For the Rebellion

Chapter 1 - Fifteen Thousand Gold Dragons

Theo clutched his aching head and groaned, flopping over. The cushioned surface beneath him disappeared. There was a quick moment of weightlessness. Then...splat. Pain lit up his side and hips. He groaned again, rolling onto his back and opening his eyes. He found himself on the floor, looking up at the side of the bed.

The knock at his door turned into pounding. Every thump made his head ache more. He'd gotten too godsdamned drunk last night.

"Theodred! Open the godsdamned door." He didn't move. "I'm afraid I must insist, your father's orders. I'm not to leave here without you. The king is expecting you in his tower immediately."

"Gods," he growled, sitting up.

Everything swayed in front of him, but he managed to get up before staggering to the door. Kardin stood on the other side, his hulking form at ease, hands clasped behind his back. Kardin was one of his father's six royal guards. Every king in the history of Dragonwall's monarchy always had six. They were called the drengr fairtheoir in the old tongue. Most simply called them shields.

But the king's shields—like the king—weren't merely human. They were drengr, dragons blessed with humanity. Shape shifters. Just like him.

He'd gained his dragon form during puberty, nearly a decade ago. Every dragon form was unique, just as every person was. And with that form came an extended lifespan and the ability to heal from almost anything.

Except, his head was still pounding, because even though he was twenty five, he wasn't as powerful as a fully grown drengr. Nor was his magic as mature. It would be, in time. Then he'd never feel the after affects of too much drink.

"You look like hell." Kardin's lips pulled into a frown. "That's not exactly going to work in your favor as soon as your parents get ahold of you."

He ignored the warning and said, "Tell them I'll be along after I've bathed and had some breakfast."

"No. I'm to take you to them now, as you are." Kardin made a point of dragging his gaze down Theo's body, taking note of his rumpled clothes from last night. His tunic askew, pants half laced, and only a single stocking, the other foot entirely bare. He didn't hide his blatant disappointment, the judgement writ clearly in his features.

Theo's lips pressed into a flat line. "At least let me put on some boots."

Kardin shrugged. "Fine."

He took his time, striding across the massive suite to the small room that acted as a giant wardrobe. He found a fresh pair of boots. There was nothing rushed about his movements as he slid one and then the other onto his feet—after adding a stocking to the bare foot.

"Today, Prince." Kardin didn't disguise his annoyance.

There was a time Kardin had been his favorite. A time he'd loved all of his father's shields. But they'd grown irritating over the past few years. They respected him because they had to, but none of them thought too highly of him these days.

Wasn't that for the best? Besides, he was happier when he didn't care what they thought. What anyone thought. Life was better without responsibility. Without the possibility of letting others down.

"Fine, fine. Coming."

They left his suite and strode down the Hall of Kings towards his mother and father's tower. His father's tower, really. It was called the king's tower, after all. Though, in his opinion, it was more his mother's than his father's. It was her blood that was royal. His father had simply married into it.

The guards on duty at the entrance to the king's tower gave a nod before opening the door. Kardin led him to the dining room that his parents sometimes used when they didn't dine downstairs, in the great keep's massive dining hall. His stomach hardened with suspicion.