Page 24 of The Forgotten Throne

“No,” Zan interjected. “With everything that’s just happened, there is no way they will change the opinion of the viceroy or the majority of the people here in this village. If they tried, it could turn into a battle between both factions of our people.”

“Fucking hell,” Cole muttered, rubbing his hands over his head. “How did we jump from one fire into another?”

I turned back to face the castle, taking in its beauty in the setting sunlight. “I should have been prepared for this especially after what I told them last night. It will have only made matters worse calling them out like that.”

“Last night? What did you do last night?” Paxton asked.

“She told them they were losing their positions once she became queen,” Jade shared, crossing his arms, his face tight with anger. “They were withholding information from the people to make them more wary of coming here to Sheca, along with hiding the fact they questioned Paxton. When our little bird found out about it, she spanked them like the children they are acting like.”

Paxton let out a long whistle in amazement. “Damn, spitfire, you sure have some balls on you to draw the line in the sand like that. I would have waited until I was queen then told them to kick rocks.”

“Yes, well sometimes my anger gets the best of me, and I lash out. Something you have personally experienced, I believe,” I stated.

“Got to be honest, I’m a little sad that it’s fading so fast. I feel like I might need to piss you off again so I can keep it,” Paxton mused as he stroked his cheek.

“Fucking idiot,” Cole muttered under his breath. “So what do we do now? How can we go and have a feast with everyone when anyone could come out of nowhere and stab you in the back?”

“Hence the reason that I am bringing this up to all of you,” I pointed out. “Ballard is against it. Porvan is no longer a Clan Leader, but I have a feeling Garold and Xio are driving this movement. Acton is the only one no one has a feeling for so maybe I should see if I can get a chance to talk to him alone?”

“Huh,” Jade barked. “That pompous prick won’t support anything if it involves me and that includes you becoming queen, little bird. He has a large grudge against me for what happened to our father, but he doesn’t know the whole story. In fact, he refused to let me explain myself at all.”

“So what you’re saying is it would be best to have you elsewhere when I try?” I ventured.

The look he sent my way was a halfhearted glare at best. He knew I wasn’t trying to be mean. I needed to talk to Acton in order to get the information that I needed on the situation since they were blocking Ballard out.

“Looks like we better get down to the feast then so we can get ahead of this problem,” Gavin suggested, moving towards the horse he’d been riding.

I reached out and grabbed his arm, turning him to face me. “They are your parents, but they are not you. What they do doesn’t reflect on who you are to me or anyone else in this group. You’ve made it very clear your intentions are in support of me and my people. I’m also willing to bet so is Phillip. Don’t go looking for more in this matter unless you are ready to see that side of your parents, because once you see it, you can’t unsee it. I should know.”

Gavin pulled me into a hug and kissed my forehead. “You are more than I or this world deserve.”

“It’s because of people like you who believe in me. Without that, I wouldn’t have the chance to do anything to help these people,” I shared as I pulled back from him. “Let’s get this over with so we can get to bed and explore the castle tomorrow.”

“Sounds like a great plan to me, Your Majesty,” he said with a wink.

With the villagers already in full swing of the feast, it wasn’t hard for us to filter into the crowd, get some food and find a place to eat. Those that I’d traveled here with didn’t really pay us any mind, but the people of Sheca were another story. Person after person came up to our table bowing, sharing their names, who they were, what they did, and how honored they were to have the Dragon Queen back in Sheca Valley. This meant that my plan to move through the crowds until I found Acton wasn’t going to work, but as I kept an eye out, I couldn’t spot any of the Clan Leaders or King Edward and Queen Mary. Phillip had joined us earlier saying we were far more interesting to spend time with than his parents but didn’t mention them leaving for the night.

“Vasin, are the king and queen’s dragons still here?” I asked, fearing that they might have left while we were all distracted.

“They are not here, Cass, and I might mention that Naytan, along with a few others, have left as well.”

“Goddamn it! Could this be it? Are they planning our demise as we speak? Did the other Clan Leaders leave with them?”

“Now that you ask, yes, they did. I’ve been keeping an eye out around the border lands to make sure the Lost King didn’t send dragons to search for us. Give me a moment and I will find them. It is easier for me to stay hidden than any of the others.”

I searched around me and found three of my guardians right away. “Jade, grab the others. We need to get out of this crowd and over to where the dragons can grab us.”

“What’s wrong?” he countered.

“No time, just grab the others and meet us at the edge of the village,” I ordered, shoving him on his way. “Izel, Zan, let’s go. We’ve got a problem to deal with.”

Chapter Fifteen

Deal with a Dragon

My adrenaline coursed through my veins as I pushed through the crowd and emerged the other side. I moved as quickly as I could to the edge of the village without looking like something was going on. Darting behind one of the large barns with bleating sheep, we waited for the others to show up. Zan tried to get me to tell them what was going on, but I refused. It was easier to give the information once to all of them. Besides, I still needed to hear back from Vasin on what the hell was happening. Anxiety prickled along my skin, making it hard not to fidget but I did my best by wrapping my arms around myself to keep them still. Finally, Jade appeared with the others, all of them looking worried. Unfortunately, Phillip came along with them.

“Cassarah, what the hell is going on?” Cole demanded, coming to stand right in front of me.