42

13

S

leeping fitfully in the stuffy cave, I had a dream.

I was hovering high above the throne room, looking down into the open skylight. It was the same view I’d had when King Draunar had taken me in his claws and flown upward, but now there was no dragon holding my body in mid-air. I was just there—floating. Witnessing.

The throne room was empty, save for Draunar in his emerald dragon form. Elias and Kodan stood in their human forms, weapons raised; then Elias roared and shifted into his wolf. He lunged forward, teeth bared. Kodan tried to grab the king and drag him backward, but she was no match for his bulk as a human, and he knocked her aside easily. Elias growled and slashed at Draunar’s body until his jaws were covered in blood. He fit his teeth around Draunar’s throat and bit down hard. Draunar thrashed under him, roaring and shrieking as he clawed at Elias, but eventually fell still. Elias staggered off of his corpse. He tilted his head up toward the sky and howled, long and mournful. Kodan stood, staring at the scene listlessly. Then, the wind shifted, and I began to plummet toward the throne room.

I woke up mid-fall, spasming awake with a gasp.

I swallowed hard and unclenched my fingers where they were grasped tight around the furs. I was covered in a thin sheen of sweat, and my heart was racing from the imaginary fall. I rubbed my forehead. How long had I been asleep? What time was it? I had no way of knowing.

My wolf perked into alertness, and I looked toward the door. My instincts prickled, and I pulled the fur higher up on my body as I propped myself up on one elbow.

Draunar burst through the obsidian door, his eyes blazing, rage radiating off him like a stench. “Did you plan this?” he roared.

I reeled back. “What?” I asked. “Plan what?”

“This little coup of yours,” he hissed. “Did you think this would work?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said. “What coup? What plan?”

Draunar exhaled hard, and the air shimmered with heat where he breathed. My eyes widened. Could he breathe fire in his human form too?

“Your idiotic king,” he said, spitting the word like a curse, “has broken the peace treaty we worked so tirelessly to craft. He broke it almost immediately. Was this your plan? Did you know he would do this?”

“Broke it?” I asked. Confusion and terror soured my stomach. What had Elias done? I’d made this decision to prevent war—and he’d immediately gone against that and launched an attack? Had he acted so impulsively? He didn’t understand that I’d done this for Frasia, and now he was making my sacrifice for naught.

Even though I felt betrayed, a small, wolfish part of me was relieved. He hadn’t waited for Shianga to attack Frasia. He’d brought the fight to Shianga instead. He’d gone to war for me. And at least if there was to be a battle, it was Shiangan buildings that would burn.

Guilt immediately raced through me at the thought. I hadn’t wanted any fighting at all. Or, more accurately, my human side hadn’t. My instincts did. My instincts wanted Draunar to pay for what he had done.

“While I was here with you,” he said, “your king and his generals launched an attack on my palace. As if the king had his forces here and were waiting for a chance to attack. You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”

I said nothing. I hadn’t known about that—not even a word. But it made sense. Perhaps when the king first suggested he wanted me as part of the negotiations, Elias or Kodan had called for reinforcements. Yet he hadn’t told me. Why hadn’t he told me?

“Why would I be here with you if I had known that?” I asked. “If I had wanted a battle, why wouldn’t I have just pushed for it by refusing your terms?”

Draunar sneered, then cut his gaze to the side. He knew I was right, even if this infuriated him. I never would’ve agreed to his terms if I had known Elias was truly ready to start a war. Would he have done it if I hadn’t agreed?

I’d never know. All I knew was I was trapped deep inside the mountain, while a battle raged on the polished grounds of the Shiangan palace.

“He is a fool,” Draunar growled. “Soon his pelt will adorn my throne, and Frasia will be mine.” He grinned cruelly, showing his golden canines. “Perhaps your king has done me a favor. Soon I will have not only the wolf queen as my trophy, but all of Frasia, too. Your silly little army is no match for the royal guard. You will stay here, safeguarded, while I deal with this nonsense. Then I will decide if you deserve to be punished for the King of Frasia’s mistakes.” He nodded, satisfied with this decision.

I said nothing.

Draunar turned back to me. His gaze skittered over my neck and shoulders, over the curve of my breast covered in the silk of my underclothes. I hiked the fur a little higher.

“You will be a lovely reward,” he said. “Something special for me to look forward to, once Shianga has claimed Efra.” Then he sighed dramatically and smoothed one hand over his hair. “First, though, I may be absent from your quarters as I deal with this situation. In my stead, Corrine will be managing your needs.”

“Who?”

Draunar waved a hand toward the door.

A woman stepped through the doorway. She was tall, with a narrow face and shimmering white hair that fell pin-straight nearly to her elbows. She was dressed in slacks and a long, loose robe, and moved with an almost otherworldly grace. She was so pale she looked almost translucent. I wondered how long it had been since she’d seen the sun.

“Corrine,” Draunar said, “show Reyna the space. I’ll return once I’ve dealt with the mess at the palace.”

Then, without another word, Draunar swept out of the room. I felt the air crackle over my skin as he shifted in the hallway and beat his dragon wings, stirring up the stuffy room of the cavern.