Bound By Dragons: A Standalone Fantasy Romance, page 7
Fara collapsed back on the bed and shut her eyes. “I hate to tell you this, but you’re going to have to attend the Presentation of the Competitors without me. Unless you like a whining vomiter at your back.”
Tahlia dampened a washing cloth in the basin sitting on the small table between their beds, set it on her friend’s forehead, and let it fall over her eyes. Fara let out a sigh of relief.
“You sure?”
“Am I sure I don’t want to heave last night’s dinner all over your fancy new outfit? Yes, I’m quite positive about that. You won’t fire me for this, will you, boss?”
Tahlia chuckled. “It’s only your first offense. I’ll allow at least two mistakes.”
“Gee, you are kind.” Fara smacked her leg lightly. “Now, go. Or you’ll be late and they might not let you into the hall. I heard the king and queen were already seated and taking supplicants’ questions.”
“Heal up quickly. I’ll need you in an hour. I can’t go out there alone.”
“You could, but you won’t have to.” Fara moved the cloth to wink.
With a deep breath, Tahlia nodded and stood. She picked up her new helmet with its red plumage.
It was tournament time.
Light from the long windows sparkled across the dragon-sized crystals that adorned the great hall’s ceiling and walls. Rosy pink, ocean-toned blue, and deep indigo spread over the gathering crowd of Mist Knights in their pale leathers and red-tufted helmets, velvet-wrapped nobles of the Shrouded Mountains region talking animatedly, and a good number of common folk in homespun wool looking on with wide eyes.
Holding her helmet under her arm, Tahlia took a spot near the front of the crowd, beside the other Mist Knights and competitors, with the nobles to their right and the common folk to the left of the room.
On the dais, Seelie King Lysanael, and his mate, Queen Revna of Isernwyrd, sat on tall black-stained wooden thrones. Beside Queen Revna, a shadow materialized and became a forest dragon. Like all forest dragons, he was much smaller than mountain dragons and the power of invisibility ran through his veins. The dragon—Arkyn, Tahlia thought she’d heard him called—currently had his snout in a large copper bowl of something that was staining his snout a dark blue.
Beside Arkyn, a man in a helmet with blue tuffs rather than red stood stiffly, the ends of his blue-green hair showing. Commander Gaius. He honestly scared Tahlia more than any dragon could. Hands clasped, he leaned toward the king and queen. King Lysanael’s dark crown glittered atop his head of obsidian-dark hair as he nodded at something the commander had said. Queen Revna eyed the crowd like she was measuring each person up for a fight. Her hand went to her dragon and she slid her palm down his neck. Arkyn shuffled his wings and settled himself on the ground beside the queen with his tail extended behind the commander. It reached all the way to the steps on the side where two more Mist Knights approached. Ah, it was Marius and that foul, high-ranking female from the baths. Marius held his helmet and searched the room with his stormy eyes.
His gaze stopped on Tahlia. He tripped and swore loudly, glancing backward at Arkyn’s tail, which was slapping the dais like a happy dog’s might. Was Marius all right? Maybe he was hungover like Fara. Marius looked up and his focus locked onto Tahlia. A flush darkened his cheeks and she bit her lip to keep from chuckling.
He spoke in the female’s ear and she turned a glare on Tahlia. What were they saying? Had they found out about the feigned blood sample?
Chapter 11
Marius
Marius cleared his throat, straightened, then bowed to the king and queen with as much dignity as he could manage after tripping over a dragon. Ophelia curtseyed alongside him.
Queen Revna smirked. “A legendary dragon rider who trips over the beast’s tail? There must be something truly interesting in the crowd to have distracted one as experienced as you, High Captain.”
Only recently had the royals been taking part in festivities on the mountain. Marius wished they’d never come.
Gaius’s intense stare was practically scorching Marius’s cheek. Marius did his best to act as though nothing was amiss and the mere sight of Tahlia’s arresting curves hadn’t swept his feet right out from under him. There had been a dragon tail involved, but he never would have tripped so easily had it not been for the shock of desire that had hit him upon seeing Tahlia.
