SkyFall (Taken on the Wing Book 2) (36 page)

“
You
’
re free, aren
’
t you?
Aledaar doesn
’
t control you.
”

“
Yes,
”
Tempest agrees. She
’
s at Flay
’
s mercy whether her secret is kept or
not.

“
There are things Con and I don
’
t talk about. There are herbs I take to
stay out of season. It would kill him to have to turn children in like Fury did
to you. He doesn
’
t ask and I don
’
t tell. There are things I don
’
t say because he can
’
t hear them and things he doesn
’
t ask because he can
’
t bear the answer.

“
Aledaar ordered my dame murdered because
she believed the green dragonkin should remain free. My sire and I still
believe in freedom and not just because she wanted it but because it
’
s right.

“
My twin is with my kind, where my sire
and I should be, but my choice of mate and my sire
’
s situation keep us here. Nobody knows
where the green dragonkin are but me and Aledaar is convinced they
’
re in hiding.
”

“
What
do we do?
”
Tempest asks. The intense heat
makes her skin crawl as the muscles beneath drink it in.

“
I
’
m making you too warm, forcing your body
to draw out the last of your reserves. You
’
ll feel great for about an hour and you
’
ll manage a portal but then you
’
re going to crash far worse than before.

“
When you
’
re better, Tempest, you
’
ll leave and you won
’
t be going alone.
”

For Daniel Cooper, the days and nights
since he was taken from Calgary have been nothing but blackness and just enough
protein to keep his gryphon form from freezing. It
’
s been months since his capture but the
exact number of days until the fourth full moon won
’
t be known until the answer is zero.

Then it will be over.

Even Torrent
’
s intermittent company, with his boots
and fists and nothing Cooper
’
s chained and weakened body
can do to fight back, is a break from the cold wait for the end.

“
Sshhh.
”

The whisper outside his cell door is
sharp, quiet and female.

Although Cooper
’
s sense of time is off, his internal
clock says tonight
’
s dinner was early and the
female outside the door is here far too soon to have brought him another meal.
Also, his keepers are male.

“
Try that one.
”

Another whisper as the familiar rattle of
keys is followed by the reluctant movement of the lock
’
s inner workings. It would be better if
it was Torrent. It
’
s more likely these females
have come to see he is tidied up for his last day.

“
Sire?
”
Luminous green dragonkin eyes appear one
at a time past the edge of the door. The light soothes his eyes. His daughter
is foolish to risk a trip to the dungeon and he tells her as much.

“
Flay, you shouldn
’
t be here.
”

“
Neither should you, sire,
”
she answers as a second pair of dragonkin
eyes appears next to hers. These are gold although not brilliant like Flay
’
s eyes. Their glow has all the dullness
of a spent penny.

“
Flay?
”
Cooper tries. The presence of a gold with
his daughter is bad news and can only mean Aledaar is up to something.

“
This is Lady Tempest,
”
Flay explains.
“
Daughter of Lord Fury and a free
dragonkin, sire.
”

“
Oh,
no,
”
Cooper moans. Cloud,
grand-daughter of Sire Lev, the Cherry from the Eyrie and the key to his safe
room in Calgary and the box holding the green relic, is here. Either Aledaar
has the green relic already or it is only a matter of time until the memory
block Cooper forced on the young gold dragonkin fails and she hands it over.

“
Sire,
”
Flay
’
s warm hand cups his cheek as she kneels
then she offers him her wrists.
“
You worry so. Lady tempest is
pregnant. Aledaar couldn
’
t take her will and she has to
leave soon. So do you I might add, so
…”

“
Daniel Cooper?
”
Tempest asks.
“
Daniel is your sire?
”

“
Yes,
”
Flay fiddles with the metal collar that
attaches Cooper
’
s chain to the wall.
“
Open the bag.
”

“
But how did you get here?
”

“
Aledaar took me into custody the day of
the tornado, Lady Tempest,
”
Cooper says as the heavy
metal collar and chain fall away.

