Page 5 of Trial By Fire

“No, I don’t need Torin to speak for me. He’s right, though. I have had every opportunity to get to anyone I wanted to in that palace, including Cordelia.” As soon as he says the last bit, we all close in around him. Dravyn continues to smile as he holds his hands up in surrender, taking a step away from us. By the look of glee in his eyes, our anger doesn’t affect him at all.

“Look, all I am saying is that I don’t want to harm anyone. Regardless of what my so-called father or the Queen of the Fae wanted me to do, I didn’t do it,” he says as the sound of feet approaching us has Torin, Adrian and I turn around.

“Take him into custody,” King Maddox says to the three guards following him. They all move as one as they approach Dravyn. He continues to keep his hands raised, looking at the guards with the same bright smile. His smile is so disarming, the guards become unsure as their strides slow as they make their way toward him.

“I really don’t think this is necessary, Maddox,” Torin says to the King as he stops at his side. We all watch as one of the guards takes out a glowing pair of cuffs and begins to place them on Dravyn’s wrist.

“He’s an unknown in my Realm, and until I deem it unnecessary, whatever magic he possesses will be locked down. I can’t risk it, Torin, even if he is Cordelia’s mate.” He looks at all three of us as if he means to say more, but instead turns and walks back to the palace.

“Come. Cordelia and Twyla are waiting in the war room,” he says without a backwards glance. I stare after him, my mouth opening and closing like the proverbial fish out of water, wondering why he didn’t even get a closer look at Dravyn.

The guards surround Dravyn on all sides and begin to walk him away from us. Dravyn stops abruptly, he looks over at Torin with a plea in his eyes. His facial expression changes to alarm I guess he is wondering if his request to see Cordelia will go unanswered. Suddenly, the guard at his back collides into him and falls to the ground, causing the other two guards to lash out in alarm. Vines shoot up out of the ground wrapping around Dravyn’s legs as one of the guards uses Earth Magic to restrict his movements. The other one decides to use brute force and punches him in the face. Dravyn’s smile falters, and all pretense of his easy-going demeanor vanishes in an instant.

“Stand down, assholes!” Torin bellows and uses his own Earth Magic against the guards. The ground beneath us rumbles. Adrian reaches out to me to keep me on my feet as we both glare at the guards for their heavy-handedness. Huge holes open underneath the guards, and they both scream in horror as the ground swallows them up to their waists.

“What is the meaning of this?” Maddox asks as he rushes back toward us, his black robe flying behind him like a superhero cape. I laugh to myself, thinking of the movie we watched once on one of our many visits to Earth. The cape crusader. Ha. A man dressed like a bat. Talk about suspension of disbelief. I wonder what kind of movies Cordelia likes to watch. I need to find that out pronto.Focus Gale. I shake my head and focus on Maddox. He didn’t react to the way Torin had buried his guards, instead, he stops in front of the guard who originally bumped into Dravyn and yells at him. “Were you so distracted that you couldn’t watch where you were going? Or are you afraid of him?” Maddox points to Dravyn. “And you two.” He turns to address the other guards who are trying and failing to climb out of the holes Torin put them in. I can’t help but laugh at the spectacle before me. I look at my brothers and find that they can’t hide their smiles either.

“He is wearing cuffs to prevent him from using magic. It was clear that this imbecile bumped into him, and the both of you respond as if he was about to be killed. No wonder it was so easy for him to remain undetected for days. I am surrounded by guards who are unfit to guard a henhouse, let alone the palace, or my family, for that matter.” The guards’ eyes widen at the King’s tirade. They open their mouths to speak, clearly embarrassed about being called out. When they don't answer right away, Maddox scoffs and walks over to Dravyn, who was still struggling to move his bound legs. “Useless. If the three of you can’t do your duty, then you’re done for the night. In fact, I will do it for you,” he says as he flicks his wrist, and the vines that trapped Dravyn uncoil themselves from around his legs. None of us move as Dravyn turns his violet gaze to the King and nods his thanks. Maddox inhales sharply, as if he is surprised by something. “I almost didn’t believe it when Cordelia told me who you are,” he said to Dravyn. Stepping away from him, he glances back at Torin. I can only assume he is recalling the time when he must have witnessed the two of them gallivanting around the palace as children.

“I’m hardly my father’s son,” Dravyn says under his breath as he shakes out his legs. The vines had been wound so tight around his legs they must have restricted the blood flow. I almost feel bad for the guy with his hands cuffed in front of him as he leans forward to try to rub at the pins and needles in his legs. I can feel his discomfort through our bond for the first time, and I am not sure I like it. He feels foreign, and by the grunt Adrian made next to me I’m guessing he feels it too. That seals the deal. There’s no way we’re getting rid of him now.

