Hidden (Book 1) (27 page)

The
door swung open with a resounding boom when it hit the interior wall.

"Bastian?"

It took
the little energy he had to turn his head.

"Tressa?"

"Well isn't this
interesting?" Stacia pushed Bastian to the floor and took three steps
back. She raised her hands in the air.

Tressa
looked from Bastian to Stacia, trying to
suss
out
what they'd been doing. It looked
like they were kissing, but she couldn't be sure.

"One
of my guards is a girl."
Stacia's
long braided
ponytail swayed from side to side as she stepped backward toward her chair,
reminding Tressa of the day Connor died.

"A
woman," Jarrett said, "not a girl."

Henry
wolf whistled behind them. "What about me? I'm nothing to sling mud at.
Tell her who I am."

Jarrett
elbowed Henry. "Shut up, boy."

Stacia's
gaze
fell on Henry. "You're the one who didn't kill anyone during the tournament,
yet none of the other guards seemed to care. Curious. Why?"

"No
reason," Jarrett said through gritted teeth. He looked at Tressa and
Henry. "Stop talking to her, she's only delaying the inevitable."

Stacia's
laughter could have cut holes in glass. "Inevitable?" She swirled
around,
then
sat in her throne. "Let me guess.
You're here to kill me." She faked a yawn, waving her hand in front of her
mouth.

"No,"
Bastian said from the floor. "I am."

Tressa
looked down at him, her stomach in knots. She wanted to be weak, to drop to the
floor and cradle him in her arms, but she was too close to finishing what she’d
worked so hard to achieve. She had to put Bastian out of her mind and focus. He
was dead if she didn’t.

She
laughed again. "You're all so pathetic.
A half-dead man.
A girl. A boy. And," she looked at Jarrett, "I cannot figure out
exactly what you are."

Before
anyone could answer, Henry fell to the floor, grabbing his stomach. Jarrett and
Tressa stood in front of him, but it wasn't enough to shield him from Stacia.

She
bounded from her throne, her skirt swirling around her ankles. "What is
this? What have you brought into my castle?"

Her
words were drowned out by a hiss coming from the floor behind Tressa. Henry’s
body changed faster this time, scales and claws appearing as his flesh
disappeared.

“A
dragon?” Bastian said from the floor. “Like the one that came to our village. They
are also human. But the villagers…they…”

“What
dragon?” Stacia snarled at him.

“A
turquoise one. It was dangerous. But beautiful.”

“What
did you do with her?”
Stacia’s
anger swept through
the room.

“They
cut up the dead dragon and ate it.”

"The
people of Hutton’s Bridge ate my mother?" Stacia screamed. Her chin dipped
down and her arms rose into the air. Her blue gown split in two. Her breasts
spilled out the front, swollen and pulsing.

Tressa
recoiled. She'd seen this once before. Instead of sticking with Jarrett and
Henry, she ran to Bastian's side. She tugged on his arm. "You have to get
out of here. Now."

Bastian
looked up at her, one eye swollen, his lips caked in blood. "I can't. I'm
too injured." He looked at
Stacia's
body
convulsing. "What's going on with her?"

"She's
turning into a dragon. It'll take a few minutes."

Bastian's
eyes looked at Henry. "Him too?"

Tressa
nodded. "Yeah. We can't fight her now. She's going to be too powerful. We
have to leave."

"What
are you doing here?" Bastian asked. "I thought you'd gone back to
Hutton's Bridge. I went there for you.
I slayed the beasts in
the darkness of the mist.
I took down the fog. I did it all for you. But
you've been here?"

Tressa
nodded. A tear slipped down her cheek. The screams of the two transforming into
dragons echoed in the cavernous chamber. "I'm sorry I left you behind. I
thought it would be easier for me to sneak in here alone."

"But
your father said..." Bastian's throat rattled.

"
Shh
." Tressa placed a finger over his lips.
"Don't talk. I need to get you out of here and healed."

Bastian's
eyes tore away from hers. She followed his gaze to Stacia. Her limbs were no
longer
human
like theirs. Blue scales sprouted along
the lengthening appendages. Her nails grew into talons. Her long braid
disappeared and a tail grew from the lower part of her back, just as dangerous
as the braid she wielded.

