Unaware that she was the one who was really in danger.
I hadn’t seen today’s aberration coming, couldn’t protect her from it, but who knew the dangers of the keep better than me? Letting myself get lulled back into a false sense of security, I nodded sharply. That’s what it was. For just a moment, I stopped on the landing, hand going to my brow as my head throbbed. I should’ve persuaded Fern to stay in Dragon Rest. There we could’ve kept her safe. No one–
“Lance?” The feminine voice had me spinning around, because just for a second, I thought it was Fern. My heart was in my throat, right as I saw Cora standing there. By the look of her wry smile, my expression told her exactly what I was feeling. “You can’t blame yourself for what happened in the bay.”
“Too late.” That came out without thought, so I shook my head in response. “That…” My mind wouldn’t stop replaying everything that happened. The smile I shot Fern before the exercise began, the way I’d sat there, marvelling at the way the sun turned her hair to red gold. Stupid, stupid, stupid, I thought, right before my jaw clamped tight. “That will never happen again.”
“Of course.” Cora moved closer. “Your new wing–”
“No.” Inside the room, the disquiet had sat low in my gut, waiting, but now I was free of the place, I felt a wave of revulsion. “If you asked me this morning what I wanted most in the world, it was Fern agreeing to be mine and Auren mated to Viridian, but…” I looked back at the map room and saw riders filing out. Some nodded my way, as if making clear they’d be talking to me soon. “Not like this. Never like this.”
Cora’s smile was gentle
“You care for her quite a lot.”
“Quite a lot?” I barely croaked that out. Turns out I hadn’t just lost my dragon. All my defences had gone winging out of the keep along with Viridian. “There aren’t enough words to describe how I feel.”
“Oh goodness…” Her hand squeezed my arm, but she pulled away before I could protest. “You do have it bad. So what now? Form a wing and then protect Fern?”
“No…” My breath came out in a long shudder. “I think I just need to get the hell out of the keep for a while. If I can clear my head, maybe I can work out what to do next.”
Part of me went to call Viridian, have my dragon meet me in the courtyard, but of course, he wasn’t anywhere to be found. Didn’t matter. I left Cora, running downstairs and out the front gate. Each step away from the place helped lighten my heart, until I stopped on a busy street. The muffled sound of music, of people chattering animatedly, it filtered through, and when I looked up at the swinging sign, I knew exactly where I was. The Dragon’s Tooth was a tavern close to my boyhood home. My feet moved of their own accord, my hand pushing open the door to be greeted by a wave of warmth and noise. Some people even called out to me, but I kept on walking until I reached the bar.
“What’ll it be…” The innkeeper looked down at my insignia. “Rider?”
“A beer,” I replied. “Don’t care what kind. Just that its cold and goes down fast.”
“Those are the words of a desperate man.” When my head jerked sideways, he settled against the bar with a grin. “Been a long time, son.” With a toss of his hand, he dropped enough coins to cover two drinks on the bar. “I’ll have the same.” The bar man poured our drinks carefully and then pushed them our way. “Something… or someone’s driving you to drink.” He took a sip of his. “How about you tell your old dad about it?”
Chapter 29
Fern
Why can’t I wield the same power as Drathnor?I could hear the frustration in Auren’s voice, see it in the way she poked at the crystal egg.Why was I born in a time when queen dragons are not seen as sentient beings, but as treasure to be fought over?
Destroying cities?I asked tentatively, realising that I hadn’t been bonded to Auren for long enough to know exactly how she felt about things.Having people run before you, screaming?I shuddered, the vision ready to replay inside my head with little prompting.Is that truly what you want?
I watched the massive dragon’s head drop down, coming to rest on her front claws. Smoke trickled from her nostrils as she let out a huff of breath.
Perhaps.Her eyes closed slightly.If that’s what it took to get me some peace.Humans wouldn’t think to lead me into a breeding pen if I laid waste to their precious cities. Male dragons wouldn’t mob me, depriving me of my liberty, if they feared for their lives.
A glance sideways at Viridian, but the green dragon paid her no mind. He organised the firewood he’d brought down into theunderground room, larger branches at the bottom, kindling at the top.
That’s because in this time, dragons and humans alike have forgotten what it is to fear a queen dragon.We both turned to stare at Viridian. He stepped back from the firewood, nodding to Auren, who lumbered to her feet.The enslavement of my mother, Zafira, made humans complacent and dragons desperate,he said.Neither is a fitting way to treat you, my queen.
Oh?I watched the scales on Auren’s neck start to shift. Not in a rattle, but almost.And what is the appropriate way to treat my sisters and I?
Reverence.The green dragon stated that so simply, gazing into her eyes, but not moving an inch as Auren prowled forward.There is a reason why we called gold dragons queens, and it has nothing to do with human notions of royalty.It is because the females of our species rule our hearts and sometimes we are lucky enough to have that affection returned. Your mother and father were a perfect example of that.
Auren’s head jerked back as if stung.
I did not get the chance to meet your mother, but I have heard tales of her,I said,gingerly placing my hand on her flank, and while the muscles contracted, she didn’t throw me off.People said she was a great queen. What would she do in this situation?
Auren grabbed the crystal egg, and it started to glow weakly as she stared into its milky surface.
My mother? she said.I carry her memories with me.She gave her life so that we might live and…The air became electric, as if the egg was enough to spark the firewood to life.Perhaps it is time to remind, human and dragon kind alike, what a queen truly is.
Fire burst from her jaws without warning, blasting the wood pile. As I stumbled backwards, flames licked the ceiling, and for just a moment I feared they would consume us all, only for her jaws to snap shut. The fire died down to a merry crackle. Auren turned my way, the light of the red flames reflected in her eyes. She didn’t realise it, but she achieved her goal then, looking utterly terrifying and beautiful.
