Castle Coeds 10, page 2
She could be our insider, and if Constantine was busy with wedding preparations, he would be less inclined to catch on to our plan.
Bahdir and I wandered back through the encampment toward Castle Woodhouse. The campfire at the center of the original settlement was flickering like a beacon, and the scent of woodsmoke and whatever was roasting in the flames wafted in the breeze.
I was practically floating in the air like a cartoon character following a delicious smell, and my mouth watered with every step.
“I will check in with the warriors again,” Bahdir said when we’d reached the tree outside of the settlement.
“Good idea,” I said. “Bayrah.”
The moment Bahdir disappeared around the yurts, there was a loud yelp from the direction of the dorm. I walked over and spotted Nora and Kryze by the moat heading my way.
Nora wore a green sweater that was zipped up halfway and hugged her curves nicely. Her generous tits peeked out from over her low neckline and seemed to be pushed up by the zipper that was fastened between them.
She’d cut her hair a couple of weeks before, and the layers curled at her jawline. Ziggy perched on her shoulder and blinked back at me with bored eyes.
Kryze giggled behind her delicate hand at Nora’s startled face. The Shanukstani priestess wore her embroidered tunic over mid-rise blue jeans. She’d let Nora experiment with her hair and was now rocking what the women called wispy bangs. It suited her.
“It doesn’t look like Ziggy has a note,” Nora said as she shook the small container.
“I already got it.” I waved the rolled scrap of paper in the air as proof.
“Then why are you on me?” Nora asked the bird in a playfully reprimanding tone.
“Because you’re just so lovable,” I teased.
“Ugh.” Nora rolled her hazel eyes. “It’s a blessing and a curse.”
“What does the message say?” Kryze asked.
“Owain arranged a meeting with Lady Ellaria in Bencullen,” I said.
“I know what you are,” Kryze said, and her lips twitched.
“Oh, my god.” Nora’s eyes shone with excitement. “Say it!”
“Are you going to keep quoting it?” I chuckled.
“Vampire,” Kryze finished, and her serious face lit up as she burst into giggles.
“We’ve taught you well,” the redhead said with approval.
Nora burst out laughing, and Ziggy flapped his wings in annoyance before flying away toward the castle.
“Even the bird disapproves of your Cullen references.” I shook my head, but a grin was plastered on my face.
When we’d collected the DVDs from the dorm rooms, we’d found five Twilight box sets. They’d been added to our family movie night rotation, and Kryze enjoyed getting to quote them with the others.
“You’re obsessed,” I accused Nora with a chuckle.
“It’s a class–” Nora’s grin froze on her pretty face.
The ground shook beneath our feet and seemed to ripple around the castle’s barricade. There were a few worried and confused-sounding shouts from the tribe, and Nora’s features morphed into shock.
Kryze’s dark eyes widened with alertness, and she whipped her head from side to side as if searching for the cause of the quake.
“What was that?” the Shanukstani priestess asked.
“I have no idea,” I said and clenched my jaw with concern.
The ground hadn’t trembled like a regular earthquake, but it was distinct enough to have been felt all the way through the Shanukstani encampment. It seemed to have rippled from somewhere behind Castle Woodhouse, and I couldn’t imagine what could have been large enough to produce that kind of shake.
“I’ll check it out.” I started jogging around our barricade.
“I’m coming with you!” Nora called out after me.
“Me, too,” Kryze chimed in.
I followed the moat and led the women around our castle. It wasn’t long before I found the culprit, and I stopped in my tracks. Nora didn’t slow down, and her bouncy breasts collided into my back like airbags.
“Why’d you stop…” she grumbled before trailing off.
I assumed she’d noticed what I was gaping at. A giant, scaly beast stood on the field behind the dorm, and it was staring right at us.
Chapter 2
The beast was at least as large as a school bus, if not bigger, with scales the color of spilled oil that shimmered with a multi-colored sheen in the sunlight. The ground vibrated a little again as the creature took a step forward and lowered her head to fix us with a golden gaze that was impossible not to recognize.
