Page 60 of Water Dragon
Once the whirl was at its most powerful, he put his paws against Leon’s chest and pushed him away.
He swam to the surface, breaking it without needing a breath. He could hold it for a very long time and this tussle hadn’t even begun to make his lungs ache.
He didn’t wait for Leon to reappear.
Because the other dragon would not.
As Malcolm rose back into the skies, the wind dried him as he flew. The moon above, the stars spread out like a kaleidoscope of diamonds on black velvet. He smiled at his victory, even though his hearts were pained by the deed he had just committed. He had never taken a life before.
Leon’s body would be retrieved, and he would be given a burial, but as was custom with traitors, the headstone should carry no name and no date of birth, only a date of death.
That was all that would remain.
That would be Leon’s legacy.
Chapter 16 - Iona
Sunlight streamed in through the hole in the throne room’s wall when Iona raised her head and spotted Malcolm approaching. His scales were softly glinting in the moonlight, and he looked the way he’d always looked—stunning and awe-inspiring. His powerful talons grasped the edge of the broken stones as he climbed back into the room, and she grabbed the cloak that the king offered her, approaching her beloved as he shifted back into human form. He accepted the cloak with a grin, hiding his nakedness by wrapping it around himself.
Then he stepped close to her, resting his forehead to hers.
The water had drained out through the crack in the flagstones once the fight had been won, which had been easily done as the elemental magics worked in their favor. Once Leon was out of the castle, whatever spell he had created to keep the castle guard out, had given way, which meant the plum-clad perpetrators had been gathered up and hauled down to the cells within minutes of the fight ending.
“This place is a mess,” Malcolm said.
She huffed a laugh. “We’ll put it right,” she promised. “Leon?”
He shook his head, wrapping his arms around her, letting her know how much he was in need of a hug. She complied, burying her face against his broad chest, breathing him in.
“I’m sorry,” she heard him say, assuming he was apologizing to Ewan for the loss of Leon despite everything the dragon had done.
Ewan said nothing but she could imagine there was nothing for him to say. What must he be feeling? She felt guilty for having suspected him of foul play for so long.
She eased her hold, pulling back to look up at him.
He leaned down, pressing his lips to hers gently.
“Why did you glow purple?” she asked. “All of you,” she added, turning to look at the others.
King Hugh and Queen Blair had their hands intertwined while king Greer had his arm around Maize’s waist as the four of them looked over at her. Ewan stood off to the side by himself. For some reason, he looked smaller as if dwarfed the same way she had been, lying bleeding on the floor. It made her want to walk over to him, offer him her arm to hook his through.
He had thought he had met someone that would embrace him, but he had been fooled by the lady’s beauty. And to add to the injury, his closest friend had almost killed him.
Iona felt for him. She wished she could offer some comfort. When their eyes met, she reached out her hand to him. The encouragement for him to approach brought a slight frown to his brow, but he complied. He took her outstretched hand and let her pull him to her side, accepting her arm when she wrapped it around his waist.
“Whydidyou glow purple?” Ewan asked. “And why didn’t I?”
“I believe that it was a moment signaling an end to the old ways,” King Morton said, stepping forward to join the circle they had unconsciously formed. “The end declared itself when you managed to withstand the assault on your firemagic, Hugh,” he stated. “It was furthered when Grey was made to accept the magic into himself, even at such a young age, and he managed it. And is managing it quite beautifully, I hear. This next generation of Keepers have been, from the moment you were born, seen as special. Exceptional. And now, my son has done the unthinkable and taken hold of the watermagic without needing it transferred from my veins to his.”
King Morton smile broadly with pride.
“What does that mean for you?” Malcolm asked.
“I don’t know,” the king replied. “I would assume, if I don’t use the watermagic as I always have, that it might simply fade out of me. It no longer needs me as its vessel now that it has you. Now that it has all of you.”
“What will this mean for the kingdoms?” Hugh asked.
“Should we all begin wearing purple?” Blair filled in, making them share a laugh, which lightened the mood considerably.
