Chapter Sixteen
Deep inside the tunnels of the caverns, time often became lost. But in the early hours of morning, Ashlyn’s skin erupted in a wild fire of hot welts and itched something crazy. She rubbed her shoulder against her dragon’s scales. She shifted her hips to no relief, she sighed and slipped from Sigurd’s large dragon arms. His head curled around as his body cradled her their deep lair. His cool body did nothing to sooth her heated skin.
Softly he snored. Ashlyn kissed his muzzle, whispered, “I’ll be back.” As soon as she got this insane itching to stop! She walked, broke out into a sprint down the passageway until she came to the main area of the cavern. Her head swam with scents of sulfur and… hibiscus?
She whirled around, scratching her elbow. Her eyes narrowed, despite the flickering gas lanterns shining throughout the large area. Ashlyn stumbled, her eyes adjusting to the shadows, searching for the scent, the hairs on the back of her neck prickling.
From out of the haven’s entrance into the cavern, Margaret Moldvan stepped into her view. She wore a black silk wrap, her silver-gray hair pulled back and twisted like she’d stepped out of a spa, came through the falls to enter the cavern.
“Margaret. What are you doing here?” Ashlyn came up short. She took a deep breath and let it out slow, bending her knee and reaching down to rub her calf. She hissed at the burn, preferred it to the itch.
“Perhaps the better question, dear Ashlyn, is what are you doing down here?” Margaret tilted her head, tapped a well-polished fingernail against her ruby lips. “There hasn’t been anything down here for years, or has there? Have you been holding out on me?”
“Of course not.” Ashlyn scratched her neck and slid her foot up to scratch the opposite leg.
“My. My. My.” Margaret swatted Ashlyn’s hand away from her neck. She tilted Ashlyn’s head and peered at the ravaging spot on Ashlyn’s neck. “That’s a nasty rash you’ve acquired.”
“Father had me checking on the habitat. I must be allergic to some of the fauna.” Ashlyn glanced around, if she looked the elder woman in the eye Margaret would catch her lie. Her pulse race and she bit her lip against a groan as another itch erupted on her flesh. This time, behind her ear.
“Father? So, you’re calling Istvan father after all these years? What changed? Or dare I ask who? Not that I blame you. After all, Emily and Cassandra have both taken their dragon’s mark. Why should you be any different?”
Something cold curled inside Ashlyn’s belly. “I’m not like my sister. I’m not.”
Margaret gave Ashlyn’s shoulder a squeeze. “Of course not. Which is why I dare say you have disappointed me. I expected more from you.”
“More?” Ashlyn flexed her fingers, she needed to scratch again.
“He’s marked you.” Margaret grabbed Ashlyn’s wrist. A wan smile curved up on those ruby lips. “This is why you’ve ignored my messages?”
Ashlyn lowered her eyes. “I’m sorry. There wasn’t anything to report. I swear. Father went to visit Emily. She sent a dragon to fetch him. The egg hatched, but I just found out when father returned it had hatched.”
“I should have been informed immediately of Istvan’s departure and his return. Are you going to tell me if the fiú was male or female? Or is that not important either? And I’d still like to know what you’re doing down here, if not hiding your mate. Does Istvan know of your bonding? This is unacceptable. You of all know the dragons are dangerous and the bonding between a dragon and a Keeper is forbidden.” Margaret’s hand tightened on Ashlyn’s wrist.
“I’m sorry. You’re right. You should have been informed. I just thought Father would wish to give you the news himself. Emily has a daughter, Aurelia. And he’s given his blessing to Sigurd and I. We don’t have to hide, and as far as our bonding, the laws of the Dragon Keeper Society do not apply to me or my mate.”
Margaret released Ashlyn, tugged on her silk wrap, and tapped her fingers against her shoulder. “You know.”
“Yes. I know.” Ashlyn scratched her neck, hated this detainment from seeking relief of this horrible itch, irate. “I’m a dragon, and you didn’t tell me.”
Margaret waved her off. “What is a tree if it doesn’t bear fruit? Nothing, for it will dwindle and die like a weed. You’ll never shift. You didn’t from birth and you won’t now.”
“How do you know?”
“I was there when you came into this world. Don’t make me be the one to take you out of it.” Margaret’s voice turned cold, her eyes flashed and shone in the dim lighting. Silver bled into her dark irises.
Ashlyn gasped. Margaret’s eyes glowed, two silver orbs with her pupils turning to slits. “You’re one of them.”
Margaret jerked back as struck. She blinked, blinked until her eyes returned to normal again. “Where are the eggs?”
Goosebumps raced up Ashlyn’s arms. “What eggs?”
“The ones you’re hiding from me. You understand how important it is to keep the last of the dragon bloodlines protected. When a dragon breeds with another dragon, those bloodlines stay strong. Humans dilute those bloodlines. Like yourself, their offspring lose their ability to shift and shorten their lifespan. It is why the ancient ones created the laws forbidding the union between a dragon and its human rider. Tell me where they are.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” That cold in her belly snaked through her veins until she no longer itched.
“Emily I could overlook. I blame it on myself. A mistake I don’t intend to allow to happen again. Cassandra is smart, she’ll protect the investments I’ve entrusted with her. But you, dear Ash, I saved, and this is how you repay me?”
“I have been a good and faithful servant to you, Mistress of the Dragon Keepers. If we had eggs here, you’d know about it.” Her heart pounded so hard in her chest she feared it would burst.
“You’re a furious and loyal one, Ash, which is why I know you’ll have no problem going to Emily and bringing the golden dragon’s fiú back to me.”
“No. I can’t. I wouldn’t.” Ashlyn stared at the elder woman, aghast. Take a baby from its mother, biological or no? She couldn’t do it. She wouldn’t do it. “We are not called to protect the dragons, are we? It is all about control. It’s always been about gaining control of the dragons. You don’t control me. You have no place to call yourself a Keeper.”
“Careful, you sound like your foster mother, Laurel, and I would hate to see something happen to you as it did my sister.” Margaret advanced, her hand reached out, fingers extending to claws.
“Don’t you dare touch her.” Dr. Kovak’s voice boomed out of the tunnel behind Margaret.
Ashlyn froze. From the corner of her eye, she caught another figure stepping out of the shadows.
Sigurd.