Page 26 of The Uncrowned King (The Bastard Duology #2)

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

It felt wrong not to take to the skies and go straight for Gordon. It’s what he would’ve done before. But things were different. He was different. Derek looked at Kora, who stood at his side, listening intently. Rhi had brought them and a small group that consisted of Con, Brandr, Merrill, and Hector to meet Villette, Alasdair, and Lotti. Other Kings had been divided into groups to patrol the borders in case Miena launched an attack against the dragons.

Alasdair, Lotti, and Villette had followed Gordon. The trio had tried to distract him from his rampage across the land, but it hadn’t been successful. Now, all of them stood in the ruins of a village Villette’s army had destroyed.

Derek had learned a lot in a short time. There had been the fact that Lotti was a Star Person, which had been difficult to acknowledge after swearing the doom of all like her. Kora liked her, and that went a long way to softening his reaction. Then there was Iron Hall, confirming his suspicions about them being underground.

There hadn’t been time to learn more of the Kings’ names, but Derek hoped he got a chance later. Kora had whispered a promise of them exploring Iron Hall together when all of this was done.

All of this. War. She meant war. No one wanted to say it, but they all knew that was exactly what it was.

Villette’s gaze finally turned to him. Derek prepared himself, but she looked away without comment. Maybe she was interested in getting rid of Miena. He still didn’t trust her, but he would rather have her on their side than against them. At least they had a chance with Villette. She knew how Miena thought.

“I’ll ram Gordon and force him to fight me,” Alasdair said as they stood in a circle. “He can no’ ignore that.”

Villette crossed her arms over her chest. She wore gold armor on her upper body over a sky blue gown. The armor was so thin the blue could be seen beneath it. The metal covered her upper body from her neck to past her hips. The shoulders were triple layered with armor running down her arms. Elbow guards and gauntlets completed the ensemble. Her blond hair was gathered in braids to fall down her back. “You can’t kill him.”

“Everything can die,” Rhi said. “We need to find what takes him down and keeps him there.”

Merrill looked to Derek. “We faced him before. Let’s do it again.”

“That would be a mistake,” Villette said. “Miena needs to see Derek. He will be the one to divide her attention.”

Kora nodded. “I agree. She went to a lot of trouble to take Derek, and she’ll want to make sure he’s still on her side.”

“She reached out. I didn’t reply.” Derek saw Kora frown. He hadn’t told her or anyone that until now. Not to hide it, but because there hadn’t been time before. “I’ll find her.”

Villette’s blue eyes swung to him. “She’ll demand you prove your loyalty.”

“Do whatever she wants,” Hector urged. “We can take it.”

Villette shook her head. “It won’t be against any of you.”

“Then the answer is nay. He shouldn’t have to hurt anyone else,” Kora stated.

Derek couldn’t help but grin at the way she protected him. No one had done that for him before. He hadn’t told her about his feelings. He hadn’t said the words, at least. He had shown her, but he should have voiced them. He would. Before he went into battle, he would find a few moments alone with her and say the words. “I’ll minimize what I can, but we have to convince her.”

Villette nodded. “If Derek makes her believe he’s still loyal, we’ll have an opportunity to double-cross her. But it’ll have to be very convincing.”

Derek knew what she meant. He had killed without hesitation when he believed it was to help the dragons. The truth had been revealed now, however. Could he so easily take life again? Even if it would end the suffering of so many in the long run?

“We doona have time for this shite,” Brandr said. “People are dying.”

Derek blew out a breath. “Then I’ll go now.”

“Not until we have a plan,” Kora said urgently.

Villette was quick to point out, “The less he knows, the better.”

“It won’t work,” came a new voice. “She’ll expect a betrayal.”

Derek looked over his shoulder to see woman standing on a fallen door. Tall and dark-haired, with a slender, delicate frame garbed in a simple maroon tunic and matching trousers tucked into black boots. Her gray eyes briefly met his before returning to Villette.

“Eurielle,” Lotti said, a smile in her voice. “I was hoping you heard me.”

Derek knew without asking that Eurielle was another Star Person. How many more were on the realm? And why Zora? If the universe was as big everyone kept saying, what brought them to this world? He glanced at Kora to see her reaction. If anyone knew if someone was evil, it was her. She gave him a small shake of her head.

“Does this mean you’re joining us?” Alasdair asked.

Eurielle and Villette stared at each other for a long time before she nodded her head of dark hair. “I am.”

“Three against one,” Villette said. “This should be interesting. Why, though? Why come out of the shadows now?”

Eurielle stepped into the crumbling ruin of the building and made her way to their circle. She stood between Lotti and Hector, who couldn’t take his eyes off her. “I chose a side when I disregarded my family’s orders and helped Alasdair and Lotti. I saw Miena recently. We spoke, and after, I followed her. She went to the border.” Eurielle shrugged a slim shoulder. “She intended to cross to find Derek but I stopped her.”

“A bold move,” Villette stated, respect in her blue gaze.

Eurielle’s throat bobbed as she swallowed. “It infuriated her. She then attempted to wipe out all dragons on this realm.”

There were varying reactions. Most, Derek noted, were shocked and appalled. A few, like Con and Brandr, were outraged. It was Villette’s awed expression that caught his attention.

“You were able to stop her?” Villette said in a voice low with wonder.

