Page 36 of Taloned Heart

Zephyr had lived his life in a crypt while hiding from anyone who might see him. It was ridiculous to expect anything else from him.

Then the thought dawned on him and he snarled, “She used that to her advantage.”

“She absolutely did.” Beauty lifted a hand for a will-o’-the-wisp to land on, letting the little fairy creature dance in her palm for a few seconds. “Zephyr wanted someone to tell him what to do and how to be the man everyone expected. He didn’t want to listen to anyone but the elves, so certain that they would lead us into a new era with Lore gone. For a while, Margaret let him think she was helping him.

“I remember watching them in the corridors, unsure of what they were doing. Margaret would pull him into her office and she always had his ear. He started to twist into a different person. More fearful, always jumping at shadows and I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know how to help him, even though...” Beauty swallowed the words. “It doesn’t matter. I couldn’t stop him from listening to her and now look at where we are.”

He supposed that was one way to look at it. But there was another, softer way to view those memories. “You did whatever you could to help him, Beauty. But in times of hardship like that, he was taken advantage of. He’d never been in battle. Never lived in a castle or had people calling him Your Highness. Everything was new to him and she was the predator who took what he could offer and twisted him into something new and ugly.”

“She did.” Beauty’s voice lowered into almost a whisper. “She absolutely did.”

They walked on in companionable silence for a few moments, both of them lost in their thoughts. Abraxas couldn’t help but feel guilty for leaving them, even though he knew it was the only choice at the time. If he had known Lore would return, would he have left? Probably not. But then he never would have known there were more dragons out there. None of them would have found Tanis, and she wouldn’t have hatched more eggs.

No one knew the future, nor could they predict what would unfold. But he wouldn’t change how things had happened. Even if that meant his friends had to get hurt.

He glanced over his shoulder to see Beauty had paused for a moment. Her face tilted into the warm swamp breeze, her hair lank around her shoulders with grease and grime from their journey already. But her eyes were closed and her expression was serene.

This was a young woman who had come to terms with what had happened in her life. She was not afraid of the future or her past. She simply lived in the moment because that was where she was. He admired that about her.

“So the kingdom fell,” he prompted, one last question burning in his mind. “How did the two of you get separated?”

That serene expression disappeared instantly. “Margaret let us know what she was going to do with the humans. Her plan was, at first, to simply relocate them. She wanted them all out of the spaces where magical creatures lived, and Zephyr agreed to it. I could see that he didn’t want to. He just didn’t know how to tell her that he didn’t. And then... Well, then we started seeing the destruction first hand. I tried my best to get them to see reason, but Margaret wanted me out of the castle.”

“Of course she did,” he snarled. “You were the only person who could change Zephyr’s mind.”

“And I almost did.” The happiness in her voice and the pride made her shoulders straighten. “But I was too late. Right before they kicked me out of the castle, I saw they were already putting him in shackles.”

Then he ended up where Lore had seen him. Abraxas knew he could not bring that up right now.

Beauty didn’t need to know exactly what they’d done to him, at least not until after they’d saved him. He knew if Lore was in pain like that, or if he knew she was being tortured by Margaret’s people, he would do some very foolish things to save her.

But Abraxas was a dragon. He could afford to do foolish things because very little could hurt him. Beauty? Margaret would flay her alive right in front of Zephyr if she thought it would make him comply easier.

Shaking his head, he let his breath whistle out between his lips. “It’s a strange story and an odd life we lead. Don’t you think?”

Beauty shook her head as well, a wry grin on her face. “Such a story to tell our children someday when they live side by side with magical creatures, not understanding that there was ever a time when we hated each other.”

“It’s a future to fight for.”

“And one I have fought for my entire life.” She straightened and pointed up again. “It looks like she’s stopped.”

They both froze where they were, undecided if they wanted to join Lore or not. She had made it fairly clear that she needed time for herself, but Abraxas saw that she’d slipped into a cave and seemed to settle. Maybe that was a good sign?

Beauty glanced over at him, unsure herself. “Should I maybe go gather some wood?”

“Might be a good idea. Just let me talk to her for a bit.”

“If she’s not in a good mood...” Beauty lifted her hand and held up three fingers. “Give me a hand signal and I’ll find somewhere else to sleep for the night.”

“I’m sure everything is fine.”

“I don’t want to get in the middle of it.” Beauty mock shuddered, but the grin on her face made her seem anything but scared. “You two have a lot to talk about, and I don’t need to be a distraction. Like I said, she’s not the same person she once was. This version of Lore terrifies me.”

As she should. Beauty didn’t know that Lore could pop a man’s skull with her mind, or that she could slip through the very veil of life and death if she wanted. It was all rather strange to him, as well. Knowing that Lore was this powerful made him feel very weak, and he wasn’t so sure how to deal with that.

He’d learn, though. Because he had to.

Beauty wandered off, and he went to see what his mate was up to, and what kind of battle he needed to fight to get her back in the right state of mind.

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