It looked like the lords had filled Lorance in on the details while I’d been out cold. But there was still a chance he could be our traitor, and I needed him to know that I hadn’t ruled it out yet.
I sat up. “You saved my life in the Outlands, and so I’m giving you my trust. If you break it, if I find out you’re a traitor, I will gut you myself. Are we clear?”
Lorance’s throat bobbed and he nodded. “Crystal. And if I may…the other Dreki and the mageri will need to be informed of your existence. I suppose the lords’ armies will have felt the surge of power created by the mating ceremony, but I feel an official coronation is in order. With your permission, I would like to organize it.”
“Primian won’t like that,” Vesper said with a hint of snideness to his tone.
Orion opened his mouth to speak but I cut him off.
“I don’t know Primian. I know Lorance. So yeah, you have my permission, and if Primian has a problem he can take it up with me.”
Was that queenly enough?
“It’s wise to keep your enemies close,” Orion said.
“No offense, Orion, but I’d rather just make my enemies dead.”
Vesper’s eyes lit up with glee. “My sentiments precisely.”
I climbed off the bed and stretched, reveling in the sensation of power coursing through me only to find the lords looking at me as if they wanted to pounce. It hit me then that I’d just bound myself to three extremely powerful males, males I was going to have to sleep with, males I was going to have to rule, and how would Azazel fit into all this? What if he never came back?
All these factors threatened to overwhelm me, and there was only one person in the world I’d always gone to when overwhelmed.
“I need to see my dad. I need to see Illyrian.”
* * *
The children were in bed and the nursery was shrouded in deep silence. Helgi sat vigil at Illyrian’s bedside. She looked up as I entered, and her face froze in confusion.
“Helg, what’s wrong?”
“What happened to you?” she asked. “You’re…different.”
There was no arguing with Helg’s intuition. “Turns out I’m the dragon queen’s daughter. I just did a mating ceremony with the lords and got my anklet off.”
Her gaze dropped to my boots as if she could see through the leather to my bare ankle.
“Turns out it was a suppressor put on me by Illyrian, who just happens to be mageri.”
“It’s a long story?” she asked.
“Yeah. It is.”
“I got time.”
That was my Helgi, a roll-with-the-punches kind of gal.
I took the seat on the opposite side of the bed and slipped my hand into Illyrian’s. He looked pale and small lying in the huge bed.
“His pulse is stronger,” Helgi said. “Whatever drug they gave him is wearing off.” Her voice sounded thicker. “I thought I’d never see you again.”
“Nah, you would have come back for me.”
“Dammit, Anya.” She glared at me, her mouth trembling. “That wasn’t fair. Making me leave you wasn’t fair.”
“I couldn’t let you and Illyrian die.”
She tucked in her chin. “If it had been anyone else but Illyrian…”
“The kids.”
She gave me a lethal look. “Anyone but Illyrian or the kids, I’d have let them die. I’d have said ‘fuck you, Anya.’”
“I know. But there’s hope now. We have hope.”
I filled her in on Illyrian’s memoirs.
“Eamon’s your dad…” Helgi gave a low whistle. “Fuck. Royce still bugs me, though. Why did he want you so bad?”
“It doesn’t matter. He didn’t get me, and that, in my book, is a good thing.”
“Did the Dreki kill him?”
“I don’t know. Some Draco got away.”
“Damn, you might get to fly.”
Excitement bubbled inside me. “I’m not getting my hopes up.”
“If you do, can I ride you?” She gave me her dirty smile.
“It’s the only way you’ll ever get to ride me.” I winked.
She guffawed. “You’re not my type.”
Illyrian’s hand flexed in mine and he groaned softly.
“He’s waking up,” Helgi said.
I leaned closer. “Dad? Dad, can you hear me? You’re safe now.”
He opened his eyes slowly and his gaze focused on me. His eyes widened and he tried to sit up, scrambling to gain purchase.
“Whoa, calm down, Dad. It’s okay, it’s me, Anya.”
He grabbed my arm and pulled me close. “No. It’s not okay. It’s not.”
“Dad, you’re safe. You’re safe now.”
He gripped me tighter, his eyes wild. “But she isn’t.”
“Who?”
He let out a frustrated sob. “She’s alive. The dragon queen’s alive.”
To be continued…
Anya’s adventure continues in Dragon Ashes.
Click HERE to order.
Other books by Debbie Cassidy
The Gatekeeper Chronicles
Marked by Sin
Hunted by Sin
Claimed by Sin
The Witch Blood Chronicles
(Spin-off to the Gatekeeper Chronicles)
Binding Magick
Defying Magick
Embracing Magick
Unleashing Magick
The Fearless Destiny Series
Beyond Everlight
Into Evernight
Under Twilight
The Chronicles of Midnight
Protector of Midnight
Champion of Midnight
Secrets of Midnight
Shades of Midnight
Savior of Midnight
Chronicles of Arcana
City of Demons
City of the Lost
City of Everdark
City of War
For the Blood
For the Blood
For the Power
For the Reign
For the Hunt (novella)
Heart of Darkness
Captive of Darkness
Bane of Winter
Fate’s Destiny
Deadworld
Deadworld
Dead City
Dead Sea
Dead End
The Nightwatch Academy
Shadow Caster
Shadow Weaver
Shadow Warrior
Shadow Master
The Nightwatch Series
Ghost of a Chance
Give up the Ghost
Ghost at the Feast
Lay the Ghost
Deadside Reapers Series
Reaper Unexpected
Reaper Uninvited
Reaper Untamed
Reaper Unveiled
The Iron Fae Series
Taste My Wrath
Feel My Power
Dragon Guard Series
Dragon Trial
Dragon Rising
Dragon Ashes
Dragon War
Survivor’s Heart (Planet Athion World)
Novellas
Rogue
Rebel
Survivor
Standalone Novellas
Blood Blade
About the Author
Debbie Cassidy lives in England, Bedfordshire, with her three kids and very supportive husband. Coffee and chocolate biscuits are her writing fuels of choice, and she is still working on getting that perfect tower of solitude built in her back garden. Obsessed with building new worlds and reading about them, she spends her spare time daydreaming and conversing with the characters in her head – in a totally non psychotic way of course. She writes High Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Space Fantasy, and Reverse Harem. Connect with Debbie via her website at debbiecassidyauthor.com or twitter @authordcassidy. Join her Reader Group or sign up
