Yes, thousands. The Sea Dragons awoke to a new Serai, although I imagine the undersea kingdoms hadn't changed as much. King Vaxarion mentioned that they had become unlawful lands while the Sea Dragons slumbered, and now that they were awake, the Sea Kings were busy catching criminals and killingmonsters who had gone unchecked. They had woken up and gone right back to their old lives. But we Land Dragons were altered. For the good, granted, but altered nonetheless. We were put back into balance, the addition of Water calming us and helping us to control our more violent tendencies. It did that for us naturally, without our direction. But using the Water Magic as the Sea Dragons did was another thing entirely. We had no one to teach us. We had to discover what we could do through experimentation.
Which I had done.
Most of the Dragons in my kingdom were too arrogant to invest time in learning how to use a new magic. They either assumed the magic would reveal itself to them or thought they were strong enough as is. I, however, had learned from a very early age to grasp any opportunity to empower myself. So, I immediately started training myself to use Water Magic. I was a quick study and one of the tricks I had learned was how to track people over water—something Land Dragons couldn't do before. But I was a king. I didn't track criminals unless I had to. I had people for that. And my knights didn't need to use Water Magic to hunt a target that was still in sight.
As several dragons launched into the air, I closed my hands into fists. “What the fuck is going on?”
Ves, one of the Dragon knights who remained, stepped up beside me to report, “King Vaxarion tore down part of a tower, Your Majesty.”
“That's what the quacking was? He demolished a tower?” I lifted my brow as things started to click into place. “Whichtower?”
“The tower that contains my guest chambers,” Aras said as he strode out of the keep, his muscles tensed as if to pounce. That icy stare lifted to the sky as he added, “That was the pirate I brought with me—the one I captured during the attack on the Tiger's Claw.”
“The one who knows where the Eye is,” I concluded.
Aras finally looked at me. “Yes, Sire.”
I chuckled.
Aras's face twitched, betraying his confusion.
Why aren't you chasing them personally?!the Eye shrieked.
Because I scented blood.
You scented blood? So?
Aras must have hurt that Neraky badly. Vaxarion will take him somewhere to heal. But after that, the Neraky will lead the Sea King to the Eye. We have to be patient.Aloud, I shouted, “Mossemas!”
My castle steward was never far from me. He stepped up silently, folding his Argaiv wings back as if he'd just landed. Perhaps he had. The man was like a ghost.
“Yes, Your Majesty?” Mossemas bowed.
“When my knights return empty-handed, which I assume they will, send two of them out with a ship to monitor the waters above Shasenai.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.” Mossemas didn't question me or suggest that my knights could be successful. He simply obeyed. I loved that about him.
“As soon as our prey emerges, have one of my knights follow them discreetly while the other returns to notify me.”
“Yes, Sire.” Mossemas bowed and left to do my bidding.
“How can you be certain that they'll surface, much less surface there?” Aras asked.
“King Vaxarion and that Neraky are lovers. The King will take the pirate home, to the crown city of Shasenai, to heal under his protection. Once the Neraky is safe and whole, they will share physical and mental intimacies.”
“What?”
I grimaced. “They will fuck and share their secrets. The Neraky will confide in King Vaxarion. He'll talk about the Eye. And when the Sea King learns that a valuable relic has been stolen from his people, he will take the Neraky back to the surface to find it.”
And that's when I would strike.
“And how do you know that they'll become that close? They could be lovers without sharing secrets.”
I turned to face Aras and smirked. “Because that pirate is the Sea King's mate.”
“What?” Aras whispered, his confident stance wavering. “How do you know that?”
“I scented it when they passed by. They are mated.”
