Burn (Dragon Souls) (16 page)

Transformed into a smooth-backed Dragon with sapphire scales, he reared onto his haunches.

His arched chest glowed brightly.

Cold light rocketed up his throat then exploded from his mouth in a hail of
dragonfrost
.

Deadly shards ripped through the air, slamming into the torso of a Mage, and the upper arm of another, knocking them off their feet and down the beach.

The others vanished then reappeared as transparent, shadowy figures darting closer, hemming him in.

Increasingly aggravated by the attack in his territory, Koen gained his footing with Marina cradled in his arms.

She tapped his shoulder.

As she was calm and controlled he set her on her feet, pushing her behind him when the Mages Daniil hadn’t engaged fanned out to surround them.

Marina was annoyed, not worried about her fate, or the outcome of the encounter.

A handful of men couldn’t defeat Koen Raad.

Rubbing the small of his back, she whispered into his ear. “You’re aware I can fight?”

Koen snorted. His eyes tracked the circling men. “You have nothing to prove to me. I am aware of your
warskill
.” His fingers brushed the back of her hand when it hugged his waist. “I have watched you.”

Warmth at this whispered confession chased away the lingering shock from the ambush.

Curious, Marina turned her attention to the attackers, excited to be in proximity to the mysterious people of the Wastelands separating the Fire Kingdom and Ice Realm.

The tallest Mage detached from formation, his power of magicks burning at a greater intensity than the others. “Give us the woman.” His glottal stop was deeply pronounced making his guttural words punchy and halted. “She will not be harmed.”

‘Yo
u break the treaty between our people and invite war
.’ Daniil retreated. The deadly spike of his tail cracked side to side. He bared his sharp teeth, and wispy vapour poured from his mouth chilling the air. “
The state of affairs is yet redeemable. Surrender
.”

Indecision poured from the tallest Mage. Emoting so potently, Marina felt his frustration, as it was her own. “War will find you, Dragon Lord.” The Mage met Marina’s gaze. The steely grey of his irises were stormy. “It is not us who broke the treaty.” He signalled with his hand and the magicks surrounding them flickered and died.

Darkness enveloped the Mages, as if the night sympathized with their plight and thickened to shroud their bodies.

Sand whisked into a tornado and covered the entire beach in a gritty sheen of white.

Koen pulled Marina into his chest and cupped the back of her head, shielding her soft flesh from the harshness of the sandstorm.

The twister of sand and wind died.

The Mages were gone.

Daniil shifted and magicked his clothes. He was unharmed, expression tight with fury. For a long moment it seemed his emotions robbed him of speech. “
They dare
?”

Thoughtful, Koen released Marina’s head only to wrap his arms around her waist.

The Dragon slumbered uneasily, perturbed by the encounter.

Marina rested her chin on the back of her hands that lay on his chest. “Did you feel their remorse?”

“How can you be so calm?” Daniil demanded. “They have broken the treaty. A legion crossed into the Fire Kingdom and attacked royalty.”

“Was standing right here.”

“And I did not see a hundred men,” Koen said dryly at the exaggeration.

Marina leaned to grip Daniil’s arm, because he looked ready to go hunting. “I’m not stressed for three reasons. One, I never got the sense they were here to hurt me. They wanted to take me somewhere alone to talk.” Her brows pulled together. “Though I haven’t the slightest inclination why. Even if they were out to harm me they didn’t stand a chance against the three of us. Why would I panic? Two, I sensed intense frustration and regret from their leader. That’s not the aura of a man who wants to start a war. Lastly, I’ve dealt with too much shit today. You have my word I’ll freak out tomorrow. Right now, I can’t take any more. So we’re going to look at the positives. None of us were hurt. We have no knowledge of their intentions other than they wanted a private chat, so desperately as to try and bluff the Dragon King.” She didn’t back down from his anger. She met his gaze, deadpan, daring him to defy her. “Drop it until tomorrow.”

“But–”

She held up a finger. “No.”

He broke the stare, backing down. “Koen?”

