“My nurse used to tell me the old tale when I was a little girl.”
“Well, I’m no little girl, but I like a good story.” Crossing his arms, he settled lower on the tree trunk.
“Very well.” Mina cleared her throat. “Once, a long, long time ago, there lived a great silver dragon full of fire and magic. He lived in a kingdom in the clouds far from humans or vampirekind. There were no other dragons left in the world. Only him. And he was lonely. He yearned for companionship.
“So he decided to fly down from his pillowed lair in the sky down to Earth. He searched and searched though he knew not for what. Until one day, he heard the most beautiful voice, a maiden’s sweet melody, calling to his beastly heart.
“He followed the voice until he found the fair maid perched at the window of a single ivory tower with no doors anywhere, only one window. She wasn’t afraid when she saw the great beast land upon the ground with a shudder.
“‘You sing like an angel,’ said the dragon.
“‘Thank you,’ she replied. ‘You have beautiful wings.’
“‘Come fly with me,’ he pleaded. ‘I will show you the beauty beyond the clouds.’
“She sighed sadly. ‘I cannot. I have been cursed to stay in this tower until the prince of this land fetches me for my wedding day. If I should leave, great peril would come to me.’
“The dragon snorted with fury, black smoke puffing from his nostrils. ‘But aren’t you lonely in this tower?’
“‘Indeed, I am. Perhaps you can visit me, dragon, and keep me company.’
“‘I will come every day,’ promised the dragon.
“And so he did. Every day for a full year, through winter, spring, summer, and when the leaves began to change in fall, he flew down from the heavens to visit his maiden. She sang for him. And he told her stories of old. She had captured his heart. And he hers. She was the only reason he rose each morning, eager for a new day.
“Until the one day when he landed outside her tower and didn’t find her perched in her window, waiting for him. Rather, he heard her crying within. He peered inside and asked her why she cried, for the sound tore him in two.
“‘I am to be wed to the prince tomorrow,’ she whispered, ‘but I love another.’
“The dragon’s blood raced like wildfire through his veins. ‘Who do you love, dear maiden?’
“She stepped into the morning light of the window. ‘I love the one who is devoted to me. I love you, dear dragon.’
“The dragon couldn’t believe such joy existed in all the world. So he tried to give her the same joy. ‘I love you as well, sweet maiden. Please come with me to my kingdom in the clouds, then you never need marry this prince you do not love.’
“The maiden stared up into the heavens, a sad but sweet smile spreading across her angelic face then she answered, ‘Yes. I will.’
“The dragon was so full of happiness, he crouched down by her tower window and told her to climb onto his back. Gingerly, she stepped onto his back and held onto his mane. Then the dragon, full of joy and love, lifted off into the sky.
“But the maiden didn’t tell him what would happen should she defy the curse. The consequence of leaving her tower before she was wed to the prince was death. But since her heart belonged to the silver dragon, she preferred to die with him in the sky than to live without him upon Earth. And so she did. As they drifted through the beautiful heavens, she cradled herself close to her dragon and whispered her love before she took her last breath.”
Mina paused, always feeling somber at this point in the story.
“That’s it?” asked Dmitri. “That’s how the story ends?”
“Not quite.” Mina smiled. “The silver dragon cried out with fury and sadness and plummeted back down to the world, landing in a dark forest. He lay his maiden love upon the ground and dug her grave deep with his mighty claws. When he lay her in the earth, he said, ‘Without her, there is no use for this anymore.’ He slashed his claws across his chest and opened up his flesh and ribs, taking out his still-beating heart and placed it in the earth, burying it with his love. Upon his last sweep of soil upon the grave, the heartless beast roared into the sky, screaming his rage and pain and loss to the heavens. Without his heart, he could not live, but he was still full of fire and magic. As he rocketed toward the stars, he suddenly split in two. The silver dragon became a black dragon of fire and a white dragon of magic. The black dragon, a beast of fury and hatred, soared to the north, trying to cool his burning blood. He landed in the northern mountains and stormed the peaks till he melted into them, becoming one with the rock and stone.
“The white dragon sought warmth and peace in the south. She finally came upon a fragrant, green place full of roses and life. There, she lay down and became one with the earth and let her magic flourish upon the land and its people.”
The fire popped as the story ended. Dmitri stared at her, but his mind seemed to drift as he thought of the silver dragon and her maiden.
“The hartstone.” He finally broke the silence. “The dragon’s heart became the hartstone.”
“Yes. That’s how the story goes anyway.” Mina shrugged. “My nurse used to say that the first king of Briar Rose lay with his bride upon the meadows there and conceived their first child upon where the white dragon reposed. That is why the white dragon’s magic lives on in our blood.” She laughed. “I always thought it a silly tale, but somehow true. Is that strange?”
Dmitri snorted. “I’ve seen much stranger things in my time.” He tossed another log onto the fire. “Thanks for the story, Your Highness.”
“You’re welcome.” Mina stood, catching sight of the dark red splotches upon her wrist. “I need to wash.”
“Mikhail is down by the stream. He’ll keep you safe.” Dmitri leaned his head back, closing his eyes with a smile. “Trust me.”
She moved off, mumbling, “I don’t doubt it.”
How could she after that display of expedient extermination of the savage rogues that had attacked them. These five men of the Bloodguard had dispatched them as if they’d been sparring in a yard exercise. And from what Dmitri had mentioned earlier that day, there were quite a few more of them who made up this band of mercenaries.