Border Lair (2 page)

I know, my dear child. Jared is a hard man. His emotions are held close inside. In fact, I’m amazed he even let go enough to kiss you. He’s not a knight to court the ladies. Let him be for a while. He has much in his past that he needs to come to terms with if he is to ever reclaim that portion of his life.

After long moments thinking on the dragon’s words and that startling kiss, Adora finally slept.

z z z

The next day Adora woke to an empty chamber for the first time since she’d been hurt. Her back was on fire with pain as she slowly remembered the events that had confined her to the bed for the past few days. She’d come under attack by huge venom-spitting skiths while walking back to her forest home. Her little house in the woods was destroyed now, infested and torn apart by the giant snake-like creatures their Skithdronian enemies drove across the border.

Adora had only escaped them and their snapping jaws by climbing the tallest tree she could find. She’d known she was going to die, clinging to the top of a tree, her specially treated leather clothing smoking from the spray of skith venom that had hit her from the waist down.

A scream had sounded through her mind as she prayed to the Mother of All that her end would be fast and as painless as possible. Then Adora had sought the mind of the dragoness who had practically raised her. Her mind had sent out a call—much stronger than she realized—to Lady Kelzy and miraculously, the dragon had heard. Kelzy had summoned her knight, Sir Jared, and two other fighting dragons and knights and raced to her rescue. It was Kelzy who had plucked her out of the tree with wickedly sharp claws.

And for that brave action, Kelzy was in torment now, Adora knew. The dragoness blamed herself for the scratches she had unwillingly inflicted on Adora’s back with the razor sharp talons. Adora also knew the daring mid-air grab was the only way she could have been rescued from that tree without putting all of them in even more danger from the multitude of crazed skiths twining around its base.

Skiths were afraid of dragon fire, but had their own weapons and could fell a dragon with alarming ease. Lady Rohtina, the young golden dragon, had in fact been mortally wounded while providing cover for Kelzy's daring swoop.

Thank the Mother, Rohtina had been healed of her grave wounds. She had managed to limp back to the Lair, at which point Adora's daughter, Belora, had been able to heal her. It had been a very close call though. One that drove home to all that war with Skithdron was coming fast, and this sudden invasion by venomous skiths was only the first wave.

Adora shrank back with a sigh as the cuts on her back protested. They had scabbed over for the most part but were still very painful. Kelzy’s apologetic and remorseful clucking almost made it hurt more. Adora told the dragon over and over that she was not to blame but Kelzy would hear none of it. She was wracked with guilt over hurting her “baby” even it if had been the only way to save her life.

Kelzy's knight partner kept careful watch over her too. Sir Jared had barely left her alone, forever checking her wounds or seeking to make her more comfortable. Jared wasn't a chatty sort of man, but his steady, unsmiling presence had been oddly comforting. He was so solid and had such a pure heart. He had been hurt deeply—Adora knew with a certainty stemming from her own healing gift and intuitive nature—but he was a good honest man, though one who did not make friends easily.

He was also more ruggedly handsome than any man Adora had ever seen. Appearing only slightly older than she, he had short dark brown hair gone silver at his temples and striking deep ocean blue eyes. He kept himself neat at all times and commanded great respect from all the other knights as well as the dragons who lived in this new Lair.

Adora knew his bond with Kelzy kept Jared from aging as a normal man would. When dragons bonded with their knights, and by extension with their knights’ chosen mate, the dragon magic worked to slow the humans’ aging process considerably. Jared had partnered with Kelzy more than a decade ago and he probably hadn’t aged much since, though his penetrating gaze reflected the wisdom of his years.

Adora dozed through most of the day, only waking when Jared came to bring her meals. He was distant today after their passionate encounter and made no reference to it, only staring long and hard at the purple love bite on her neck when he’d first seen her. Other than the leap of fire in his eyes when he saw his mark upon her skin, he had shown no emotion at all. Adora quickly gave up on the idea of trying to explain her hasty words of the night before. She was too tired anyway and in too much pain to sort it out now. She fell into a deep sleep that night without further complications from Jared.

