The Dragon King (3 page)

She stretched out on the seat and told me, “I have five possible plans, depending on how much you’re willing to help, and whether what I feel for you is the same now that I’m an adult.”

I knew she’d hear my heart skip a beat, but I didn’t try to hide it. “What you feel for me?”

“I’ve had a crush on you since I was old enough to have those kinds of feelings, and before that, you were the only person in my life who let me truly be who I am. Maybe it isn’t real, in which case I just need help getting to the Hawks and offering my fealty, as well as knowledge of the inner workings of the Swans and Eagles.”

It wasn’t a bad plan. The Hawks were in a bit of a stalemate with the Eagles at the moment, and taking in the Princess would mean a shift back to active war but would also give them a chance to have the upper hand over the Eagles for the first time in centuries. I had to ask, though, “And if the Hawks turn you down?”

“Then I go to the Crows. They have larger numbers and there isn’t a doubt in my mind the King will jump at the chance to hurt my father by stealing his daughter.”

She was right, but… “How bad were things at home for this to be a better solution, Soph?”

I could smell her pain as well as hear it in her voice as she told me, “We don’t have time for that conversation right now. I’ll tell you, but later, okay?”

Nodding, I asked, “Okay, other plans? Tell me your best case scenario.”

“Oh, that’s the fantasy one, which would be plan number six, not listed with the other five because while it’s possible, it isn’t exactly probable.”

I smiled and said, “Let’s hear it, anyway. Indulge me.”

She sat up and once again met my gaze in the rearview mirror, her eyes resolute, her chin held high as she told me, “In that one, you decide you can’t live without me, take my virginity and make me yours. You’re some kind of bird species with power close enough to mine we can join our powers and become a ruling couple, and you either take over the Swans, or stand behind me and help me become Queen for real, so no one can ever
own
me again.”

I watched her in the mirror with respect. She’d told me this as Princess Sophia, her voice strong, not the least bit meek, and I owed her an honest response.

“I adored you as a toddler, and when it came time to teach you, my time with you was the highlight of my week. You are in my heart, Sophia, but I knew we could never be. With what you’re telling me now, I’m no longer seeing it as an impossibility, but we have hours and hours of conversation before we can make that decision. I care for you enough it’s probably safe to say I love you, though at this time it isn’t romantic love.” I shook my head. “When royalty is involved, love isn’t enough, though. You need to have strategy, Princess, and a way to convince the rest of the world to let you be.”

Sophia sighed and laid back down, and I knew she wasn’t far from sleep. Her voice was drowsy as she said, “I trust you to keep me safe until I’m rested and figure out what I need to do next. Thank you. I know the risk you’re taking.”

Sophia had been raised to be queen, and to never show emotion. I knew it’d taken every bit of courage in her to admit the things she’d told me, so I didn’t take her businesslike manner personally. She’d let me know she cared for me with words, if not tone. She wasn’t just here because of the promise I’d made, but because of the way she felt about me.

I gentled my voice and hoped to soothe her as I said, “Sleep, Sophia. We should arrive at our destination in a little over two hours. A high ranking Eagle visited me this morning to give me the news of your escape but must’ve been convinced I knew nothing of it, otherwise they’d have been watching my office and captured you when you arrived. Still, it’s only a matter of time before someone puts together my absence with yours, at which point they’ll be searching for both of us — especially if it hasn’t rained by then and they pick up your scent in the woods. No one will expect me on these particular back roads, though. They’ll search all of my known safe houses first, so we have more than enough time to get where we’re going.”

“Who did you call for help?”

“Lone wolves. One is a super-genius with crazy hacking skills, because I need someone who can keep an eye on things for me in the virtual world while I handle the physical world.”

Her breathing evened out, and she was asleep.

Sophia

I awoke to the sound of Aaron’s voice ordering two café mocha drinks, but I stayed where I was and didn’t say anything. I waited until the car was moving before I asked, “How close are we?”

“We’ll be meeting the wolves in a few minutes. I thought you might like a coffee, and since I don’t know how you like it, figured I’d get you a bit of a treat.”