“A night to sleep on what transpired will not harm us.” Koen held up a hand when Daniil huffed prepared to argue. “Marina has a point.” And he found her dominance over another male arousing. It told his more savage instincts she was strong enough to claim, to be his mate. He focused. “We were not injured, and after their scare tactics failed they retreated. I did offer leniency.”

“They attacked. That renders the promise of mercy void.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be all about peace?” Marina asked archly.

Lips peeling back in a snarl, Daniil glared. “Not when it comes to those dirty savages.”

Staggered by his antagonism, she gaped, incredulous.

His narrow-minded discrimination was upsetting. It was the first time she’d witnessed intolerance in Daniil. She didn’t like it. In fact, it unnerved her to see this unsavoury side to his character.

Was he prejudiced of the Desert People?

The thought floored her.

“There’s no need for name calling,” she said tightly.

Even Koen appeared unimpressed by his Second’s attitude. “Holding Court with Myron at nightfall with news of an attack by a feared enemy will cause panic. A contingent of men scouting the boundaries of the Barren territories bordering our Kingdom is sufficient. It will keep.”

“Koen–”

“My decision is final.”

Daniil raked a hand through his warrior braids. Shook his head. “I have bad feelings. This is a mistake.”

“Come.” Holding Daniil’s shoulder, he met the other male’s gaze. “We will take my Treasure home then reason this as we have done since infancy. Together.”

M
arina wanted to be disgruntled. Being excluded from Daniil and Koen’s discussion about the Mages could be perceived as overprotective. The matter directly concerned her.

It was
she
they tried to abduct after all.

Only because she had more pressing concerns did she let Koen get away with slyly sending her away to ‘recuperate’.

Where was her son was hiding?

Boy was suspiciously absent. Usually she saw him throughout the day, but since Aver had officially begun he’d become a ghost.

At dawn she’d slipped into his bedroom to talk, but his bed had been empty, the sheets warm, as if he’d left not a minute before she’d arrived. She’d returned to her room frowning, using the incident as proof he consciously avoided her.

Rolling out of bed, she let Pasha fuss over her, and left a trail of destruction in her wake. Freshly bathed, she dressed in the colour of her house, black.

She grabbed a piece of fruit from the lavish breakfast set out for her every morning.

“You know the drill,” she told the servants, waving a hand over the meal.

They nodded, smiling, and wishing her a good morning. They gathered up the foodstuffs.

Calling goodbye to Pasha, who hummed a ditty as she straightened the room, Marina left to find her missing son.

Knee high boots clomping loudly down the stone hallway, she bit into the red and purple flesh of the fruit. She was rewarded with a sweet, juicy pulp and her taste buds sung.

Distracted by the scrumptious flavour she almost forgot why she aimlessly wandered the halls.

After a moment’s contemplation, Marina grudgingly headed to Mikhail’s rooms. Boy often spent a great deal of time with his grandfather. It was as good a place as any to start, and more productive than drifting until she stumbled across him.

She might not even be successful in her search.

Boy possessed the innate ability to find people, and he could evade her for hours using the skill.

It was how he’d been able to slip into her room to kill her the day they met.

Mincing up to the ornate screen, she rapped her knuckles against the wood frame.

The wait stretched and she tried not to jump to conclusions.

The embarrassing fight between her, Cathryn and Mikhail had been spread Kingdom wide by nightfall as expected. The night before, Marina had been so tired from training and preoccupied with the Mages attack, she barely noticed the whispers and smirks.

In the sunny morning light, the shame of it had her cheeks burning.

She really didn’t have energy or time to dedicate to something this foolish.

Before Koen found her at beach, she’d thought hard about what Cathryn said. As she cried, she relived the argument and felt weak with confusion at their behaviour and hers.

Admittedly, she’d not been overly receptive of Mikhail’s overtures to grow closer. There was so much to accomplish in so short a time she’d assumed their relationship would survive on the backburner, left to simmer until she figured what she wanted from him, and what she felt able to give in return.

Cathryn’s arrival had thrown their lack of emotional connection and loyalty into stark relief.

Marina intuitively knew if she and her Sire were closer, Mikhail would have understood how much Cathryn meant to her and consequently would never have trespassed.

A cynical side of her nature scoffed.

