Warring of Fire (Dragon Born, #3) Page 17

  “Because you're perceptive,” Sven said.

  “Wait until I tell Ellie about this,” Dirk said.

  His voice helped to dispel the tension in the room.

  Until I turned around to see if the others were coming.

  Wiglaf had died just as Beowulf had: bitten across the chest and bleeding everywhere. He lay in the corner, broken, a thousand years of hatred and misplaced revenge now dissolved. Sven must have followed my gaze, because he stepped forward, leaving Beowulf's blade in Adler's heart.

  And then he kneeled beside Wiglaf as Sofia screamed, just realizing what happened.

  I had to ease her pain. Extending my magic to her, I sensed the purple wall that Adler had placed in her mind just minutes ago. I wanted to tell them both that their mother might be alive and was across the country, wondering where her children were, but I couldn't. Not until I shifted back out of this form.

  Mrs. Macher looked at me. She had blood on her mouth, staining her bronze scales. But one thing she didn't wear was regret. She'd done the right thing even if Wiglaf had realized the truth. He had still murdered and allowed greed to make him as bad as Adler. His final act had been one of revenge, not redemption.

  I shattered the wall in Sofia, but she didn't seem to react. This was hard no matter what. I watched as Sofia leaned on her twin, holding back sobs as she struggled to breathe. I sensed it was time to stay out of this and let Sven and her deal with it in their own way.

  And I had to think. Sven now knew we were even. There was no need to keep secrets anymore.

  Down the tunnel, rocks crashed as the others worked on the barricade.

  “They're coming,” Dirk said.

  At his words, Sven rose and so did Sofia. Both held their tears back. He looked up at me and then at the vault door.

  I snorted. It was my way of saying I was glad he didn't jump into Adler's jaws so he could forgive himself. The guilt in his eyes had eased, but he didn't speak. In our silence hung understanding.

  And he forgave me.

  “Sven,” Sofia said. “You should be able to open the vault now.”

  My heart raced. It was true. He had done what he needed to be a full Slayer. Adler hadn't expected to die at Beowulf's sword. We were all meant to die down here instead, worn down by her powerful magic and strength. And without tearing the veil from Wiglaf's mind, we would have.

  Sven looked up at me. “Let's open it together.”

  I followed him around Adler's still form, which lay across a quarter of the chamber. Sven walked up the stone ramp and to the vault. While I followed, I sensed the veil in Ted's mind and broke that, too. The guy swore as his full memories returned and then fell to his knees. He apologized profusely to Dirk and his parents.

  “It's okay, man,” Dirk said. “My principal was a you-know-what.” He still didn't curse in front of his parents. Considering they were both still in dragon form, it was a good idea.

  The wheel was still turned the way Sven had left it. He pulled on the door again, and this time, the red Gem glowed in response, as if sensing he'd spilled dragon blood.

  With a grunt, Sven pulled the door open.

  A metropolis of gold coins, gems, and other valuables stretched into the horizon. My eyes had to adjust to the glow that the treasure gave off. Yes, it was glowing. Far in the distance, I could make out the other side of the cavern. Fog hung in the air, just thick enough to block most of the view.

  Sven reached up.

  Shielded his eyes.

  It was no wonder Adler had been almost impossible to kill.

  Then Sven turned to face me. “This might take a while to move.”

  “I told you,” Ted said, now over his guilt. He walked past me. “The Slayers said they've been gathering this for a thousand years. It might take a few lifetimes to get this out of here, considering that the tunnel seems to be the only way out.”

  I nudged Ted with my snout. The guy jumped back, but grinned.

  He deserved a chunk of this. And I'd insist. I doubted he'd have the guts to say no. At least, not right now.

  Sven faced me. His warm, confident smile sent a warm glow through my body. “Well, this treasure belongs to every dragon left in the world,” he said. “It's not mine or Sofia's. The Wiglaf Society is done. The two of us will work beside you to make sure this never gets stolen again.”

  As he said those words, an amazing whoosh of magic filled my body. The power teasing me let down its wall, allowing me access. Every sense popped. Colors brightened. This was what Adler had felt. It was pure life. Mrs. Macher took a sharp breath and Dirk did, too. They were feeling the same thing.

  “Well,” Sven said. “The easy part is over. Now that Father and Adler are gone, we have something far more terrifying to deal with.”

  I turned my head, giving him what I hoped was a confused look.

  Sven wrapped his arms around my foreleg again, leaning on me. He grimaced. “Lawyers.”

  * * * * *

  We spent the day in the underground. The other dragons, still in human form, made it into the chamber, though when Ellie saw us, she sent a few of Ted's men back to grab us changes of clothes. They took forty minutes to bring them back, and only then was I, along with the Machers, able to shift back into human form. We had to dress behind pillars with all the men in the chamber, and Sven stood guard for me as I did.

  And he got to see me. My skin tingled and my body heated in areas as he checked me out with a smile. My mind wandered to what his touch would be like. Once things calmed down, I would suggest taking things to the next level. Sven would say yes. We would have nothing between us.

  And no lies, either. No secrets. It was liberation.

  Once dressed, he took my hand and led me to the vault door, now that I could fit inside. Men already milled in and out, carrying handfuls of bigger treasure items back towards the moving vans.

  “I'm walking with a knight in shining armor,” I said. “Never thought this would happen."

