Dragons Against Them (Kingdoms of Fire and Ice Book 2) (5 page)

A
ddie white-knuckled
her hold on Zayne’s spikes the entire flight back, even more so than usual. She’d never flown with another dragon flying alongside them before. Or four, as it were. In the air, they looked even more imposing and dangerous than on the ground, if that was possible. So agile and limber.

So deadly.

Quinn and his men flew behind them in a V-formation, ensuring the golden dragon at their lead did not deviate from his path back to Forath Castle. One unexpected move, and there’d be four giant beasts on him in a heartbeat. Helpless to do anything but fret, she kept her eyes ahead and prayed he wouldn’t do anything rash. Besides, the sooner they snuck back in under her father’s radar, the sooner she could ask Zayne about that peculiar legend.

Thankfully, her fiancé managed to tame the anger simmering beneath his coat of golden scales, and the clearing beyond the castle’s stables soon came into view. Upon landing, Quinn and his men transformed and took cover in the woods, but made clear to Addie before they went that she was to go straight to her room and await word for the evening meal. With a scowl, she slid down off Zayne’s back and fought the urge to punch something. Or someone.

“Who the hell does he think he is, anyway?”

The wind whipped and whirled around her. When it subsided, she held the extra bag of clothing Zayne had retrieved from the cave in an outstretched hand, her gaze still aimed at where the others had gone.

“It appears I am not the only one allowing Blackstone under my skin,” Zayne said, taking the bag from her grasp.

“Yeah, well, that was before he and his lackeys tailed us the whole way back. What did they think, that you’d tear off toward Edana with me in tow?”

“Tear off your toe?”

She turned to see the quizzical look on his face and chuckled. “Sorry. Modernism. I just meant it wasn’t like you were going to steal me or something.”

“Tempting, but no.” He pulled her to him and bent to nip at her lower lip. When she sucked in a surprised breath, he claimed her open mouth with his, kissing her until both were breathless. With a satisfied smirk upon his swollen lips, he kissed his way to her ear, leaving a trail of heat in its wake. “I do wish to live long enough to see our wedding day, Adelaide. And its night.”

A shiver zigzagged down her spine at the implications in his desire-deepened timbre. “You and me both.”

Zayne released her to finish dressing, and soon started for the stable’s rear entrance. She hoped and prayed they had snuck safely back in under the radar. Addie didn’t mean to upset her father, but being confined to one place for long was beginning to wear on her. If Rosalind would hurry up and get back here, maybe he and Tristan both would stop worrying so much about where Addie should and shouldn’t go.

She cast a quick glimpse at Zayne beside her, his countenance much more relaxed than when he’d first arrived. In fact, all his movements seemed at ease now, his pace smooth and unhurried, his hand clasped warmly around one of hers. She had no doubt that if danger arose, he would protect her at all costs. But what if he wasn’t there? What if danger did arise, as her father seemed to be so preoccupied about lately? Then what would she do?

“Hey, Zayne? How long does it take to train someone to fight? You know, like with weapons and stuff?”

He shrugged. “Depends on the weapon, and the natural abilities of the warrior.”

“So, for someone like me,” she ventured, swinging their clasped hands forward and back, “what weapon would you think to start with? Swords? Knives? Honestly, archery always looked pretty cool. You’re really good at that, right?” He stopped so fast, Addie nearly toppled over. She looked back in surprise to find his eyes narrowed and jaw clenched. “Zayne?”

“Do not ask this of me, my lady.”

“But, it could teach me how to protect myself.”

“It may also get you killed.” He took her hands in his, his gaze pleading. “These are weapons, Adelaide. Not toys. To obediently stand back and watch you risk injury might well kill
me
.”

“But it’s just training, Zayne. I’m not going to run out in the middle of some battle and start swinging.”

He eyed her for a long moment. “Do you promise to use what is taught to you as defense only? As a last resort?”

