“Yes, we have discovered that the ancient queens lived quite different lives to the queens of today,” I replied. “Auren wishes to know why things changed. I’ve been in the keep library today researching the topic, which had led us to the discovery of Drathnor.”
“The old dragon buried outside Blackreach?”
The general seemed to be struggling to keep up.
“Yes,” I replied. “Tomorrow morning we are flying out, hoping to get to Blackreach in three days. Auren will inspect the burial site herself.”
“Will she?” His cup was set down with a clatter.The way his bushy brows drew down, that severe expression, it was enough to force my heart to beat even faster. “Keep dragons don’t just fly about the country willy nilly,” he said finally.
“But Auren doesn’t belong to the keep.” At his slow blink, I smiled and forged on. “She is a free dragon, and that means she goes where she wills. I am here because the law dictates I must be, but where she goes, so do I.”
“Really?” He sat back in his chair. “And is Auren familiar with the duchy of Harlston? How are the two of you getting to Blackreach?”
“Lorien and his dragon have kindly offered to be our escorts.”
My voice wavered just a little, because that frown grew all the more fierce. The general’s elbows hit the desk, his fingers laced in front of him as he stared at me. That display of displeasure was just like Auren’s throat rattle and I was meant to be cowed by it.
“Interesting,” he said finally. “Because you are correct. Auren is a wild dragon and therefore free to do as she wills, but you.” That look up and down was anything but complimentary. “And Lorien are subject to the king’s law for as long as you remain citizens of Nevermere. You are to spend a year here proving that you are worthy of being confirmed as riders?—”
“I didn’t have to come back.” When my back straightened, I felt some of my dragon’s strength in my spine. “Auren and I, we could’ve stayed out in the ruin, moving from place to place and finding what we needed far from the keep. You wouldn’t have found us.”
That was guess, but by his stony expression, I was fairly sure I had it right.
“Hunting down a wild queen and her rider? You wouldn’t have been able to get any of your keep dragons to go along with that.” My back settled into the plush velvet of the chair. “I’m doing you the courtesy of informing you of our plans.”
“Informing. Me.”
“I have no interest in joiningthe corp,” I said.
Nor I, Auren replied.
“Auren has no intention of doing so either,” I continued. “So in the interest of corp cohesion, I can tell you what we intend to do, making it appear like we are doing so with your permission.” My voice deepened slightly as I felt Auren’s mind mesh with mine. “Preserving your position of authority.”
“Or?” the general snapped.
“Or we can do what we planned anyway, without any prior knowledge, leaving you to answer uncomfortable questions about where we are and what we are doing.”
He sucked in a breath, ready to reply, but a muffled roar made clear Auren’s position. That seemed to give the man pause. The tea cup was snatched up from the desk, a noisy slurp breaking the quiet before he set it back down again. Just a tiny twitch of his lips, that signalled that I wasn’t going to like what came next.
“Auren is a wild dragon queen and as her rider, that does grant you more freedoms than most cadets,” he replied. “But the same could not be said for Lorien and his dragon. He and his comrades have shown themselves to be undisciplined, drunken dissolutes, and allowing unmarried young ladies to travel in their company would be ill advised.” That smile, it finally appeared. “I have plenty of riders, good riders, who have shown themselves worthy of my trust, that can escort you and Auren to Blackreach.”
Dragons he wishes for me to consider as mates, Auren growled.
“I will assign several of them?—”
“Riders that have entered the Tomb of Terror?” I asked. “Who know their way through the cave complex?” The general fell silent. “We don’t need an escort to Blackreach. If we must, we can stop at towns on the way and get directions, or buy a map. What we do need is people with an intimate knowledge of those caves, and that’s what Lorien…” I swallowed. “And the other silver dragon riders possess.”
For a moment, I thought the issue was resolved, but then the general leaned closer.
“Well, if this is the way it must be, then I need to take what steps I can to protect you, Fern. The corp is like a family.” My mother had spent many hours teaching me proper etiquette and I was glad for that now. It kept my face perfectly smooth as I fought back the urge to let out a rude snort. “And as general, I am its father. Just as your father would never allow you to spend time with rakes or cads, it’s expected that I keep you safe from… unfortunate influences. You’ll take Lieutenant Axton with you on this trip.”
Just as Lance had suggested.
“That’s why I asked to speak with you, Fern,” the general said. “Your father has to have warned you about the kinds of men that prey on the hearts of young women. Seeking access to your fortune, your position, even your body, that kind of man will say and do anything to get what he wants. Well, as the bondmate of a queen dragon, you have an asset?—”
Asset?
The general was damn lucky we hadn’t had this conversation in Auren’s den, as I could just imagine her head rising, her jaws opening, ready to strike.