"It's
okay,"
Tressa
whispered, "Henry is a dragon
too."

"Is
he powerful enough," Bastian said. "He looks like a boy."

Jarrett
stood watch over his charge. Tressa could see the worry lines around his eyes.
This wasn't what they'd planned. Killing Stacia in her human form would be much
easier. As a dragon, she'd kill them all.
Even Henry who
hadn't ever fought as a dragon.
She'd eat him alive.

"Go!"
Jarrett yelled to Tressa.

"I
can't leave Bastian," she called back over the deafening screams.

Jarrett's
expression changed, only for a moment, from fear to sadness. He glanced down at
Henry,
then
ran to Tressa's side. Bending down, he
slipped an arm around Bastian's trunk. "Help me," he said to Tressa.

She
wrapped her arms around Bastian, letting her sword clank to the floor. Jarrett
still held his in his right hand. Together they pulled Bastian to his feet.

Tressa
only came to Bastian's shoulder and Jarrett just past it. Still, together they
were able to support his weight.

"Come
on, just a few steps more." Tressa's hands trembled. Bastian had always
been the one to support her. His strength was as much a part of him as his
flaming red hair. She'd never seen him so defeated.
So weak.
"You can do this. I know you. You're the tough guy who doesn't let anyone
tell him what to do."

She
looked up and saw a tiny smile on his face. "I'll be okay."

"I
know," Tressa said. "I know you will."

He
smiled again and a small trickle of blood escaped from between his lips.
"Funny, it doesn't hurt as much as I thought it would."

"Tressa!"
Jarrett yelled. "Run!"

A warm
sensation lapped over the arm she had wrapped around Bastian's back.

"No."
It came out as a whisper, even though her heart was screaming. She pulled her
arm away, letting Jarrett balance Bastian
on his own
.

Blood
drenched her sleeve. Warm and sticky, it dripped to the floor, bead by bead,
leaking Bastian's life with it. "No!"

The
blue dragon, the one that had been Stacia, whipped its tail again, taking
another strip out of Bastian's back. Henry still lay on the floor, convulsing,
not yet a dragon, and no longer a young man.

Tressa
ran to her sword, grasped it in her palm, and strode toward the dragon. It
reared up on its two back feet, the talons leaving scratch marks in the marble
floor. With two hands on the hilt of her sword, she stepped forward, bravery
outweighing stupidity.

"Touch
him again and I'll kill you," she shouted up at the dragon, unsure if
Stacia could even understand her in this state. She glanced over her shoulder.
Henry was still writhing on the floor, useless.

The
dragon's nails click clacked on the marble tiles. It feinted to the left, then
the right, easily avoiding every slash of Tressa's sword. It was faster and
more graceful than she'd thought a beast of its size would be. Tressa stepped
back, her chest heaving. She'd tire out faster than the dragon if she kept
swinging recklessly. The dragon eyed her, as if it knew what she was thinking,
then turned and strolled to Henry.

He'd
finally settled into his dragon form. Golden scales covered his body,
shimmering in the rising sunlight of mid-day. He stood on all fours and shook
his head back, just like Henry always did with his golden hair. Even as a
dragon, he was a narcissistic fool.

Stacia's
head
tilted to the side. Tressa was almost fascinated by how their movements in
dragon form echoed their human form, except that fear in her stomach kept her
grounded. She looked behind her. Jarrett was running back into the room,
Bastian nowhere to be seen.

"I
left him in the hallway," Jarrett said, puffing for air.

"How
is he?"

"Alive."
His eyes met hers.

She
understood it was all he was willing to offer. No promises.

"Good.
Now let's end this before anyone else gets hurt."

Jarrett
nodded. The two took off running toward the blue dragon. Stacia swung her neck
around and blew a wall of fire at them. Tressa and Jarrett stumbled backward.
Tressa slipped on the marble and fell to the floor.

Jarrett
offered a quick hand. "You okay?"

"A
little singed. Not bad. Again?"

He
smiled. "Of course!"

Stacia
turned around, her tail swinging from side to side. Covered in sharp spikes, it
slammed on the floor in between them. The marble cracked, separating Tressa and
Jarrett from each other.