Addie had never seen him look so serious before. So…authoritative. In that moment, she had no doubt Zayne would someday make one hell of a king. She just wasn’t used to being on the receiving end of his demands, not like this. A tiny part of her—the old, modern-day Addie—wanted to resist. To answer with fingers crossed behind her back. But if he was this worried about her, that their weapons play might truly get her hurt or even killed, deep down she knew she’d be wise to acquiesce. “I promise.”

“Good. Then we shall talk about it no more this day.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead, then started for the castle once more.

“But—”

“To protect you is my charge, and I shall do everything in my power to do so. While I am away, you must trust your family and their plentiful warriors to keep you safe. No one shall steal you from inside these castle walls.”

She fell silent beside him, not wanting to waste their time together arguing what seemed to be a moot point. Still, she couldn’t help but think back to the story Berinon had told her of the night she and Tristan were born, and how a lone witch had stolen her from her crib.

A crib under protection of the royal guard in this same castle two decades ago.

* * *

Z
ayne stood
beside his beloved white steed in the stables before dinner and inhaled deeply, allowing the familiar scents of stale hay and fresh muck to push Forath’s cool, dreary castle from his mind. He had come here seeking a temporary reprieve from its servants and their ever-curious eyes, which he had endured these past few hours in silent misery. Edana’s servants never cast such glances his way. Then again, he had grown up amongst his servants, determined to understand them, to walk among them, so that when he was forced to one day become their king, he would know best what they needed.

Forced, because to rule would never be a role he’d choose on his own. With the monarchy came responsibility. And with responsibility came a loss of time. Time to be by himself, or alone with his sweet Adelaide.

The stallion at his side, whom he had been forced to leave in Forath in order to make a hasty return on wing from his last visit, nudged his pocket, impatient for the treat Zayne had filched from the reserves on his way into the stable.

“Have ye become part bloodhound, then, Will?”

Will
. Zayne shook his head as he retrieved a handful of oats from his pocket. Adelaide had named his steed the day he’d first become smitten with her. Before she arrived in their world, no one named their horses, let alone any of their other farm animals. Now every head of cattle and downy chick at Godfrey Manor had a name of its own.

That was the power his betrothed wielded. While he relied on his strength and skill, all who drew near Addie were quickly spellbound by her seemingly endless joy and wonder. Could she truly not see how much more valuable her natural powers were than the ability to strike metal against metal?

“Ye knew it was but a matter of time before the lass asked ye to train her.”

Zayne turned to throw a scowl at his stealthy friend. “As did I know it would be but a matter of time before my mother hen came to heckle me about it.”

“So now ’tis my fault she wishes to learn our ways?” asked Brom.

“If you had not spoken so highly of warrior training on our last visit, perhaps she—”

“She what, sire? Would continue to spend all her energy doting on you?”

“Do not put words in my mouth, Brom.”

“No need when they are so plainly written upon your face.”

Instinct had Zayne curling his fists to strike; wisdom had him taking a pace back from his most trusted warrior. For Brom was right—Zayne had grown accustomed to being the center of Addie’s attention, to being the perpetual source of her delight. But how long would that continue before she grew tired of him and longed for more? Or for another? His fists tightened further.

“My lord, Princess Addie has chosen you over all else. Has left behind her childhood home to entrust you to meet her needs. Do ye truly not wish for her to be able to defend herself, lest danger strikes while you are away?”

The memory of Addie’s kidnapping poured over him like scalding water to an open wound. He had been both blind with rage upon learning of her disappearance and stricken with guilt for leaving her unprotected in the first place. But Edana’s wizard had helped Zayne rescue her. In the end, Berinon’s actions served to rescue them both.

“You know I have sworn never to let that happen again.”

“Aye. And never a week goes by when you do not repeat that promise.” Brom stepped forward and placed a hand upon Zayne’s shoulder with a sigh. “I know you desire to be one with her day and night, but you know as well as I that duty will call you away. To leave her unprepared, unprotected, sire, will only cloud your decisions in battle with worry.”

