Chapter Nine
Anna
Between working from dawn to dusk and all the tests that the mages continued to run on her, Anna didn’t have any time to worry about Indulf. Except when she woke in a cold sweat in the middle of the night, tears on her face. She knew that it was silly to be so worried, since he had told her himself that dragons rarely died in these battles.
Perhaps more concerning was how intense her feelings had gotten in such a short period of time. She hardly knew the dragon king, and yet he was never far from her thoughts. Her past crushes had never left her like this, like the heroine of some tragic romance pining for her lost love. Indulf wasn’t even lost.
Still, she threw herself into the work that needed to be done around the castle with gusto, to keep her hands busy enough to quiet the thoughts in her head. There was never a dull moment. Bandages had to be wrapped, medical herbs picked and dried, food harvested, supplies sent to the battlefront. Even though it had only been two weeks, they were constantly busy. She had never realized that there was so much work to be done around a castle. And all without so much as indoor plumbing!
One day as she was out in the orchard harvesting apples to be dried and send to the front, the other women started shouting. When a shadow passed over Anna, she looked up. A dragon soared overhead, headed for the castle.
Several of the other women tossed aside their baskets and began ripping off their clothes.
“He bears no insignia!” one of them shouted. “Bring him down!”
Anna pushed back her hat. The women shifted rapidly into dragons—smaller than their male counterparts, but no less visually stunning—and launched themselves into the air. Anna stared, transfixed at the lithe bodies and glittering scales. It wasn’t until another of the women seized her around the wrist and started pulling her toward the castle that she finally made her feet start to move.
The dragon spotted the women dragons coming at him. He tucked his wings in tight against his side and dropped like a stone. They chased him down. The dragon caught himself just before smashing into the trees and shifted so that he dropped the rest of the way in human form.
“Stay here,” the woman pulling Anna told her, then ran with the others to surround the man. They all carried knives and short swords and pointed them at the intruder.
The dragon lifted his hands over his head and knelt on the ground. Anna recognized him as one of the guards she had often seen in the palace before this whole mess began. She started forward, but the one that had told her to stay put narrowed her eyes and she stopped.
“I have a message for Lord Thonis, about the human, Anna.”
Surprise rippled through her, and not the pleasant kind. A few of the women glanced at her and she twisted her hands. What did Indulf want with her? Did he think that she was an assassin again? Or, even worse, did he decide to hand her over to Warmund to stop the fight? She didn’t want to think he had, but she had to be realistic. Who was she to him, compared to his own son?
“Where are your colors?” one of the women demanded.
The dragon sighed. “I do not fly under the king’s banner. I am an envoy sent from the prince.”
Her breath caught in her throat. The woman who had told her to stay put broke away from the others and wrapped an arm around her waist. She didn’t let Anna question what was going on, instead shepherding her back to the castle without a word. After getting her back to her chambers, the woman told her to stay put.
Anna paced around the room, her mind whirling. What did Warmund want with her? Had Indulf been captured?
It seemed like hours before Thonis sent for her. She was brought to a cozy library with large windows and a fire burning in the hearth. Thonis, a tall, dark and handsome dragon, sat at a desk. He smiled at her when she came in, though it was clearly strained.
“Please, sit.”
He didn’t sound angry or accusatory. That was a good sign. She sat but was unable to stay still. She kept twisting her hands, dreading what he was going to say. Luckily, she didn’t have long to wait.
“Prince Warmund sent you a message.”
Surprise rippled through her. She thought that Warmund had sent Thonis a message about her. But the message was for her? Her whole body felt cold. What if they thought she was secretly in league with him? She started to tremble, even though she fought it. They wouldn’t think that she was helping him just because he sent her a message. That would be far too obvious… wouldn't it?
She swallowed hard. “What sort of message?”
“The prince is offering to withdraw from battle if you give yourself to him. He says he will cease this fighting and cede territory he has taken back to Indulf. All in exchange for you.” Thonis watched her carefully. “It is a rather generous offer, don’t you think?”
Anna had no clue how to respond to that. What the hell was happening? It couldn’t be that he wanted her for her… Did he know about Indulf asking her to let him in her bed the night before he left? But no. It wouldn’t be that, either. No, she was forgetting. She wasn’t from this world. She wasn’t important at all, except for the fact that she came from the future.
“He wants to use me to find a way to open the portals to the future,” she murmured, more to herself than Thonis. “It has nothing to do with Indulf...”
“I’m afraid it does.” Thonis smiled again, but once more it was highly strained. “You see, if Warmund was to bring the lost princess back instead of the king, it would be devastating for Indulf’s rule. The people want the princess back. They want assurances of stability. If Indulf had taken a new mate and had another child before this, Warmund’s efforts would have no effect. But now, when the king is in battle and could be killed?”
A wave of cold washed over her at the words.