Despite having two giant eyes instead of one, human-sized one, they were unmistakable. They resembled amber stones, like they were trapped and solidified pieces of magma that still burned around the slit pupils.
“Tevai,” I said in a huff of breath.
“Whoa.” Nora’s mouth hung open as she stared up at the dragon.
We’d all seen Tevai in her dragon form before, not just deep inside the Nepalam Mountain’s cave, but also coiled tightly in the dorm’s first floor when she needed a deeper rest. But Tevai hadn’t been strong enough to transform to her full size while awake.
Until now.
She was impressive, and the sunlight seemed to gleam on her like twinkling lights on a clear, quiet lake. Her confidence and regained strength exuded from her like a second magic. She was striking and terrifying, and I was brimming with happiness for her.
When we’d first discovered her in one of the underground chambers, her mouth had been lopsided from where her teeth had been torn out of her gums. After the artifacts we’d taken back from the con artist in Lydmark and all her months of recuperating and regaining strength, Tevai again had a full row of sharp teeth.
She looked like she was grinning down at us, and her pointed canines gleamed in the sun. The width of her smile was twice my height, and I couldn’t help but think how easy it would be for her to snap someone in half if she wanted.
“Tevai,” Nora cooed in a flirtatious tone, “you’re looking good, girl.”
“I feel good,” the dragon said.
Tevai’s voice was low and raspy in my mind, and it instantly set a rippling fire that swelled inside of me. Her tone was somehow deeper in her dragon form and sounded older, like the centuries she’d lived bled into her voice. I wasn’t sure if it was the echo effect, as if she was speaking to us from inside the Nepalam Mountain caves, or if it was some kind of dragon accent.
“I missed hearing you in my mind,” I said out loud.
A low chuckle reverberated in my head, and I smiled up at her with pride. She was glorious and impressive, both as a human and a dragon.
The most shocking difference was the pair of golden almond-shaped eyes that were the size of stop signs. One was slightly dimmer, and the cat-like pupils darted to us with approval.
I wondered how she could have two eyes as a dragon, but not as a human, but then again, she was a magical creature, and I didn’t know a damn thing about dragon anatomy.
The women who’d been inside the castle were rushing around the barricade to join us. Not all of them were dressed for the weather, and I assumed they must have felt the shake and rushed out without grabbing their things.
Asha was wearing high-waisted athletic shorts that revealed her toned thighs and a cropped top. Olivia also had her baby-blue shorts and matching track sweater, and her cheeks were rosy. I wondered if Asha had roped her into a workout session when Tevai had transformed.
Akoni was barefoot and didn’t seem bothered by the slight chill in the air. Her purple-painted lips curved into an approving smile as her dark eyes stared up at the dragon on the field.
Andamora was the only one who seemed overdressed with her fur coat that was bundled tightly around her neck. Her curly mane flowed over the Shanukstani-embroidered detailing at her collarbone. She’d shoved her hands in the deep pockets as if it was fourteen degrees out instead of forty-one.
I supposed the sunny, Castilan weather would make it seem like this was freezing weather.
Gwen and Arden were the only ones in appropriate gear with oversized hoodies and jeans. They looked cute in their baggy clothes.
“Wow!” the willowy brunette exclaimed, and her doe eyes lit up with awe. “Tevai… how amazing!”
The dragon tilted her head to the side in an uncharacteristically coquettish manner, and I was filled with pride at how far Tevai had come. She exuded confidence and happiness, and her magic radiated off of her like rippling waves over a shore.
The magic wasn’t all-consuming like it had been in the chamber of the Nepalam Mountain. Tevai’s icy power blended with the cool, spring air and added a subtle, prickly sensation to the breeze that caressed my bare skin.
It was like a tender hand cupping my cheek, and I wondered if it was my imagination or Tevai’s doing.