He pulled up to a window, far enough he almost had to reach back to hand money to the woman, but it kept me from seeing her, or her from seeing more than a glimpse of me. He got the two drinks, pulled forward, and handed one to me as he said, “I have a brush and some ponytail holders up here, once the coffee wakes you.”

I took a sip of the coffee and my eyes went wide. I’d expected the normal bitter taste of coffee, but this was
good
.

His smile told me saw my surprise, and he chuckled. “Special treat, Soph. I’m going to enjoy introducing the big wide world to you.”

My heart warmed more than could be attributed to the coffee, and I said, “I’m happy I had you to come to, Aaron. Thanks for making the offer, so long ago.”

“You’re very welcome. I’m just glad you remembered.”

I put the coffee in the cup holder and leaned between the seats to look in the bags. Aaron shifted one open and I saw the brush and package of ponytail holders.

“Kind of strange that a ponytail will be a disguise,” I told him as I brushed my hair. “But no one except my governesses and hair people have ever seen me in one.” I took on the voice of the governess I had during the majority of my teen years and said, “Princesses don’t wear ponytails. You must always be put together with attention to the smallest detail.”

He smiled at me in the rear view mirror. “You’re a lighter shade of blonde than most, so I bought a hoodie. You should put it on and pull the hood up to hide your hair, as I’m sure the Eagles will be on the lookout for it.”

He handed me the hoodie and I slid into it, luxuriating in how soft it felt. I had pajamas and workout clothes this soft, but the idea of being seen in something this casual was so novel, it was almost like I was being asked to appear without clothes. Well, not quite, but still, my formal clothing had become who I was. Except for a few close guards and servants, I was never seen by anyone without them, and I was about to meet two strange men while wearing blue jeans, a t-shirt, and a fleece jacket with a hood… with a ponytail and no makeup.

“I’m going to give these men the option of plausible deniability,” Aaron told me, “so I need you to wait in the car. The windows are tinted, so while you can see out, they won’t be able to see you as long as you stay in the back seat.”

I nodded and tried to conceal my disappointment. The logic made sense, but I wanted to be a part of the planning and strategy. I knew Aaron was good and I didn’t doubt his abilities, but I was so tired of decisions being made on my behalf…I suppose I’d hoped things would change once I escaped my father’s house.

Aaron looked in the rearview mirror as he turned into a graveled parking lot full of cars. He went to the back, near some woods, and backed into an empty spot between other cars as he said, “They’re in the woods, and we’ll be right behind the car talking. You should be able to hear us, and if we say something you don’t agree with then knock on the window and I’ll come talk to you, see what you have an issue with.”

I nodded and said, “Thanks for giving me some input. I know we haven’t had a chance to talk much, but I’ve never had power over my own life and I desperately need to feel as if I do now, after my escape.”

Aaron nodded and exited the car, and I turned to see a large, barrel chested man step out of the woods and back into them. Aaron faded into the dark as well, and I heard them greeting each other.

“How do you want to work this, gentlemen? I can put you both up in a vacation chalet I own, so there’ll be no paperwork and no record of you being there. I own a number of them, and you’ll likely have to move around to stay in one not already reserved. This will give you distance and a level of deniability. Or, if you aren’t worried about it and are all in, I have a storage facility where you can leave your bikes, and then we’ll all drive to my safe house together.”

One of the men answered, “As far as I’m concerned, we’re all in.”

The other one said, “Yeah, I’m invisible online, but if someone should tie into what I’m searching and following, it’ll be obvious why. Don’t like not having our bikes with us, though.”

“You’ll be less than five miles from them as the crow flies, but taking the bikes will draw too much attention.”

They must have nodded their assent because Aaron continued with, “Okay. Don’t make the mistake of thinking her naiveté in some areas translates into her not having a good head on her shoulders. This affects all of us — we’re at risk for helping her, but it’s huge to her, too. I don’t want her treated as a child who must be cared for. She gets a say. I have no idea how to tell you to address her, but I assume she’ll let you know her expectations. However, my instinct at this point is to not say her name or title in a public setting, even one this rural, just in case there’s something listening in and reporting on keywords heard.”

