Page 23 of Heart of Fire (Royal Ice Dragons #3)

DARE

My spell left a trail for me to follow as Kustav stormed past the villagers, riding on horseback. They were clearly ready to riot. Some of them gave me disgusted looks.

The problem with being a hero is that heroes always fall.

I wished Hanna hadn’t come. I wished I’d gotten out of here before I had the chance to lose my place among these people that I had enjoyed.

But then, this was always where it was going to end if I came back. My reputation was larger than life, godlike. But in the end, I was just a man. I had powerful magic and the ability to shift into a dragon, but in the end, like anyone else, I also had my weaknesses.

My greatest weakness was Hanna. And I never wanted to overcome that weakness, either.

I stayed away all day, even though I could feel the hum of her frustration. Without me there, she had nothing to do. She went over to the pub, and I wondered if she was looking for a fight.

But I was busy because I had just begun to follow that thread of magic. I could feel it pulling me, and while Lord Kustav had entered the mine by going down, down, down many flights of stairs from another secret entrance I entered through the mine, moving unseen through the darkness.

The magic unfurled from him to me, flowing in both directions to find each other.

I reached him, and I saw the look on his face as I walked into his armory.

“Who are you?” he demanded.

“I’m no one. I didn’t intend to kill you. But then you touched the woman I love, and now I think I see a way to get everything I want.”

I would steal his face and his clothes and wear them upstairs. I’d make everyone think he was a coward, just like they believed me to be now, and that he was fleeing from the villagers before they could riot.

“What do you want? How did you even get down here?” Kustav asked, his hands groping behind him for one of the weapons.

“You should pick up that knife,” I said, pointing behind him. “Oh! Or a little to the left. That axe. Is it enchanted, or do you just have it down here because of all the gems in the handle?”

My relaxed attitude seemed to be making him even more frantic. His hands were shaking as he gripped a weapon and pointed it at me.

“I have magic,” he threatened.

“Incredible!”

He looked confused, realizing that he might not have the full advantage that he expected.

“It turns out the nobles aren’t that special.” When I raised my magic with a flick of my fingers, the weapon flew out of his hand and into the wall. I advanced on him. “Did you know that people think that I’m a noble? They think that’s the only way I could have magic like yours. And I’ve been realizing that maybe they’re right.”

Maybe Baelur was my father. Maybe Mattias had been my brother.

He frowned, staring at me. “Am I supposed to recognize you?”

“No.” I scoffed a laugh. He’d been there when Baelur hung my parents, but there had been nothing memorable to him that day. “No, you don’t need to recognize me. You can see me as just another peasant.”

“Who are you really?” he asked, frantic now.

“I’m Hanna’s husband.” But I dropped my enchanted disguise.

Fear swept over his face. I liked to see it.

I held up my hands, raising my magic, and the daggers that I had come to seek for Hanna flew off the table past him and into my hands. I tucked them into my belt. I wasn’t going to risk losing them.

They were the entire reason I had come to this village, after all. I had been drawn into so much more, but I had come home because I wanted a gift for my girl.

I’d been driven by the need to make sure she could take care of herself no matter what, even though at the time I had thought she would never be mine. I still wasn’t sure she ever truly would be.

Then I drew my own sword.

“Come and die, my lord,” I mocked, my voice dripping with disdain. I shifted my stance, ignoring the pain that shot through my battered body. The blade in my hand felt alive, an extension of my will.

Lord Kustav’s face contorted with rage. He snatched up a sword off the table.

With a roar, he charged at me. I sidestepped at the last moment, feeling the rush of air as his blade whistled past.

Our swords clashed, the sound ringing through the chamber. I pushed back, using my momentum to create space. My free hand crackled with magical energy, and I sent a bolt of energy pulsing toward him. Kustav barely managed to escape it.

His eyes glittered at me with fury but also fear. If he could’ve raised his magic to fight back, he would have. He clearly only had borrowed spells, and I had the feeling Baelur had grown stingy.

I should kill him quickly. It was foolish to play with him.

But sometimes, as Hanna could surely attest, I was a fool. This man had said the most depraved things to her, and I savored every second of his fear.

