Burn

  “If it is agreeable to you I shall oversee details concerning your aftercare during Aver. I will also manage the House until you are ready.”

  Thankful tears misted Marina’s eyes. “I’d be honoured. As for being House Head, that’s your job. I can’t see myself doing better.” She was chagrined. “Especially since I have no idea what the position entails.”

  Giving into the urge to show affection, he thumbed her chin. “Think nothing of it.” He stood and took the dirtied rags and water with him. “Come, Viktor. She needs rest.”

  “I am done.” He stood and held out his hand.

  A pearlescent scale diffracted the light and threw a spectrum of vivid colour onto her stunned face.

  “Here. This was stuck to your ankle.” Calmer, his lisp was less pronounced. “At first glance I thought it was a scute, but it must have come from the lower underbelly of the water Dragon you defeated. You see how it is small and softer than hide scale?” He looked puzzled for a moment, but it passed, and he let the piece of dragonflesh drop onto her loosely cupped palm. “A memento to commemorate your victory.” He smiled bashfully. “Congratulations, Cousin. You are half way to becoming our Queen.” He bowed and quit the area.

  Marina’s fingers curled around the scale. She forced her face into a stiff smile.

  Her uncle considered nothing amiss. He noted her silence and stiff posture, but dismissed it as a result of the trial she’d overcome.

  Proud of his offspring’s gallantry, he adjusted the screen to shield her from prying eyes, and ruffled Viktor’s hair as he passed.

  Sevastyan turned to give her a warm smile. “Sleep. When you wake there will be food.”

  A wave of drowsiness rushed over her shoulders and pressed down on her crown. Marina rolled onto her side and sort of flopped the covers over her body. The bed was warmed from her and Sevastyan’s combined body heat, and she shuddered in pleasure. Warm. Dry. Delicious aromas of food cooking had her mouth watering and her stomach rumbling. The murmur of conversation as Sevastyan and Viktor discussed the quest was soothing. Their low voices covered the noisy racket made by the citizens held at bay by Vadik and his Dragon Men.

  Marina closed her eyes. Exhausted, and so naturally, sleep eluded her. Her closed hands tightened and pushed between her thighs.

  Her mind reeled over what happened on the lagoon, and she began to feel slightly sick.

  The scale Viktor found on her ankle was the same colour and shape as the ones she’d seen rippling over her hands when she’d frozen the water.

  Did that mean more of her body had sprouted armoured flesh?

  She knew from Koen that Dragon scales shed, a natural part of the hide’s cycle. This one had obviously shed during her dodgy transformation, and slime from the lagoon adhered it to her skin.

  Viktor had no idea he’d held the scale of a creature that was not supposed to exist.

  She faced the truth head on. No longer could she pretend it was getting better or easier to ignore. The voice in her head, the overpowering instincts, even the animalistic growling could be explained by the dragonlike characteristics all Chosen possessed, but the beautiful scale burning a hole in her fist was irrefutable proof that she might be ... that she could....

  Scrunching tighter into a ball, Marina quieted her thoughts. She tumbled into a blissful abyss of calm under the healing spell of slumber.

  It was dark when she woke.

  It took a moment for her pounding heart and tense body to make sense. Her foggy mind caught up with her inherent danger alarms as the arguing outside the marquee grew in volume.

  Marina listened tiredly to Koen Raad’s booming voice arguing with the Regent.

  He defended his right to be at her side.

  “I will see her now,” he raged only for Myron to stridently respond, “Do not force my hand.”

  She knew the Regent loathed denying him. Keenly aware the eyes of the Drackai and Wyvrae Courts would be unshakably focused on them, his hands were tied. He had to act with the utmost propriety.

  Koen agreed to leave, but extracted a promise from Daniil to report on her condition when he returned to the Citadel.

  Marina groaned as she shoved into an upright position. She leaned back on her arms and bent her knees, feeling soreness within muscles she hadn’t known existed.

  Her mind wandered, and she started remembering the scale.

  Panicked, she searched in the bedding until she found the momentous piece of flesh stuck to her upper thigh with sweat.

