Beta-reader: Dragonblooded

"GET HER HERE!"

Soon enough Murtagh released his other hand and his chest became bloody mess in a matter of seconds. The air was filled with the smell of iron. The ice man watched him in disgust, but worry as well.

"I am not letting her fall for a stupid trick of yours," he sneered at him. The statue's limbs twitched, as if he was unsure whether he should do something or not.

Murtagh growled through clenched teeth: "This is no goddamned trick! It's her spell! Wake that lazy overgrown lizard and call her." His fingernails were slipping on his blood-covered chest. He felt his skin split under his nails, releasing another wave of warm sticky liquid, but it wasn't enough. It didn't hurt enough to overpower the restrictions around his heart and the clawing emptiness on the edges of his own being.

"It might not be comfortable, but you can survive like this until she returns," the ice man spat out, hatred now shining right through his eyes onto Murtagh. The Red Rider felt the laces tightening even tighter and his heartbeat growing slowly but surely weaker.

"Get. Her. Here. Or I will tell her," growled out Murtagh.

"You have nothing to tell her, which might frighten me."

"I do. You are not as subtle as you think you are. We both know, what it means if a man is finding excuses to touch a woman. And you do exactly that, but you don't want her to know." Murtagh closed his eyes as his muscles started to cramp from the exertion. He wasn't sure about it, he was only betting and hoping he would hit the right string.

There was a silence for a while, until the ice man growled out. It was a deep rumbling sound, reminding him of a cat, but thousand times bigger. "Try to tell her and you are dead." It certainly wasn't a plain threat. Without a word he left the room.

A minute later a white eye the size of a gong opened on the other side of the room, fully awake and alert, as if the dragon did not sleep for few days. The huge eye glided towards Murtagh, evaluating him. For a second two pairs of eyelids closed.

Within a moment the pain in Murtagh's heart stopped growing and started to crawl back inside the void, where it came from. The Red Rider did not even realize his cheeks were stained with tears of despair. The relief was coming, but was so slow. Every second dragged like hours.

His chest was pulsing, his nerves irritated and provoked. Despite the terror leaving him, he felt as if he lost everything in the world he knew.

All of sudden there was a wave of relief. The door to the room barged open and in stormed Marzanna. In spite of her fiery raged somehow pointed at Boreas – the dragon, she looked positively worried. She immediately rushed to Murtagh's side and raised her right hand. A bright glow of gedwëy ignasia lightened her palm and without a single word in the ancient language the wounds on his chest started to heal, various fibres connecting together, stitching the skin.

The Red Rider without a second thought lifted his arms and with renewed energy he wrapped them around her middle and since he was not tied anymore, he was able to roll them so he had her pinned to the ground beneath him and he buried his face to her neck. The moment his skin made contact with hers, instead of the coldness which seeped from her, he felt as if every cell in his body got excited with a sphere of happiness, slowly filling the hole inside him.

His palms gently slid over her shoulders, arms, elbows, forearm to her own hands, where he locked their fingers together and pressed them to the cold ground. He basked in the contact with her. The emptiness inside him acted as a starved beast craving her closeness to sate it and maybe lull it to sleep.

Murtagh did not even realize she was calling his name and was trying to throw him off. Somehow Marzanna managed to get leg under him and kicked him in his stomach as hard as she could, sending him off of her.

"You really need to stop doing this," she growled at him and sit up. Murtagh massaged his freshly bruised ribs and rubbed off some of the dried blood from his now healed chest. He couldn't remember the last time he felt this strong. Marzanna rubbed her neck, where Murtagh's nose touched her skin. She already knew of the situation, since Boreas told her everything.

Her expression changed to worry. "I am sorry for the spell. I did not realize it was restricted to distance. I suppose my magic thought that not allowing you to get too far from me, might protect me," she paused for a while, making Murtagh a little bit restless and nervous. "You need to tell me more about my ancestors, I need to learn more about myself and the magic we share."

The Red Rider nodded. He slowly licked his lips as an idea formed inside his head. "You told me, you don't plan to take the information forcefully. I am willing to tell you some of the things I know. But I have a deal."

"I am not setting you free," she frowned. Nervously she combed her hair with her fingers, Murtagh's eyes not leaving her for a second.

"At least within this room," said Murtagh firmly. Marzanna nodded to that. "And if I am to recall the most I can, I want something out of it as well. I want a proper kiss." Usually, he would be mad at himself for not striking a better deal or for not abusing the reality he basically was out of chains. Logic left his mind, where Marzanna entered.

