Kastali Dun

Merrian shivered, curling in on herself. The winter months were not kind to those living in the dungeons. She tugged her threadbare blanket tighter about her shoulders.

"Here—" Reyr draped the other over her. He must have seen her shivering. She'd refused it the last time he'd offered, mostly out of spite. Now, she was too cold to even form words. She kept her gaze averted, even though she wanted to snap at him, to shove off his offering and ignore it. How dare he show any kindness towards her?! After how he'd treated her.

She was only in this mess because of him—because of his inner circle. She'd agreed to stand in as their imposter queen. There'd been nothing in the fine print about living as a prisoner. Then again, it was her fault for not considering the risks.

She'd believed the queen to be untouchable. Believed that the king's guards would be hellbent on protecting her, that no harm would ever come. Well, she'd been wrong.

About all of it.

Her thoughts jumped to Glenna Surati and some of the other shelter caretakers. What was happening now that the king was deposed, now that a tyrant sat on the throne? Would he still shell out funds for those in need? Or would he tear down every bit of infrastructure meant to help, dooming Dragonwall's citizens?

"Where are you from, originally?" Reyr's voice pulled her from her thoughts. "Here? Or, did you come from somewhere else before?" She didn't answer. "Still giving me the silent treatment, I see."

She clenched her jaw. Part of her wanted to tell him to shut up. The other part, the part that wasn't petty, decided to stay quiet.

"I'm not from Kastali Dun, myself," he said. She exhaled, shutting her eyes and leaning her head back against the stones. Maybe if she couldn't see him, she might ignore him better. "I spent most of my younger days in Fort Squall. My parents were fort leaders there. Didn't come to Kastali Dun until King Talon made me his shield. After...after Gemma died."

Her eyes twitched beneath her lids. She fought the urge to open them and look at him, if only to see his expression. Who was Gemma? Never mind, she didn't care.

"It was..." He exhaled. "Gemma was my mate and losing her broke something inside me."

Okay, maybe she did care, then. Just a little bit. Just a touch.

"I didn't want to go to the capital—after it happened, I mean. I wanted to slink off and lick my wounds. Maybe leave the kingdom altogether. Truthfully, I just wanted to die."

Now she really did care. Her eyes snapped open. The pain in his expression made her heart squeeze involuntarily.

"Talon convinced me to swear an oath, instead." A scoffing laugh fell from his lips. "I thought it might help me forget. Maybe even help me heal. Serving a greater purpose than myself—all that."

"Did it?" The words were out before she could stop them.

"Yes. And no. Gemma was half of my soul. She took that half with her when she died. But...it got easier. Hundreds of years passed. Sometimes I'd feel guilty. A whole day might pass where I didn't think of her. Not once. Then I'd go to bed angry for having been so selfish. For having gotten wrapped up enough to forget her, even if for a little bit."

Mer's chest caved in. "I'm sorry," she found herself saying. "That you lost her. That you were forced to carry on all these years without her."

He huffed. "I don't deserve your apology."

She lifted her shoulder to shrug.

"What about you?" he asked.

This time, she didn't ignore him. "What about me?"

"Where are you from?" he tried again.

She exhaled. "Up north. I was born in a village not far from Northedge, actually. I was sent to the big city to train when my family discovered that I had magic."

He made a humming sound.

"I spent ten years training with other mages. I never showed much promise. Not like my classmates. Simple cantrips, if I was lucky. But I did seem to have an affinity for healing—though not the kind of healing skilled mages possess. Pain relief, mostly, cuts, bruises, the easier maladies and sicknesses. I couldn't fix the rotting illnesses."

She pressed her lips together and fell quiet. She'd said more than she had intended to. Reyr didn't deserve to know anything about her. He'd never wanted to before. He must have been truly bored to ask in the first place. It wasn't like there was anything better to do.

"And your family?"

She scoffed. "Dead."

"I...I'm sorry." There was a long silence. "What happened?"

She studied him. There was genuine concern lining his features. Gods, she hated looking at him. He was a direct opposite to King Talon in so many ways. At least before, King Talon's scars made him difficult on the eyes. Now, he was the handsomest thing she'd ever seen. It made her want to despise him even more.

Only, she'd never despised anyone. No, that wasn't true. She hated a certain type of people.