  She rubbed her thumb over the glittery surface and was calm enough to appreciate the isolated beauty of what she held.

  “At least I’ll look pretty,” she whispered.

  A repulsive image of her body stuck in a creepy half-human half-Dragon form sprang from the darkest recesses of her mind to contradict that statement. She shuddered. Surely she wasn’t some kind of mutated freak. If she could shift it would be all the way, and not into some deformed monster, wouldn’t it? Then again nature often fucked up badly. What if there was a problem with her on a genetic level? Would the nobles decide she wasn’t suitable to sit on their throne? Would the Dragon Council rule to have her culled so her mutation was eradicated from the gene pool?

  The hair on the back of her neck stood on end, and goose pimples appeared on her arms from a gripping chill of dread.

  She knew keeping the otherness a secret was dangerous. She wouldn’t be able to hide it forever. What if she sprouted scales during a feast? She’d already growled in front of Koen, Daniil and the Regent. Gotten territorial over Cathryn. Devoured fish whenever she had a chance. They’d shrugged her behaviour off, but she doubted they’d turn a blind eye to scales sliding across her skin.

  She was confident Galina and Anastasia saw nothing. Even if they had glimpsed something strange – stranger than her freezing a wild one – she reasoned they’d keep their mouths shut. Drawing more attention to her at such a critical time would be brainless, and Houses Tyr and Vor were not stupid. Their advisors were canny, ruthless and the only reason she’d not been chewed up and spat out was because she’d had influential males in Houses Raad, Zar and Kol watching her back. After all, she might not be a freak. She might be more powerful, and they wouldn’t want to jeopardise losing the support of other Houses who felt Marina was definitely going to become Empress.

  Exhaling, Marina rubbed her lips as a bubble of laughter gurgled in her throat.

  Scary as the changes were the otherness was beginning to feel like a natural part of who she was.

  Potential for disaster aside, it was all pretty exciting.

  Marina wedged the scale in the thin decorative crevice that made up her jade pendant. She’d hide it somewhere safer once she got back to the Citadel. She gathered the blanket around her, intending to use it as a makeshift dress, but spotted a folded pile of clothing at the foot of the pallet.

  She crawled over and inspected the garment.

  It was an overlarge male tunic that was long enough to work as a dress.

  As she got dressed, she mulled her situation.

  All she had to do was keep it together. She could visit the fortress Annals and research into the previous High Princesses.

  Maybe she wasn’t such an anomaly. Maybe her predecessors carried a secret they took to the grave.

  She was done running.

  It was the reason she’d been so vulnerable during the second quest.

  The initial feat of magick had been infinitesimal compared to the succeeding. What would the third be like? She had to embrace the otherness. Maybe then it wouldn’t wrench control away from her as it had in the black lagoon.

  The flap to the marquee was tugged aside.

  A breeze churned into the cosy space and refreshed the stale air.

  Heavy stomps, and the low-key clunk of armour told her a Wyvrae Dragon Lord approached, doubtless sent to see if she’d awakened.

  Jakob stuck his silvered head around the screen. His brows lifted at her scanty dress and he nodded
solemnly when he saw she was alert.

  That Jakob had no problem gaining access to his Treasure was something the Dragon King could to roar about.

  And man, did he roar, deafeningly, with smoke and brimstone.

  Marina smelt it, and felt a burst of heated air swirl into the tent.

  He bellowed until a thunderous beating of wings drowned out Daniil’s shouting for him to calm.

  The world shook as whirling airstreams generated from his take off battered the tent and vigorously rustled the fabric sides.

  Rested enough to find Koen’s temper amusing, Marina waved at the ceiling, giggling.

  He’d regret the violent exit once he realised his outburst woke her up.

  A jaw-cracking yawn cast off the last remnants of sleep. She ran her hands through her tangled hair then with a pitched noise of disgust, rubbed sleep crust from the corner of her eyelids. Marina sat with her legs bent under her bottom, her knees facing her guest who she directed to the stool Viktor left behind. “He’s been like that all day, huh? I’m surprised he didn’t blow sooner.”

