Dragons Against Them (Kingdoms of Fire and Ice #2)(51)
“Please, Zayne. I’m too wound up to fall back to sleep now.”
She pushed into a seated position and stretched her arms out over her head. The bodice of her gown slid upward with the action, lifting her bosom into a voluptuous display. A yawn struck and sent shivers through her, the movement only adding to the appeal of her position. Zayne lay back and draped an arm over his eyes to keep from any further torture.
“Smart man. Now try and get some sleep. If you need me, though, just holler.”
Addie pressed a chaste kiss to his lips and drew back. It took all he had not to draw her down on top of him. To explore her lips further. And the rest of her as well.
“Are you leaving, my lady?”
“Like I have anywhere else to be.” A soft snort followed her claim. “Nah, I’m just gonna wander around in here a bit. I’ll try my best to be quiet. But you’d better turn your dragon off, just in case.”
He ventured a peek out from beneath his arm and spied her lips yet far too close to his own. Again, his chest tightened with desire, putting his newest scars at risk of reopening. Perhaps it was best for her to wander about—for her to remain so close and untouchable, his beloved angel might well kill him.
Soon, his dragon whispered.
With a groan, he closed his eyes once more. “If only it were that easy.”
Addie wandered deeper into their hideaway, curiosity luring her in. The building was simple, really. A long, rectangular structure made of stone, with a handful of tall, narrow windows built into its north and south sides. Through the openings, she saw the overcast sky was beginning to clear, allowing her sufficient light to find footing amid the stone rubble and the church’s remaining collection of wooden pews.
Zayne shifted somewhere behind her, the sound followed by a pained grunt and drawn-out sigh. Anger stirred within her anew. How could her father have been so cruel? Had Zayne threatened him? Fought for his freedom? Or had he been chained and helpless while the king unleashed his icy torture?
She hoped it was the first but had a sick feeling it was likely the latter. Not that she’d ask Zayne—he’d been traumatized enough by the experience already. But Addie’d be damned if she ever let her father harm him again. Once she got her spoiled brat of a half sister home, their family was going to have words. Expectations and rules to live by.
To hell with this medieval mentality. It was the twenty-first century, for crying out loud, in all parts of the world. Cruelty should not, and would not, be tolerated.
She wove her way toward what she assumed was the church’s altar, a crippled lectern to its left. Both were made of intricately carved wood, though atop the lectern lay a torn and faded velvet cloth the color of pine needles. Addie drew back the cloth’s hem and spied a large book of bound scrolls, similar to what she had seen in the hidden parlor at the castle. But upon lifting its cover, she discovered this book of sorts not to be one of poems and fairy tales, but of hand-scripted familiarity. A book she had skimmed through a time or two over the years back in modern times.
Though, her bible back home was in far better shape than this one.
In awe, she glided her fingertips along the elegant script of the first page in Genesis. How long had it taken someone to write all this out? Gently she folded the pages back to reveal the last page and found this compilation to only contain several books of the Old Testament. Addie stepped back and looked behind the altar, curious to see how many books might be here and if any from the New Testament would be found.
How cool would it be if Christmas was a part of Zayne’s culture too?
Sure enough, Addie soon discovered the Gospel according to Matthew beneath a matching sheath of green velvet nearby. Again, curiosity had her peeling away the cloth and scanning the compilations’ contents. As she did so, a section of parchment came loose and drifted toward the floor. Mortified that she’d just defiled the Good Book, Addie scrambled to catch it before it hit the ground. Only, once the parchment was safe in her grasp, she realized this wasn’t part of the gospel at all. The handwriting was completely different, the spacing much wider, and the page smaller and more shimmery than the rest.
“What on earth?”
She moved to hold the scrap of paper in a nearby ray of moonlight, trying to get a better look at it. There was something oddly familiar about this page, its shape. Which was crazy, of course. Nothing in this building, let alone 90% of this realm, should feel familiar to her. And yet…
—should the child of ice
Be cast out, thence return home thrice,
A bonding of the two shall take,
The most powerful of dragons make.
Addie blinked. Studied the torn edges and read the poem fragment again. Could it be? The rest of The Legend of Fire and Ice?
She closed her eyes and tried to recall the beginning of the poem. Something about two kingdoms behind the veil, one made of fire, one of ice. Both great and strong, but the powers too great to bond. If ever…and then nothing.
Until now. Now she had the rest of the puzzle. She bit back a squeal of excitement as she cradled it to her chest. But what did any of it mean? And why was the bottom edge just as jagged as the top?
She cast a quick glance back toward Zayne. He lay still, in the same spot as where she had left him. Judging by the faint sound of his slow, deep breaths, he’d finally fallen asleep. Which was good, since rest was what he so desperately needed, but bad because she’d have to wait yet again to ask him about this crazy poem.