Lyric's Curse (Dragonblood Sagas Book 1) Read online

  Sibylle lowered her head to hide her tears. Everything her father said was true. He had begged her to consider her options, had tried his hardest to find someone who interested her, and had warned her what would happen if they waited too long. But Sibylle hated all of her choices, she couldn’t imagine herself with any of the young lords and dukes that her father presented her with. They were all so stuffy and boring. Worse were the old ones desperate for a young wife to bear them children. Sibylle was barely out of childhood herself, she wasn’t ready for that yet. “I’m sorry, Father. I know this is my fault. How long do I have?”

  “You’ve only turned sixteen a few months ago, so you have until your seventeenth birthday. On which the tournament will be held. At the end of tournament, a marriage ceremony will crown the victor with your hand.”

  Sibylle wiped away her tears, barely a year left until her life was no longer her own. What a disaster. Yet it could be worse. Not all girls got until their seventeenth birthday before being married. Many, especially those involving royal families, were betrothed much earlier. Sibylle knew she had her father to thank for that. He had delayed the inevitable as long as possible. “I understand, it’s just not fair.

  Lord Lamar rose and walked over to his daughter. He placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her a tender squeeze. “I’m sorry to put you in this position, Sibylle. I must follow the King’s orders. I’ve tried to give you as much time as possible in hopes that you’d find one of the many suitors that came come around worthy of your attentions. I love you very much and only want you to be happy. But while I am lord of these lands, I owe my allegiance to King Gramalt. I must follow the traditions of the land and the king’s command. No matter my own feelings on the subject. The kingdom has long been a fractured one and right now King Gramalt has joined us into one peaceful land. If I were to disobey the king now… It would open the door to other dissent and possible war. A war that would bring much death and sadness to the people around us.”

  May I be excused?” Sibylle wanted to be alone now.

  “Yes, Sibylle, you may go now,” said Lord Lamar in a tender voice.

  Sibylle put her own hand on top of her father’s and squeezed. She wanted him to know she didn’t blame him for what was happening. It had been her choice and he had been supportive. Now she would have to deal with the consequences, but she wouldn’t take her anger and frustration out on him. Sibylle quietly walked out of her father’s office and headed to her room. She had much to think about. Life as she knew it was changing fast and she had to figure out a way to cope with it.

  3

  “A MOMENT OF YOUR TIME,” SPOKE the beast.

  Apophis turned and looked at her fellow dragon, his dark black hide with red tinted scales were a sharp contrast to her own white and gold color’s. White and black dragons were two of the largest and most powerful breeds of dragons and both Apophis and Nelarth were leaders among the dragons. “What is it, Nelarth?” As the alpha dragon, Apophis ruled the large tropical island that they were forced to call home. But she knew Nelarth wanted the position of Alpha, especially with the end of their imprisonment so close. The magical barrier which had prevented dragons from leaving, and humans from entering, was gone. Now the only thing holding back the dragons was Apophis’s patience.

  “Have you given thought to my last proposal? hissed the black and gold dragon.

  Apophis shook her head. Nelarth wouldn’t stop asking. “I’ve given it thought, and the answer is the same. We do not leave the Isle until the scouts have reported back. I’ll not lead our kind into the world only to be slaughtered by those who wait. Nor would I allow you and your followers to kill every human that you see.”

  “The accursed humans are why we are stuck on this accursed Island living on fish!” growled Nelarth in frustration.

  Nelarth had a very selective memory when it came to how they had arrived on the island, trapped by a magical boundary that prevented them from leaving. He never remembered that it was Cadreinth, a dragon, who brought the dragons to the island and gave the power to the mages to create the barrier. Nor did Nelarth remember that it had been done to save the dragons from ultimate destruction. Humans almost destroyed all dragons and might have done so had Cadreinth and his bonded human not turned the Island into a prison. For centuries they had waited to return. Most of the original dragons trapped on the Island were dead. Only a few remained, the elder dragons, Apophis, having been only little more than a hatchling during the great war, was one of them. She, better than most, knew that their return to the world would not be well received and finding a peaceful balance with humans would be difficult.

