Chapter 18
Lorcan I landed below at the gate that led to the castle. Isolde remained on my back and called out to the guards.
“By order of your princess, daughter of Savio the King, and future Queen of Borvo, I command you to open the gates.”
The gates did open, but we were blocked off by the king’s army clad in my father’s flesh. I snorted with disgust when I saw them, the steam visible from my snout. The archers stationed at the castle turrets drew their bows in defense. They were pointing them at me, but their arms were shaking so hard, I feared they’d strike Isolde before even grazing my scales. Isolde must have been thinking the same things for she called out to them in anger.
“How dare you threaten the life of your princess!” The king’s head of command, Lord Serkan rode out to meet us, flanked by two men of his own.
“We mean you no threats, Princess Isolde. As you can see, my sword is not drawn.” Serkan removed his helmet in good faith, but I knew he was one of the men who had slain the women of Drago’s Clan.
“Then why are your archers ready to attack?”
“My princess, you have been missing for three days, and when you return to us you are seated upon the back of a beast thought extinct.” Again I snorted, and Serkan’s horse took a few steps back. Funny, that horse was usually very content in my presence.
“My beast will not harm you. We wish to see the king,” Isolde called out to them.
“My princess, I will gladly escort you into the castle, but I cannot permit-“
“Are you the commander of the king’s brigade or a royal fool? We can enter the gates on our terms, but we are trying to remain civil. If you do not back down, my dragon will be forced to draw forth a breath of fire. Your arrows can do nothing to harm his scales. The only soul you are at risk of destroying is my own. A princess slain by her army with her people watching. Is that how you wish to be remembered when they sing songs of your valiancy? Do you hope to wash my hair red with blood?” The commander looked at the princess in shock. “So it is simple. You can either stand down or die.”
Her words were spoken without wavering. She was far stronger than her father could ever be. I thrust my chest out with pride and straightened my shoulders. The commander laid a hand on the hilt of his sword, but the fear in his eyes showed his uncertainty.
“I shall give you until the count of three before everything in our path is set ablaze,” she proclaimed loud and steady.
“One.”
I took a step forward.
“Two.” Isolde tightened her grip on my spikes as I dipped my head low and drew in a deep breath.
“Three.” The horses whinnied as I shot the fire from my throat and rounded my head, making sure to set the entire archway on fire. Lord Serkan had fled out of the way of my rage. The army, too, had dispersed in fear, running in opposite directions to avoid my flames. I began to run in charge, my head aimed straight for the castle doors where another two men stood guard. Again, I drew in a breath and blasted my fire toward them. They ran away like the cowards they were. One fell in the process, falling victim to the flames as the fire consumed him. We left his screams behind us as I rammed my head against the doors, smashing through them.
As I stepped through, Isolde patted my head. “Well done. Let us visit the throne room, shall we?”
The hallway was deserted, and the sound of my feet boomed throughout the castle, causing the walls to shake with every step. My body barely fit, and the sound of the walls cracking became the music that backed up every deafening step I took. It was a symphony that I relished in for I knew the king could hear every crumble of the concrete that paved his castle with lies.
The doors to the throne room were shut, but I charged at them, shattering the wood and causing it to splinter in all directions. Ten guards stood before the king. Their swords were drawn, and they bravely protected a man too meek to face me himself. The queen’s throne was empty, but Raelan stood behind it, his arms bracing the back of the chair as if it could shield him from my wrath. His eyes were mixed with fear and wonder as I stepped closer. I noticed his fingers curl tighter on his grip on the throne, causing his knuckles to whiten.
If Savio feared me, he swallowed his distress at having a dragon step into his throne room. Unlike Raelan, he had seen dragons up close before. His eyes were cold, his expression unreadable. I wanted to keep my eyes focused on him, but it was impossible when the wings of my father were stretched over his head. I had seen them before, and I always hated them. I felt they were boasting over an unfair fight. Now I knew they were not just proclaiming a victory; it was meant to be seen as the utmost humiliation of my father and my entire race.
Savio would pay for his crimes. Against my father. Against my mother. Against the entire Drago Clan. Against Isolde…It would all be over soon.
Then Savio dared to open his mouth and speak to Isolde. “We thought you dead. My men searched the kingdom. I sent them to Abhainn, Lassair, into the Forest of Frost and across the Salted Sea looking for you. But I see you were not taken against your will.”
I felt Isolde tighten her grip on my spikes as he mocked her. His voice was smooth as glass, not so much a ripple. That was his talent. He was not a king. He was a magician, his entire kingdom was built using smoke and mirrors, and his reign was an illusion of power. Savio leaned back on his throne, his hands gripped on the armrests. His eyes were cloaked in hatred.
“No, it would appear you ride that beast to humiliate me. You have betrayed me. You…are not my daughter.”