There was a short break where no one talked, and then Aaron said, “This is a map to the storage facility, and the code to get into the facility as well as the unit. Park your bikes inside and walk back out to the road. I’ll pick the two of you up, one in the front seat and one in the back.”

Neither Aaron nor I spoke when he returned, though I rearranged the back seat, put the bags he bought into the backpack, dropped it into the space behind my seat, and then sat behind Aaron as he drove down the road. I’d never ridden in a moving vehicle before, and when I’d been asleep earlier the movement had lulled me, but now I felt as if I might be sick. We were on a winding road, stretching out like a ribbon before us as it trailed around the mountain, going into ravines and back out, winding and winding our way up.

“Is it normal to feel nauseated in a vehicle?” I asked.

Aaron slowed, and I jumped as the window beside me went down. “No, Soph. It’s called being carsick. It’s dark now, you’ll probably be okay up front. Can you climb up or should I stop and let you come up here?”

The road was narrow, with a steep drop off going down the mountain, so I said, “I’ll try climbing up.”

He rolled the front passenger window down when I was seated beside him, and said, “Just watch in front of you without trying to focus on anything in particular. Don’t look to the side. We aren’t too far from where we’re going, but on these roads it’ll take about twenty minutes. If you feel worse, let me know, but I’ll try to take it easy on the curves.”

I saw a huge waterfall a short distance from the road and asked, “Do you think we can come back to it? I’ve never seen a real waterfall, only the one my father had the contractors build when I showed him a picture of one and asked if he’d take me.”

“Once you’re safe, if we both survive this, I promise to take you to many waterfalls, Soph.”

The reminder we weren’t safe, and that I’d put him in danger, made me feel guilty. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come to you. I’ve put you at terrible risk and I know you’re really old, and you’ve probably survived so much. If something happens to you, if I’m the cause of you finally…” I couldn’t say it, so I finished with, “I’d never forgive myself.”

“No, Sophia, I’m happy you came to me, and besides,” he grinned. “I’m hard to kill. I’ve lived a long life, so no regrets, okay?”

We pulled to the side of the road and two men came out of the shadows, scaring me at first. My window was still down and Aaron leaned across me to say, “Change of plans, I need you both in the back.”

They got in and Aaron explained, “Sophia’s never ridden in a vehicle before and was getting a little carsick, so I moved her up here.”

One of the men sounded sympathetic as he said, “It’d be a bitch to get carsick on these mountain roads. You’ve never ridden in a car before? Ever?”

I shook my head, turned to look at them as Aaron drove away, and felt my head and stomach swim so I looked back out the front window. “Okay, looking towards the backseat is a bad idea. Please don’t think I’m rude for not looking at you as we speak. I guess you both know I’m Sophia Siyanko, and no, until a few days ago I’d never been outside the walls around my house.”

“I’m Duke,” the man directly behind me said, “and this is Brain.”

“Brain?” I didn’t want to be rude, but what kind of name was that?

“Nicknames, Soph,” Aaron explained. “Remember us talking about how some lone wolves aren’t actually lone because they’ve formed a motorcycle club they run as a democracy?”

I did, and I figured it was a bad idea to point out those men often broke the law. If they were here to help us and Aaron trusted them, I’d have to trust them as well.

Aaron kept talking and I assumed he was speaking to the men. “Bud told me the favor you’ll want in return, and I’m prepared to work with him to arrange a meet between Chattanooga law enforcement and the Atlanta brass, and perhaps even work it so they come to the compound down there for a party that afternoon. Not sure how much more I can do, but I’ll step up and try to ease you into town.”

“We appreciate it,” the man I thought was Brain responded. “Tell me your set-up, here.”

“We’ll be in a cave. Long ago I arranged for a generator down there, and made it habitable. There are vacation chalets above the cave, and I ran cabling up to them so we can piggyback into their internet streams. Nothing is wireless, everything’s wired. We won’t have cell service, but with internet we can handle Skype and such. My guy set up a laptop for me that runs through proxies, and I intend to plug it in from there to do the little bit I’ll need to do, but I won’t be checking my email or anything like that. I trust you’ll be able to stay hidden with that setup?”