“I got word that you were dead. Your father never denied it,” Maddox tells Dravyn. His brows drawing together in confusion as he begins to walk away again, and we all follow. I take one final look back at the guards as they scramble to help the last one out of the dirt.If they can’t handle one prisoner, how are they managing to protect their King?I think to myself as I turn away and catch up with the others.

“Where the hell have you been all this time?” I ask. I can’t hold back my curiosity any longer.

“Let’s hold off on the questions until we’re inside,” Torin says as we near the side entrance of the palace.

“I agree,” Adrian says as they both follow Maddox up the steps and inside. I stop at the bottom of the stairs and hold my arm to halt Dravyn from moving any further. He looks down at my arm and slowly lifts his eyes to mine.

“Is there going to be a problem,” he asks with a hint of menace in his voice, and I turn to face him fully.

“I asked you a question. I don’t give a shit that they want to wait to hear what you have to say. Answer me. That woman is my mate, and those are my brothers. I will protect them with my life. I don’t trust you, and that should worry you because I am the one with the charming personality,” I smirk because it’s true.

“I was in Incantatia. I will give you that and nothing more. I don’t owe you shit. That woman saved me back there. I owe her an explanation. You and your brothers being there matters not to me. I don’t care if you trust me. You’re her mate, and I respect that you’re wary of me. Hell, I would be hesitant to accept me as well. However, I won’t be pushed away unless Cordelia tells me otherwise. I know what part I’ve played in all of this, and I will tell you all once we get inside.” He looks down at my arm once more and then back at me as a clear warning for me to move. I stare him down in challenge, my Dragon stirring inside of me as my own anger rises. After a minute or two of neither of us blinking, the sound of someone clearing their throat has us both looking up.

“Are you two done? Or are we going to make our mate wait all night for us?” Torin steps out of the doorway with his arms crossed over his chest as he stares down at Dravyn and me. Dravyn quickly sidesteps my arm and makes his way to Torin.

“Oh, I am done,” Dravyn says as he raises his bound hands in surrender. Torin looks at me over Dravyn’s head as he approaches him, and raises his eyebrow in question at me once he disappears inside.

“This is just as shocking to me and Adrian. But between the three of us, I expect you to be the least stand-offish about it. If Cordelia accepts him, then we have no choice,” he says in a matter-of-fact tone. Sometimes his reasoning makes me want to punch him in the face.

“Really, we should accept something that doesn’t feel right. I can feel his bond, and it doesn’t feel like you and Adrian. This is not natural, Torin. I know it isn’t.” Torin looks at me for a moment, and then down at the ground, as if he agrees, but he doesn’t want to voice it aloud and he sighs.

“Let’s hear him out. Then, we follow our mate. Like she said earlier tonight, we are her mates, it’s not the other way around, and she’s our queen.” He shrugs and turns, leaving me standing outside with only the stars to witness my shock at his words. She said those words because she was angry, not because she believes them. I don’t know what the hell is going on tonight, but I am ready to get this shitshow over with so that tomorrow we can face whatever comes our way with clear heads.

A fucking fourth mate. I look up at the stars again and shake my head. The universe must be getting off on all the shit they keep throwing at us. As I think that, something tells me they’ve just started.

CHAPTERFOUR

TORIN

“Do you have to have him cuffed like that?” I hear Cordelia ask as I make my way into the war room. It seems like a lifetime ago we sat here with Maddox, but it had only been a matter of hours. He had told us he suspected another mate was the cause of Cordelia’s failed efforts to shift. I know deep down we all thought the same thing, yet a part of me was still holding on to the hope that we were wrong.

When I saw Dravyn standing at the edge of the cliff, his eyes were a dead giveaway to who he is. I remember his small smile and bright violet eyes, so unlike my own. After we became fast friends during the short time that we were together in the palace, I always wondered what happened to him as my mother and I had fled for our lives that night so many years ago. When word finally reached us that he had perished the night the queen was killed, I mourned him for a long time. But here he is, his pale white skin looks like he hasn’t seen the sun in years, and he’s wearing black tactical gear that molds over his tall muscular frame. Dravyn looks as if he was ready for war, and from the haunted look in his eyes, maybe he was already in the middle of one.

“A necessary precaution, Delia. We want to make sure you’re safe,” Twyla leans in and says it softly to her, but Cordelia is having none of it.

“Clearly, he didn’t put up a fight. He didn’t resist. He doesn’t need to be ushered in here like a criminal,” Cordelia says in frustration, throwing her hands in the air when Maddox doesn’t respond.

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