Danikha rushed to them in a flurry of skirts, jasmine scent, and soft arms. “Izabel! Mother of the Weave!”
Luka let her go so that she could return the queen’s greeting with a bow, but Danikha grabbed them both and pulled them into a tight embrace. “You’re safe. Thank the gods. What would I have told your mother?”
Izzy shuddered. She wouldn’t change what she had done, but her mother had already buried a husband and a son; Izzy never wanted to add to that pain.
They held each other for a long moment before finally stepping apart. “Come, sit with us.” Queen Danikha gestured to the cluster of sofas where Iona and Shane had made themselves comfortable. Ryland, Aiden, and Kai sat on a separate sofa, looking far more formal. But Cori was notably absent.
“Cori released us to come back and help Luka, but she couldn’t leave her command, not with the troops already marching,” Aiden answered Izzy’s unspoken question. “As soon as we knew you were safe, we sent a messenger to catch up with her. He arrived back a little while ago with a letter for you.” He handed over a sealed parchment.
Izzy cracked it open to read Cori’s hasty scrawl. “Izzy! Don’t do that to my heart! Stay safe, my friend. I’ll see you soon. Love, C.”
Izzy smiled at the brief message—perfectly Cori—and tucked it away in her pocket. It would have hurt her friend to march away not knowing whether Izzy was safe, but Cori had done what was right, what she had to do. They both had.
“Shane has already briefed me about Sergeant Dashiell and what you found in the mountain,” Danikha said gently. “But I’d like to hear it directly from you, please.”
“Of course.” Izzy explained everything that had happened while Iona poured them all steaming cups of fragrant, spiced apple tea. Beside her, Luka radiated rage and, at times, utter misery, but he never let go of her. His body was a warm weight of security pressing against her side.
When she finished, Shane updated them on the search for Dashiell. A team of expert divers—whose ability to hold their breaths in their cold, turbulent seas was almost unbelievable—had explored the tunnel the former sergeant had escaped through. It came out in a small cave that was well stocked with sealed jars of water, waxed coats and boots, and even honey-preserved fruits. And branching out from it, several tunnels led into the mountain.
Castle guards were following them, but they had no reports back yet. In the meantime, Sarwin had identified the guard he contacted at the front, and Cori had immediately taken him into custody. He was now sitting in the same cell Sarwin had been locked in, waiting to be questioned.
Ryland took over, explaining that the security all around the castle and throughout the city had been increased. Guards were searching everywhere for Dashiell, and runners had been sent to the neighboring cities with plans to spread the message throughout Hugaeb. He had set guards to watch Dashiell’s mother’s home—the old woman was shocked and horrified at what her son had done—but Dashiell hadn’t been seen anywhere nearby. A guard had been sent to check up on Makai, who was back home and safe.
“Good, thank you, Captain.” The queen focused on Ryland and Luka. “I’d like you two to work closely with Captain Lydia of the city guards. How could we have had someone like Dashiell under our noses all this time? How could someone who is meant to keep our people safe be so rotten?” She sighed, lifted a hand as if she were going to scrub it down her face, and then caught herself and folded it in her lap. “We’re too disconnected. Too out of touch. Please draw up a plan for how we make sure we never have someone like Dashiell in our guards ever again.”
“Your Majesty.” Luka’s grip on Izzy’s hand tightened as he leaned forward, the muscle in his jaw ticking uncomfortably. “This is an excellent idea. One unified guard team that talks more and works together to keep everyone safe—a team that cannot be used as a hiding place for evil—is a noble commission, but….” He looked at Izzy and then back toward Danikha again. “This is something you should discuss with Ryland. I… I said this to Shane yesterday, and today, formally, I ask your permission toresign my command.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small iron coin stamped with the endless fang: the spiral of two dragons biting each other’s tails—his identity tag—and offered it to the queen.
Izzy spun to face him and took his outstretched hand in hers, closing her fingers over the tag. “What?” Her question came out as a shocked whisper. “I don’t understand.”