Aaron pulled off the road onto a graveled drive and stopped at a gate. He got out and pulled a set of keys from his pocket as he walked to the barrier. Duke stepped out as Aaron returned, saying, “I’ll close it behind you.”

Once we were on our way again, Aaron made a few more turns before we drove into a cave and then made a sharp right into a dead-end tunnel. We exited the vehicle and he produced a large piece of black fabric he draped across the small opening, and it looked like just another large shadow.

“We’re a half mile from the chalets, and as the crow flies only a few miles from your bikes. We have about a mile hike to the safe-house in the cave, and I’ll stop at the turns and point out the directions for all of you, so you can get in and out without me, if necessary.”

He put his hand to the small of my back to turn me the direction we’d be walking, and every muscle in my body locked tight. No one ever touched me, unless it was my governess helping me with the final touches of my dress, and Aaron’s hand had felt so
casual
.

“You’re good, Sassy. Walk and I’ll follow.”

Sassy
. My mind went back to our time together when I was a child. I’d talked back to him once, and he’d said, “Oh, I can see you have a little sassy side coming out. Give me another ten minutes of undivided attention and I’ll tell you a more interesting story. Focus for me.” Afterwards, he’d called me Sassy when I was in a silly mood, or when I gave him a smart aleck answer. It’d become a term of endearment, though he rarely used it. We both knew my keepers and minders would’ve had a major problem with it, if they’d heard.

He didn’t remove his hand, and I took a breath and forced my voice not to shake as I told him, “Did you know, you’re the only person who ever called me anything other than my full first name, or my title? You called me Sassy, and the shortened form of my name. Only you.”

“I’m going to stick with it when we’re in public, for now, but we’ll see what I land on in private.”

He finally removed his hand, and I put my backpack on while noting Aaron had one as well. “How did you know to pack?” I asked him.

“I always keep a go-bag with me, enough to last three days should I not be able to make it home.” He looked at everyone and asked, “We all have everything?”

By the time we made it to what was literally a house built inside a huge room of the cave, I thought I could probably get back in if necessary, but wasn’t certain I could get out. I made a mental note to ask Aaron if there was a map I could look at later, to help me get the layout in my head.

The house had been made from cinderblocks and looked rough on the outside, but when we went in, it wasn’t too bad. Not homey, but certainly livable.

“The generator is in the next cavern over, situated so we don’t get any exhaust. Hang tight a minute.” Aaron left, and I stood in a very dark room with two werewolves, all of us aiming our flashlights around without shining them on each other.

When the lights came on I had to cover my eyes with my hands a few seconds and gradually let my eyes get used to the light.

When I could handle it, I looked at the two men, who also had their eyes squinted, and I smiled, “Just guessing, but I think you’re Duke,” I said to the tall, large-chested man with the huge, muscled arms, and then looked to the one who was tall and thin, but still showed well-defined muscles, “and you’re Brain?”

“Yes,” Brain said. “How would you like us to address you, Ma’am?”

“Sophia is fine. We’re hiding out in a cave, this isn’t exactly the Princess lifestyle. I understand Aaron will owe you something for helping us, but I’d still like to offer my thanks, and let you know if I’m ever in a position of power you should feel comfortable letting me know if there’s anything I can help you with. No promises I’ll be able to give you what you want, but a promise I’ll do what I can without risking any of my people or breaking a promise to someone else.”

Duke nodded his head and opened his mouth to speak when Aaron came back and said, “You saw me break the plastic to get in — this house is sealed all the way around, with two doors and no windows. Everything inside is also sealed in plastic, and there’s no water in this section of the cave, so we don’t have to deal with mildew, but there are lots of cave bugs and some are pretty creepy. Even with all the plastic, be on the lookout for them and try to keep the doors closed as much as possible. The generator will power a fan that runs the cave air into the house so it won’t smell quite so stale, and the screen it pulls through is tiny but we’ve had little no-see-ums get inside, in the past.”