  “Shall I escort you?” Sven asked.

  “Every day.”

  “And protect you from the monsters in the night?”

  I eyed Adler's dead form. “Always.”

  The men joked with each other as they helped carry treasure to the moving vans. Some of it would go back to Olivia tonight. With their help, we'd get a lot of it moved. To the side, the Machers, now in human form and dressed, talked with Ellie, Steve, Ed, and the Boers. They discussed what to do with the bodies, which was an obvious problem. When things got bad, it would be too horrible down here to allow the men to work, no matter how eager they were to help us out.

  And it wasn't as if we could move Adler's. It wouldn't fit through the tunnel and the task was too ghastly.

  “I'll bury her,” Mr. Boer said. “She will sit under crumbled stone for eternity and be forgotten. She, and Wiglaf. They deserve no honors.”

  I hadn't even told them the truth I'd seen yet. Mrs. Macher looked at me, questions burning in her eyes. How had I known to shove her away from Wiglaf at the right moment? I'd tell her later.

  We stepped through the vault door when the men cleared it for a moment, allowing us room. I led Sven inside, feet sinking into gold coins. We stood among dunes of gold, silver, copper, and jewels. Life flowed through me. I hadn't imagined it was this possible to feel so alive and now I had Sven beside me for it.

  “You know,” I said. “I can extend your life.”

  He smiled at me. “I'll think about it. There's a lot to process.”

  “Totally understandable.”

  “A vacation might help.” Sven lifted his eyebrow at me. “Once I can get room to breathe. Inheritance issues will come up. My father owned a lot of companies. Sofia will help. I know she'll want a part of that process.”

  I picked up a handful of coins and let them spill out of my hand. “Well, what do we decide? Hawaii? Jamaica? I want a secluded beach wherever we go. And this time, no one will be there to erase your memory.”

  “The Slayer is de
ad.”

  “He's very much alive, but he's not what we thought,” I said. “And neither are the dragons."

  “You're right,” Sven said. “You're right.” He took my cheeks in his hands and did one last check of the vault door before enfolding me in his kiss.

  * * * * *

  After two weeks of lawyer meetings and phone calls, Sven and Sofia could free themselves long enough to catch a flight to the East Coast. I went with them. I had spent a lot of time helping to move treasure and the den—and my parents—agreed that I needed a break after the part I played with stopping Adler. The nightmares had eased, but I sensed a vacation would help to ease the rest of the horror.

  We sat together on the plane in the first-class section. It turned out Sven and Sofia could inherit enough money for the rest of their lives. And that was just from all the businesses and accounts their father had.

  And Sven promised we would travel. A lot.

  Especially once we graduated later this year.

  Sven and I stayed hand in hand for the flight across the country, and I watched the landscape change to mountains and then plains below for the first time in my life. I hadn't even taken dragon form since the fight and might not do it again for a while, but flying in an airplane was also amazing. During the flight, the three of us blew off steam and told jokes, watched videos on a tablet, and even fit a short nap before Sven's phone went off with a text. Sofia's did, too.

  He checked it. "My mom wants to meet us tomorrow in Charleston."

  One of the Olsen's lawyers had tracked her down in South Carolina. Their mother had changed states since their father had taken the twins away from her, and it turned out she'd gone to university and become a science teacher during that time. She seemed cool, and she'd even sent Sven and Sofia a video of her blowing up a gummy bear in a test tube for her class.

  My phone buzzed with a text. Dirk. "Looks like he and Ellie want to do a double trip in a few months," I said.

  "So what are we going to do as we wait?" I ask. "The beach?"

  Sven winked. "The beach."

  "Get a room, you two," Sofia said.

  Several hours later, the sun set over the horizon, turning the Atlantic Ocean as Sven and I walked hand in hand up a deserted stretch of beach. We left the hotel behind. For the first time in weeks, we had quiet.

  "You know," Sven said. "I'm glad the Society is over. Jens was cool sometimes, but it's clear he was already one of them. He wasn't the same guy anymore."

  "And I'm glad you became a Slayer," I said.

  Sven pretended to grimace. He was still beautiful and free and now Adler would never mess with his mind again.

  "Only for a day," Sven said. "I haven't met another dragon yet that I've wanted to slay. Felicia, what are you looking for?"

  "A spot." My gaze landed on a secluded bit of beach that overlooked the sunset. My heat vision was coming in handy. The area was clean and no locals in this town had frequented it. I pulled Sven in that direction, my heart racing and body waking in ways that had nothing to do with magic.

  He smiled once we got under the cover. A canopy of trees hovered over us and this time there was no Adler or anyone else to ruin things. We settled on the cooling sand and lay on our sides, facing each other. I was glad we'd come prepared. We smiled at each other as my heart raced. Sven leaned forward, pulling me into a kiss as we pressed our bodies against each other.

  "This is my first time," he said with that beautiful accent. He flushed.

  "It's mine, too," I said.

  We progressed slowly, peeling away layers. A new magic built, and it was more amazing than I had ever imagined: wild, powerful, and free. The sun slipped under the horizon as we finished and lay in each other's arms. A satisfied, cozy warmth filled my body as I traced my finger along Sven's chest muscle, making nonsense patterns on his skin. We lingered in silence.

  We deserved each other.

  And tomorrow, we would go on a new adventure. The world was ours and we wouldn't let any chains hold us back.

  THE END

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