Page 14 of The Uncrowned King (The Bastard Duology #2)

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

“Derek has been spotted!”

Kora’s heart dropped to her feet, and the hall came alive with movement. She had told them what little she knew or had witnessed of Derek’s fighting skills. Merrill had arrived during her account and added his own. It hadn’t taken long before they devised a plan. She didn’t say anything. It wasn’t as if she had much else to do but stand there. Derek had to get a whiff of her unique hellhound scent, and then he would come for her.

She curled her toes in the boots she had retrieved. Her feet were cold, but it had nothing to do with walking on the stones in her bare feet and everything to do with coming face-to-face with Derek again. She wanted this.

But she was scared of what she might find.

“Are you ready?” Rhi asked as she came up beside her.

There was a maelstrom of emotions spinning out of control within Kora. There was no denying their plan was dangerous, but no one could talk her out of it. They’d kept her from going with Lotti and the others. She wouldn’t be held back from this. Not when there was a chance. That kept her going.

But she couldn’t say all of that. Instead, Kora said the only thing she could. “I don’t know.”

“Remember, I’ll be right beside you. You won’t be able to see me, but you’ll hear me.”

Iron Hall’s main room emptied quickly, leaving only Rhi and her. Everyone had a position, even if some were safely within the underground city.

“You don’t have to do this,” Rhi said. “Any of the Kings can stand in your place.”

Kora shook her head. “I must do it.”

“We won’t let him get to you.”

That wasn’t something anyone could promise. Rhi’s words were meant to offer comfort, and that was how Kora took them.

She and Rhi walked out of the city and into the canyon together. Kora didn’t know how the others had crossed the border. It might have been discussed during the planning, but she had been too engrossed in deciding what she would say to Derek to pay attention. Now, she wished she had. They were details she might need to know.

“Derek is headed straight for Cairnkeep,” Rhi said as she touched her arm.

Kora found herself at the top of the canyon, gazing across a boundary she couldn’t see into the dragons’ land. Cairnkeep. The capital where Eurwen and Brandr lived.

“The cage is ready and waiting for Derek.” Rhi never broke stride as she guided Kora toward the obscure barrier.

Kora felt a growing resistance as she got closer to the border. The dragons’ home was a place she had feared beyond reason. It held the monsters of her nightmares. At least it had for a time. Still, she dragged her feet as she neared the barrier.

Rhi didn’t push, simply stood with her and waited.

By going to Stonemore for Villette, Kora had faced her past. She had found love where it wasn’t supposed to be. But the heart didn’t care about fears or enemies. Derek had stood with her through it all.

If she could do all that, then she could lure in the man she loved so he could remember who he was.

Kora quickly stepped across the border. Magic slid against her skin as she passed through the barricade. Then, she stood on dragon land. It looked the same as it did from the other side of the border: wide-open landscape and mountains rising in the distance like knuckles on the hand of an ancient god.

“Ready?” Rhi asked.

Kora took a deep breath and nodded. She closed her eyes when Rhi reached for her hand. She didn’t feel a change, but Kora knew she wasn’t in the same place anymore. The air was crisp from the altitude. A cool breeze brushed her face, and the soft scent of rain lingered.

She opened her eyes and gasped at the beauty before her. They stood at the top of a mountain near the edge of a cliff. The sky was vibrant and clear, the sun a bright yellow dot rising over the distant peaks. She took in the trees and spotted evergreens mingled with the lush clusters of changing leaves. Mountains rose before her, even taller than the one she was on. Below was a steep valley where rocks protruded from the grass. Kora glanced behind her to find two identical stone cottages.

And all around her were roars and the whoosh of beating wings.

Kora turned to Rhi. “It feels wrong to be here.”

“Because dragons hunted you?”

“Because this is their land.”

Her lips twisted ruefully. “I know what you mean. But you are Derek’s mate. You belong here just as he does.”

“He won’t remember that.”

“We have to make him. If he unknowingly harms you and his memories return later…it will kill him.”

Kora shook her head. “He’s too strong for that.”

“I’m not being metaphorical. I mean it. He will die.”

The look in Rhi’s silver eyes stopped Kora from arguing.

“A connection forms when a dragon finds its mate—one that binds them to their love much like the vow between you and Villette. The loss of a mate will destroy a dragon.”

“Yet you put yourself in the middle of a battle while growing life.”

Rhi’s lips curled, and she placed a hand on her stomach. “Con and I have undergone the mating ceremony. While Fae live for thousands of years, the Dragon Kings can live much longer. I will live as long as Con does. The only way I can die is if he’s killed. The magic of Earth chooses the Kings to rule each clan, and the dragons have been here. That means there hasn’t been anyone to challenge him. Until we came here.”

Villette and Miena. Everything always came down to them. Kora looked out at the Kings flying around them. “You and Con should return to Earth.”

“He’s the King of Dragon Kings,” Rhi proudly stated. “And I’m his queen. We’re not going anywhere.”

Kora took the new information and set it aside. She couldn’t worry about Rhi and her unborn child when Derek was on his way. “All of that is assuming Derek regains his memories. Even I have to admit that he might never.”

“He will,” Rhi insisted. “Which is why we cannot let him near you with dragon fire.”

“It’s a good thing I made that vow with Villette then.” She grinned, even as the pit in her stomach grew.

Rhi’s silver eyes held a note of worry. “Will that bond keep you alive if something should happen?”

“I guess we’ll find out.”

The Fae shot a quick look into the distance. “Remember, I’ll be here.”

Rhi vanished before her eyes.

“Can you hear me?” Rhi’s disembodied voice asked.

Kora nodded. “I can.”

“Call out if you need me.”

Kora had learned a lot in the short time she had been with the dragons. Their senses were greatly enhanced, which meant Derek would see her before she saw him. It also meant he had probably already caught her scent. They were supposed to warn her when he neared Cairnkeep, but she wouldn’t count on it.

Just as she wouldn’t count on her binding vow with Villette to keep her alive. She knew the odds of her walking away from this trap were slim. Sure, the others had promised to protect and shield her, but they might not be able to do that and trap Derek. His survival was more important. He had family waiting here. A life where he could flourish away from Villette and Miena.

What did she have besides him?

Nothing. Her family was gone, and her kind had been wiped out. Maybe more hellhounds would find their way to Zora, but she hadn’t seen any in the time she had looked.

“He’s close,” Rhi told her.

Kora wanted to be sure to draw out Derek. Her scent might do it, but there was another way. She held out her arms and called the flames to her. Fire erupted over her skin—a blaze no one could miss.