Dragon Lords Books 1 - 4 Box Set: Anniversary Edition (49 page)

K
ing Attor denied
all charges with an arrogant smirk that Olek wanted to smack off his face. But, as long as the cat-shifter king was under the protection of the convened council, the prince couldn’t touch him. After seven very tedious hours, nothing was accomplished beyond a throbbing headache behind Olek’s right eye. However, since the last century of fighting had accomplished very little between the two kingdoms, it wasn’t really surprising that one day of talking had proven fruitless. Royal assassinations on both sides were nothing new, though none had occurred for over a hundred years.

Zoran was in charge of military matters, representing the Draig, with a Var warrior of equal rank opposite him. Olek presided over the whole affair, doing his best as ambassador to keep the peace, though all his brothers knew he would like nothing more than to spill King Attor’s blood for his insults to the royal Draig family. He was tired from his night of love play with Nadja. It seemed his wife wanted to try out every one of his fantasy sketches, not that he cared to complain. In fact, he had a few more ideas to draw for her.

After the meeting, it took another four and a half hours to ensure King Attor and his men were gone. A thorough search of the castle revealed nothing, and the high alert was taken off the village, so the villagers could again leave their homes.

Olek knew that soon they might be facing an escalation of war with the House of Var. Wars were terrible affairs. These battle flairs could last for fifty to a hundred years with much death and seldom any clear progress or victory. At the end, they would have an uneasy truce, while each side replenished their warriors and concentrated on rebuilding the population.

Olek came home late that night, exhausted to the bone. Nadja was just finishing up her translation of the Lithorian document. She looked as if she had been at it all day. But, yawning, she didn’t complain.

Glancing at Olek, she said, “The Lithorian are requesting the exportation of ore and wilddeor meat. This is an outline of how they wish for us to deliver it, down to the formal greeting they wish our representative to give their representative. I have outlined all the important facts for everyone.”

“Tedious lot, aren’t they?” He laughed. “You still want the job?”

“How often do they write?”

“This size of document? About once every five years to renegotiate. Otherwise, yearly.”

“Then yes, I want the job.” She smiled. “But I am putting in for a vacation in about five years and will need approval in advance.”

“We’ll see.” He leaned over and kissed her nose. “Come on, let’s get some sleep. We both look like we could use it.”

“What I didn’t understand from this is what we get in return for the trouble,” she said, shaking the frustrating documents at him.

“The best chocolate the galaxy has to offer,” Olek answered with a playful smirk, “and some other things.”

“Chocolate, you say?” Nadja grinned. She hadn’t forgotten her last experience with it, but thought that maybe it was time to give it another try—on a lesser scale. “As the new Lithorian ambassador, I am afraid I need to test this chocolate before I can endorse this proposal.”

“Coming right up.” Olek disappeared into the kitchen only to return with the red foil bag from the refrigerator with her name on it. Falling on the couch, he laid his head on her lap and handed up a piece.

Nadja took it between her lips and sighed, “You’re right. This is well worth their tediousness.”

Olek grinned. Sticking a second piece between his lips, he offered it up to her. Nadja smiled, leaning over to bite. As she did, he kissed her and they were again lost.

“Maybe we don’t need to go to sleep quite yet,” Olek murmured into her chocolate flavored mouth. Nadja just laughed, continuing to kiss him.

N
adja nervously looked
around at the Draig warriors as they cheered. The cheering was only to be outdone by their laughter, as they waited for the four princesses to throw their blades at a practice post. When Nadja agreed to the outing, she hadn’t really expected an audience. She was used to her training occurring at Pia’s home, where, if she made a mistake, the other women would give her encouragement. Here, the audience was trained soldiers.

She smoothed down the dark breeches and matching tunic needlessly. This was not the sort of public appearance she was accustomed to.

Princess Olena threw first and did decently as each knife made it into the center ring. The gathered men clapped and stomped their feet. Olena glanced at Yusef, trying to act like she didn’t seek his approval. The prince looked very well considering his ordeal, and Nadja assumed he only came out to the yard to let the men see he was alive. A white bandage slashed across his arm.

Nadja swallowed nervously. Pia nodded that it was her turn to go. Looking at Olek, he also motioned that she should try, despite the fact she’d already confessed to both of them that she had never thrown a blade.

“Just like I told you,” Pia whispered. “Breathe and aim.”

Nadja breathed and she aimed, but the first and second throws were too short, the third too long, the fourth hit the post with the hilt and the fifth hit it with the blade, but wasn’t forceful enough to stick. Embarrassed, she bit her lip and peeked at Olek to see if he was disappointed. He merely grinned, apparently not caring whether she could throw a weapon. To her surprise, the watching soldiers cheered her effort and shouted encouragements.

Morrigan threw next and managed to hit the post on her turn, though they weren’t centered. She curtsied as she received her cheers. Nadja thought the gesture was a way for the woman to hide her embarrassment.

“Maybe you ladies should let a man show you how it’s done,” a warrior offered from the crowd.

Morrigan made a face at the other princesses as she went to retrieve the silver blades for Pia. Nadja laughed and went to stand beside Olek.