She coughed. "You surely don't mean this seriously. That's the spell talking out of you."

"Maybe. But it doesn't change the reality that this is the only deal I am willing to make," he grinned at her. Marzanna seemed rather reluctant about that, which somehow pleased Murtagh. Truth be told, he would be willing to trade a bit more, but he knew she certainly would not allow that.

Marzanna shot a quick glance to the now sleeping dragon, before she leaned forward with a sigh and her fingers clutched the ripped shreds of his former tunic. She pulled him to herself and pressed her lips harshly against his.

Exactly as he expected, they were cold as ice, but soft as satin. Murtagh was petrified, the renewed physical connection with him made energy bubble inside him, almost blinding him with the force of it. It made his heart hammer against its restriction harder, but the laces around it were beating with in rhythm with it.

Before he was able to recover, she pulled away and the humming feeling of power within him disappeared. He wanted so badly to reach out and feel it again. "That's not a proper kiss," he murmured.

He leaned in forward. To his surprise she did not pull away, but actually looked at him in expectations. Murtagh saw for the first time a hint of colour in her cheeks. His black hair fell into his eyes, throwing a shadow over them. A self-assured smirk appeared on his lips with a hint of mischief. The tips of his fingers caressed her cheek, feeling its cold softness and tilting her face a little bit upwards.

He stopped a centimetre in front of her lips. For a second he looked down to catch a glimpse of her perfectly shaped pale lips. Then he focused his attention to her eyes and winked at her. "This is a proper kiss."

Their lips sealed. He locked her lower lip between his and glided his tongue over it, opening her mouth a little bit further and giving himself the access to her mouth. Without a hesitation he reached out to taste her properly. Marzanna gently bit him, surprised at his boldness. But it did the exact opposite.

"That is enough for a demonstration, don't you think?" A cold growling voice interrupted them. Murtagh did not even move, but Marzanna pulled away from him as if she was caught doing something wrong.

Murtagh growled back at the ice man and with newly gained freedom he dared to shot him a hateful stare back. He watched Marzanna walk away and felt the glow inside him go dim. "Will you introduce me to … Boreas, now?" He got up and tried to rub off the dust from floor on his clothes.

"But you already know him, right, Boreas?" she shot a smile at the ice man and wrapped her arms around his torso in a hug and kissed him on his cheek. The ice man smiled back at her with fondness.

Murtagh was silent for a while, before he shrugged. It actually was pretty obvious now that he thought of it. "How exactly does that work?"

The pair in front of him exchanged glances, deciding whether to share their secrets. "We fill a diamond with energy and then it is only sculpting and carving. No big deal," she turned back to Murtagh. "You owe me a story."

The Red Rider smiled warmly at her and beckoned for her. And he proceeded to tell her about the Grey Queen and the Bloody Queen. He tried to dampen the terrors of the latter queen with proper formulation, but he saw shame enter Marzanna's eyes.

+BREAK+

Over the next few days Murtagh was trading his knowledge. He started with asking only for kisses, later he included kissing her neck, too. Once he was sure, she got used to him, he dared without asking or trading to go from her neck even lower. It was a personal win for him when she did not pull away and instead wrapped her hands around his head and brought him closer. He couldn't get enough of her presence. Murtagh realized he was addicted to it, but he didn't want to let go. He never felt this close to someone. Yes, Thorn was his soulmate and he wouldn't change anything about that. But she was the first he cradled romantic feelings for and their physical contact was making it even deeper.

Eventually, he was able to mine some information about her as well. "Aren't you afraid to use spells without the ancient language? Even the king uses it to make sure he won't destroy himself and everything around him," said Murtagh as he watched her use yet another wordless spell.

She was silent for a long time and Murtagh was worried he made her mad. Marzana sighed. "My vocabulary in the ancient language is rather limited. I wouldn't be able to cast a spell at all with the words I know."

"What? I thought the elves speak the ancient language as their mother language," blinked at her in surprise Murtagh.

"True, they are. But I wasn't raised amongst them." Then she proceeded to tell him, how she was found by Urgals and brought up by them. Murtagh listened with such interest he didn't even pay attention to Boreas' growling.