The dragon’s tail was more than twice the length of her body, and it was loosely wrapped around her legs. I stared at the barb at the end of her tail, and I couldn’t help but imagine the damage it could do. It looked like a morning star on a flail, and I was pretty sure it could squash a person like they were nothing more than an annoying fly.
She stretched her wings and shook her body as if she’d just woken up from a deep sleep. Gusts of wind rushed toward us, and the women giggled as they tried to keep their balance. Their hair was tousled a little, and they batted the strands out from over their faces.
The skin that webbed between the bones of Tevai’s wings looked thicker than it had months ago. There were healed scars that gleamed gray in the light, and stitch marks that were almost completely faded where Gwen had sewn the tissue.
Tevai’s wings were impressive, and when she stretched them out, she tripled in size. She was massive, and I practically had to crane my head to look her in the eye.
“Do you think you can fly?” I asked.
“Yes.” The word was crisp and assertive inside my brain.
“You’ve flown in the last few months?” I asked, and I tried to mask the suspicion in my voice.
How could I have missed a giant, jet-black dragon soaring over the land? She was kind of hard to miss.
“No,” she said in a matter-of-fact tone. “But I know it in my bones.”
The saying meant more coming from Tevai. She’d lost many of her appendages that had been stolen to be sold as magical relics, but Tevai had been able to heal since we’d retrieved them from that warlock vendor in Lydmark.
She must literally be able to sense it in her bones.
“I’m at my full strength,” Tevai said, “and I cannot wait to feast on the flesh of my enemies.”
Tevai’s tone was flat, like she was talking about what she was planning to eat for lunch.
“Ew,” Nora grumbled under her breath. “But… fair, I guess.”
“You might be feeling more like yourself,” I said to Tevai, “but you haven’t flown in centuries. I think it’s best if you practice a bit before we head north to Constantine’s island.”
I could almost hear Tevai sucking her teeth inside my mind with reluctance. Her large, golden eyes stared at the sky before she nodded slowly.
“You are right, Isaac,” she said. “It is wiser to take this time leading up to the battle to refamiliarize myself with the wind.”
The sun shone brightly behind Tevai’s head above me, and it silhouetted her impressive form. She vaguely resembled a lizard with a spiky forehead and narrow snout.
Without another word, she launched into the sky. The ground trembled from the weight of her body as she pushed herself off, and a gust of wind sent dust in her wake.
I covered my face with my arm and tilted my head away to avoid getting debris in my eyes. Nora and Kryze buried their faces against my chest to block out the dust.
Once everything settled around us, I peeked over the curve of my elbow at the sky. Clouds dotted the vibrant blue, and like stamped ink over white parchment, Tevai hovered under the puffs.
She flew around in circles and looped around. Magic crackled in the air, and my bones thrummed with excitement that was both mine and hers.
“She’s amazing,” Gwen gushed.
The women who’d just joined us outside had made their way toward Nora, Kryze, and me, and were all staring at the sky with slackened jaws.
Tevai was zooming over the castle and the Shanukstani tribe, and their oohs and ahhs could be heard from around the dorm. I’d told Bahdir a few weeks ago about Tevai’s situation, and the young warrior hadn’t batted an eye.
Despite not having seen dragons in centuries, the tribe had been very open to the concept of there still being one not only alive, but living in the castle next door.
Considering Kryze had been brought up by a generational line of priestesses who were in charge of taking care of the wounded dragon, I imagined they’d heard and seen it all.
Tevai disappeared through a puff of clouds and seemed to come in and out of focus through the veil. She was just a black shape in a sea of blue, and I had to squint to even make her out.
Her shape grew larger as she shot through the clouds toward us. The dark blob had chunky legs like a scaly elephant’s, a striking tail that curled over its ridged body like a scorpion, and sharp, gleaming teeth that snapped the air.
If I hadn’t known it was Tevai, I would have been shaking in my boots.
She stopped in her tracks a few feet above our heads, and batted her wings to land with a gentle thud on the spot she’d been on.