“I didn’t sleep as much as I would have liked, Your Majesty,” Marius said to the queen. It was true and tasted so on his tongue, but it wasn’t the whole truth.
The queen raised an eyebrow. Her eyes were so odd, completely human and icy pale. “Right.”
King Lysanael smiled at his wife, then his eyes drew downward and he pursed his lips. “I’d like to mention my fallen brother as we open. Would that break any cultural norms, Commander Gaius?”
“Mist Knights always honor our fallen,” the commander said, bowing slightly. “Please, feel free to express your respect for your loved one.”
King Lysanael rose from his temporary throne and extended a hand to his queen, who took it and stood with him. “Greetings, knights, nobles, and folk of the mountains.”
The crowd bowed and curtseyed, their gazes locked on the dais as they studied the king and queen, the commander, Marius, and Ophelia.
“What is wrong with you?” Ophelia hissed.
“I tripped.”
“I noticed, but you seem flustered.”
Ophelia’s glance went from his face to the crowd.
Marius didn’t want to know if she saw Tahlia and could read anything from the way he had looked at the competitor. He focused his gaze on the back wall.
King Lysanael was recounting the history of the older brother he’d lost to the weather here in the Shrouded Mountains. “All he wanted was to be one of the knights of legend, to ride into the clouds to glory.” The king bowed his head and his chest moved in a deep, slow breath. Queen Revna took his hand in hers. He smiled at her, then regarded the crowd once more. “I honor him by attending this year’s tournament. In his name, I will give the next Mist Knight named a parcel of land near my winery, a place dear to my heart.”
The crowd let out a cheer of excitement.
The king raised a hand to quiet them. “Now, I believe it’s time for the Presentation of Competitors!”
Another shout of joy went up and filled the great hall with noise. Marius wished this pageantry was over because the sooner they flew with the competitors, the better. The breeze this morning smelled of a storm.
Gaius went to the other end of the dais and called up the competitors as the king and queen took their seats.
“Lord Renwall of Turnlington,” the commander called out.
Renwall stalked up the steps to Marius, who was required to kiss both the male’s cheeks in a ridiculous old tradition.
“What is the deal with the kissing?” the queen whispered as Renwall walked away from the dais.
Ophelia gave the queen a polite smile. “At the very first tournament, the High Captain of that time kissed his lead rider for luck. The rider ended up abed with a fever while the rest went flying to drive back pirates coming inland up north. All of the dragons and their riders died that day except for the one who had been ill. That’s why the High Captain’s kiss is known to be good luck. It’s an odd tradition, granted. But we are used to it.”
Queen Revna shrugged. “I’m all for more kissing.” She winked at Marius, then cut her eyes in the direction of the crowd.
He knew where she was looking and forced himself not to follow her gaze to Tahlia. Ophelia would notice and there would be more questions.
Marius twisted slightly to look at Arkyn, Her Majesty’s dragon. “Is your dragon feeling under the weather?” He mentioned the dragon to get the queen’s focus off of him, but Arkyn did seem a bit lethargic.
The queen snorted. “He ate too many of those fine blueberries your staff provided.”
Gaius called out another competitor.
“Serves you right, little monster,” the queen whispered to the dragon.
Well, she wasn’t the queen he had expected. Far too relaxed for a public appearance.
Marius kept kissing competitors until the moment he had been dreading arose.
“Lady Tahlia of Northwoods.”
He stared at the back wall like it held the answer to every mystery in life.
And then she was standing in front of him. In those body-hugging leathers. With that pouty mouth of hers.
He swallowed, looked at her perpetually smiling face, and shifted to the left to kiss the first cheek.
“Thanks again for the armor,” she whispered.
Stiffening, he leaned right to finish the job. She needed to keep that to herself. If Ophelia heard that… Her father probably already knew about the kindness he’d shown Tahlia, but it wasn’t all bad. They had helped out competitors with lighter purses in past tournaments. But Ophelia would have serious questions if she found out.
