“Wherever he’s staying, he’ll have troops around him. You should take me if you go.” Vonla lowered her voice to a whisper to add, “I’ve never ridden on a dragon before.”
“It’s probably not quite like what you expect. I wonder if I should return to Lyvor and check on Tibby’s progress with the shielder first. I’ll have an easier time convincing General Dolok and other military men to support me if I can return protection to Harvest Island before…”
“Walking up to Fograth and punching him in the face?” Teyla asked.
“I don’t usually punch people,” Syla said.
“I would be happy to do it for you.”
“Can’t the dragon bite off his head, Your Majesty?” Celena sounded more enthused than horrified by the idea.
“That might be more effective than my punches,” Teyla said, “though I’m not bad at them. Remember our sergeant of the estate, Hyak? He taught me how to rotate my body and put all of my power into a punch. I even learned to break a board.”
“A dragon can snap an entire tree in half,” Celena said.
“There’s no technique I could learn that would allow me to match a dragon for power,” Teyla said.
“I think Celena wants to see Fograth beheaded.” Syla didn’t know what to think of all the vengeful, bloodthirsty women around her.
Celena nodded. “I don’t want a scheming minor lord to have the throne. They’re all… even if Fograth isn’t a regular atthe brothel, most of the ones who come down there are self-important and loathsome. Besides, Your Majesty,you’rethe best person to rule the Kingdom. And you’re the rightful one.”
“Thank you.”
“I have more news, Your Majesty,” Vonla said.
Syla braced herself. “Go ahead.”
“Fleet ships are searching the waters all along the Castle Island coastline. They have orders to find the vessels that brought you here and capture them, especially the one carrying the weapons platform.”
“Those are Island Lord Oyenar’s ships, not enemy vessels,” Syla said, though she’d already assumed the fleet had those orders.
“Nonetheless, they carriedyouhere, so…”
“Fograth is ordering them to be treated poorly?”
“Captured is what the orders supposedly are. Not sunk. Fograth mostly wants that weapons platform.”
“Doesn’t everybody?” Syla murmured, though the stormers had wanted itsunk, not to acquire it for themselves. “Do you think he knows that only Tibby and I can operate it?”
“Probably not.”
Syla could technically make it so someone else with a moon-mark could use it, but she had no plans to help Fograth gain power.
“He may only want to make sureyoucan’t use it,” Teyla told Syla.
“If I were using it, it would be to take back Harvest Island, something everyone in the Kingdom should want.”
Teyla spread her arms, then looked up the road.
Syla sensed Vorik approaching so wasn’t surprised when he appeared at her shoulder, but the grimness on his face was darker than it had been earlier.
“Everything all right?” She wondered if a conversation with his dragon had been the reason for his delay.
“It is not, no.”
“Bad news?” she asked.
Vorik waved to the side, silently requesting privacy.