“How was it?” I asked.
“It was as easy as breathing.” Tevai’s voice was like a crackling fire inside my mind.
“That looked like so much fun!” Arden gushed. “I’d only ever fly if I could.”
“I much prefer my feet on the ground,” Kryze said quietly. “It is more stable.”
I was more with Arden on that one. Flying must be so freeing, and I could tell by the energy Tevai exuded that she’d come alive in the air.
The dragon stared off into the distance with what I imagined was a pensive expression. It was hard to detect on the serpentine features from a few feet below.
Tevai had a long neck that made me think of a Brontosaurus, but her spines gave her a fiercer look. Her magic buzzed in my core and spread through my veins like static electricity.
She tilted her head to the side, and I imagined the giant gears spinning in her mind. Her neck curved out when she lowered her head to look at me at eye level.
“Will you ride me, Isaac?” she asked with sincerity.
Based on Nora’s lack of snickering from the phrasing, I figured the question was only heard by me.
I wasn’t sure how things had been before the war, but I doubted many dragons let humans, or anyone, ride them. It was an honor that Tevai trusted me enough to offer. Warmth swelled in my chest at the proposal, and I nodded in response, because all words had escaped me.
Icy magic fluttered inside me, and the familiar, electric pulse of Tevai’s power was like a hug. She lowered her head and watched me as I stepped forward.
“Wait…” Nora gasped. “Are you…”
The question trailed off into nothing as I gripped one of the spikes that cascaded down Tevai’s neck to her back. I tested a large scale on the dragon’s shoulder with my boot and hummed under my breath.
“They are stronger than they look,” Tevai said in a reassuring tone. “You won’t hurt me.”
I hoisted myself up and swung my leg over so I was straddling Tavai’s neck. I sat between her shoulder blades and pressed my knees against her sides.
From up close, I could make out the tiny criss-crossing scars that covered her inky scales. There didn’t seem to be an inch of her that didn’t have the faded white lines that had been inflicted on her by those disgusting men centuries ago. They were like a tapestry of Tevai’s tragic history and her resilience, both in dragon and human form.
I traced the patterns with feather-light fingers, and Tevai trembled beneath me as if the touch had sent pleasant shivers down her spine.
While the scales on her legs and shoulders were as large as tires, the overlapping ones along her neck varied from the size of dinner plates to golf balls. They varied in texture, too, with some smooth like a snake’s and others rough like crocodile skin.
Their color was glossy and, in spots, made them look fused together.
Without warning, Tevai propelled us straight into the air like a rocket, and my ass slid over her scales. I gripped the spines on her neck and pressed my knees tighter against her sides to hold myself in place.
I didn’t have to look over my shoulder at the disappearing ground to know that it’d be a deadly fall. The wind whipped my hair and tugged at my hoodie. My eyes watered, and I lowered my body so my torso was flat against Tevai.
The dragon slowed her ascent and evened herself to a level position.
I lifted my chest and gazed at the clouds that were hovering lazily over my head. They were an arm’s reach away, and when I glided my hand through, it was a velvety-cold mist to the touch.
“How are you?” Tevai asked.
I detected a sliver of hesitation in her tone, as if she was worried about my answer. It was rare to hear anything but confidence in the dragon-woman’s voice, and I was touched at how much she cared about me.
“Great,” I said. “This is… wow.”
I peered over her shoulder at Domum Shine. The dorm looked like a toy castle in the middle of the patchwork of land. The women were barely noticeable, but I could make out their small figures near the pond at the back of the castle.
Tevai tilted her body to the right, and I clutched her scales and dug my heels into her sides to hold on. She glided over the Shanukstani tribe that had stretched out toward the Nepalam Mountains. The paths that linked each cluster of yurts looked like roots spreading underground.
Bahdir was speaking with a few of the newcomers from the Outlands on the outskirts of the settlement. Trinika’s guards wore tunics instead of their usual fabrics under their chain mail that was usually decorated with colorful feathers.
