Happy Thanksgiving to all my Canadian readers! I'm grateful for my loving, supportive boyfriend, my amazing family, and all my fans!
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"Elesor, I need you to hurry up."
I grabbed a stone from my pouch and tossed it to the ground before me. The clearing filled with light from the fire. The inferno stretched high into the sky, licking the clouds looming ominously over me. The flames spread quickly through the grass, creating an unbreachable barrier standing between me and the cluster of goblins scrambling up the small incline to us. No taller than my knees, their little eyes glowed gold in the firelight. They shrieked at the sudden flash of light and jumped back. I used the moment to gather my senses and slow my heart rate. Now was not the time to panic at their vast numbers. Now was not the time to think about anything. The fire would last at least ten minutes. Hopefully, the fight wouldn't last that long. Any longer and I would be too tired to raise my sword.
What happened to not thinking?
Focus, Kali. Breathe. Fight. Live.
Survive.
Something I'd done all my life.
After their moment of surprise disappeared, the goblins cried out in a hungry roar. They split up, running around either end of the fire for me. The first one had a spear. I knocked it aside with my sword and kicked its face in. Most of them used the weapons they were born with--teeth and claws. I managed to cut down the first few, but there were so many, while I was slashing, others leapt onto my legs and bit down. I flushed out the pain, grabbed them by their tiny heads and pried them off like the oversized leeches they were. My blade, an extension of my body, sliced through them as I danced around the goblins, swiping and bashing. When they hit the ground, I stomped down, heads and chests crumbling beneath my feet. There could be as many of them as they could throw at me, I was not backing down. This was a fight I intended to win no matter how ugly it got.
And then, before I knew it, the fire was simmering down into a gentle flame. It didn't matter, though. I sliced my blade across the last goblin's throat and was left standing in the middle of a circle of bodies. The only sound was the flicker of the dying fire in front of me.
Gasping for breath, stunned I'd actually survived an attack by an entire swarm of goblins, I turned for Camden. He was still lying by the boulder, untouched by the swarm. Blood trickled down the side of his face where I'd hit him; aside from that, he appeared to be sleeping peacefully. If the attack was any indicator as how the rest of my night was going to go, he could sleep all he liked.
As my adrenaline wore off, the sting of my wounds kicked in. My legs felt like I'd stuck them in a river full of parinas, but it was my ribs that hurt the most. The swift movements weren't exactly part of the "no sparring" rule Cadence had forced upon me, that, on top of having half of Camden's weight on me for hours, would most assuredly set back my recovery.
Groaning, I slipped down the boulder beside Cam and held my ribs. Even the tiniest of breaths cut deep into my side. I stared up at the sky, wishing the stars were out so I could at least distract myself from the pain while I forced myself to breathe. The fire that had shimmered in the clouds above me fizzled out, shutting me in darkness once again. Except this time I was alone.
~~~
Hours of silence went by. At least, it felt like hours. It was cold, the only thing stopping me from freezing to death was the intense heat of Camden's body. Breathing still hurt, but not as much now that I'd caught my breath. I opted out of lighting another fire for two reasons: one, to avoid detection from further monsters; two, I didn't want to be reminded of the carnage only a few feet away from me. I did what I had to do to survive, but it sure hadn't been pretty and if I looked at one more caved in skull I was going to hurl.
I fought with everything I had to resist sleep, but the day caught up with me and weighed heavily on my eyelids. My senses were alert enough that I felt like if I shut my eyes for a few moments I would wake up if a monster approached. . . .
Or you'll sleep so heavily--as you usually do--that even a pissed off manticore can sneak up on you and kill you and Camden in your sleep.
That thought was pretty much the only reason why I was awake at the moment.
A faint roar sounded in the distance. My heart stopped. I'd recognise that call from anywhere.
Putting a whole new meaning to the word "alive," I shot to my feet and cupped my mouth. "Elesor!"
She called out again, closer. All I had was the sound of her voice to tell me where she was. It wasn't good enough. After sitting alone in the dark for hours, I needed to see her. I threw a small piece of Dragon Vain down on the ground. The area around me lit up--and so did the six eyes of a chimera ten feet away. The lion's head appeared to be drawn by the blood of the goblins and figured it was an easy snack. It hadn't known I was here until I'd stupidly called out to Elesor and lit the ground. The snake head was just in the middle of swallowing a goblin whole when the lion barred its teeth at me hungrily. Drool oozed out of its jowls and pooled at its feet.
