Page 31 of The Uncrowned King (The Bastard Duology #2)

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

Derek, Con, and Merrill paused at the tremor that shook the mountain.

“Tell me that’s normal,” Con said.

Merrill shook his head. “No’ that I’m aware of.”

The two looked Derek’s way. “Nay, that isn’t normal.”

“Miena, perhaps?” Merrill offered.

Derek motioned to the open door. “Only one way to find out.”

“Lead the way,” Con told him.

Derek stepped through the doorway. The plain walls of the mountain gave way to designs etched into every available space. The walls, ceiling, and even the floor. Illuminated in soft blue, the graceful swirls didn’t have a beginning or an end and connected from one pattern to another. Some were small, some large, but all part of one enormous design.

“Did you do this?” Merrill asked.

Derek lowered his gaze to the floor, where the pattern indicated the way forward. “Nay.”

They followed the path from that stunning space into a tunnel with scrawled waves on either side. The ceiling was dotted like stars. The ground beneath them was etched to look like water, and the light moved in such a way that it appeared real.

“What happened on Earth to send the dragons here?” Derek asked.

Merrill said, “Humans.”

“It was much more than that,” Con added. “On our world, the dragons were segregated by color. Those clans each had a King who was chosen by the magic of our realm.”

Derek glanced over his shoulder at them. “How does that work?”

“The magic knows our strengths and heart,” Merrill explained. “If one in a clan was stronger than their current King, the magic propelled that dragon to challenge the leader.”

“To a fight?” Derek asked.

Con made a sound in the back of his throat. “To death. There were times that a King died in battle, making the transition easier, but most of us had to slay the King of our clan to take his place.”

Derek looked at Con. “Did you?”

“Aye. I slayed the King of Golds to take his place in our clan. Until we met the Star People, the only ones capable of killing a Dragon King was another King.”

It sounded vicious to Derek. “And how did you become the King of Kings?”

“The strongest of each clan leads. The males are bigger than the females, which is why we never had Queens. It requires even more strength to be the King of Kings. The largest dragons are the Golds and Silvers. Throughout our long history, either a Gold or a Silver has led the Kings.”

Derek nodded as he took in everything while traversing the tunnel. “If all of you were so powerful, what went wrong?”

“Fucking humans,” Merrill replied.

Con said, “When mortals arrived, we took pity on them. The Kings approached them. It was the first time any of us shifted. It allowed us to communicate with them. We carved out space for them, taught them to hunt, and showed them what plants were edible.”

“But it wasna enough,” Merrill said. “They always wanted more.”

Con was silent for a moment. “Aye. They did. Most of the Kings had given up land for the humans. Many of us even walked among them, taking them as lovers. The man I called brother then, the King of Silvers, believed he had found his mate in a human. Ulrik’s uncle believed he should be King of their clan and conspired to turn the female against Ulrik. I discovered her plan to murder Ulrik, and the Kings stopped her. Ulrik didna take it well.”

“He was angry at us for no’ letting him deal with his lover, but he wouldna take it out on us. Instead, he went after the humans,” Merrill said.

Con nodded. “Once the war began, it was difficult to stop. Ulrik and his Silvers attacked the humans, and that set them after others. We were no’ just battling mortals but also our own. I commanded the Silvers and Ulrik to return to Dreagan, our home base. Ulrik and four of his largest Silvers ignored me. While I was trying to reason with Ulrik, the humans were hunting down the smaller dragons and decimating them.”

“Because you ordered us no’ to kill any of them.”

Derek heard the animosity in Merrill’s voice and glanced at him. Merrill kept his gaze forward, not looking at Con or Derek.

“We made a vow the day the humans arrived,” Con said. “We said we would protect them.”

Merrill grunted. “Over our own.”

“You could have killed all the mortals. Why didn’t you?” Derek asked.

Con blew out a breath. “It would make us murderers, making all of us incapable of being Kings. The magic would’ve replaced us.”

“So, we trapped the Silvers with the same magic we used on you,” Merrill told him. “Then we sent our dragons away because we knew the conflict would continue endlessly.”

Derek realized they’d not mentioned something. “What happened to Ulrik?” he asked.

“We bound his magic and banished him.” Con paused. “It was the worst day of my life. But he found his way back. He’s leading the Kings at Dreagan while I’m here.”

It felt as if doors were opening in Derek’s mind with each step he took, allowing old memories to surface. He knew that he would reach another hidden door in exactly thirteen steps. “You sent the dragons away, but the Kings remained? Why?”