“Ach,” Agro shouted. She’d met the warrior briefly and found him to be an odd sort, though the princes seemed to like him. “You’re hardly a man, Hume!”

“Have you given my cream to Zoran?” Nadja asked her husband, eyeing Pia’s formidable husband. He looked positively intimidating, with his crossed arms and rigid posture. Nadja definitely didn’t want to approach him personally with the idea.

“I am having the doctors look at it first,” Olek admitted. When she frowned, he said, “Not because I don’t trust you, but because a second opinion never hurt anyone. Besides, if you go around them, it could result in hurt feelings, and the last thing we need is an irritable medical staff on top of everything else.”

Nadja nodded, conceding to his logic. She turned to watch Pia, anxious to see how well the woman would do. She had no doubt Pia would outshine them all.

Pia took the knives, weighing them carefully in her hand as she tested them. Getting to the third one, she lifted it and studied the blade. Frowning, she went to her husband and handed it to him. She took the knife from his waist to replace it, testing his blade as she did the others. “You need to check the balance on that one. It will pull a fraction to the right.”

Zoran automatically threw the blade over her shoulder. It stuck just to the right of the center target. The men laughed.

Not turning to look, Pia said, “Told you.”

Zoran smiled at his wife and Nadja almost fainted. She was sure it was the first time she’d seen him show any emotion aside from displeasure. Olek chuckled and she felt him lean closer to her.

Facing the target, Pia took a concentrating breath and threw the first blade. Instantly, she dropped to the ground and threw the next two while rolling. Then, coming to kneel, she threw the last blades. The fourth blade struck Zoran’s knife knocking it from the post to take its place. On the fifth throw, she missed the post completely. Silence came over the gathered as they all turned to follow where the knife had landed. It was a foot before Hume.

“You missed,” Hume said, laughing to break the silence. The men went wild cheering. Pia took a graceful bow. The women jumped in excitement, enjoying the victory on behalf of the princesses.

“Did you see that?” Nadja asked her husband, smiling brightly. “Do you think you can teach me to do that sometime?”

Olek nodded. “Yes, but first thing’s first, and firstly you have to learn to speak my language.”

“I have a few words you can teach me.” She gave him a playful onceover.

Olek growled low in his throat.

Nadja turned to watch the show. Olena held the blades, and a very irate Prince Ualan had just joined them on the field. He had not been present earlier. Nadja couldn’t hear what he said to Morrigan, but soon the woman was being led away by her husband to the nearby forest path.

Nadja frowned at the way Ualan handled Morrigan. “I’m glad you didn’t get your brothers’ temperaments. I would have drowned you long before now.”

With a wink, he said, “You did try to drown me in the tub last night.”

Nadja blushed. He referred to when she’d wrapped her legs around his diving head, as he showed her the meaning of the phrase, “returning the favor”. Weakly, she hit him, unable to think of a comeback. Olek laughed harder.

“We’re waiting,” came a cry from the crowd.

Nadja watched as Pia turned to glare good-humoredly at Hume. “Don’t make me aim higher, Sir Hume.”

Pia meant his chest, but the rowdy warriors were only too ready to guess something much bawdier. Nadja covered her mouth. Pia looked confused. Olena threw back her head and laughed, not bothering to hide her amusement. Zoran looked momentarily stunned.

Olena threw her turn, hitting the post four of the five times. The last blade was close, but teetered off without sticking. The men cheered as she went to retrieve the blades. Olek looked down as Nadja waved away her turn. She had no desire to try it again in front of onlookers. Instead, her hand crept onto Olek’s arm as she watched Olena hand the knives to Pia.

“We need a blindfold,” Zoran called. Incredibly, the call was almost immediately answered as one was passed over the front of the crowd to Zoran. The commander prince crossed over to Pia and tied it around her head. Zoran then smacked his wife hard on her backside. The men began to laugh. Quietly he backed up.

“I bet she makes it,” Nadja whispered.

Olek patted her hand and she looked at him.

“Make your throw!” Zoran yelled.

Pia lifted her arm and threw in quick succession. The first three blades landed in the post. Suddenly, a loud cheering came up over the crowd. Zoran grinned as he motioned the men to make noise. Nadja watched the large warrior prince in awe. It was the second smile she’d seen from him that day.

Pia lifted the blade, but her gesture wasn’t as confident as before. She threw. The fourth hit, though it wasn’t as deep as the others.

“Oooo,” the men shouted in unison.

“Zoran!” came a sudden panicked shout. “Olek! Yusef!”

Nadja jumped in alarm, glancing around to see who it was. Zoran ran toward the tree line, drawing the sword from his waist. Yusef nodded to one of the men, who instantly tossed a blade which he caught with his good hand. Olek stiffened under her hand, before pulling away. He was right behind his brothers, drawing his own sword.

Nadja stepped forward to follow. Pia tore the blindfold from her head. Gripping her last knife, she chased after her husband. The other warriors began to murmur, but following Agro’s command, they didn’t move. Nadja glanced at Olena and they were both soon running behind the others.