I dipped my head at his words and screeched in equal hatred at his callus dismissal of her. She kissed the top of my head to calm me and whispered for me to let her down. I lowered myself to the floor so she may dismount but kept my eyes on Savio.
“No, Savio, I am not your daughter. For I don’t see how my gifts could ever have come from you.”
“Your gifts?” The king chortled nervously. “The only gift you have is hidden between your legs, and I doubt even that remains pure.”
Isolde walked over to a table that held a basin and a pitcher. She emptied the water into the basin and then returned the pitcher to the table. “This is not just any dragon. This is the only son of Charon.” Savio’s eyes widened in horror as he learned the truth. “You know what is interesting father? I am probably the best protection you have in this room, pity that I have no desire to shield you.”
“You’re as useful as a garden weed,” Savio growled in disgust.
“You know what happens if you don’t pluck a weed, father? It grows strong and chokes the life out of the flowers in the garden.” Isolde waved her hand, and the water leaped out of the basin and was sent over to him, covering his mouth and nose like a liquid bubble. He sputtered and coughed as the water clung to him like jelly.
She was going to drown him.
A cry called my attention as the queen entered from the narrow hallway beyond the thrones. She was fighting off a guard that struggled to keep her safe. The queen cried out, “Stop!” and looked from Savio to Isolde, not sure whose side to take- her cruel husband or her only living child.
I screeched to get the princess’ attention. My Isolde was many things, but she was not a killer. She looked at me with tears in her eyes and released the hold she had over the water. The liquid splashed into Savio’s lap. The king coughed, his face red as he drew in his first breath of air. The queen raced to him, but he just pushed her aside, knocking her to the floor. The guard dropped to his knees, but the queen turned away, too betrayed to take his hand.
“Raelan,” Savio called out between raspy gasps for breath, “defend your king-defend your throne!”
Raelan cocked his head to the side and winced as he tried to make sense of the situation. Taking a step to the side, he slid his hand from the throne to the hilt of his sword. As if a blade could stop me. “If this is the true son of Charon, then he was not born a beast. I would like to see who it is I am to fight, Uncle.”
It was a trap. He demanded I give him the honor of seeing me in the flesh, but if I was to shift, the guards would be on me in an instant. I would stand before them naked and unarmed. My head would be removed from my body before I flesh, but if I were to shift, the guards would be on me in an instant. I would stand before them naked and unarmed. My head would be removed from my body before I could shift back. Irritated he thought me that stupid, I screeched angrily in his direction, causing him to cower back behind the throne once more.
“This is not Raelan’s duel,” Isolde said, her voice filled with disgust as her words hurled like daggers at her father. “This is between you and the son of Charon. You stole his father and his claim to the throne, and by rights, he’s come to take them back.”
“What would you have me do? This is not a fair fight!” Savio growled. “You cannot enter the capital castle and threaten the royal family!”
Savio gestured to a member of the royal guard, who had been hiding in the shadows. He leaped forward before Isolde could see and had a blade to her throat. “You kill my king, I shall kill your princess,” the knight threatened. The queen ran forward to her daughter, but Raelan caught her to hold her back. The guard only embraced her tighter. Isolde had her hands up by the guard’s arms. Her gaze turned from her mother to me. She didn’t squirm, and as her hand dropped from his forearm to her breast, I knew she had her dagger concealed.
“Unhand my daughter! She’s all I have left of my children!”
“My queen. My orders are from the king. Anyone who threatened him is treasonous. For all we know it was Isolde who slipped him the poison that night.”
I had heard enough words. Enough lies. I moved in on the king, who cried out, “You dare to hurt me, and he shall slit her throat! Mark my words!” But it was the knight who now let out a cry as Isolde rammed her dagger into his hand. As she uncoiled herself from his embrace, I drew in a breath. The guards trembled before me but raised their shields in defense. I swung around and knocked them back with my tail. They slammed against the walls, leaving me with a clear view of the king.
His eyes were glazed with hate, his queen did not beg for his life, nor his daughter. “Your father was the best meat I ever tasted, plucked him clean to the bone. And before I drowned your mother in the Rivers of Abhainn, I fucked her like the whore she was, as did all my men. We took turns fucking the dragon out of her. I should have fucked her with my brander for it was the fires her cunt craved.” He laughed like a madman, but when I released my breath, his laughter turned to screams as he was engulfed in a sea of orange.
In a few seconds, all that remained of Savio were blackened bones, which fell to a pile at the foot of his throne.
“It was not a fair fight when you poisoned Charon, either,” Isolde whispered to the burnt remains of her father. She placed a hand on my wing, calling my humanity to return.
Exhausted, I shifted back to my human form. Isolde draped her cloak around my shoulders, offering me some dignity. Raelan stood up and drew his sword. The knights rushed forward, a dozen blades pointed at my throat.
“Easy to fight me now, I see.” looked from the point of his sword that was inches from my face to his eyes.
