Page 2 of The Forgotten Throne

This information set the crowd off. People started to yell, while others surged forward as if they were trying to grab me off the stage. My guardians stepped in and blocked all their advances, but I knew I needed to calm them.

Placing my fingers up to my mouth, I let out a shrill whistle that caught everyone’s attention. “I know you are scared and the fact we must leave our home is the last thing you want to hear. As your queen, I haven’t earned your trust yet, but I beg you to let me prove to you I have your best interest in mind. You are my people, and my sole responsibility is to keep you safe and protected from danger. Coming to this choice was not easy, but it is the only choice we can make. If we stay here, we will be slaughtered.

“The Lost King is ruthless and has no scruples when it comes to killing those who stand in his way. The mercenaries are a huge threat to him because we know how to survive through the worst of things and come out the other side.” I paused to watch them, seeing if I was getting through to them because this next part would either sell me as a crazy woman or a brilliant one. “We are going back to our roots, all the way to the beginning where our people first founded themselves. Our ancestors are still waiting there for us and our promised return that we forgot about. The Dragon Queen is calling her people home to Sheca and the Dragon Castle!”

The space fell silent as they absorbed my words. I didn’t even know if any of them still knew about Sheca or the Dragon Castle. Sal knew of some bedtime stories but that wasn’t promising as a whole. Glancing at the Clan Leaders, they did not look happy about my idea at all. When I told them I had a plan they believed me, but I didn’t tell them what that plan was. I still felt raw after Payson’s betrayal, so I kept it to myself and my guardians. I knew when I was done here, they were going to have quite a few things to say to me, but I didn’t care. This is what was best for our people and nothing else mattered. Turning to my left, I signaled for Zan to join me and Ezzu flapped her wings in reply.

Zan was blind, making his eyes a cloudy silver color, but his Birthright gave him the ability to see out of his dragon’s eyes. I didn’t know if it applied to all animals or just dragons, but since he had Ezzu, a miniature sassy female dragon who acted as his eyes, it didn’t really matter. Zan, as attractive as he was with his dark brown hair that was braided away from his face and full beard, didn’t lead with the best first impression. See, we didn’t meet under the friendliest of circumstances—he tried to kill me—mistakenly thinking I’d somehow enslaved Vasin, my black dragon, and pair-bonded against his will. Once we figured things out, my magic decided he would also make a fitting guardian and placed my mark on him, just like it did the others. Zan was from Sheca and explained to me some of the history that we’d lost over the years which is how I knew this was the right choice. Hidden away in the lands of Sheca was the other half of the mercenary clan we originated from. They were thriving where we were not.

“Many of you have seen this man around. He is one of my guardians, but he is also from Sheca,” I shared. “Zan has been able to provide me with information that we’d lost for so many years. This was always meant to happen. We just forgot our promise to return. Gather what you need. The journey will be tough, but we are tougher. Scouts will be flying ahead and behind to make sure we are protected and not caught unaware, but we must travel as quickly as we can. There is no argument you can make to sway my mind, but I will not force you to join us. Stay if you want, but know that you have made the choice to leave the clans in doing so and will not be taken back. Times are too dangerous, and loyalty is of the highest value during a war—so consider your choice wisely.”

Chapter Two

The Queen Has Spoken

After everyone dispersed to start packing, I was escorted from the stage to the private meeting room the Clan Leaders used. I’d spent most of my days since coming here in this room, trying to figure out the best plan to survive this war. That was when we were still looking for a way to keep the danger at bay. Now that ship had sailed and left us to deal with a new set of problems. I took my seat in the middle with the best advantage of the map carved into the massive wooden table. The Clan Leaders sat across from me as if I were the one on trial, needing to defend myself from them. I glance at Ballard, the steward of the clan in lieu of a king or queen, who’d also been my mentor for the six months I’d been with the clans. His kind brown eyes watched me with interest instead of anger like the others. Acton, Garold, and Xio, hadn’t known me for as long as Ballard. I could see how keeping this information from them might be seen as a slight.

“Your Majesty, would you care to explain further about the journey you want to take us on?” Xio demanded, even though he posed it as a question.

I cocked my head and examined these three men who seemed to be under the impression I was subordinate to them. They had been running their prospective clans for years and had become used to being the top dog. We’d butted heads, but I thought we were finally getting somewhere—seemed I was incorrect about that.

“What would you like to know?” I countered.

Garold scowled at me and slammed his fist on the table. “You withheld information from us that could have been vital to our survival, and you just announced it to the masses. I was beginning to think you had a level head for a woman, but it seems I was mistaken.”

This made my eyebrows climb, but before I could say a word in my defense, Dayson and May were already addressing the issue.

