Page 9 of A Kiss of Healing & Honor (Darkstone Academy #4)

A shudder ran through Fernan. Then, slowly, he reached for the pen.

His hand was shaking as he flattened the contract on the tabletop, though I couldn’t tell whether it was from fear or rage.

We all watched with avid interest as he signed his name. Then he nicked his thumb with a penknife and squeezed it to extract a single drop of blood.

Visibly reluctant, he hesitated before pressing down to leave his thumbprint next to his signature.

The duke countersigned the contract as Fernan’s witness and pressed his seal ring to the document with the mutter of another charm.

I felt sick, trapped, like a butterfly pinned to a board. This was it. My fate sealed with the stroke of a pen and two drops of blood—Fernan’s and mine.

Beside me, Mama clapped her hands. “Oh, how wonderful! Why don’t we hold a double wedding and make this a true joining of houses!”

I stared at her, aghast. How can she be happy about this?

The compulsion charm. It has to be, I thought.

“My dearest highness, I hope most sincerely that our nuptials won’t have to wait until your daughter completes her studies,” the duke said with a tight smile.

“They might have to,” Fernan commented snidely. “I don’t think Mother is just going to roll over and grant you a divorce just so that you can marry the princess-royal. She doesn’t want to help you or get on the domina-regent’s bad side.”

The duke’s eyes narrowed as he glared at his son. “Your mother will do what’s best for the Dominion. And herself,” he pronounced. “I’ll make sure of it.”

A brisk knock at the cabin door interrupted the confrontation.

A young man wearing the duke’s badge on the breast of his uniform opened the door and poked his head in. “Your Grace, may I serve breakfast now?”

The duke regained his composure in a flash. “Yes.” He turned to Mama and me. “Your Highnesses, if you please?”

He escorted Mama to the table and seated her at its head with grave courtesy. He directed me to take the first seat to her left, then took his place across from me on her right.

A grim-faced Fernan dropped into the chair on my other side, sitting so close our elbows nearly touched. He studiously avoided my gaze, his jaw clenched tight, his hands fisted on his lap.

The duke’s servants, supplemented by sailors in homespun breeches and plain tunics, bustled in and out of the cabin, swiftly transforming it.

Within minutes, a crisp white linen tablecloth turned the ordinary ship’s table into an elegant dining table set with fine china and heavy silver cutlery.

As the servants began carrying in fresh-baked loaves of bread, jars of jam and honey, ramekins of butter, a dish of baked eggs with cheese, a tureen of porridge, a large smoked ham, and small crystal pitchers filled with fruit syrups for the porridge, the duke smiled at me across the table.

“Princess Jacinthe,” he said, his voice a velvet purr. “In time, I hope to convince you I am not the villain you think me to be. Please believe me, I only want what’s best for the Dominion, for our people.”

I inclined my head, trying to convey demure agreement even as my heart pounded with fury. “Of course, Your Grace. I am sure you only have everyone’s best interests at heart.”

The words tasted like ash on my tongue, but I forced them out.

The duke’s smile widened, satisfied. “Your grandmother is doing her best as domina-regent, I’m sure. But without a strong man at the helm of our dominion, we will quickly fall to our enemies. Your mother understands that I command the loyalty of the imperial armies. As dominus, I will hold our borders against the encroachments of the Fae and the Dragons alike.”

“But I’m sure King Menelaus doesn’t care about invading the Dominion,” Mama said unexpectedly. “He told me that his people just want the freedom to hunt in the mountains on our shared border.”

The duke’s smile vanished. He turned to Mama. “Princess Jonquil, you are far too trusting in the word of a supernatural creature,” he said in a patronizing tone. “When you are crowned domina, I hope you will leave our border defenses to me, particularly our southern border with the Dragon kingdom. The people of Norhas have centuries of experience in dealing with those treacherous, murderous creatures.”

I seethed, thinking of Boreas, who had been nothing but generous, honest, and good-hearted despite being treated as a prisoner by Darkstone Castle’s authorities.

Mama blushed. “Of course, Duke Beltràn. I’m sure you know what’s best. I spent far too long hiding in that little island village. I’m out of the loop regarding current foreign policy and the state of the Dominion.”

Their exchange made my stomach churn. I wanted to protest, but I had to convince the duke that his compulsion charm was working on me.

So, I forced myself to sit and smile vacuously as the duke’s servants filled my plate and porridge bowl.

I forced myself to eat, though the rich flavors turned to sawdust in my mouth. I’d need all the strength I could get when my chance came to escape.