“I said thank you.”
He grunted. Tahlia’s scent enveloped him—something like lemon and spring leaves—and he kissed her second cheek. Her skin was so soft. She said another couple of words, but his heart was beating and he was so worried that he didn’t hear any of it. She was gone from the dais in what felt like both the shortest and somehow the longest moment of his life thus far. Well, perhaps not as long as that one day in battle with the pirates, but still…
He forced himself not to watch Tahlia leave the dais as Gaius called another competitor’s name.
“Marius.” Ophelia’s voice was a whisper. “What was she thanking you for?”
“I interviewed her.” Not a lie…
“So it went well.”
He clenched his jaw. “She knows more about dragons than I did when I first competed for my place.”
Ophelia nodded.
“She is reckless, but I’m hoping it isn’t a constant with her,” he said, tightly.
“None of it matters if she can’t fly or fight better than the rest.”
“True.”
His gaze disobediently strayed to where Tahlia now stood with the knights, their families, and their staff. Maybe she would fail the first trial and his life would go back to normal. He took a deep breath and forced his focus back to King Lysanael and Queen Revna, who had stood.
“Thank you for welcoming us so kindly,” the king said to the crowd. “We look forward to a day of what you do best—dragon riding!”
A cheer rang through the hall and though a few of the competitors wore wide smiles, a couple looked ready to spill their breakfast onto the ground. He wouldn’t look at Tahlia, but he could guess she was one of the smiling ones.
“Are you thinking about our engagement announcement?” Ophelia eyed him, a bit of what seemed like genuine joy in her eyes.
“When should we tell everyone?” he asked, carefully avoiding her direct question.
The presentation was over and the knights, commoners, and nobles began to disperse, heading out the main doors.
“At the announcement of the winner maybe?”
He nodded and imagined his life as a checklist. He had gained the rank of High Captain. Helped the order grow stronger. Bonded with a dragon successfully. And now he had the promise of the commander’s daughter’s hand in marriage. Everything was progressing according to his long-term plan.
Ophelia took Marius’s arm and they followed the crowd. Excited conversations were broken by the occasional roar of a dragon. Earlier, the squires had assembled the mounts in the arena. Onlookers could enjoy the sight as the first trial—ground weapons—started.
Inside the now packed and chaotic arena, Marius gave Ophelia’s hand a kiss and they broke away, each heading to their judging position on opposite sides of the two rings set up at the northern end of the arena. Competitors and their squires practiced in dirt tracks along the sides of the public seating. Nobles and the common folk filled the public seating on the raised sets of benches arranged on both sides of the tournament grounds. King Lysanael, Queen Revna, Arkyn the forest dragon, and Gaius climbed into the royal box to watch the proceedings.
The first knight to arrive in Marius’s ring was, of course, Tahlia with her short gladius sword in hand. Palms sweating, he swallowed and maintained an emotionless expression that was proper for judging.
“Hello again!” She waved like children did, so enthusiastic and witless.
This was a deadly tournament and a serious possible appointment to the Fae military. She needed to stop acting so damn happy. It was going to get her killed.
Her opponent entered the ring. Twice her size, muscled like an ox, and wearing well-oiled and tidy armor, this male was the perfect competitor. A likely winner. The male showed calm, attention to detail, and the correct level of sober attitude. Good. Tahlia would lose immediately, and it would be the beginning of the end for her here on the mountain. He should never have helped her with new armor or passed her through the interview. He couldn’t wait for her to be gone.
Chapter 12
Tahlia
The giant male’s sword crashed toward Tahlia’s head. But where she’d thought maybe he’d be a bit lumbering due to his impressive size, he was sadly quite quick. She lunged sideways and a lock of her hair fell to the sandy earth.
“Thanks for that,” she said, panting. “It was getting in my eyes. I thought we were supposed to be using the flat of our blades.” She glanced at Marius. “High Captain, isn’t that the rule here?”
She spun and thrust her gladius toward the giant male’s kidney, turning the sword so it would just smack him and not pierce the leather vest.
