Page 34 of Curse of the Midnight Dragon (The Moonlight Dragon #2)

Celestina

Patty, dressed in a pretty knee-length flowered dress and pigtail braids, came bounding into Soren’s chambers with the energy of an excited puppy. She squealed so loudly when she saw me, I wondered if I’d ever get full hearing back. In the time since Priscilla had left, I’d taken a bath, styled my damp hair into a single braid that hung down my back, and changed into the comfortable black leggings and black tunic I’d worn when I’d traveled with Soren’s army.

Patty hugged me and made me promise to never leave her like that again, complete with pinky swears and bumping elbows to seal the deal.

“Don’t be too mad at Soren,” she begged as she clung to me. “You don’t know what he had to do to get you back.”

“What did he do?” I asked as I flicked away a lizard that had dropped from the ceiling to land on my shoulder.

“What didn’t he do,” Gray grumbled as he entered the chambers. He was back to wearing the all-black uniform preferred by the members of Soren’s army. Gray’s twin swords hung from his back. Raya entered closely behind him, dressed the same way, but with a sword sheathed at her hip. Neither looked worried that they’d need to use them against me, I was glad to see.

Raya kissed my cheek as she greeted me. “That was some display you put on last night.”

“Certainly reminds us hapless males not to underestimate the power of a female’s wrath,” Gray said with a mock scowl.

“I’d never burn you!” Patty untangled herself from me and leaped on to Gray’s back, making him scowl for real this time.

“Yes, you would.” He wiggled as he peeled her off. “The first time I angered you, you’d fry me up in one of your grandmother’s big pots.”

“And you’d hit him over the head with Mary’s spoon,” Raya added.

Patty thought about that for a moment, and then nodded. “True. But only if you made me really angry.” She pantomimed swinging Mary’s spoon around in the air.

A loud laugh burst from my mouth. But then Patty started to laugh with me. Gray joined in. And finally, Raya chuckled a bit, too. This felt so much like before I’d been taken—like I was surrounded by family and not by others who wanted to use me—tears burned in the backs of my eyes.

Embarrassed by my emotional outburst, I spun away from them. My watery gaze collided with Soren’s as he entered.

My handsome warrior was carrying a large platter piled with pastries, sandwiches, sliced meats, fruits, chocolates, and cakes.

“I heard you sent back your breakfast, so I had the kitchen fix a little of everything.” He set the tray down on the round table in the corner. He’d changed out of his shimmering court suit. (I’d likely burned most of it off him.) He was wearing the same type of black tunic and leggings as the rest of us. He had his hair tied back with a simple leather strap and wore no weapons.

He stepped toward me, and then stopped himself. His hands closed into fists at his sides like he was keeping himself from reaching for me.

His green eyes shimmered as we watched each other. I wanted to hate him. Every piece of me shouted that I should hate him for bringing me back to Fein like a prize to be displayed and used in his battles.

But Soren’s very existence predicted his kingdom’s doom. And he’d been told over and over since he was a small child that unless he schooled his actions, he’d be the one who’d bring destruction to his people. Every decision he made had to be made with the prophecy in mind.

Perhaps he had made mistakes when it came to us. But he was trying to make our doomed relationship work.

And, honestly, I didn’t hate him. I doubted I could ever hate him.

I closed the distance between us, lifted one of his tightly held fists into my hand, and gently unfolded his fingers. He held his breath as I lightly traced the scarred skin I found. I did the same to his other fist, opening it, and massaging the taut muscles. I then pressed a kiss to each knuckle, while silently telling him that it was okay. That I understood. That I still cared for him.

His shoulders dropped as he brushed his rough thumb along my jaw, tilting my head up. “Celestina,” he whispered my name. “I am sorry.”

“I may have overreacted yesterday…a touch.” I quirked a smile. Those dang tears still glittered in my eyes. I tried to blink them away, but they were as tenacious as those lizards that followed me everywhere. “Is there anything left of the throne room?”

“Two half-melted thrones,” Soren said. “Did you learn how to do that from spending time with the dragon clan?”

I shook my head. “I didn’t know I could do anything like that. I felt so angry with you that it all exploded.”

“Hmm.” The furrows in his brows deepened. “You’d better take some of the food before Gray eats it all.”