“Someone had to protect Earth. We hid away on Dreagan until dragons fell into myth and legend among the humans. Then we walked among them,” Con answered.

Derek walked to a waist-high boulder and stopped. He stared at it. “The mortals didn’t know what you were?”

“They’re oblivious to much,” Merrill replied.

Con raked a hand through his blond hair. “I always hoped we might bring the dragons home someday.”

“I always knew that was never possible.”

Derek glanced at the two Kings, who stared at each other. He returned his attention to the boulder and wrapped his fingers around a small rock atop it. Magic filled his palm and moved into the rock. Light filled the carvings that rose from the floor to intertwine in an elaborate motif before meeting at the top in another flourish. The door slid open silently. Derek walked through the opening as a cool blast of air greeted him.

“Bloody hell,” Merrill murmured.

Three tunnels sat before them. Derek looked at each of them. It had been a long time since he had seen these tunnels. Villette had kept him out of them for a reason. Maybe she knew the memories she’d locked away would be revealed the moment he stood here.

“What are they?” Con asked.

Acid burned in Derek’s stomach. He didn’t want to be here. He didn’t like the memories that inundated him. But there was no holding them back or ignoring them. Faint screams reached him, but they were echoes of the past, not something from the present. They were the same screams that had assaulted him when he lay injured in the cavern.

Merrill had said the dead were talking to him. But he didn’t hear any words. He heard cries. If only that was all. He also felt pain, anguish. Fear.

“Derek?”

He found Con standing before him. Derek wished Con and Merrill weren’t there. He wanted to erase this part of his history, but there was no escaping the past.

“This is where Villette brought the dragons.” Derek’s voice was gruff from the emotions now choking him.

A muscle ticked in Con’s temple—the only response on his carefully restrained visage. “And?”

Did he have to give details? Wasn’t it better to leave things as they were? Con didn’t budge. Neither did Derek. “It’s where she killed them.”

Fuck. Saying the words aloud was like having his stomach sliced open.

“What did you do?” Merrill demanded.

Derek didn’t take his eyes off Con. “I fought her. Or tried to. Afterward, she wiped my memories for the first time.”

“You remember that?” Con asked, skepticism dripping from his voice.

“Coming here triggered something.”

Merrill came to stand beside the two of them. “How many times did she mess with your mind?”

Derek swallowed as he turned his head to Merrill. “I don’t know. I know this place, though. I remember finding a dragon here and being elated. And I remember watching her kill it.” He closed his eyes, the memory playing as if it were happening right then. “She told me a lie I didn’t believe, and I got between her and the dragon.” He opened his eyes and pointed to the right. “I stood there. There was a flash, and then nothing.” He pointed to another place on the left. “I stood there once. And there, and there.” He indicated all the places. “All with the same outcome.”

Con blew out a breath as tension eased from his body. “Where do the tunnels lead?”

“The one on the right will take us to a dead end. The left will bring us to Stonemore.”

Merrill glanced at the middle one. “And that one?”

“The cavern we were in,” Derek answered.

Miena shoved rubble from her as she climbed to her feet. She was covered in dust. The top of the tower was no more, blown away. The roof and walls were gone, leaving her staring out at the city. The floor was cracked, and every piece of furniture had splintered into tiny pieces or was gone.

“My queen.”

She glanced over her shoulder at Aksel, where he stood on what was left of the stairs. He was bleeding from a head wound. Half his face was coated in pink dust from the sandstone. Miena scanned the debris for signs of the woman and children.

There were no appendages sticking out, no blood.

No bodies.

“Who was that?” Miena demanded as she faced Aksel.

He swallowed, his eyes darting about nervously. “Someone suspected of doing magic.”

“Suspected?” she asked in a soft voice that belied her wrath.

Aksel nodded hastily. “She looked out of place. So, I had her picked up and brought here.”

“Did she use magic to try and get away?”

He shook his head and swallowed again.

“You fear what you don’t understand,” she said as she slowly walked to him. “Do you know what I am?”

His hands shook as he clasped them together. Whether it was in fear or pain, she didn’t know or care. “You have claimed the throne.”

She waited until she stood before him before leaning close and whispering, “But do you know what I am?”

“Magic,” he replied softly.

Her mouth curved into a smile. “You’ve been killing everything with magic in sight. Are you going to try and take my life?”

“N-nay.”

“You wouldn’t be able to if you wanted.” She turned back to the destroyed room.

Behind her, Aksel’s voice wobbled as he said, “I don’t understand. You asked us to find those with magic.”

