The harpy queen lifted a finger, and the guards reluctantly sheathed their swords. “Very interesting,” she said, a calculating gleam in her eyes. “You can use both water and fire magic?”
“Yes.” I wasn’t sure if I should mention that I couldn’t use either just a few days ago, so I said nothing else.
“And a living, breathing dragon.” The harpy queen licked her lips as she turned her gaze to Einar, her yellow gaze turning predatory with lust. “I’ve always thought it was a shame that harpies and dragons never mated. We both lay eggs, so I’m certain we would be very compatible. And you look like you would make powerful warrior babies,” she purred, leaning forward a little. The position put her generous cleavage on full display, and I clamped down as a fresh wave of jealousy surged inside me.
Einar laughed, a deep, rich sound that spoke of dark nights and wicked promises. “You aren’t the first one to make that offer since I’ve arrived,” he said, and I wanted to claw his face off right then and there. “But as I mentioned to the others, I’d like to watch my children grow up, if I should ever be lucky enough to have any.”
A hint of sadness tinged his voice, and the green monster eased away. I hadn’t considered the fact that Einar had once had hopes and dreams of a future, a family, a life, before King Aolis had destroyed his people. Had he had a lover before they’d all been killed? Someone he’d planned to marry and settle down with?
The harpy queen shrugged. “Better to pass on your seed with a strong female than not pass it on at all,” she said. “Unless you were planning on planting it in a different womb?” She glanced between us, an obvious question in her eyes.
My face flamed at the implication, and Einar’s entire body went rigid. “I would never,” he hissed, and the words were a slap to the face after the steamy kiss we’d shared. “Not after what the fae did to my people.”
“Hmm.” The harpy queen didn’t seem convinced. She leaned back on her throne and tapped a chin as she considered us. “Still, the fact that the two of you are even together is an oddity in and of itself. Why are you traveling with a fae if you hate them so much?”
“We have an arrangement,” I said stiffly, thankful for the change in subject. “He’s helping me rescue my mother from the king.”
“The king has taken your mother? Why?”
I gave the harpy queen an extremely abridged version of what happened, telling her about the appearance of my fire magic, General Slaugh’s attempted capture, and the recent battle with Lady Mossi. By the time I was done, the queen was staring at me as though I were a fascinating puzzle.
“This entire tale smacks of fate and destiny,” she said, drumming her fingers against the arm of her chair. “You said this General Slaugh spoke of a prophecy, didn’t you?”
“Yes,” I said hesitantly, not sure where she was going with this.
“It’s too much of a coincidence that the same night your fire magic awakened, you also awakened the last living dragon in Ediria,” the harpy queen said, glancing at Einar again. “You’re rushing in headlong to rescue your mother, but you have no knowledge of what the enemy truly wants from you, orwhy. Unless you find out more information about this prophecy, I doubt you will succeed.”
“Find out about the prophecy?” I bit my lip, thinking of my mother again. How was she holding up in the king’s dungeons? And if they were torturing her, how long did she have? “But I don’t know where I’d look, or who to ask.”
“Oh, that’s easy.” Leap piped up for the first time. He’d been perched on one of the window ledges this entire time, swinging his short legs as he listened to us talk. “You need to go see the Oracle in Wynth.”
“The Oracle?” Einar scoffed. “You mean that charlatan who sits cloistered in that temple of hers, shut off from the rest of the world? Yes, I’m sure she gives wonderful advice.”
Leap rolled his eyes. “I can assure you that Quye isn’t as sheltered as everyone wants to believe,” he said. “And that she’s the real deal. She used to love—” his eyes widened, and he abruptly snapped his mouth shut.
I raised my eyebrows at him. “Sounds like you know her pretty well, Leap.”
He shrugged. “I know a lot of people,” he mumbled, turning his head away. The sullen look on his face made it apparent that his past was a touchy subject, and I made a mental note to lay off…for now. After all, I needed him to tell us more.
“Okay fine.” I held my hands up, indicating that I was dropping the subject. “So we need to go to Wynth? How do we get there?”
“It’ll take you a week to get there on foot,” Eleerie remarked. “Unless your dragon flies, but I don’t recommend that. We aren’t the only harpy clan living in these mountains, and then there are the air fae themselves to contend with. They are annoyingly diligent about patrolling the skies and preparing for air attacks. You’ll be seen, even at night.”
I shook my head. “We don’t have time for that. My mother could be dead by then.”
“I’ll take you,” Leap said.
Everyone in the room went still, except for the harpy queen as she whipped her head around to face Leap. “You will do no such thing,” she snapped. “Not while you are under my protection.”
“How do we even know we can trust you?” Einar asked, his tone rife with suspicion. He crossed his arms over his chest and glared down at Leap as though he could intimidate the boy into revealing all his secrets. “Not only are you an air fae, but you’re consorting with a race that kills and eats your own kind. You don’t exactly strike me as trustworthy.”
But Leap smiled, unbothered by Einar’s enmity. “The harpies might be brutal and bloodthirsty, but they took me in when I had no one.” His expression softened as he looked over at the harpy queen, a tender note of gratitude in his voice. “Queen Makani found me alone in the mountains, starving, too weak to use my magic or hunt for food. She took me in and nursed me back to health, then gave me a place to stay. The only thing she asked in return is that I use my lighting magic to protect the eyrie, and I’m happy to do it.” A regretful look crossed his face. “But I have to help them, Queen Makani. I’m the only one who can, and I know what it’s like to lose your parents. If I can help Adara get hers back, I’d like to.”
Tears burned at the corners of my eyes, and even Einar seemed moved by Leap’s declaration. “Oh very well,” the queen huffed, sounding both annoyed and resigned. “But you must return to the eyrie when you’ve finished.”
“I will,” Leap said. He hopped down from the ledge and propped his hands on his hips, a wide grin spreading across his face as he looked between me and Einar. “A dragon, a lightning rider, and a fire fae sneaking into Wynth to visit the Oracle. This is going to be fun!”
21
