A retelling of rescuing Jack in Chapters 16 &17 of Dragon Fairest, as told from Doane’s perspective.

Like every young man, Doane had occasionally daydreamed about rescuing an imperiled princess in his youth.

Escorting one through the eerily abandoned corridors of her own palace with Sterling and Zane wasn’t exactly how he imagined that particular fairy tale playing out. Especially not when the wall and floors were spattered with splotches of blue glass. A glittering reminder of the curse that permeated the palace and turned many of the residents into motionless statues.

Including the Queen of Ardell and her Consort.

Senses stretched taut, an acute awareness of the danger surrounding them kept Doane alert and ready.

Despite a couple of close calls with passing patrols, though, they made it to Kynara secret stash of magic and back without incident.

Doane’s sense of foreboding, however, only grew when he heard what Beckett and the others had found.

“There’s no way to get to Jack in the dungeons. The corridor to the stairs is guarded by Jelverck’s elite drakes.” Beckett’s expression remained stoic as spoke. “We overheard enough conversations to know the top and bottom of the stairwell has guards as well. Velia is not taking any chances.”

Despite the even tone, Doan recognized the grim lines of resignation tightening Beckett’s eyes. He was holding something back.

“That’s not all, is it?”

With a grimace, Beckett shook his head.

“According to some soldiers we overheard, the Enchantress has been preparing an abandoned dragon temple in the city for some kind of ceremony. She’s planning to take Jack there tonight. And she’s on her way down to see him now.”

Doane tensed, body primed for action and frustrated that there was no enemy to fight. Curling his hands into painfully tight fists, he ignored his instinct to shift. To defend his packmate with tooth and claw.

Instead, he glanced at Sterling.

Their little troupe of treasure hunters was too independent not to chafe under the idea of an official leader. But, in times like this, they all looked toward Sterling.

But Sterling was looking at Kyn, meeting her fierce, determined conviction with a silent promise they all could read.

Pack protects pack. Family takes care of their own.

Satisfied with the unspoken accord, Kyn’s chin lifted in tenacious determination.

“Then we need to get to the Temple first and figure out how to stop her.”

***

The most efficient and stealthy way out of the palace, unfortunately, took them straight through the worst of the spell damaged areas. As they moved through the halls, the spatters of glass became puddles, stretching farther and farther until the walls and floors were coated in it. Worse, though, were the unmoving forms of those who’d tried to flee the magic and failed.

Horrifying glass figures that had once been flesh and blood. Velia’s mercs and Royal Guardsmen. Maids and nobles. No one had been safe from the magic.

The sight was bleak and heartbreaking.

Reflex and instinct forced those emotions down deep. Doane had learned long ago that giving into them left him even more vulnerable. Instead, he focused on his anger and resolve. Let the dark weight of fury insulate him.

The princess, however, had no such defenses.

Every step, every cursed figure, deepened the anguish in her eyes.

When escape led through the Grand Corridor and past the open doors of the throne room, the glimpse inside proved too much for Kyn.

She froze, eyes locked on the dais. And the still forms of the Queen and her Consort frozen in time.

A storm of guilt, rage, and sorrow glittered in her unblinking gaze.

Doane had no idea what to say to ease her pain. No idea what she needed to hear.

But he had to at least try.

He took a hesitant step closer, keeping his voice low and soft.

“Dwelling on past mistakes doesn’t change anything. We can only move forward and throw our energy into fixing the wrongs we’ve done.”

Kyn blinked at him in a surprise and Doane resisted the urge to fidget. Offering advice or comfort was not something he had experience with, and it left him feeling clumsy and off-balance.

Instead of fumbling more, he stepped past her, moving away to give her a moment of solitude. And to regroup his own equilibrium.

When he glanced back to make sure she followed, though, the renewed determination in her bearing eased Doane’s uneasiness.

***

By the time they escaped the gloom of the palace, they’d formed a plan.

Sterling, Beckett, Kaile, and Rory would accompany Kyn to the Temple, while Doane, Zane, Wyatt headed to the city gates to create a diversion.