Swallowing a thick lump in my throat, I peered down at my shortsword then back up to the three headed creature. If I was lucky, I could cut the snake's head off before it bit me and injected me with its venom. Maybe I could dodge the goat's horns, but avoid the lion and its paws as well? I was good, but no one was that good.
It stepped for me--Elesor dove out of the sky and tackled the chimera to the side. The massive beasts rolled out of the cone of light. I rushed after them, striking the ground once more with Dragon Vain. Elesor rose up high and bit a chunk out of the goat's throat. The snake threatened to sink its teeth into her leg; I ran at full speed and swung my blade down, cutting the head clean off. The chimera reared back and kicked out at me. I hit the ground hard, coughing on the air forced out of my lungs.
Hastily, I clamoured to my feet and tossed the red stone into the air. Elesor lunged to swallow it. Her throat glowed as it slid down her esophagus. Seconds later, a brilliant red flame spewed out of her mouth and engulfed the chimera. It cried out, running into the field to put it out. I didn't care where it went, as long as it was away from us.
Beyond relieved, I rushed to the glorious green dragon and wrapped my arms around her neck. "You are the bestest friend anyone could ask for!
She curled her tail around me, ducking her head in a possessive hug. Her chest rumbled with purrs.
Camden groaned by the boulder. Despite her protests, I jumped out of her grasp and ran to his side. He had flipped himself onto his back and was holding his head. I gently swatted his hand out of the way so he wouldn't mess with his wound. In an instant, his hand was on my wrist, eyes burrowing into me; they glowed gold like the goblins' had in the fire.
"Hey," I said softly, "it's me. You're safe, Cam. Elesor's here to take us home. We're going to get you the help you need."
His hand fell lax on his chest, eyes drifting shut. "Kali. . ." My name was only a hoarse whisper on his lips before he completely passed out again.
Elesor came to our side. Her nostrils flared as she dipped her head down to sniff Cam. A soft rumble vibrated through her chest; it was a different pitch from her purr, higher and in her throat, like a croon. I'd heard her only make that noise once before--when she was with Marco. The dragon nudged his side, under his arm to wake him up.
"He's out cold, Elli. He's sick; we have to get him back to Plum."
She nodded then lowered herself down so I could get into the--saddle? How did a saddle get on her? I had been fully prepared to ride home bareback. . . . Which meant someone had put it on her. If they knew she was coming to pick me up, they had to be on their way as well. There was no way my family would let me be out here by myself.
Sure enough, six dragons came into view. What was left of the fire illuminated the colours the dragons bore, red, blues, greens, and yellow. Despite knowing they were friends not foe, Elesor stood in front of us protectively, tail curling around us, while her wings flared to make her bigger.
The dragons landed, forming a circle. One by one, my brothers dismounted and scanned the area for any threats. Dad jumped off Jordan's back and rushed straight to me. Instead of yelling at me for stupidly wandering the valley at night--even though I had no choice--he took one look at the pile of goblins then pulled me into a tight hug. "Are you all right, Kal?"
Despite the sting all over my body from his embrace, I nodded. The hug felt too good to ignore. Relief had washed over me when Elesor had arrived, now I was overwhelmed by the rush of emotions I'd buried all night. I cried silently into his shoulder, releasing all the fear and hopelessness of being alone in a large world filled with darkness and monsters. Everything was okay now. Cam and I had made it.
"Holy shit," Giles exclaimed, walking around the pile of dismembered goblins. "Did you fight all of these, Kal?"
Dad's grip tightened on me at the thought of fighting all of them by myself.
"I did," I confirmed.
"By Gods, Kali!" Kaden called from the other side of his dragon, looking out into the field. "Is that a chimera?"
I pulled myself out of Dad's embrace, sword at the ready. "Is it coming back?"
"No, it's dead. . . You killed a chimera too?"
"Guys, I think we should stop teasing, Kal," Giles suggested. "She'll fuck us up."