Eurielle’s lips flattened. “Barely. If she had attempted it a second time, I wouldn’t have been able to do anything.”

“We owe you,” Brandr said.

The two shared a silent look. Derek watched the exchange with interest. “Does Miena know it was you?” he asked.

“She does,” Eurielle admitted.

Villette smiled, a real smile that took everyone aback. Even Derek. She looked…pretty.

He didn’t like this side of her. She appeared too human. Too relatable.

“Up!” Alasdair suddenly bellowed.

Everyone looked up through the damaged roof to see amethyst scales headed their way. The three Star People calmly walked outside. Rhi teleported to jump onto the back of a gold dragon. The Kings rushed from the building and shifted, jumping into the air to fight. Derek watched, wanting to join them.

“Go,” Kora said.

“I—” he began, wanting to tell her of his feelings.

She smiled and touched his face. “Me, too.”

He took one last look at her before running out. Derek didn’t immediately shift. He went to touch the cuff out of habit, only to remember that it was gone. He headed in the opposite direction toward Stonemore and Miena while the Kings fought Gordon. How had Gordon found them? But he knew. Miena.

All he could do now was hope she hadn’t seen him with the Kings. Derek ran like the wind, the ground rushing beneath him so quickly it was a blur. When the roars grew distant, he leaped into the air and shifted, unfurling his great wings. He soared into the air and looked back at the battle. He hesitated, hovering as he wondered if he should return to the Kings. Then he thought of Kora and how she had looked up at him with such trust and passion.

He didn’t want to leave her side again, but he had to. Derek looked toward Stonemore. He hated everything about the city. He wouldn’t just destroy Miena, he would turn Stonemore to dust.

Derek covered miles with a single flap of his wings. His gaze locked on the Tunris Mountains and the peak where the palace was. Miena was there, waiting. As he made his way to the city, he thought about the lies he had been told, the manipulation used to control him. Miena was his creator, the one who had given him life. He wanted to be the one to take hers, but no matter how hot his dragon fire was, it wouldn’t kill her.

Though she could take his with a thought. Or remove his memories again. Derek yearned for a chance at a real life. One with Kora. If he didn’t guard his thoughts, words, and actions, Miena would make sure he never got a future. He had hung onto a bit of Kora before. He knew in his heart that nothing Miena or anyone else did could ever make him forget her.

By the time he swept down from the clouds, he had locked away his hate and resentment. But not all of it. He had to be convincing in his aversion to the Kings and Kora.

He flew over the city and heard the inhabitants’ screams as they spotted him. Miena walked out onto a large balcony and lifted her head to him. Derek circled her, spiraling lower and lower until he shifted and dropped to his feet behind her.

She turned to face him, her eyes raking over his nude body before he clothed himself. Miena said nothing as she stood in white and silver armor from head to toe. Unlike Villette, she chose trousers, though her armor wasn’t any less ornate.

“Well?” she asked.

This was the test. He had planned on one thing, and she likely expected another. But he did neither. “The Kings claim you lie.”

Fury flashed across her face at the affront. Never mind that she had, indeed, lied. “I thought you were more intelligent than that. Of course, they say I’m lying. They fear you attacking them. Which, I take by you standing here, didn’t happen.”

“Oh, I did.”

She turned her head slightly, her green eyes narrowing. “And?”

“It was only after I took some of them down that they wanted to talk.” If she could lie, so could he.

“Why would you listen to them?”

He shrugged indifferently. “I had the advantage.”

“Obviously, you gave it up.”

“I got my revenge.” Sadly, that was partly true. And in the process, he’d nearly lost the only person who meant something to him.

Her eyes lit with curiosity. “Tell me.”

“They tried to protect the hellhound, but I got her.”

“Did you kill her?”

Derek nodded as an image of Kora’s bloodied body flashed in his mind.

“You burned her?”

Derek nodded, unable to say the words.

Miena smiled triumphantly, but it dimmed immediately. “But not the Kings.”

“They have no knowledge of me or my mate. Without my memory, I must have facts.”

“You didn’t need them to go after the hellhound.”

“I remembered the eggs.”

Alarm crossed her face but disappeared quickly. “You remember them?” she asked carefully.

He’d thought that admission might unsettle her. Miena thought she had scoured his mind of everything, but she had missed that. At first, he had believed it intentional to make her story believable, but after seeing her face, he knew that wasn’t the case.

“What else do you remember?”

“Flashes here and there.” He wanted to tell her that he recalled everything, to yell it into her face. But that would come later. For now, he had to convince her.

Eurielle’s doubt made him question every emotion that crossed Miena’s face and every question out of her mouth.

“Head wounds are tricky,” Miena said. “I think you’ll get all the answers you’re looking for very soon.”

Unease swirled in Derek’s gut. He tried to reach out to Con, but he didn’t answer. Neither did Merrill. No one did. Miena was making sure he couldn’t communicate with them.

She held out her hand, and a helmet formed in her palm. She slipped it onto her head. It was white with white metal contouring her nose and across her cheekbones. Silver shielded her ears and jaw, and a white strap held her chin. The back of the helmet was plain, but the four, silver, finger-like barbs jutting backward with three-inch blades at the ends caught his attention.

“You have a second chance to get your revenge on the Kings. Come, we’ll fight them together.”

Derek wavered for too long, and it earned him a sharp look. “Shift. I will ride upon your back into battle.”