Zayne felt the fight leave his body at the undeniable wisdom in his friend’s words. Whether a peace treaty was to be struck between Forath and Edana or not, there would always be smaller uprisings. Villages who foolishly sought freedom from rule, or power over one another. To be consumed by worry and die in battle would leave his Adelaide unprotected the rest of her days. He could think of no greater failure.

Motion drew his gaze to the far end of the stables, then. Tristan emerged from a side stall, then immediately exited the rear doors. As did Quinn…and King Jarin.

A king? In the stables?

“Very well,” said Zayne, easing out from under Brom’s grasp and stepping toward the same door Forath’s royalty had just passed through. “And as you seem so keen on the idea, I am entrusting you to teach her the basics.”

“Sire?”

“Take great care of my betrothed, Brom,” he murmured as he stepped past his frowning confidant. “If she returns to me with even a scratch, there will be hell to pay.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Zayne made for the far door, his worries for Addie’s safety lessened. If anyone could be trusted to keep his less than graceful fiancée safe, it was Brom. And with her safe, his thoughts were freed to consider other areas of import…like what the devil her family and their highest guard were doing, sneaking around a stable this time of day.

A
delaide sat
beside her bedroom window, staring out into the starry night and savoring the quiet that had fallen across the castle’s inner courtyard as she did most every night. Because in the silence, she could look to the darkened skies and almost imagine that she was back in her world, in her time. That her life was once again normal.

Normal—a state she feared with each passing day in this strange new world that she might never experience again.

Addie had jumped at the chance to stay in this world, to stay with Zayne. He was the only person she’d ever known to truly accept her at face value. To not suggest she change anything about herself, or act like someone she wasn’t. But this escalating family drama was getting in the way of it all.

Family
.

Oh, she thought she’d hit the jackpot. A father she hadn’t known existed, who had nearly wept upon her return? A twin brother, someone who shared her chromosomes and might actually understand her thinking, her actions? Sadly, it seemed she might have set her expectations a bit too high. There’d been no jackpot, only a brother she had yet to connect with on an emotional level, and a father who seemed to grow more distant with each passing day. Neither had bothered to make an appearance at dinner tonight, which left her in the company of a sullen Zayne, a grouchy Brom, and the nosy servants who milled about them.

She ran a hand through her hair and let out a long sigh. Maybe she was expecting too much too soon from her father and brother. After all, she’d been gone for nearly twenty years; her rejoining their family was probably as big an adjustment to them as it was for her. For now, she could do nothing but hope that in time, they might grow to accept her as one of their own.

But there was one person who accepted her as she was within their castle walls—the man she planned to marry in a few short weeks. Even though it would be highly improper for her to seek out Zayne at this hour, the need to be held by him, to hear his assurance that everything would be fine, urged her from her seat and toward the door. Sure, he’d been short-tempered before dinner and unusually quiet during their meal, but maybe he’d been suffering from low blood sugar after all the flying he had done today. For the million and one daily questions she threw at the poor guy, the least she could do was give him the benefit of the doubt tonight.

Adelaide peeked out into the space outside her room and was relieved to find no guards or servants in sight. On silent feet, she stole down the hall, around a corner, and then slipped into Zayne’s guest room. There had been no light visible under his door, but she knew he was there. How, exactly, she didn’t know. Only that she did.

Once her eyes adjusted to the dark, she found her instinct had been correct—Zayne stood across the room beside his chamber’s open window, his profile visible and gaze intent on something outside. And though he did not turn upon her entry, the flare of golden light in his eyes signaled he knew she was there. She started toward him but drew to a halt when she made it to the room’s center and he still had yet to address her.

The light in his eyes was a good thing. The ignoring her part? Not so much.

Addie wrung her hands. “Zayne, I—”

“Shhhhhh.”

Her mouth fell open. “Did you just…
shush
me?”

Zayne remained in place, mute, and Addie’s blood began to boil. Why was he making such a big deal out of her request to learn how to defend herself? She took a step forward.

“Look, I get that you’re worr—”

His gaze slid to hers then, those golden eyes glowing brighter still. “Shh!”

A frustrated squeak escaped her. Here she was, breaking all sorts of rules for the second time today to be with him, and he wouldn’t even let her speak? Fury rippled through her, hot and fast. Why was he being like this?

