Forbidden Honor (Dragon Royals #1)(123)

“I don’t think they’ve ever been here to protect Honor.”

His shoulders tensed subtly at the thought, but he was already jumping, clambering over the eight-foot-high gate. It was spiked at the top and he lightly vaulted over it, landing on his feet.

Two more guards materialized out of the mist. “You all ri—” The first one broke off as he saw Jaik. Jaik made short work of dropping two more unconscious guards to the ground. By the time I’d leapt over the gate myself, he was already pocketing the key to the gate.

“You don’t want to leave the gate unlocked for the others?”

“I imagine they’ll be flying in, if we need them.”

The two of us strode up the long walkway. There was a constant whistle of the wind through the trees that shook above us, dropping white petals to the ground. It had rained and the air smelled fresh.

The servant who opened the door for us looked haughty at first, staring down his nose at Jaik, then a tremor ran through his body when he registered Prince Jaik.

“Where’s Honor?” Jaik’s voice came out even, easy, but his hand was on the hilt of his sword.

“Ah, ahh, she isn’t here,” he stammered.

“Do you want to try that again?” Jaik asked. “Loyalty to your master and mistress might seem like a good quality. But lying to me is a very, very poor one.”

The servant looked absolutely terrified, and two guards from inside came hustling over.

“Can we help you, Prince Jaik?”

“Have you seen a young woman in this house? She stands about yay high.” He held his hand up to his shoulder. “She has red hair, she never shuts up, and she’s under my protection. I try to be an easygoing man, but I’ll maim or kill anyone who threatens her.”

The guards glanced nervously at each other. One of them spoke up, “She was here, but she left.”

“I see,” Jaik said. “Well, I’d like to come in. I’m sure you won’t deny me a little bit of hospitality.”

“This is most unusual,” the servant squeaked.

“I agree,” Jaik said coldly.

The thing that was most unusual was that Jaik, for the first time in his life, seemed to be taking a genuine interest in something besides fighting the Scourge.

“I’m sorry, sire.” One of the guards stepped in front of Jaik. “I can’t let you do that. This is a private residence, and you have no right to intervene here, not without your father’s orders.”

“I’m sorry as well,” Jaik said crisply.

The man staggered and fell before anyone else had even registered Jaik’s movement.

“Does anyone else want to get in my way?” Jaik asked impatiently. “I think something that belongs to me is in this house, and I intend to retrieve it.”

“You don’t get between a dragon and his treasure,” I said to the other guard, who turned to flee, maybe to warn someone inside the house.

But Jaik wasn’t going to hurt him as long as he wasn’t standing in his way. Jaik just watched him go with a bemused look written across his face.

“Your father is not going to like this,” I said.

“I know. That makes it even more fun.” He stepped over the body, and the two of us moved into the house, searching for Honor. Caldren had told us the secret room was under the conservatory, so we made our way in that direction.

He repeated his question to more terrified servants, and one of them gestured toward a drawing room.

But just as we reached it, three guards attacked us. I stabbed one in the chest and kicked him off my sword, barely breaking my momentum. If Honor was in that room, I needed to get to her.

I threw open the door and what I saw stunned me. She was affixed to some kind of wooden structure shaped like an X. Her arms extended above her head. Her head rolled to one side, as if she were weak, and she was murmuring in a childish voice that sounded desperate and broken. Instant rage shot through me. Henrick and Alis stood near her, their faces horror-struck at the sight of Jaik.

No one had realized how much she meant to him.

Least of all him, I imagined.

“She’s here,” I called to Jaik.

Jaik, in my mind, was calling on the others.

All hell broke loose. I dropped the walls in my mind so the guys could see exactly what I was seeing—the number of guards and an injured Honor.

Henrick and Alis gaped at me for a second, and then Alis turned and ran. Henrick was quick witted enough to snatch a burning brand from the fire.

But he was too late to try whatever enchantment he had hoped to scorch into my skin, because I was already transforming into a dragon. Meanwhile, I heard the sound of beating wings above the ceiling.

Alis froze in horror as Arren plunged himself through the roof and it splintered around his body.

Jaik threw himself toward Henrick, transforming in mid-air. His eyes blazed in fury as his flames incinerated Henrick. For a moment, his face was filled with horror—then his mouth was still wide as flames washed over his skin, singing him down to raw red flesh.

Jaik’s powerful jaws snapped out, and Henrick’s head was gone. His headless corpse tumbled to the ground. Alis’s screams rang in my ears like a sweet song as Jaik’s furious, golden-eyed gaze swung to her.

I moved to Honor’s side swiftly, trying to unbuckle the bonds affixing her to the damned cross.