Page 38 of Winter's Dragons. Frozen Flames
Chapter Ten
Treachery
Emmerich
The first thing I became aware of when I came to was the sound of a familiar, panicked voice calling out Cassia's name. "Queen Cheimon! Queen Cheimon, can you hear us?"
I cracked my eyes open, only to find that I was once again in the physical world, with my soulmate by my side and Viveka bending over us, attempting to provide Cassia with medical assistance. Thank the gods. My day was showing improvement.
"I can hear you fine, Viveka," Cassia said, as if in confirmation of my thoughts. As expected, she was stirring as well, and while her magic was still restless, it appeared to be mostly due to her anger, rather than any persisting physical damage.
I was still grateful that Alva was present to check her over since the kind of experience Cassia had just gone through always left traces. "Lie down and let Viveka look you over, treasure," I told her.
I should have known better than to think it would be so easy. Cassia shook her head, freed herself from the tentative grasp of the still frantic nisse and got up. "We don't have time for that. We need to get to the palace."
I wanted to argue that her health took priority over handling the traitor, but unfortunately, the enchantment that had hurt Cassia was still being cast, as evidenced by the fact that the caverns were still shaking, threatening to collapse on top of us. Most of the amaroks had evacuated, but a few males had stayed behind and appeared to be attempting to make sure we didn't get stuck down here.
It was an admirable effort, if unnecessary. Cassia waved a hand, and the ice that hindered our departure dissipated. "Quickly. Everyone, out. I will track down the culprit behind this crime. Viveka, help the wounded once you're all safe. Emmerich, with me."
I didn't need to be told twice. When she rushed out of the cavern, I followed, doing my best to remain calm even if my dragon was still raging inside me in fury and outrage. There were so many things I would have liked to say, so many emotions that bubbled inside me, threatening to choke me with their intensity. All of it had to wait, just a little while longer, until we removed the worthless piece of dung who had dared to harm my female.
Cassia's magic remained strong enough to carry us to the palace as swiftly as it had brought us here, and before long, we had made our way back to The Frozen Peaks. As soon as I got a good look at the mountain, I was eerily reminded of the day my fellow dragons and I had returned from The Realm of Eternal Bounties, only to find Cassia on the verge of losing control of her abilities. The damage was much worse this time than during the episode caused by Jack's enchantment, and I had no doubt that there would be casualties. A good part of the settlement was already buried under tons of snow and the entrance to the citadel was almost completely blocked off by collapsed stone. The sound of splintering ice combined with distant echoes of roars and screams in a cacophonous, obscene symphony that awoke the deepest, most savage part of me and cried for retribution.
"He will pay for this," Cassia hissed as she took in the sight of the shaking mountain. "He will pay, in blood."
I perfectly agreed.In the short time since we'd arrived in Chronikos, my fellow dragons and I had come to see The Palace of Serenity as our home. We hadn't built Cassia a second lair yet, but we had become comfortable in hers, since everywhere we turned, in every pillar of ice and beautiful engraving, we could see our soulmate. The fact that the palace had once again been attacked was an offense that could not be born. In Terra Dracones, that alone would've warranted the death penalty.
I really, really hoped Cassia would reconsider her stance on evisceration because this had gone too far.
Fortunately, between my magic and hers, we managed to make our way to Cassia's quarters without too much effort. When we entered the apartment, the sight that greeted our eyes was just as disheartening as we expected. Everything was a ruin, the furniture overturned, the icy walls cracked and Cassia's prized belongings scattered all over the place like trash. More importantly, we took note of the eerie light coming from the direction of one particular side door.
These rooms, which we so often used to ravish our beautiful female and show her just how much she meant to us, held the answer to Snegurka's escape and the mysterious attack on Cassia, and that just added insult to injury.
Together, Cassia and I rushed to the side door and pushed it open. Beyond it, in Cassia's meditating chamber, we found exactly what Kerryn and Raijin had told us we would—Cassia's own lieutenant, February, bent over the unconscious body of Ded Moroz and engaged in some kind of ritual.
"February, what are you doing?" Cassia asked softly.
It was a rhetorical question more than anything else. Cassia knew exactly what he was doing, and she had known ever since Kerryn and Raijin had given her the bad news, back in her mindscape.
It also served its purpose—that of making February stop casting his spell on his own, without us needing to interfere and potentially make the ritual more unstable than it already was.As soon as Cassia spoke, February abandoned his enchantment and shot to his feet, giving her his full attention."Y-Your Majesty, I... This isn't what it looks like. I..."
"You what?" Cassia prodded, the level tone of her voice belying the anger I knew she felt.
February must've realized there was no point in trying to convince Cassia of his innocence. He looked from Cassia to me and his expression twisted into a grimace of disdain and hatred. Magic bloomed at his fingertips and he lifted his hand, presumably ready to attack us.
I blasted him away before he could go through with his plan. My fire blast struck him so hard he went flying against the wall, his robes smoking and his incipient enchantment withering away. "That's not a good idea," I hissed at him. "You should know, February, that firedrakes don't take kindly to having their mates attacked. And we might be vulnerable to ice magic, but you'll find the reverse is valid too. You don't like fire very much, do you?"
February stared at me with wide, panic-filled eyes. He was right to be afraid. Cassia had told me that for the moment, she needed her treacherous lieutenant alive, but once she was done with him, all bets were off.
To his credit, February wasn't completely paralyzed by his fear. He did get up and attempted to make a beeline for the door. It didn't work, of course, since Cassia and I were in the way, and I grabbed him before he could get too far. "You're not going anywhere," I said, dumping him onto the floor once again.
Cassia paid us no heed. Instead, she knelt in the middle of the meditation chamber and pressed her hands to Ded Moroz's forehead. As soon as she made contact with him, she grimaced and recoiled. "A power transference ritual, February?" she asked as she got up. "Really? What could've possessed you to make such an attempt?"
"I had to!" her lieutenant screeched. "It was the only way! The realm needs a real ruler, not someone like, like... you. Someone who consorts with... beasts. With disgusting, demonic creatures that don't belong on this planet at all!"
I sneered at him in revulsion. "You can call me as demonic as you want, February, but I've yet to kill a hatchling for my own self-interest. I think that's far more disgusting than anything I could ever do."
Cassia had told me that February was a dracophobe, but she hadn't known his bigotry was so bad, that he would be capable of something so horrible because of his fear. Granted, our parents' arrival must've terrified him, especially since he hadn't really known about our presence at all. Even so, that was no excuse for turning on his queen, on his realm and his people.