“
Aledaar has several large delegations in
the main chamber,
”
Flay explains.
“
They want his help settling a bloody
territory dispute and nearly all the Will is needed to keep the peace. We
couldn
’
t have planned a better turn
of luck to break you out.
”

Flay helps him to his feet and sets to
undressing him. After months of cold spray downs and rough, black prison wear
the touch of friendly hands is freedom. To see the sky again, even if it is so
near the stench of Aledaar
’
s Grand Council, will be
heavenly.

“
Wait,
Flay.
”
Tempest steadies him. The days
and nights chained to the floor have left Cooper nearly unable to stand. The
only way he could straighten up was to lay on the stone floor.

Flay works his tail through the hole in
the back of his trousers. It
’
s unlikely anyone but Con and
Cooper would notice the tension she carries as she works faster, even roughly,
to get the trousers up and fastened.

“
You
’
ve lost a lot of weight,
”
Flay observes as the waist slides down a
few inches before it stops.
“
I was worried these would be
too small.
”

“
You
’
re putting me in Will reds aren
’
t you.
”

“
And I am feathered if you hadn
’
t noticed. My dragonkin wings will
attract too much attention.
”

“
Flay, are you coming with us?
”
Tempest
asks.

She nods once and turns Cooper so Tempest
can fasten one side of his tunic while she gets the other. Cooper has been
clumsy and cold for too long to even dress himself.

“
You only have enough energy to portal
yourself, Tempest,
”
Flay answers.
“
I will bear my sire.
”

“
What about Con?
”

Warm sheepskin slips over Cooper
’
s head and Flay fusses to make sure his
ears are covered. Then the tight squeeze of a leather helmet.

“
Aledaar will not harm or threaten him
until he knows where I am and then he will use Con as leverage. Let
’
s hope that's at a time of our choosing.
”

Flay stuffs some jerky into Cooper
’
s hands and he chews while bored
footsteps echo past the closed door and away, down the long tunnel outside.

“
Calgary
?
”
Flay asks.

“
No,
”
Cooper thinks.
“
I doubt it's safe and that
’
s the first place they'll look for us.

“
It
’
s time we made some friends, Flay. We are
going to see the one gryphon who hates me as much as Aledaar.
”

“
Oh, shit, sire,
”
Flay says then she shrugs.
“
We
’
ll probably be imprisoned together down
here within ten minutes anyway so I guess it doesn
’
t matter where we go.
”

She knows exactly what he has in mind.

“
Lady
Tempest,
”
Cooper says.
“
We are taking you home. Sire Lev is fair.
He will hear me out and perhaps grant us sanctuary.
”

With a destination in mind, Flay opens
the door just enough to set her ear to the opening and listen.

“
We
can
’
t use the main entrance
without passing through Aledaar
’
s self-serving gathering. The
only other way is through Aledaar
’
s private chamber,
”
Flay
says.
“
It should be empty.
”

“
Lead the way.
”

Cooper hadn
’
t been conscious for his trip into the
dungeon, Torrent saw to that, and isn
’
t
surprised to find he was in one of the cells nearest the guard station. With
Aledaar
’
s security needs upstairs, the
station is empty and they hurry up a set of broad stone steps then through a
dark hallway that parallels the rear of the main chamber. The thick wall hides
their footsteps.

A single gryphon approaches, dressed in
the Will
’
s reds. His eyes target
Tempest in the lead with Flay, still in gryphon form. Cooper takes up the rear
and gets a hand before his face to hide his rough beard.

“
Dragonkin,
”
the gryphon spits and Tempest bows.

Even in Aledaar
’
s Will, led by Fury himself, there is
prejudice.

They slow as they reach Aledaar
’
s private chamber. A shadow moves in the
entrance and the room isn
’
t empty. There is a snort and
satisfied sigh.

Torrent,
Flay mouths.

We can
’
t wait for him to leave,
Tempest says.

No, they can
’
t. Judging by the faded gold of Tempest
’
s eyes, her body has been deeply stressed
and she
’
s close to collapsing in
fatigue.