Page 16 of Wynter and the Stone Dragon

“Does it have rocks?” Pow-pow asked.

“Yes, and lots and lots of sand,” she laughingly replied with a rueful shake of her head.

* * *

Earth:

Khalid nodded to the guards in the corridor. Adham grimly approached from the opposite direction.

“You haven’t found my uncle?” Khalid asked.

Adham shook his head. “No. I’ve ordered a second search of every room in the palace.”

Khalid sighed. “He may try to escape over the border. Notify the other commanders.”

“Already done.”

“Good. Sooner or later, he will be found.”

“You should let one of the medics check you out. That wound in your side—”

Khalid waved a hand in dismissal. “It is just a graze. I’ll be fine.”

Khalid moved to pass him and Adham touched his arm. He shot the older man an impatient glare. The compassion in Adham’s eyes made him look away.

“I’m fine, Adham. I… need a moment alone.”

“Be careful. You can’t let your guard down until your uncle is caught and we have contained the resistance.”

“You’ve trained me well, Adham. I will be attentive,” he promised. Even so, he knew there would be two guards hovering just out of sight in case there was trouble. That was protocol, and so was informing a separate guard of his intended location. “I will be in my mother’s garden,” he said.

Adham dipped his head. “May you find peace, my King.”

Khalid shuddered as Adham walked away but quickly shook off the reaction to his father’s title and turned the corner. The corridor ended at a set of massive wooden doors. He pushed them open.

As he slowly walked through his mother’s private library, he noted that the beautiful room had not changed very much.

At least my uncle did one thing right,he thought.

There were rumors that his uncle Inarus had a jealous, possessive love for his mother. Poisoning her had been her punishment for not returning his affection. When she got well, Inarus often stated it was destiny keeping her alive, so he instead focused on killing the King and his heir.

On the day of their demise, Queen Faiza wasn’t supposed to be in the same car as the King. Khalid and his father were supposed to travel together while his mother waited at their destination.

The death of Faiza had sent Inarus spiraling into full-blown insanity, and the people of Aethon had paid dearly for it—especially when they refused to turn over the young prince. Khalid cursed, wanting to keep all the memories locked in the dark recesses of his mind.

He exited through the double doors, pausing on the patio to look at the neglected garden in the moonlight. Sinking down onto the steps, he took deep breaths, bowed his head, and closed his eyes. His pounding heart set a frantic pace for the memories crowding his mind; memories of his parents, the citizens who had rallied against a tyrant, and the dead who would never see their triumph.

He was so lost in the past that he dismissed the first soft caress against his cheek as the wind. It wasn’t until he felt the brush of softness again, this time on his right cheek, that he lashed out and gripped the soft petals of a rose in a tight hold.

Surprise held him immobile when the soft curves of a woman suddenly materialized in front of him like an apparition coming to life. A long, dark brown overcoat partially covered her matching vest. Her royal blue shirt revealed a shadow of cleavage. Dark brown tweed pants and knee-high riding boots encased her coltish legs. She knelt, and he found himself staring into the same vivid, emerald eyes that had haunted him for more than half his life.

“Khalid.”

The lilting voice from his past had matured. Her mane of platinum hair was pulled back from her face, contained in a long plait down her back. He mentally calculated her age and bit back a groan. She would be around seventeen or eighteen. He was a man of twenty-eight and should absolutely not be feeling what he was feeling.

His two guards gave harsh cries of warning and moved to protect their king from the intruder that had suddenly appeared in front of him. Khalid raised his hand, his fist tight, to let them know he was safe.

“Leave us,” he ordered without looking around.

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