We circled each other, trading blows.

“You know,” Kustav said quietly. “You might steal my weapons, but it won’t matter. Baelur is coming.”

Baelur . There was a name that had a visceral effect on me, slithering through my body like worms.

“He’ll be too late to save you,” I promised, then mocked him, “It’s too bad you don’t have magic of your own to fight me.”

I threw up a blast of my magic, and he stumbled back, his face flooding with fear. Now he knew I was playing with him.

Kustav surged forward desperately, swinging his blade toward my throat. I dropped low, sweeping my leg out to knock him off balance. As he stumbled, I surged upward, driving my shoulder into his chest.

He staggered back, gasping.

I drove my sword through the air, then felt the resistance as it cut through flesh and bone, opening Kustav’s throat in a spray of crimson.

His eyes widened in shock and disbelief. He tried to speak, but only a wet gurgle escaped his lips. Then he crumpled to the ground, blood pooling around him.

I’d seen plenty of peasant blood across the course of my life. Despite how precious nobles think their lives are, noble blood doesn’t look any different than peasant blood.

For a moment, I stood there, adrenaline still coursing through my veins. Fuck, I’d need to wear his clothes; I hated the thought of having anything that had been on his body against mine. I knelt and yanked off his jacket. I’d have to use a spell to remove the blood.

Boots pounded against stone.

Guards burst into the chamber, their faces a mixture of horror and fury as they took in the scene. Kustav must have summoned them with some hidden magic before our fight began. But because we were so deep underground, it had taken them this long to reach us. Fuck. I should’ve run sooner.

I raised my sword, gritting my teeth against the pain. There were at least a dozen of them, all armed and ready for blood.

The first guard rushed me, and I parried his blow, countering with a slash that opened his arm. But there were too many, coming at me from all sides.

I spun and dodged, my blade singing as it met flesh and steel.

My earlier injuries were taking their toll. My movements grew slower, less precise. I should have let Hanna heal me when she offered. Now, that stubbornness might cost me, might leave me dying in the stupidest way.

I managed to take down three more guards, but they kept coming. As I turned to face a new attacker, pain seared across the back of my left calf. I heard the sickening snap of my tendon giving way.

My leg buckled beneath me, and I slammed forward onto the cold stone floor. The impact drove the air from my lungs, spots dancing before my eyes.

I summoned my healing magic. A faint glow surrounded my hands as I attempted to knit the severed tendon back together.

The remaining guards closed in, their weapons raised.

There was no time to heal.

With a roar of defiance, I pushed myself up on one knee, my sword raised. Magic crackled around me, ready to be unleashed in one final, desperate stand.

If this were to be my last fight, I’d make damn sure they remembered it.

I threw out one arm as I rose, sending a crack of magic their way that knocked several of them off their feet, slamming them into the wall. One fell at an odd angle, never to rise again. The other five let out a roar and closed in on me.

Hanna burst into the room, her blonde hair streaming behind her.

“Dare, duck!” she shouted.

I dropped to one knee just as Hanna’s dagger whistled over my head, burying itself in the throat of the man behind me. As he fell gurgling, I swept my leg out, knocking another soldier off balance.

Hanna was already engaging two others, her movements a blur of deadly grace. She dodged a wild swing, using her attacker’s momentum to send him crashing into his comrade.

“On your left!” I called out to Hanna, raising a burst of magic.

She spun away just as I released the spell, a bolt of crackling energy striking the soldier who’d been trying to flank her. He convulsed and dropped.

“I’ve got you, Dare. Fix yourself, if you can.” Her smile was bright as she backed toward me, a protective wall between me and the guards who had almost killed me.

I lunged to meet a soldier a moment later.

“Married life, huh?” My voice came out light now that she was at my side.

Hanna laughed, a sound both joyous and fierce. “Oh, is this special now that we’re married? Feels like a normal Tuesday to me.”

One of the soldiers, seeing an opening, lunged at Hanna with his sword. I grabbed her arm, spinning her behind me as I met the attack head-on. Our blades locked, and for a moment, we were caught in a contest of pure strength.

