I was surprised by the sophistication of her advice. She was barely an adolescent in dragon terms, bonded for less than two weeks, and she was giving me political counsel that would have impressed my father's senior advisors.
"How are you this wise?" I asked out loud. "You're so young."
She drew herself up to her full height, which was considerable, her scales catching the first hints of dawn and fragmenting them into pale prisms of color.
"I'm not just a pretty dragonia with exceptional coloring,"she said."I know things."
"I know you do. And I know you are smart in addition to being strikingly beautiful, but what you've told me speaks of political acumen and experience that you don't have."
She preened at my compliments, then lowered her head again to my level."There is a reason I chose you, Alar, and it's not your good looks or your exceptional manners. I chose you because you are a prince, and I knew we would have a lot in common. It's important in a relationship, you know. To have things in common."
I frowned."What do you mean?"
She tilted her massive head."Don't you think that having things in common is important for a good relationship?"
"I do, but what are those things?"
"I am a princess, just like you are a prince. I'm Nyxath's daughter."
The words took a moment to register. When they did, I felt the ground shift beneath my feet.
"You are Nyxath's daughter,"I repeated."The queen of dragons is your mother."
"She is."
"You're dragon royalty."
"If you want to use that term, yes."
The puzzle pieces started to fall into place. Veynathei's uncommon size, for a dragonia, the unusual shifting quality of her scales. The wisdom that exceeded her apparent age.
"Why didn't you tell me?"I asked.
"Why didn't you tell Kailin that you were a prince when you first met her?"she countered.
The parallel silenced me.
"I wanted you to choose me for who I am,"she said."Not for my lineage. I wanted you to love me as Veynathei, not as the queen's daughter. My mother's shadow is vast, and I strive to break free from it. I saw in you someone who would see me because you would understand the weight of expectation that comes with a royal bloodline."
"I wanted the same thing from Kailin,"I said."I wanted her to love Alar, not Prince Alaranthus."
"We understand each other."
I leaned forward and pressed my forehead against her snout. Her scales were warm and smooth, and the bond between us pulsed with a shared understanding that went beyond words, and beyond thought. It was an affinity, like recognizing like.
"I'll come back to you," I said out loud. "And to Kailin. I'm not going to give up no matter what."
"I know you'll be back. Our story is not over."
"I don't know how long it will take."
"It will take as long as it takes. I am a dragon. Patience is not my favorite virtue, but I do live forever, so there is that. And if you also want to live forever, you need to be near me and not across half the continent."
19
KAILIN
The last morning can never be long enough. It passes in minutes that feel like seconds, leaving me feeling empty and alone.