O
lek found
Ualan being pursued over the forest path by twelve Var warriors from the trees. The cat-shifters had changed from men into vicious, snarling wild cat-men. Ualan dragged Morrigan with one arm. The princess was unconscious, a dart sticking out from her throat. Her feet trailed in the dirt.

Ualan had been forced to shift into his dragon form so that he could deflect the claws coming at him. He turned his body to protect his wife, as he used his free arm to try and fight off blows from his attackers. His brothers joined him, shifting into their dragon form as they fought against the Var. The one-armed Yusef hacked forward with his sword, giving Ualan time to get Morrigan to safety.

Ualan placed Morrigan behind them on the ground as gently as he could before facing the attackers once more. Pia came from behind them, throwing her blade into one of the creature’s throats. When Zoran swung his arm, she ducked beneath him and grabbed the knife from his belt. Olek dove into the trees to stop one from escaping. He growled, jerking the man by his foot. The cat-shifter crashed forward into a tree with Olek still holding on to him.

N
adja’s feet
ground to a halt. She watched Olek shift to do battle. His skin hardened, turning a dark brown. His hair remained the same, but a line grew out from his forehead, pushing forward to create a hard ridge of impermeable tissue over his nose and brow. His eye flashed with golden danger. Talons grew from his nail beds and deadly fangs extended from his mouth.

Her lips trembled violently as she tried to scream, but was unable to make sound. For a moment, she closed her eyes and paused a few seconds, thinking the suns were surely playing tricks on her vision. When she again looked, she stiffened in fear. It was very real. Her husband was a dragon. Those drawings he had done were not of mythical creatures.

To make matters worse, the dragon brothers fought human tiger-beasts. The low, beastie sounds they made caused her blood to run cold.

“Nadja,” Olena yelled.

Nadja numbly turned at the sound. Olena kneeled by the unconscious Morrigan. “Help me!”

Seeing the injured woman, she shook herself free of her fear and darted forward to the fallen princess. She shivered to see the dart sticking from Morrigan’s throat. Fearfully, she let her gaze roam around the nearby tree.

“Help me,” Olena demanded, trying to drag Morrigan away from the fray.

Nadja helped her drag Morrigan down the path to relative safety. The sound of battle rang out behind them. When they were closer to the practice field, Nadja stopped walking and dropped to her knees.

“Should we pull it out?” Olena asked.

“No,” Nadja answered. Again she looked at the trees, searching for movement. She saw nothing. “Don’t touch it.”

Leaning over, she examined the wound. The dart was still embedded in Morrigan’s neck and the woman wasn’t moving. The sound of footsteps came toward them. She jolted to see Ualan in dragon-shift coming toward her, and at her look, the man immediately changed back to his human form. Peering down the path, she warily eyed Olek as he approached. He looked like a man, but she had seen the change in him as she had the others. Her mouth trembled before she turned away from him.

Ualan began to reach forward.

“Don’t,” Nadja commanded, her voice raw with fear. She leaned away from Ualan’s hand. Ualan drew back in surprise, but Nadja only nodded at his arm where red blisters were forming on his skin. “She is poison to you.”

Ualan tensed, but he held back and did as she commanded him.

“You can’t move her yet.” Nadja tried to remain calm. She wanted nothing more than to run away, but she couldn’t. She knew the alien dart all too well. She was the only one here who understood its poison.

“But, the poison…” Ualan tried, desperate to help his wife.

“Quiet,” Nadja ordered. Zoran and Pia approached from the battle. They hung back in silence. Nadja refused to look any of them in the eye. Her hands shook as she pretended to concentrate. Inside her heart pumped furiously. Her stomach knotted in fear until she wasn’t sure if she was going to puke or pass out. “Let me think. I need to concentrate.”

Ualan looked at her husband. Olek shrugged.

“Give me your knife,” Nadja held her hand out to Pia. The woman instantly obeyed. Taking a deep breath, Nadja cut into Morrigan’s throat where the dart embedded into the skin. Instantly, a dark green poison oozed from the wound. Working quietly, she dug out the star tipped points of the dart.

Nadja dropped the blade on the ground and continued to bleed the poison out. When she had finished, she quietly told Ualan, “Try touching her.”

Ualan did and was left unharmed.

“It’s as I thought.” Nadja breathed. The knowledge brought her little pleasure as she again looked frantically into the trees. It was as if she could feel eyes on her but couldn’t find them. “I’ve seen this kind of poison before. Usually jealous old lovers do it for revenge. If you had torn the dart out of the skin, it would have released a poison into the blood stream. She would have lived, but you would never have been able to touch her again. It’s ironic really. That way, it is the current lover who poisons the woman, sealing their fate.”

“You should get her to a doctor,” Nadja said, her tone lowering to a mere whisper. Standing, she edged away from the Draig shifters to go down the path where they’d come from. “I would say that whoever poisoned her didn’t want you to be with her.”

Feeling she had done all she could, she turned and ran away from them, desperate to get away from the hidden eyes that looked out at her from the forest.