The black dragon winged in under cover of darkness. No one saw him land except the few sentries posted to stand guard and lend assistance to any who should need it. Black dragons were rare. In fact, only the royal line could boast the starkly gleaming tar-colored scales that characterized this dragon, so it was understandable word of his presence in the Lair spread quickly.

The tall man who emerged from the shadows a few moments later—

dressed all in black, with the same gleaming dark light in his hazel eyes as that of the dragon—strode forward confidently though he’d never visited this Lair before. The sentries bowed to him, as was his due, and received a regal nod in return.

He was not the king, but he was damn close. Prince Nico preferred to leave the political intrigues to his older brother while he pursued more…stealthy pursuits. As spymaster for the king, he was aptly suited to the task at hand.

Nico had not arrived at this new Border Lair by accident. No, he was on a mission of the highest importance to the royal family. His mission would either bring rare royal blood back into the fold or expose an imposter.

The Prince of Spies. That’s what the dragons laughingly called him and it was an apt title. He prided himself on his ability to get in and out of places with none the wiser to his presence, but the trip to this out-of-the-way Lair was official business.

Greetings, Lady Kelzy. What news do you have for me? Nico sent the message to the mind of the blue-green dragon whose glistening body was spread out in the wallow before him. He’d known the layout of the new Lair even before he left the palace and had made it his business to know where the leaders of this particular Lair lived. Kelzy’s head rose up in surprise, swiveling on the long, sinuous neck to face him. Her aquamarine eyes glinted with happiness.

Nico! You’re here already. I should have known you’d hear about the events of the last few days before we could send official word.

Prince Nico loved the easy manner of this particular dragon. She had taught him a great deal as a youngster and guarded him when he was still too young to protect himself. In a way, she had been like a second mother to him and his brothers, though she was just one of many dragons who served the royal family directly.

Her knight partner, though, was one of Nico’s favorite people in the world. Sir Jared had taught him to fight and how to protect himself. He had also trained the young prince in the arts that helped him become not only a spy and reluctant politician, but a true diplomat when it was needed.

Prior to the tragedy that had taken his wife and child from him, Sir Jared Armand had been one of the old king’s most trusted counselors. That one horrible event had taken the spark from Jared’s eyes and sent him into self-imposed exile in the mountains. It was there Kelzy found him and finally claimed the man as her knight partner. The soul-deep bond between dragon and knight gave Jared renewed purpose, though he was still alone and would probably never marry again. The first time had undoubtedly been much too painful to bear.

Nico bowed in respect to the motherly dragon and smiled as she moved closer to him.

It’s true then, what I’ve heard? You’ve found a mother and daughter who display the royal gifts?

Kelzy’s great head bobbed in eagerness. Both Adora and her daughter, Belora, are true healers. Belora healed a mortal wound to Rohtina, the dragon partner of Lars, one of Belora’s mates.

How did Rohtina come by her injuries?

You mean you don’t already know? Kelzy’s eyes snapped in humor at the Prince of Spies.

Actually, I can guess. Skiths? He fairly spit the name of the huge snake-like creatures that gave the neighboring kingdom its name. The king of Skithdron was using the skiths on the border—herding them and coaxing them across the border to destroy villages and towns in preparation for a large-scale invasion. The man was mad, Nico suspected. It was said King Lucan had spent too much time tampering with magics better left alone.

Rumor had it dark magics had changed him and warped his mind.

Skiths were killing machines that slaughtered everything in their path.

The only thing they were even remotely afraid of was fire and luckily the dragons had that in quantity.

The skiths attacked Adora. Jared and I had to snatch her from a tree.

Rohtina and my son, Kelvan, engaged the skiths below. That’s how Rohtina was so badly injured. She got too close to the skiths and nearly paid with her life.

Where is the woman now?