Gray had two honey tarts in one hand and a small strawberry cake in the other. Patty was next to him, picking through the pile of goodies to find another honey tart for herself. Raya stood back with her arms crossed, watching us all with a strangely pleased expression.

While I did love honey tarts, I feared the sweet treat wouldn’t sit well in my nervous stomach. Everyone was acting so nice. They should be angry with me. Were they pretending? Was this a manipulation? Did the king tell them to charm the scary dragon that they were hoping would slay their enemies?

The twist in my stomach tightened.

Yep, I wouldn’t be able to enjoy any of the food Soren brought. A shame. The tarts and fruit did smell delicious.

“You need to eat,” Soren said softly. He plucked a honey tart from Gray’s hand and held it out for me.

“I—” I was about to explain about my sour stomach when Prince Cullen, dressed in blue leathers, entered the chambers without knocking.

“Sky Girl!” He’d balanced a tower of books in his arms. “There’s the heroine of the hour! Nice show, yesterday. You proved to the court that the Beast of Fein bonded with a lady who is truly his equal. Everyone in the palace, in the city even, is talking about you this morning. Next time, though, save the fireworks until you’re outside. Father is trying to salvage the thrones, but they’re hopelessly melted. ‘ Five generations of royals have used them ,’ he keeps muttering.”

I gulped. “Your parents are never going to like me, Soren!”

“Those ugly relics were oversized and pretentious.” Soren placed himself between Cullen and me. “It was past time someone melted them down.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “What are you doing here, Cull?”

Gray and Raya swiftly flanked me. Gray had even abandoned his remaining honey tart. Patty snatched it up and made a show of finishing it off.

“I wouldn’t drink anything the younger prince offers you, Patty. You know what? Keep away from him altogether.” Gray threw out his arm to prevent her from getting close to him. “The bastard’s not to be trusted.”

Cullen tsked. “Is that how you speak to royalty?” He glanced around the room before settling on a spot in a far corner near the sofa. A smile creased his lips for just a moment. It vanished when he focused on Soren again.

“I’ve been researching the dead soldiers that refuse to stop fighting, and I have some thoughts.” He gestured with his chin toward the sofa. “May I?”

“No.” Soren stood his ground.

“We don’t want you around our Sky Girl,” Gray growled.

“I helped you get her back.”

“Only after you orchestrated her abduction in the first place.” Raya stepped forward to stand directly in front of me.

“Celestina”—Cullen peered around Raya—“I truly didn’t mean you harm.”

“You didn’t?” Gray snorted. “You tossed her into a dungeon with a dangerous dragon. What outcome did you expect?”

“What happened was what I’d hoped would happen.”

Soren’s eyes narrowed.

“She’s free of Queen Beatrice’s slave collar,” Cullen reminded them.

“You let the dragons know we have their moonlight dragon!” Patty shouted.

“And by stealing Celestina away from the clan, we have likely started a war, a war we don’t have the resources to fight. Not with Earst throwing an endless supply of undefeatable dead soldiers at us,” Soren added somberly.

Everyone fell quiet after that.

I was sure they were all thinking what I was thinking—that this could be the prophecy of the green-eyed royal coming to fruition. Soren didn’t have to come after me. That had been his choice. He’d allowed his emotions to take over when he should have gone to fight with his army at the border. Even if he’d convinced himself that fetching me was necessary for the war against Earst, it had been a misstep.

“The dragons already knew I was with Soren,” I said breaking the tense silence. “They’ve had dragons watching over me ever since Queen Frieda took me. That was why the dragons lived in the valley next to the castle while the rest of the continent believed dragons were nothing more than myths.

“Queen Frieda had placed safeguards on me to both prevent me from accessing my powers and to keep the dragons from rescuing me. The slave collar must have destroyed some of the safeguards. I wouldn’t have been able to leave the castle with Soren otherwise. But while I could leave the castle, the slave collar assured that I wouldn’t be able to escape Soren’s side without the collar killing me. The dragons knew that. And they were actively trying to figure out how to break the collar’s hold on me.

“As soon as we figured out how to release me from the slave collar, they would have come for me. The dragons are also working to figure out how to break Queen Frieda’s muting enchantment so I can access my powers… for them . They want to use me to protect the clan and to usher in a new age of the dragon. They want me to lead the fight against the humans and the vampires.”

