn’t washed yet. “That’s kind of disgusting, Azazel.”
“No, Anya, you have no idea how good you smell.”
“Are you joining us for supper?” a cool male voice said.
I pulled away from Azazel, surprised to see Orion seated on the rug by the fire.
“Maybe you can unjoin us.” Azazel arched a brow at him.
Orion’s lips lifted in a wry smile. “Your wounds need more time to heal, Azazel. Physical activity is not advised.” He gave me a pointed look as he stood. “Enjoy the food, Anya. Azazel, I’ll see you tomorrow midday for our class.”
He paused as he passed by me and leaned in slightly, breathing me in. “Yes, you do smell especially delectable right now.” He leaned in further so his cool breath brushed my ear. “I’m at your disposal should you need me.”
He swept from the room before I could address his offer.
“Right now, I both admire and hate him,” Azazel said, closing the door behind him.
