Chapter Ten
Penny
Penny stretched out, a pleasant tingling in her muscles from the sex she’d had the previous night. She always loved the morning after. It always felt so good. Like every muscle in her body was utterly relaxed. Sleeping after having sex was always great, too. She never slept so soundly as she did when she was riding on those post-coital endorphins. Now she rolled over, patting the bed as she looked for Warmund’s warmth to curl up into.
He wasn’t there.
Reluctantly, she cracked open her eyes to make sure her hands weren’t playing tricks on her. When she saw that the bed was, in fact, empty, she pushed herself to her elbow and glanced at the space by the hearth. No blankets, no pillows, no Warmund.
Maybe he’s still out with Lisa.
Her heart jumped into her throat as her mind leapt to the worst possibility—that he had kidnapped her baby. She threw the blankets off and checked the cots. All three of her children lay there. Mark’s eyes were open, and he grinned at her but was content to just lay there. Alex was starting to stir, too, but Lisa’s eyes were firmly shut. This was the usual way things worked; she’d have time to change Mark’s diaper before Alex woke up and she had to change and feed him, and then she’d have to wake up Lisa to much grouching and fussing.
As her bare feet touched the cold floor, she glanced around again. No sign of Warmund anywhere. Her heart started to sink. So that’s what it was, huh? She fell for it again. Falling asleep with the man she’d just shared her body with, only to find him gone in the morning.
Why had she expected anything different with Warmund?
Penny shook her head. She had been expecting something else because she was scared and alone; she had clung to him because he was the familiar thing. That’s all it was.
I should have told him that Alex was his child.
A shiver ran down her spine. Last night when he came back, she hadn’t once tried to tell him that he had a son. A son that, for all she knew, might disappear if he was successful. Her lungs froze up as her blood ran cold. Not for all she knew. If Warmund had no reason to be on Earth, then Alex would never be conceived. Would he disappear from her arms even as she held him? Would she even remember?
I should have told him. I should have begged him not to go. I should have given him a reason to stay.
As her thoughts started to spiral out of control, the door burst open. Penny leapt to her feet, a cry of joy in her throat. She choked on it, though, when she saw that the man who entered wasn’t, in fact, Warmund. The instant dread, though, was short-lived. She recognized him; the scar on his brow and the thick braid down his back gave it away.
“Thonis.” She sighed in relief at the sight of the familiar dragon. “Thank God you’re here.”
Thonis stared at her blankly. That’s when she saw the sword in one hand and the short dagger in the other. He was dressed in full armor, too, and Penny’s eyes widened. She drew back from him, a gasp catching in her throat.
“How do you know my name?”
“I—” How was she meant to answer that? At this point, the dragons didn’t even know that time travel was possible! She swallowed dryly, her gaze on the sword. “I’m… I’m…”
Mark, getting annoyed now, let out a sharp cry to let her know he was ready to get up. He sat up, drawing Thonis’ gaze to him. The toddler pouted, ignoring the strange man entirely and reached out to Penny. She picked him up, glancing around to see if there was anything she could use to carry all three of the babies with. Of course, there was nothing. Four men appeared behind him; they all scowled.
“What is this?” Thonis demanded of her. He glanced at the spot on the floor where Warmund had been lying the previous night. In the light of day, she saw the bloodstains on the wood and the blankets she’d been curled in. “So, the infiltrator brought his mate and children with him to rob the palace?”
Rob the palace? Penny’s jaw dropped. “What are you talking about?”
One of the four men stepped in and grabbed a bag off the desk. It clinked metallically. “That’s an awful lot of gold for a woman wearing a dress that old.”
Warmund had robbed the actual palace? What had he been thinking? She stared at the bag, then back at Thonis. He stared at her hard, his expression calculating. Completely unlike the kind, gentle face she knew.
“We don’t know that she was involved in this,” one of the men said. “Eh, sweetheart? She might just be a prostitute that the—”
“I am not a prostitute,” Penny snapped, heat rushing to her face. She got to her feet, holding Mark close to her chest. “And as for robbing the palace, I don’t know what you’re talking about, so you can just—”
Thonis interrupted. “Watn, arrest her.”