Satisfied
she'd neutralized Tressa and Jarrett for the moment,
Stacia's
head returned to Henry. He was still prancing around, acting like a show pony
instead of a dragon bent on defeating his enemy. Her jaws opened wide, Stacia
roared and bit Henry's neck, snapping it in two.

Henry
listed,
then
dropped to the ground. Dead in mere seconds.
The golden dragon's body didn't even twitch with life. His neck lay out to the
side at an awkward angle and his tongue lolled outside his jaws.

For a
moment, Tressa wondered if she'd miss the boy, but a hiss pulled her back to
reality. Stacia faced them again, her
slitted
eyes
glittering with bloodlust.

"What
next?" Tressa asked Jarrett. For the first time, she honestly wondered if
they'd lose. Maybe it wouldn't go the way of the old tales. The dragon had
already killed Connor and Henry. Bastian lay dying in the hall. She and Jarrett
were alone.
Two swords against a dragon?

"We
fight until we win," Jarrett said. "That's the only option." A
bead of sweat trickled down his face, meandering over the sharp contours of his
cheek, and nestling into his goatee. It was at that moment she realized how
much he looked like his father.

Tressa's
heart surged. She'd lost Leo and now his son stood in the path of death.
All because of her.
She made the only decision she could.

Tressa
dropped her sword and raised her hands. It clattered to the floor, falling into
the crevice created by
Stacia's
tail.

"I
surrender."

Jarrett gaped at Tressa.
"What are you doing?"

"We
can't defeat her. I won't have you die in vain."

"This
isn't your choice." Jarrett shook his head. His curly dark hair flopped
over one eye. "Insane woman. I liked you better as a man." The
pleading look in his eyes told her a different story. "We'll all die
either way. Let me die fighting."

"No,
Jarrett. Your father..."

"My
father chose to fight for you. Bastian chose to fight for you. I choose to
fight with you. There's a difference there. I'm not doing this for you, Tressa,
I'm doing it with you."

"Jarrett..."
Tressa glanced out at the hall where he'd dragged Bastian. She'd spent the last
two years without a man in her life and now she had two.

It was
less trouble without them.

Tressa
clenched her hands into fists at her side. She took one step forward. Followed
by another.
And another until she stood next to
Stacia's
claws.
"Run," she yelled to
Jarrett. She didn't look back to see if he listened.

The turquoise
dragon snorted,
then
scooped Tressa up.

The
scales dug into her leathers, squeezing just hard enough for Tressa to feel
lightheaded, but not enough to pass out. The room spun, marble and sunlight
blended together in a carousel of color.
Stacia's
teeth glistened.

Tressa's
mind wandered back to her childhood. She imagined sitting on Granna's lap,
hearing a story about the world outside the fog. She never once believed she'd
make it out, even though Granna said her destiny lay beyond the mist. If she
had enough air to laugh, she would have. No matter, soon she'd be in the same
place as Granna.

She
laid her head on the top of the dragon’s claw. It was almost over. She'd given
Jarrett time to get away with Bastian. She couldn't save Connor, but she'd
saved them. That had to count for something.

Inexplicably,
the grip around her loosened.
Tressa fell through the air,
her arms flailing. Unable to catch her breath, gasping for the air she'd been
denied, she braced for the landing on the marble floor.
One
that would kill her faster than
Stacia's
teeth if her
head or any vital organs absorbed the impact.

Her
rear end landed on the seat of
Stacia's
throne just
in time to have it knocked over by
Stacia's
tail.
Tressa rolled with the chair, her fingers digging into the plush blue velvet of
the armrests.

A roar
rang out, followed by a low growl.

Two
distinct dragon voices.

Tressa
peeked up from underneath the upturned chair. A dark navy tail slithered past.
She swallowed hard. Twice. Two dragons.
One out to kill her.
The other? Tressa could only hope it was help from Henry's country. Maybe since
the fog fell, the other dragons were coming in to conquer Stacia. It was
Stacia’s
greatest fear. Tressa hoped it was coming true.