But Hanna wasn’t idle. She’d used the momentum of my spin to build force, and now she emerged from behind me like an avenging spirit. As her dagger found the gap in the soldier’s armor at his armpit, he crumpled with a strangled cry.

It was just the two of us left in a roomful of bodies.

Hanna and I turned to face each other. We were both panting, covered in blood and grime. For a moment, we just stared, the reality of what we’d just accomplished sinking in.

Then, almost in unison, we began to laugh. It was a release of tension, of fear, of the sheer absurdity of our situation. I pulled her close, not caring about the blood and sweat.

“What the hell are you doing here?” I asked once I could speak again. “How did you even find me?”

Hanna’s eyes sparkled with a mixture of amusement and concern. “I could feel you were in trouble. I just…knew where to go.” She glanced around the chamber, taking in the arsenal that surrounded us. “Where are we?”

I tried to give her a reassuring smile, but I could feel myself swaying on my feet. “We are in Kustav’s secret armory,” I said, gesturing around us. “We can do quite the job of arming the villagers.”

Her eyes narrowed, suspicion creeping into her voice. “Is that really why you killed him?”

“I am going to have to do some work to cover that up,” I admitted, glancing down at Kustav’s blood-soaked clothes. I would need to dress in them. “But most of all, I came to get you a gift.”

I reached for her belt to slide the first enchanted dagger home.

She grabbed my arms, holding me at bay. “What are you doing?”

I met her gaze, trying to convey the urgency I felt. “I need you to promise to wear these all the time. Constantly.”

“Why?”

“The blades are enchanted. If someone disarms you, they’ll come back to you.”

“No.”

I frowned, confusion and frustration washing over me. “No? You’re being ridiculous. You know you’re in danger, and for that matter, I happen to know that you really like pointy things…”

Her grip on my arms tightened. “I’m not going to wear them unless you tell me why you keep pushing me away.”

“Hanna, that is absolutely ridiculous.”

“I know.” Her tone was unapologetic, her gaze unwavering. “So is your running away and leaving me behind when you head into danger. Talk to me, or I’ll make sure you know the same pain I feel when you leave me.”

I felt something inside me crumble. The walls I’d built up for so long began to crack. With a heavy sigh, I told her everything. Baelur’s cruelty to my parents, my mother’s desperate pleas to Baelur as she degraded herself to protect me, the humiliation I felt bowing to Kustav just as she had once.

As I spoke, I could see understanding dawn in her eyes, mixed with fierce compassion that both comforted and terrified me.

When I finished, she reached up, cupping my face in her hands. “Oh, Dare. We’re pragmatic people. We do what we must to survive. We’re alike, even though I know you don’t see it. There’s no shame in pretending to survive, as long as you remember who you really are.”

I shook my head, my voice barely a whisper. “Pretending long enough makes you into someone else.”

“No,” she said firmly, “not if you have someone to remind you. I’ll always be here to remind you, Dare.”

In that moment, surrounded by violence and death, something shifted between us. I looked into Hanna’s eyes and saw not judgment or pity, but acceptance and love.

I pulled her close, our lips meeting in a kiss that was both tender and fierce.

“So, you will wear the daggers?” I asked her, and she smiled, giving way.

I gripped her other hip in one hand, holding her body against mine as I slid one dagger into her empty scabbard; she had flung her knives into the throats of my enemy, like the best of wives.

I would have done anything to get these daggers for her, to make it easier for her to protect herself. I hoped that it felt like a promise to her, as it did to me, when I slid the second one home into her scabbard.

I wanted to tell her that I loved her, but the words felt too strange and foreign on my tongue. Instead, I took a step back from her, taking in my beautiful bride, blood-streaked and wearing my daggers.

She smiled at me, and I dared to hope maybe she could feel my love, even if I was pathetic at expressing it in words.

I should’ve said more, but instead I nudged Kustav’s body. “You’re going to like this next part, Hanna. We’re going to play a trick.”

A few minutes’ later, Hanna’s nose wrinkled in disgust as we began stripping the corpse. “I prefer my tricks less…sweaty.”