The four men started and stared at him. One of them looked doubtfully at her and then back at Thonis. “Uh, well, not that I want to disobey orders, but are you sure? I mean she’s holding a kid and—”
“Then you take the child, and Jord will cuff her.” Thonis narrowed his eyes. “And if you cause us any trouble—"
“I won’t,” Penny promised.
Her heart pounded, and her throat was dry but that much she could say. Even though her legs trembled with the desire to run, and her heart pounded so hard that a bitter taste filled her mouth, she wasn’t going to cause any trouble. She’d do nothing to put her babies in danger.
Even so, her mind spun. Nobody in the palace knew her. She had no idea when the attack was meant to take place or where Warmund was. Should she tell them everything? It sounded impossible… they wouldn’t believe her… if she warned them about the attack, then when it happened, they might even think that she was part of it.
What was she supposed to do?
Watn and Jord came forward. Both of them still looked uncertain but neither protested. Penny shied back when Watn moved to take Mark. Her protest caught in her throat when Thonis growled, though. Reluctantly, she handed her baby over to the warrior.
“He needs a change,” she murmured. Tears brimmed her eyes. “They all will.”
“We’ll take care of your children,” Jord assured her as he shackled her hands. “You don’t have to worry about him. I have a dozen younger siblings, I’ve changed my share of diapers.”
He winked at her, which helped relieve some of her anxiety but not much. Once she was shackled, Thonis looked much calmer. He nodded to the other two, who went in as Alex started to fuss and grabbed her by the arms. Penny twisted, gazing worriedly at her children as she was dragged away.
Where was Warmund?
***
Penny never thought she’d actually be in a dungeon with dragons around. The irony of that stupid game they played so often—that stupid game that meant so much to her since she was never allowed stupid games growing up—was not lost on her. Only now, it seemed to be doubly ironic. Not in a funny way, either.
As soon as she had been brought here, she broke down crying. Her mind went over all the possibilities of what she could have done, but that didn’t change her current situation.
She was stuck here, in a prison, and she had no idea where her babies were or what she was going to do now.
She wasn’t certain how long she had been there, crying and fearing what the future might bring, when Thonis came into the cell again, this time accompanied by someone that looked very familiar. It took her a moment to place his face as belonging to Volcant, Misty’s husband. She hadn’t spent enough time around him for his face to bring instant recognition.
Penny wiped her cheeks and faced the two dragons. “Where are my children?”
“They’ve been taken to the royal nursery,” Volcant told her shortly. “Now, how did your mate gain entrance to the palace without anybody noticing?”
“He’s not my mate.”
“Your lover, then.”
“He’s not—"
Thonis rolled his eyes. “We can smell him on you. Don’t lie to us.”
Penny stared at him for a moment, shivering at how cold he was. Her shoulders hunched as she wrapped her arms around her waist. “I want to see my children.”
Volcant stepped forward. “You aren’t in any position to make demands, human. I am well aware that there is a plot brewing against my king. You and your lover and clearly part of it. Don’t think that your children will protect you. We will assign them a new family if necessary; it was your own fault for bringing them here when you were—”
“I wasn’t doing anything!” Penny exploded, unable to hold it in any longer. “I didn’t know he was going to try to rob the palace. He said he was going to look for a job, but I thought it just meant that he was going to leave me and the children on our own. I didn’t know he was going to be an utter idiot!”
The two dragons looked unimpressed. They glanced at each other, then back at her. Anger welled up in her, and sparks of magic burst from her fingers.
“You gotta believe me,” she growled, “I didn’t know!”
The sound of rushing water made her jump. Her head whipped to the left and she gasped; the same glowing crack in time and space that heralded the coming of a portal glowed in the side of the dungeon wall. Even as she stared at it, though, it disappeared.
Her heart hammered. Did I do that?
Thonis and Volcant both stared at her. As Volcant opened his mouth, though, there was a shout from down the corridor. “We’re under attack!”
Both dragons glared at her a moment longer then whirled on their heels and rushed off, pausing only to lock her back up. Penny rushed to the door, screaming after them. Under attack. The assassins. Were they early? It didn’t matter. They were here. Going after the royal baby—she’d be in the royal nursery.
Along with her children.