Meryl was shivering with fever, with cold and with the deluge of emotions that surged through her body. After her stepmother’s instructions of making tea, she didn’t know how she ended up cleaning the entire house. It was as if she was in a daze. At the end when she truly came out of the trance, she found blood seeping from her hands, as if she had worked and worked but she hadn’t stopped. There were fresh wounds on her hands and arms and even her feet. She couldn’t remember the number of hours spent or do all that she did, but it was too much for her. Her body was aching and every muscle was revolting.
All Meryl remembered was that she woke up in the dark beneath a staircase that was in a forgotten part of the castle. Her nose was bleeding and she felt too dizzy to even get up. When she finally managed to get up, she brushed her hands on her gown only to shriek in pain. There were cuts in her palm that pained so badly that her hands shivered. Shock flickered wildly through her and she stumbled back. But to her horror she found blood beneath her feet too. This was beyond imagination. This was like all her nightmares had come together. She felt abused—not only physically, but mentally too. She had to get out of this place, had to find a way to buy this castle from her stepmother and free it from the clutches of whatever evil that was lurking here. And the only way was what Valerie guided her at. She had to take that job at Alburn’s house.
“Meryl!” Valerie’s voice woke her up from her stupor. “What are you doing here?” It was very dark outside and she found that she was alone. “Have you come all by yourself?” Valerie placed her hand on her head and knew that she was burning with fever. “Gods, you need to rest, Meryl!”
Meryl shook her head. She was sitting in the parlor, all drenched from head to toe. She had asked Tim to drop her here and the poor man, on Patsy’s request, had helped her. He didn’t stop for her though and dashed right back to his ailing wife. And here she was, alone, with a heated body and with no money. She was at the mercy of her friend, Valerie. “I have come for the job,” she replied in a shaky voice. “Please, you have to get me that job. And I want it now.” Meryl wanted to get away as far as possible from her stepmother and an agreement with Duke Alburn would at least give her a respite for a month. Her mother won’t be able to do anything to retrieve her. Moreover, when the Lord would pay her, she would throw that money on Judith’s face and buy her estate. She would work for two months if needed. That much gold coins would buy her an estate twice the size.
Valerie took her hands in her and gulped. They were sliced at so many places. “Who did this to you?” she asked, her eyes wide and her shoulders drawn back. She looked at Meryl who was still wearing the same gown, but it was stained with blood and mud and soot. She looked pale like a ghost.
“It doesn’t matter,” said Meryl. “Please just send me to Duke Alburn’s house. I want to start my job there.”
Valerie nodded. “Sure Meryl, but first let me treat you.” She looked at her maid who rushed out of the parlor and when she came back, she brought a box of medicine and fresh clothes for her. Yet another maid brought a cup of hot tea for her. Valerie asked the maids to help her change into dry clothes, so they toweled her dry and then made her wear a soft, light cotton beige gown. Valerie was ready with a salve in her hands. She took Meryl’s hands in hers and applied the salve. When she was done, she looked at Meryl and asked, “Are you sure you want to go today? Or would you like to wait for a day and feel better? Though Duke Alburn needs you there as soon as possible. There is something very important that he has to handle tomorrow.”
“I will go today!” Meryl said with determination.
Valerie sighed. “Okay then. Let me arrange a carriage for you. But mind it, it is raining very hard.”
Meryl’s throat went dry. It was the first time she was going to work at someone’s place. But then it was surely going to be better than working at her own castle. She swallowed her saliva and nodded. “I will go today, Valerie. I can’t stop now.”
Valerie picked up the cup of tea and gave it to her. “Have it.” The tea had a medicine for arresting her fever. Then she looked at her maids and said, “Pack sandwiches for her and meet us outside.” The maids bowed and quickly left. Valerie got up and walked to the small writing table at the window. She took a paper and a quill and wrote a letter. She sealed the letter in an envelope and handed it to Meryl. “Give it to Duke Alburn and you will get the job,” she said with a smile that conveyed pity and something else, which Meryl couldn’t quite make out.
“Thank you so much, Valerie!” Meryl almost squeaked. “You can’t imagine the favor you have bestowed upon me.”
Valerie chuckled. “It’s nothing. I do hope that this phase gets over soon.”
Meryl was feeling a little better already. She bit her lip and then hugged Valerie. “Thanks again.”
Valerie held her hand and took her outside to the carriage drive. “It is very dark, Meryl. Are you sure you can go? You look very tired.” It was almost midnight.
“I am sure,” Meryl replied in a hoarse voice. She was racing against time. She stepped in the carriage that was waiting for her. Valerie closed the door of the carriage and said, “Send me a letter if you are in any sort of urgency.”
“I will,” she replied.
Valerie slapped the side of the carriage and the coachman nudged the horses to go. The carriage hurtled along the cobbled street and then disappeared into darkness. A faint smile came on Valerie’s lips. She took a deep breath and then turned to go back to her room.
The carriage careened down the dirt path cutting through the dense forest towards Napane. Lightning and thunder frightened the horses as the sky let loose with a fury. Inside the carriage Meryl fingers spasmed around her borrowed shawl with each rumble from the sky, as she shivered with fever. Snatches of the forest were briefly illumined as the sky became blinding white for a second. Her lips quivered at the thought that she had practically run away from her house. But that was all in the past. She had to look forward. Her eyes went to the bag in front of her in which Valerie had packed medicine for her. She sighed and reached for it. For some reason, she stared at the little bottle of draft. She opened the lid and drank it all as Valerie had instructed.
