The Dragon's Mail Order Mate: A Paranormal Menage Romance (35 page)

We both nodded.

“Good, they have been here ringing up quite the tab.  They said if you come here to send them to the corner to speak with them,” the bartender said as he pointed to the corner table where it was away from all the locals.  The smoke from everyone’s tobacco and pipes seemed as if it was hidden by a blanket of smoke.

The bartender was wrong, it wasn’t Marvin and the traveler who I shared a room with at the Inn that Marvin owned, who was waiting for us.  Instead, I was sharing my company with the black magic wizard who seemed to spiral the magical smoke in front of him.

The wizard was wearing his long coat and the hat that covered his face.  Marvin, on the other hand, didn’t have the blackened long coat or a hat that stuck out.  He was dressed like he normally was. 

“Did you get a hold of our mother?” I asked impatiently.

“Yes, and that is why I had the bartender made you aware that we were here waiting for you.” 

“What is the official news?”

“Your mother is dead.  She is somewhere between castles where she has found a safe place to hide.  She caught the wind from her gypsy friend that King Athalos has sent assassins to kill her as well.  Like your brother, I think it is a little too late for that,” Marvin pointed out.

I groaned at this.  “I had a feeling we were all in danger.”

Rowan looked at me and back at Marvin and the traveler.  “I hate to bring this up, but coming here, something strange happened.  It never happened before when I headed towards the Dragon Kingdom.  We crossed the old wooden bring and the wind formed into a tidal wave shape and destroyed the bridge completely. 

It only left splinters and debris.  My brother got trapped and died underneath that pile. 

My wife keeps saying she is a warrior who has been to the Dragon Kingdom before, but she had never seen anything like that, either.”

I sighed as Rowan had brought up my stubborn wife.  He also had no clue this wasn’t the traveler, but the man that ended his life.

“Why don’t you make it official that she is part of your voyage?  I am sure she would be an asset to your quest.  It is a shame she is dead.” 

“There is a lot more to my wife than her being a warrior.  It seems she loathes me.  Although she makes a wonderful warrior, her job is to guard the castle.  Yes, it is a shame she died.  She was a splendid woman to be around when she was in a good mood.”

The traveler shook his head. “Some women aren’t to be tamed, but they are to join the king in Battle.  Those types of relationship are the ones that are a force to be reckoned with, since the king is to protect his queen and she will protect her king.  Too bad she did fight everything to accompany you.  You weren’t exactly worthy of any of this.”

“I am unsure what to think anymore.  If it wasn’t such a dangerous journey I would have allowed her to join us.  She almost got herself killed with the mishap from the bridge.  I don’t want to see my queen die in front of me.  She tells me often that she can make up her own mind.  She also reminds me that if I allowed her to go in the first place, that she wouldn’t have snuck up on the bridge the way she did, but I don’t think that it is safe, no matter what.  My queen has also been fruitful with knowledge and has told me that Maelyss will hang us by our feet, especially since we were raised as King Athalos’ sons.”

“Now why would he do that?  You are raised by his hated enemy!  Although…” Marvin said. “I am assuming that your young warrior wife is speaking of how Maelyss treats all traitors.  I know the prophecy very well and there is more to it than either of you understand or even know about quite yet.”

“Where is your young queen now?” the wizard asked without making eye contact with me.

“She is at the castle.  I had to lock her away in a tower.  I feel incredibly bad to do this, but she hates me with such passion and she won’t listen to anything I say to her.  I told her if she escaped when we first left for the quest that I would have to lock her away if she tried.  I guess she thought I was joking.”

“You are telling me as a king and queen you are both on separate journeys on this matter?  You are telling me that as you venture off on this deadly quest that you think she will become a common housewife overnight and try hard to please you?  Was any of it worth it?  She loved you!  She was willing to die for you.  What was she actually willing die for, though?” the traveler questioned.

“No, ever since we married she hated me.  She kept telling me how she got the short end of the stick.”

“Let me guess, because of your secret.” The wizard piped up.

“Of course and she won’t let me forget it.  I had been trying to show her compassion and love, but she refuses to accept any of this.  We caught up with Terrain and Sadon and heard how they were sent to kill Rowan and me.  I made the decision then o bring her to the castle where she would be safe.  She refused to even listen to the notion. 

She hated her husband and she hated the fact that I was keeping her prisoner as a queen.  I have to admit that even taking her back, she complained and screamed at me the whole way.  She wouldn’t even agree that she would have never gotten hurt if she listened to me in the first place.  Instead, she had has been torturing me with the fact that I am no better than her father who allowed her to taste freedom for only so long and locked her away.”

“I am sure that even locking her up in a tower will not stop your bride.  She is destined to be here.  Didn’t you pass a dress shop on the way here?  Perhaps if you bought her a nice dress she would forget everything.”

“It isn’t funny!  I am being very serious at the moment.  My wife seemed to hate me completely.  How could a dress ever change her attitude about me?  It definitely wouldn’t make her a queen and suddenly realize that I am not a terrible husband. 