Beside me, Fernan did the same, his shoulders hunched, his expression stormy.

While the duke was occupied with lecturing Mama on border security issues, Fernan leaned in close and whispered, “Please believe me: I don’t want this any more than you do.”

I glanced at him, doing my best to look surprised. “I thought you’d be thrilled to marry an imperial princess, my lord, and become dominus-consort after your father.”

He shook my head, his lips twisting into a bitter smile. “No offense, but I’d rather marry a toad.”

“A toad probably wouldn’t pollute your precious bloodline like a half-Dragon would,” I shot back, smiling to keep up the charade as the duke glanced over at us.

Fernan flushed. “I didn’t mean that, Your Highness,” he protested. “It’s just—I would’ve said anything to get my father to stop our betrothal.” He sighed, his shoulders slumping a little. “I’m trying to save my skin, even if Father is convinced he can actually pull this off.”

His words reminded me that Fernan was as much a pawn in this game as I was, a piece to be moved and sacrificed at the duke’s whim.

Maybe he could be my ally after all. Maybe we could thwart his father’s deadly ambitions.

But first, I had to break free of this cursed collar and regain my powers. Can I recruit Fernan to my side? Should I take the chance?

I turned to Fernan and did my best to smile flirtatiously at him. “I know we have no reason to trust each other,” I murmured. “But am I right in thinking that we both want a way out of your father’s plot?”

I held my breath, knowing I’d just betrayed that the compulsion charm wasn’t working on me.

His brows shot up. “Are you proposing an alliance, Your Highness?” he whispered.

I nodded, then giggled as if he’d just said something outrageous.

Leaning in, I caught a pleasant whiff of lemon cologne. “Let’s work together and figure out how to stop this crazy plot,” I said in a low voice. “If you help me, I promise I’ll do my best to keep your head off a pike.”

He studied me for a long moment, his dark eyes searching mine. I held his gaze, trying to broadcast my sincerity.

Of course, I had no influence with domina-regent. She probably had no idea I even existed. And she’d probably hate me for my Wind-Walker blood if she ever learned about me.

Finally, he nodded, smiled, and lifted my hand to his lips. “Princess Jacinthe, you’ve got yourself a deal.”

This time, my smile was a real one. As was his kiss on my fingers.

The door to the cabin abruptly flew open. The duke’s servant stood in the doorway, his features twisted with terror. “Your Grace! A Dragon is approaching!”

Boreas! My heart leaped with a mixture of hope and fear. It has to be! Why else would a Wind-Walker show up now, of all times?

“This is your fault!” Lady Margitts declared, pointing at me.

The duke shot to his feet. He planted both hands on the table and leaned over it with a menacing. “What’s the meaning of this, Highness?” he demanded.

I stared back at him, trying to look bewildered. “I have no idea, Your Grace,” I lied.

“On that island, she took a Dragon as her lover!” Lady Margitts’ voice was shrill with panic. “Now he’s coming after us!”

“Nonsense, my lady,” Mage Ysandre said briskly. “All the diplomatic hostages are spellbound into human shape. You know that as well as I do.”

“Everyone out,” the duke barked before Lady Margitts could respond. “Mage Ysandre, you will help defend this ship. The rest of you—belowdecks for your safety.” He turned his attention to his son. “Fernan, escort the princesses to their cabin.”

Chaos erupted around us as Fernan herded Mama and me outside.

The ship’s deck was a frenzy of activity. All around us, sailors and soldiers rushed to their stations.

As Lady Margitts sprinted to the hatch leading down to the passenger cabins, Mage Ysandre went to the ship’s rail and joined the young male mage I’d seen earlier.

Behind me, I heard the duke’s voice issuing a stream of orders in a controlled tone.

I halted and scanned the skies frantically, searching for a glimpse of the Wind-Walker.

All around me, the duke’s men shouted and pointed. Other readied the cannons or raised command flags to convey the duke’s orders to the other ships.

The two mages took up defensive stances at the railing.

And then, I saw the Dragon.

It had to be Boreas, miraculously restored to his true form!

My Wind-Walker lover was a glorious, terrifying sight, his shining green and gold feathers glinting in the sunlight as he raced towards the duke’s fleet with powerful strokes of his huge wings.

Everyone froze in wonder and terror as he approached.

“Boreas,” I breathed.

“You know him?” Mama clutched at my arm as Boreas swooped down on one of the ships trailing us.