She
kept her belly low to the ground and shimmied across the floor, in the opposite
direction of the two dragons, toward the door. "Jarrett," she
desperately whispered. The two dragons caused such a cacophony, she was sure
they wouldn't hear her.

"Over
here!"

Tressa
looked to her left. There he was.
Still in the room.
Bloodied and holding a sword. He skirted the side of the room and ran along the
walls.

"You
should have stayed under the chair. You're mad, woman."

She
grabbed his shoulders and pulled him down to the ground on top of her.

“Don’t
you have magic? Can’t you do something?” Tressa asked.

Jarrett
shook his head. “Not enough to hurt a dragon.”

The
throne flew over their heads and smashed against the wall, slivers of wood
raining on them. She laughed. "Guess it's a good thing I left the
throne."

He
brushed the sawdust off her face. "Like I said, you're mad."

"Me?
You're the one still in here. I gave you the chance to get away."

"And
I was just supposed to leave you there alone? I think not."

His
face was only inches from hers and his body pressed down on hers. Tressa knew
Bastian was right outside the door, dying. Two dragons were fighting in the
same room. And yet, just for a moment, she was confused. "I think you can
move now. We have to get out of here."

"I'm
protecting your body with mine." He pressed down a little harder.

"Jarrett..."

An iron
wine cup whizzed above their heads, slamming into the wall. It rolled along the
floor, resting next to Tressa's head.

"Thirsty?"
Jarrett asked with a smile.

Tressa
rolled out from underneath him, surprised how it easy it was. She could have
done it at any moment, really. She crawled on her belly toward the door with
Jarrett behind her.

Only
after they slipped out into the hall, did she stand and run to Bastian. He sat
on the floor, still conscious and breathing. "How are you?" Tressa
smoothed back his red hair from his face.

"I'll
be okay. A servant dropped a tankard of water when he saw what was happening in
the throne room. He ran off. I was able to get to it and drink a bit. I'm still
going to need some medical care, though." He attempted to smile.

"I
know." She kissed his forehead. "Things aren't done in there
yet."

"I'll
be okay. Go."

Tressa
gave him one more kiss on the head and ran back to Jarrett. She stood behind
the huge, solid doors taking a glance into the room.
Stacia's
turquoise dragon scratched and bit at the navy dragon, who fought with intense
vigor.

"Who
is that?" Tressa asked Jarrett.

He
shrugged and tossed his hands in the air. "He's a blue, so he's from
here."

"He?"
Tressa asked. She looked back into the room. "How do you know?”

“I
don’t. Just guessing.” Jarrett looked puzzled. "There were only two
dragons here, last we knew. Stacia and her mother."

"Then
who is that?" Tressa asked.

"I
don't know." Jarrett gazed at the two dragons. They fought with talons and
teeth, neither willing to give an inch.

“I
think he might need help." Tressa yanked Jarrett's sword out of his hand
and ran back into the room.

"Tressa!"
He yelled from behind, but she didn't look back. He wouldn't dare reenter the
room without his own steel.

Tressa
leapt over broken china and destroyed remnants of the finery Stacia had
surrounded herself with. It was all in ruin now. She slowed when she reached
the outer edge of the fight.

"Over
here!" she yelled.

Both
dragons turned toward her, fire in their eyes. She'd hoped the navy dragon
would accept her help, but based on the anger in his eyes, she might have been
wrong. The navy dragon swept at her with his tail, but instead of knocking her
to the side, she grabbed on.

It felt
like flying, so different than when Stacia had trapped Tressa in her grasp. Her
brown hair blew out to the side as the tail swung her up and around. Her heart
surged in her chest. Tressa gripped her sword with one hand, holding on for her
life with the other arm.

"Help
me!" she screamed at the navy dragon. He seemed to understand. The angle
of his swing changed, sending her speeding toward Stacia. Tressa flexed her bicep,
readying herself. Flying toward Stacia, Tressa thrust her sword into the
turquoise dragon's belly.

She
reared back, screaming and clawing at Tressa and her navy dragon. Tressa felt
the backward momentum switch to forward without warning. Again, her sword found
its target.

Stacia
stumbled backward. Her back crashed against a stained glass window, raining shards
of every color onto the floor.

Dead.