Dragonfyre (12 page)

He would hold out. He would keep his mind together. Even if it shredded every last ounce of his being, he would fight for Kyndra.

He fisted his hands, no longer feeling the blood that had coated his arms. His arms were numb, his shoulders aching with every breath he took. Try as he might, his legs refused to hold him any longer. The more he tried, the more pain he brought onto the rest of his body. So, he hung there, his arms pulled out to his side, his knees nearly touching the floor. Pain was the only friend he had, for the pain reminded him why he was in Thav in the first place.

Aimery turned his wrist, letting the metal cut into his skin. He hissed in a breath when pain lanced through his shoulder.

“By all that’s magical, what are you doing, you fool?”

He ignored the false Kyndra and focused on the pain of his body. Breath by agonizing breath he dove into the pain, pulling his mind back to him while he forced himself not to think of his magic.

Soft, cool hands touched his face and threaded through his hair. For just a moment, he let himself believe it was Kyndra, that she had come to him. But that’s all he allowed himself, that one, brief moment in time. He didn’t turn away from her, because that would only let her know he wasn’t completely insane, and she would renew her efforts. Aimery wasn’t strong enough to resist her, even knowing she wasn’t the real Kyndra.

Even now he could feel her soft skin beneath his hands, hear her moans of pleasure as he thrust inside her. By the gods, she had been incredible, more than he had ever dreamed of.

“Kyndra!”

Kyndra jumped as Aimery shouted her name. She winced and tried to get him to drink the water once more. He never jerked away from her, but he didn’t accept her either. It was almost as if he didn’t know she was there.

For a few moments he had stopped his yelling, and she had thought it was because of her.

Now she realized he had just sunk into insanity. Tears burned her eyes and fell onto her cheek.

She dashed them away, hating her weakness and her inability to help him.

Now that she had seen him, she needed to pull herself together and figure out how she was going to free him, kill Isran, and get the egg back to the Fae realm. It was a daunting task, but one Aimery would have taken on in a heartbeat. It was the least she could do for him.

Kyndra set the goblet of water on the table and walked around the room. She hadn’t paid much attention to it the previous night since all she had cared about was Aimery but now she let her gaze wander over it, looking for a way out.

She walked to the window and threw it open. Wind buffeted her face and made her gasp for breath. She shielded her eyes with her arm and leaned out of the window. That’s when she saw the sheer drop down the jagged mountain. Even if she and Aimery survived the fall, they had nowhere to go. Isran and his guards would be on them in an instant.

Kyndra closed the window and leaned back against it. She rubbed her hands up and down her arms in a vain attempt to find warmth. Hopelessness settled into her stomach, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t push it away.

“Oh, Aimery,” she whispered and ran her hand down the bed.

She looked at the massive four poster bed, the dark wood etched with runes of some ancient civilization. The table and chairs and even the wood around the windows had the same runes. Kyndra walked to the door and found even more of the markings. She moved her fingers over the runes, wondering what they meant.

With a sigh she turned her back to the door and slid to the floor. Her gaze found Aimery, his voice barely discernable as he continued to scream her name. It was heart wrenching to see him struggle so, made even worse since she couldn’t help him.

She drummed her fingers on her arm. She missed having the dragon wrapped around her arm, its flashing sapphire eyes reminding her of the blue dragons. Aimery had slid it off her arm the night before where it dropped on the floor.

Kyndra jerked away from the door and crawled to the bed when she remembered how Aimery had kicked it beneath the bed so Isran wouldn’t notice it. Her hand closed over the cool metal and pulled it out from under the bed.

The dragon band was a sign of her warrior ability. All Fae knew what it meant for a woman to wear one. Aimery had been protecting her, giving her a chance to find a way to surprise Isran with her skills. She put the dragon on her arm, its head pointed toward her as its blue eyes winked at her through the candlelight.

She rose to her feet and walked to Aimery. By his furrowed brow and pinched lips he was in pain. If only she could heal him. She dipped her fingers into the goblet and ran them over his lips, wetting them.

