Chosen: Book 1 in the Dragon Queen series

“You’re … what?” I’d misheard him; I must have done.

“I’m a fae shifter.” He sighed and his eyes fluttered closed. I saw how deeply the lines in his face ran, filled with fatigue and pain. “There’s a lot to tell you. If you could light a fire I’d be grateful.”

“He’s a fae?”

I jumped when Brunna spoke at my shoulder; she’d crept closer silently.

I nodded. And when it was clear the fae wasn’t going to reply, I answered her. “He’s a fae shifter.” I remembered his request. “We should make a fire.”

We fetched the wood, cleared a patch free of forest debris and stacked a fire close to where he lay. “Is he really a fae shifter?” Brunna whispered. The fae had fallen back asleep and neither of us was eager to wake him.

“There’s no sign of the dragon, so I guess he must be.”

Brunna stacked the rest of the wood to one side to be used as time passed. “Why didn’t he take his fae form when he was with the mages? They’d have had to let him go. He’s a person like us.”

Whereas dragons were wild animals. I shivered, because now I knew what the mages did with their dragons I wouldn’t even hand a dog over to their care. My gaze found Brunna’s wrists. “Do you think the mages would care if their prisoner were actually a fae?”

I’d found a flint while we were searching earlier, and Brunna’s manacles provided steel. I was grateful to spend a minute persuading the tinder to catch so I didn’t have to continue the conversation and face the ideas circling my mind.

When the fire had caught securely, I headed back into the woods and fetched a few long branches. Brunna and I managed to bind them together with grasses and cover them with leaves to form a makeshift shelter that would at least lessen the wind and keep off the rain if the weather turned.

When that was done, Brunna and I settled inside, upwind of the fire with the fae crammed close, so we all got the benefit of the fire’s heat without suffering the smoke. Even with the fire, as the sun set it grew cold and our empty stomachs made the chill seem worse.

“We still don’t know where we’re going,” Brunna said after a while. “If we go to the queen ... do you think she will be able to help your pa?”

I shivered. “I don’t want to go back into Muirland City if I can avoid it. And I can’t see why the queen would help if the mages didn’t.”

“Maybe the dragon-shifter will help.”

“Maybe.” That was my hope, although it seemed forlorn. He seemed too weak to offer magical assistance.

My gaze settled on Brunna. Heat crept into my face as I realised how selfish I was being. “I know this hasn’t worked out how we thought. You can go home if you like.”

“Don’t be stupid. I’m here now, aren’t I?”

“Do you still think this is a grand adventure?”

Her teeth flashed. “Of course. Today won’t feature as a highlight, but there’s bound to be ups and downs.”

She was more philosophical than me. I didn’t have a plan. I’d run out of almost every option I had to help Pa. I didn’t suppose the queen would help, but I clung desperately to the idea that the fae knew more than I did. He seemed utterly certain of her importance.

“We should sleep, if we can,” Brunna suggested.

We settled side by side. Brunna slung her arm over my waist, pressing the two of us together. Her breathing lengthened. Soon, I was the only one awake. I stared into the fire, the heat warming my front. My necklace was also warm. For the first time, that was a good rather than bad thing. If it just stayed warm all the time I wouldn’t mind; it was the burning I objected to.

I shivered at the memory of the pain the mage had made me suffer. I remembered what Rea had said about what the mages did to witches. I was lucky not to have magic. My eyes slid to the pale fae. Magic didn’t look as though it had done him much good, either. I fell into a light sleep, but jerked awake several times, imagining burning at my neck and the sensation of falling.

“Alliss?” The next time I awoke it wasn’t my dreams that woke me. The fae’s violet eyes watched me, glinting in the subdued light of the fire. “We don’t have much time. I need to talk to you.”

I straightened, stretching to help me wake. “What is it? Is that mage following us?”

“Undoubtedly.” The fae glared at my necklace. “While you wear that thing you will never be free of the mages.”

“I can’t get it off. I’ve tried.”

