Page 13 of Dragon Fight (The Dragon Queen #2)

13

M y first awareness of regaining consciousness was that my world was somehow composed entirely of pain. I existed in darkness that was being cut by knives of searing agony. I shifted restlessly on the bed and an inadvertent whine escaped me as my face contorted in response.

“Gods, Pippin!”

My eyes opened but a crack to see a dark figure rush forward. Ged . He squeezed my hand and, while it hurt, his touch somehow eased as much pain as it caused. I still whimpered though, unable to do anything to control my reactions. All I could do was feel: feel his touch, feel all the places my body was hurting, feel everything that wasn’t right. Even the sheets and the soft mattress were too hard; everywhere they touched me, I ached.

“It’ll be alright, love,” he told me in a desperate voice, stroking his hand across my forehead. The quaver in his voice robbed me of any sense of assurance from what he said. “All will be well.”

“She’s awake?” Another gruff voice. This time it was Soren’s. This was followed by a desperate squawk and the shuffling sound of scales against cloth. “I had to bring the little queen. She’s been beside herself since Pippin was injured. Apparently, she’s been trying to claw through the front door. Cloudy was about to burn it down to let her in.”

“Of course, he was. Gently, little queen. Your mistress is hurting very much.”

But she already knew that. Pippin . Her voice was sharp and imperious inside my aching head. Pippin. Pippin!

Hurts! was all the reply I managed.

Glimmer seemed to not care about that as she climbed her way onto my chest, her weight forcing a long groan from me. I couldn’t hold her, couldn’t be her bondmate, not when I was stuck so deep in my own pain. And she was only adding to it. She was heavy enough normally, and too much for me now. I tried to reach up to push her off, but my hands moved in a clumsy, ill coordinated way, barely pawing at the air.

Then the pain must go , she announced, as if that was the way it worked.

Didn’t she understand how much I wanted that? My body was a cage of agony, every move, every breath, causing me to regret it. But she was merciless. I heard the sound of her low hum as it twined with my moans, but not for long. That sound—her song— always seemed to vibrate through me and the effect as she crouched on my chest was more pronounced than ever. Stronger, deeper voices joined hers from beyond the walls, and the resonance carried me up and out of my suffering. My hands relaxed onto the coverlet as my fingers lost the claw-like rigidity they’d taken on as I’d tried to endure the torment. My back sank into the bed rather than tensing in anticipation of another wave of pain. The tight bands around my head melted away. Once I was able to think with clarity, I opened my eyes.

Ged, Soren, and Kay, Brom’s mother, were standing around the bed with their mouths wide open. And why shouldn’t they? It wasn’t every day you saw the healing power of a golden dragon’s song, as she glowed brighter and brighter, filling the air with motes of gilt light. The light and the sound together seemed to be driving the pain from me with every breath I took. My dragon sang and sang, her eyes focussed entirely on mine until finally I let a long breath out, the last of the pain going with it.

“You are well?!” Kay’s question was one part stunned shock and one part hopeful plea. She stepped forward to cautiously put her hand on my forehead. When I neither winced nor whimpered, nor showed any sort of pain response, she ran her hands down my arms, pulling the covers back to let in a blast of cool air and their collective gaze. “The bruises are gone. The broken bones…” She looked around for answers but she didn’t get any.

“We must never speak of this, Lady Emberly,” Soren said, in his best drill sergeant voice. It was soft enough to be respectful, but the expectation was clear.

“And what would I say?” Her hands fluttered in the air before she laid them on her chest, as if to push down on her wonder and confusion. “She… I…”

What did you do? I asked Glimmer, her body now a comforting weight.

I made you whole, just as you did me . Her words were clear but I could see her exhaustion in her colour, in the way her eyelids hung down heavily. I’m very tired now.

Sleep , I said, putting her on the bed beside me, feeling the same languor falling over me. I curled my body around hers then closed my eyes, falling into a true sleep moments later.

When I woke up again, I found that Glimmer and I were not alone in the bed. Ged lay on the opposite side of my dragon, his head propped up on one elbow. As my eyes flickered open, I realised that he had been watching me intently.

“Pip!” He reached across and grabbed my hand. I flinched instinctively, expecting to be racked with pain. But there wasn’t any. I relaxed into his grip and his body lost its tension in response. “Pip, are you—?”

“I’m fine.” I stretched, feeling my muscles move, my joints pop, but nothing that was different to any other time I woke from a deep sleep. That almost seemed odd, when pretty much everything else about this day had been so very different. “Is Whiskey all right?”

Ged snorted at that, then pulled me closer, not seeming to care he was squishing Glimmer at the same time. My dragon’s head popped up from the gap between our bodies and she clawed her way free with a disdainful look at both of us.

You are well now. I’m going to go eat more of the oinky things. My mates have kept back the choicest cuts for me.

Of course , I said, smiling. Then my smile dropped away as I looked into her eyes. What you did—

I will do over and over if I have to . The ridges over her eyes twitched. Though I may need to be bigger to do so. That… took something from me, something I’m not sure I had to give yet.

Then don’t do it again , I admonished. I can heal, but I won’t recover if anything happens to you.