“How dare you speak to the queen like that!” Dayson barked at his father, as May came up on the other side, boxing Garold in.

May pulled out a dagger and held it under her uncle’s chin. “You will apologize for your rudeness. To question the Queen’s orders is mutiny during times of war.” Garold gaped at her, eyes wide at her words. “Don’t act surprised, Uncle, you know the law just as I do.”

Garold was a tall, muscular man that would make most men look small, but Dayson was even bulkier than his father. Dayson’s bronze skin that was partially covered in black swirling ink added to the intimidating factor along with the shaved head, but for a thick section down the middle of his head that was braided in one long rope. May stood next to him, cousin by blood but raised as siblings when she lost her family. Her long blond hair was about the only soft thing on her body, proving she earned her place as a fierce warrior. She too had the black ink on her skin, marking her as part of the Bronze Reaper Clan, the most ruthless of our people.

“You two would turn on your own family for this queen?” Garold snarled, his gaze flickering between the two. “You’ve known this woman for a week and already you would trust her with the lives of all our people?”

Dayson growled. “I don’t expect you to understand, Father, but she’s proven herself to me time and time again. Some of us wouldn’t be alive if it wasn’t for her risking it all to get them out of the castle yesterday. She puts herself in harm’s way without a thought if it will protect others. So if she says we go to Sheca, then we go to Sheca.”

Garold seemed to deflate a little. Not having had a chance to talk with all my guardians, I didn’t really know what they’d told people about what happened last night. It didn’t seem like much had been explained but we didn’t have the luxury to hash it all out. If they were going to fight me on this, then so be it.

“As I said to everyone in my speech, I will not force you to come with me. If you feel your chances will be better here, then so be it. But you will no longer be a Clan Leader or part of the mercenaries that I rule over. Sheca is the only chance we have. I know deep in my soul that it has all the information we need to rebuild ourselves into something more. During Miranda’s rule as Queen, everyone thought it was our golden era, but I don’t believe that. It was a glimpse of what we could be. I want to surpass it. Just imagine it—for us to no longer be struggling people, fighting for survival. The kingdom that I want to create and rule will be a force to be reckoned with. Trust me long enough to get us there. Let me prove to you I’m a queen worth following,” I urged, hoping this would be what finally convinced them.

“I believe our fellow clansman might have been hasty in his distrust in this move you are asking us to make,” Acton spoke. “You have shared that you have a link to this group of people through this man of yours—Zan, was it?” I nodded when he paused for confirmation. “Might I ask him a few questions?”

Acton was the Clan Leader to the Hell Hawks and Jade’s half-brother, not that Acton acknowledged Jade as family. Out of all the Clan Leaders, he was the youngest and, interestingly enough, the most levelheaded as long as it didn’t involve Jade.

I turned to Zan, wanting to make sure that he was comfortable with that before I answered. He must have already anticipated my attention since he was looking right in my direction. He gave a nod of his head. “If Zan is comfortable with it, then please ask away. But I ask that you respect if there are things he cannot tell you. The people of Sheca do not recognize the authority of a Clan Leader.”

This caught all of them off guard. Did they really think that if we descended on a new civilization that they would just cave to our ways? Granted, they were part of the mercenary clans, but they have been operating on their own for generations. Who knows how they will take me coming from nowhere to be their queen? Although I should be used to it by now, it seems surprising people is what I was born to do.

“Could you tell us a little about Sheca? What is the climate like or the way of life, perhaps?” Acton asked.

“I would be happy to share that,” Zan answered with a smile. “Sheca is mountainous, but it also butts up to the Caleden Sea. Our land is very fertile and used for farming and grazing. It has a mild climate all year round, but rains more often in the fall and winter months. My favorite time is early in the morning when the fog is trapped in the peaks of the mountains around us until the sun rises and they disperse. Shecan’s are hardworking people who are fully self-sufficient off what we grow and raise. Our contact with anyone outside our own people is practically nonexistent. We fled there to hide from the Norden King. Since that was the foundation of our civilization, we tend to be very private people. Much like you, we all are skilled in fighting and other various abilities needed to be a valuable mercenary. Though for us, it’s to defend our home rather than to do jobs for money.”

Now this seemed to be more to the Clan Leaders’ liking. I knew from my queen studies they had been working for this very thing for generations, but being a hunted people, it made it hard to put down solid roots.

“How would you describe the journey from here to Sheca? Will our people be able to make it?” Xio questioned, narrowing his eyes at Zan, as if he could intimidate him into giving him the answer he wanted.

“Do you doubt the fortitude of your people so greatly?” Zan countered. “I was led to believe you still keep to the same arduous training as we’ve always done, starting at a young age.”