Dragons Against Them (Kingdoms of Fire and Ice Book 2) (15 page)

“
Z
ayne
? Zayne, honey? Are you in there?”

Zayne struggled to open his eyes. A cool hand stroked his face.

Adelaide
.

Was this but a dream? Her touch felt so real, her voice like the sweetest melody to his weary soul, and yet he feared to wake up might break whatever spell he was under. So if it were a dream, he would savor it. For dreams like this kept the nightmares of reality away.

“Zayne, sweetheart, we have something for you. Something to help with the pain.”

At the mere mention of the word, the burning in his chest seemed to reignite. He cracked one eye open and spied a sideways Adelaide kneeling beside him. The worry lessened on her brow as a smile crept across her beautiful face. If this was how his mind sought to play tricks on him, Zayne would gladly allow it.

“There you are,” she said. “I was beginning to think I’d have to smack you a few times to wake you up. But after all you’ve been through, I really didn’t want to do that.”

“All I have been through?”

He tried to sit up, but even in his dream, the simple act of moving both arms nearly consumed him with pain. Zayne ceased his efforts and exhaled a pained hiss instead.

“Tristan, Quinn—help hold him up a minute, will you? I need to get him to drink this.”

“Please,” he said. “Leave me be.”

“Come on, you big baby.”

Her voice was soft and teasing but carried with it a serious edge. Before Zayne could comment back, a set of hands slid beneath each of his arms and lifted. A cry escaped him, the pain so fierce it nearly blinded him. Hatred flooded through Zayne anew for her tyrant father. No woman should ever have to see her mate at his weakest. A growl rose to his lips.

“Shh. I know, I know. But Haelan said this would help.”

Zayne opened his mouth to the bowl Addie offered, the aroma of its herbal contents tickling his nose with its steam. The taste was deplorable—like eating hay and clover and earth all at once—but he dared not complain. At this moment, he would have eaten embers if doing so promised to lessen the pain and restore his strength.

For he needed to be strong to keep Addie safe. So he drank what was offered and tried to focus instead upon the woman kneeling before him, her pale skin aglow in candlelight. While concern once again tugged at her brow, in her eyes shone a look of determination. Ah, but she would soon make him a fine wife, a caring mother, and, later, a confident queen.

“There.” She withdrew the bowl and wiped moisture from his lips with the hem of her gown. “You can ease him back down, guys.”

Zayne was ready for the pain this time, and with clenched teeth held his breath until the movement stopped.

“For how long did I sleep?”

Quinn came to stand beside Addie, who seemed to flinch far less than usual at his nearness. On any other day, the sight might have inspired within him a silent fit of jealousy. As it was, all Zayne felt was relief that the two were getting along.

“An hour. Maybe two.”

Addie took Zayne’s hand in hers. “Quinn led us here, to this abandoned church.”

“Aye. The church was damaged in a battle years ago. Residents of the nearest village chose to build a new church rather than try to repair this one. Fools, if you ask me.” Quinn looked up. “Aside from the sections of missing roof and small sections of wall gone, the church is strong as ever.”

Zayne followed Quinn’s gaze to spy the gaping hole in the building’s far corner. To repair it would be no small feat. “And the wizard? Haelan? Who sought his aid?”

“It was I.” Tristan stepped into Zayne’s line of sight. “The strikes my father inflicted upon your chest were not simply that of cold air meant to wound, they were ice crystals intended to cripple. Without a remedy, the ice would continue to spread throughout your body, slowly freezing you to death.”

“Lovely.” He offered Addie a teasing smirk, to ease her worries. But her brows were drawn low, a fury behind her gaze he had never seen before.

“If it was anyone else, I’d kill them for what they’ve done to you,” she said.

“Fear not, my lady.” Zayne summoned what strength he had and lifted his free hand to cup her cheek. “Your brother did a wise thing in seeking the help of Forath’s high wizard. And unless this potion is something other than what was promised, I shall soon be good as new.”

Her hand came to rest atop his. “I thought I was going to lose you,” she whispered.

“Do not waste your hours worrying over what might have been, my lady. Instead, take heart in what has come to be.”

“We are still in danger of being found, sire,” said Quinn. “Prince Tristan flew to retrieve the potion, and Haelan is bound by duty to alert the king of such a request.”

Tristan nodded. “’Tis not a matter of
if
Father sends his sentries to find us, but a matter of when.”

“Aye. Your father intended to use me as his guide to Weston. He planned to storm their village tomorrow. Even if he does not realize your absence in the morning, he will surely notice mine.”

As the wizard’s potion worked to warm his inner beast, Zayne began to feel his strength returning and the aching in his limbs lessen. Even the stabbing pain across his chest began to subside. With a grunt, he half rolled, half pushed himself into a sitting position.

“Where is Brom?”

“Brom?” asked Tristan.