The fae ignored that. “I don’t have long. Will you listen?”

“I’m sorry, go ahead.”

“I can’t take you to the queen.”

Disappointment slithered through me, which was ridiculous. “That’s all right. I have to find a cure for my father. I don’t think the queen would be able to help with that.”

He ignored my rambling. “You must make your own way. I wish I could take you myself, but I’m weaker than I thought.”

“We can wait until you’re recovered,” I offered, hoping that was true. We’d travelled away from Muirland City, but we might only be a day’s walk from the city. Mages might be halfway to us already. I tamped down a shiver that wanted to chase down my back.

“I’m not going to recover.”

I blinked. “You said you changed to your fae form to heal.”

“There’s too much damage. This is the end of my journey.”

My breath stopped. “You’re – dying?” I sat up straighter. “You can’t die!”

The fae patted my hand as though I were the one needing comfort. “Everything dies. In the end.”

“But – you escaped.” It was unbearable that he should finally get free of the mages, only to die before he returned home.

“Yes.” He gave a long exhalation of relief. “And you must go on to the mountains without me. The queen needs you.”

“I don’t understand. The queen is in Muirland City. Why do I need the mountains?” It was hard to make out the fae in the dim light now the fire was little more than ashes. I leaned forward, stirring the embers and adding more wood.

“The fae and the dragons are in the mountains,” the fae said, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. “Your future lies with the dragon queen.”

“The dragon queen?” My thoughts whirled. Of course the fae hadn’t meant the Muirland queen, but I hadn’t known there was such a thing as a dragon queen.

“Yes. The dragon queen has chosen you. Your place is by her side.”

I blinked, then found my voice. “No, no, no. My place is with my father. He’s ill. I have to find a cure. I can’t go gallivanting to the mountains for some queen.”

“You must,” he said, his tone calm and implacable, as though he was only telling me what was inevitable.

“I can’t. I think he’s been cursed.” A thought occurred to me. “Can the dragon queen cure him?”

“The queen can do remarkable magic.”

Was that a yes? I didn’t like to press a dying man.

“Will you listen?” He sighed. When he moved against me I felt the chill of his skin. It was clear how very ill he was.

Guilt writhed through me. “I’m sorry. I’m listening.”

“You must hurry,” the fae told me. “The queen chose you. And the fae need you.”

“That’s impossible.” It was no less ridiculous now I knew the dragon wasn’t referring to our human queen. “I can’t have been chosen by your queen. Why would the dragon queen have chosen me?”

“I have, truly, no answer to that. There are plenty of fae who would be honoured to be chosen.” His puzzlement grew stronger. “A Muirlander is hardly a fit companion.”

My spine straightened. Abruptly, I was on guard against his slight – the queen could choose Alliss from Besserton if she wished; why not? I folded my arms. “Well, say the queen has chosen me. What have I been chosen for?”

“Together with the queen you must save the dragons.”

I swallowed. “From the mages?” That wasn’t the sort of battle I wanted to get involved in.

“The mages… They are nothing compared to the threat we face.” He shook his head tiredly. His voice was so low it was hard to hear him. “You must find the lost Dragon Stone or the dragons will perish.”

Despite the fire, I shivered. The fae’s words were outrageous, but his tone was serious. A danger worse than the mages? I definitely didn’t want to get involved with that. At a movement beside me I realised our conversation had woken Brunna. I met her frowning stare. She raised her brows.

Her uncertainty settled me. “I’m sorry your stone is lost, but I can’t help,” I told the fae. “I’m just a simple girl from Besserton. I only left town to fetch a cure for my Pa.”

“You have been selected by the queen.”

“She’ll have to unselect me.”

“Unselect you?” He shook his head tiredly. “Your future is tied. It was the moment you woke the queen.”

“Woke the queen? I didn’t wake any queen.” That I would have remembered.

“You wear a dragon scale necklace. There are few Muirlanders with the courage to do that.”

