Fireside and shadow, p.1
Fireside and Shadow, page 1
Fireside and Shadow
Fireside Mysteries, Volume 3
K.E. O'Connor
Published by K.E. O'Connor, 2024.
This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.
FIRESIDE AND SHADOW
First edition. March 30, 2024.
Copyright © 2024 K.E. O'Connor.
Written by K.E. O'Connor.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
The Royal Fallacy: A Dissenter’s Perspective | C. Blackthorn
A Royal Affair to Remember: Prince Jasper and Camilla’s Wedding Set to Dazzle? | From the recently decommissioned Royal Reports
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
What to read next?
About the Author
The Royal Fallacy: A Dissenter’s Perspective
C. Blackthorn
In the hallowed halls of monarchy, where tradition and pomp reign supreme, dissent is viewed as heresy. Yet, it falls upon voices like mine to shine a light on the dark underbelly of regal authority and the havoc it has wrought upon our realm.
For decades, the Ithric family has wielded power with impunity, cloaking its excesses and injustices beneath a veneer of opulence and tradition. But let us not be deceived by the glittering façade, for behind the gilded walls of the palace lies a legacy of exploitation and oppression.
From conquests to economic manipulation, the royal family has left a trail of devastation, trampling upon the rights and freedoms of those deemed beneath their station. But perhaps the gravest sin of all lies in their role in the death of our dragons.
The sins of the past will not remain buried forever. The dragons have not forgotten the crimes committed against them. And when they rise again, the monarchy will face their fiery wrath.
Don’t be beguiled by the glittering spectacles or the false promises. Until we confront the injustices and hold the Ithric family to account for their crimes, we shall forever remain enslaved to their tyranny.
The time has come to rise and reclaim our destiny from the clutches of royal oppression—to forge a new path, guided by the collective will of the people. And when the dragons return to reclaim their rightful place as guardians of our realm, it’ll be a reckoning long overdue.
A Royal Affair to Remember: Prince Jasper and Camilla’s Wedding Set to Dazzle?
From the recently decommissioned Royal Reports
As the realm anticipates the grandeur of a royal wedding, whispers of trouble within the regal corridors overshadow the excitement. The upcoming nuptials between Prince Jasper and Camilla Oldsbrooke, once heralded as a union of love and a chance for prosperity, face uncertainty as rumors of discord escalate.
Speculation hints at fractures in the unshakeable royal harmony. Prince Jasper, known for his charm, has found his match in Camilla, whose grace and elegance captured his heart. But the romance is under scrutiny as reports suggest tensions brewing behind palace walls.
Sources close to the royal family hint at disagreements and clashes of opinion, fueling fears the couple may be contemplating calling off the ceremony. While palace officials maintain a stoic silence, the rumor mill churns with royal drama.
Adding to the intrigue are whispers of familial rifts and power struggles, with some suggesting longstanding tensions within the royal household are coming to a head. The timing of these rumors couldn’t be more precarious, as they grapple with the aftermath of the theft of the dragon statues from inside the castle.
The impending wedding, once heralded as a beacon of hope for the monarchy, has been overshadowed by uncertainty. As we wait with bated breath for answers, one thing remains clear: the allure of royal intrigue shows no signs of waning. Whether the rumors turn out to be gossip or indicators of deeper unrest, the realm’s eyes are focused on the royal family, eagerly awaiting the next chapter in this unfolding saga.
Do you think the wedding will go ahead?
Send comments to our office in Market Square. And, just for fun, we’re having a ball bet! Head to the square and place a red ball in the bucket if you think the wedding will go ahead or a blue ball if you think it will be canceled!
Balls will be provided. And remember, it’s just for fun.
Chapter 1
“Calm yourself! Finn’s not to be hurt.” I inserted myself between a furious, stamping Stormwing and my new angel friend, Finn.
Stormwing’s dragon scales glistened in the dappled moonlight filtering through the treetops in the enchanted glade that currently concealed them. “He should be hurt. This quivering mass of feathers stole a dragon egg. He deserves to be ground to worm food. Although I doubt they’d touch him, given how rotten his insides must be.”
“Finn’s behavior has us questioning his character.” Emberthorn stood close to his furious brother, although he wasn’t stamping, more curious.
“Enough with trying to blame Finn for what happened to the dragon’s egg! We’ve already said we’ll help Juniper get her baby back.” My focus was on the smoking, stamping dragon who wanted to destroy Finn, although I risked a glance at Juniper. She was a new addition to our dragon family after we’d rescued her from Prince Godric’s deranged clutches. He’d polluted her with dangerous magic and bent her to his will.
She was a stunning yellow dragon, a healing dragon. But she was also a broken dragon, having lost her precious egg. An egg Finn had accidentally acquired and cared for, rather than doing the responsible thing and returning it to the dragons.
Despite Stormwing’s fury filling the glade with tremors and acrid smoke, Juniper barely responded to his tirade. Her heart was shattered, and she wouldn’t survive much longer if she wasn’t reunited with her infant.