Addie smacked a palm to her forehead. “Oh my gosh, I completely forgot about Brom! Did you guys really leave him back at the castle?”

“Was he not also imprisoned?” Zayne asked.

“Not that I know of. He was with me all afternoon.” Her fiancé threw her a questioning look. She offered him a flat one in return. “And no, I didn’t hurt myself as no weapons were involved.”

“Weapons?” Tristan offered her an alarmed look. “Whatever would you be doing near Brom’s weapons?”

“Your sister has requested to learn our ways of defense,” offered Zayne.

“Adelaide? Fighting to defend herself?” Tristan shook his head. “And you wonder why I wished to keep you locked away earlier.”

Addie crossed her arms and turned to scowl at a nearby window. “Can we get back to talking about Brom for a minute here?”

“We shall retrieve your warrior friend this night, if it pleases you, my lady.” Quinn turned his attention from Addie to Zayne. “Can you truly show us the way to Weston?”

“Aye.”

“Excellent,” said Tristan. “Then once we have your companion safely in our midst and you have sufficiently healed, we shall all fly there, sneak Rosalind out of the village, and return home. Without a war.”

“Unless…”

They all turned to Addie, whose gaze had remained upon the window. Whatever thought she held now consumed her.

Zayne offered her hand a small squeeze. “Unless?”

“What if she hasn’t been captured?” Addie said. “What if…what if she wanted to be there? I mean, if the witches were truly after her, she would have been snatched up from Forath weeks not days ago.”

“Wanted to be there?” Tristan sputtered, but Adelaide ignored him. She continued on, still entranced by her thoughts.

“It’s almost like…like she’s been roaming around the woods this whole time. Hiding.”

“Or searching.”

All eyes shifted to Quinn. His gaze, however, remained upon Adelaide.

“Princess.” He stopped and looked to Zayne. There was something in his eyes, an unspoken request for approval in place of the usual malice which resided there. Zayne offered him a subtle nod, and Quinn shifted his gaze back to Addie. “May I speak with you outside?”

With a sigh, Tristan stepped forward. Quinn held up one hand, halting him as he added, “In private?”

* * *

A
ddie followed
Quinn outside but kept a safe distance between them. Yes, he’d just helped rescue and then carefully transport her fiancé here, but that didn’t mean she trusted the guy not to take off with her a third time. He could be schizophrenic for all she knew, if such a thing existed in this hidden bubble of the world.

As if he could sense her distrust, Quinn walked only a short way from the door and settled upon a fallen log. He motioned for her to take a seat beside him and offered a pleading look and a hand to assist her. And though taking his hand nearly triggered an instant panic attack, she did so to keep from hurting his feelings. Because, big scary jerk or not, he had just helped save Zayne’s life. And as much as Addie hated to admit it, she owed him now. Big-time.

“So? What’s up?”

Quinn leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees. “There is something I must tell you that cannot be repeated to the others. At least”—he cast her a sideways glance—“not to your brother.”

“Okay…”

“Your younger sister, she struggled as a child. Losing her mother at such a young age was difficult for her. King Jarin knew not how to comfort his daughter during the dark days that followed, as Tristan had always been a happy, obedient child. The servants, they tried their best to brighten her spirits, but for weeks, she would cry out in the night for Queen Agatha.

“Tristan came to me, begging that I help him cheer her. He knew that I too was believed to be motherless, and that perhaps I could sympathize with the sorrowful sprite. So we convinced her to sneak away with us from the castle one morn and ran off to play in a nearby meadow. Though she brightened at the change in scenery, still she did not smile.

“It took many more outings before she began to open up, but never did she speak of the hurt she felt upon losing her mother. In time, though, she did express solely to me the anger she felt toward your father. For abandoning her when she needed him most. For wallowing in despair rather than comforting his wee lass.”

“That’s why she wanted to marry Zayne so badly, isn’t it? To get away from our father?”

“Partially, yes.”

“Partially? You mean there’s more?”

“Aye.” Quinn reached down to retrieve a nearby stone from the ground. He turned it over and over in his hands. “She wished to escape, ascend to Edana’s throne, then seek her revenge.”

“Revenge?” Addie snorted. “Like Zayne would have let her start a war.”

Quinn cast her a sideways glance, the look on his face grim.

“Oh, nuh-uh. She was going to marry him and then kill him off?” She ran both hands up into her hair. “Good Lord, what is
wrong
with my family?”

“Your family is a noble one, my lady. Your father, though his behavior of late has been questionably dark, is not a rash tyrant like Edana’s King Robert. Tristan is pure of heart and strives to see the best in his peoples.”

She frowned. “Yeah. In everyone but Zayne.”

“’Tis but a brother protecting his sisters, my lady. And of course, there is you.”

“Me?” Addie looked to the sky and shook her head. “You say that even after hearing me swear I’d kill the person responsible for hurting Zayne if it wasn’t my father?”