Thonis sighed and rested his head in his hands. “I doubt that Warmund even realizes what he is doing to the kingdom. Too engrossed in his desperation to get his sister back. But he was always headstrong. He and I used to be friends. He has always blamed himself for the loss of Wildref. I very much doubt that he has stopped to consider the fallout of his actions.”
Anna shivered a moment before she lifted her chin. “So, are you going to hand me over to him?”
“I would never disobey the king’s wishes. He may not have told me to keep you safe, but I’m not an idiot. I know that is what he would want.” Thonis peered at her for a moment, intelligent dark eyes seemingly piercing right through her. “I will send a message to him about Warmund’s demands. And as for what you are going to do… I will not stop you from heading to the front lines yourself, if you wish to offer yourself up to end this war before it gets worse.”
Anna flinched, the meaning behind his words obvious. He would not hand her over himself, too loyal to the king, but he did not think of her as worth being protected. And to be honest, if she could stop people from dying… then how could she just sit here and dig in the gardens?
“There is a chance that this is all a coma dream,” she tried to joke, but her throat was very dry. “I’ll go.”
***
She had never seen a man as furious as Indulf was now, pacing back and forth in the tent. Smoke rolled from his mouth and nostrils. Fire burned in his eyes, and his hands clenched, relaxed and clenched again. If it had been anybody else, she would have been terrified for her life. But her gut told her that Indulf would never hurt her. And, honestly, if he was going to, he’d just hand her over to Warmund. Which was why she was here.
“What are you thinking?” he finally hissed at her. “Leaving the protection of the palace? It’s dangerous here. And to come to the front lines!”
“You’re on the front lines.”
Indulf gave her a black glare. “Don’t.”
She lifted her chin and stared back. “Don’t what?”
“Don’t pretend as though me, an experienced and trained warrior, being on the front lines is the same as you, a human who doesn’t even have magic.”
That cut some of the fight out of her, but Anna wasn’t down yet. She crossed her arms, still leveling her gaze at him. “No, but you’re the king. If you were killed, what then? Admit it. You’re not here on the front lines because you’re experienced and trained. You’re here because you are still hoping to save your son. You don’t have to be ashamed of it,” she added, her voice gentler now. “You love him.”
Indulf closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.
“I’m here because there is a chance… I mean, this is all my fault. I’m the one who started this. Maybe we can find a way to end it. If giving me to Warmund will bring peace, then isn’t it worth it?”
His hand dropped. He pointed at her, smoke increasing as it billowed from his mouth. She actually saw a flame in the back of his throat. She still wasn’t afraid of him, though. Perhaps this would be easier if she was. Then she could clam up. Not fight to be handed over to the man she did fear. She didn’t think that Warmund wanted to hurt her, but she also knew he wouldn’t hesitate to do so if he thought it would bring him closer to his goal.
“I am the king,” Indulf seethed. “And you will do as I say.”
Anna sprang to her feet. Her chest was so hot she was surprised that smoke wasn’t blowing out of her own mouth. “I will do as I damned well please. You’re not my king. I’m not even from this kingdom!”
He glared at her and she glared right back. She wasn’t going to back down on this one. There were possibilities here, they just had to think of them. If Warmund knew that Indulf had his mages working on a way to figure out this time-travel magic… he’d have to accept that, wouldn't he? She took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
“Indulf—“
“Anna. What will you do if he decides to kill you?”
She blinked at him. “Why would he do that?”
“If he wanted to be assured that he could open the portals to the future, he might kill you, to find some spark of magic somewhere inside of you.”
She hadn’t considered that. It made her shiver, but didn’t stop her. “Well, if he kills me, I guess I’d die.”
Indulf growled.
Anna held up a hand, stopping him. “Listen,” her voice was softer now, “I’m not going to pretend like this isn’t terrifying to me. But the mages that you’ve had working on this are getting nowhere. I don’t belong here, Indulf. I have a home, a family, a life back in my time. Warmund wouldn’t be sending for me if it was a shot in the dark… the least we could do is find out exactly what he wants, what his plans are. If he can figure out a way to send me home, it will be worth it.”
There was a flash of pain in Indulf’s eyes and she realized what she had said. She opened her mouth to tell him she didn’t mean it like that… she didn’t mean leaving him. She only meant that the fighting would be over and she could go home…
With a shock, she realized that she had not once considered going home before this. It almost made her wince, but she bolstered herself. She wanted this fighting over. She wanted Indulf to be safe. She couldn’t bring herself to say that exactly, though. To say that she cared that deeply for him would only be confusing.
Indulf sat beside her, not looking at her. “Is that what you want?”
“I… I think it’s worth talking to him.”
He glanced at her, then nodded. “Then I will speak with him. You should get some rest. I will let you know what happens next.”
She nodded at him, releasing a breath. Well, it was progress. She just hoped it wasn’t a terrible idea.