“Flats, yes,” Marius said, his arms crossed and his stormy gaze locked on her opponent.
Though he agreed, he didn’t seem overly concerned with the giant male nearly slicing her in two.
They fought on, her going low mostly and him high. Once she had him lulled into a rhythm, she threw her blade at his chest, timing it so it would hit hilt first. The hilt bumped the male and he stumbled back a step.
Marius cocked his head, then looked toward the three scribes jotting down points. “Death hit. Lady Tahlia of Northwoods is the winner.”
The scribes agreed, and Tahlia was announced as moving on to the next round. Fara jogged up and handed Tahlia a small bucket and a ladle. Tahlia tucked her gladius into its sheath and scooped a serving of mint-scented water. It tasted divine.
“Thanks, squire.”
“Of course, my lady.”
“You still look green around the gills.”
“I feel like death, but I’m not going to fail you.”
Tahlia returned the small bucket. “You’re the best squire in the world, Fara.”
“I’m really not.”
“You put mint in my water.” Tahlia exhaled, enjoying the fresh feel on her tongue. “That’s fabulous.”
“No, I didn’t.”
“But it smells like mint,” Tahlia said.
Marius lunged forward and grabbed her arm. “What did you say?”
“I said it smells minty. How is that bad?”
Swallowing, Marius held her in place. He shouted a question, but he sounded like he was underwater.
“What did you say?” The arena began to spin. “I can’t hear you.”
Tahlia rubbed her face with numb hands.
“Tahlia?” Fara’s voice was pitched too high.
What was happening?
“Sit down, competitor,” Marius said. At least that’s what it sounded like.
“I don’t feel quite right.”
The arena tilted sideways and night fell.
Tahlia woke in Marius’s arms. Very strong arms. His hand cradled her head as she blinked and dots swam in front of her eyes. What was happening? He was shouting at someone.
“…and I said immediately and don’t bother with Felix. Only bring me Albus! I swear, if you don’t get back here in one minute, I will—” His warning broke off as he looked down at her. “You’re awake. Thank the Old Ones.” His thumb stroked the top edge of her cheek and part of her ear. “Can you hear me? Sometimes ghostmint steals your hearing for a day.”
“I can hear you.” Her throat felt like it was made of sand.
His eyes pressed shut, then he opened them again to study her face and body. “Does your stomach cramp?”
“No, I just feel… I’m a little beat up but that’s probably more from the giant sword-wielder than from… What happened? What is ghostmint?”
The scrabbling sound of feet on the ground and the raging torrent of Fara cursing like a pirate covered whatever Marius tried to say in answer. Tahlia attempted to sit up, but the arena spun and Marius urged her back down.
“Who is Fara destroying?”
“She tried to take Remus’s arms.”
“Who is Remus?”
“He is my squire and not guilty of this crime. Someone poisoned you and we have yet to find out who. I guess the why is the favor I showed you by gifting you those leathers. Yes, the Leatherworker didn’t keep his tongue and now all know that I did you a kindness.”
“Another competitor wanted me out of the tournament?”
“Yes, so they poisoned you. Or had someone else do the deed. We will find the culprit and I will see them weep on their knees before you.”
“Fara is just trying to annihilate Remus because she needs to murder someone.”
“Seems so.”
“That’s her typical response. Attack and ask questions later.”
“So when you say you’ve been around dragons for a long time…” He studied Fara.
Tahlia chuckled and pain lanced through her throat.
“Just be still,” Marius said. “Our best healer is on his way. He has a tonic that will help.”
“I won the first bout.”
“Yes, and you lived through a poisoning.”
“I didn’t miss my second match, did I?”
“No, I called a stop to the tournament for the moment.”
A male with deep wrinkles and a nose like a crow’s beak hustled over and knelt. He pulled a vial from his cloak and gave it to Marius. “Drink that, Lady Tahlia. It will drive the rest of the poison from your pores and set you to rights. You did quite well considering you smelled the ghostmint before drinking. The High Captain told the messenger that you could scent the mint odor.”