“Come back to me, Aimery.”

Once more he had stopped bellowing her name, and she used the time to wet his lips. He shifted his arm, and blood welled from a wound on his wrist to roll down his arm.

“What are you doing?” she asked and wiped away the blood.

She put her finger between his wrist and the manacles and felt the rusted metal. She winced when the metal cut into her skin. Kyndra jerked her finger out and started to wipe away the blood when it healed.

She blinked. With her heart pounding in her chest, she cut her finger again, deeper this time, and just as before, it healed.

“This cannot be.”

Isran had taken her magic. He had told her he was the one to heal her, but had he spoken the truth? Had he returned her magic instead? If so, why?

Her head began to pound as she tried to understand what had happened. With everything going on with Aimery, she hadn’t had time to wonder why she hadn’t begun to go daft. Now she knew. Isran had given her back her magic.

Kyndra put her hands on either side of Aimery’s face and tilted his head until she could see all of him. “Aimery, please. It’s me, Kyndra. Open your eyes. Aimery, open your eyes.” He did nothing to give her any sign that he had heard her. Kyndra had never felt so alone in all her life. She was no match for Isran magically. She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his neck.

“I can’t fight him. I need you.”

After a deep breath, she lowered her arms and took a step away from him. The first thing she had to do was get him out of the chains. There had to be something Isran wanted, and she would discover what it was.

The door to Aimery’s chamber opened. Isran leaned against the doorjamb, his arms crossed over his chest and a triumphant smile on his face. “Have you figured it all out yet?”

“When did you return my magic?”

“After I carried you to your new chamber.”

She nodded, hating him anew. She had begun to think him misunderstood but, then again, that had been his intention. He liked keeping her guessing. It was nothing but a game to him, but she could also play games.

Kyndra faced him. “What do you want?”

“Power. I can never have enough.” His gaze narrowed, and he pushed off the door.

“What do you have on your arm?”

She smiled and turned her arm to look at the dragon cuff. “This? It’s mine.”

“You’re a warrior?”

“Oh, aye, Isran. A warrior priestess, leader of the Blue Order.” He threw back his head and laughed. “Perfect!”

She had thought to give him pause with her title, but a sickening feeling fell into the pit of her stomach. “What is perfect?”

“You,” he said and walked around her. He leaned close to her ear and whispered, “You are the answer to all my plans.”

She opened her mouth to ask him what those plans were when he took her by the elbow and dragged her out of the room. Kyndra glanced over her shoulder to see Aimery’s eyes open.

And looking at her.

Aimery shook his head to clear his mind. He must be hallucinating again. It was the smell of jasmine and sunshine that had pulled him out of his madness, given him time to inflict more pain on himself.

Kyndra’s whispered words had stilled his heart, because he had known instantly it was really her. He had tried to talk to her, to whisper her name, but his voice no longer worked. Each swallow was like needles going down his throat.

And then Isran had come into the room.

Aimery had tried to listen to them, but their voices were muffled, as if in a tunnel. When he was finally able to open his eyes, it was to see Isran leading Kyndra out of the chamber. The only thing that let Aimery know he hadn’t imagined her scent was the dragon on her arm.

None of the illusions Isran had put before him had worn it, which meant it really had been Kyndra with him. If only he had realized it sooner, he could have talked to her, touched her.

He yanked on the chains, yearning for his magic like never before.

His mind whirled, jerking him down into a pit that threatened to never let him out.

Aimery fought against the lunacy, daring himself to believe in Kyndra, to hope.

“Kyndra,” he whispered. “You’re not alone.”

But it was too late. She was gone from him once again.

* * * * *

Isran’s fingers dug into her arm. She refused to let him know he had hurt her. When he wasn’t able to get a response that way, he quickened his steps, causing her to trip over her skirts and fall to her knees.

He yanked her up, his lips pulled back in a sneer. “Your thoughts betray you, priestess.” A shiver of apprehension raced down her spine. “I’ve blocked you.”