With Velia’s mercs stretched thin between the palace and the Temple, a disruption would hopefully diminish her resources that much more.

The gates were already closed for the evening when they arrived, leaving the area deserted but for a handful of guards. Doane and his packmates took advantage of the moonless night and plentiful shadows to transform in a nearby alley. Then they slunk through the night, blitzing the guards from all directions in a surprise attack meant to confuse and disorient without doing any lasting harm. Darting in and retreating, harrying and teasing the guards in turn, they did little damage but caused enough mayhem and frustrated shouts to attract attention.

When half a squad of Velia’s mercs arrived to reinforce the gate guards, Doane’s tongue lolled in a wolfy smile of satisfaction. They’d done their job well. Now, they needed to get to the rest of their pack and help save Jack.

He barked sharply to signal the others, and the three wolves melted into the shadows. Using the advantage of preternatural senses, they slipped away from the fight and eluded the half-hearted attempt to pursue them.

***

Halfway to the Temple, the earth shook unrelentingly under their paws and it was all Doane could to stay upright. When a resounding crash echoed through the night a moment after the ground stopped trembling, he knew there was no time to waste.

Calling on every bit of reserve he possessed, Doane poured on the speed and raced through the streets.

Chaos was already in full swing when they arrived at the fence surrounding what had once been the Temple of the Elder Dragons. Dust clogged the air like dense fog, but even that couldn’t obscure the way the Temple had caved in on itself.

Half the mercs were still trying to get back to their feet, while the other half were beset by Sterling and the rest of the pack.

An enraged Enchantress, covered in debris, stood at the center of the melees, hands aloft and burning with magic.

It took a minute of searching to find Jack through the obscuring dust. Even bound and collared, though, he was never helpless.

Doane caught sight of him just in time to watch him rear back and kick the still-kneeling guard on his left full in the face.

Zane howled in delight and leapt into the fray, hamstringing the second guard before he reached Jack.

Doane and Wyatt followed him into the fight as Jack picked up a discarded sword and swung it experimentally with his bound hands.

Then the lights went out.

Everywhere.

The scent of snuffed torches curled in the air and Velia’s men stumbled, sightless and confused, in the abrupt darkness.

Doane and the others had been waiting for it, however, and the wolves’ senses adjusted quickly. It was time to put the next phase of the plan in motion.

He shifted closer to Jack and nudged the back of his knees forcing Jack to take an involuntary step forward.

Another nudge, another step. This time, though, Jack stiffened, locking his legs and refusing to be herded.

Doane chuffed in exasperation at his resistance and Jack immediately relaxed.

Jack’s fingers curled into Doane’s ruff, and he leaned down, whispering, “Lead the way.”

Using the enhanced night vision and the sensitive nose of his species, Doane directed Jack away from the Temple and out into the maze of the city. They needed to be long gone by the time the mercs reoriented and organized themselves.

Kaile trailed them, trotting a few yards behind and watching their back as they made their way through back-alleys.

Once certain no one followed, Doane paused and used sharp teeth to delicately grip the rope around Jack’s wrist and chewed through the bindings.

“Thanks for the rescue, guys,” Jack whispered. “Where’s everyone else?”

Doane rolled his eyes and tilted his head, doing his best to express that Jack was an idiot for asking questions he couldn’t answer in this form.

“Right, I’ll find out when we get wherever we’re going,” Jack sighed and picked up the pace to keep up with the wolves.

They meandered through dark, unused alleys, for a while, back-tracking a few times to confuse any pursuit. Eventually, though, they made it to a cul-de-sac full of abandoned, decaying building.

They’d barely stepped inside the decrepit warehouse when Kyn shouted Jack’s name.

Her obvious, heartfelt relief touched something in Doane as he watched Jack cross the space between them and wrapped her tight in his arms.

Doane remembered a similar reception. The welcome and relief he’d been embraced with. And the way it had turned to ash. The aching emptiness when that welcome turned to rejection.

He felt a brief spike of envy but quickly pushed it aside. Doane would never begrudge his friend’s happiness.

Not even when there was no hope for a happy ending of his own.

Want more? Check out the Extras page for more outtakes and excerpts!