"Mages," she said. Reyr's brows pulled together. "My parents and siblings got sick. I didn't know. I was still in the midst of my training, living in the city of Northedge with the other students. They got sick and asked for medical help, but didn't have the funds for a mage healer. The standard healers couldn't do anything for them. It was an infection, an extremely contagious one. It killed several families in my village."

She gritted her teeth, trying not to let the old, hot anger bubble up inside her. She'd gotten good at suppressing it over the years, over the decades.

"I'm sorry," Reyr said again. He hesitated, opening and closing his mouth, like he wanted to add something more. Then fell silent.

"Why do you hate me so much?" she found herself asking. It was the question she'd posed the day they'd lost the kingdom. A question that had eaten at her since the moment they met. Maybe now, he'd finally give her a real answer.

Reyr scoffed. "I already told you, I don't hate you."

"Right. You merely dislike me."

He lifted a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose, then exhaled, his hand dropping to his side. "I fell in love with her, you know. The queen. Claire. When she came to our kingdom as an outsider. Before she was anyone. Before she and Talon fell in love. How ridiculous is that? I betrayed my mate bond by falling in love with her, only to realize that my king also loved her. And worse still, I kept things from my king, secrets, her secrets, when I was honor bound to serve my king."

Mer frowned, uncertain where this was going.

"I left, naturally, but getting over her wasn't..."

"Did you? Get over her, I mean."

He closed his eyes, letting his head rest against the wall. For a while, she thought he might not answer. "Yes, and no. I still love her, I will always love her. But she belongs to another, and I have finally moved past the being in love with her aspects. I would still give my life for her in a heartbeat, but I no longer imagine what it would be like to—" He made an angry scoffing sound.

"To kiss her? To hold her and make love to her?"

"Yes. That. I feel guilty for ever even thinking about it. She's my queen. She's mated to my king. And I love them both dearly."

There was a long silence, then, "What does this have to do with disliking me?"

He sighed. "I have been through a lot of extreme emotions when it comes to Claire. I always wanted to hate her for what she did to me, but I couldn't. I could never."

"So instead, you chose to hate someone who merely looked like her," Mer said. Suddenly, his behavior made a lot more sense.

"I miss her. Miss them. Gods, I miss them so much," he admitted, running a hand over his face. "Seeing you, looking exactly like her, but knowing you weren't her, that I couldn't just hug you and be happy that you had returned to us. Knowing that she could be hurt, or worse, and seeing your face—her face on you—was the constant reminder that she wasn't here...it has been difficult."

Mer exhaled, her shoulders falling. "So, you didn't dislike me because I wasn't good enough to be her."

"No," he said emphatically. "I might have said something along the lines, but that was never really why. Do you...do you understand now?"

"I do."

"Please, forgive me." His gaze was earnest, and she saw something in the depths of his eyes. A lurking desperation. He really did want her forgiveness.

"I...I don't know if I can just—"

"I understand," he said, cutting her off. "I'm not asking for it right this moment, but perhaps in time."

"Perhaps, in time," she confirmed.

There was a click. They both froze. She immediately snuffed out the mage orb light, plunging them into darkness.

Not a moment too soon.

The door to their cell swung open. The last person she ever expected stood in the doorway.

"Feowen?!" she breathed.

"Well, hello there, Merrian. Glad to see you alive."

She surged to her feet, covering the distance between them as Feowen and two of her spriten guards—no, Claire's spriten guards—swept into the cell. Reyr was also on his feet. She threw her arms around Feowen, caring little that he wasn't really her guard. That he was a spriten prince and she was a nobody. Friends were allowed to hug.

"You came for us," she breathed into his shoulder, before embarrassment got the better of her and she backed away.

"In a sense," he said, setting a pile of supplies on the ground. He turned to Reyr. "Good to see you looking like yourself again. Here—" Reyr flinched but didn't move. Feowen's hands swept over his head while he hummed something under his breath.

Reyr gasped. Blinked. Then said, "You—how did you do that?"

Feowen only chuckled. "It won't be permanent. Kane will send his lackeys back to dose you with more dragon's bane again. Until then, I suggest you make the most of your telepathy. We're cut off, so we've no way to get into contact with the fort's drengr."

Reyr's eyes took on a far away look before he gasped. "Karanth says they've sworn allegiance to Kane, but they're alive and unharmed. For now."