Once she finished, Murtagh without hesitation blurted out: "Maybe I could teach you some useful words for spell casting." It was worth seeing her smile. She nodded to that enthusiastically. After that they spent hours together every day and her vocabulary was quickly improving. Murtagh sometimes wondered, whether elves had better memory than humans. Despite her limited range of words, she was able to use complicated spells by creating strange connections in her mind.

Eventually, it had to end like everything does. One morning – or he thought it to be morning – he woke up and found no one there, but a lifeless ice statue. The dragon was nowhere to be seen and nor was Marzanna. He carefully lowered his mental shields, but found no life beside few mice. In few hours he got rather bored and restless, so he managed to investigate the rest of the building.

They were staying for certain in some tower, standing tall and proudly on a hill, which was basically not accessible from the ground. It took him only few seconds to figure they were probably at Utgard. The snow storm outside calmed down after layering a thick duvet over everything alive and dead.

Murtagh shivered and retreated back further inside. The ache within him pulsed uncomfortably, thanks to which he knew Marzanna wasn't really too far, but enough to be tugging on their bond.

After few hours of waiting by a fire he started to warm himself up, he got hungry and was able to catch those mice and prepare them for a decent meal. He didn't necessarily enjoy it. It couldn't compare to his feasts with king. But eating mice was still better than being in king's presence. It was really late when dared to check with his mind his surroundings.

As soon as he opened his mind, he immediately had to jump behind his shields again. There, not far from Utgard was a huge shining mind. Murtagh managed to calm his mind down to not catch the intruder's attention. He knew for certain it wasn't Marzanna, since he still felt she was far away.

The Red Rider was fully alert even after many more hours. Anxiety was keeping him on the edge and he did not dare to open his mind. He sighed with relief when he felt the tugging on his heart weaken as Marzanna was on move and getting closer to him.

Boreas entered the room in hurry, both of them looking exhausted to the point of fainting. White dragon's legs were shaking with exertion and immediately when he got to his favourite spot, he fell to the ground with a loud thud and with heavy breaths he closed his eyes and in a while a regular exhaling was heard.

Marzanna slid to the ground from his back, falling onto her knees tiredly. Murtagh was immediately by her side, gently lifting her and helping her to their sleeping spot. He just couldn't skip a chance to touch her. "What happened?" He whispered, still anxious from the strange mind he felt earlier.

She looked up to him, her eyes nearly closing. "Eragon and Saphira are searching for us. We need to leave as soon as possible," she paused for a while to gather some breath as well. Murtagh felt Saphira earlier.

"Why not go with them?" He asked. There was a hope Thorn was with them in the end, he desired to see his soulmate as well.

She gave him a strange glance. "Why do you think? If the prophecy you told me about is real, they will probably execute me to secure it won't take place. And do you really think they will spare you? I know you were not with king voluntarily, but they see you as a threat." She leaned her head against the cold wall behind her.

Murtagh could only nod to that. "What took you so long to return?" He asked carefully.

"Well, we ran out of food, but on our way back we spotted them and had to use an illusion to mask our minds and our bodies. The spell was stronger than we anticipated. I think they noticed something was off, because they kept patrolling our surroundings for ages after that. They left north now." With that she turned on her side with her back to him and closed her eyes.

The Red Rider was kept awake with the anxiety still pumping in his veins. He carefully slid behind her and hesitantly put his arm around her, pulling her closer. The void instantly lapped at power he felt surge through him the moment he touched her. He caressed her arm and buried his face in the transition between her shoulder and neck.

It was a habit of his to murmur to her in the ancient language things he didn't dare to tell her directly. Despite her not understanding it, he was getting through their bond positive vibes. She respected him wanting to keep some things secret, so she didn't pry. Marzanna relaxed in his arms and fell into a needed sleep.

Murtagh didn't fully realize how long he was talking to her sleeping form, but it must have been few hours, since she was suddenly looking up to him, listening silently to him. He whispered the last sentence to her and pressed his lips into a thin line and looked down at her. Marzanna turned to face he lost himself in the coldness of her ice-blue eyes.

A freezing hand touched his cheek and he slightly shivered, but did not pull away. He welcomed it. Murtagh pressed his cheek deeper into her hand and felt her fingers hook beneath his jaw.

"May I?" He almost overheard that. He nodded.

She leaned to him and captured his lips in a chilling kiss. It took them few seconds to get the right angle, but eventually both found their place. It wasn't their first kiss, but felt somehow more relevant than any other before.