  Not all shared her goals. Many, like Nelarth, wanted to take revenge and then force the humans from their original hunting grounds. They wanted to taste the blood of their natural enemy. They wanted to retake their position as the rulers of the world.

  “I grow weary of repeating myself, Nelarth. War with the humans is not wise. We shall seek to co-exist with the humans as we have in the past. If that fails, I’ll take recourse. Until then, you need to come to peace with the fact that humans are not to be killed.”

  “As you say, Apophis. My apologies for wasting your time with foolish talk.” Nelarth bowed his head and then unfolded his large and powerful wings and flew off of the cliff that Apophis was perched upon.

  “Nelarth will be trouble,” warned Brendoth, the blue and white dragon which sat off to Apophis’s side.

  Apophis nodded her mighty head, her white and gold scales shined in the sunlight. “Yes, I fear he is too eager to taste human blood. His father filled him with tales of his deeds. Of how he ruled over an entire island, and had human slaves.”

  “Someone should tell Nelarth the true history of Droll Isle. He would not be so eager to return.”

  Again Apophis shook her head. “No, Brendoth, Nelarth wouldn’t believe that it was his father and his cruelty that lead to our demise. He would choose to believe his father’s stories of lost glory and a dragon’s true place.”

  Brendoth spit acid onto rocks below. “Damned arrogant fish eaters have no clue. Elder dragons have passed down knowledge since the beginning of time and the story always stays the same. Arrogance and a taste of blood are always a dragon’s downfall. Always we underrate the humans. Stupid beasts like Nelarth will bring us down again.”

  “Or he could bring victory,” said Apophis. “Our numbers have swelled, and humans do not live long. It is possible the mages and weapons which defeated us are gone and forgotten. However, time has always favored the humans. They breed fast and are resilient. Short term victory could lead to our ultimate failure.”

  “Would you have me kill Nelarth? Without his leadership the other trouble starters might not cause us grief.”

  Apophis gave a toothy grin; her four-foot-long razor-sharp teeth still could tear a dragon or any other beast apart despite her advanced age. “No, I’m afraid killing Nelarth would just inflame his followers. They would splinter and make their way without waiting. As long as Nelarth does follow my rule we must let his black and red ass live.”

  “A pity,” hissed Brendoth. “I wonder though, if this will all be for naught. We don’t even know if any humans are still capable of bonding. What if humans attack us as soon as we return? Nelarth and his wing mates won’t be held back if that happens.”

  “It’s very likely that there are none remaining,” admitted Apophis. The Sacred Blood and the other cults were hunting them just as they hunted us. Who knows how many had children. Who knows how many of the original bloodlines remain. We shall search for the marked ones, if we can find any worthy of being elevated to bonded, we shall do so. Otherwise it will only be a matter of time before Nelarth gets his wish for war with the humans.”

  4

  “I HAVE A BROTHER!” said Shayla. Her deep scowl didn’t show pleasure at this announcement.

  Braylon Gaines frowned. Shayla, the beautiful dark-haired young mage, had just stormed into the hidden gardens of Oakenreach
estates, her family home. This was their secret meeting place. A dark look crossed his face at the thought. “How could this happen?’

  “Well when a man and a woman get toget—”

  “I know how the reproductive system works, Shayla. What I am asking is how is it that you are only finding out now? Where is this brother? What does your father intend?”

  Shayla sighed, Braylon was no fun. He was an attractive man, a few years older than herself, but she’d never found young men interesting. However, he could be a bit dull at times. Always business, business, business. “I don’t know. He says he never intended for it to happen. It happened when he was working on a merchant ship. He was in port on one of the Western Isles and met a lady of the night. He came back to see her nine months later and found that she didn’t work there anymore. He says he was very fond of her so he tracked her down. It was then he found out why she had disappeared. She was ripe with child.”

  Braylon almost spit out his wine, “Your father knocked up a whore? And then he let her keep the child?”