“Aye. Because though you spoke a moment ago in anger, I do not believe you to be a murderer.”

“You try to kidnap me one more time, buddy, and you might come to believe otherwise.”

At that, Quinn actually grinned. “Then I shall refrain from doing so.”

“Even if Rosalind orders you to?”

He looked to the ground and began turning the rock over in his hand again. “If—no,
when
—we bring your sister home, I will do everything in my power to help her see she can find happiness without blood being spilt.”

Addie studied him a long moment, surprised by the soft underbelly being shown by a man who, up until today, had been the villain in many of her nightmares. But he wasn’t a villain or a bad guy, just someone who’d suffered great loss in his younger years and had closed the world off to his gentler side. Everyone but her half sister.

“We’ll find her, Quinn.” Addie placed a hand upon his shoulder. “And I’ll do everything I can to help convince her of that too.”

“Thank you, my lady. What we require most now is for Zayne to heal so that he may take us to her.”

He met her gaze, a sudden flare of determination in his eyes. Addie withdrew her hand and shifted subtly away from him.

“Uh, yeah. We do. Which is why Tristan went and got the potion, remember?”

“The potion was necessary to stop the ice crystals’ damage but will take too long by itself to restore his strength. We have hours, not days, to prevent this war.”

Addie squirmed beneath the intensity of his gaze. “Then we’ll just have to stay hidden while he rests and hope my father spends that time looking for us instead of charging into Edana and demanding King Robert lead him to the witches. Unless you have a better idea?”

As soon as the words were out, she regretted saying them. Quinn, however, looked entirely pleased upon backing her into the proverbial corner. His eyes took on an amber glow as he leaned in closer, a wolfish smirk tugging at his lips.

“Actually, Princess, I do.”

R
osalind stood hidden
in the woods not twenty paces from Quinn, watching as he leaned toward her half sister with a devious smirk upon his face. His handsome face. The very face she had memorized long ago, and used that memory to provide her strength all these weeks even when she felt too weak to go on.

The face that belonged to
her
.

Yet there he sat, spellbound by her meddling half sister.
It wasn’t enough to steal my betrothed, she-devil? Now you seek to steal Quinn from me as well?

Hands clenched into fists, she stepped forward, a low growl escaping her. But Jaxon caught her arm in a shackle-like grip. She tried to break free from his grasp, wanting to rip every last strand of silken hair from her sister’s all too pretty crown, but he dragged her back, away from the clearing. When she opened her mouth to protest, Jaxon pulled her tight against his chest and clamped a warm hand over her mouth.

“If ye want to return to Weston this night, ye shall bite your tongue, Princess. There are four of them and only two of us.”

“I don’t care,” she hissed. “I’ll kill her. I swear I will.”

Jaxon looked back in the direction from which they had just come. “Was that her, then? The sister you wish to send away?”

“Aye, now release me. I shall kill her this night and save us all the trouble.”

“Oh? Then I hope ye have enjoyed this fine night, as it would be your last if ye did such a thing. If your father did no’ kill ye for your actions, he would at least lock ye away for the rest of your days.”

She struggled against her confinement. “Would be…worth it.”

“Stop.” His grip tightened to the point of pain, and she bit back a cry. “Stop I say. Do no’ make me slap ye to bring reason back to your mind.”

“I want her dead.”

Jaxon turned her to face him. “And I want to live.”

Rosalind ceased with her struggles and, chest heaving against him from exhaustion, stared up at her captor. His clear eye glowed a dim russet color but showed no malice or anger, only determination. It was useless to fight him, and defeat crashed over her like a giant wave. She looked back toward the battered churchyard and, unable to see in the moonless night if her beloved sat nestled with Adelaide still, hung her head.

All this time, she had believed his pledge of devotion, that he would never stray from her side. And though she had allowed many a lover into her own bed, she had done so only to keep her relationship with Quinn safe. For if her father knew of their love affair, he would demote Quinn from his rank of commander and cast him from the castle for his act of disobedience.

To guard the royal family meant to protect them at all costs without favor or involvement; falling in love with one would jeopardize the rest.

Rosalind shook her head, unwilling to admit she’d fallen prey to a game of deceit more convincing than her own. And though she had spent years,
years
erecting a fortress around her heart to keep it safe from the pain of any more loss, in this moment, the walls failed her. Quinn had failed her. Tears stung her eyes, and a small sob escaped her.

Rather than ridicule her for this display of weakness, Jaxon quietly drew her into his chest and brushed hair back from her face as the tears began to fall. And instead of pushing him away, Rosalind did something she hadn’t done with anyone since shortly after the passing of her mother…

She clung to him and wept.

“Come, lass,” Jaxon said with a gentle voice once her crying had subsided. “It is time we return.”

Rosalind straightened and used her palms to dry her cheeks as best she could. With a nod, she met his gaze. “Take me home, Jaxon. To Weston. For no longer does my heart reside here.”