His massive wings stirred up a gale that made the sails billow wildly before he opened his jaws and unleashed a blast of flames. The sails and ropes above us instantly burst into flame. The deck erupted into chaos as sailors screamed and dove for cover.

Then the ship shuddered, as if it had hit something, and slowly slewed around.

“BOREAS!” I screamed at the top of my lungs. I shook off Mama’s grip and waved frantically, trying to attract his attention away from the smaller ship.

“Jacinthe, don’t!” Mama begged. She threw her arms around me and tried to drag me away. “Count Fernan, help me! We have to hide!”

Boreas must’ve heard my shout. His long neck snaked in my direction. Then he wheeled away from the burning ship and flew towards us.

A pale, gleaming shape launched itself out of the water next to the burning ship in a high, graceful arc. I glimpsed shining silver hair, and my chest squeezed in sudden wild joy before he vanished beneath the waves once more.

Tama is here, too! My friends—the beings I loved with all my heart and soul—had come to rescue me.

A moment later, the ship nearest ours shuddered and rocked violently. Shouted reports informed me that its rudder was shattered, and something had punched a large hole in the ship’s side below the waterline.

Then Boreas sent a gout of fire as he passed overhead, and the damaged ship’s mast and sails exploded into flames.

As Boreas dove towards the duke’s flagship, I saw the Duke de Norhas stride out of his cabin and join the two chanting mages.

As he added his power to their spell, a shimmering barrier appeared overhead like a crystal curtain. It deflected Boreas’ next blast of flames, aimed at our sails.

“Is that the best you can do, Dragon?” taunted the duke, his voice magically amplified to carry over the tumult.

Boreas roared in frustration, his claws raking the air as he wheeled around for another pass.

I watched in awe and terror as he dove for the duke, jaws opened wide to reveal rows of long fangs… only to bounce off the magical barrier.

This was Air magic of the most advanced kind. A thread of reluctant admiration mingled with worry and frustration as I watched the three mages at work.

As Boreas circled around for another pass, something hit the flagship, making the deck boards beneath my slippers shudder.

Cannons boomed from all around us as the remaining ships fired at the Wind-Walker overhead. Most of their shots went wide, the cannonballs splashing harmlessly into the water. Two of them shredded the sails of nearby ships, and shouts and curses filled the air.

Boreas roared with draconic laughter and launched himself once more at the spell-barrier protecting the duke’s flagship.

A second impact shook the flagship.

“Rudder’s gone!” someone shouted from the stern. “There’s a fish-man attacking us, too!”

Joy lifted my spirits on golden wings. Soon, I’d be on my way back to Darkstone Island.

I turned and hugged Mama. “Don’t worry,” I told her. “It’s going to be all right. Soon, we’ll both be free of the duke.”

“But I love him!” To my horror, I saw tears welling in Mama’s eyes.

I tightened my embrace. “Everything is going to be all right,” I repeated.

Fernan stood frozen, watching his father and the two other mages as they worked to maintain the barrier protecting the ship from Boreas.

Then, to my horror, the duke stepped away from Mage Ysandre and her comrade.

He began hurling wickedly pointed shards of ice at Boreas, each missile accompanied by a blast of wind that intensified its force. Duke Beltràn was clearly a powerful mage in his own right.

My heart sank as one bolt of ice after another found its mark on Boreas’ sides. Blood stained his shining plumage, though his attacks never faltered.

“You think those puny ice cubes can hurt me?” Boreas scoffed as he circled high overhead. “Hand over Jacinthe, and maybe we won’t sink all of your ships.”

Too late, I saw that the duke’s magical attack had been a distraction.

A lucky shot from a cannon tore through Boreas’ wing in a spray of blood and feathers.

With an earsplitting roar of rage and pain, he tumbled backward through the air.

A scream ripped from my throat as I watched him fall towards the hungry waves below, his body twisting in agony.

“No!” I cried, lunging forward, heedless of the danger.

I rushed to the railing. I had to get to him before he sank beneath the waves forever.

Never mind that I was just a puny human, and he was many times my size.

And there, leaping through the waves alongside the ship, was Tama.

He was magnificent in his true form, his silver hair streaming behind him, his powerful tail propelling him through the water with impossible speed and grace. His pearly skin glistened in the sunlight, the feathery gills at his neck pulsing and gleaming wetly in the sunlight.

For an instant, I forgot the battle, the duke, Mama, even Boreas.

All I could feel was a fierce, exultant joy at seeing Tama restored to his true self, free and wild and beautiful in the sea he loved so much.

“Jacinthe!” he called, his voice carrying over the din of the fighting. “Jump! I’ll catch you!”