"Shut it," Casper snapped. "Kali's safe and that's all that matters." He said it for Dad's benefit, who was growing paler by the minute, even with the orange flame.
"Where's Camden?" Tallinn asked, peering around the circle of dragons.
I stepped out of his view. "He's sick. I carried him as far as I could until Elesor came, but. . . night came sooner than I wanted." I shivered, not from the cold.
Harry knelt beside him and felt his forehead. "Wow, he's hot." He felt his pulse and frowned. "He should be dead. What happened to him, Kali?"
I rushed to explain the events of today, starting with why we were only out here with one dragon, so no one would berate me for being an idiot (two dragons was always better than one), then I went on to tell them Cam could use fire magic without being Bound. If they were confused then, they were even more surprised when I continued to tell them Marco attacked him. Tallinn straight up denied it ever being possible, until I kindly reminded him that Marco was not with us for a reason. ". . . and then his fever started and he was in so much pain," I went on, feeling more drained by the second. "I had to hit him to keep him quiet or the goblins were going to hear him. They did, anyway. . . He's going to be mad at me when he wakes up."
If he wakes up. The wobble in my voice betrayed me; hopefully no one picked up on it.
Harry put his arm around me, green-blue eyes predominantly green in this lighting; they were solemn, sympathetic.
Okay, hopefully no one else noticed. Looking at the rest of my brothers, they didn't.
Inwardly cursing myself for not being able to keep it together, I jerked out of Harry's grasp and walked over to Elesor. "Let's go home already."
~~~
The flight back was long. It felt longer than usual, dragging out endlessly, giving my mind plenty of time to wander and remind myself how useless I had been to Camden today. I wouldn't blame him for being angry with me. I would be if I were him. Instead of comforting him and healing him, I dragged him across the valley and then proceeded to knock him unconscious when he cried out too loudly. Yeah, the epitome of bedside service.
When we arrived in Plum, Casper carried Camden to the healing hut. It was a wonder anyone was in at this time of night. When the door opened, I wished I'd stayed home with my other brothers, against Dad's wishes. Apparently since I was his guide, I had to make sure he got all the proper care and attention he needed. Well, that definitely wasn't going to be a problem anymore. Amber, in all her silky black hair and long-legged glory, was holding the door open for us. Her golden eyes roamed over Casper quickly, deciding he wasn't worth it since we shared the same blood, then dropped her jaw when she saw Camden.
"What have you done to him?" The accusation was pointed at me, but her eyes were fixed on the flush man on my brother's shoulders.
"We'll explain later," Casper grunted, "right now I need to put him down. He's bloody heavy."
She sneered as she stepped aside to let us in. "Maybe you should workout more."
"I workout plenty. This guy is just. . . heavy."
I'm glad I wasn't the only one who noticed the insane, seemingly unnatural weight increase.
Still wearing that sneer, Amber led us past a few occupied cots and pulled a curtain back to reveal a bed definitely more comfortable than the one I'd been given a few nights ago.
Well, he is a prince. Of course he gets special treatment. It was so easy to forget who he really was. None of the princes I grew up with acted like how I'd thought princes should behave, except for their gallantry. Camden had come the closest with his snobby stiffness when I first met him, but he wasn't remotely like that anymore. He was. . . someone I liked spending time with. Someone I could relate to. Someone I could rely on.
Not anymore. He's going to hate you when he wakes up.
"Hello!" Amber snapped her fingers in my face, jolting me away from my thoughts. Camden was bear chested, sweat gleaming on his body as he breathed heavily. His eyes were squeezed shut, lips pressed tightly together. "What happened to him?" She was already laying cold damp cloths on him, while all I could do was stare at the redness of his skin and the steam rolling off the cloths.
Casper was gone. When had he left?
"I-I don't know," I answered, not feeling like myself. I wasn't vulnerable in front of Amber, that only gave her an excuse to hurt me more. "I-I was teaching him how to use fire magic. The next thing I knew, Marco was attacking him. I sent him away while I calmed him down. When I found him on the trail, he was keeled over in so much pain. He was sweating like he is now. He wasn't this hot, though." He looked like he might burn us if we touched him.
