“I think that’s shedding.” Hixun waved at the scales.
“I’m not sure what the proper terminology is.” If Vorik had been there, Syla could have asked him, but she didn’t mention a longing for his company to her allies. She also didn’t tell them that Wreylith was pregnant and this might have something to do with that. Did dragons have hormones that fluctuated during that time and affected their scales? Syla had no idea.
When theFanged Whalerounded the point and the castle and lighthouse on the bluff came into view, three Kingdom ships were sailing into Sky Torn Harbor ahead of them. At first, Syla assumed they were some of the vessels from Lyvor that hadn’t joined them.
But one of their borrowed crewmen from Bogberry Island called, “The warship in the lead is theWave Cruiser.Lord Oyenar sails on it when he goes out on maneuvers.”
“Would he have come here in person for some reason?” Hixun wondered. “You’d think he would be busy trying to get his city and entire island back in order.”
“We’ll find out soon,” Syla said.
Since Oyenar had provided her with the ship she was sailing on after hers had sunk in the river, she believed him an ally—his wife had made it clear that she wanted him to be—so Syla wasn’t that concerned by his arrival, but she did wonder what he intended to do. She hoped he wasn’t bringing bad news. She couldn’t handle any more of that.
As theFanged Whaleled the way into the harbor, where they found no fewer than thirty warships docked and anchored within its protected waters, the crewmen on the deck shifted uneasily. Per Hixun’s orders, they were manning the cannons, and many crossbowmen held their weapons ready in case a battle started. Crews were out on the decks of the warships ahead of them as well, some near weapons, but nobody had yet shouted orders to fire. Hundreds of sets of eyes watched the approach of Syla’s fleet.
Though nervous, she climbed onto the wheelhouse and raised the megaphone to address them. The news about the shielder couldn’t have traveled to Castle Island yet, and she wanted to make sure everyone knew about it before deciding… whatever they would decide.
“Brave troops of the Garden Kingdom,” Syla called, “with the help of my engineering aunt, Lady Tibaytha, and my other allies, I’ve managed to return a working shielder to Harvest Island. Dragons will no longer be able to attack our people in their own homes.” She almost added that the ominous clouds might still bea threat but refrained, not wanting to suggest that she’d failed in some way.
TheFanged Whalewas close enough to some of the warships ahead for her to see startled faces as crewmen looked at each other. And did some of their expressions shift from surprise to relief? Syla hoped so.
“In case you didn’t yet hear, we also defeated the stormer threat on Bogberry Island,” Syla continued, trusting that Dolok and Fograth hadn’t been quick to share news of events that might shine a positive light on her—by the eyes of the moon, they were probably still telling people she was dead. “We ensured that no enemies will ever threaten the shielder there again.”
On the docked warships, a few cheers went up at the news, though superior officers rushed around the decks and quashed any cries that grew too enthusiastic. Even if the troops were relieved, they probably wanted to wait and see if Syla was able to reclaim that throne before throwing any support behind her. If she failed, they could be punished for that.
That was fine. Syla planned to do this on her own anyway.
Ah, but was that Lord Oyenar who’d come out onto the deck of his ship? He wore a Fleet uniform, so she hadn’t recognized him at first, but that was his white hair and bushy eyebrows, as well as a paunch that made the buttons tight across his abdomen. It didn’t look like he’d worn that uniform for some time. Since he’d retired years earlier to become an island lord, she was surprised he was here and wearing it at all.
“We don’t know if the stormer threat is completely gone,” Syla called through the megaphone, “so please stand ready in case we need to sail out as a united fleet toensurethe Kingdom remains safe going forward.”
“Stormer threat or strange black-cloud threat?” Teyla asked as Syla climbed down from the wheelhouse.
“We’ll see. I’m not sure either threat has truly been vanquished.”
Fel, Teyla, and Aunt Tibby had come topside during Syla’s brief speech, bringing their packs with them. Teyla also wore her sword belt.
“Ready to storm the castle?” Syla asked her cousin.
“That’syourjob.” Teyla pointed to her and also at Wreylith, who was now scratching her tail and had left a few more scales on the deck. “I do want to talk to you about something if you have a minute.”
Syla nodded and joined her cousin in a relatively private spot along the railing. TheFanged Whalewas sailing toward a couple of open slots along the docks, with Oyenar’s ship maneuvering to slide in ahead of them.
“I thought you should know that people are talking.” Teyla waved toward crewmen on their deck and also on nearby ships.
“About… me?”
“You’re a fascinating subject to discuss, yes.”
“For more reasons than because my dragon is molting, I suppose.” Syla didn’t want to be the subject of discussions, but that was inevitable these days.
Teyla leaned around her to peer at Wreylith. “Do you think her scales are magical? And would make a nice souvenir? Or maybe an addition to a museum? If you survive and reclaim your throne, you’re going to be historically significant, you know. And, of course, your dragon ally will be too.”
“You don’t think I’ll be historically significant even if I don’t survive and reclaim the throne?”
“Well, your reign was so brief. You might be turned into a footnote in the pages of history books.”
“Disheartening after all we’ve done.”