Her gaze softened and she clawed her way forward, pushing at Ged, until she could press her forehead to mine. As she did, my eyes fell closed. Our bond was always a living, breathing thing inside me, but it felt even more intense. It was as though that rush of love, of connection, that had blossomed inside me the moment I first held her, was blooming even more, like it was a great fiery flower in my chest. I just breathed in, feeling her physical touch, feeling Ged beside me, feeling that bond like it was a tangible thing.

Don’t get hurt again , she replied, as she pulled away, so I’m not forced to.

And with that she jumped off the bed, nudging the door open with her muzzle before leaving the room.

“Gods, Pippin.”

That was the only warning I got before Ged rolled closer again and pulled me to him, holding me so hard I had to fight to take a breath, but I didn’t mind. I just rested my head against his chest and focussed on in the beat of his heart.

“Whiskey’s fine, the stupid beast, but you…” He held my head to his chest then stroked his hand back and forth, over and over, and I closed my eyes in bliss at the sensation of his touch on the velvety fuzz that my hair had now grown to. “Never do that again, ever.”

“I didn’t mean—” My sentence was interrupted by the door being suddenly thrust open to reveal Brom, with Soren and Flynn behind him.

“She’s awake?”

Each of them looked haggard and drawn. Brom rushed forward to my side, dropping down to take my hand in both of his when I rolled towards him.

“Gods, look at you…” he said in a reverent tone. “I thought—”

“We all did.” Flynn’s voice was sharp and hard, and so were his eyes. “I swore it was the hand of the gods, punishing us for this perfect pleasure, seeking what only the gods themselves must enjoy. But… Glimmer did this?” The sharpness in his tone fell away, and his jaw softened, as he seemed to allow himself to believe that I was alright.

“I think so,” I replied, reaching my other hand out to him, and he walked forward to sit beside me on the bed. He clutched at my fingers, like I’d tear them away again.

“Never heard of a dragon with that power,” Soren said, frowning as he moved to the foot of the bed to look down at me. “Not a queen, nor any male. Wraith didn’t know of any either.”

“They all seem bloody lost to explain what happened,” Ged said with a smile. “And even more smitten by your Glimmer. The sun shone from her arse before today. But now? Cloudy’s in my head the whole time, singing her praises.”

“He should sing them to her,” I told him with a smile. “She does love to be doted upon. But…” I grew serious as I looked at the four of them. “What happened? Do any of you know why Whiskey acted like she did?”

“Your horse had a devil’s burr under her saddle blanket.” The room grew crowded as Draven strolled in, shutting the door and locking it behind him. Taking a step forward, he reached into his pocket and produced a tiny piece of metal that looked like a geometric butterfly. Pressing it flat, he explained, “It’s a tiny thing made to lie flat under a horse’s saddle blanket, then spring loaded to release four blades.” As he took the pressure off the device it popped open, revealing each sharp edge. “They take a while to work their way through the blanket, making it easier for an assassin to put some distance between him and his target. Just like with Whiskey, the horse grows maddened by the sensation of having its flesh cut open by the blades, each thump of your arse in the saddle driving it deeper.”

The prince flattened it again, then tucked it into the pocket of his armour.

“The rider is thrown from the saddle, with the aim being that they will be either killed on impact or trampled by their mount, making the killer’s job easy and helping them avoid being detected.”

“Sorry to disappoint on that score,” I said. I breathed in sharply and stiffened, as I remembered his insistence on checking my saddle for fit. “And how is it you know so much about an assassin’s stock in trade?” My whole body felt ice cold, as though I’d plunged in a stream fed by the first snowmelts of spring. “ You put one in my saddle blanket when you forced me to let you check it.”

While the prince may have been used to being the centre of attention in every room he was in, it was never in the manner that every eye turned to him now. The silence that rose between us was thick with intent, my men’s gazes hardening as they waited for Draven’s response.

“I was checking to see if there was anything untoward with your saddle,” he corrected in a terse voice. “A job your… lovers will need to take on. You’re a liability, Pippin, no matter what you might think. You want to act like a minor noblewoman from some backwater, but you painted a target on your back the moment you bonded with Glimmer.”

Draven frowned slightly.

“But victims of the devil’s burr usually die of their injuries.” He looked me over more closely now, at least what he could see of me behind my mates. “You look—”

“Tired.” Brom got to his feet and stood between me and the prince. “My wife needs her rest after this ordeal, not more stress.”

It was clear that Draven wanted to say something to that, to push back. His brows knitted together, then smoothed as his habitual mask was resituated.

“Of course.” He nodded to Brom and then went to leave.

“The devil’s burr, Draven.” Had I ever heard Brom make such a direct demand of his prince before? Probably not, due to restrictions of rank, but… The prince stared up at him for a few heartbeats before shoving his hand in his pocket and placing the device in Brom’s outstretched hand. Then he turning and walked out without a word

“Someone’s trying to kill Pippin,” Ged said with a growl, pulling me closer.

“Again.” Flynn sighed and rubbed his hand over his face. “I didn’t want to get my father involved in this at all, but—”

“Don’t.” Brom’s reply was quick and definite. “I understand the temptation to reach out to those who might support us but, as we saw at the ball, those with power are quick to make things become about their agenda, not ours.”

“So we keep the news within this circle,” Soren said with a nod. “Between us, there’s some brains and a lot of brawn. Seems to me it falls to us to find out who the hell is trying to kill our girl, even if we have to consider the threat is a royal one.”