“Did you not believe me or Aimery when we told you black magic was stronger than Fae magic? You can put up all the measly defenses you have, and yet I’ll be able to break through every one of them.”

“So you know I want you destroyed. You’ve known that from the beginning. Why get upset over it now?”

He gave her a jerk. “Upset? I’m not upset.”

“Really?” She noted the tick at the corner of his left eye.

“Oh, I’m not at all happy that you were able to break through to Aimery but, in the end, I think it will be to my benefit.”

Kyndra wrenched herself out of his grasp. “What are you talking about?”

“While you’ve been…healing…I’ve been playing mind games with Aimery. Again and again I put an illusion of you in his chamber. It was quite funny the first ten times to see him try to talk to the illusion, to touch her.”

Kyndra swallowed, the bile rising in her throat. “All the goodness that made you a Fae is completely gone, isn’t it?”

“Every last drop, priestess.”

She steeled herself and fisted her hands at her side. “What do I have to do to get you to release Aimery?”

“There’s just one thing I want from you.” He took a step toward her and touched her cheek.

Kyndra had to fight to keep from jerking away, but she would do whatever he wanted for Aimery. “What is that?”

“Perform the ceremony.”

“The ceremony? What ceremony?”

He dropped his hand, his gaze narrowed in laughter. “As a priestess of the Order, a leader of the Blue Order, you don’t know?”

“Apparently not.”

“Now that is amusing. What was Julieth thinking in not informing at least you of the consequences should I take over Thav?”

Kyndra shook her head. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh, but I do. You see, my sweet, not only do I bathe in the yolk of the egg, but I need a priestess of the Order to infusion the dragon with me.” Her heart slammed into her rib cage, threatening to burst from her chest. “You must be jesting. Julieth would have told me. In any event, she would never have dared to send me.”

“But she did. Why is that?”

“You must have it wrong. There doesn’t need to be a ceremony. I’m not needed.” She didn’t know why she gave him the power of that knowledge, but his words had confused her, frightened her. It put into question everything Julieth had ever told her, and that wasn’t good.

Isran shrugged. “Believe what you want, but I’m right. You want to save Aimery from his madness, then join me.”

Kyndra looked at the hand he held out for her. What he asked went against everything she had lived for, everything she had come to fight against. She loved the dragons, but her love for Aimery was more.

A tear spilled down her cheek as she realized she had fallen in love with the Commander.

And she would never get the chance to tell him.

“I’ll do it, but you have to return Aimery to our realm.”

“I can’t do that.”

“Then I cannot help you.” Kyndra was determined to see him safe. She didn’t like bargaining with his life, but it was a gamble she had to take. For as long as Isran was willing.

Isran beckoned to her with his fingers. “Come, come, priestess. You don’t want Aimery to suffer more do you?”

A strangled bellow of pain came from Aimery’s room.

“I will release him from his bonds, but Aimery stays in Thav,” Isran said. “It’s my final offer.”

“You need me. You will be willing to forgo your ceremony without me?”

“I’ll have you one way or another, priestess. Take what I’m offering before I change my mind.”

Kyndra looked at his hand and knew in her heart this was her last chance for Aimery. She put her hand in Isran’s. “Release Aimery. I’ll perform your ceremony.” The smile on Isran’s face made her blood run cold.

“Come. There is much to prepare.”

Kyndra glanced at Aimery’s chamber. “Can I see him? To make sure you’ve released him?”

“I keep my promises,” he said and pulled her after him. “You can see him later. That I vow.”

She had no choice but to go with Isran, even though every fiber of her being told her to go to Aimery. She wanted to see him once more before he realized what she had become, before he sensed the black magic within her. Kyndra had known taking Isran’s deal would seal her fate, but she had done it anyway. Maybe once she learned how to control the black magic she could attack him and end it all.

They descended several flights of stairs and traversed a maze of corridors before they reached a set of double doors at the end of a hallway. Isran pushed them open and motioned her inside.