Cullen nodded. “You seem to be chipping away at the spell keeping you from your magic all on your own.”

“I’m not sure the fire breathing was my magic.” It was most definitely my rage. But was that destructive burst of power mine? My magic was supposed to be light and goodness, at least that was what Gregory and Trace had told me. It was Amaya’s powers that carried a destructive punch.

I’d been able to siphon power from her when I was touching her. Was it possible that I could draw on her powers even when we weren’t touching? “It’s frustrating not knowing how my magic works.”

Gray shot a disgruntled look at Soren that seemed to say I told you so .

“I might be able to help with that,” Cullen said. “May I sit down?” When no one budged and no one said anything, Cullen shifted unhappily from foot to foot.

“You need to forgive him,” I said.

Soren whipped his head in my direction.

“Cullen hurt you, but his heart was in the right place when he rescued Amaya. I don’t think Amaya would ever admit it, but she needed his help.” A frigid wind blasted through me. I rubbed the chill from my arms. “He’s your brother. You need to forgive him.”

“No. I don’t.” Soren bit off the words. But his fighting stance relaxed. “But I will. In time.”

“That’s the best I would dare ask for.” Cullen gestured with his chin to the sofa again. “May we talk about what I found in these books?”

At Soren’s curt nod, Cullen crossed the room and dumped his books onto the sofa.

“Should Patty leave?” Gray asked. “She’s—”

“She’s one of us.” Raya put her arm around the teen’s skinny shoulders. “If she wants to stay, I think she should.”

Patty squealed and stuck her tongue out at Gray, who took his trademark scowling to an entirely new level of grumpiness.

Cullen sat on the floor in front of the sofa and patted the carpeted floor beside him as an invitation for me to join him. Before I could, Soren sat between us. “Just in case,” Soren muttered. Raya and Patty sat near me. And Gray stood at the door with his arms crossed over his chest.

“Talk,” Soren said.

Cullen gestured to the books. “I’ve been looking into the source of power behind Queen Beatrice’s army of the dead. Necromancy hasn’t been a talent she’s exhibited in the past.” Culled raised his eyes and looked over at me for confirmation.

“Not that I’ve ever seen,” I said.

“Not that any of my spies have seen either. And lately, Queen Beatrice has tightened her security. I’ve lost three men while trying to get more information about how she’s creating her unbeatable army from the grave. She sent my spies back to us in very small, bloody pieces.”

“Queen Beatrice likes to make a statement,” I muttered.

“But you have an idea how she’s making the dead walk?” Soren asked his brother.

“I do.” Cullen picked up a book from the top of his stack titled, The History of Tiburnia . When he noticed my frowning at it, he explained, “Sometimes the most important clues come from the most unexpected places. As is the case here, I remembered reading something a few years ago and went back to look it up today.” He flipped through the pages until he came to the one he wanted. “Here.” He adjusted his glasses. “As you know, other than the royal Tiburnians who were overthrown and killed, most of the Tiburnians can find a vampire somewhere in their ancestry.”

“I didn’t know that.” No one bothered to tell me anything.

“Sorry about that,” Soren said. “I would have talked to you about the people of Tuburnia before our ship docked at its capital, but I couldn’t since Queen Beatrice was listening in. And we didn’t want her to know what we knew about the other kingdoms.”

“I get it.” I didn’t like it, but grudgingly understood.

“Anyhow,” Cullen continued, “the Tiburnians have a history of vampire lineage. It’s similar to how the royal families in Earst and Asteria can trace their magical lines back to dragon hybrids. Only, the Tiburnian hybrids aren’t royal, and they aren’t magical.” He paused to make sure we were all paying close attention. “This next piece of information doesn’t leave this room.” He glanced at the ceiling above us as he said, “It’s important to our survival that we keep this part of our past secret.”

I nodded. “Does this have to do with the fact that the other kingdoms don’t know that most of Fein is populated with vampires?”

“It does,” he agreed. Finally, I knew something. “It’s a piece of our past that allowed us to create the Kingdom of Fein while erasing large chunks of the continent’s history. And keeping this secret is vital to our future.”