  “Yes, isn’t it scandalous? I want to throw up just thinking about it. This whole time, I’ve had a little bastard of a brother running around. A male heir, even a bastard son of a whore, has more rights than I do, and could have serious implications on my future.”

  “Why is your father admitting this now?” asked Braylon.

  “He’s dying. He wants to make things right with his bastard son,” said Shayla as she shook her head in disbelief. She had been completely broadsided by her father’s announcement.

  “What does this mean for us?” asked Braylon. All their plans relied on Shayla inheriting. Her land and titles came from her mother and were safe, but her father’s wealth was an intricate part of her plans If her father changed his will to include this bastard it could be disastrous.

  “I don’t know. But we must find this boy first before father does,” said Shayla. A bastard brother being brought back to live with them was a nightmare. One she didn’t intend to let happen.

  “Okay, how do we find the bastard?”

  “They believe he is in the city of Winport in the Kingdom of Droll. The bastard is there.”

  Braylon frown returned, “Droll? Isn’t that the Dragon Isle?”

  “Yes. There couldn’t be worse place for father to be have sprayed his seed into a wanton whore,” said Shayla, clearly disgusted by the thought. It wasn’t that her father had had relations with a whore that bothered Shayla, her issues with the revelation went beyond adultery. Her mother and father were bound together by a marriage of convenience between two affluent families arranged between her grandparents. Layton, the up and coming mage, would bring wealth and fame while Caitlyn’s family had land and titles with little actual wealth left. Both families had been happy with the outcome of the marriage.

  Her father treated her mother well, and gave her two children, but the nature of his business took him all over the world. Besides providing the seed that produced Shayla, he was a father in name only. Now that he was dying, Shayla cared not how long he lasted. She cared only for what his death would provide. It was a much anticipated inheritance that was finally on the verge of being hers. Years of planning and waiting were about to come to fruition. However, the revelation that her father had a bastard son complicated that. Shayla’s plans had no room for a split inheritance. He must be dealt with. That her father had a child on the Dragon Isle made things even more complicated. If the boy could not be found before the dragons returned, he would undoubtedly be much more difficult to kill.

  “Father is sending Salus to find the child. Braylon, you must follow Salus and get to the child first. You must take care of this.” Shayla had much power and reach within the Kingdom of Oxvein, and had connections along the entire continent of Partha, but the large Isle of Droll was beyond her reach. Its kingdom contained no spies loyal to her, no one who she could turn to. She needed someone she could trust to go to the dragon Isle and fix this new and most vexing problem. “Salus is father’s most trusted adviser, he’ll know everything father knows about the bastard.”

  “How old is the child now?” asked Braylon.

  “Father says the whore died when the boy was only a couple years old. He paid for the boy to stay in an orphanage. However, that arrangement ends with the boy’s sixteenth birthday, which is coming soon. Father wants to find him before he leaves the orphanage. Father wants to bring the boy here.”

  “So they know where the boy is? That does make things less complicated. All I have to do is follow Salus. Let him find the boy and then I’ll deal with it.”

  “Yes, but you can’t be seen. Father must never know you are involved. Even if you must kill Salus, this has to remain a secret.”

  “Don’t worry, Salus is an old man, he is half blind already. Keeping out of his sight won’t be difficult.”

  “Be careful, Salus is more dangerous than he looks. He isn’t half the mage my father is, but he is far from defenseless. Father is trusting him for a reason.”

  Braylon smiled. One old half-blind mage didn’t scare him. “Don’t worry. I’ll find the bastard and your father will never know.”

  “Good,” said Shayla before leaning in and kissing Braylon on the cheek. Braylon desired more than a friendly kiss, he wanted her with a ferocity that excited her, but Braylon was her secret weapon, a deadly sellsword, feared and respected by commoners and royals alike. Keeping him close but not too close was a dangerous game. After their embrace was complete she pushed him away. “Go, no one can see us together.” Shayla reminded him.

