The heavy weight that had been sitting on Lucyan’s shoulders dissipated, and he wanted to dance. “A child!” he cried, his heart filling with elation. “Do you know which of us is thefather?”
Does it matter?the dragon god asked.All three of you will care for that babe as though he were your own. I brought the four of you together because this situation is far too complicated for a single ruler to handle. Working together, you may just have achance.
A son. Lucyan stared up at the god, stunned. They were to have a son, on the very first try. It was unheard of. “I…thank you,” he said fervently, bowing his head again. He had never felt so humbled in his life, but as he knelt before the dragon god, gratitude overcamehim.
“You said the oracle was an imposter?” Lucyan asked, his brain finally catching up. “Has he always beenone?”
No, the dragon god growled.His real name is Mathias Black, and he is a warlock. You should kill him sooner rather than later, as he murdered the real oracle some six years ago and took his face and name for himself. He has been subtly manipulating the population, turning the masses against us, as part of a larger plan to take over both Dragonfell andElvenhame.
“I knew it,” Lucyan spat. “The warlocks killed my mother, didn’tthey?”
Yes,the dragon god confirmed.They are the true enemy, though after all that has transpired between Elvenhame and Dragonfell, the elves are not your friends either. Dareena and Alistair are not safe at Castle Whitestone—you must get them back before it is toolate.
“We’ll need to recover the treasure first,” Lucyan said, his mind racing. “Theransom—”
Never mind the ransom,the dragon god said.Arolas is a petty bastard—he has not said as much to his father, but he would sooner see the dragon line end than accept any sum, no matter how high. If you play your cards right, you can get them back without paying, but much depends upon the elves. They must do something treacherous or dishonorable so that their goddess will be forced to concede aboon.
“And how am I supposed to make that happen?” Lucyan demanded. “I cannot very well manipulate the elves into doing such a thing from all the way overhere.”
All in good time,the dragon god said, sounding amused. He waved a hand, and the world turned hazy again. Lucyan tried to speak, but his mouth felt as if it had been stuffed with cotton. The world turned black around him as he sank to the ground, and the last thing he heard was the dragon god’s chuckle before he lostconsciousness.
14
By the timeAlistair and Dareena were escorted back to their rooms, his sickly pallor had returned, and he was beginning to sweat with fever again. A healer was sent to look at him, but once determining that it was dragon sickness resulting from the spell, she merely gave him a potion to cool his temperature, then left him tosuffer.
“You have to let me in to care for him,” Dareena snapped, flinging her door open so she could scold the guard posted outside their chambers. She could hear Alistair moaning in pain, and it was driving her mad with anger and fear for his health. “Someone needs to mop his brow and make sure he’scomfortable.”
“We’ve been given orders not to leave you two alone together,” the guard said sternly. “Prince Arolas doesn’t want you tupping each otheragain.”
Dareena’s cheeks burned with anger. “Does that sound like a man in the mood for ‘tupping?’” she demanded, stabbing a finger toward Alistair’s door. Some protective instinct surged inside her, eroding her common sense, and she marched right up to the guard, close enough to grab his sword. The guard merely looked down his nose at her—he dwarfed her by a good head and a half, and obviously did not consider her a threat. “He’s sick, and if he dies on your watch, there will be graveconsequences.”
The guard’s eyes flicked toward the door, then back at her. “Very well,” he said grudgingly. “But no funny business. I’ll be rightoutside.”
“Of course,” Dareena said sweetly, stepping aside. The guard opened Alistair’s door for her, then waved her in. He was tangled up in the sheets, tendrils of hair clinging to his sweaty brow, and Dareena felt a wave of pity as she looked upon his pain-contortedface.
“There now,” Dareena said soothingly as she untangled him from the bedding. She was tempted to undress him again so she could give him skin-to-skin contact, but she was acutely aware that the guard could come back in to check on them at any moment, so she merely climbed under the covers with him and snuggled up against his big, tremblingbody.
“I-I’m supposed to take c-care of you,” Alistair chattered as he wrapped his arms around her. He tucked his face into her hair and breathed deeply, likely soothing himself with her scent. “Not t-the other wayaround.”
Dareena kissed the top of his head. “We are partners, Alistair,” she said as she rubbed his back. “We take care of eachother.”
He only sighed deeply, relaxing into her embrace. Gradually, the shivers subsided, and the next thing Dareena knew, he was snoring lightly into her hair. Smiling a little, she played with the ends of his hair, twisting the silky blond locks around her fingers as she used her presence to keep the warlock spell at bay. She knew another bout of sex would rejuvenate Alistair again, but with that guard listening in thehall?
A knock came at the door, followed by the sound of a familiar voice. “Hello?” Princess Basilla called. “May I comein?”
Dareena blinked in surprise. She tried to get up to answer it, but Alistair mumbled something unintelligible and tightened his grip around her. “Yes,” she called back, even as an apprehensive shiver came over her. What would the princess say when she saw themtogether?
The princess entered the room, still dressed in the same pale green and gold gown from before. She looked a bit startled to see Dareena and Alistair in bed together, but the surprise morphed into a small smile as she pulled the chair out from beneath the small writing desk and sat down next to thebed.
“The two of you look cozy together,” she said, sounding almost wistful. Her green eyes, a shade lighter than Dareena’s, trailed over Alistair’s sleeping face, and she kept her voice low. “Almost as if you belongtogether.”
“Wedobelong together,” Dareena said possessively, pulling Alistair tighter againsther.
“Then why is it that you are married to Drystaninstead?”
“I’m not married,” she said, exasperation creeping into her voice. “There has been no time for a wedding. But when we do marry, I will be wedding all three of the brothers, not just one. I am already bound to all of them—I can feel the connection in my heart, just as clear as theydo.”
“That’s right,” Alistair said, finally opening his eyes. He pinned Basilla with a fierce stare that said there would be hell to pay if she tried to separate them, anti-dragon spell or no. “We belong to Dareena, and she belongs tous.”
