Page 25 of Wings of Frost and Fury
“Will you come with me?” I ask. “We need your magic, and we need supplies for the captives. We don’t have the things humans require. I was hoping you would help me gather some of those items.”
“You want me to go shopping for your prisoners, then fly over the ocean with you after youdroppedyour last captive? And you want me to perform a spell for your prince, after which I will receive treasure?”
“And your freedom.”
“Oh, my freedom is always mine, pet. As for your proposal, I’m sure you can see how I might have trouble trusting you. Perhaps we should try to build a little faith between us. You mentioned transformation… I’m rather an expert in that sort of thing. I wonder if, as your punishment, you would submit to an experiment. It will last several hours, and at its conclusion, if I’m pleased with you, I’ll go to Ouroskelle.”
“Would the experiment involve Fortunix?”
“The big brute with the scarred wings? No. This would be just between us. Our little secret.”
I consider her offer carefully.Punishment, submission, secret. If I’m pleased with you.I’m not sure why my whole body reacts to the combination of those words, but I’m stricken with a tremulous excitement that I haven’t felt before.
“You’re going to do magic on me?” I ask.
“I’ll perform one temporary spell on you, so you can understand my point of view in a new way. Beyond that, any magic that occurs between us will be your choice.”
“I’m not sure I understand.”
“You’ll see what I mean soon enough. Do you agree to the spell?”
“I do.”
“Wonderful.” She hurries over to a bag in the corner, a travel satchel similar to the ones that some of Vohrain’s officers used, except this one is marked with strange symbols. “Make yourself comfortable, Ashvelon, while Iprepare.”
7
The dragon is an experiment I can’t resist—a chance I might not ever have again.
He’s immense, with broad shoulders cloaked in dark gray scales, the color of charred coal. His neck is unusually long, even for a dragon, almost snakelike, with flat triangular spikes running along his spine. Two long horns rear up from the crest of his skull. He has a tapered muzzle and jaws full of narrow, needle-like teeth, thinner and rounder than those of other dragons I’ve seen. To be fair, up to this point I’ve only glimpsed dragons from a distance or seen sketches in books.
A year after I was banished from court, my father sent me a letter, in which he mentioned a circus that he hired to put on a show for the royals. The performers had a hatchling dragon with them, and he thought Serylla, the little princess, would enjoy seeing it. But Serylla sobbed so heartbrokenly over its captivity that the Queen had to send the troupe away.
I was never sure why my father told me that. But I was so fucking proud of the princess.
“Don’t let them spoil you,” I whispered, touching her name with a fingertip. Then I folded up the letter and tucked it away.
Now I’m holding two dragons captive, though it’s not for my own entertainment. Well… perhaps I do find it entertaining, but that’s not my primary goal.
I’ve been wanting the chance to make a difference. That’s what I was thinking about, sitting there on the bench in front of my cottage, at the very moment I noticed those two giant beasts hovering high above me. Of course I spotted them. Stealth is not a strong point for any dragon.
Their appearance frightened me a little, but it excited me more, especially after the younger dragon declared their purpose here. They were like a gift from fate. The opportunity I’ve been wanting, to make a difference on my own terms.
My father ruined the dragons’ chances of survival, and they have retaliated by taking humans—though apparently they don’t plan to kill their captives. I’m not certain what the dragon prince wants me to transform, though I have a theory. Whether I’m right or not, it couldn’t hurt to have a backup plan. And since I haven’t done a transformation in a while, it’s advisable to practice a little before I accompany the dragons to their domain.
I’ve decided that if the occasion calls for it, and there seems to be no other recourse, I’ll transform the dragon prince into a human so he and I can meet on equal footing and discuss peaceful solutions. But I can’t risk performing an untested spell on him. Such a complicated enchantment could kill him if it’s not done correctly, and it wouldn’t be ideal to begin negotiations by accidentally murdering the dragons’ prince. They would kill me, and probably devour their captives as well.
I’ll practice on this dragon—the sweet, submissive one. The one who thinks he’s bad.
“How do you feel, inside?” I ask him. “When you think of your soul, your spirit, your inner being—what is it like?”
He ponders for a moment. “It is a great hollow, full of darkness and broken pieces. And it is cold, like frost-fire.” He snarls a little after the confession, as if he regrets his honesty.
“What would you like to feel instead?” I walk alongside him, running my hand over the skin of his wing. He shivers and whips his head around to look at me. I stare into those eyes of his—ice-blue fire, glowing like twin azure stars.
“I want to feel warm and bright and golden.” His long tongue flickers between his jaws as his gaze pierces deeper into mine. His voice is rich and soft, curling around me like the plushest of blankets. “I crave beauty and strength and confidence.”
The deep longing and tenderness in his tone vibrates through my flesh, and I can feel my pulse kicking up, heated blood rising to my face.