  Braylon stared into her eyes, his lustful look lingered before he turned and walked away from their secret rendezvous.

  Shayla smiled into the night as Braylon melted into the dark. A warrior of great repute, Braylon had been hired often to accompany her father. The wisest merchants never trusted their coins or goods to just one form of protection. They’d hire a mage like her father and swordsmen like Braylon. When her father retired from protecting merchant’s goods, Braylon started coming to visit her father and seek his council on the best travel routes, which city guards and mages could be trusted. Layton Finch might be too old to travel as a protective mage, but his knowledge was still a valuable commodity.

  As Shayla grew into a woman, Braylon, and every other man in the kingdom, began to notice her. Shayla recognized the value of such interest and made sure to cultivate that bond. Braylon lusted for her and would now do anything for her. Shayla found Braylon to be an attractive and exciting man. His powerful body and dark brooding eyes intrigued her so she had no need to fake attraction to the dangerous sellsword, but she did need to keep him away for now. His loyalty was assured by his lust. And while she had great confidence that her skills as a lover would keep him wanting more, there was no greater temptation than the forbidden fruit just barely out of grasp. Once her plans were fully in motion, she could succumb to her own desire to be with Braylon, but for now, she would keep him wanting more. Keep him focused on doing whatever was needed to keep her happy.

  5

  DEVIL WOMAN, SORCERESS, WITCH. She had been called all them and several more unflattering names. Azina didn’t care. The fools that feared magic mattered little. As did the majority of the fools that called Winport home. The reality was that most would likely be dead within a year.

  Dragons were returning to the world, so told the prophecies. The return would be marked with blood. Not by intent but by the nature of the relationship between men and dragons. Throughout history men and dragons had struggled to co-exist. Both claimed their right as the master of the world. Both had reason to believe they were the superior beings. Yet throughout the Centuries of recorded history and beyond, neither had truly established dominance over the other. Many times throughout history there was periods of relative peace and other times of all-out war. The last time the two battled, men had come out on top. Who knew what would happen this time around.

  Azina’s coven of witches, for generations had been pa
ssing down their magical knowledge and knowledge of dragons. Some details were lost, others forgotten, but the basics of the family task were never forgotten. Find those with the mark of the dragon and help to prepare them for the day when their powers would be restored.

  Azina’s people had spread all over the world in their search. Far and wide they were sent on this difficult and dangerous task. For while some, like the witches and mages that shared Azina’s bloodlines, understood the world worked best when there was some sort of harmony between man and dragon, there were more, both man and beast that didn’t share this view. Those with the mark of the dragon were hunted and killed by those who would not see peace between the two species.

  Azina had found one such man years ago. His mark had been noticed and spoken of by a woman Azina knew to sell her flesh for pleasure. The man, a powerful mage, had left the isle before Azina could speak to him but he left something behind. His seed had impregnated the woman of the night and a child bearing the mark was born.

  The woman had left her old life behind with the intent to raise her son, the father having learned of her impending childbirth gave consent and provided the necessary coin for her to leave her old life behind. Azina had tried to watch over the woman, to protect her so she might raise her child in peace for as long as the gods would allow, but the woman’s life had lasted little longer. Azina had not been in the city when the woman died. A drunken savage, one who had previously paid the woman for her services had spotted her one day and followed her home. When she rejected his coin, the man had flown into rage and killed the woman. Before Azina returned to Winport the mother had been buried and the child sent to an orphanage.

  The orphanage had not been Azina’s first choice in how to raise the young child bearing the mark of the dragon, but there were worse outcomes. It had been decided they would let the boy grow up an orphan, oblivious of his true destiny until the time was closer. Azina would stay in Winport and keep an eye on the boy. As long as no one knew of the boy’s true destiny he was safe. Once his secret was revealed Azina would steal him away before the boy’s enemies could find him. But until that day he would grow up as a normal boy. As normal as a foreign blooded bastard child of a dead whore could have. The boy’s life would be difficult, but hard was better than dead. Azina could only watch at a distance as the boy suffered through life.