  “Lord Kol and Nikolai kept him calm, but....” Jakob shrugged. “He will not be sensible until he holds you. It is the nature of the beast.” He scooted around the screen and made sure she was properly covered before drawing closer. “You know him well.” Reaching her side, he hesitated to sit. He could see how exhausted she still was and a part of him feared for his life being in her presence like this when the Dragon King was so protective. “What do you want me to tell him?”

  Marina gave up on her half-assed grooming attempt.

  Looking Jakob in the eye, she saw his decision, and took hold of his enormous hand.

  Everything about the Dragon Lords was massive. They were simply larger than ordinary men. Not surprising considering the savage creatures lurking beneath the surface.

  “So you’re mine,” she said.

  A dangerous but glorious future stretched at Jakob’s feet.

  Swearing an oath to this female would lessen the taint from his dishonoured House. A lifetime of servitude at a royal’s side would see him recorded in the Annals amongst legends.

  This self-realised prophecy intimidated him.

  Jakob strived to be a honourable male, but his past revealed a disquieting trait. He frequently found himself on the wrong side of honour.

  His stance widened and his shoulders squared.

  Resolve burned bright in his heart.

  All he could do is try to be a male worthy of recognition. After spending time with the Dragon King, he realised males were males. Some were born special. Yet to retain a higher self-worth, and earn the respect of those who mattered it was your actions not the consequences of your birth that defined you.

  He inhaled harshly. The breath was released in a grim sigh. “Yes. I am your male.” He snorted when she good-naturedly punched his middle.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  Marina grinned madly when Jakob knelt and offered fealty. As he rose, she pushed onto her knees and hugged him tightly about the neck, her chin resting on his shoulder.

  Jakob returned the embrace.

  Hearing her whisper words of gratitude his heart melted.

  If ever he’d had a sister, he thought he might like the female to be Marina.

  He patted her shoulder awkwardly and untangled himself to drop onto the stool.

  The soft blankets piled on the simple bed retained Marina’s warmth, and felt exquisite under her worn out body. She lay on her side, propping her head on her hand. “Well, you won’t have to tell your King anything. Daniil will storm in here after calming Koen down then run off to report everything he’s learnt.” Marina was disquieted at the resentment she heard underlying her own words.

  Until she’d had a Second of her own, she’d not realised the consummate sense of trust one could have to another person who vowed to be loyal to you.

  She looked her new Second in the eye so he could see her apprehension. “Koen saw what I did.”

  Jakob’s chest constricted remembering the black lagoon. He got passed it on his next breath. Excitement chased away the fear. This was his life now – he’d have to deal with it.

  He shrugged, feigned nonchalance. It would do no good if he were afraid of the royal he chose to serve.

  He was done fearing his betters.

  “It did not change how he feels about you,” he said. “Is that what concerns you?”

  She flashed a crooked smile. “It’ll take more than that to scare Koen Raad, mighty Dragon King. Even I know that.”

  Jakob considered holding his own council but what good would he be as her Second if he couldn’t speak his mind and ask what he needed to know? “What happened?”

  Marina gripped the furs. She panted a little.

  The reaction unnerved him.

  Slowly her hand travelled to her throat, her fingers dipping under the neckline of the tunic.

  Jakob watched warily as her hand travelled between her breasts.

  Her guarded eyes met his, and she pulled out her pendant. She pulled something small from the carved lump of jade and held it out.

  He took what she offered and stared at it.

  What was so special about this she hid it from sight?

  “A scale,” he said flatly.

  When she said nothing, he assumed there was more to it, and studied what she’d handed him in greater detail. His head cocked and he brought it closer to his eye, angling it closer to the firelight. There was something unique about it. The answer eluded him, titillated a dormant part of his spirit. His Dragon stirred uneasily. The texture was familiar, but undoubtedly unusual. He clearly held a Dragon scale but...

  “You got this from a wild female?” He glanced up to search her face for answers.

  She offered no explanation. Her gaze sharpened on his, and she scooted closer. “How did you know that?”