“Juniper is too distressed to even talk to you.” Stormwing lifted his foot again, preparing to make the ground shudder. “I’ll deal with this spiteful angel creature and make him sorry he ever looked at her egg.”
“This wee bamstopper needs a lesson in manners.” My ever-loyal wyvern companion, Hodgepodge, leapt off my shoulder, transforming mid-air to become a giant, scaled beauty. Although he professed to despising being large, now he had the ability to change, he used it more frequently.
I tugged Finn out of the way as Hodgepodge and Stormwing slammed into each other in a showy display of growls, raised scales, and smoke. They did this at least once a day, and I could only be grateful for the enchantment around the hidden glade that concealed sound, preventing anyone from discovering the secret family of dragons living so close to the realm that was trying to destroy them.
“Hodgepodge enjoys these fights.” Finn stood comfortably close to me, his white wing feathers brushing my shoulder and his tousled sandy brown hair drooping into his eyes, not at all unsettled that a dragon wanted to squash him.
“I don’t know about that. But Hodgepodge will do anything to keep me safe and is always willing to go up against Stormwing when he blusters into one of his regular fury moods.”
“I understand why Stormwing is so angry with me. He’s protecting his new lady friend. I’d be the same if someone hurt a person I cared about.” Finn glanced at me and smiled.
There’d been an unspoken romantic tension between us ever since Finn had arrived in the village. It was early days, and we were getting to know each other, but there was something special about this angel-demon. He stirred feelings in me I hadn’t felt for a long time. If only I didn’t have a horde of unpredictable dragons to look after and a cruel royal family to hide from, I might have seen where this tension led us. But for now, my focus was getting the surly dragons back where they belonged and not fighting with each other or Finn.
Stormwing roared an objection as Hodgepodge flipped him onto his back and pinned him by the neck.
“Should we lend a hand?” Finn looped a wing toward the fight.
“It’s only bluster. Hodgepodge can do real damage if he wants to, but he hasn’t even used his teeth.” My perfect-scaled companion was always there for me, defending me, and ensuring when the dragons got feisty, they’d be controlled. Although, as I grew accustomed to being their emissary, my magic had resurfaced, and it was stronger than I’d ever felt it. We were forbidden from using powerful spells in the realm, and if anyone was caught using illegal magic by the Ithric family, they received a swift death sentence.
But with the dragons awake and fighting to get back where they belonged, more and more magic stirred in me. It was unsettling, but just like being around Emberthorn and Stormwing every day, I was getting used to it. And when the final showdown with the Ithric family cumulated, I’d need every spell I could muster to defeat them.
“Brother! Unless you want to stay in the dirt all night, admit your defeat to Hodgepodge, so we can get on with matters of importance.” Emberthorn nudged Stormwing on the side with his giant head.
“This squib won’t defeat me.” A huge plume of smoke billowed out of Stormwing’s nostrils. “If I were at full stre ngth—”
“If you were at full strength, we’d both have our royal seats back. This bickering gets us nowhere closer to our goal,” Emberthorn said. “Hodgepodge, be so kind as to release my fiery-headed brother. If he causes more trouble, I’ll deal with him.”
“This is worth fighting for.” Stormwing struggled ineffectively as Hodgepodge snarled at him. “We’re talking about a dragon’s egg!”
“And we have every right to be aggrieved, Juniper more so than anyone, but you don’t see her snapping and snarling at Finn,” Emberthorn said.
“She’s got me to do that for her,” Stormwing said. “Let me up!”
“It’s okay, Hodgie,” I said. “Stormwing will behave. He knows we’re helping.”
Juniper limped over and gently snuffled Stormwing’s head, instantly calming him. She was the smallest of the three dragons and still had much healing to do. A lesser dragon would have curled up and died, but Juniper’s desire to get her egg back kept her going.
“If I let you up, no more attacking Finn or going anywhere near Bell with those enormous claws and sharp-scaled tail,” Hodgepodge said.
“He would never hurt our emissary,” Emberthorn said. “Bell is too precious to us.”
“She’s more precious to me,” Hodgepodge said. “And I found her first.”
I walked over and leaned against Hodgepodge’s large back leg. “We’re all family. One way or another, we found each other. It doesn’t matter where or when that happened. And family look out for each other.”
“This doesn’t feel like being looked after,” Stormwing grumbled.
I arched an eyebrow. “Being a part of a family also means you’re put in your place when you overstep. Stormwing, we understand your anger, but we have a solution to reunite Juniper with her precious baby. You just need to listen to Finn, so you know what’s happening.”
“Can you really get my baby back?” Juniper’s voice was slightly lyrical, with a faint undertone of gravel.
“I’m certain of it.” Finn inched closer, keeping a watchful eye on Stormwing, who often lashed out with his tail when feeling spiteful. “It’ll take some negotiating, but I promise you, she’s safe. And I’m sure she’ll be thrilled to be back with you.”
“We wouldn’t need to do any reuniting if you hadn’t stolen Juniper’s egg and made yourself a fake family with a creature you had no hope of controlling,” Stormwing said.
I resisted the urge to eye roll. “As Finn has explained several times, the egg was abandoned at his sanctuary. He didn’t steal it.”
