Dragon's Blood (The Dragon's Gift Trilogy #2)

“Your Highness!” The door banged open, and a page rushed in. His face was flushed, his wide eyes bright with excitement. “There is a dragon approaching the Keep!”

Drystan jumped out of his chair. “Is it my father?” he demanded, though he didn’t know why the page would be so happy about that. It wasn’t as if anyone missed Dragomir. Or could it be…?

“I don’t think so,” the page said. “He’s smaller, though still bigger than your sisters, and has red scales. Come quick—I think he’s headed for the courtyard!”

Drystan, Shadley, and Tariana sprinted from the war room, following the page to the balcony overlooking the courtyard. Sure enough, a dragon was coming in, his brilliant red hide glinting in the afternoon light. He let out a roar that shook the battlements as he landed, frightening the servants half to death. The soldiers gripped their weapons, an instinctive reaction to the predator before them even though they had to know the dragon was on their side.

Or was he?

The dragon landed in the middle of the courtyard, crushing a wooden cart that had not been moved aside fast enough. He furled his wings in, then lowered his head as his form blurred.

“Lucyan!” Tariana gasped, her eyes shining with joy and relief. Before Drystan could so much as blink, she vaulted over the balcony. His sister landed the thirty feet below in a crouch, then sprang up and engulfed their brother in what looked to be a bone-crushing hug.

“If you don’t mind,” Shadley said, an amused look on his face, “I think I’ll take the long way down.”

Drystan grinned, then followed after Tariana, jumping the railing. “I was beginning to worry about you!” he said, coming in for a hug of his own. On his way, he snagged a cloak from one of the guards to wrap around Lucyan’s body. “What the bloody hell happened? Did you ever reach Enethar?”

“I did,” Lucyan said, grinning from ear to ear. “And Dareena and Alistair are both safe.”

“They are?” Drystan exclaimed, exchanging surprised glances with Tariana.

“We received a box this morning with Alistair’s severed arm in it,” Tariana explained when Lucyan gave him a quizzical look. “And a threat to send more pieces if we did not pay the ransom.”

A dark look crossed Lucyan’s face. “Yes, that was a horrific ordeal. Alistair was on death’s door when I arrived, but with the help of the amulet, he recovered. Thankfully,” he said, a grin banishing the shadows from his face, “the both of us have learned how to shift, and Alistair regrew his arm.”

“That is excellent news!” Drystan cried, feeling incredibly relieved. All the weight seemed to sluice off his shoulders, making him so light he felt as if a stiff wind might topple him. “I assume this means Alistair was able to fly back with you?” Where is he now? And Dareena?”

“They are waiting for us outside our father’s lair,” Lucyan said. “Along with the treasure.”

“The treasure?” Tariana sounded as stunned as Lucyan felt. “What were you doing at Father’s lair?”

“And how were you able to get the treasure from him?” Drystan demanded. “I was there myself not that long ago, trying to reason with him. He did not recognize me at all, and nearly tore me to pieces.”

Lucyan gave them a smug smile. “That’s because you don’t know how to let others do your dirty work for you.”

Inside, over mugs of hot mead, Lucyan told Drystan, Tariana, Shadley, Catriona, and Taldren all about how they’d followed a group of warlocks to the Black Mountains, then watched as they incapacitated their father using the brass bracelets the oracle imposter had told them about. Lucyan had retrieved their father from the crevice he’d fallen in while Alistair and Dareena took care of the warlocks, and they had agreed to remain behind while Lucyan flew back to Dragon’s Keep for help.

“Is Father all right?” Tariana asked in a worried voice. Drystan felt a pang of sympathy for her—she knew better than anyone else how terrible their father was, and yet, as his eldest child, she shared a bond with him that none of their other siblings had.

“His body will heal,” Lucyan said. “His mind is another matter entirely. Dareena is using the warlock bracelets to keep him subdued while they wait for us.”

“If the warlocks have truly been using mirrors to spy on us,” Shadley said, “then they will have learned of this development. We must retrieve the treasure, and our friends, before they send someone else out to take it again. They will know all three of you can shift now, and will adjust their plans accordingly.”

“Agreed,” Drystan said, rising from his chair. “Enough sitting around. Let us go.”



Since Drystan and Tariana had already been preparing to march on Elvenhame, it did not take long to gather a squadron of Dragon Force soldiers. Tariana ordered them to take some of the war wagons and head for the base of the mountain—Taldren, who had been briefed on the location, would lead them.

In the meantime, Drystan took flight with Lucyan and Catriona, while Tariana flew in the opposite direction. She would stop by Solara’s encampment to brief the others on what was happening, then go to meet Ryolas and Basilla at the border. Lucyan had told them how the royal elven siblings had helped Dareena and Alistair escape, and Drystan was more than happy to offer them refuge, especially after everything Ryolas had done for them. He strongly suspected that if he had refused, Tariana would have ripped his balls off and fed them to the dogs—she’d been hardly able to contain herself when Lucyan had informed her that her beloved was on his way here.

Drystan understood how she felt. His entire body hummed with excitement as he approached the Black Mountains. Even the thrill of soaring through the air with his siblings was not as exhilarating as the thought of being reunited with Dareena. It had been less than two weeks since she’d been taken, and yet somehow it felt like months, perhaps even years, since he’d last seen her. Would she still taste and feel the same when he embraced her again? Or had being exposed to elven magic changed her?

Slow down, Lucyan warned as Dareena and Alistair came into view. They were sitting at the base of the mountains next to a prone form Drystan assumed was their father. If we get too close, the bracelets will force us to change back.

Right. A chill went through Drystan at the thought of shifting back into human form while he was thousands of feet up in the sky. The three of them slowed, then gradually came in for a landing a good five hundred yards away. Dareena and Alistair jumped to their feet at the sight of them, and Drystan shifted back, eager to have his beloved in his arms again.

“Drystan!” Dareena cried, running toward him. He met her halfway and caught her in his arms, swinging her around. “Oh, I’ve missed you so terribly!”