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I glanced around, wondering where the hell I could hide. I couldn’t see—coming into the darkness after the blinding light of the snow-covered mountain had the same effect as if someone had snapped a flash camera in my eyes. I stumbled ahead, holding my hands out to feel for the walls. After a moment, I made contact and I pressed against the rock, praying he wouldn’t notice me until I’d found a place to hide.
“I said, get the fuck out here.” And there he was—standing not ten feet away. I could see the glimmer of his robes.
Hell, what was I going to do now?
He swung around and then stopped, staring in my direction. A low, throaty chuckle told me the jig was up. “Well, well. There she is.” He started for me and I backed up, fumbling in my robe for the unicorn horn. It still had some energy left in it—probably enough for one big blast. If I had to, I could bring down the cavern on both of us, and I was considering doing just that. The thought of being buried under tons of rubble wasn’t all that appealing, but the thought of Hyto putting his hands on me again was even less savory.
“Leave her alone!” Smoky’s voice came from the front of the cavern and then I could see him—my eyes were adjusting. “You wanted me. You have me. Let her go and I’ll stay.”
“No!” I shouted at him, realizing he was getting ready to make a trade. “Don’t you dare! He’ll kill me after he kills you. It’s both of us or neither.”
Hyto let out a loud snort. “She’s smart for her kind. I’ll give her that. She’s also sweet. Her meat will be tender and delicate . . . or maybe I’ll keep her around to be my toy for a while. She’s very amusing when she’s in pain.” And then he lashed out. A jagged spear of ice came reaming out of his palms, aimed directly for my husband.
I screamed and thrust the horn in the air. Maybe none of us would come out of this alive, but Hyto would die. “Lady of the Land, hear me!”
The cavern shook violently and the spell Hyto had cast slid off target by a mere inch, but it was enough to give Smoky time to dodge it. Hyto let out a string of curses in what I could only imagine was dragonese. I grabbed for the wall as a low rumble began to shift through the cavern. There was a roar behind me, and I screamed again as rocks and rubble began to fall.
“Camille!” Smoky shouted at me, and I tried to make my way around Hyto, but the damned dragon caught hold of me with his hair and drew me toward him.
“You decide to play for keeps, then you take the consequences, girl.” He wrapped his hair tight around me and I screamed as he squeezed until I could barely breathe.
The shaking went on and on, and the ceiling began to cave in, stalactites crumbling to the floor from where they had hung for a thousand years. A cloud of dust began to rise and I started to cough. I could hear Smoky shouting my name, and Hyto’s horrible laughter as the world started to spin.
The roar became thunder, and the thunder a cascade of sound and movement. I closed my eyes, trying to protect them from the debris, and held tight the unicorn horn. I just wanted everything to stop. Regardless of the consequences, I wanted it all over. I was tired of fighting Hyto, of being afraid every time I turned around. I was tired of the pain and threats, and the knowledge of how ready he was to make good on every one of his ugly promises.
“Enough,” I whispered. “Moon Mother, enough. If you want me to come home to you, take me now. But please, spare Smoky and his mother. And send Hyto to the depths of the abyss.”
There was another loud roar, and then the dust suddenly began to clear and I felt myself fall to the ground. I opened my eyes and saw that Hyto was screaming—I couldn’t hear him through the cacophony of the falling rocks, but the long tendril of his hair that had held me up was on the ground, cut off from near his head. As I stared, droplets of blood began to flow out of the severed ends. Next to him stood Vishana, her nails long talons, dripping with blood.
I whispered to the horn, “Calm, please . . . calm the earth.” And the shaking slowed to a halt. As I stood up, bruised and covered with cuts from the flying debris, Smoky struggled out of another pile of rubble. He raced over to me and pulled me into his arms, but I pushed him away.
“We aren’t done yet,” I said, nodding to Hyto.
Vishana turned to the white dragon, who was struggling to stand. She lifted one delicate arm and backhanded him so hard that she tore a long gash in his face. He let out a curse but fell back, leaning back against the rocks. A large stalactite that had been delicately propped against a pile of rubble shifted and fell across his legs. He was trapped by a ton of rock, and there wasn’t room for him to transform into his dragon self.
Smoky stepped forward, but his mother held up her hand. “Your father’s life is forfeit. But since I am here, I have the final say. This shall be done in the Dragon Reaches. Gather your wife, and I will take Hyto. Meet us in the Council chamber. Camille has first right of punishment.”
First right of punishment? What did that mean? I was about to ask when Smoky merely inclined his head.
“As you wish, my Lady.” He tenderly lifted me in his arms as Vishana grabbed hold of Hyto’s arm and, the bedraggled dragon in hand, vanished.
I wrapped my arms around his neck. “I don’t understand—what’s going on? Where are we going?”
“You are going to meet my people, my love. We’re going home. To the Dragon Reaches.” And then, before I could say a word, the world again began to turn, and we spun around and around through the Ionyc Seas, just me in the arms of my beloved Smoky.
The hall was larger than I could have imagined. Picture an amphitheater large enough to seat row after row of dragons—in their natural form. Add to that a central pavilion from where Smoky told me the Wing-Liege and the Council presided. The ledges for the dragons were fashioned of a stone that reminded me of marble. One entire wall was open, missing, facing the sky, and I realized that the dragons flew in from there, landing on the spacious deck that stretched the entire front of the pavilion. The skies here were pale blue, with billowing clouds rolling across the sky. The temperature was chilly, but not icy cold like in the Northlands, and I wondered to just what realm the Dragon Reaches belonged.
As we appeared in the center of the room, there was a bustle and a number of dragons—some in their human form, others in their natural form—stopped to stare at us.
Vishana strode into the room. “Your father is being wing-strapped for now. But I have spoken to the Wing-Liege and he has already agreed: Hyto must die. The question is, who gets the first right of punishment. We will meet within two hours. You have time to rest and relax. Camille, I imagine you would like to bathe—the dust in the cavern was thick and your people do not have our natural abilities.”
I stared at her, realizing she was as clean as a whistle. Same as Smoky. “What is with you dragons? How do you do that?”
Vishana laughed. “Iampaatar told me that you and your sisters continually badger him about his secrets. I’m afraid this one is not to be found in a detergent bottle or a washing powder. Now, Iampaatar—take your wife to my chambers. Bid my chambermaids to wait on her—whatever she needs.”
“Excuse me, but the collar . . .” I left the question unfinished, merely brushing the yoke I still wore around my neck.
“That will be removed soon enough. You will never need fear wearing it again after we are done today.” And then, with a gracious nod, Vishana left us, gliding over to talk to a group of other dragons, who I assumed were silvers. They had the same coloring and feel that she did.