Her hand slid lower and together with it his tunic glided from his shoulders down, revealing his skin and leaving it for the cold-biting air. A push to his chest forced him on his shoulder blades with her on top of him. Murtagh's hands carefully wrapped around her hips, holding her tightly to him. Her kisses moved from his lips over his chin to his neck. A sigh escaped his lips.

"Keep talking." Marzanna didn't need to specify. And Murtagh complied, words of the ancient language rolling from his tongue with ease, revealing his feelings, hopes and desires.

The tips of his fingers dug inside her skin, possibly later leaving some marks. Some more clothes got thrown away, his warmth skin burning like fire in comparison with her ice cold one. It was the moment she lowered onto him, he revealed too much. The name slipped through his oaths and out of his mind ringing inside her head. Marzanna shivered under the power of the name, but didn't stop moving.

The familiar rush of power set his veins on fire again, but this time stronger than ever. His pleasure mingled with the one he felt from her through their bond and in a short while sent Murtagh over the edge. Lost in his pleasure he did not notice her hand on his chest above his heart until it was too late.

"No!" He shouted from his post-orgasmic haze, his voice blurred out in afterglow. It was too late, the shackles around his heart started to shatter. Murtagh was getting his freedom, but he didn't want it. With sheer force of will he pressed onto the ice cage around his heart, trying to keep it together. He heard himself begging for her not to do it. "Why?"

"It would be a right thing to kill you, I need enough to know what I need to do, now and by leaving you alive, I risk everything. I guess, I got sentimental over you," she mused. Murtagh blinked at her in confusion, his brain still not catching up with her. "What? You didn't believe I would take you with me everywhere, or did you? No matter what, it will always be only Boreas and I. You don't fit that pattern. I took you captive only due to your knowledge. I don't need you anymore and with the spell you would be a perfect locator for us."

"Please, don't do it," Murtagh couldn't stop himself from saying it. Every word was like a stab to his heart, but no matter what he kept pressing against the laces tying his heart, not allowing them to disappear. But as if he was catching fog, it was slipping through his fingers.

"So it seems I am the Winter Queen, it would only be strange if my heart wasn't frozen as well," a smirk appeared on her face as she pressed her palm to his forehead. "Slytha," she whispered to his ear. Murtagh's hands, which were still desperately clutching her to him, released her as he was forced by the spell to sleep.

+BREAK+

"Vakna," a male voice resonated within Murtagh's ears.

He unglued his eye lids and looked confused around. As his brain caught up with what happened, a different type of emptiness filled him. With his mind he reached out for the shackles which used to tie his heart.

Desperately he searched for any residual shackle, which would still connect him to her. He shouldn't want her, especially after what she did to him, but he couldn't help himself. The bond they used to have was something he treasured deeply and now he lost it. He almost gave up in his searching, but suddenly he noted a very thin and weak icy thread, which withstood the melting thanks to Murtagh's effort to preserve their bond.

A spark of hope started to shine within him.

It was then, he noticed his companion. Eragon was looking down at him, worried but cautious. Saphira was resting in the place, where Boreas used to sleep. Murtagh was soon secured with spells and physical shackles – he did not resist at all, which earned him a strange look from Eragon.

Murtagh gulped and quietly asked: "Are you taking me to Ellesméra?"

"No," the Blue Rider paused, he wasn't sure whether to trust Murtagh or not. Eventually, he hesitantly continued: "I was tasked with bring you and Marzanna to Ellesméra. Will you tell me, what happened here?" Murtagh nodded and proceeded with Eragon's wish, leaving out how she left him and some intimate things about them. He explained all in the ancient language, so Eragon would trust him. When he finished, the Blue Rider nodded carefully and talked for a while to Saphira in his mind. Murtagh just stared into emptiness and wished for everything to return. "We should go north, she might want to hide in Norve-," he got interrupted.

"She is not going there. Yet," blurted out Murtagh.

"How do you know that?" asked Eragon suspiciously.

"It's the spell she put on me."

"I thought you said she took it away."

"She did. Mostly," admitted Murtagh.

"Do… you know, where they are both going?" asked hopefully the Blue Rider.

Murtagh carefully pulled on the fragile string attached to his heart and listened to its singing. The moment the string stopped quivering, he knew. A heavy uncomfortable weight settled inside his stomach.

"I do. We need to fly south. To Dras-Leona."