"How did he get this?" she asked, too busy taking her job seriously for once to notice how frail I felt. She pointed at the wound on his head.
"I, huh. . . I hit him to shut him up."
She paused placing a fresh towel on his chest; her hair slipped over her shoulder. In the next moment, she was tossing her long, black locks back over her shoulder and glaring at me. "You did what? I knew you were stupid, but this is beyond that. Are you a caveman or something? You don't hit people to shut them up. Gods, no wonder he's nice to you. He pities your pathetic existence--and look where that got him. I hope he sees you're not worth it if he wakes up. You're only going to get him hurt or killed, if you haven't already done that. What was Grant thinking when he made you the prince's guide?" She continued muttering to herself about how stupid of an idea it was for me to guide anyone when I was too boorish to act like a decent human being. Meanwhile she followed her teachings to lower Camden's temperature.
Instead of defending myself, I let her words rattle through my head, because she was right. I was as useless and boorish as they came. But it was one thing she particularly said that hit home: "if he wakes up." I'd been so sure if I brought him here he'd be okay, but what if I was too late? The thought of him dying made me ill; I spun around and puked into the closest thing I could find--a bedpan.
"You're disgusting. Get out of here," Amber barked, thrusting a finger for the door without looking back at me.
Feeling absolutely miserable, I trudged out of the healing hut. A light mist coated the town, blurring out the torchlight leading my way home. I paid no mind to it, feeling as though I was wandering hopelessly. I'd gone so numb I hadn't realised I was cold until Casper draped his jacket over me; I hadn't even noticed he'd been walking by my side the entire time.
"Is he. . . dead?" he asked carefully.
"Not yet," I murmured. "I don't think Amber can do anything for him, though."
"I'm sorry, Kal," he whispered, trying to take my hand but I recoiled away from his touch. I didn't deserve to be consoled. "Hey, it's not your fault."
"It's entirely my fault, Cas."
He grabbed my arm and yanked me to a stop. His blue eyes were nearly silver in the torchlight; he looked as fierce as any dragon. "Look, we don't know why this is happening to him. It's not normal; magic is at play here. Our ancestors kept extensive records on the Ackers while they were here. Maybe it's a hereditary thing. If we find out what's wrong, we can fix it. Don't give up."
"But Amber-"
"Amber's a bitch and only knows how to heal with herbs and a few spells. We're Dricinos; it's our duty to protect the Dragon Princes while they're in training. We're going to do our job, Kali. Take tonight to do what you need to do, but when you wake up, I want to see my tenacious little sister find a way to save her prince."
I doubted what I could do to save him, but he was right; I couldn't give up on Camden, no matter what he may think of me when he woke up. I'd deal with him once we got there, but until then I'd sworn an oath to him and I would do what I could to make sure he saw his family again.
"You always feel the need to make big speeches, don't you?" I teased him.
A grin split Casper's face. "It's what big brothers are for."
"There is a flaw in your plan, though: why wait until morning when we could start when we get in?" Sleeping was for people who had time for it. We didn't know how much time Camden had left; by the looks of his condition it couldn't be too much longer.
Casper bumped my shoulder playfully, beaming with pride. "Let's get going."
~~~
When we arrived home, Tallinn and Giles were sprawled on the couch, a book open in their laps. Their mouths were wide open, a trickle of drool slipping out of the corner of their lips. Kaden and Harry were hunched over on the table, a pile of books walling them off from each other. Dad sat in the armchair, legs stretched out to catch the fire's warm embrace, but when we came in, he stood up, collecting a few books from the table. He handed one each to us. "Get to work, you two. One of these diaries will save Prince Camden."
"How can you be so sure?" I asked, brushing the thick layer of dust off my hardcover.
"His symptoms are very similar to something that happened to one of his ancestors. Unfortunately with my old age, I can't remember what these symptoms mean or what we can do to help him. Start reading."
By the look on Casper's face, I knew he was thinking the same thing I was: if we had so many books about our ancestors and how they taught the Dragon Princes of their time, how come Dad didn't make us read them any sooner? Though, in all honesty, we weren't exactly the most book-ready family. We'd much rather be outside and learn with our hands than through a book.