He knew I loved Cathryn enough to drag her across dimensions to gain favour with me, but not enough to keep his paws off?

What pained her most was she felt they’d put their needs over hers. Fine, she got it. There were times you were attracted to someone and needed release, but why
now
?

The weirdness of it took too much for her to process, and worse, there was an underlying feeling of being offended on Almeria’s behalf.

Which made no sense because her mother had left Mikhail, relinquishing her claim. She knew for a fact her mother slept with other men in the human dimension.

How could she hold Mikhail to a higher standard based on that?

Possibly she felt threatened by the concept a Phoenix could lust ardently after another female and forget his Treasure?

Disturbed, Marina shuddered.

Losing her mother had been hellish. For months she’d teetered the edge of a complete mental breakdown, not understanding why the accident happened. She hadn’t had any family around her except Cathryn during that awful period. Her friend kept her sane, and Marina had clung to that connection, revered it as she had the lost one with her mother.

Was it fair to react so harshly towards Cathryn because she’d fallen from the pedestal Marina shoved her on?

There was movement in the room.

Whispering.

Eyes downcast, Marina crossed her arms. Holding back her anger grew tougher. “Could you hurry up? I have things to do.” She cringed,
hearing
how bitchy she sounded with her own ears.

The screen opened a fraction.

Mikhail’s bare chest blocked her attempt to enter. Dark eyes were wary. “Daughter? I had not expected–”

“Have you seen my son?”

“No.” Mikhail’s forehead furrowed with concern. “Not since the day before yesterday.”

Worried now, and done with the conversation, she turned to leave before she said something to regret.

Mikhail caught her troubled expression. “He is missing?”

“No one’s seen him.” She paused, considered her options. “The last was Pasha. She said he seemed in a world of his own. He slept in his bed last night, but was gone before dawn. The servants haven’t seen him. Not that they’re any help since they go out of their way to avoid him.” White lines bracketed her mouth. “They’re afraid of him.”

“He likes to be solitary, and is talented at concealment.

“True. After what happened last night it’s safer if he remains close though. Koen and I want him within reach.”

“Last night?”

“Mages,” she said absentmindedly, wondering where to check next. Boy often took lessons with Regent Myron, but with Aver in full swing she knew the lessons were placed on hold. “They attacked Koen, Daniil and I off the main shore, a little way from the port.”

“The Barren Ones entered the Fire Kingdom?” Mikhail’s voice was furious, truly beyond horrified. “They broke the treaty?
Attacked
. Are you alright?”

Snapping out of her reverie, she met him glare for glare. “What do you care? Wait.” She flashed both palms. “We are not doing this. It’s none of your business how I am.”

“Marina, you are my offspring. So we have suffered a difference of opinion in a private matter. We shall get past it. Your welfare is my business.”

Arrogant to the core, Mikhail had simplified and compartmentalised their argument until, as far as he was concerned, she overreacted. His demeanour was condescending patience, as if she were throwing a tempter tantrum.

It pissed her right off.

“Yesterday you told me you were sorry to have hurt me.”

“I did.” He sounded frustrated. “
I am
.”

“Let me in.”

“What?”

“Move aside and let me into your chamber. Do so and we’ll forget yesterday as if it never happened. We’ll set aside time to talk about some of the issues, but for the main part we’ll have a clean slate. I’ll even hear you out about your fling with Cathryn.” Her jaw worked as she ground her back teeth together. “You do respect me enough to talk to me about it before you do anything with her again, right?”

Shoulders slumping, he looked ashamed. “Marina, I–”

“You won’t let me in because Cathryn is in your bed.”

Mikhail’s earnest look died. His lips worked, but no denials escaped them.

“The way I see it, if you were truly sorry and affected by what I felt you would’ve at least tried to mend the bridge between us before you went there again.” She stared him in the face, letting him see how badly he’d screwed up. “So you misunderstood how much she meant to me the first time round. You assumed I’d be okay with this. I accept that. Shit happens, and as Cathryn said, we are all adults here. But after the way I reacted yesterday there was no uncertainty. You knew how strongly I was against a relationship between you.”