“This?” I clapped a hand to the necklace. “It’s cursed. I’d never have put it on if I’d known. Can you help me get it off – you can give it to someone else and they can help your dragon queen.”

He was shaking his head before I’d finished my sentence. “You cannot remove it. You can only pass it on to another host. A willing one.”

I stopped scrabbling, hands falling to my sides as I watched the fae’s calm eyes.

“I’ll take it from you,” Brunna offered immediately.

“I wouldn’t wish it on you,” I said gruffly. “It hurts. It burns. And, if you take it you’ll have to help the dragons find this stone.”

“You cannot shirk your duty to the queen. That obligation will not transfer with the necklace.”

“Well then, I’ll take it,” Brunna offered again.

“I’m not giving it to you.” It hurt, but it was little more than a constant ache. I’d even been grateful for its heat during the night. “I can cope with it.”

The fae nodded. “The enchantment holds the evil that created it.” His nostrils flared. “The queen’s magic is helping you to bear it. It will be more painful still for whoever takes it next.”

I regarded the dragon in the dimming light. “I’m stuck with the necklace. I didn’t make any queen wake up, though.”

“I suspect he proximity of the necklace compelled the queen to hatch.”

My jaw slid open. Hatched; now that I remembered. I touched my neck again. “This made Dragon hatch? Dragon is a queen?”

“That’s what I’ve been telling you.” He studied my confused face. “The dragon you woke was the queen. Surely you knew that?”

That little thing? “Surely, I didn’t.” Aside from the fact I’d clearly missed some critical biological markers, I still couldn’t match Dragon with a mighty queen. “But he – she’s only a baby.”

“There are too many queens in this story,” Brunna complained. She leaned forward and placed another log on the fire.

The fae closed his eyes. His fatigue was clear. “Don’t tire yourself talking,” I told him.

“I must. You have to understand. We have waited a century for a new queen. And a queen requires a companion. You must be reunited with her.”

A strange tug pulled in my chest. I wanted to see Dragon. But a journey to the Firethorn Mountains was far more than I’d anticipated when I’d set off to Muirland City. I’d thought being a hero was going to be easy and glamorous, but all I wanted was to be back home with my father. But only if I could make Pa well again.

“Here.” The fae held something out. I accepted the gift, a small, iridescent scale that glistened in the firelight. “That will ensure you are welcomed by the fae.” He spoke as if there was no doubt about my next destination. “You must leave for the mountains as soon as the sun rises.”

“We’re going to the mountains?” Brunna queried.

I opened my mouth and realised I had no idea what I intended to say. The fae looked exhausted. I couldn’t distress him with more debates. “We’ll discuss it in the morning,” I told Brunna.

“The queen needs you.” The fae closed his eyes. “I’m so tired.”

Ice settled in my stomach. “Sleep. Brunna and I will keep watch.”

He leaned against my shoulder. I shifted, settling him so his head was in my lap. In the firelight I could see how waxy and grey his skin was. I’m dying. I wasn’t sure death would wait much longer. I had no cure for Pa, and certainly no cure for the fae’s affliction.

My fingers found his hair, stroking it to offer comfort. His breaths slowed, his narrow shoulders lifting. His breath blew on my legs. Brunna began to hum. I wasn’t sure whether she was trying to keep herself awake or lull him in his sleep. I scrunched up my eyes to keep myself alert. I stretched my legs carefully, and it was only then that I realised the warmth of his breath had ceased.

“Mister?” I spoke softly, leaning forward. There was no reply. “Sir?” I slid a hand around his neck to feel the pulse that should beat beside his throat. Nothing.

Brunna’s humming ceased. I looked up to meet her wide eyes.

“He’s ... dead.”

“Poor man.” She reached for a hand, stroking his knuckles. “At least he didn’t die in that dreadful place. He got to see the sky one last time.”

I nodded. Tears robbed my voice. This was foolish. I couldn’t be crying for someone I barely knew. But my sorrow didn’t care. Tears spilled down my cheeks as Brunna and I laid him out ready for whatever afterlife awaited a fae shifter.