“You just murdered my Uncle,” Raelan said through clenched teeth.
“I would think you would be happy. After all, did you not try to poison him less than a fortnight ago?” Isolde’s words surprised me. She must have forgotten to mention this as we played house back in the meadow.
“I imagine you have given yourself to this creature. Is that what you wanted, Isolde? To make a mockery of our vows by fucking a winged serpent!”
Isolde’s hand flew across Raelan’s face faster than I could react. “You bastard. Our marriage would have been a lie and you know it. How dare you try to condemn my choices. You, of all people, who lurk in dark corners with your squire. I gave Lorcan my virtue in the open meadow, under the sun’s rays and the eyes of the gods. There is no shame in my love for him.”
Raelan’s lip curled in disgust. “Get out of my throne room, dragon whore, before I run you through.”
“It is not your throne room.” It was the queen that spoke. She had one of the blue cloaks that belonged to Savio’s guards around her shoulders. Her expression was one of shock, but as she looked at the swords, her daughter, and her nephew, her words came back to her.
“It is neither Raelan’s, nor yours, Lorcan, or even Isolde’s. The king is dead. His heir remains, but so does the beast who slain him. How do we know that no matter who is named king, the people won’t revolt?”
“My queen, I was stretched and branded for Raelan’s crimes. My father ruled these lands once, was wrongfully slaughtered, and I have avenged him. The people will accept this.”
“Accept this? I witnessed it, and I do not accept it. Savio slain your father. You slain Isolde’s. But that does not make you king. Savio is dead! His only child is a girl and cannot claim the throne unless joined in matrimony. These are the rules of our lands. So by rights, the crown has passed to Raelan.” Raelan’s smile slithered across his face. Isolde stepped forward, but the queen put up her hand. “Now, you can turn into the savage beast Savio always said your kind were and burn every member of the house of Fontaine or do what is honorable. Do you want to rule this kingdom? Prove you have honor left and meet Raelan in the arena before the kingdom at noon tomorrow. As a man, not a beast. A tournament will decide the fate of the kingdom.”
“Is this truly the only way, Mother?” Isolde looked forlorn.
“I lived through the genocide of the dragons. I lived through threats against the king and the death of my son. Now Savio is slain, and the old heir challenges the new. It must be witnessed by the people. If the gods of fire favor your dragon, then the beasts reclaim the throne. If the gods of water find our claim to be true, then Raelan shall rule.” True though her words were, her expression remained melancholy. “It is the only way to prevent war, Isolde.”
“To the death, I suppose,” Raelan grumbled.
“To first blood,” I offered. “I have killed one Fontaine today, and I do not wish to condemn your entire lineage.”
Raelan spat on the floor and shoved his blade closer to my throat. “I care not for my lineage.”
“Perhaps not, but I will not have them crying in the streets that I took out two men of the House of Fontaine. I wish the people of Borvo to love their king, not fear him.”
Raelan’s eyes narrowed. “If I win? I wear the crown, marry Isolde, no questions asked?”
“Isolde is not part of the bargain. Either way, she comes with me.”
Raelan looked at the queen, who nodded. “She may be sworn to you, Raelan, but you were not wed. According to the betrothal agreement signed by Savio, the kingdom falls to you, not Isolde.” I looked at Isolde whose mouth twitched at the corners. She was the king’s daughter, and he would rather pass the kingdom to Raelan than his flesh and blood. Sensing the tension, the queen took a breath before she continued. “Since Savio died before you wed, and she chose to bed another, I no longer feel you have a claim on her. The betrothal is therefore null and void.”
“I did not bed another.” Isolde’s voice was shaking with emotion. “I gave myself to Lorcan.”
“Isolde, it’s all right.”
“No. I refuse to have her dwindle what we shared to something that meant nothing.” She turned her head and fired her anger at Raelan. “For it meant everything.”
My heart skipped a beat at her words. I had to swallow my emotion as Raelan steered the conversation back to what interested him.
“So this is all for the crown?”
“No.” I slowly stood up, the blades still pointed at me. “This is to see that justice is served.”
“So, should you prove to be the victor, what? I’m stretched and branded to prove a point to the people?”
“I am not Savio,” I growled. “I win, I wish to reign in peace.”
“What makes you so sure you shall win?”
“What makes you so sure I shall lose?”
“Lorcan, this is madness.” Isolde looked terrified at the thought of Raelan winning. “You have defeated Savio, the crown is yours. Forget what my mother said. Shift into your dragon scales and show the people what you truly are.”
“I will not have the kingdom thinking I took this land by force. Do you know how they whispered about your father in the streets? The kingdom knew how he had slithered onto the throne. I want there to be no question regarding my claim.” The queen signaled for the guards to lower their swords. Raelan stepped back, watching my every movement.
I pressed my lips against Isolde’s. Kissing my princess in front of them.
“Besides,” I whispered. “I told you, I am good with a sword.”