But as his focus shifted once more to the window, Addie couldn’t help but wonder if there was more going on here than she knew. Curiosity trumped her anger, and she closed the distance between them in silence. Without turning his head, Zayne pulled her gently into his chest and stroked her hair.

“That’s better,” she whispered. “So what are you—”

“Shh.”

Addie flicked him on the arm. “Enough with the shushing already!”

She tried to pull away, but Zayne’s tender grasp turned to shackles like steel. He stepped them both closer to the window, a low rumbling in his chest. The murmur of male voices reached her ears.

Her father. Tristan. Quinn.

Oh, hell. Zayne hadn’t been avoiding a conversation; he’d been listening to one. The window below must have been open tonight as well. The same window, if memory served, that belonged to the room where her father often met with his soldiers to discuss strategy. She ducked her head, embarrassed to have overreacted. “Sorry.”

His body shook with a silent chuckle, and warm lips pressed to her forehead.

“Never has a woman been so difficult to silence.”

His clean scent of cloves and spice washed over her as they stood pressed against one another, and desire wove its way into her thoughts. The breeze outside pushed clouds from a nearly full moon, bathing them in moonlight and giving the moment a fairy-tale-like feel. Like he really was her own personal Prince Charming.

“Yes, I think you’ve complained of this before.”

He flashed her a devious grin. “Of course, I do have ways to silence you, my lady, just as I have ways to make you cry out for more. Both may yet be explored this night if you first allow me to hear the secrets being shared in the room below.”

Yep, her Prince Charming, only naughtier. Addie returned his grin, then leaned toward the window casing. Tristan’s voice drifted in from the dark.

“And you think the woman you saw may have been Rosalind?”

“We cannot be certain, Your Highness, as it was growing dark and the beast flew faster than most. But her skin was fair, her locks raven black.”

“And her garb?” It was Quinn, his voice a low growl.

“She was dressed as a peasant, sire. But her hair was left loose, contrary to the tight braids worn by women in the villages nearest there.”

Disappointment washed over Addie. Skin tone and hairstyles were hardly enough to convince anyone that her half sister had been found. The tone of her father’s voice when he spoke next seemed to echo her own sentiments.

“Neither you nor your men had contact with the girl, were able to see her up close, nor heard her speak to the men who took wing with her before fleeing our lands, yet you wish me to believe it was in fact the missing princess? And why is that, exactly, Warrick?”

A pause followed, and Addie leaned forward, worried the men’s voices had become too low to hear. After a moment, however, her father’s sentry cleared his throat and answered.

“Because we recognized her scream, Your Majesty.”

“Her…scream?”

Addie clamped both hands over her mouth to smother a laugh. She’d heard rumors of Rosalind’s supposed promiscuity murmured by the castle’s staff. From the sounds of it, she took whomever she pleased to bed whenever she pleased, though it usually correlated with their father and Tristan’s frequent hunting trips. And few of Rosalind’s bedroom escapades were of the quiet variety. How on earth she hadn’t gone and gotten herself pregnant was beyond Addie.

“Aye. The dragons that carried her off flew straight for the wall but angled to squeeze through a large crevice. The girl screamed as they approached without slowing.”

“A likely response from any maiden.”

“True, sire. But your daughter’s scream is very…distinct.”

“And how is it, exactly, that you would know what my daughter’s screams sound like?”

Addie bit back another giggle.
Oh, this ought to be good.

“Because of her frequent night terrors, Your Majesty. Two of the guards who are often positioned outside her room were with my men in the woods today. They recognized her voice.”

Oh, I’ll bet they did.
Addie rolled her eyes.
Night terrors, my ass.

“If that was the case, then where is she now? Did you not take wing and fight to save Princess Rosalind?”

“We tried, sire. But the wards prevented us from following.”

Wards? Addie looked to Zayne. A muscle had tensed in his jaw. Whatever these ward things were wasn’t good.