She has made her mind up and it seems it will take everything in this world to make her forget that.”

“Can you do me a favor?” the traveler asked as he didn’t even listen to a single word I spoke.

“What would that be?” I asked.

“You look as if you are deep in thought.” The wizard said.

“I am very deep in thought.  I guess I have a lot to think about.  I have to hurry up and get a couple hours of sleep before making it the rest of the way to the Dragon Kingdom.”

I watched through the smoke filled pub that a shadowy figure started walking towards us.  Although I was expecting Ryia, that wasn’t who I found.

“Can I help you?” I asked as the shadowy figure wearing a cape sat down at our table.

There was no answer from this new stranger.  The traveler, on the other hand, seemed quite content that this person joined us.

My skin began to crawl as I looked at the shadowy figure wondering if this was the end.

*

The sun was rising as it shone into my room.  I was in a strange room, which I didn’t exactly remember, but I knew it wasn’t from my journey or my castle.  I was glad nothing had happened to me.  I was the first to be awake, but I didn’t seem to be myself.  I was confused ever since the wind storm.  I felt off and easy confused.  I felt as if someone was taking control of my life. 

I had no clue where I was, all I knew was the fact that we were in a strange place.  The whole room was different, including the view from my window.  All I saw was a foreign kingdom.  I knew whatever the kingdom included, it also would include the struggles for meeting Maelyss.

All I could see on the horizon was the giant cliffs and buildings.  I couldn’t remember at all where I was, but I knew I needed to get to the Dragon Kingdom since we were completely lost and we also lost our maps in the water.  I knew we were going to have to use the placements of the planets and sun to get us back.

Ryia walked in and looked at me.  My surrounding was still fuzzy, but I didn’t care.  The way she was looking at me with those hungry eyes made me feel as if she had been waiting a long time for me to come back to her. 

“I thought you were dead?  I saw you die at the castle!” I pointed out as I motioned her to the bed.

I loved Ryia and seeing her again reminded me that she could calm my soul.  I was just hoping that we could move forward with our relationship.

“You were hallucinating because of a curse that was on you.  Marvin worked closely with Maelyss to remove it.”

“Does that mean Rowan is still alive too?”

“Of course he is still alive.  He is in the room down the hall.  Do you want me to wake him?”

“No, as long as he is no longer my ghost brother and I didn’t watch him die, I am happy.  It was strange hallucinations.  It felt so real that I lost you, Ryia,” I said as I touched her skin.

Whatever was happening between us, it seemed as if the magic in the air helped lift the mood for us both. She reached over and began to cuddle me as she looked deep in my eyes.

  She was tired of the reminders that we were married most of the time.  Perhaps that is why I was surprised so much that she was even touching my body.  This had been the first time she had done this since we got married.  It seemed as if being married to me was a fate worse than death itself, or at least that’s how she acted.

Ryia had proved herself by being loyal at times throughout this journey, where she used her warrior abilities to show us things such as my other two brothers was located.

“How did we get here?” I asked looking at Ryia.

She looked as if speaking to her brought her back to reality.

“What?” she asked in a soft voice.

“I asked how we got here.  Did you have trouble getting me here?”

Ryia’s face turned a shade of crimson

“I did have a bit of trouble when you fought me, and yes I had quite a pleasurable journey.  I was just hoping you would be well enough that you would come back to me.  It hasn’t been very good for me since I have been worrying about you.”  Ryia stated vaguely.

“At least you slept.  I thought you died at the castle because I kept you there.  It was so real, Ryia.  I am so sorry for even suggesting for you to stay there.  I know you are a warrior, but I should never have asked you to do that.”

“I have to admit something to you.”

“As long as you aren’t dead, we will be fine,” I mumbled.

“I was Maelyss’s top warrior before my father sold me.  My father at first stripped me of this and made me join the guild where I had to hunt dragons.  Thankfully, I refused to kill them.  I hated you because you reminded me of this.”

I shrugged.  “We are past that, though.”

“I guess you could say that.  It has been awhile since I slept since we have been so worried about trying to get out of this place.”

I looked over at her with this sudden desire that I wanted to make love to her.  I had been wanting to ever since we got married, but it seemed as if I had been waiting for her to make the move.  She seemed anxious about having sex with me since I was a shape-shifter that turned into a dragon. 

My stomach was in knots as I held her close to me since this was the first time she actually allowed me to do this.  If she only could see me for the man I was instead of the dragon, then perhaps we wouldn’t have to struggle with any of this.

“I wish I could wake up every single day like this, with you in my arms,” I whispered.

Ryia nodded.  “I might just like that.  I know that I haven’t been the best wife to you.”

We both knew that we had problems that still needed to be sorted out, but slowly his journey was bringing us closer together.  It was much different than the beginning where Ryia had constantly reminded me that she hated my guts.  It was as if she was beginning to warm up.  There were no words that express how happy I was feeling over this.  It seemed as if we were reflecting one another as I looked deep into her eyes.