"Karanth. For Kastali's leader?"

"Yes." Reyr's eyes went unfocused again. "Karanth said all the forts were required to swear oaths to Kane. That the sorcerer visited each one and made examples of any who refused. We lost..." He gasped, his chest tightening. "We lost six pairs."

Feowen winced, nodding. "Anyone who wished to stay alive was forced to. Don't hold it against them—"

"I don't. I'd rather our people live." Reyr exhaled. Mer saw the tension leave his shoulders.

"When Kane arrived, a number of us snuck off and didn't get caught." Feowen shot a wink at Merrian. "We've already formed a rebellion...of sorts."

Merrian perked up. "Jeanine, too?"

"Yes. She's safe. Pretty miffed that she didn't get to come along."

"What of the others? Verath? Dallin?" Reyr stepped forward. "I can't seem to reach them."

"You are our first stop." Feowen grinned. "We'll drop by their cells on the way out, so that you can have a little time to speak with them before you're dosed again." Feowen exhaled. "I wish I could get you out of here—"

"You can't," Reyr interrupted. "Kane made it clear. If we try to escape, if we move against him in any way, he will find ways to punish our people."

"Or turn you to stone," Feowen added.

"Or that, yes." Reyr rubbed his temples. Mer watched him. He'd transformed back into a ruler in minutes. His shoulders were straight, chin raised. "Tell me of your efforts. You mentioned a rebellion."

"Ah. Yes. That." Feowen grinned.

Mer listened with wide eyes as Feowen relayed everything that had happened since Kane's arrival. There was a cave below the keep that no one knew about. It was being used to hide Claire's spriten guards, along with a number of people they managed to get out. From there, they were exploring the passages, looking for one that led beneath the city, as a way out.

"It took us ages to find the one that brought us here," Feowen explained. "We came immediately, knowing you would need us."

"What's the plan?" Mer found herself asking. "How do we get our kingdom back?"

Feowen massaged his temples. "We've toyed with a few ideas. But it seems that anything we try will result in one outcome. The annihilation of dragon kind."

"Unless we can get the stones," Mer said.

"Unless, that," Feowen agreed. "Though, Dragonwall's people seem to have other ideas in mind?"

"Like what?" Reyr demanded.

Feowen sighed. "They've been making things difficult. There have been several uprisings, protests throughout the city. Unfortunately, anything drastic results in the deaths of whoever was behind it. Bodies strung from the castle walls, that sort of thing."

Merrian winced, bile rising in her throat.

"We've tried to spread the word—warned everyone to stand down. They won't have it. The people have a mind of their own."

Reyr rubbed his hands over his face. "Gods," he swore under his breath. "This is all falling apart."

"We thought about contacting my sister. But...even if she sends an army of sprites, Kane will probably demand they turn around and go home, or turn you all to stone as the alternative."

"Then, it's hopeless," Reyr muttered.

"I still think we should try to steal the stones," Mer said.

"He wears them every day, in a breastplate on his chest." Feowen leaned against the cell's wall. "All but the one, which never leaves his hand. Like he's waiting to use it. Lording it over us."

Jassin's head popped into view. "We are out of time, my prince."

Feowen exhaled. "Keep those supplies hidden. If you have any requests, we'll be by again tomorrow. We dare not risk discovery."

"Yes, yes of course." Reyr nodded.

Feowen reached out, taking Reyr's forearm, then pulled him into an embrace, thumping him on the shoulder. "Take care of yourselves. We'll figure something out."

Mer watched the exchange, a lump rising in her throat. Would they figure something out? Or would they be stuck here forever?

💕❤️💕Don't forget to heart this chapter!❤️💕❤️

Hi Bookdragons!

Before I started writing this book, I had this heart-to-heart scene in my head between Merrian and Reyr. I knew that in order to make it happen, I was going to need to find a way to get them forced into proximity under extreme circumstances. Hence, the dungeon and Kane's take over. Somehow everything fell into place exactly where I wanted it. 

Next week's chapter is from Leah's POV! I think that's our first Leah chapter! I'm so excited to reveal her character to you and show you more of her and Jovari. As I've mentioned, we will start getting a lot more Leah/Jovari chapters.

See you then! 

--Mel