Sighing, I found a perch by a window and opened up the diary. It belonged to my great-great-great grandfather, Joseph Dricino. According to his loggings, he had a wife and two sons. He was the only dragon tamer in the village, back when the village was small and the demand for dragons was low. He had trained two Dragon Princes already and he was only twenty-two. The third and final Acker he would guide would become of age next year, but Plum had already started preening up for his arrival, as it always did when a prince came to our humble village.
I bit my lip to hold back a laugh. Great-whatever Grandfather Joseph would be disappointed by Plum's lack of preening now. An Acker coming to town meant we got to party more than anything; it wasn't as big a deal as it was for the small town.
I skipped a year ahead. Reading about his life leading up to Prince Archibald's arrival seemed pointless and a waste of time--as interesting I'm sure his life was as the only dragon tamer in the village. I got to the page where he'd just had a fine dinner with the Acker family. However, he was more excited about the pretty servants tidying up after him and even more excited to attend the ball to celebrate Prince Archibald's return, anew as a Dragon Prince. He'd only caught a small whiff of the beautiful courtiers who would attend; he was eager to dance with them and feel their lovely ample bodies against him. . .
I skipped a few pages ahead, suddenly less interested in the wise words my ancestor had written down. It was just as well I went a few pages ahead, he'd only just finished talking about the fine women of Histero. His journey home with the prince wasn't nearly as exciting as mine. They arrived before sundown and performed the ceremony. . . yardy, yar. . . they spent the first two weeks looking for his dragon partner so they could start training. . . In the third week, Joseph was beginning to worry because it appeared none of the dragons liked him. A few tried to kill him.
Okay, now my interest was piqued.
Joseph hadn't seen anything like it before. The previous two princes he'd guided didn't have this much trouble finding a dragon, let alone the dragons wanting to kill them. It wasn't to any fault of Archibald. He was a kind, passionate man who only wanted to protect his people like his brothers before him. He tried to hide it, but Joseph knew the prince's patience was wearing thin. Instead of going out to find a dragon, Joseph thought to take him to the mines. It would be a welcomed distraction. They could blow stuff up and talk about the things Archibald could do once he did find a dragon. It appeared to help with the prince's frustration.
But then it happened.
Archibald accidently broke a large piece of Dragon Vain too early. Since he wasn't Bound to a dragon yet, it should have blown him and Joseph to smithereens. BUT IT DIDN'T. They walked away unscathed because ARCHIBALD USED FIRE MAGIC WITHOUT A DRAGON. It took days for them to come out of the shock. What did it mean? Was the Acker line evolving? Their magic was so potent now they didn't need a dragon partner to lend them their power?
One thing was for certain, Joseph had never seen or heard of the kind of power Archibald possessed. He was a complete natural with the flames he controlled, unlike his brothers who took a few weeks to physically get used to using the magic in their blood.
And then things took a turn for the worse. Archibald got sick. Really sick. Joseph was at a loss. His skin burned to the touch. Something was inside him. Joseph saw it with his own eyes! Shirtless, back exposed to Joseph, something moved beneath his muscles from his shoulders to his lower back, threatening to burst free. Except it didn't. Whatever it was, it wasn't strong enough to break through his skin. It was a sight that made the healer faint on the spot.
Archibald was in so much pain that Joseph was tempted to end his life out of mercy. The healers couldn't do anything for him; they didn't know what was wrong. They tried to extract the thing under his skin, but during the sickness, his skin had become too thick for any blade to slice through. They were helpless to save him. As the weeks of agony went on, he grew thinner, unable to eat and sleep. Then, one day, his body couldn't take it anymore.
Joseph took the prince's body home to his family to have a proper royal burial. They held no grudges against him, apparently this happened every few generations: the youngest son would get terribly, terribly sick and die. They suspected it was the magic in their blood not mixing well with their body at the height of their maturity. . . .
I stopped reading, slamming the book shut.
The sun had risen and shone through the window I sat at. It was supposed to fill my body with warmth, but I felt colder than I had last night.
My brothers and father looked up from their books at the sound of my movement. Dad was on his feet in the next second and gripping my shoulder. "Did you find anything, Kal?"
"Yeah. Prince Camden is going to die."