I grunted, trying on Kustav’s ornate jacket. “Trust me, I’m not thrilled about it either. But it’s our best chance of deflecting Baelur.”

Once I was dressed in Kustav’s clothes, Hanna stepped back, eyeing me critically. “It’s not a perfect fit, but it’ll do. Just try not to get too close to anyone.”

I nodded, then caught sight of myself in a nearby mirror. The transformation was unsettling. “How do I look?”

“Like a pompous ass. So…perfect.”

As we made our way through the castle, I found myself having to improvise more than once. A servant approached, bowing low.

“My Lord, shall I prepare your evening meal?”

I waved my hand dismissively, trying to channel Kustav’s arrogance. “Not now. Can’t you see I’m in the middle of important business?” I gestured vaguely to Hanna.

The servant’s eyes widened, and he scurried away, muttering apologies.

We turned a corner and came face to face with a knot of guards. I puffed out my chest. “Make way!”

The guards parted, some looking offended, others amused. As we passed, I heard one mutter, “Seems Lord Kustav started his drinking early today.”

Hanna grinned. “You’re enjoying this.”

I grinned back. The two of us both loved a good trick.

Just as we neared the castle’s main entrance, a commotion erupted outside. The doors burst open, and in strode a figure that made my blood run cold.

Lord Baelur.

He was older than I remembered, his once dark hair now streaked with gray. But his eyes were the same—cold, calculating, and utterly merciless. He wore a crimson cloak, fastened with a golden clasp in the shape of a snarling wolf.

“Kustav!” Baelur boomed, his voice filling the hall. “I came as soon as I received your message.”

I felt my heart hammering in my chest, rage and fear warring within me. Baelur spoke to me so warmly. This was the man who had murdered my parents, who had destroyed my childhood with a single order. When we were so close together, it took every ounce of self-control not to draw my sword and plunge it through his chest.

Hanna must have sensed my tension. She subtly moved closer, her presence grounding me.

I forced myself to meet Baelur’s gaze, praying my disguise would hold. “Baelur, old friend,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. “Your concern is appreciated, but unnecessary. The situation is well in hand.”

Baelur’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Are you certain? I’ve brought a contingent of my best men. We could make an example of these troublemakers.”

I waved my hand dismissively, channeling Kustav’s arrogance once more. “Please, I’m more than capable of handling a few unruly miners. Your men would be wasted.”

For a moment, I thought Baelur might argue. But then he shrugged, a cruel smile playing on his lips. “As you wish. But if you change your mind, you know where to find me. We could have a good hunt together again!”

With that, he turned and strode out, his cloak billowing behind him, his guards following him out.

I moved swiftly through the halls, my legs trembling from the surge of emotion and adrenaline. I waited until we were almost out to step to one side, into an abandoned hallway. I leaned heavily against the wall, on the verge of collapsing.

I couldn’t let any of the villagers see me in this raw, weak moment. There was almost no chance they would follow me anyway, but certainly not if they saw me break down after coming face to face with Baelur.

Hanna was at my side in an instant, her hand on my arm. “Dare? Are you all right?”

A surge of anger rushed through me to have her see me in this painful, vulnerable moment.

But I would not push her away. The memory of how I’d hurt her came back to me, alongside the resolution I’d made that I wouldn’t push her away again. when we were so close together. I swallowed hard, and some of that anger—and the humiliation that lay beneath it—faded.

I took a shaky breath. “I’ve waited all this time to kill him,” I told her, my voice barely above a whisper. “I can wait a little longer. Until Kaelan is on the throne.”

Her eyes flashed with a fierce protectiveness. “I don’t know if I can wait,” she said, her hand moving to the dagger at her belt.

I couldn’t help but smile, love and admiration swelling in my chest. I pulled her close, kissing her deeply. When we parted, I rested my forehead against hers. “You can. You’re pragmatic.”

Hanna sighed, but nodded. “Fine. But when the time comes, I want to be there. He’ll pay for what he did to you and your family. We will make him bleed.”

I held her tighter, marveling at how this woman could make me feel both invincible and utterly vulnerable.

“Together,” I promised. “We’ll face him together.”