  “The grain. Males have a pearlescent sheen to their hide scales, crystallized layers of shiny circles.” He made a loop in the air with a finger as he searched his memory. It was odd to explain something people who needed to know already knew. He snapped his fingers. “The sheen is called nacre. This has an opalescent lustre seen on wild Dragon females. You see how it is black, but light reveals coloured fire in the darkness.” He handed it back to her reverently. “It is beautiful.”

  She blushed. “Thank you.” She paused. “On behalf of that female.”

  “Rare.” He frowned. “In truth, I have never even seen a black scaled wild one that was female. They are considered myth. This is a great find indeed.” He nodded, still unsure as to what that had to do with what happened at the lagoon. “Did a wild female help you during the quest?”

  “No.” She tucked the scale and her pendant away. “I froze the lagoon and the water Dragon. It was trying to kill us. I was afraid and it just happened.” She cleared her throat. “I’ve been told Chosen with magick isn’t uncommon.”

  “It is not, but so strongly, and in one who only just discovered who she was.” Jakob’s brows drew together. “I presume your ancestry has much to do with it. You are the offspring of a Phoenix.” His face smoothed. “It makes sense.”

  Marina felt herself relax. Like everyone else Jakob was impressed by her skill, maybe even unsettled by it, but saw nothing unnatural about it.

  With people perceiving her differences this way she could hold onto her suspicions a while longer.

  “I can’t explain how the scale is connected just yet. I need more information before I start throwing ideas around. Keep it to yourself, okay? You’re the only one who knows.”

  He nodded. Turned as the marquee flap wrenched open.

  Jakob checked to make sure she was decently covered before pushing the screen aside. He stood at the foot of the bed, his legs shoulder width apart, and clasped his hands behind his back

  His expression was vacant, eyes watchful.

  Daniil’s stunning gaze studied them silently before he snorted and strode over to give Marina a
bone-crushing hug. “Female, you scared us half to death. What are you not telling me?”

  She punched his shoulder. “Don’t question me. Where were you? When I finished I was nearly mowed over.”

  Marina knew the oversight was entirely her own fault, but truthfully, she was a little hurt no one else close to her had thought of it, namely, the Dragon Lord she hugged.

  She was too dependent on him for things within her capability to manage, and she had to remedy it, fast.

  Convincing Daniil of it would be a trial. She knew she might have to get nasty before he understood where she was coming from.

  Easing back, he blinked. “Oh. I was with Koen. He needed me to keep him from donning dragonskin and murdering everything in sight.”

  Perfect opening. She tugged a bleached warrior braid. “This is why I needed my own Second.”

  “We have been through this.” Daniil withdrew his arms and propped his fists on his hips. He pointedly ignored Jakob’s presence. “Besides,” he said slickly borrowing once of her darling excuse words, “the male you wish to be your Second was not at your side, was he?”

  “He wasn’t. In his defence, Jakob wasn’t oath sworn to me then like he is now.” Toothily, Marina smiled. “I doubt I’ll have that problem again.” She arched a brow at the mutinous glower that distorted his handsome features at the news. “Viktor and Uncle Sevastyan took care of me.” Her voice softened when he remained pissed, but she finished what she started. “So well, that from now on Jakob and Uncle will lead on all Aver related business. Their combined effort will be a real help to me.”

  Daniil took an unconscious step back. His eyes glimmered with regret. “Marina, I understand I failed you by not being here. It will not happen again.”

  “We’ve had this conversation. I cannot and do not expect you to do everything for me when your responsibility is to Koen. You’re only one male, Dani.” She clasped his arm, tugged him back, and drew him down beside her. “Do you remember what you told me back in the human dimension? I argued Koen Raad was my mate and that you had to take me along. You said that if Koen was resolved against me going that you wouldn’t go against his wishes and hurt him. I’ve never forgotten that under it all your loyalty is to him. You weren’t there for me today because you were fulfilling your duty to your overlord. I can’t monopolize your time, and I can’t afford to be left standing cold and wet with no support because you’re too busy to be there. Understand?”