A roar rang out below, followed by something slamming against a piece of furniture. “Curse you, Ryia—even in death, your actions still haunt me!”

“Calm yourself, Father. There is no proof that these men were witc—”

“Of course we’re certain. There’s only one clan who would dare enter our lands and steal a princess out from under my very nose. I should have killed the whole lot of them while I had the chance. Casting them into exile only served to fuel their lust for vengeance.”

Addie frowned. Her history lessons to this point had revolved around family lineage, not past battles with other clans or kingdoms. Was taking off with runaway royals something that happened often in their family?

She opened her mouth to ask Zayne for clarification when Tristan spoke up.

“But why her, Father? Why now?”

“Retribution for Adelaide’s unexpected return, perhaps?” asked Quinn.

“Perhaps,” answered her father. “Warrick—take your men and find Haelan. I want those wards destroyed. Clear our way so that we may storm the witches’ village, reclaim my daughter, and put an end to this feud once and for all.”

Addie looked out into the darkness, beyond the castle, past the forest. Surely she’d heard him wrong. Witches? The same people who had failed to save her mother and then stolen Addie from the castle’s nursery—they were back?

But that couldn’t be. Her father had cast them out, sent them far off into exile. They couldn’t possibly be milling around unnoticed just beyond the wall surrounding Forath castle. She looked to Zayne, praying she’d heard wrong.

“D-did he really just say
witches
?” she whispered.

With a frown he shifted his golden gaze to hers. “Aye.”

* * *

T
error washed
over Adelaide’s pale features. Zayne swept her into his arms and away from the window lest she made a sound to give them away. Her blue silken nightdress fluttered across his bare chest with the movement, teasing the beast within. But now was not the time or place to entertain thoughts of that gown or the soft body beneath, not with Addie in a panic and her kingdom on the verge of war.

Curse Jarin for always assuming the worst of the witch clan. They never bothered a soul in Edana. Then again, the residents of Edana had not been the ones to cast them ruthlessly out of their homes and from their lands.

“The soldier offered your father a lie to appease him, Adelaide. Surely the witches remain across the wall.”

“But you heard Warrick or whatever his name was—dragons were just spotted in Forath. Taking off with Rosalind.” She stepped away from him and rubbed her hands up and down each arm. “I thought the witches were gone, Zayne. Like,
gone
gone. What if…what if they’ve come back to finish the job? To get rid of me for good as some sick way of getting even with my father?”

“No. The witches are not some bloodthirsty clan intent on revenge.”

“But how can you possibly know that?”

To see her distraught ignited a fury deep inside Zayne, one that whispered for him to strike down the source of her worries, to protect her from further pain. But she had much to learn about these lands, and a better path would be to educate her of the witches’ ways rather than lash out at the ignorant sentries downstairs.

Footsteps sounded in the hall, and worry began to weave a complicated path through his mind. If the guards discovered Addie gone from her room, they would assume the worst. And there would be more guards, if the Bennett family truly believed the rubbish spewed forth from their warriors’ mouths.

“Allow me to return you to your room, my lady, before the others believe you to be stolen as well. Once there, I shall tell you what I know of the witches, and your fears shall be put to rest.”

“I seriously doubt that.” She met his gaze, hers quite wary. “You’re not just going to feed me some BS story to make me feel better, are you?”

He knew not what she meant, as did happen from time to time, but the tone in her voice warned he not ask for an explanation at this hour. Instead, he offered her his hand. “Never shall I offer you anything but the truth.”

“Only the truth?”

“You have my word, Adelaide.”

“
Fine
.”

She took his hand and allowed him to lead her to his chamber door. There they paused to listen. Upon hearing nothing, Zayne cracked open the door. As neither scent nor sound greeted him still, he drew Addie alongside him and together they hurried toward her room. They were less than a dozen steps from her door when a throat cleared in the hall behind them. Both he and Adelaide froze at the sound.

“Were the king’s rules unclear, Prince Zayne?”

A small wave of relief washed over him. It was merely Tristan.

“More rules?” demanded Addie. “And what rules are you referring to this time?”