“He should have reported it as soon as it was discovered.”
“My baby’s song must be powerful,” Juniper said. “Enthralling an angel is no easy task.”
“Finn is a good protector,” I said. “Why wouldn’t a homeless infant pick him as their caregiver?”
“That’s pushing things. We don’t know him,” Hodgepodge grumbled.
“We know him well enough. Finn loves animals. And he healed you when you wandered off on an adventure without me and got yourself in trouble.”
“I’ll be the first to admit, I got in over my head with the dragon egg,” Finn said. “I was convinced I could look after her on my own, but she grew so quickly and became stronger than me.”
“It’s fortunate she didn’t bite your head off,” Emberthorn said. “Infant dragons are more dangerous than my grumpy brother when he’s rolled off the wrong side of the hay pile and discovered there’s no breakfast ready for him to guzzle down.”
“Hodgepodge, get off me, unless you want to be chargrilled, you irritating pile of lizard dung.” Stormwing bucked several times, Hodgepodge clinging on for the ride, with no intention of letting him win.
I nodded at Hodgepodge, and he reluctantly released Stormwing, who rolled to his feet, shaking out his enormous tail and wings. He bared his teeth at Hodgepodge and then Finn but settled beside Juniper, his flare of anger gone as quickly as it arrived. Stormwing’s moods blew in and out like a tempest wind, while Emberthorn was more relaxed, even occasionally lazy. The dragon brothers were a perfect combination, which was why they’d been so successful when they’d ruled the realm.
“Let’s hear your clever plan, then,” Stormwing snapped at Finn. “How are you getting Juniper’s baby back?”
“I’ve already put out feelers,” Finn said. “And I’m firming a few things up.”
Stormwing growled. “Not good enough. Those words mean nothing.”
“This task will take time,” I said. “We all understand dragon protocol is tricky to step through, and Juniper’s baby has settled nicely in her new home. Finn knows what he’s doing. And while he’s working on that, we’ll focus on your return to power and stopping the royal family from doing any more harm.”
“Both quests are of equal importance,” Emberthorn said. “We must have patience.”
“I have no patience left.” Stormwing flopped a wing over Juniper, almost covering her in his protective, leathery shield. “I vote we charge the castle now, destroy the toxic Ithric family, and then fly out to collect Juniper’s baby. We could be back by tomorrow night and have everything settled.”
Juniper ducked out from under his wing, her panicked gaze meeting mine as she shook her head.
“Juniper is still healing,” I said soothingly. “And although you’re much stronger, you still have a week of potions to get through before Seraphina gives you the all-clear to enter battle.”
“I refuse to listen to that monster. Seraphina is poisoning us!” Stormwing said. “I feel worse every time she visits.”
“But you look so much better than when I first met you,” I said. “When you escaped the castle, you could barely walk or fly, and your scales were dull.”
“And let’s not talk about the revolting gas problem we all had to live through,” Hodgepodge said. “You stunk up the whole forest one day.”
Stormwing’s scales flushed yellow. “That wasn’t me. It must’ve been a family of skunks who’d taken up residence nearby.”
I hid a smile. “You’re all stronger now. You gleam and smoke and stamp around like true alpha dragons. We’re almost ready to move. And now is a good time to set a plan into motion. The castle is consumed with the royal wedding. It’s only ten days away, and the place is in chaos.”
“We should do a flyby and incinerate the bride and groom as they say their vows.” Stormwing chuckled darkly to himself. “I would be highly amused by that.”
“As entertaining as that would be, when we reappear, we must enter calmly,” Emberthorn said.
I nodded, giving Stormwing a stern look. “We want the Ithric family to have no option but to accept you back. When residents of the realm realize you’ve returned, they’ll welcome you with open arms.”
“And if the royal family doesn’t do the same, their true colors will be revealed,” Finn said. “If they refuse to let you rule, everyone will turn against them.”
“They’re already turning,” I said. “Every day, I hear rumors about border unrest. People have had enough. They don’t want to be ignored and their problems unheard. The Ithric family’s days are numbered.”
“Can’t come a moment too soon,” Emberthorn said. “Balance must be restored, or the realm will crumble, and the people will wither and die.”
“So, we’re all in agreement?” I asked. “No more fighting, and we focus on the mission, while giving Finn time to make arrangements to get back Juniper’s baby.”
The dragons grumbled their agreement, and Finn nodded.
“Even if the royal family pretends to accept us back,” Stormwing said, “they’ll betray us the second they have an opportunity.”
“And we’ll be ready when they do,” I said. “On my emissary’s honor, they’re never trapping you again.”
Stormwing growled. “Just what I need to ruin my already dreadful day. A traitor.”
I glanced over my shoulder. Seraphina Poldark trudged toward us, a heavy-looking satchel slung over her shoulder. She’d shown up twice a day for two weeks, giving the dragons healing potions to ensure they were recovered from their many years of confinement. Her magic was extraordinary and melded perfectly with Emberthorn and Stormwing, but its constant use took a withering toll on her health. She looked haggard, wasn’t sleeping, and had lost weight, but she refused to give up on the dragons.