Luka met her eyes, speaking directly to her as if they were alone. “I want to be with you, Iz. I know how much you love the city and all its people. You must have greeted twenty people on the walk back to the castle!” He smiled softly. “I can’t ask you to give up your shop and what you’ve built to come back here to share a single bedroom.” He pressed his free hand against her face. “I’ve wasted too long without you already, and yesterday I nearly lost you forever.” His beast rumbled quietly, and his eyes glowed with iridescent opal-green.
“I don’t….” Izzy swallowed. Mother of the Weave. “This is who you are! I wouldn’t….” She shook her head, lost for words. She’d never imagined this. She appreciated it, deeply, but Luka needed his work. He thrived on command and responsibility. What would he do, adrift in the city? And what about the queen? Izzy didn’t want to be responsible for Luka resigning when Dashiell was missing and the country was hurtling toward a war. She couldn’t let him do this. But how could she say no? What if he thought she was rejecting him after everything they’d been through?
She opened her mouth, still trying to find the right words, when Iona spoke up. The princess’s silver hair was swept up in a messy knot, and her fingers were stained with ink, but her expression was fiercely determined. “Before anything is decided, I have something to add. Batlok left yesterday with his full retinue. He doesn’t know that Dashiell murdered his niece… and honestly, I don’t think he cares as much as he tries to imply.I think he wanted to demand concession after concession and for us to roll over and give them.” Her eyes flicked toward her mother. “I think we need to consider tackling this in a new way.” Her voice rang out, clear and resolute. “I think we need to go directly to the emperor.”
Danikha frowned. “We tried that. He refused to see us.”
“We didn’t try, though,” Iona argued, gesturing with her hands as she spoke. “We sent an ambassador, and she only spoke to Batlok. Who knows what he passed on—or didn’t pass on—to the emperor.”
“What exactly are you suggesting?” Danikha asked slowly, as if she already guessed and didn’t like the answer.
Iona met her gaze. “I want to take the negotiations directly to the emperor myself.”
The room went still. It was hundreds of years since the royal family of either country had stepped over their borders.
When the drakes from the north flew over the great sand deserts of Kwanam, they stopped to rest and enjoy the cool castles and enticing refreshments the Kwanam offered, but then they moved on, prioritizing the call of the mountain over the might and riches that Kwanam offered. When they bypassed the empire to settle in the far smaller and less powerful kingdom of Hugaeb, they’d unintentionally ignited a festering animosity between the two peoples.
The Kwanam saw the choice as a betrayal of their hospitality, choosing to believe that the drakes joining Hugaeb would soon turn their attention to acquiring more territory:theirs. They remembered the drakes of old. They remembered whispers of the power of the mountain. The emperor at the time had no doubt Hugaeb would seize their chance and immediately reach for dominance… as he would have done. So he took the initiative and struck first.
The drakes from Verturia fought beside their new allies and friends, and in doing so, confirmed Kwanam’s fears. Bringing claws and fire to the battle to save their new home earned them centuries of fear and hatred.
In the end, Hugaeb fought off the invaders and settled into decades of cold hostility and uneasy peace with Kwanam. Never in that time had either royal family considered stepping onto the territory of the other.
Queen Danikha’s expression was stony, but she didn’t immediately reject Iona’s idea. Her eyes narrowed, showing delicate lines at their corners, as she considered her daughter’s suggestion.
Kai shifted his weight ever so slightly. If the room hadn’t been so still, it would have been just another random movement, but now it drew Izzy’s eyes. His jaw was tightly clenched, and his pupils were ringed with the smoky quartz of his scales. Kai’s gaze was locked on Iona, but the princess was still utterly focused on the queen, seemingly unaware of the turmoil within him.
Kai who’d been guarding Iona. Kai who’d told her the truth about Shane’s investigation. Kai who now seemed utterly shocked—and horrified—at Iona’s suggestion.