Kelzy’s great head rotated to the doorway where she had been resting when he came in. The suite was arranged, like most sets of rooms in any Lair, around the central, heated oval sand pit that was the dragon’s wallow. All the rooms flowed around the wallow with archways large enough for the dragons to lay their heads in if they so desired. In this way, the dragons and their human families could be together in all things.

She lives with you?

She is my daughter. When my last knight died, I went into the forest to recover. I met little Adora there. She was only a toddler when she first found my cave. I returned her to her family, but they couldn’t hear me.

But she could?

Kelzy nodded slowly. They both knew the ability to hear dragons was passed from generation to generation. If the people who claimed to be Adora’s parents could not hear the dragon as the child could, they were not her birth parents.

She spent most of her time with me until she was just coming into her teen years. That’s when your parents were killed and your brother, Roland, took the throne. I moved back to the palace then to aid Roland in his new duties, but it became clear to me over time, that he needed wise counsel.

When things had settled and Roland was steadier in his role as king, I set off on my quest, in search of Jared, I remembered him from when he’d served your father. He’d always impressed me as a strong warrior and never failed to give your father good counsel. I hoped he could be convinced to do the same for your brother. It took a while to find him, but when I did…

You chose him as your new knight partner. Nico finished her sentence with a respectful nod.

Kelzy’s eyes dimmed with remembered sadness. I lost track of Adora, I’m shamed to say. I went back to look for her years later, but she was long gone.

Her family had moved and no one knew where they went.

And you just found her again, after all these years?

Actually, my son, Kelvan, found her daughter. The girl was poaching in the forest and they argued over a stag. When she met my son’s partner, Gareth, he knew he’d found his mate. We celebrated their joining shortly after. When my son met Adora that first day, she talked of the dragon she knew in her youth and he knew she was talking about me. He convinced her to come here for a visit and we were reunited. The dragon’s jeweled eyes sparkled with remembered happiness. But Adora is a dedicated healer and wanted to return to her hut in the forest so she could tend her patients in the nearby village. When the skiths overran the village, they nearly got her too.

You said she climbed a tree to get away from them? She sounds like a brave woman.

Brave and ingenious! Jared gave her some treated leather before we left her in the forest and she fashioned it into the most remarkable garments. I asked Jared to give her some of my shed scales and she sewed them between layers of leather in her boots and in strategic spots on her clothes. She got sprayed pretty badly with skith venom, but not a scratch on her.

Then why is she recuperating? How did she get hurt?

That was my doing. I had to snatch her out of the tree and I clipped her with my talons. Kelzy seemed very upset by the incident. I hurt my own girl!

How could I have been so clumsy?

It happens to the best of us, Lady Kelz. It’s hard to be perfectly accurate all the time, much less under combat conditions, with such wickedly sharp talons. Don’t be so hard on yourself.

You’re a good boy, Nico.

The prince laughed outright. Only you would have the nerve to call me that, Lady Kelz.

At that moment, Jared emerged from the doorway Kelzy had indicated was Adora’s room, surprising Nico. The older knight looked worn and tired, but there was a light in his eyes that had been missing for many, many years.

“Nico, my boy! When did you get here?”

A smile spilt the older man’s face as he moved forward to catch Nico in a fierce hug. Jared was one of the few people in the world who would dare approach Nico and his siblings with such familiarity, but he was also one of the few people in the world who Nico actually loved as if he were part of his own family. Jared had been there for him after his parents’ deaths, and for that he would forever love the slightly older, wiser man.

“I just got here a few minutes ago. Kelzy was filling me in on the history of your guest.”

“Adora.” The way Jared spoke the woman’s name sent up warning signals in Nico’s mind. There was something between them, he realized with a start, though he never thought Jared would heal enough to let another woman into his life, even just a little.

“You think she’s of royal blood?”

Jared nodded. “I can’t see any other explanation for what’s happened.

Her daughter definitely has the wizard gift. She healed a dragon’s mortal wounds in front of half the Lair. They’re all treading on eggshells around her now from what I hear.” Jared chuckled, offering Nico a drought of mulled wine from the small kitchen area. “You’ll stay with us, won’t you?”