I hesitated, glancing back at Mama. She stood frozen in terror, her face an agonized mask of smeared cosmetics and terror.

“Mama, please,” I begged. “Come with me. It’s my friend, Tama. He’ll help us.”

She shook her head vehemently, her eyes wide and frightened. “What are you thinking, Jacinthe? We can’t leave Beltràn!”

“We have to get away from the duke!” I pleaded. “He’s put you under a compulsion charm to make you love him. Don’t you see that?”

For a long, agonizing moment, she wavered, clearly torn between the charm’s hold and her love for me.

Then rough hands seized me from behind, dragging me back from the railing.

“Not so fast, Your Highness,” a gruff voice growled in my ear. “We can’t let that monster have you.”

I struggled and kicked, but it was no use. The duke’s men were too strong, their grip too tight.

I could only watch in despair as Tama’s face contorted with rage and anguish, his pale, muscled arm outstretched as if he could somehow pull me to safety through sheer force of will.

A column of water rose beneath him, lifting him to the height of the ship’s deck. “Jacinthe!”

Behind him, the sea churned and frothed, stained crimson with Boreas’ blood as he struggled to keep his head above water.

“No!” I shouted, my voice raw and broken. “Tama, please, help Boreas!”

Tama glanced over at the rapidly sinking Dragon. His expression twisted in agonized indecision.

“I can’t abandon you to your enemies,” he called up to me.

“We ain’t her enemies!” one of my captors shouted. “And if you sink this ship, merman, the princess and her mama will go down with us!”

“I’m safe for now,” I added. “But Boreas needs to get back to the island, where Mage Armand and the others can heal him.”

Without Tama’s aid, I feared Boreas would drown.

Injured wing or not, can he even swim? Wind-Walkers were creatures of Air and Fire, not salt and sea.

“It seems your monster friends’ little rescue attempt has failed, Your Highness,” the duke’s cold voice said.

I twisted in my captors’ grip to see De Norhas striding across the deck toward us.

“Not to mention my charmed bracelet,” he added. “As for your unnatural affections towards Dragons, well, I suppose Your Highness is more like your mother than I thought.”

The men holding me snickered.

“But he’s done for. Time to think about cooperating with me for real, Your Highness.” He gestured towards the sea, where Boreas’ thrashing had grown weaker, his massive form sinking slowly beneath waves capped by bloody froth.

I felt a surge of panic rising in my chest, threatening to choke me.

“Tama!” I screamed. “Please help Boreas! Please!”

It enraged me that there was nothing I could do to save Boreas. Not with this cursed collar around my neck, cutting me off from my magic and rendering me frustratingly helpless.

Tears blurred my vision as I watched my beloved Wind Walker friend sink beneath the surface.

Tama cursed in the high, whistling language of the Sea-People, and dove. His dolphin-like tail hung suspended above the waves for an instant before it cut through the waves like a knife.

I strained my eyes for long, agonizing moments. Finally, I spotted a mass of waterlogged feathers rise to the surface some distance beyond the ships.

I breathed a sigh of relief as Tama lifted Boreas’ head out of the water, and a spray of mist issued from between the Wind-Walker’s jaws as he coughed.

Boreas is still alive!

“Take her below,” the duke ordered. “And finish off those two monsters.”

As his men dragged me back to my cabin, followed closely by Mama and Fernan, the foundering ships all around us began a fresh barrage of cannon fire.

The heavy wooden trapdoor to the deck slammed shut above me before I could see whether any of the shots had found their mark.

“This is for your own good, Highness,” Fernan said, sounding almost apologetic as the duke’s men thrust me into my cabin.

The sound of the lock clicking into place sounded like a death knell. I slumped to the floor, my body shaking with sobs as I buried my face in my hands.

“Jacinthe, my dearest,” Mama whispered, kneeling beside me and gathering me into her arms. “I’m so sorry.”

I clung to her, my fingers digging into the soft fabric of her gown as I wept. “Boreas is hurt, and it’s all my fault.”

“No, my love,” she murmured, stroking my hair with gentle fingers. “None of this is your fault. You didn’t ask him to come, did you? And how did you expect to haul a full-grown Dragon out of the water by yourself?”

If only I was stronger, faster, smarter! If only I’d broken free of this damned collar! I could’ve used my magic to help him…

I sat there on the hard wooden floorboards, clinging to my mother and to a faint, flickering hope that no other cannonballs had found their mark. And that Tama could carry Boreas all the way back to the island.