“So I did.” She looked down and wiped some dust from her arm, but it was all over her. She touched her cheek, and her fingers came back pink. She intended to find out who the woman was.

“If I may be so bold, why?”

Miena sighed and spun to look at the priest. “Because I want them.” She pointed to the top of the palace. “Do you see that portion of balcony to the far left? I was locked in that room for thousands of years by my dear sister.” She returned her gaze to him. “The one you called The Divine.”

His brow furrowed.

“She discovered my secret and betrayed me.” Her stomach clenched thinking about it, even now, all these eons later. “Our kind thrives on power. I was determined to be the strongest. Do you know how I did that?”

Aksel slowly shook his head.

“I found a way to acquire it. There are many, many beings out there with magic, but the weakest of all are the humans. And the purist are their children. The younger, the better.”

The priest’s frown deepened.

“I take their magic. I can’t believe none of my other siblings have done such. Not even Villette. Stupid of her when you look at how things turned out.” Miena shrugged. “Villette might have found a way to lock me away, but it didn’t stop me from getting to the children through their nightmares. My sister learned of that quickly enough and devised another plan. She made all of you fear magic. You turned on each other, just as she knew you would. There needed to be a rule while making sure I couldn’t get to the children. What better way than to use religion?”

His face went pale.

Miena laughed. She could well imagine Aksel’s internal struggle at learning that everything he believed in was a lie. But she was done playing. “The point is, I’ve been starved for so very long. I need magical kids, and I need them now. Get to the other names on your list.”

Aksel said nothing as he hurried down the steps so fast his heel slipped on the edge of a stair and he landed on his back. He glanced up at her as he got to his feet and ran.

Miena anxiously rubbed her finger along the outside of her thumb. After her clash with Eurielle and the battle, she was depleted. If she was to come out on top, she needed more power. And fast. She had been counting on the children. Three wouldn’t have been enough, but it would’ve been something.

The woman was a concern, but she was something Miena would handle once she put Villette in her place and killed the Kings. Miena looked toward the palace as her thoughts turned to Derek. He was a masterpiece, but he had to die. It had taken her countless attempts to create him, but she had done it once, and she could do it again.

What troubled her was his strength. She had purposely made him fast and strong, but he shouldn’t be able to resist a hit from her. Yet, he had. It had to be because she had gone so long without the children’s magic. Once she had satiated herself, she would once more reign supreme.

And once she had set things on Zora to rights, the rest of her siblings would have to acknowledge what she had done. They would have to accept that she was the strongest of them. And she would do what none of them had been able to do before. She would lead them.

“Then we go to the left tunnel,” Con said.

Merrill walked toward the shaft. “The palace is huge. Miena could be in any number of places, including the labyrinth of passages in the mountain.”

“Nay,” Derek said, his gaze still on the center tunnel. “We need to go here.”

The two Kings looked at him. It was Con who asked, “Why?”

“I don’t know. Something is pulling me.”

Merrill peered into the middle passage. “There’s nothing in that cavern. Unless there’s a way to Stonemore.”

Derek shook his head. The soft screams that had battered him now came at him from one direction—the central tunnel. “There are answers there.”

“You hear them again,” Merrill said.

Con looked between them. “Hear what?”

“He can hear the dead.”

Con’s eyes widened. “That is a rare gift. If the dead have something to tell you, listen.”

Derek hesitated.

“What are they saying?” Merrill asked as he came up beside him.

Derek pulled his gaze from the passageway to look at first Merrill and then Con. “Screams. They’re just screaming.”

“Follow it,” Con urged.

He knew little about this so-called gift . Had he always had it? Or was it something new like breathing ice? A search of his memories brought back nothing. Unless he could only hear dragons that had died. That would make sense. He hadn’t been around other dragons except for Bryok. And Villette had kept him away from the tunnels and the cavern.

Derek started toward the middle tunnel with Con and Merrill a few steps behind him. The moment he entered the passage, the shrieks became louder, the pull harder. A shout behind him drew him to a stop. Derek turned to find Con and Merrill standing at the entrance.

“We can no’ get in,” Merrill said.

Because whatever was here only wanted him. He could return later. After Miena was defeated, and Kora was by his side once more. Derek pivoted to return to the Kings when mist churned from the wall, and the head of a dragon rushed him. Derek lifted his hands, the fog scattering as soon as it touched his skin.

“Go,” Con bade. “We’ll head to Stonemore.”

Derek barely heard him over the screams. He nodded and turned on his heel to continue down the tunnel.