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Something tickled her nose, something with bristles and a terrible smell. Meryl swatted at it, but it didn’t go away. She opened her eyes, but why was every part of her body aching so badly. Flash of memories rushed across her mind. The last she remembered was drinking that potion in the carriage, which Valerie gave her for fever. She had blacked out after that and now she found herself in darkness with something crawling on her face. She got up and her head hit a wooden board. “Ouch!” she pressed her hand to her head. Her hands fell back on… hay? Where the hell was she? Was she dreaming? And why was her skin so itchy? Meryl blinked her eyes once and twice, but the darkness didn’t go. She touched around to understand the place she was in and all she could make out was that she was lying on hay. She scooted to her side to avoid the wooden plank over her head and got out to sit. The damp smell of the room h
Lady Susan was up for her morning walks with her maid who was walking behind her at a distance. Wearing a warm peach nightgown, with a light shawl wrapped around her shoulders, she looked soft and petite. “Good morning,” she said in a husky voice when she saw Brishor. The man was too handsome to be true and she found him very alluring. His black sleeveless tunic hugged his chest in a way that every muscle that rippled could be seen. The gold vambrace on his upper arms shone in the light morning rays. Even the leather pants he was wearing were showing his lean muscles. Susan let out a sigh and wondered what it would be to be in his bed. “Good morning, Lady Susan,” Brishor said and dipped his neck slightly. “I like how you maintain your gardens,” he said, hiding his real intent of coming here. “Oh, thank you,” she replied with a blush. “I—” before s
Brishor gripped Chezzal’s thigh beneath the table as his eyes became wide. The girl in front of them was… beautiful, no, ethereal. His throat bobbed when he heard the thundering beats of her heart. His chest was gripped in a vise-like feel, as he sensed her fear. He rapidly tried to decipher what she was afraid of, but then his gaze dropped to the slit on the side of her lips. Her scent—of flowers, of jacaranda wrapped in lemon and fire, hit him with full force. —Mine— He could feel the bond, the chain, the link that tethered him to her. Before he could do anything, Chezzal rose to his feet. He stared at her as the girl held a large folder in her hands, looking fearfully at the man and then at Duke Alburn. She seemed to tremble, her skin was flushed and her face pale. Her deep auburn hair was tied in a loose braid and some strands came out. Those
“You are going to pay for this heavily!” Alburn warned. “This girl is in my debt and needs to stay in my mansion till she pays her debt. So, if you take her, then you better understand that I will take it personally.” “I don’t care!” replied Brishor as his lips curled in disgust. “We are leaving from here at this instant. I don’t care if the talks fail, but you don’t touch the hair of that girl, because if you do, then I am going to rip that rutting head of yours. Do you understand?” Alburn shot a dark glare at Meryl and the to Chezzal. While Meryl was looking like a lamb between three massive giants, her eyes wide with fear and her skin flushed, the two dragons looked too fierce to be countered. This was not the time to discuss further. He had to take this up when there were no threats hanging on his head. He was going to stir so much noise that
Meryl’s lungs were full of cold air when the dragon soared high. To say that she was petrified, was an understatement. She was panicking. Her head spun with fear and desperation, her gaze shooting to the earth below.“Don’t look down,” the man’s voice came in a cool, relaxed manner, in order to soothe her. “And don’t worry, I will never let you fall.”She wanted to ask something but words stuck in her throat. Cool gusts of air whipped her hair and clothes billowed around them, but the man behind her held her close to him and clutched his large hand in front of her cloak. He held the spike of the dragon with one hand, circling around her waist and with the other he protected her against the wind. When her body began to shake, he said, “Relax, Meryl.”
Brishor set her on foot when they arrived in his bedchamber. It had been a long time since he had come to his bedchamber because the last few days he had spent with Chezzal. He had been extremely anxious about the meeting with Alburn. Now the talks had fallen completely and he should have been more anxious, but the mere nearness, the rich scent of jacaranda and lemon wrapped in fire of his mate, alleviated all his anxieties. He felt this sudden calm. His world that was upside down from a long time, felt like it had fallen into place. A shaky breath left him when she moved away from her on the plush carpet, as he already missed her warmth in his arms. Chezzal moved closer to him while watching their mate, mesmerized, stunned as disbelief rolled off him. A chance encounter brought them to their mate. Their eyes followed Meryl’s movement. She was looking around with wide eyes, taking everything in, tak
Her heart pounded as adrenalin shot in her body like fire. Shock flooded her and she instantly got up removing the bulky arms of the two dragons who were lying next to her. She removed the fur from her and scrambled towards the foot of the bed, clutching the bed sheet around her. Behind her the sheets rustled and furs moved and she knew that the two dragons had woken up. But none of them moved closer to her or tried to stop her. Meryl hurriedly scooted to the edge of the bed and when she felt she was far away from them, she whipped her head towards them. While Chezzal had sit down, watching her like a hawk, Brishor had cradled his head on his arms that he had folded behind him and watched her intently with his pine green eyes. His intense stare made her heart beat chaotically. Her gaze slid to Chezzal and she could feel his overwhelming power that radiated off him like second nature. Both had dark t
Meryl’s lips parted. “What do you mean, I am yours?” she asked, baffled, as her gaze darted between the Brishor and Chezzal.“I will answer your question when the time is right. For now, you should think about how to settle here and make yourself at home,” said Brishor, leaving her.Meryl wanted to object to him, but before she could say another word, he said, “You are a part of my kingdom now, so you better get used to the idea.” She swallowed her saliva thinking that she was going to be forever stuck here, without her consent? She bit back a whimper that threatened to rise in her throat because her eyes were burning with unshed tears. A thousand questions flitted through her mind. “You are only going to be happy here, Meryl,” he added.“